Playful learning activities for children of age 3-4 yrs

Playful learning activities for kids of age 3-4 Yrs Sponsor: Flinto learning solutions pvt. ltd.

By: Saswat kumar Dash

Toy and Game Design, Batch 2016-2019 National Institute of Design, Gandhinagar

Under the guidance of: Dr. Aakash Johry

Discipline Co-coordinator,Faculty, Toy and Game Design, NID

Acknowledgement

With this, I would like to thank everyone who supported the project towards successful completion. The sponsor Flinto learning solutions, for giving me the opportunity to work on their product and providing me with the required resources, Project manager Ms Divya Palaniappa, Material outsourcing Mr Kiruba Shankar, Colleagues who were always ready for a discussion and willing to share their knowledge whenever required. The National Institute of Design and Toy and Game Design, for the thoughtful curriculum. I would like to thank Dr Aakash Johry; discipline co-coordinator Toy and Game Design for his constant guidance in the form of detail reviews, feedbacks and planning the course of action throughout the project. Special thanks to Dr Gayatri Menon for her valuable suggestions; which would make me wonder ‘Why did I not think about this ?’.

My parents and friends, to whom I would always be grateful.

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Declaration

I hereby declare that the project entitled ‘Playful learning activities for Children of ages 3-4 Years’, is a record of original work done for the partial fulfilment of Masters in Design education programme at National Institute of Design in the field of Toy and Game Design. This document is not intended for any commercial use but can serve as proof of completion of the project, reservoir of knowledge to the readers in the form of design decisions taken, included research and concepts.

This document has only been submitted to the National Institute of Design in printed and pdf format in a CD and nothing otherwise.

Date: Place: National Institute of Design, Gandhinagar, India Submitted by: Saswat Kumar Dash, TGD 16 Guided by: Dr Aakash Johry

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Contents 11 12 13 14 18

20 22 26 31 35 38 45 54 62 71 73 80 93 107 110 117 128 137 140 148 156 160 164 166 168

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Preface

Children of this century grow alongside the technology. With their natural tendency of being curious, they are easily prone to be engaged to smartphones and tv. Although it being good in many ways, the associated negative effects are a concern to the parents. This opens up possibilities in the market for products to be focused on the development of children while keeping them from the negative effects of the aforementioned. Within the last 5-6 years, many organisation have grown from being a startup by fulfilling this needs of the parents by keeping the children engaged in playful learning without the use of screen-based media among others. Now the parents are acquainted with the type of products and even the possibilities, and the rising competition in the market begets better quality of the products.

A designer’s role here is to come up with various products which would not only meet the expectations of the buyers but also amaze them with the results. This demands the designer to know about the children who shall use the product, the parents who shall buy and recommend the product, the organisation who shall allocate money for the production, materials, production processes, competitors, similar products, safety standards etc. As a toy and game design student, this project holds importance in knowing one of the primary user i.e. the children, it also provides an opportunity to learn about production oriented working, marketing strategies of the toy industry in India.

This document covers all the aspects taken into consideration during the process of designing products for the Flintobox as a part of the graduation project at NID. The format is descriptive text with pictures wherever required.

It is also important to know about the National Institute of Design, the discipline Toy and game design and the sponsor Flinto learning solutions for a clear understanding of the possibilities and how they influence the design.

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National Institute of Design

The National Institute of Design is one of the premier design Institutes of India. The institute functions as an autonomous body under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of commerce and industry, Government of India. NID is recognized by the department of scientific and industrial research under Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, as a scientific and industrial design research organization. In 2010, Business week placed NID in its list of top design schools in the world. NID was declared ‘Institution of National Importance’ by the Act of Parliament, by virtue of the National Institute of Design Act, in July 2014.

The principle for the foundation of NID recommended a problem-solving design consciousness that linked learning with actual experience and suggested that the designer could be a bridge between tradition and modernity. The curriculum generates the scope to integrate experiential and explorative learning in order to understand and achieve a high degree of creative innovation and quality, the philosophy of learning by doing.

The learning at NID enables students to develop a sense of social and professional commitments, to own the responsibility for their professional decisions. The ability to develop critical, analytical, speculative and reflective problem-solving skills in an integrated manner.

To understand the scenario cum user based and culture-centric approach of design and to provide thorough understanding of technical, managerial and design fundamentals along with a strong exposure to real life situations so that they are able to experience how the intellectual, creative and other skills acquired could be adapted to benefit the user, society and industry.

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Toy and Game Design at NID

Play is an inherent characteristic of all living beings. It is at the same time a medium of expression, a solution to problems, a tool for learning. It is a need which coexists within each hierarchy of needs and still is mutually exclusive. It happens at all stages of life with different motivations. A two to three years old child plays alone with his/her toys which is exploratory and solitary in nature, an eight to ten years old will mostly engage in cooperative play, for many adults, play is a means of socializing, and for some it is an opportunity to prove themselves.

The potential of influencing people through play is immense. Toy and game design at NID bases upon this ideology to create designers who would pave the way for possibilities to reach people in a beneficial and playful manner. The Discipline achieves this by integrating theories with experience. The students learn about materials, media, processes, psychology, culture and put them to practice through several projects, honing their skills and expanding their reservoir of thoughtful creativity.

Students go on to become Game designers, Experience designers, Educators, Entrepreneurs and Consultants

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Flinto learning solutions pvt. ltd.

Flinto or flinto learning solutions is a company based out of Chennai, established on September 2013. It has reached to over 4 lakhs customers until now. Flinto, founded by Shreenidhi (a techie & CTO),Arunprasad-Durairaj (Management & CEO) and Vijaybabu Gandhi (Marketing & CPO), makes fun based learning activities for kids of age 2-12 years, targeting physical, language, cognitive & social-emotional development. Flinto doesn’t just make toys, it makes package of necessary activities deemed appropriate for the development of child.

Each activity box consists of 5-6 activities with developmental information, usage guide and suggestions.

It relies upon research on developmental psychology, child’s physical and mental development needs, safety standards and procedure to come-up with theme based activities for the child. Their target customers are the educated and/or working parents and relatives with kids of age 2-12, and the information about the usefulness of the product along with supportive information (e.g. parenting tips, stories, DIY craft ideas etc. available at https:// flintobox.com/blog/) are targeted for the parents.

The Flinto team currently consists of several departments like product design, graphic design, material procurement and manufacturing, research, marketing, customer support and technical. The recent fundings and investments are supporting the hiring of professionals and interns in each field. Their another significant venture is targeted to pre-schools. This venture called Flinto-class makes activity kits for curriculum based classroom engagement.

The primary user group here is the kids of age 2-4 years, group activities as well as activities requiring adults assistance can be made.

Image.1. Flintobox product pack

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Example of work by Flintobox: Beautiful Birds for age group 2-3 years With 5 sets of unique activities and 1 storybook, this box aims to introduce birds to the toddlers, the activities are: 1. Bird habitat - match the birds to their respective habitat, the habitat is an illustrated fabric mat and the birds are made with fusion board.

2. Feather the bird - attach felt fabric feathers to a mdf bird base with velcro 3. Feed baby bird - the child has to pick up plastic worms with a beak shaped tong and place it inside the nest made of fabric 4. Inked birdie tale - coloring activity done with a ink filled dabber over a coloring template book with illustrated birds 5. Counting puzzle - fill up the blank spaces in a fusion board with bird cut-outs while counting the number of spaces filled 6. Flinto’s bird walk - a story book introducing different birds and activity to identify different emotion

Image.2. Contents of Flintobox - Beautiful Birds Age group 2-3 Years

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Organisational structure

Fig.1. Flinto Learning Solutions Organisational heirarchy

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Fig.2. Departments and responsibilities in Flinto learning Solutions

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1. Introduction

Design is often not conventional, everything you do here is new in some way. This project was an effort of doing something unconventional; highly in terms of my own experience as a designer where the priority was to learn new ways of doing things.

Flintobox had the opportunity I was seeking in terms of their primary user and the type of work. The company identified few areas of improvements depending upon their previous experiences and the customer review. Their findings of the required areas of focus for development and the initial evaluation conducted were similar. The company’s expectations from this project were to bring about novelty in the area related to repetition value, time of engagement and important concepts in contextual learning . The novelty of the subscription model in the Indian toy market has already grabbed a lot of attention of the buyers, but the company’s effort of providing quality as well as quantity has led to the goals of creating longer engagement with the products, providing more value for the price with an increase in the perceivable developmental learning of the child. In simpler terms, they want better products with the value spent. This need for growth for the company is creating an opportunity for Flinto to revamp their products to match the current expectation of the stakeholders and increase their revenue.

As a toy and game designer, this project was an opportunity to learn about one of the primary user group i.e. the children. The project also gives a platform to learn about production oriented working, the market and marketing strategies of toys and games in India and working with constraints like time, material, cost of production etc. especially in the context of a subscription based service model

The scope of work: • User research - to know about the ability and interests of the primary users i.e. the children of age 2-4 years • Customer research - to know the expectation of the parents from the products of flintobox, their reviews and suggestions, and what they think is more appropriate for their child • Market research - to find the strength and weakness of the products while trying to increase the area of opportunity for the company with the same investment • The internal structure of the company and the decision-making process, factors that influence the product development • Research on material and manufacturing processes for increasing efficiency of products in terms of safety, cost and time.

• Learning through play - interfaces, tools and techniques suitable for the user 18

Introduction

• The relevance of the theme* (*topic upon which the activities are made for each product development cycle) for all the stakeholders • •

Ideas/concept development within the constraints and rapid prototyping Making understandable Instructions for the manufacturers and the customers

Design constraints: • Budget - the total expense for producing one activity box has to be low in order for the company to make a profit among the competitors, this includes all the products for minimum 4 activities, printables and graphics • Time - each product cycle (1 complete activity box) is of 2 months, which includes research, ideation, prototyping, making production files, handover to procurement team and sample review from manufacturers • Material and size - has to be age appropriate according to the primary user, i.e. No components should cause any known vulnerability to the child and should be safe • Packaging- all the products for an activity box should be able to fit inside the common package and should not be heavy, or damage the package in any way during logistics • Collective finalizing and user testing - all the products need to be approved by the CEO, Product manager and the procurement team before being finalized. An appropriate result of user testing is difficult as the environment of the user differs during testing(Pre-nursery schools) and the environment the product is made for(home).

Design approach: A system design approach is suitable for the project as there are multiple stakeholders with different necessities. The design process shall be a sub-linear approach, where findings from the research over the period shall influence only the subsequent decisions on the outcome and not the previously generated outcome. To categorically cover most aspects in the project with equal importance while timely delivering the required outputs, we divided the total time into 3 phases. On each phase the primary focus is unique. On the first phase the focus is on ‘research of physical and cognitive abilities of Kids between ages 2-4 years’, on the second phase it is on ‘Ideation and concept development’ and on the third phase it is on ‘market research and precedence’.

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2. Project overview

Design Brief: To design products to be performed as activities for kids of age 3 to 4 years, that is to be manufactured and sold as a part of Educational activity boxes subscription kits by Flinto learning solutions, Chennai. The products should adhere to Flintobox philosophy while also supporting the development of the users.

Stakeholders: • Primary Users - Children’s of age group 3 to 4, these are the user who would engage directly with the product • Secondary Users - the customers or the parents, they buy the product and sometimes help the primary users to engage better • The organisation - Its philosophy, marketing, long and short term goals, motto etc.

Workflow: The duration of the project was of 6 months. Flintobox has its own timeline for product development, which extends from 45-60 days. The diagram given below shows the Flinto product development cycle, and the structure of various work done over the whole duration repectively.

Fig. 3. Flintobox product design cycle

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Project overview

Fig. 4. Project workflow

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3. Secondary research

3.1. Literature on play & toys Toy and play are essential to a child’s growth as the child uses them to learn about the world around him/her. The child uses toys and play to discover their identity, help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships and practice skills they will need as adults. (Suresh Gupta, 2015)

Play Play is a spontaneous, voluntary, pleasurable and flexible activity involving a combination of body, object, symbol use and relationships. Although it is an important arena in children’s life associated with immediate, short-term and long-term benefits, there has been an ongoing reduction in favour of educational instructions, especially in modern and urban societies. Furthermore, parental concerns about safety sometimes limit children’s opportunities to engage in playful and creative activities. Along the same lines, the increase of commercial toys and technological developments by the toy industry has fostered more sedentary and less healthy play behaviours in children. Play is important because children nowadays live in a time of busy schedules and high expectations for achievement. Hence, it becomes even more important for children to be able to get the time and space to discover the joy and benefits of free play.[1]

Benefits of play 1.

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Knowing what to do when no one is directing you Problem-solving Creativity and imagination Interacting with others- Provides opportunities to socialise with peers of the same age, and to learn to understand others, to communicate and to negotiate 5. Resilience - recover quickly from failure 6. Flexibility and adaptability 7. Willingness to take risks and try new things 8. Processing emotions- Gives children the opportunity to express troubling aspects of their daily life, including stresses, trauma, family conflicts and other dilemmas.

9. Understanding social situations 10. Discovering interests 11. Building confidence 22

Secondary research | Literature on play & toys

Types of play • Structured: This requires a child to follow directions or rules, and is guided by an adult.

This could include board games, puzzles, and organised classes like dance or team sports like soccer. • Unstructured: This allows a child to explore whatever they want to do and the child can do whatever interests them. Toddlers should spend at least one hour a day in free, unstructured play and at least thirty minutes engaged in active, adult play.

Stages of play 1. Unoccupied Play (Birth - 3 months): At this stage, the baby is just making a lot of movements with their arms, legs, hands, feet, etc. They are learning about and discovering how their body moves.

2. Solitary Play (3 months- 2 years): The child plays alone. They are not interested in playing with others yet.

3. Spectator/ Onlooker Behaviour (2 years): During this stage, a child begins to watch other children playing but does not play with them 4. Parallel Play (2+ years): When a child plays alongside or near others but does not play with them.

5. Associate Play (3-4 years): A child starts to interact with others during play, but there is not a large amount of interaction. A child might be doing an activity related to the kids around him/her, but he/she might not actually be interacting with the other child. For example, kids might all be playing on the same piece of playground equipment, but all of them are doing different things like climbing, swinging, etc.

6. Cooperative Play (4+ years): When a child plays together with others and has an interest in both the activity and the other children involved in playing.

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Secondary research | Literature on play & toys

Image.3. Representaion of stages of play

Toys Toys have been made since the beginning of civilisation. Stuffed dolls were used by mothers to teach their daughters about domesticity.[2] They were made of materials such as wood, clay, copper, etc. Toys excavated from Indus valley civilisation (3010-1500 BCE) inculdes small crats, bird shaped whistle and toy monkeys which could slide down a string. After the Industrial Revolution, people had more free time and wealth. Toys became more widespread with the changing attitudes towards children engendered by the Enlightenment. Children began to be seen as people in and of themselves, as opposed to extensions of their household and that they had a right to flourish and enjoy their childhood.[3] The variety and number of toys that were manufactured during the 18th century steadily rose As a result, many toys and games were created.

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Secondary research | Literature on play & toys

• 1960s Game consoles, Computer games (Pacman, Tetris) • 1970s Merchandising trend- television series and movies are accompanied by toys; successful toys promote clothing and school equipment • The 1980s: Rubik’s cube, elaborate play figure sets, Electronic games were expanded by ‘educational’ components (Polly Pocket) 2000s • Merchandising + collecting + playing (Pokemon, Power Rangers) • Urban Vinyl: exclusive toys developed for the art and designer markets) • Electronic trend • Conventional toys experience a demand for environmentally friendly products • Designer toys The new industrial methods were used to make different types of toys, which in addition to present day toys, can be classified into[4]: 1. Construction Sets: A construction set is a collection of separate pieces that can be joined together to create models. Popular models made include car, spaceships and houses.

2. Dolls and Miniatures: A doll is a model of a human(often a baby), a humanoid or an animal.

3. Vehicles: Toy vehicles can be found depicted on ancient Greek voices as two-wheeled carts. Wind up toys are an advancement of toy vehicles in the present times. Eg. Hot Wheels.

4. Puzzles: A puzzle is a problem or enigma that challenges ingenuity. Solutions to the puzzle may require recognising patterns and creating a particular order. Eg. Rubik’s Cube 5. Collectables: Toys for which people spend a large sum of money in an effort to acquire larger and more complete collections.

6. Promotional Merchandise: Successful films, television programs, books and sports teams have official merchandise which often includes relates toys 7. Digital Toys: These toys incorporate some form of interactive digital technology. The concept of using technology in a way that bridges the digital with the physical world, providing unique interactive experiences for the user has also been referred to as ‘Phygital’. Eg. Handheld electronic games.

8. Physical Activity: Toys which are part of active play. These include traditional toys such as hoops, tops, balls, Frisbees, etc. Playing with these sorts of toys allows children to exercise, building strong bones and muscles, aiding in physical fitness. These also help improve balance and hand-eye coordination.

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Secondary research | Market & trends

Depending on the type of play, researchers suggest providing toys that enhance children’s[5]: • • • •

Motor coordination- Challenging forms of climbing structures Creativity- Building blocks, paint, clay, play dough Mathematics skills- Board games, Chutes and Ladders Language and reading skills- Plastic letters, rhyming games, making shopping lists, bedtime story books, toys for pretending.

3.2. Market & trends Studying the Indian Toy Market: The Indian toy industry is fragmented and region based but is largely unorganized as the market is very small compared to the population and per capita income. The toy business is generally based on constant innovation and one needs to always be abreast with the changing tastes of the customers to produce new innovative toys for survival in the market. The market is growing at 15% to 20% per annum and it is further estimated to grow for at least five or six years. The industry is characterized by small-scale establishments and is highly labour intensive. There are approximately 2000 manufacturing units consisting of Micro (1500 units in the cottage sector) Small & Medium (450 units) and Large (about 20 units operating in the sector.[6] India produces a wide range of Toys viz, plastic and mechanical, soft/plush dolls and animals, board games, puzzles, educational games, metal and tin, wood, battery operated pullback toys etc. There are five main categories which dominate the current toys and games market:[7] • • • • •

Dolls and Plush toys Preschool articles Games Puzzles Model vehicles

These five categories are dominated by the strongly growing baby, infant and preschool-categories (15.7%, 20.5% and 18.9% respectively) which are expected to grow even more in the 26

Secondary research | Market &

forthcoming years. In addition to the growth in the above age cohorts, the rapid growth in the market can be attributed to the increase in the availability of toys, larger personal disposable income, a decline in the average number of children per family and attention to quality and premium toys.

Toys Sales Channels:

Percentage of buyers

• A significant percentage of Indian consumers buy cheap, unbranded toys and games from non-grocery retailers. However, the shares in overall retailing by non-grocery retailers have decreased which is good news for branded outlets.[7] • Branded outlets and the opening of an international chain, for example, Hamleys saw a significant growth within the last years. This segment will even grow stronger in the next years especially in the main cities like Mumbai or Delhi.

• Internet retailing is becoming an important distribution channel due to several reasons. a. Consumers have increasing access to the Internet. b. Online retailers have better merchandise in terms of variety, new launches and the offer of branded toys. The share of internet retailing in sales grew from 1 % in 2007 up to 18 % by 2012.[8] • Generally, the retail toy market is divided into the organized and unorganized part. The organized part represents about one-third and means mainly toy speciality and branded stores in the large cities.

• The unorganized part takes the rests and consists mainly of ‘Mom and Pop’ shops, also known as “Kirana” stores.

Fig. 5. Product preference of Indian parents for kids

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Secondary research | Market & trends

Toy Trends 2018: Following are the toy trends for 2018: 1. Mystery Packs: Kids relish in the surprise and delight of a “blind” item. These toys help kids deal with disappointment if they do not get what they want and also teach them to be diligent, organized and socialize with other kids while sharing or trading.A blind toy is a product with an identity that’s hidden by uniform packaging in a series, often sealed with an opaque bag inside a box. It keeps collectors coming back for more; buying more boxes to increase the chance that they will find that one rare character.

Image.4. Num Noms Mystery pack (left) Image.5. Moj moj Mystery pack (right)

2. Emerging Tech: Virtual reality headsets, augmented reality devices, 3D printers, drones, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies have been picking up steam in household conversations. This has changed consumer behaviour dramatically, including playtime. For a generation of digital natives, the line between the physical and virtual worlds is growing thinner. Artificial Reality takes physical toys, models and figures that have a limited function in our real world, and give them expansive abilities in a digital one. By combining the real and the virtual, developers can harness the attachment that people feel to physical items. Using the real world to craft a game environment means that there is no trouble in the form of frame drop rates or a narrow field of view.

Image.6. BB-8 Star wars toy (left) Image.7. Orboot, AR worldview (right)

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Secondary research | Market & trends

3. Updated Classics: Retro toys are back in refreshed, re-released and reinvented forms.

Some have reimagined old-school toys with new tech elements.

4. DIY Toys: Kids love to create custom creations, having something tangible to keep and show off what they’ve made. We’re seeing a lot of toys and kits letting kids embrace their creativity, ranging from more traditional arts and crafts sets to those with more tech-centric approaches to design. Pinterest hasn’t just inspired crafts making among adults- kids are following suit, leading to a trend of more cooking, jewellery and arts and crafts toys. New toys encourage kids to make fancy necklaces, film stop motion videos on their phones and bake and decorate cupcakes.

Image.8. Play-Doh kitchen set (left) Image.9. Make your own movie (right)

5. STEM Toys: Toys that facilitate kids with the love of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) from a young age. These activities are great for helping kids build spatial reasoning, critical thinking and problem-solving skills as they get to explore, design and, in some cases, bring things to life. Parents and educators appreciate these toys because they prep kids for school by building important spatial, reasoning, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Brain-boosting playthings that fall into this trend also encourage kids’ proficiency in subjects beyond STEM, such as language and history and support children as they grow and gain new abilities.

Image.10. Newtons Law STEM Kit by Engino (left) Image.11. Computer kit by Piper (right)

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Secondary research | Market & trends

Key distribution trends: 1. The growing demand for licensing toys driven by manufacturers who have access to and knowledge of toys and games in the US and Europe are adopting this to India.

2. Internet retailing is gaining more and more value share due to increasing internet penetration and better merchandise in terms of variety and new launches.

3. Changing demographic situation is resulting in parents spending more on toys and games and focusing more on qualitative and premium products.

4. Foreign players will continue to lead branded toys and games driven by multinational corporations and their huge efforts to increase their presence in India.

Key Insights: • There is a huge change in Indian lifestyle after polpularity of smartphones and easy access to internet, the availability of information at disposal has created a competition among the consumers to consume more. For the toy industry this is a good period to invest into this opportunity, this also gives opportunity for new players to invest and make profit in the market.

• Most of the customers are parents with kids aging between 2-14 years, this is mainly out of concern for the kids, other than from growing consumerism.

• The major factors that influence the purchase decision are Safety, non-toxicity, associated skill development, advice from doctors / teachers and material. Price is the least factor that can influence on the purchase decision. Material is a prominent feature in the purchase of toys for kids of age less than 3, while associated skill development precedes material and finishing as the age of kids ascend.

• The product offerings of the different brands can be divided mainly into two categories based on the kind of purchase decision: a. Activity boxes - easy for parents to find out the specified developmental offering, easier to keep track of development in kids, for regular use, inexpensive b. Individual toys and games - expensive and for occasional offering, lot to choose from • Design Gap: Very few toys and games focus on social development, which is important because it can a) Improve language and literacy skills b) Teach important skills such as sharing through imitation c) Help a child get out of separation anxiety

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Secondary research | Product safety

3.3. Product safety This study is done to find out the standard practices to ensure safety in the products to be designed. Things like potential hazards, guidelines for parents and buyers, saftey regulations of the makers are studied.

Toy safety is the practice of ensuring that toys are safe, usually through the application of set safety standards.[9]

Potential Hazards: • Ingestion of magnetic parts - Increasing popularity of strong magnets as toys has led to their ingestion by children, putting them at risk of potentially harmful gastrointestinal tract injuries.[10] • Choking or aspiration of small parts of the toy - A choking hazard is any object that could be caught in a child’s throat blocking their airway and making it difficult or impossible to breathe.

• Cuts by sharp parts of the toy - Toys made of brittle plastic or glass can break easily, exposing sharp points and edges. Wooden, metal, and plastic toys sometimes have sharp edges due to poor construction • Propelled objects - Motor toy vehicles incidents involving hair - Projectiles – guided missiles and other flying toys – can be turned into weapons and cause injury, to the eyes in particular • Chemical substance - In order to make toys more rigid or flexible, or to make them flame retardant, manufacturers add chemicals to the plastic, paint and fabric. Toys can contain toxic chemicals such as BPA, PVC, lead, phthalates, cadmium, chlorine, and arsenic.[11]

Image.12. Radiographs (anteroposterior view)

Image.13. Small parts in toys

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Secondary research | Product safety

Image.14. Sharp edges in toys

Image.15. Toy dart gun

Image.16. Putting toys in mouth

Essential safety requirements:[12] 1. General risks: The health and safety of a. Children b. Other people such as parents or caregivers 2. Particular risks a. Physical and Mechanical b. Flammability c. Chemical- Chemicals that are susceptible to cause cancer, change genetic information, harm fertility or harm an unborn child are not allowed in the accessible parts of toys beyond concentration limits. 19 ‘heavy elements’ like mercury and cadmium are not allowed inaccessible toy parts while 55 allergenic fragrances have been banned. d. Electrical e. Hygiene f. Radioactivity risks

Safety regulations in the United States of America:[13] In August 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was passed. It restricts the amount of lead and phthalates that may be contained in children’s products (ages 12 and under) and adopts the provisions of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Consumer Safety Specifications for Toy Safety. After the revision in 2016, it includes: 1. New labelling requirements for toys that have certain coin/ button batteries

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Secondary research | Product safety

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Temperature and current limiting requirements for lithium-ion batteries New requirements for materials and toys that could expand if accidentally swallowed New soaking and compression tests for magnets Revised requirements for toys involving projectiles Clarification of requirements and supplemental guidance for impact hazards

Toy Safety Guidelines: 1. Age appropriate toys: Most toys show a “recommended age” sticker. Parents and caregivers should be aware of the child’s abilities and maturity level to determine what toys to buy. E.g. Toys with projectiles, toys with small parts for younger age groups.

2. Well made toys: Toys that are passed down from older relatives or siblings that contain buttons, batteries or yarn that can be chewed or snapped off should be avoided. Parents should ensure that the parts of the toy are securely attached and that none of the parts has sharp edges or paint that is peeling off.

3. Toys should be big enough to avoid choking. Small parts regulation: A small part is any object that fits completely into a specifically designed test cylinder 2.25 inches long by 1.25 inches wide that approximates the size of the fully expanded throat of a child under three years old. Toys should be large enough — at least 1¼ inches (3 cm) in diameter and 2¼ inches (6 cm) in length.

The small part regulation prevents deaths and injuries to children under three from choking on, inhaling or swallowing small objects they may “mouth” by banning toys and articles that are or have small parts or that produce small parts when broken. These products include a wide range of articles such as toys, dolls, puzzles, nursery equipment, infant furniture and equipment such as playpens, strollers, baby bouncers and exercises.

Articles excluded from the small parts regulation: a. Balloons b. Books and other articles made of paper c. Phonograph records d. Writing materials such as crayons, chalk, pencils and pens e. Modelling clay and similar products f. Finger paints, watercolours and other paint sets 33

Secondary research | Product safety

These are exempted because they cannot be manufactured in a way that would prevent them from breaking into small parts when subjected to use and abuse testing. Children’s clothing and accessories such as shoelace holders and buttons, and grooming, feeding and hygiene products such as diaper pins and clips, barrettes, toothbrushes, drinking glasses, dishes and eating utensils are also exempt because they need to be small to perform their intended purpose.

Toys and games that are or contain small parts as manufactured which are intended for use by children from 3 to 6 years old must be labelled to warn purchasers not to buy them for children under 3 years old because those children could choke on the small parts. Marbles, small balls, and balloons also require similar warnings. (Small Parts for Toys and Children’s Products Business Guidance | CPSC.gov, 2017) 4. Making sure that the child is physically ready for the toy: Buying a bigger bike to save money the next year can lead to serious injury if a child doesn’t have the skills to control the bigger bike.

5. Latex components: Uninflated balloons or pieces of burst balloons can form a tight seal in a child’s airway and make it impossible to breathe.

6. Lightweight toys: Injuries can happen if a heavy toy falls on the child.

7. Toys with a string or cord longer than 12 inches: A cord can easily wrap around a young child’s neck, causing strangulation 8. Toys with small magnets: Two or more magnets when swallowed can be attracted to each other through intestinal walls, twisting and pinching the intestines and causing holes, blockages, infection, or worse if not discovered and treated promptly. It is recommended that toys made for children under the age of 14 years not include magnets.

9. Toxic toys: Phthalates or “plasticizers” are used to make plastic more flexible and durable, and these chemicals are found in many toys. Cadmium, lead, mercury and arsenic are found in dolls, action figures, children’s jewellery and stuffed animals. a. Total Lead Content: All children’s products manufactured must not contain more than 100 parts per million (ppm) of total lead content inaccessible parts.

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Secondary research | Role of parents in child’s play

b. Lead in Paint and Similar Surface Coatings: All children’s products must not contain a concentration of lead greater than 0.009 per cent in paint or any similar surface coatings.

The following materials are exempted from lead testing: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Pure wood (not plywood or other composites) Paper and products made from cellulosic fibre Certain plant-derived and animal-derived materials such as animal glue, bee’s wax, etc.

Certain natural and synthetic textiles, such as cotton, wool and polyester: Fabrics that do not contain lead can be affected by printing or dyeing. Textiles should not be treated or adulterated in any way with the addition of materials that could result in the addition of lead into the material. Dyes are not considered to be a material that may result in an addition of lead. After-treatment applications like screen prints, transfers, decals etc. can lead to the addition of lead and can be avoided by using ‘dye-like’ ink .

Key Insights: • There are lot of regulations by various organisations to ensure safety of toys, yet they are often missed or overlooked by the manufacturers for reasons like variation in type of products manufactured (e.g. a manufacturer specializing in Injection moulding may at the same time be producing toys as well as parts of cars). The designer should be able to provide and measure exact requirements to lessen decisions for manufacturers.

• Although some parts like baloon, are exempted from size and material regulations, using those for any products must be done responsibily.

• Using colors in parts of toys should be limited to minimum, light colors requires less amount of paints and hence is less toxic than dark colors.

3.4. Role of parents in child’s play Between the ages of two and four, the child is undergoing the Spectator and Parallel play stages, which means, that the child needs the same age peers around him/her. A child tends to imitate what others around him/her are doing, parental participation can be an efficient source of learning. Parents are also the primary facilitators for the child, their choices in buying toys and other materials heavily influence the childs development.

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Secondary research | Role of parents in child’s play

Studies show that parents- whether working or stay-at-home, experience guilt about not spending enough time with their children. Research suggests that parental guilt about how much time is spent with their children may be displaced. It is the emotional connection that parents have with their children that counts. It is the quality and not the quantity of time that makes the children thrive.

Image.17. Parent playig with kids repersentational image

Ways in which parents can participate in child play: • Interaction and stimulation with kids - Parents can interact with the child during the play by following the activities children do, they should not lead the child. Encouraging the child to play is also helpful for their development and makes them feel gratified for playing. • Spousal interaction - Children observe spousal interaction and how arguments are settled in the family. It teaches them a variety of good values that are imbibed and crucial to growing up. The child learns how to behave with others, playing to a common goal, team spirit, picking right friends and a lot more.

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Secondary research | Role of parents in child’s play

• Setting daily routine - Children learn about being healthy, exercising regularly, having the right diet and growing in a conducive environment through the play and learn way.

The right guidance from parents can inculcate in children a good regimen of exercise and diet to achieve ideal physical development. Planning for regular active play can help.

• Offering active choices - Children have a low attention span and they like to explore various things. The child should have choices to engage themselves in a wide variety of mediums, and the parents should be able to identify.

• Be informed about the childs changing play needs - With growth every child likes to play different things, their needs change with their changing abilities. To identify these changes the parents need to understand the cues, being observable and little research can be beneficial for the kids.

Toy purchase influencers: The toy market has been influenced by the increased intention to buy online and the use of electronic products, change in distribution channels as a majority of organizations rely on the use of the Internet, rapid product turnover, short life cycle and seasonal demand.[7] A study was conducted in October 2018 to understand these factors. For this study, parents of four different age groups were selected: Group 1: Parents <22 years Group 2: Parents between 22-30 years Group 3: Parents between 31-40 years Group 4: Parents >40 years It was observed that approximately 47% of the parents who bought toys were between the age group of 22-30 years. This meant that people who bought toy products are young and care about ensuring that their children gain benefits from using toy products. Also , about 78% of the study sample were educated and had university degrees. This meant that educated parents are aware of the benefits of buying toy products that helped in building the child’s personality. The study, in addition to that, also revealed the factors that these parents considered when buying toys.

1. Purpose- Safety, durability, length of time that the child plays with it. Between the ages of two and four, the child is learning through exploration, imitation as well as parental participation.

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Secondary research | Theories of learning in early childhood

2. Emotional- Aesthetics/Visual attractiveness to child and parent 3. Educational- Encouraging exploration and problem solving, sparking the imagination, encouraging activity instead of static games, cross-generational participation.

4. Cost-Related 5. Children Demographic- Age, sex 6. Parent Demographic- Age, sex, income level, education level.

3.5. Theories of learning in early childhood To design activities for the kids to learn effectively, it is important to know how learning occurs during childhood. In this section, we try to understand the process of learning in kids. This is done by studying the various popular and widely accepted theories of early childhood education.

1. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences: The child has no preconceived notions about his/her surroundings, which is why learning can be imparted in a variety of ways. Gardner says that these differences “challenge an educational system that assumes that everyone can learn the same materials in the same way and that a uniform, universal measure suffices to test student learning. Indeed, as currently constituted, our educational system is heavily biased toward linguistic modes of instruction and assessment and, to a somewhat lesser degree, toward logical-quantitative modes as well.” Gardner argues that “a contrasting set of assumptions is more likely to be educationally effective. Students learn in ways that are identifiably distinctive. The broad spectrum of students - and perhaps the society as a whole - would be better served if disciplines could be presented in a numbers of ways and learning could be assessed through a variety of means, the different ways of learning are : Visual-Spatial – Thinking in terms of physical space. Some tools to enhance this are drawing, solving jigsaw puzzles, photographs, 3D modelling, videos, etc.

Bodily-kinesthetic - Using the body effectively, where there is a keen sense of body awareness. Learning can be imparted through physical activity, hands-on learning, acting out and role-playing. Tools include equipment and real objects.

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Secondary research | Theories of learning in early childhood

Fig. 6. Multiple Intelligences Representation

Musical - Showing sensitivity to rhythm and sound. People who learn through this type love music, but are also sensitive to sounds in their environments. They can be taught by turning lessons into lyrics, speaking rhythmically and tapping.

Interpersonal - Understanding, interacting with others. These children learn through interaction.

Intrapersonal - Understanding oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own interests, goals. These learners tend to shy away from others. They can be taught through independent study and introspection.

Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the most independent of the learners.

Linguistic - Using words effectively. These learners have highly developed auditory skills and often think in words. They like reading, playing word games, making up poetry or stories. They can be taught by encouraging them to say and see words, read books together.

Logical-Mathematical - Reasoning, calculating. These learners think conceptually, abstractly and are able to see and explore patterns and relationships. They can be taught through logic games, investigations and mysteries 39

Secondary research | Theories of learning in early childhood

2. Montessori’s Idea of conducive Learning The Montessori Method, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori and put into use for the first time in 1907, is based on the idea of self-education. Rather than sitting still and absorbing lessons taught by a teacher, the child in the Montessori classroom educates himself with the teacher as his guide. In the Montessori classroom, students use handson materials and specially prepared classrooms to develop both intellect and character.

In Montessori education theory, this type of self-actualization of students is called “normalization.”[16] The 3-Hour Work Period: a minimum of one 3-hour work period per day, uninterrupted by required attendance at group activities of any kind is required for the Montessori method of education to produce the results for which it is famous.

The Human Tendencies: The practical application of the Montessori method is based on human tendencies— to explore, move, share with a group, to be independent and make decisions, create order, develop self-control, abstract ideas from experience, use the creative imagination, work hard, repeat, concentrate, and perfect one’s efforts The Process of Learning : There are three stages of learning: • (Stage 1) introduction to a concept by means of a lecture, lesson, something read in a book, etc.

• (Stage 2) processing the information, developing an understanding of the concept through work, experimentation, creation.

• (Stage 3) “knowing”, to possessing an understanding of, demonstrated by the ability to pass a test with confidence, to teach another, or to express with ease.

Introduction of concept Experimentaion Developing understanding Assesment by demonstration 40

Secondary research | Theories of learning in early childhood

Teaching Method: There are no textbooks, and seldom will two or more children be studying the same thing at the same time. Children learn directly from the environment, and from other children—rather than from the teacher. The teacher is trained to teach one child at a time, with a few small groups and almost no lessons given to the whole class. She is facile in the basic lessons of math, language, the arts and sciences, and in guiding a child’s research and exploration, capitalizing on interests and excitement about a subject. The child is scientifically observed, observations recorded and studied by the teacher. Children learn from what they are studying individually, but also from the amazing variety of work that is going on around them during the day.

Assessment: There are no grades, or other forms of reward or punishment, subtle or overt. Assessment is by portfolio and the teacher’s observation and record keeping. The real test of whether or not the system is working lies in the accomplishment and behaviour of the children, their happiness, maturity, kindness, and love of learning, concentration, and work.

Requirements for Age 3-6: There are no academic requirements for this age, but children are exposed to amazing amounts of knowledge and often learn to read, write and calculate beyond what is often thought usual for a child of this age.

Learning Styles: All intelligence and styles of learning—musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, intuitive, natural, and the traditional linguistic and logical-mathematical—are nurtured and respected.

Character Education: Opportunities for the valorization of the personality is considered at least as important as academic education. Children are given the opportunity to take care of themselves, each other, and the environment—gardening, cooking, building, moving gracefully, speaking politely, doing social work in the community, etc.

The Results of learning in this way: In looking at the results one must be sure they are judging a class run by a fully trained teacher. Using Montessori without this training will not have the same results. When the environment meets all of the needs of children they become, without any manipulation by the adult, physically healthy, mentally and psychologically fulfilled, extremely well-educated, and brimming over with joy and kindness toward each other.

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Secondary research | Theories of learning in early childhood

3. Learning through play When children choose to play, they are not thinking “Now I am going to learn something from this activity.” Yet their play creates powerful learning opportunities across all areas of development. Development and learning are complex and holistic, and yet skills across all developmental domains can be encouraged through play, including motor, cognitive and social and emotional skills. Indeed, in playful experiences, children tap a breadth of skills at any one time. Often this occurs during ‘corner play’ or ‘centre time’ in the context of early learning or pre-primary programs. Corner play, when well planned, promotes child development and learning competencies more effectively than any other pre-primary activity. By choosing to play with the things they like to do, children actually develop skills in all areas of development: intellectual, social, emotional and physical.[17]

Fig. 7. Key characteristics of playful experiences

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Secondary research | Theories of learning in early childhood

For example, while children are playing, they can try out new social skills (e.g., sharing toys, agreeing on how to work together with materials), and they often take on some challenging cognitive tasks (such as figuring out how to make a building with smaller blocks when the larger ones are not available). Children are ‘hands-on’ learners. They acquire knowledge through playful interaction with objects and people.[18] They need a lot of practice with solid objects to understand abstract concepts. For example, by playing with geometric blocks they understand the concept that two squares can form a rectangle and two triangles can form a square. From dancing a pattern such as step forward, step back twirl, clap and repeat, they begin to understand the features of patterns that are the foundation for mathematics. Pretend or ‘symbolic’ play (such as playing house or market) is especially beneficial: in such play, children express their ideas, thoughts and feelings, learn how to control their emotions, interact with others, resolve conflicts and gain a sense of competence.[19] Play sets the foundation for the development of critical social and emotional knowledge and skills. Through play, children learn to forge connections with others, and to share, negotiate and resolve conflicts, as well as learn self-advocacy skills. Play also teaches children leadership as well as group skills. Furthermore, play is a natural tool that children can use to build their resilience and coping skills, as they learn to navigate relationships and deal with social challenges as well as conquer their fears, for example through re-enacting fantasy heroes.[19] More generally, play satisfies a basic human need to express imagination, curiosity and creativity, which are key resources in a knowledge-driven world. They help us to cope, to find pleasure, and to use our imaginative and innovative powers. Indeed, the critical skills that children acquire through play in the preschool years form part of the fundamental building blocks of future complex “21st-century skills”.

4. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural learning theory Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky proposed a “socio-cultural learning theory” that emphasized the impact of social and cultural experiences on individual thinking and the development of mental processes. In Vygotsky’s theories of learning he also had the theory of zone proximal development. Each child has different zones of proximal development as they grow. In each zone of proximal development, they build on skills and grow by learning more skills in their proximal development range. They build on the skills by being guided by teachers and parents. According to the theory, even with teaching, it can’t alter a child’s development at any time. They must build off of where they are in their zone of proximal development.[20] 43

Secondary research | Theories of learning in early childhood

Vygotsky argued that since cognition occurs within a social context, our social experiences shape our ways of thinking about and interpreting the world. People such as parents, grandparents and teachers play the roles of what Vygotsky described as knowledgable and competent adults. Vygotsky advocated that teachers facilitate rather than direct student learning.[21] Teachers should provide a learning environment where students can explore and develop their learning without direct instruction. His approach calls for teachers to incorporate students’ needs and interests. It is important to do this because students’ levels of interest and abilities will vary and there needs to be differentiation.

Vygotsky states that by sharing meanings that are relevant to the children’s environment, adults promote cognitive development as well. Their teachings can influence thought processes and perspectives of students when they are in new and similar environments. Since Vygotsky promotes more facilitation in children’s learning, he suggests that knowledgeable people (and adults in particular), can also enhance knowledges through cooperative meaning-making with students in their learning. Vygotsky’s approach encourages guided participation and student exploration with support. Teachers can help students achieve their cognitive development levels through consistent and regular interactions of collaborative knowledge-making learning processes.[20]

Fig. 8. Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

44

Secondary research | Developmental milestones

3.6. Developmental milestones In this section we try to understand and define the abilities of kids of age 2-4 years, in terms of cognition, language, physical & emotional.

Developmental milestones are a set of functional skills or age-specific tasks that most children can do at a certain age range. Holistic development sees the child in the round, as a whole person - physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially, morally, culturally and spiritually. Learning about child development involves studying patterns of growth and development, from which guidelines for ‘normal’ development are construed. Developmental norms are sometimes called milestones - they define the recognised pattern of development that children are expected to follow. Each child develops in a unique way; however, using norms helps in understanding these general patterns of development while recognising the wide variation between individuals.

Psychoanalytic Child Development Theories The psychoanalytic theories of child development tend to focus on things such as the unconscious and forming the ego. The two primary psychoanalytic theories of development are Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychosexual development and Erik Erikson psychosocial theory of development.

1. Freud’s Psychosexual Child Development Theory According to Freud, child development is described as a series of ‘psychosexual stages.’

Each stage involves satisfying a libidinal desire and can later play a role in adult personality. If a child does not successfully complete a stage, Freud suggested that he or she would develop a fixation that would later influence adult personality and behaviour.

During each stage, the libido’s energy becomes centred on a particular area of the body.

The stages of Freud’s child development theory are the oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital stages. During each stage, the pleasure-seeking energies of the id drive for satisfaction based on a particular erogenous zone. During the oral stage, for example, a child derives pleasure from activities that involve the mouth such as sucking or chewing. Conflicts associated with stage must be successfully resolved in order to develop a healthy adult personality. Failing to resolve these conflicts can result in fixation at a particular point in development.

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Secondary research | Developmental milestones

2. Erik Eriksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stages of development: Erikson recognized the basic notions of Freudian theory but believed that Freud misjudged some important dimensions of human development. Erikson said that humans develop throughout their lifespan, while Freud said that our personality is shaped by the age of five. Erikson developed eight psychosocial stages that humans encounter throughout their life. The stages are Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, and Integrity vs. Despair.

Image.18.Eriksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Stages of development

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (2-3 Years): As children grow, they become more capable of doing things on their own. If children are supported in their bids at independence, they will learn to have confidence in their abilities. On the other hand, if children are too controlled or criticized, they will start to doubt their ability to take care of themselves. If the individual emerges from this stage with a greater sense of autonomy than shame or doubt, they will develop the virtue of will, the ability to make choices freely while also having self-control when appropriate.

Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6 Years): Preschool age children start to take initiative in pursuing their own objectives. When they are successful, they develop a sense of competence in their ability to make and achieve goals. When those objectives meet resistance or become problematic in the social world, they will experience guilt. Too much guilt can lead to a lack of self-confidence. If the child emerges from this stage with more positive than negative experiences taking initiative, they will develop the virtue of purpose, the ability to determine what they want and go after it.

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Secondary research | Developmental milestones

Behavioural analysis of child development One of the largest impact of behavioural analysis of child development is its role in the field of education.It identifies how children learn through their interactions with environment.

Early in the twentieth century, the school of thought known as behaviourism took hold in psychology. The behaviourist believed that learning and development were the results of associations, rewards, and punishments.

According to behaviourist John B. Watson, any behaviour can be learned. “Give me a dozen healthy infants…and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take anyone at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select…regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors,” he famously suggested in 1930.Other theorists including Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner also contributed significantly to behaviourism, driving this school of thought to become a dominating force in psychology for many years.

Image.19. Three major type of behavioural learnings

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Secondary research | Developmental milestones

Two important behavioural processes that influence development are classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves forming an association between a previously neutral stimulus and a stimulus that naturally and automatically produces a response. After an association has been formed, the once neutral stimulus now produces the response all in its own. Operant conditioning involves learning as a result of reinforcement or punishment. The consequences of behaviour determine how likely it is for that behaviour to occur again in the future. When a behaviour is reinforced, or strengthened, then it is more likely that the behaviour will occur again in the future. When a behaviour is punished or weakened, then it is less likely to occur again in the future.

These theories emphasize how direct experience, reinforcement, or punishment lead to learning. However, a great deal of learning also occurs indirectly. For example, think of how a child watches his parents wave at one another and then imitates these actions himself. A tremendous amount of learning happens through this process of watching and imitating others. In psychology, this is known as observational learning. Observational learning describes the process of learning through watching others, retaining the information, and then later replicating the behaviors that were observed.

Cognitive Child Development Theories The cognitive theories of child development focus on how a child’s thought processes change over the course of childhood. One of the best-known cognitive theories is Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.Jean Piaget suggested that children think differently than adults and proposed a stage theory of cognitive development. He was the first to note that children play an active role in gaining knowledge of the world. According to his theory, children can be thought of as “little scientists” who actively construct their knowledge and understanding of the world. Early thinking tended to assume that the way kids think is pretty similar to the way adults think, but Piaget helped change this. He concluded that the way that children think is fundamentally different from that of adults.

His cognitive theory quickly became one of the most influence on child development theories. His approach focuses on four distinct stages that kids go through as they progress from birth to adulthood. Concepts such as schemas, egocentrism, accommodation, and assimilation are central to Piaget’s theory. Each stage of development is marked by distinct changes in how children think about themselves, others and the world.

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Secondary research | Developmental milestones

The four stages in Piagetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theory are: The Sensory imotor Stage, which takes place early in life between the ages of birth and two. During this time, a child learns about the world through their sensory perceptions and motor interactions. It is a time of astonishing cognitive change as children gain a great deal of knowledge about the world around them.

The Preoperational Stage, which occurs between the ages of 2 and 6, is also a time of rapid growth and development. At this stage, children still lack the ability to mentally manipulate information and struggle to see things from other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s point of view. A great deal of language development takes place during this stage.

The Concrete Operational Stage, which takes place between age 7 and 11, involves the emergence of more logical thought. Kids are able to think rationally about concrete events, although they struggle with abstract concepts.

The Formal Operational Stage, which lasts from roughly age 12 and into adulthood, is marked by the emergence of hypothetical thought. Kids are able to reason about abstract concepts and make systematic plans about the future.

Image.20. Four stages of cognitive development

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Secondary research | Developmental milestones

Social Learning Theories of Child Development Social theories of child development tend to focus on the role that parents, caregivers, peers and other social influences impact development. Some focus on how early attachment influence development, while others are centred on how children learn by observing people around them. A few examples of these social theories of child development include attachment theory, social learning theory, and sociocultural theory.

Image.21. Kids acting similarly to what they watched, Banduraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bobo doll experiement

Psychologist Albert Bandura proposed what is known as a social learning theory. According to this theory of child development, children learn new behaviours from observing other people. Unlike behavioural theories, Bandura believed that external reinforcement was not the only way that people learned new things. Instead, intrinsic reinforcements such as a sense of pride, satisfaction, and accomplishment could also lead to learning.

Banduraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social learning theory combines elements of behavioural theories as well as cognitive theories while accounting for the powerful influence that social experiences have on how kids learn and grow. Bandura believed that behavioural processes alone could not account for how kids learn. How, he wondered, could we explain learning that occurred without any direct association or reinforcement?. He noted that observation and modelling play a major part in the learning process. In his famous Bobo doll experiment, Bandura demonstrated that kids could learn aggression by watching the actions of an adult model.

Observational learning can involve directly observing another person, but it can also take place by listening to someone else explain how to do something or even reading about it in a book.

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Secondary research | Developmental milestones

Key Insights: 1. The rate of development in kids are highly dependent on the environment they are in, and it is not easy for the parents and teachers to set up a good environment beacuse the efforts in gathering these information are not paid off in a way that can be easily percieved by them. This information is made available in the form of developmental milestone charts.

2. There are many theories of development and each with several interpretations, studying these informed about the various methods used by experts to determine the developments, and streamline the expectations from the primary research.

3. Considering a normal[22] (adhering to clinical standards) intake of nutrition and similar external conditions (tempearture, climate, socio-economic status) the physical development in kids remain similar.

4. The cognitive development in kids of age 2-4 Yrs is categorised under three parts as ‘developed, developing & under-developed’, whereas for physical, social and language abilities. only the ‘developed’ are discussed. This is because the developing cognitive abilities may be challenging for the kids, overcoming which shall be highly rewarding making this a playful motivation. However, physical and social abilitites can be limiting, which can be praticed by reinforcement.

Cognitive milestone: Developed • • • • • • • • • • •

4 to 5 pieces of a puzzle Involve in Imagination, make-believe play and animism Match/pair objects e.g. shoe & socks Recognize and name basic shapes The relationship between pictures, maps, or scale models and objects or space that represent Sorting - based on colour, size and shapes (sticking to one characteristic at a time) Patterning (ABAB) Classifying - recognize which object doesn’t belong in a group (e.g. banana, chair, apple Counting - up to 5 Moral development (Kohlberg) – avoiding punishments and obtaining rewards Initiation (Erikson) and exploration of the environment 51

Secondary research | Developmental milestones

Developing • Logical reasoning of cause and effect • Working memory, generic memory & episodic memory, recognition is better than recall.

• Attention (3 to 8 minutes) & executive functioning • Counting (one to one correspondence) and the concept of number • Learns the names of basic colours • Change in egocentrism • Gender identity development (identifying to same-gender parent) • They develop an understanding of the system of actions through stories • Asking “why” questions and gaining pieces of information • The concept of time (sense of “before” and “after” was developed, the concept of “yesterday”, “tomorrow”, “after a week”, “after 15 mins”, etc are not developed) Under-developed • Rational & Abstract thinking (Piaget) • Future thinking (starts to develop) Social milestone: • • • • • • • • • •

Interested in new experiences Cooperates with other children Plays “Mom” or “Dad” Increasingly inventive in fantasy play Dresses and undresses Negotiates solutions to conflicts More independent Imagines that many unfamiliar images may be “monsters” Views self as a whole person involving body, mind, and feelings Often cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality

Language milestone: • • • • 52

Say their own name and age Can speak 250 to 500 words vocabulary Answers simple questions Speak in sentences of five to six words, and speak in complete sentences by age 4

Secondary research | Developmental milestones

• Speak clearly, although they may not be fully comprehensible until age 4 • Tell stories Physical milestone: Hand and Finger Skills • • • • • • • • •

More easily handle small objects and turn a page in a book Use age-appropriate scissors Copy circles and squares Draw a person with two to four body parts Write some capital letters Build a tower with four or more blocks Dress and undress without help Screw and unscrew jar lids Turn rotating handles

Movement • • • • • • • •

Walk up and down stairs, alternating feet -- one foot per step Kick, throw, and catch a ball Climb well Run more confidently and ride a tricycle Hop and stand on one foot for up to five seconds Walk forward and backwards easily Bend over without falling Help put on and remove clothes

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4. Primary research

4.1. Understanding Flintobox In this section, we try to understand the fuctioning of Fintobox and how does it effect the product development, customers needs and what they feel about products from Flintobox.

It is also important to look at the existing product from the view of appropiateness of use for the user. This can help in identifying the key elements which needs to be taken into consideration while design. Constraints of materials are also studied here.

4.1.1. Product review in terms of appropriateness of use to the user The listed products were reviewed based on the developmental milestone, with the objective of finding the appropriateness of the product for the user and to define aspects to be taken into consideration while designing any activities thereof • • • • • • • •

House explorer (2-3 years) Undersea adventure (2-3 years) Beautiful Birds (2-3 years) Jr. Marine Scientist (3-4 years) Bird Watcher (3-4 years) Nature Detective (3-4 years) Ocean Explorer (4-8 years) Block printing, paper weaving, spinner pattern (8-12 years)

The process of product review 1. A developmental milestone chart was made for each age group categorising information into Physical, Cognition, Language & Social-emotional developments.[22] E.g. Information like the ability to walk, run, climb, tripod grip etc. goes inside Physical, and information like the ability to follow instructions, clarity of speech come in language.

This helped in understanding the appropriateness of the activities with regard to the ability of the child.It also helped in mapping out the specific developments, the activity boxes provided.

2. Overall review of the activity boxes in terms of looks and the first interaction 54

Primary research | Understanding Flintobox

3. Review of each activity within the above-mentioned activity boxes based on the mechanism of engagement, repeatability, contextual learning, developmental learning and safety standards Age

Physical

Cognition

Language

Socio-emotional

18 months

Walks, push and pull, throws, Grasps, Scribble

Object permanence, Responds to simple Instruction

First words, Understands simple Instructions

Recognize familiar people

24 months

Runs, Climbs, Kicks, Grasps and hold

Match similar objects, Imitate adult’s action, Follow one or two-word commands

2-3 word sentences, Identifies everyday objects, Rhymes

Begins to socialize, show frustration easily, be able to play alone, develops various emotions

36 months

Jumps, rolls, pounds and squeezes, use thumb and finger to hold crayons

Group objects by category, pretend play, puzzles

48 months

Throws and catches, ride a tricycle, pencil grip

Sort and count, follow three-part commands

Clarity of speech, In- Rapid mood shifts, teracts with others, defends possessions, Answers questions shows empathy, plays with peers Carries a conversation, speaks in complete sentences

Exerts independence, shares and cooperates with peers, broad range of emotions

Table.1. Developmental milestone chart for age 2-4 yrs

Insights form product review: • There is a clean and fresh look to the box, it is sturdy and is protected against moisture with plastic cover. Although all the boxes have the same look, it makes it difficult to distinguish between themes and age group.

• The beautifully illustrated package creates an anticipation about the contents inside , and the contents inside are individually packed opaque, which lets the excitement stay for a longer time. The usability of the packaging gets over as soon as the pack is opened.

• Although there is a difference within activities of one box, the mechanism of engage55

Primary research | Understanding Flintobox

• • •

• •

ment is repeated a lot across multiple activity boxes Few (around 10%) of the activities are repeatable, most are a one-time play Some boxes are high on small term collectable items (e.g. provision to hang as a decorative in the house) and many have none. A balance between collectables and repeatable activity is less.

Provided information for the facilitator is optimal and also helpful in terms of planning the execution and it also re-enforces the trust upon the product. Some of the developmental information seemed misfit e.g. social development in ‘Explore the home’ activity where the child matches various parts of the house to a base, in 2-3 House explorer activity box.

Materials and sizes of few products were found inappropriate for the child, e.g. small pom-pom is a choking hazard.

Conceptual errors like ‘soft back of turtle’ are seen sometimes. Also important aspect of conceptual learning are missing in some places like ‘flying concept in birds theme’ is absent

4.1.2. Customer reviews for products of age group 2-4 years The customers reviews were collected from the customer service department of flintobox for 10 different themes of Flintobox within the age group of 2-4 yrs. Blogs with flintobox reviews were also looked at.[23-26] The customer reviews were analysed and put into three categories namely, 1. Reception of product, where insights about interaction and usefulness of Flintobox as felt by the parents is discussed. 2. Expectations from Flintobox, where insights on various expectations of customers from smiliar products is discussed and 3. Suggestions, where various suggestions from the customers to Flintobox towards the improvement of product is discussed.

1. Reception of product • Most of the parents who received the products as a gift or bought with peers recommendation are happy with the overall product (several mentions on the organised packaging) • Some parents who focused on the developments of a child through the products gave their feedbacks on improvements of product in specified areas . e.g. parents have suggested to include english vocabulary building activities with every box.

• Many have reported about the kid’s loss of interest in the activities just after doing it for 1 time 56

Primary research | Understanding Flintobox

• Few mentions about the contextual learning (e.g. learning about animals from the ‘Amazing Animal’ box). The product is not creating a visible development in kids in terms of context • Several mentions about the activities being a good medium for the parents to spend time with their kids. It is convenient as it saves time for the parents to collect meaningful activities for the kid • Cost of product is high considering the materials, type of activities (all available in the internet) • Identified developments in kids: counting, vocabulary, memory, fine motor

2. Expectation from Flintobox • Independent engagement of the child with the activities (the child being able to perform the activities on their own without the necessary guidance of the parents) • The product being able to lessen the screen time of the kids (watching less TV and mobile phone) • To support appropriate learning in kids, the activities should reinforce the kid’s natural abilities like counting, colour & shape recognition, making associations of them with real world • Variety in the context (e.g. The ‘Automobile adventure box’ to contain activities to introduce the child to a different type of automobiles and their significance) • Innovative and creative exercises, as nowadays there are a lot of educational toys available in the market • Products to have relations with the festivals, celebrations and important cultural occasions (e.g. the activity box for the month of December should introduce the child to winter and Christmas)

3. Suggestions by customers • Include more numbers of activities or lengthier activities • Include products that can be kept after use (include collectables) • Activities should be developed according to the ability of the child (all activities are not apt to be performed by the child) • Low parental involvement, many activities require monitoring the child and helping them throughout the engagement (mostly craft-based activities ) • The elements of the activities in the box should be available to buy separately as the child throws away and loses them (modular elements) • Addition of verbal, throwing, tearing paper, imitating people and sounds activities 57

Primary research | Understanding Flintobox

• The inclusion of fidget toys, audible toys, short stories and facts • Listing of activities on a daily basis • Sturdier material

4.1.3. Intra-organisational factors that affect design • Organisational philosophy: The flintobox aims to create learning activity kits, to facilitate the kids for self-learning. For the user group although a facilitator based learning is more effective than self-learning.

• Marketing strategy: 1. Flintobox for the development of kids through playful activities - This development as promised should be perceived as ‘achieved’ by the parents/buyers, and for this to happen the child should be able to complete the activity by themselves.

2. More no. of activities and different kind of activity kit than the competitors 3. The standard size of the activity box limits the usage of solid parts and quantity, to within the size of the box • Product development period: Time of developing 4-5 products is 45 days including the research work and prototyping • Flexibility in context: Interrelated themes tend to cause repetitiveness in the context • Nature of production: The production methods of the final product should be with minimum human interaction used for assembly etc., within the budget

Image.22. Manual assemly line at Flinto Warehouse

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Primary research | Understanding Flintobox

4.1.4. Material study In this section we try to understand the various materials used to make products for Flintobox. This is done by listing down the categories of materials, variation in each category and respective processes used to manufacture. By doing this, it becomes easier for the designer to plan and optimise the quality & quantity of products in a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Flintoboxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The following table contains list of materials and types with variants and common production process used for each.

Category

Paper

Types and properties

Variants

Production Processes

Corrugated Sheet - Used to make boxes for storing and shipping

2, 3, 5, 7, 9 (ply)

Fusion Board - Strong - Anti-slip - Shock absorber - Heat or cool proof

1, 1.5, 2, 2.8, 5 (mm) Printing Die cutting

Cyber XL - High stiffness - Ideal substrate for food grade products - High print resolution

200, 270, 300, 350 (GSM)

Printing Die cutting Nick cutting

Artboard

80-400 (GSM)

Printing Lamination Die cutting Kiss cutting

Non-Tearable Paper/ Synthet- 130 GSM ic Sheet - Used for print materials

Punching printing

Printing Die Cutting

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Primary research | Understanding Flintobox

Wood

Foam

60

Maplitho - Eco-friendly woodfree paper - Excellent light fastness property (Resistance of colours to fading in printing due to degradation of the colouring agent used)

60-170 (GSM)

Printing Lamination Die cutting Kiss cutting

MDF - Smooth surface - No splintering - Consistency and smoothness allow for easy cutting of delicate designs

2.6, 3.6, 4, 5 (mm)

Laser cutting

Pine - Present in abundance in the geographical area - Does not weigh heavy - Closely grained and easy to work with

4-inch dia, 1 ft length

Lacquering Lathe Hammer & chisel Glue fabrication

Balsa - Lightweight material

2, 3, 4, 5, 10 (mm)

CNC milling Lathe

Birch wood - Soft wood - Lightweight - Low detailing

8, 12, 14, 18, 26 (mm)

CNC milling Lathe

Rubber wood -Hard wood -Heavier -Good finish

12, 16, 24, 28 (mm)

CNC milling Lathe

Polyurethane foam-Industrial 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 40, etc. grade (mm) - Impact resistance - Low water absorption - Packaging - Open-celled

Die cutting

Ployethylene-EVA Foam - Close celled - High chemical resistance - Durable - Low water absorption

Die cutting

1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 20, etc. (mm)

Primary research | Understanding Flintobox

Acrylic

Poly(methyl methacrylate) - Lightweight - Rigid - More impact resistant than glass - Weather resistance - Transparent and added color for translucent

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20 (mm)

Laser cutting Joining with superglue and heating

40, 60, 70, 90, 100, 120, 170 (GSM)

Screen-printing Die cutting Machine printing

Polypropylene (PP) - Low density - Heat resistance - Good transparency - Stretchability - Good impact/rigidity - Recyclable

Pellets in standard colours

Injection moulding Vaccum forming

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) - High hardness - Chemical resistant - Electrical Insulation

Pellets in standard colours

Injection moulding Vaccum forming

Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) - Excellent surface appearance - Strength and stiffness - Toughness - Chemical resistance - Processing ease -Versatility

Pellets in standard colours

Injection moulding CNC machining

High density Polyethylene (HDPE) - Versatile - Impact resistance - Low strength structural applications - Used for pre-production prototypes

Pellets in standard colours

Injection moulding CNC Machining

Non-woven fabric - Flimsy

- Liquid repellant - Insulating properties

Plastics

Table.2. List of materials and respective production processes

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Primary research | Understanding the user

4.2. Understanding the user In this section, we try to understand the abilities and interests of the kids between age 2-4 Yrs. This can help in making sense of the secondary research in a practical way. The observations made here can be relatable in terms of usage, and also tell about the influences of abilities in them.

4.2.1. Introductory Research Aim: To get familiarized with the user group and get a general idea of the factors to consider while conducting further research

Method: Passive observation and cooperative interaction in a classroom environment with the user, interviews with the teachers.

Summary of research: It was conducted in a pre-school named ‘Little Wizard’ in Chennai. In the school, the children were grouped according to their age. The divisions were <2.5 years, 2.5 to 3.5 years, >3.5 years. There were approximately 10-15 children in each age group and 3 teachers for each division. The school mainly followed an online play school curriculum named Kidsparkz and also some other US and Europe based curriculum available online.

At first we told the school authorities about the nature of the research work to be done, the teachers agreed to it manily because of our affiliation with flintobox, as some of them have been using this product. The teachers introduced us with the kids in the classroom, which the kids didn’t bother about and were busy doing random stuffs (e.g. rolling on the floor, crying to watch TV, climbing the wardrobe etc.). On being told individually (calling names) by the teachers they paid attention for a while and sat down. As the teachers got busy attending few kids, the others continued doing random stuffs. At this part, we started inter62

Primary research | Understanding the user

acting with the kids by tyring to imitate their physical movements and doing ‘peekaboo’ and making some sounds. This session continued until lunch break for the kids. After lunch the teachers did some regular activities and we clicked photographs.

Image.23. Getting introduced with the kids

Image.24. Playing with the kids

Observations: • The kids had a neutral response to the stranger, they were neither welcoming nor hesitant to the interaction, but preferred to stay with the familiar faces i.e. teachers • Whenever a phone was taken out to take photographs, many of them came close to see the phone and their photos, they pointed out themselves and other kids in the photos. 2 of them were hooked on to the phone and cried when the phone was kept inside.

• A kid was crying the whole time, on enquiry about why he was crying, the teacher told that he likes watching TV and watches a lot of it in his home, and he was crying to switch on the TV in the class.

• Few kids clung onto the teachers most of the time, when I gestured them with spreading my arms they also came near me and hugged, but doing so verbally didn’t have any response.

• The kids took each other’s food from the tiffin box, but they were unwilling to share it, they were unwilling to share anything they collected from around the room • They were associating similar objects, alphabets in big and small size to ‘Maa’ and its ‘Child’ • They were aware of them being in school and could differentiate among teachers, no favouritism was observed • Could understand and speak 2-5 words sentences in English and Tamil 63

Primary research | Understanding the user

4.2.2. Pretend play research Aim: To know whether the child is able to indulge themselves in pretend play, and whether or not and how much the physical objects (designed for pretend play) were able to support their pretend play

Method: Observation of the kids while participating in their play, using design probes to observe influence of directed playing behaviour.

Summary: It was conducted in a pre-school named â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bunny Hopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Chennai, in the house of a colleague and in the office. The school had a total of 16 children between age 1 year 8 months to 3 years 6 months, they were divided into 2 groups up to 2.5 and above 2.5 years. Early introduction with the kids was done through their teachers who were present during the whole process, the interaction followed by talking about animals and then making them wear prototypes of costumes developed. The office observation was done on one kid of age 4 years 2 months by making him wear the costume and giving him supportive props.

Image.25. Playing at home (left) Image.26. Playing at office (right)

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Primary research | Understanding the user

Image.27.28. At play school

Observations: • The kids from 1.5 to 2.5 years made an association with trees and animals such as green colour is a tree and the red colour is an apple but were not able to perform or act like any other thing when instructed to • These kids didn’t try to make any sounds or gesture on their own when shown pictures of animals, they didn’t try to do anything but constantly looked to whoever was doing any animal gesture and sound • They remained neutral even when the costumes were put on to them, and while also physically demonstrating the animal mimicry.

• The kids of 2.5 to 4 years were interested in all the objects given to them for role play, they clashed finger puppets when given to them without any instructions • These kids were enacting the given props and playing with each other, assigning each other as different characters (birds, animals ). They did so even without any instructions • Few of them expressed more than instructed, they mimicked sounds while enacting with the props

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Primary research | Understanding the user

4.2.3. Fine motor research Aim: To test the fine motor skills of children between the age group 2-4 years

Method: Activity-based, recorded on observation sheet, Videos. (Refer Annexure 1 for observation sheet)

Summary: The research was conducted in a pre-school. 10 different products were selected which required fine motor skills to work with, these products were sequenced according to a general understanding of the difficulty in performing or use of fine motor skills, from low to high and the type of fine motor skill used. Observation sheet was prepared, with the name of the activity, type of skill, no. of attempts given, amount of guidance required. The skills of the user were to be rated on a scale from 1 to 5 for each activity performed separately.

There were three observers, one among whom would be the facilitator of each activity for the child, 2 teachers were present to make the child comfortable in the environment. Four children of age between 2-3 year old were tested on various fine motor skills. Participants included two male and two female children.

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Crude palmer (3-5 months)

Palmer (6 months)

Radial palmer (7-8 months)

Raking (8-10 months)

Radial digital (11-12 months)

Pincer grasp (11-12 months)

Palmer Supinate (2-3 Years)

Static Tripod (3-4 Years)

Primary research | Understanding the user

Image.29-36. (Page-66) Different types of grip Image.37. (Top) Kid, engaged in coloring with crayon, activity for Tripod grasp Image.38. (Bottom-left) Kid, picking pom pom with tongs, activity for pincer grasp Image.39. (Bottom-right) Kid coloring with rolor brush, activity for Palmer supinate grasp

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Primary research | Understanding the user

Observations: • Spherical palmer grasp and cubical palmer grasp was tested by the throw and catch activity. It was an ice breaker activity for all children. During the activity, it was observed that children were able to grasp the objects of all sizes and throw. However, they were unable to catch the object when thrown towards them. They picked up and threw in the instructed direction.

• Supinate/Transverse palmar grip and to and fro movement was tested by roller brush activity. Children were able to grasp the roller brush. On providing a visual demonstration, children were successfully rolling the brush on the paint and paper.

• Pincer grip was observed using stamps. Children were successfully able to hold the stamps in a pincer grip.They stamped correctly on the visual demonstrations. They were enjoying stamping as they were doing it. Dabbing and stamping are the most enjoyable/ satisfying activity for children in this age group.

• Tripod grip was tested using crayon colouring. Children have a tripod grip when holding the crayon. They are able to pick up colours of their choice and colour the drawing given. However, they have not developed a spatial orientation to colour the full object.

• Fine motor strength were also tested using tongs. Children were able to use tongs to pick up round objects. However, children found thin objects difficult to grasp in a tong. Children enjoy using tongs and shifting objects.

• Eye-hand coordination was tested using insect maze. Children have not developed the skills yet. Children were manipulating and rotating the insects on the maze but unable to move them in the maze. Cognitive skills of the child hindered the motor skills as they were unable to comprehend the maze structure, permanence on the immovable insects, unable to recognise colours, understanding the concept of similar insects was difficult.

• Pull and push squirt was tested using a syringe. They were able to follow the mechanism.

However, when asked to use the mechanism in the water vessel provided to draw liquid, they found it difficult. Container/holder could be designed for a child’s accessibility to liquid. Hydraulic toys are appealing to them.

• Pinch, hold and release mechanism was tested using droppers of various sizes. Children were able to squeeze and release but unable to understand or follow the mechanism in spite of various visual demonstration and guidance provided. However, allowing the child to spend more time with the dropper could accustom them to the mechanism.

Since the child has no control over the amount of liquid squirted, a larger area for the activity is suggested. Container/holder could be designed for a child’s accessibility to liquid

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Primary research | Understanding the user

4.2.4. Additional observations on Users • Could identify different colours, mostly primary + purple and orange, they were able to pronounce them and understand when asked verbally ‘What is this colour?, while pointing towards a colour’ • Kids up to 2.5 years had less attention towards everything, they could hardly sit for 5 mins doing something on their own. They liked moving around collecting random things and then throw them here and there or leave it just like that.

• Kids above 2.5 years to 4 years could even wait for their turn to come while doing some individual activity, they organised themselves to sit according to instruction • They could easily recognise and match similar 2D shapes • Not able to figure out what to do with some products when given to them with visual instruction on paper or verbal instruction, able to perform after an actual demonstration of the activity • The kids were easy at expressing through crying and expressing distress or uncomfortableness, they didn’t explicitly express many happy emotions • Repetitive physical actions with dissimilar objects, Once the children do the activity several times, they start becoming precise in it.

4.2.5. Key Insights • Reinforcement training is very effective in building skills in early ages. The kids from one play school could perform activities with complex congitive requirements better than other play schools, within the similar age group. While kids from another play school were able to execute better skills at physical activities. It was observed that, there the frequency of those activities which were performed better was more in one than the others.

• The kids have not developed cognitively enough to form their interests on anything.

They cannot decide what is good or bad for them. Anything that engages their senses are exciting for them, the more involvement of sense occurs the more the kid remains engaged in the activity.

• These observations made, validates the accuracy of the developmental milestone (Chapter 3.6). This makes it easier to standardise set of the abilities to focus upon.

• Performing with peers (other kids, teachers or parents) enable the kids to model them or follow them, because of which performing the activities was easier than doing it alone.

• Activities with multiple tasks can work, only if broken down into individual task with simple instructions.

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5. Activity box 1: Bird-watcher

The theme for the first activity box was ‘Bird-watcher’. This activity box was to be released in the month of February in 2019. The theme had to be looked from a fresh prespective to explore the context relevant for the users in width. There was an existing activity box with the same theme in this age group which shipped in the previous term. Therefore, it was important to go through the customer reviews and understand their expectations. Existing products in the market with similar theme were also seen to understand the similarity and diversity in products. Ideation and prototype followed.

Brainstorimg context The theme ‘Bird-watcher’ has a diversity of context to be explored. These context needs to be of relavance to the learning in kids. Abstract and bigger concepts like ‘Migration of birds’ cannot be comprehensive for the users, therefore it is important to establish the range of context which is relatable for them. In this section, we try to broadly define the areas of relevance.

Fig. 9. Brainstorming context of Bird-watcher

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Analysing existing product

5.1. Analysing existing product The existing Flintobox with the same theme was analysed based on the design attributes of its individual product. Each product was analysed to find the developemental learning and contextual learning they provide. The product was reviewed upon the material, safety of use, time of engagement and overall learning. As going through this extensive review process might keep us thinking on the same directions, doing the brainstorming of context before this helped boardening the context and provided a neutral ground with other possibilities to explore from.

1. My feathered friends Contents: Colorful plastic feathers, Moulding clay, Pair of googly eyes, Plastic beaks Activity Brief: The child moulds the clay to form bird body then sticks feathers, googly eyes and beak to make a bird figure Product review: Tactile sensory experience for the child is good, allows exploration but does not invoke a desire to be engaged repeatedly, Small parts Choking hazard, examples of possible variation can be given, good repeatability 2. Handprint birds Contents: Muslin sheet, water base poster colour, googly eyes, Paper beaks, Messy mat, Arecanut bowl Activity Brief: Parents help the child paint the muslin with poster colour. The child dips their palms on the wet colour and then paints by pressing it over the cloth.

The child then pastes googly eyes and paper beaks on the shown places to resemble a bird. They may hang it on the wall.

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Analysing existing product

Product review: Tactile sensory activity, allows collection as self-made memento, apart from using the palm examples of using only fingers and sides of palm can be given to encourage exploration and long term engagement, no repeatability 3. Bird puzzle mania Contents: Printed fusion board, printed cutouts of parts of birds Activity Brief: The child solves the puzzle by fixing missing parts of different birds Product review: distinct features of different birds are self-explained by solving the puzzle, shape matching, low time of engagement, less repeatability 4. Bird Whistle Contents: Plastic bird shaped whistle Activity Brief: Parent help the child fill water in the plastic bird, the child then blows into it to produce a whistling sound Product review: different sensory experience i.e. sound, high repeatability, no originality of the product

Summary of customer reviews: • A total number of 139 customer reaction and feedback have been taken into consideration for this study, it was aimed at finding whether the product was helpful in learning and development in kids, and the expectations of parents from flintobox • More than 40% of the customer mentioned the time of engagement was too low • A similar mechanism of interaction over the whole content is mentioned • Most of the concepts are already introduced to the child 72

Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Precedence study

â&#x20AC;˘ Many good reviews about the read-along activity/book

5.2. Precedence study This includes the findings of similar products either by similar brands or competitive brands in both the Indian and International market. The products for retail markets are also taken into consideration as they provide insight on customers and provide meaningful concepts as inspiration, they also help generate new ideas by giving possibilities for rejection early on.

1. Angry birds TNT Invasion Playset - Ages 3+

Summary: The player sets up the ladders, boxes, and house to create the tower or get creative with own design. They use the slingshot to propel the birds to destory the pigs.

2. Bird preschool unit by Homeschool creation - Ages 2-4

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Precedence study

Summary: Illustrated activity books with variation in learning. The child engages in counting, color and shape matching, identifying different kind of birds and their habitat.

3. Bird sensory unit by ‘Every star is different’ & ‘School times nippet’ respectively-Age 2+

Summary: This is a collection of materials related to birds like feathers, grains, grass, twigs etc. which the child plays with. This is a sensory activity and the texture of various objects are differentiated by the child, they can also engage in sorting these blindly.

4. DIY Bird unit by ‘Every star is different’ - Age 2 to 4

Summary: This is a collection of craft based activity. The child engages in many fine motor activity through playing with different materials.

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Precedence study

5. Feeding baby birds fine motor activity by Powerful mothering - Age 2 to 4

Summary: The child pretends being a mother bird and feed the baby birds with the help of pegs/clips. The baby birds are of different colors, and the feeding is a color matching activity.

6. FLAPPYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S -Wooden bird puppet with flapping wings and mouth that moves by Wooden toys on a stick - Age 3+

Summary: A wooden toy where the child pulls one part to observe the bird contraption flap its wings and open its mouth. The pull and release reinforces the childs fine motor strength.

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Precedence study

7. Slingshot Chicken/Flick Chicken/Flying Chicken/Flingers Stretchy Funny Rubber Chickens Party Activity for Children - Ages 8+

Summary: A stretcheable chicken which can be used as a sligshot. This toy is not appropiate for young kids because it is a potential hazard when not used properly.

8. Little Whirligig - Humming Bird with Foil Tail pinwheel- Ages 4+

Summary: This is a pinwheel in the shape of a humming bird. To play with it the child blows at it, holds straight and runs and watches its wings move very fast.

9. Reversible Toy Sewing Pattern by Annieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catalog - Ages 0.5+

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Precedence study

Summary: An egg shaped soft toy which when turned over becomes a little chicken. The child can learn about the concept of hatching.

10. Hatchimals - Interactive hatching toys

Summary: Robotic interactive toys, where the child takes care of an egg toy to make it hatch. The child has to sing, touch and rub the egg. Hatching happens from inside the shell, and a bird come out of the egg. The bird can be taken care like a pet. This toy helps develop empathy and kindness towards other animals.

11. Worlds of bird - Activity Kit - Magic Crate - Ages 3 to 6

Summary: Various activities around the theme birds. These activites primarily is about developing fine motor skills.

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Precedence study

12. Bird Explorer Activity Kit - XploraBox - Ages 2 to 4

Summary: The relation between the theme and the activities are not relatable, this creates confusion in learning the context.

13. Birds Activity Kit - Einstein Box - Age 3 to 4

Summary: It contains a beutifully illustrated activity book, where the child reads along while counting, it has another activity where the kid assembles pieces to make an owl.

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Precedence study

14. Feathered friends Activity kit - GeniusBox - Age 3+

Summary: Lot of unique activities including a bird costume for role play. The skills covered are counting, A-Z sequencing, Color sorting and fine motor.

Key Insights • Birds as a theme for toys is popular among the customers. It is a broad theme with lot of opportunity for contextual learning.

• Many of the retail products are unstructured toys, they have freedom of manipulation in terms of play. But, most of them are not suitable for use with the 2-4 Yrs age group, products availble for this age group are mostly activity based which has less chances of manipulation. This mean the selling point of products for this age group are not ‘more playfulness’, rather something different.

• Many products catering to this age group contains activities, and these are marketed as having development and learning benefits. This is a unique selling point. But so, the theme is having less importance begeting low contextual learning, it is creating a gap.

The buyers expect their kids to learn about the theme from the products which is low.

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

5.3. Ideation 1. HatchMe A toy based on free play to introduce the child to the concept of hatching and birth of a bird while reinforcing their fine motor. A plastic egg with a snap-fit arrangement, it will snap open when the two parts are pulled apart. This is to be achieved by the child while throwing it around and hitting it on a hard surface, the action of throwing is liked by the child of age 2-3 and reinforces their grasping skills. A soft toy in the form of a little bird is stuck to the inside of one of the part with a weak adhesive, the bird with fur material is a tactile sensory experience for the child. This bird is removable, and on squeezing makes a sound, which is an auditory sensory experience for the child. The child figures out the response when the bird is squeezed, and in doing so, the action of squeezing enhances their palmer grasp. This also encourages exploration. Encouraging the action to throw an egg onto a hard surface can be morally disturbing for some.

Chick inside the egg

Hard shelled plastic egg

Chick - Fur type soft toy

Breaking edges

2 parts easy to manufacture transition fit arrangement

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Hinge arrangement

Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

2. Find the birds An activity combining pretend play and spatial exploration, where the child has to search for the illustrated birds placed inside the house with the help of dummy binoculars. Here the parents stick few stickers of birds around the house and the child tries to find them. The binoculars support imagination, where the child looks through the binocular to find the birds even when they can find the birds without it, the binoculars also shows the participation of the child in the activity. It reinforces the exploratory behaviour of the child when they are visually exploring the space (the more they explore the more they find). While trying to find similar objects (bird stickers) they also learn to distinguish birds from other creatures

Pupl board tube Comfortable formCan be made with plastic Optical lenses

Housing unit

Foldable housing

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

3. Little Birdie (Bird Costume) An activity combining pretend play and encouraging gross motor function. Here the child puts on the costume of the bird and pretends to fly while running and swinging their hands in rhythm. With the costume, the child engages in pretend play, where they try to mimic actions of birds. The parents or facilitator helps the kids in putting on the costume and also rewards them by cheers and appreciation when they enact. This shall help with parent-child interaction. While mimicking the birds the child remains physically active which reinforces their gross motor ability

Full face mask separate Wings

Velcro

Singular wing structure with feathers like structure

Feathery wings

Neck Hand fixture

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

4. Birds and nests The nest is to be stuck or hang on the wall, just above the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reach, it is to be made up of painted fabric with velcro sticker attached to it. The birds stuffed with synthetic fabric batting and made with soft fur type material shall have an affinity to stick to the sticky side of the velcro. For the activity, the kid has to throw the birds to stick with the nest. Contextual learning about the habitat of different birds, hand-eye coordination and palm grasp shall be exercised

5. Build a nest Activity to build a nest by stacking blocks. Here the child stacks 6 blocks of constantly varying sizes to build a nest. Stacking helps in the development of hand-eye coordination, it challenges the child to place each block carefully without toppling them, they need to balance each block carefully. Grasping helps them reinforce their fine motor ability. The child also gets introduced to how some of the birds build their nests.

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

6. Flappy bird A toy in the form of a bird to introduce the concept of flying to the child while engaging them in free play. The kid pulls a string attached to a toy bird, and in doing so makes the bird flap. The flapping mechanism of the toy serves as a response to the action by the kid. The toy bird moves forward while flapping, making the response resemble a real flying bird. It involves both fine motor and gross motor, as the kid has to grasp the string and move to make the bird move. The activity also develops contextual learning of the kids about birds Mechanism for flapping

Hand contraption

Hydraulic mechanism for flapping

Pulley & wall fixture

Cam-follower

Slider-crank

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

7. Hand puppet The activity aims to develop fine motor of the child, while the performs imitating flying action of the bird and moves their finger. It is based on role-playing; additionally, a feeding activity can be performed which focuses on pincer grip development. This is accomplished by a hand puppet made of thick cotton fabric.

Finger pocket Polyster fabric

8. Coloring and throwing activity Here the child picks up the multi-coloured paper eggs and feathers, they place in on the respective colour nest and try to match the correct bird to their feathers. It incorporates shape sorting and colour identification. This activity also teaches the child about different types of feathers.

Paper eggs

Nest (Fabric basket)

Birds

Tong

Feathers

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

9. Make your Birds Illustrated cutouts of parts of birds to be assembled by the child to create complete birds The child shall be given with parts of at least 6 different kinds of birds, some visual references of completed birds.The kids tries to recognise the parts given in the reference and match them in a central point, this develops their object identification and spatial reasoning. The fixing requires them to place the cutouts in a specific manner and push them inside the central part, this requires them to exercise their fine motor. After the references are complete, this becomes a free play activity where the child imagines and makes their own characters.

Body

Center piece

Tail

Adjustable legs

Multiple pieces fit together Parrot fit according to given reference

PU foam center with fixing point Illustrated cut outs of body and tails

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

10. Is this a bird ?

Stencils representing various parts of a birds body, where the activity is to create figures by colouring on a paper using the stencils. Here the kids are given with some visual references of different possibilities that can be achieved by the colouring with the stencils. The kids place different stencils on a blank paper and fill colour inside them, they fill colour completely inside the stencil area, this helps them develop a tripod grip when holding a crayon. It encourages imagination and after the references are completed by the child, this activity becomes a free play activity where the child makes their own characters. This also challenges their spatial reasoning, when trying to place the different shape of stencils in relation to another. When doing the activity the child learns to recognise and sense low abstract shapes.

Stencil for birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body

Stencil for birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head

Stencil for feathers

Inline shapes from stencils

Filled shapes with stencils

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

11. Spin and play An activity based on recognising and remembering small words by making associations with visuals. It Comprises of a spinner, an outer ring with names of birds written on it and several cards with visual of all the birds written separately. The child spins the arrow and based on wherever the arrowhead stops, the child has to identify the corresponding bird by looking through all the bird card. This activity is to be done by the child with a facilitator, where the facilitator cheers the child on successfully doing a specific task.

Illustrated Bird cards Card holder

Spinner arrow Disc with features of birds

Birds type

Spinner base

Spinner arrow

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

12. Hungry pelican In this activity, the child plays with a pelican shaped scissor mechanism and tries to collect floating fishes in the bowl. There are several fishes of four distinct colour made of PU foam when put in a bowl of water they float. The child tries to collect the fishes based on their colour, by doing so they develop colour recognition and the pinching action improves their fine motor ability. This activity also helps develop hand-eye coordination as the child tries to pick similar colour fishes from the bowl pond.

Pelican upper beak

Lower beak

Lower beak pouch holder Upper beak connector Lower beak pouch Scissor mechanism Foam fishes

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

13. Bird house This activity aims to introduce the child to values of caring while doing a sensory activity. The birdhouse is a sensory activity where the child has to put grains of wheat and millet after applying a layer of natural glue and water on the birdhouse. The assembly shall be done by the parents which engages them with the child. The grains and mixture of glue with water texture give a variety of tactile sensory experience to the child.

The birdhouse is then to be kept hanging from a tree/ceiling in an open space where it attracts birds, this natural response might help the kid learn about feeding the birds. The birdhouse is made up of MDF.

Conventional letter box design

Multi storey structure

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Inspired from â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bayaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Spherical structure

Foldable structure

Rotating bird feeder

Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

Summary of Ideation (Note: This is the summary of the decisions taken to select appropriate ideas that should go into production. This is based on the response of users testing done with the mockups. The production budget of the whole product along with the printables is 230/- INR. The contextual learning and the developmental learning for the user are distributed among the Ideas so as to maximize the outcome) • 3 activities were selected for final production, after review and discussion on all the ideas and user testing of themockups. Those three ideas are ‘6. Flappy Bird’, ‘12. Hungry Pelican’ and ‘13. Bird House’ • A toy similar to ‘1. HatchMe’ exist in the market, and the manufacturing the soft toy along with the plastic part would also cost more than the budget • Indoor usage of sticky parts for the ‘2. Find the birds’ activity might not be acceptable to all the customers • The bird costume is a similar idea to that of the competitors, and the company do not want to clash in the market • Throwing as an activity is good for the user but the elements explored through ‘4.

Birds and Nests’ and ‘8. Counting and throwing’ represents contents that are sensitive for the user, and therefore not taken forward • ‘5. Build a Nest’, was easily performed by the users, it was less challenging. The time of engagement was very less, the users were not able to figure out what to do the objects given on their own.

• ‘10. Is this a bird’, the concept was too abstract for the child to understand what to do with the stencils provided even after showing them references of outcomes. The colourful references tend to confuse the child with the activity, as it was easier for them to recognise colour in the reference than the shapes, whereas the absence of colour in the stencil outweighed the shapes. However, the action of colouring inside the stencil was performed with interest. The single piece made more excitement than multi-piece layout • ‘9. Make your birds’, the visual references were easily understandable by the users as they looked exactly the same, the user could do it themselves without any demonstrations. They also explored and created novel and abstract shapes with the cut-outs.

The contextual learning from the activity was low, as this was more of an abstract concept than a direct one.

• ‘12. Hungry Pelican’, the users were excited by the action of catching the fish from the pond, colour sorting was also easily performed by them.

• ‘13. Little Bird House’, along with being a sensory activity which the users liked do91

Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Ideation

ing, this activity has good contextual meaning like caring for birds. This activity goes well with the theme, it gives users the tools to set-up their own bird habitat where they can interact with real birds.

• ‘6. Flappy bird’, it covers the aspect of flying in a gross motor activity which the users enjoyed performing, sticking the feathers has great contextual learning and gives a sensory experience.

Selected Ideas

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Prototypes

5.4. Prototypes 1. Bird House

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Prototypes

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Prototypes

Final prototype (Bird house)

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Prototypes

Files for production (Bird house)

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Prototypes

2. Hungry Pelican

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Prototypes

Final prototype (Hungry pelican)

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Prototypes

Files for production (Hungry pelican)

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Prototypes

3. Flappy bird

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Prototypes

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Prototypes

Final prototype (Flappy bird)

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Activity box 1: Bird watcher | Prototypes

Files for production (Flappy Bird)

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6. Activity box 2: Nature detective

The theme for the second activity box was ‘Nature-detective’. This activity box was to be released in the month of April in 2019. Nature is a vast topic to explore in itself, it was important to find the themes that are already in use or planned to be implemented in the near future to avoid collision of smililar context. The theme had to be looked from a fresh prespective to explore the context relevant for the users in width. There was an existing activity box with the same theme in this age group which shipped in the previous term. Therefore, it was important to go through the customer reviews and understand their expectations. Existing products in the market with similar theme were also seen to understand the similarity and diversity in products. Ideation and prototype followed.

Brainstorimg context The theme ‘Nature-detective’ has a diversity of context to be explored. These context needs to be of relavance to the learning in kids. Abstract and bigger concepts like ‘natural disasters’ cannot be comprehensive for the users, therefore it is important to establish the range of context which is relatable for them. In this section, we try to broadly define the areas of relevance.

Fig. 10. Brainstorming context of Nature-detective

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Analysing existing product

6.1. Analysing existing product The existing Flintobox with the same theme was analysed based on the design attributes of its individual product. Each product was analysed to find the developemental learning and contextual learning they provide. The product was reviewed upon the material, safety of use, time of engagement and overall learning. As going through this extensive review process might keep us thinking on the same directions, doing the brainstorming of context before this helped boardening the context and provided a neutral ground with other possibilities to explore from.

1. Garden Friend Contents: Plastic pot, plastic watering can, coco peat, soil, mustard seeds Activity Brief: the child puts the coco peat inside the pot, puts soil in it, sows the seeds, water the plants, and trims them, the child learns to plant and care for it.

Product review: Time of engagement is 15-20 mins on the first interaction, the structure of play is long and meaningful to context. It has an element of repetition (trimming the plant), but has very low frequency and deters self-initiation, has an awaited response system, requires parental assistance, semi-structured sensory play with than various things to perform. Might help the kid learn about caring plants. High contextual learning, appropriate materials.

2. My Garden Contents: Garden patch foam cut out, Printed fusion board cut out of different plants Activity Brief: fixing tree and bushes cutouts in a garden illustrated board 107

Activity box 2: Nature detective | Analysing existing product

Product review: 5-10 mins of engagement (low), can be performed repeatedly but no element to create the repetition, the child can organise the cutouts in ways they find interesting, this may help with creative thinking Parental assistance is not required, materials are easily susceptible to damage.

3. Leaping Frog Contents: Set of plastic frog toy, Printed lily pad, Cardboard ring resembling a well Activity Brief: Place the frogs on the lily pad and press to make it jump inside the cardboard well Product review: has a competitive aspect when played with another player, that way it has a long term engagement potential, but for a single user the engagement is low. The rules and boundaries are open to being altered by the user while keeping the interaction same, this increases the engagement potential compared to a structured. Development of proprioception, hand-eye-coordination and fine motor control. Low parental involvement required, potentially more involvement in active play, materials are sturdy, low contextual learning.

4. Nature Journal Contents: White paper workbook, Stamp pad Activity Brief: the child collects leaves, inks them and imprints them on the journal Product review: long term engagement potential, only if the child does the activity, as there is no reward mechanism, it is difficult for the activity alone to keep the child interested, this behaviour of collection should be reinforced by the parents by appreciation, parental 108

Activity box 2: Nature detective | Analysing existing product

involvement high, high contextual learning, materials can be significantly improved, encouraging a collecting hobby is very early for a 2-4 year old child, but it can help with developing organisation skills and make them curious about nature.

5. Flower stamping Contents: Read along activity book, flower-shaped stamp, stamp pad Activity brief: The child reads aloud the story in the book, tries to find the places indicated to stamp and colours it Product review: not repeatable, low contextual learning, counting is done by the user, parental assistance is required

Summary of customer reviews: • A total of 142 reviews were observed to find the likes and dislikes of customers, this could provide insight into finding elements of interests and disinterests • Garden friend was the most appreciated activity with 78 likes and only 14 dislikes, It was observed that the people who disliked it were constantly or closely associated to the nature around them e.g. having a garden, easy accessibility to the park • My garden received the most dislikes, it was observed that the material was too weak and the child tore the plant pieces.

• Surprisingly the Nature journal received a lot of dislikes as well, it was inferred that because most the customers stay in cosmopolitans, they have difficulty accessing natural areas to go with their kids and collect leaves from • The leaping frog was good for the parents and the child to play together, and it received fairly positive reviews • Flower stamping had mixed reviews as it was a good activity for the kid, but it can be performed only once

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Precedence study

6.2. Precedence study This includes the findings of similar products either by similar brands or competitive brands in both the Indian and International market. The products for retail markets are also taken into consideration as they provide insight on customers and provide meaningful concepts as inspiration, they also help generate new ideas by giving possibilities for rejection early on.

1. Nature Trail - Magic crate 3.5 to 6

Summary: Includes four activities where the child does variety of tasks involving fine motor. In grass buddy they plant grass in a plastic pot charaterised as a cartoon guy, as the grass grows the hair of the character grows.

2. Nature explorer - Genius Box 3+

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Precedence study

Summary: Includes seven activites with beautifully illustrated figures and parts. A nine piece wooden puzzle set. The quality of products looks better than competitive brands.

3. Garden activities - Einstein box 3-4

Summary: Includes seven activites with beautifully illustrated figures and parts. A nine piece wooden puzzle set. The quality of products looks better than competitive brands.

4. Miscellaneous

Summary: Various activities involving fine motor skills, hand-eye co-ordination in which the elements of interactions are shaped and colored to resemble objects from nature. Feeding as an activity is prevalent.

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Precedence study

5. Miscellaneous - Xplora box 4-6

Summary: Includes puzzle set, shape sorting activity to make a jungle scenario and a play dough craaft activity where the child makes various objects with given reference.

6. Bug buddies - FirstcryIntellikit 4-6

Summary: In this activity box the child is introduced to bugs, the activities includes making a bug by lacing, spotting bugs among other creatures using a mignifying glass.

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Precedence study

7. Ladybug land - Insect lore

Summary: This is an artificial habitat for ladybugs. Here the kids observe every fascinating stage of ladybug metamorphosis with built in magnifying glass. It helps develop empathy in kids.

8. Nature card game - Brain box for kids

Summary: This game features facts about the natural world. The players compete against each other to answer most questions during their turn correctly. This is a memory game.

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Precedence study

9. My fairy garden - Brightminds

Summary: This garden playset features objects of to make a fairyland. Includes essestials to plant, grow and play.

10. Miscellaneous - Brightminds

Summary: These activity set includes objects to make a small garden. The kids explore the process of plantation and learn to take care of plants.

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Precedence study

11. Ladybugâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s garden memory game - Fat brain toys

Summary: This is a memory game, similar to the popular card game match-match. Here the kids set the ladybug onto the board, then they take turn to pick two ladybugs. If the back of the bugs has similar image, they get to keep the bugs.

12. Garden drip irrigation kit - Funvention

Summary: A DIY kit for hand-on experience of the kids with making a irrigation system. The kids understand how drip irrigation system works and get aware of gardening concepts, usage of water & growing from seed.

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Precedence study

Key Insights â&#x20AC;˘ Most of the activity boxes includes a planting activity with very less variation in terms of required actions, size etc. It means, this is a good opportunity for the makers to explore more in terms of development and contextual learning. â&#x20AC;˘ Bugs as an object is very prevalant, this might be because of their simple and vibrant colors, friendly shape which the kids can easily relate to. â&#x20AC;˘ Nature as a theme for toys is less explored in terms possible diversity inspired from real occurances like natural phenomenas, seasons, atmosphere etc.. This is because many elements form nature are too broad in themselves like Birds, Animals, Trees etc.. and the concepts of natural phenomenas are complex to simplify into small interactions.

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6.3. Ideation 1. Ant Maze

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2. Balancing Tree

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3. Colors of Nature

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4. Colorful Beehive

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5. Colors of the seasons

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6. Fruit Catcher

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7. Happy Planting

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Ideation

8. Hidden Insects

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9. Hungry Caterpillar

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10. Others

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Selected Ideas

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Prototypes

6.4. Prototypes 1. Balancing Tree

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Prototypes

Items for procurement (Balancing tree)

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2. Colors of Nature

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Items for procurement (Colors of Nature)

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3. My Plant

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Activity box 2: Nature detective | Prototypes

Items for procurement (My plant)

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7. Activity box 3: Little Architect

The theme for the third activity box was ‘Little-Architect’. This activity box is to be released in the month of July in 2019. Architecture as a theme is very complex and therefore it is not relatable by the child, it is however eye catching for the parents and so it is a good branding.

The theme had to be looked from a fresh prespective to explore the context relevant for the users in width. There was an existing activity box with the same theme in this age group which shipped in the previous term. Therefore, it was important to go through the customer reviews and understand their expectations. Existing products in the market with similar theme were also seen to understand the similarity and diversity in products. Ideation and prototype followed.

Brainstorimg context The theme ‘Little Architect’ has a diversity of context to be explored. These context needs to be of relavance to the learning in kids. Concepts like architectural planning, design, aesthetics are complex and cannot be comprehensive for the users, therefore it is important to establish the range of context which is relatable for them. In this section, we try to broadly define the areas of relevance.

Fig. 11. Brainstorming context of Little-Architect

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Analysing existing product

7.1. Analysing existing product The existing Flintobox with the same theme was analysed based on the design attributes of its individual product. Each product was analysed to find the developemental learning and contextual learning they provide. The product was reviewed upon the material, safety of use, time of engagement and overall learning. As going through this extensive review process might keep us thinking on the same directions, doing the brainstorming of context before this helped boardening the context and provided a neutral ground with other possibilities to explore from.

1. Build a House Contents: Plastic hut frame, plastic roof pieces, printed plants and fences cut outs Activity Brief: Constructive play | Pretend play - The child is given with cut-outs of few plants, fences and a plastic house with separate roof pieces; all to be assembled in a given foam surface Product review: 15-20 minutes of engagement, repeatability is low, -learning - fine motor (hold and stick - medium), creativity (placing cut-outs on different locations - low), spatial skill (placing roof on top of house - low), context - house and its surrounding - medium 2. Houses at Night Contents: printed night scene, printed elements cut outs Activity Brief: Constructive play - Silhouette matching game of the surrounding of house at night that can be memory game as well, the child matches cut-outs of objects Product review: 15-20 minutes of engagement, per137

Activity box 3: Little architect | Analysing existing product

suasive repetition can be done, learning - fine motor (holding the cut outs - low), coordination (placing on given positions - medium), shape recognition (identifying where to place - medium), context- surroundings of house at night - low 3. My Banner Contents: colorful non woven triangles, foam cut outs of elements Activity Brief: the child makes a decorative using colorful banners and lacing them together Product review: 10-15 minutes of engagement -learning - fine motor (lacing - high), context - decorating the interior - medium 4. Build neighbourhood Contents: plastic road set, printed building set Activity Brief: Constructive play | pretend play - the child places and joins road patches, houses and building cut-outs to build a neighborhood, then moves around in a toy car Product review:approx. 30 minutes of engagement per session, good repeatability, learning - fine motor (joining the roads, sticking the cut-outs in stands - medium), coordination (medium), creativity (choosing to place the buildings and make the roads in many different possibilities - medium), context - urban planning/making a neighborhood with variety of buildings - high 5. Help the pup 138

Activity box 3: Little architect | Analysing existing product

Contents: Printed game board, Printed Dice, game pieces Activity Brief: Competitive play | Pretend play two-player board game where the child rolls a die (6-sided with colors & elements) taking turns to move their respective player pieces in a path trying to finish first while pretending to help a pup make its home Product review: 15 minutes of engagement,repeatability medium, learning - color recognition (identifying the die roll - medium), shape recognition (medium), context - houses for animals, empathy - low 6. Count on the go Contents: Illustrated book, printed cut outs of window Activity Brief: Pretend play | constructive play - a readalong activity, where the child sticks colored cutouts of window to the similar colored houses Product review: 20 minutes of engagement, high repeatability, Learning - Counting (1 to 5 - low), color recognition and sorting (high), language (vocabulary)

Summary of customer reviews: • A tally of likes and dislikes of the customers was done 174 reviews from the customers, the build house and build neighbourhood activities were most appreciated with 94 and 90 mentions each, while the build house had 27 negative remarks the subsequent had 21 negative remarks. Help the pup was with most negative remarks with 48. The others were mentioned in between 70 to 100 times each, where they received 40-50 negative remarks each.

• Time of engagement was mentioned to be low • More creative activities are expected in terms of mechanism of interaction • The activities are considered very basic for the age group, not able to provide enough 139

Activity box 3: Little architect | Precedence study

challenge for the kid to learn something new â&#x20AC;˘ Apart from the expected learning outcomes, the kids are mentioned to have learned more about their locality, some activities were relatable to the real world. This can be a pre-defined intent, making products which the child can relate to the real world. â&#x20AC;˘ The mechanism of interaction was similar across previous flintobox, it was repetitive â&#x20AC;˘ Quality of material can be improved

7.2. Precedence study This includes the findings of similar products either by similar brands or competitive brands in both the Indian and International market. The products for retail markets are also taken into consideration as they provide insight on customers and provide meaningful concepts as inspiration, they also help generate new ideas by giving possibilities for rejection early on.

1. Maharaja super architect - Toytrends 4+

Summary: A consturction kit, using which the kid can build his dream house with the 330 brightly colored interlocking pieces. These blocks will give the kids one avenue to showcase their creative skills by creating endless models of homes, hotels, restaurants, gardens, bungalows, etc

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Precedence study

2. Happy homes house building block toys - Adichai 3+

Summary: 16 Jigsaw pieces to build Home. Manual to build various types of houses. It would help improve the child’s concentration and memory power.

3. Senior Architect - Peacock 6+

Summary: 610 interlocking pieces with step by step guide to make three different house.

There are a large number of pieces and many variations can be built. This toy helps to develop a child’s creativity and intelligence and also helps to hone his ability to recognise shapes, sizes and colours. A child’s motor skills are enhanced if he plays with construction set toys.

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Precedence study

4. Basic Architect, My first architect, The young Architect - Peacock 5+

Summary: DIY construction sets with instruction catalouge to make several structures.

The child recognises different shapes and colors. This helps develop their imagination through creative exploration.

5. Magnetic building blocks - Kurtzy 4+

Summary: Always attracting-never repelling, magnetic blocks of different shapes is used to make various structures. The child engages in creating and exploring 3D forms.

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Precedence study

6. City building princess castle - Pinnappo 6+

Summary: Construction set to create a castle. It encourages children to make their own toys and learn that the creative process can be fun too. The bricks are compatible with standard bricks, giving opportunity to build over it.

7. Playhouse town collection - Liliput playhouse

Summary: A range of hand crafted playhouse. A play house gives space to the child for independent creative exploration.

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Precedence study

8. Wooden playhouse - Backyard Discovery, Kidkraft

Summary: This concept of playhouse is easy to be assembled, and requires the kids to make it. They learn spatial reasoning and team building while trying to assemble it. This promotes other activites by supporting role play.

9. Build a house - Little tikes, The Wonderfold folding playhouse - Keter

Summary: This concept is easy to assemble. To assemble the kids form groups and learn to do things together.

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Precedence study

10. Cottage indoor playhouse - Melissa & Doug, Playhouse - Indian Charm

Summary: These are illustrated play house for best suitable for kids of age 2-4 Yrs. It promotes pretend play. These are the easiest to set-up.

11. Play tent - Kids adventure, Homfu

Summary: This concept requires the parents to set-up the play house for the kids. It is suitable for kids of ages 3-5, and help them develop imagination.

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Precedence study

12. Little architect Activity box - Xpolra Box 4-6, Magic crate 6-8

Summary: Activities to help the child introduce the various aspects of architecture, e.g.

House designer - where the kid builds a replica of house with given construction set, learning about the different types of bridges.

13. Tower balancing toys

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Precedence study

Key Insights â&#x20AC;˘ Products with concept of activity boxes has better learning in terms of context as they can explore more broadly then single toys. The available activity boxes in the market are for a higher age group and tries to explain the concepts using methods, which are already fimiliar to the child . â&#x20AC;˘ Construction sets are the most explored genre within the theme architecture, they are available is various materials and forms. These are also very popular among the customers as they are cheaply available, allows participation of larger range of ages, and are come in standard sizes giving possibility for upgrading in the hands of the customers. â&#x20AC;˘ The products available in the market are focused in outputs of architecture. The process of generating architectural design can be explored as an activity. Regular tools used by architects can be made in form of toys currently missing in the market.

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Ideation

7.3. Ideation 1. Build Neighbourhood

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Ideation

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Ideation

2. Play House

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Ideation

3. Interactive Book

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4. Decorating activity

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Ideation

5. Others

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Prototypes

7.4. Prototypes 1. Build Neighbourhood

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Prototypes

2. Play house

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Prototypes

3. Interactive book

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Activity box 3: Little architect | Prototypes

4. Decorating activity

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Conclusion

A child’s early years are the foundation for his or her future development, providing a strong base for lifelong learning and learning abilities, including cognitive and social development.

Although it is widely accepted that most of the development in children occurs in between the birth to 3 years old, the children continue to develop exponentially till their early teenage, the development of brain happens not only by developing neurons but also by reinforcing that development through practice. Even if these practices could be forced upon, concerned people have found better ways through research and observations. Among those findings ‘Play’ has acquired an outstanding position as an effective tool to instil learning and support development. Hence, opening opportunities for individual and organisations to use resources and earn a miscellaneous profit, making products for the market, specialized play schools, upgrading school learning curriculum are amongst the popular strategies of implementation.

In this project, it was attempted to develop ways, which can improve the efficiency of learning in kids in a playful manner; and while doing so understand the most trivial and the most intimate interactions which leads to good learning. To understand these interactions, several methods like primary research, literature review etc. were used; some of which gave direction to other methods. Understanding from each method was noted as ‘Key Insights’ and was kept within reach to refer to during the ideation process.

As a self-sustaining organisation, Flinto already had a standard process of developing learning solutions using playful means. Yet, there were challenges to align the goals of the project mainly because the demand from the output for both the parties was different. While it was initially uncertain for me; for Flinto it was to generate revenue. There were instances where a proposed idea wouldn’t be approved by Flinto and the reasons seemed inconvenient. It was soon realised that a change of perspective towards the approach was required where Flinto itself had to be taken as a stakeholder. This was sensible for the project, and it also demanded more time to reflect upon the Organisation. As research on ‘Flinto’ was of less relevance to Flinto, because they expect quick output in form of activities from a designer at this position; the time allocated for the output was in coherence with organisational standards. To cover all the aspects, the research was timed and structured to match the deliverables. The primary study of the organisation was carried out to understand all the reasons and Intra organisational aspects that affect the design.

Primary research was done to know the abilities of the users and hence define the limitations within which the product can be expected to work. It was planned to be done along with the research team of Flinto. This gave easier access to the local environment and also help in communication.

160

Conclusion

Secondary research on theories of early childhood learnings helped in understanding the ways children learn, it formed a base from where the primary data can be visualised and put into a structure for further analysis. Similarly, the secondary research on the toy market of India informed about the trends and customers preferences, it also showed the areas which are not explored. At the beginning of the development of each activity kit, the precedent study helped with determining the unique points about each theme, the areas which are over saturated and the areas which are untapped.

As each work required a substantial time and was to be done simultaneously, it was also important to do the work with expected result of developing a better understanding over it.

Therefore, to keep focus at a particular work during any time, the overall project was divided into three phases. This was done in accordance with the timeline for each activity box, which is a standard at Flinto. To find the areas of focus, it was required to identify work and then allocate importance in terms of priority in timeline. The research to know the abilities and interest of users was important to be conducted first, because the insights from the research was required during all the phases with utmost importance. In the second phase, the primary focus was on developing ideas and concepts, the aim was to explore conceptual diversity in an industrial scenario. The initial plans of focus for the third phase changed. Earlier it was decided to be about the interests of users, but until the completion of first phase it was understood that, the users aren’t developed enough to make conscious decision about their preferences. In the third phase the focus was on market research, as this could tell about the customer preferences.

Throughout the course of this project I learned about the development of children, various methods of learning, effectiveness of play-based learning, expectations of the parents from their child, what the parents do to cater to the needs of their child’s development, the structure of industry working in this area, current trends and speculated growth in the market, optimal material and manufacturing processes, organisational culture and practices. The information was of varying relevance to the design, and this project provided insight into managing that information effectively.

Designed products address the stakeholders needs in the current situation, although for studying the long term impact a lack of resource allocation is evident. An established impact analysis when widely known can help build trust upon the individuals and organisations invested upon this and has the potential to change learning in children for good.

“We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future” -Franklin D. Roosevelt 161

Conclusion

Scope for future work: • Each of these products can be taken into the retail market after redesign with better material and quality, this way the products can reach a larger number of audience and can also position Flinto in the shop.

• The activity boxes are already positioned as a model resembling a curicullum of learning with play. This can be worked upon further with extensive research and impact mapping of the users. It might also be possible for the product and model, to be pioneer in the filed of home based learning curricullum.

• Flinto-class is an existing model where curicullum based activity kits are designed for play-schools, this caters to a larger group of users simultaneously. The mechanism of products from Flinto-box can be used in classroom model with little extension for inculding peer to peer and group interactions.

• The play based learning approach is incorporated in many learning curicullum, but none of them are completely based on this; the measures of learning are mostly verbal and logical. An educational curicullum with all the aspects of learning happening through playful measures can be a broader topic to work upon. This could mean large scale research work, designing curicullum for development and assesment, setting quality standards, collaborating with various communities for a holistic development, collaborating with relevant organisations and experts etc.

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Annexure The observation sheet to record observation on fine motor development in kids was made for stating each activity and the respective skill required to do it, this is to be rated in a scale of 1-5. The outcome shall be determined by looking into the average of ratings. This required a greater sample size because the variation of skills in this age group is high. It was also observed that without a controlled environment , apart from exhibiting only the required behaviour, the kids were doing lot of other things. Those behaviour can give an insight into other parts of developments in kids. To observe those simultaneously is extremely difficult.

Taking these into consideration, the following observation sheet was made.

Table.3. Observation sheet for recording primary data

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Glossary Activity box - A package containing several products to facilitate activities to be performed by the intended user Contextual learning - refering to the learnings related to a theme Developmental learning - refering to the learnings related to physical, cognitive and socioemotional development Facilitator - someone who facilitates or provides; in this case, mostly the parents are the facilitors for their child Flinto - refering to the organisation, Flinto learning solutions Fine motor skill - is the coordination of small muscles, in movementsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;usually involving the synchronisation of hands and fingersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with the eyes Gross motor skill - involve movements of the large muscles of the arms, legs and torso Insight - Understanding of a context as interpreted through research Observations - interpretations of events, experienced first hand Primary research - method of research where the data is collected and analysed from direct (primary) sources as identified by the researcher Procurement - realated to Supply chain management, sourcing of materials, tools and finding appropiate manufacturers for production Retail product - A product available to be sold in the market as a singular entity Secondary research - makes use of information previously researched for other purposes and publicly available 165

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