Posts Tagged ‘Preschoolers’

What are the Best Educational Toys for Preschoolers ?

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Preschool children are still learning the basic motor skills, so it’s better to let them become proficient with these before starting them on reading, writing, and arithmetic.  For now it’s all about physical development and coordination.

For preschool age youngsters, spatial awareness leads to logical thinking. Now that they’re getting good at throwing and catching balls, they have to start figuring out how hard to throw and in which direction. Balls are great educational toys which can also help foster early scientific thinking, when they discover that different-size balls roll down slides at different speeds.

Simple wooden blocks are a must in the preschooler’s toy box. With blocks, patience and rudimentary hand-eye coordination are developed. The making of simple structures helps them learn about balance, and the beginnings of experimentation with symmetry. Basic principals of science are learnt eg. if a block falls from the top of a structure, it will fall until a surface stops its fall. Building requires being able to organize and enclose space. How am I going to fill that space? is a complicated question, requiring figuring out how many big and small blocks are needed to get the job done. Not only are they planning ahead, but also problem solving.

One study even showed that preschoolers who were adept at playing with blocks had higher math grades and test scores when they got to middle school than those who were not. As Sharon MacDonald, a trainer of early-childhood teachers and author of Block Play (Gryphon House), explains, “When your child works with blocks, he develops an understanding of fractions, shapes, and counting.

Colors, shapes, letters, sounds, numbers, patterns, quantity and words are all exciting and new for these young preschool learners

Puzzles, building blocks, and other construction toys together with dolls and stuffed toys, reading and coloring books, and arts and crafts materials are of great help for this stage to spark children’s imagination, creativity, and logical reasoning abilities.

Interlocking manipulative toys like Lego or puzzles challenge the child to improve hand-eye coordination, patience, and an understanding of spatial relationships.

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Buying Educational Toys?

Friday, September 11th, 2009

There is much more of a variety of sources for the modern parent  buying educational toys for their children than there was for their own parents.  And owing to toy manufacturers having responded to parents becoming aware of the developmental needs and stages of their children, there  is now a great variety of educational, learning and developmental toys .We know now that babies and children’s intellectual, emotional and physical development can be encouraged and enhanced in many ways. And what better way than with toys that they can enjoy.

Toy manufacturers and stores know that parents are often too busy to find the time for long shopping expeditions to discover what is available and so have made their products available to peruse and buy on the Internet. Here  you can find a large selection of  learning and educational toys to choose from, very often with a good discount .You will find these stores in the main body of search pages or in the ads  alongside searches . Google adsense  and store ads also appear related to the topic you searched for within the pages of e zine articles and blogs. Easy shopping from home has fast become the preferred choice for many a  parent. When you are buying from an online store remember to take into consideration the shipping and handling charges.

If you have the time, and prefer to look, feel and listen to the toys before deciding what to buy, then go on down to your local toyshop. If you do some research you may even  find that there is store in your town that specializes in educational toys.

Another place to look is at the local markets, where you could find good quality hand made wooden toys that last for a long time.

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