World Village Playset Ireland promotes innovative play and offers Irish adventures to curious kids in the comfort of home. This beautifully detailed toy immerses children in Irish culture as they explore the play mat, wooden figures, story cards, and book.
Laura Barta, the founder and creator of these imaginative toys, is eager to connect kids to their heritage and has designed these beautiful playsets with love and attention to detail.
Laura has graciously offered one play set as a prize for a lucky reader to win, but before entering the giveaway let’s explore the reasons why it is important to share our cultural heritage with our children.
And so, let me hand you over to Laura….
Why It’s Important, and How to Connect Kids to Their Heritage:
You might feel hard pressed to get kids who are steeped in the here and now to interact with the past. But when kids connect with their cultural heritage, through interesting stories, meaningful traditions, and larger-than-life ancestors it makes the past feel relevant.
That’s important because knowing where they came from can help kids develop a sense of identity and independence that may have far-reaching effects.
In fact, research has shown diving into family heritage can lead to higher self-esteem, improved school performance and even better behavior. So whether you know a little or a lot about where you come from, it’s worth sharing what you know with your kids.
A Simple Exploration:
It’s easy to casually explore family heritage with your kids!
In fact, learning about family history can be woven into the fabric of your everyday lives. Start as you shuttle the kids from one after school activity to the next.
Try a game of 20 questions where the answer is a person in your extended family. Or, a challenge to name 5 things about Grandma from when she was a girl.
Rather than asking about their day, share family lore, retelling important or exciting factoids from your family’s past. You might be surprised at what they don’t know. Even things that happened during their lifetimes may be unclear.
Over dinner, investigate deeper by examining a family tree, exploring both immediate family, and those who came many generations before. Who had two sets of twins? Who immigrated from Ireland? Why did one sister stay behind?
Share compelling family histories and events when your kids are looking for a bit of entertainment. Family history can be just as exciting as movies when you know how to spin a good yarn. Ask “Have I ever told about the time your great grandpa met a movie star (or got expelled from school)?”
Here’s Why We Share:
However your family chooses to explore its heritage, discussing the why behind these shared experiences, people and histories is important. After all, that “why” is what helps kids develop a positive sense of self.
Kids can learn so much about themselves through their ancestors’ experiences, struggles and triumphs.
Do you have any immigrants in your family? Maybe your family came to the states during the Great Irish Famine in the mid-1800’s, or maybe they came earlier as part of the Protestant Scots-Irish exodus?
How about indigenous people or former slaves? For kids, knowing that their family struggled, survived and grew into what it is today, illustrates that ability to persevere through hard times.
This familial survival also points to gratitude, and an understanding, for many kids, that they are here because of the skill and grit of those who came before them; they have much to be thankful for.
The stories of your heritage can also teach kids about being flexible, knowing that there are different ways of doing things, as each generation branches out and tries new things.
There are sure to be a few “black sheep” in the family. Discussing their experiences alongside everyone else’s helps kids practice forgiveness (of themselves and others). It’s one way to realize that both the good and the bad are part of moving forward.
In the end, kids can rely on these stories to help them feel good about their own struggles, abilities, and differences, every time they encounter the great big world around them.
The collection of stories and the sheer number of ancestors gives kids a fuller picture of everything that came before theme. This complexity of identity gives kids options to explore who they really are. And that feels good!
Make it Real:
There are so many great ways to bring your family’s heritage to life. Incorporating play and creativity into the mix helps kids learn, so they can feel good about themselves and their family as they engage with their heritage. Here are some simple ideas you can try at home to do just that:
- Make a family tree—whether you use construction paper, or a pre-printed illustrated tree, see how far back you can trace your roots. Remember to share stories as you go!
- Put together a family photo album—sure, everything is digital these days, but this is a great excuse to dig through old photo albums and slides, pulling out pictures of family members that go back a few generations. Do you notice any special or traditional clothing in pictures? Any special places or settings in them? Collect them in a photo album or make an artistic pic collage (in real life) you can hang on a wall.
- Map out your heritage—grab a map of the great big world and mark off the cities, regions and/or countries your ancestors hailed from. Are your ancestors from Galway? Clare? Tipperary? Kildare? Do you know your original clan?
- Plan a family history vacation—Use your heritage map to plan a trip to the ancestral lands with your kids. Think about what sights you would visit. Do you have any relatives living there now? Are there important places you should see based on your family history (churches, houses, towns, etc.)? Even if you don’t have the opportunity to go, there’s lots that can be learned in the planning.
- Record interviews—with grandparents and other older relatives. Edit these family histories together and then share them with other relatives.
- Connect to family heritage through food – have any recipes been passed down? Instead of waiting for the holidays, cook up something today.
- Explore family artifacts – take a close look around the house, even the nooks and crannies, to see what family history you have at home. Those precious mementos bring family history to life.
- Books and toys – bring family history home to play in the easiest possible way for kids – play! Books and toys offer insights of culture that are often lost when passed down from generation to generation.
- Try a DNA testing kit—you might be surprised by what you find!
- Record special family stories—Start a family story journal or vlog that can be shared with family members.
- Discover new ancestors—using government records. Ancestry records are a great place to find marriage licenses, death certificates and service records which might help point you to other unknown or exciting family connections.
Whatever activity you choose, be sure to share your findings with friends and family members. Who knows? They might be inspired to start their own heritage search!
*A note about adopted children. For some children who are adopted, learning about family history can be confusing or stressful because they’re not sure where they fit in—with their bio or adoptive family. It’s important to note that they don’t have to choose between them. Be sure to follow their lead as you explore; let them decide which heritage(s) to examine and connect with, as they work to build a positive self-identity.
About the Author:
Laura Barta is the founder of Whole Wide World Toys, Inc. and the creator of innovative, award-winning toys for world exploration. Living and working on 4 continents and traveling to more than 50 countries, she learned that cultural understanding leads to a world of opportunities. Sharing global curiosity with children is her aim in life.
World Village Playset Ireland:
World Village Playset Ireland immerses kids in Irish culture with creative play. Kids explore the beautifully-detailed fabric play mat, wooden figures, story cards and story/activity book, telling stories and building knowledge about life in Ireland. World Village Playsets bring the world home to play.
World Village Playset Ireland is available now from Whole Wide World Toys and Amazon.
Thirteen hand-cut wooden figures are the characters and props for storytelling play. They also have Gaelic Irish and English labels for language development.
The beautifully-detailed, 32″ x 44″ fabric play mat helps children bring an imaginary Irish village to life, with story cards providing prompts to inspire endless stories.
The educational book, My Ireland Travel Journal, explains cultural details as sister and brother duo, Emma and Joe, discover and learn about life in Ireland from their new Irish friends. The 32-page illustrated, color book also includes activities for active learners such as making a St. Brigid’s cross and Irish shortbread.
This play set radiates positivity and creativity, offering kids storytelling adventures akin to world travel, right from home.
World Village Playset Ireland was developed through research, travel, interviews, an Irish culture consultant, and kids’ enthusiastic feedback. The gouache-inspired illustrations by children’s book author/illustrator, Brandon Reese, convey life in Ireland in this fun, fascinating play set.
The Giveaway:
One lucky reader will win a World Village Playset Ireland.
To enter just leave a comment on this blog post by noon on Sunday, April 21st, 2019.
Any comment will do. What you write does not affect your chance of winning, but if you need inspiration why not tell us if you know a child who would enjoy playing with this Irish themed village play mat.
A winning comment will be chosen randomly. Remember to leave your e-mail so that I can contact you should you win. Your e-mail won’t be published, just used to contact our lucky contestant for mailing of the prize.
The winner will be announced on Sunday, April 21st, 2019, at the bottom of this blog post.
You may check out Irish American Mom’s complete terms and conditions for sweepstakes’ entries by clicking here.
Many thanks to everyone who leaves a comment and supports this giveaway.
And many, many thanks to Laura for this inspiring post, underscoring the importance of sharing our family stories with younger generations and encouraging them to explore their family histories. We also really appreciate her generosity in sponsoring this prize.
And don’t forget to share this post with other families and friends who might like to explore their Irish heritage with their loved ones.
Update – Winner Chosen On April 21st, 2019:
Our lucky winner has been randomly chosen using the Pick Giveaway Winner Plug-in for WordPress.
And the lucky reader is ….
Shelley Mc Laughlin-True
I’ll notify Shelley via email and then organize mailing of her prize with Laura from Whole Wide World Toys.
A big thank you to everyone for supporting this Irish American Mom giveaway by leaving comments. I enjoyed reading how so many of you believe it is important to share our Irish heritage with our children and grandchildren.
An a big thank you to Laura Barta for sponsoring this prize and for sharing her innovative toy with us.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Irish American Mom
Disclosure: I do not have a business relationship with Whole Wide World Toys and did not receive payment for this blog post. I simply like to help spread the word about Irish and Irish American products and small businesses. If I ever receive sponsorship for a post or affiliate payments I will be sure to let you know.
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My daughter is a toddler and this year’s St. Patrick’s Day was the first I felt that she understood a bit about Irish heritage. I love the idea of a play set as a component for this type of educational recreation. Thank you for this thoughtful and meaningful giveaway!
Hi Margaret – I love the details on this playmat. The Celtic symbols and the authentic looking buildings really caught my eye. This would be perfect for your little one over the coming years.
All the best,
Mairéad
My gr. Daughters are homeschooled and would love to learn more about their heritage. Their paternal gr. Parents came from county Lietrum and Longford.
Hi Nancy – This playset would be a wonderful addition for home schooling. I am a big believer in the power of learning through play, especially for kids eight and under. Leitrim and Longford are beautiful Irish counties. Many thanks for stopping.
Mairéad
What a great playset! We have two young grandchildren, and I would thoroughly enjoy getting down on the floor with this and introducing them to their Irish heritage.
Hi Maureen – This definitely is a perfect toy for children to share with their grandparents and to help promote interaction between the generations about our Irish heritage.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
My three granddaughters would have a ball with this — and so would I. Such a lovely idea.
Hi Erin – Defintiely, a little Irish fun for all, with this wonderful playset.
Thanks for stopping by,
Mairéad
Love this concept for teaching our littles about our heritage, I’m from Galway and currently residing in Denver Colorado with two kids (4) and (1). Thank you for this amazing giveaway Mairead. Yours Lorraine
Hi Lorraine – Denver is a lovely city. My best friend, whom I moved to America with many years ago, now lives in Denver. I always love visiting her there. This playset would be perfect for you and your children. I love the details and even noticed there is a GAA pitch with goalposts. Even the church looks like it truly belongs in Ireland.
All the best,
Mairéad
First off – Love your blog!!
I have 6 grand children all love the stories I tell them that my grandma told me of Ireland. She and my patients kept our Irish heritage strong in our hearts – I passed that on to my children who are doing the same with their kids.
Hi Deedee – Thanks for your kind words about my blog. I love to hear you are passing on your grandma’s stories of Ireland to her great-great-grandchildren. That’s just wonderful, and the perfect way to keep your Irish heritage alive. I too am very proud of my Irish heritage and culture and hope my blog will someday be a recorded gift for my children.
All the best,
Mairéad
My grandchildren live Africa so it is hard for me to pass on our Irish heritage but this fun and educational package would help to fill in the gaps!
Hi Bob – Learning through fun activities is wonderful for children, and this toy is perfect for innovative play. I hope you get to see your grandchildren often. Visiting Africa must be amazing.
Many thanks for supporting this little giveaway.
Mairéad
What a wonderful idea. This would so much fun to explore with my grandchildren.
Thanks for stopping by and supporting this giveaway, Cindy.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
What a wonderful idea! I have 2 grandchildren turning 8, a 4 yr old and a 4 month old. I don’t think I began to know much about my heritage until I was in 5th grade. I hope that my grandchildren will start sooner. And a play set like this is a fantastic way to begin.
Hi Mary Lou – Sharing knowledge of our heritage is important and the sooner we start the better for sure. It sounds like you are a busy grandma. I hope they all live nearby so you can enjoy plenty of time together.
All the best,
Mairéad
What a wonderful idea thanking you
And thank you for stopping by to check out this giveaway blog post.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
This educational toy is fabulous! A fantastic way for children to learn more about their heritage. My Silas would love it!
Hi Jean – So glad to hear you would enjoy this educational toy with your Silas. Thanks for supporting this giveaway.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
I love creative and especially interactive ways to teach our children about their heritage. What a lovely idea and gift for a child.
Hi Ryli – I too love this creative toy. Promoting imaginative, interactive play is so important in this age of technology where entertainment is only a finger swipe away. Encouraging storytelling and make believe is vital for developing a child’s thought processes.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
My mother was half Irish. Her maiden name was Welsh. I think this play set is just adorable. Our Samantha would love this.
Hi Audrey – Welsh is a very Irish name. This play set would be a wonderful way to share your Irish heritage with your Samantha.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
I love it!
I wish this was around when I was a child!
Sure would be a great activity to share with my future grandchildren!
Hi Sinita – It’s lovely to see how children’s toys have evolved from the time when we were young. I too love this play set. My kids are too old to play with it now, so I too will have to wait to share this activity with my future grandchildren.
Many thanks for all your support,
Mairéad
I too would enjoy the activity set with my grands! Beautiful Ireland! Blessings, Mary
Blessings to you too, Mary. This is a perfect toy for children and grandparents to explore together.
All the best,
Mairéad
I would love a chance to teĺl my grandchildren about their Irish heritage.
My paternal grandparents were from Ireland. I also would love to learn more.
Thanks for the opportunity.
Hi Lynn – Thanks for checking out this giveaway post. This play set is a perfect way to explore your Irish heritage and especially with your grandchildren. I hope you will learn more and more about your Irish heritage here on my blog over the coming weeks, months and years as I share more recipes and ramblings from Ireland.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Would be such an honor to win this. I grew up being told we were mostly Native American. I never questioned it as my family was so certain, including my grands. Did a dna test kit for fun only to discover I’m three-quarters Irish, and almost immediately started getting contacted from cousins in Northern Ireland. I’m now learning all I can and trying to teach my children more about our Irish heritage. My youngest would really enjoy this, as she loves making fairy gardens and making little pretend families.
Hi DJ – Thank you for sharing your DNA discovery with us here. I am fascinated by how many people discover their heritage is different to what they originally believed. I have read a little about how the Cherokee people and the Irish integrated especially in states like Kentucky and Tennessee. It is a topic that fascinates me and one that I must research more one of these days.
Thanks so much for stopping by,
Mairéad
This is a wonderful start for learning about your heritage.
Thank You
Marion
Hi Marion – This definitely is a wonderful way to introduce children to their Irish heritage at an early age.
All the best,
Mairéad
What a wonderful way to start a family on learning their family history.
Thank you for the chance to win this .
Marilyn
Hi Marilyn – Sharing our family history is so important, and I too love the concept behind this innovative toy.
All the best,
Mairéad
Mairead how great this World Village Playset is. Learning about one’s heritage is most important to all.
Thank You for the giveaway.
Joan
Hi Joan – I am so encouraged by everyone’s comments. It’s lovely to know there are so many of us who believe it is important to share our cultural heritage.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
This blog regarding sharing our culture e our legacies is so important for the family integrity.
Hi Colleen – Sharing stories of our past and of our ancestors is a wonderful way to connect the generations in our families. Thank you for checking out this giveaway.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Beautiful prize
Hi Maureen – Thanks for stopping by.
Mairéad
This looks so fun! Great educational game! Blessed Easter to you and yours.
Hi Mary Ann – I hope you and yours have a lovely Easter too.
Le gach dea-ghuí,
(with every good wish)
Mairéad
Love this playset! I know my granddaughter would love it!
Hi Janine – Thanks so much for supporting this little giveaway.
All the best,
Mairéad
My great nieces and nephews would love this playset. It will help them learn in a fun way.
Hi Jean – I bet they would have great fun learning about their Irish ancestors as you explored this play mat and story cards together.
All the best,
Mairéad
Wonderful way to get the little ones to learn about their Irish heritage.
Very true, Deirdre. I love all the details on this play mat.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Go Halainn! This is beautiful, I’m originally from Dublin & live in Florida. I don’t get home too often but I definitely make Irish culture apart of our home life in the U.S. would love to win this for my two small boys ☘
Hi Siobhan – I lived in Daytona Beach, Florida for seven years. I really enjoyed my time there, but didn’t get home very often since my husband was in college. It would be lovely for you to have an Irish village play mat in Florida – a perfect way for your boys to learn about their Irish heritage.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
This is such a fantastic toy! I would love to use this as a resource to teach my 2 children about their Irish ancestors. My family hails from County Longford and it would be great for my children’s imaginations to pretend/active play. 😊
Hi Jessica – Your children could imagine themselves back in a village in County Longford, back in the land of your ancestors, as you play together with this lovely play mat.
All the best,
Mairéad
My daughter would absolutely love this!! So neat!! Thank you!
Hi Lenn – I love this idea too. Laura Barta has done a wonderful job creating a beautiful, educational toy.
All the best,
Mairéad
My granddaughter is half Irish, half Vietnamese. Have been looking for a good way to show her the Irish side, and this looks like just the thing.
Hi Shelley – Thanks for stopping by. This little play set would definitely help introduce your granddaughter to her Irish heritage – a perfect way for you both to play together and explore.
All the best,
Mairéad
Our young grandson Joe doesn’t live in Ireland but he often comes to visit us (nana and grandad) where we live on the beautiful Antrim coast. He loves the beach and the surrounding countryside and I know he would love making up stories with the play set, especially since one of the characters has the same name!
Best wishes
Collette
Hi Collette – It’s lovely to hear your grandson Joe gets to visit you often and enjoy County Antrim with you. I am sure there are plenty of beautiful beaches to explore along your magnificent coastline. I’m so glad you like this playset and see its potential to help children explore their heritage through imaginative play.
All the best,
Mairéad
Someone once said ‘the two greatest things we can bequeath our children are strong roots and wings to fly.’. This Playset enables both for a child with Irish heritage.
Beautifully said, Terry and so true.
Thanks for stopping by.
Mairéad