Well can you believe it Salty Dog Emporium opened its doors just over a year ago and what a year it has been! Looking back on the photos of our opening day (how nervous were we) and comparing to the shop today we have so
much more variety and merchandise to offer our customers, including the very recent development of our model railway resources www.modelrailwayresource.co.uk.
However it doesn’t stop there as we have lots of exciting ideas and developments over the coming year so watch this space!
We opened Salty Dog Emporium because Julie (proprietor) understood, through having worked in the childcare sector for over 20 years the frustration that parents and carers alike have experienced in finding good quality, toys and games. Parents were wanting products with added value that promoted children’s learning and development, whilst still letting children enjoy themselves. (So important).
We believe that play is fundamental to helping children become confident, competent learners and supporting good quality play helps to turn the key to unlock their learning. Tuning in to children and watching for when a child becomes curious, fascinated, absorbed and excited in what they are doing, is a lovely and privileged experience and here at Salty Dog Emporium we understand that it is then when they are going to learn the most.
Possibly children have loved the sounds of the sea, and sometimes putting a shell to the ear
mimics that sound. However another lovely way of replicating that unique noise at different levels and speeds is with a ‘Drum-ocean sounds’, helping children to create sounds for themselves.
Furthermore our Spot & Learn sticker books are brilliant at enabling children to find out some fascinating facts about
different creatures and plants and about the environments they inhabit. Children can take the books outside with them, using them to help identify what they see. Maybe if they are lucky having the opportunity (only if safe to do so) to touch, feel, smell and talk about the things they have found.
There can be no doubt helping to stimulate children’s senses supports them in becoming much more aware of the environment around them and wanting to know so much more!
Naturally there are plenty of opportunities to play, build and discover with very little such as cardboard boxes, home made play-dough, gloop, jar lids, bark and scraps of textured materials to name but a few. However this is when a well thought out toy or game can come into its own or help to sustain and build on developing interests that a child might have.
For example introducing a farm animal or two, creatures from far away like an elephant or kangaroo or even a fearsome dinosaur (there are not many children who don’t like dinosaurs!) into a tray of bark is always exiting and can prompt opportunities for children to develop and extend their language. The beautifully crafted and hand painted Holztiger creatures are perfect to support such an activity and have a wonderful feel to them too.
There are of course many ways to engage children in play however by opening Salty Dog Emporium it has become a wonderful opportunity to promote play and enable our customers both young and old alike to get involved and have some fun! Please do follow us on Facebook and come pay us a visit either in store, or on-line at the store
Want to be one of the first to receive our Newsletter and communications, then go to the Contact page and use the ‘Newsletter Subscribe’ option
Leave a Comment