If you have a visual or tactile learner in your family, you will know that reading about something doesn’t necessarily help them learn about it. Our youngest son learns best when he can get up, move about and touch things, so we were excited to know about the Peel, Play & Learn sets from Mona Melisa Designs, reusable decals designed to help learn about all kinds of topics.We were sent the Peel Play & Learn – Solar System, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Gabe is very interested in space at the moment, and I hardly had the box open before he wanted to start using them.
About Peel, Play & Learn
Unlike some other decals, Peel, Play & Learn are made of a fabric material that does not rip or tear – a huge bonus when you have a child with minimal fine motor skills. They do not damage your walls (or wall paper I’m old, but we only have painted walls so I couldn’t try that out), stick to textured walls, are removable & reusable, and the backing can be cleaned – perfect for when your kids drop them on the floor every five minuets.
They re-adhere well to the backing and re-roll for easy storage, so if you have multiple aged home schooled children, or if you want to use them in the class room, they will be good year after year.
The educational solar system play set teaches the following skills:
*Planet recognition
*Solar System Configuration
*Constellations
*Phases of the Earth’s moon
*Seasons of the year
*Earth’s axis and rotation around the sun
*Spelling
With additional resources, it can be integrated to teach about the characteristics of different planets. Gravity, space travel and the history of space exploration can also be addressed using this set and Educents will even send you free teaching guides with which to work.
What we thought of Peel, Play & Learn
As I had already mentioned – Gabe was desperate to use the set as soon as he saw them and, together with his younger sister Evey, we decided to map out the Milky Way Galaxy on the dining room wall. We talked about each sticker & I prompted the kiddos to try and remember the correct order of the planets. Then when they knew the right planet to choose next, I prompted them to choose the correct sticker, either by visual recognition or by sounding out the name on the label. Between the two of them, and with a little prompting, they placed all of the planets it the correct place – remembering to leave a gap for the asteroid belt of course.
The decals were easy to peel off the backing, and it was a useful exercise for Gabe who needs extra help to develop his fine motor skills. Each decal was also easy to place on the wall & when Evey was a bit quick with her placement & made lots of wrinkles, they were easy to remove from the wall & straighten. Not once did they stick to themselves or prove a problem to apply. They are also just detailed enough. As you can see Saturn has all of its moons & rings, but it is simply & clearly portrayed
When Gabe became over enthusiastic and started sticking the phases of the moon decals around Jupiter, it was quick and easy to remove them and place them onto the backing again. They stuck to the backing well and stayed in place, even when the sheet was rolled up for storage. I even took the time to repeatedly apply & remove a few of the decals to different surfaces around the house. Windows, walls, tiles, whiteboards & blackboards – the decals stuck and came away again cleanly on every one of them and they still stuck well to the backing after repeated use.
Of course, the real test of any educational product is “Does it teach what it’s supposed to?” and for us, this was a resounding yes. Evey had been trying for some time to memorise the planets order and had been unsuccessful. The day we put up the decals together – she got it. That evening, while we were preparing dinner, I asked her to name them. She rolled off the first three then faltered but I told her to close her eyes and think of the picture we had made on the wall. With her eyes scrunched up she slowly but surely named the other five planets and threw in Dwarf planet Pluto for good luck! When I asked her about the asteroid belt she correctly placed it between Mars & Jupiter and by the end of our conversation, she was bouncing up and down, so pleased was she that she had learned them at last. So that seems like a success to me.
The Mona MELisa Peel, Play & Learn sets are currently discounted on Educents. Check out the different themes, like telling time, money skills, and understanding the human body. Click here to discover them all.
