Archive for October, 2009
Four and five year olds need toys to enhance and develop creative thinking and decision-making. Providing puzzle games and construction toys is paramount to allow this development to occur.
Any area where children gather to play, whether at home, in day care facilities or waiting rooms, the choice of educational kids toys provided for them is important to help the children become aware of their potentials.
Wooden children’s toys are a good choice as waiting room toys because they are sturdy and durable and easy to clean. Open ended toys such as puzzle games are a favorite toy for boys and girls of various age groups and will keep them busy creatively playing.
To help promote independent thinking and provide an avenue for creative thinking consider a Sea life 3d puzzle that doubles as a play set. Each puzzle piece of this wood play set is an individual toy. Chunky figures are easy for little hands to grasp and the bright colors and uniquely shaped sea creatures will provide children with a toy that has no rules.
Children can play with the animal figures or put them together to form a beautiful puzzle they can put together on the floor or a table. There will be many teaching opportunities for parents and educators as you talk about the dolphin, turtle, sea horse and many of the other sea life creatures.
Parents are busy multi-tasking more than ever these days and may feel guilty about not spending enough time playing with their children. But there is another way to think about this.
Even though you want to spend time with your children they do need plenty of free play time by themselves or with other children so they will learn how to “work” with others as well as problem solving and independent thinking. Therefore it is important to provide many age appropriate educational kids toys in your home.
By providing your children open ended toys such as giant kids building blocks they will have ample opportunities for creative play as well as learning problem solving and improving their motor skills. And as you are busy in the kitchen preparing their favorite meal you will be rewarded by hearing them planning and building and laughing together.
Providing your young children with a set of multi-colored cardboard building blocks as early as possible is recommended by educators and doctors. Because these are open-ended toys, kids of any physical and skill level can have fun.
Boys and girls can begin to sort their kids building blocks by color and eventually they will learn the names of the colors. Toy blocks are also excellent for introducing math. Children can put the blocks toys in order by color to practice counting, or they can count all the blocks themselves to learn how to count objects.
As your children are ready you can introduce games where they can use their building block toys to experiment with addition and subtraction. Have your children horizontally stack several toy blocks of one color and count as they do so. Ask them to remove one or two and then re-count the blocks to teach the method of subtraction.
Physical, hands on learning is a great method to introduce a new lesson and fun too!
Blocks toys are a great way to keep your children occupied. While creating exciting structures children learn to “work” together while they are playing – but they are also receiving educational benefits.
As children learn to share and cooperate with others they are developing important life skill such as social development. Toddlers will enjoy placing their kids building blocks into larger sized boxes and wagons and then pour them out or pile them out on the floor. Preschoolers will build towers, houses, and many other imaginative structures then knock them down and re-build again.
As your children grow they and their playmates will begin to creative more advance structures with their kids building blocks and began learning more advance planning as they decide what they actually want to do with their structures or how to use them.
With these educational childrens toys boys and girls of several age groups playing together will increase their social development as they all work in harmony playing and planning.
Are you and your family spending more time eating in front of the television? If you are not spending enough quality time with your family and the art of conversation has been lost try turning off the television.
When the TV is off you and your family will have more time to do active things such as taking a walk or going to the library. Another good idea is to have family games night.
Playing Christian board games or Bible games will not only be great family fun but educational also. There are many unique and exciting board games being sold online that are not readily available in your retail and discount stores.
Bibleopoly is one unique game where you win by being the first player to build a church in one of the Bible cities. Or play Exodus from Egypt, a board game of the Israelites’ epic journey in the Exodus.
Experts say when you spend time with your family and play and laugh together instead of watching TV that you will sleep better.
Christmas is just around the corner and you may be wondering how to begin selecting the perfect wooden kids toy for your toddler. There are many educational children’s toys on the market to choose from and this new toy for toddlers is one you must see!
Early childhood educators all agree that blocks toys are the single most important toy a child can be given. ImagiPLAY’s Toy Store in a Box, as with all of their wooden kids toys, are designed to inspire hours of imaginative play.
These toy blocks are brightly painted in the colors your kids love - red, blue, yellow and green. All 28 stacking/nesting boxes fit neatly inside the largest 9″x 9″ green cube. If your child were to have just one toy this year this beautifully designed wooden box set will provide hours of creative play.
Geared for toddlers and preschoolers age 2 ½ up this wooden toy will make a great addition in your Sunday school and as toys for waiting rooms. Now available online.
Children as well as adults need to get nourishment with vital nutrients and eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Consulting with your pediatrician or healthcare practitioner is a good idea as they will help you make healthy food choices for your whole family.
When you are preparing your meals include your children in planning and preparation. If your kids are old enough to help cut up the fruit and vegetables your preparation time will be less and you will have time to talk and teach and laugh together.
If your kids are too young to safely handle sharp instruments provide them wooden kids toys such as the Veggie Cutting Set pictured above. Your kids will love “cutting up” all by themselves. You will have good family fun while teaching your kids about healthy eating.
Soft blocks may be best for very young toddlers between 12-15 months old. Toddlers will begin stacking them as soon as these toys are out of their box.
Then, when your child reaches eighteen months he/she will be ready for small cube wooden building blocks. Wooden cube puzzles that have animals painted on them will help children learn color matching as well as recognizing simple animal images.
Wooden kids toys such as cube puzzles also come in alphabet blocks and number blocks toys. Even though wooden children’s toys may be more expensive they are recommended over plastic because they will stack better. Toy blocks that do not stack well will frustrate your children and they may stop playing with them.
Wooden building blocks toys are heavier and more durable and make a good choice as a toy for toddlers.
Classroom play with blocks is sure to be your children’s favorite time of the day. And when you encourage your children to use props such as stuffed animals, trucks, cars road signs they will have even more creative and fun play with their kids building blocks.
Some play time ideas using cardboard building blocks are to let each child use only a small number of toys building blocks while they play on a mat of their own and encourage children to build horizontally rather than vertically.
Use tape, mats, etc. to define a child’s play area and have them plan and build with their blocks toys within a given area and if you can find a large refrigerator box have them build in that box for extra fun.
By rotating the types of blocks toys you give your children, wood, cardboard, plastic, or foam, you can provide the types, colors and feel of many toys to entertain children of all tastes.
The teddy bear has become an American cultural icon – as genuine a representation of childhood innocence as you’ll ever find. These plush stuffed animals bring familiarity and comfort to young children. They are crafted with care by individual artisans and mass-produced by huge toy conglomerates. But do you know how this national touchstone got its name?
Theodore Roosevelt, whose likeness appears on the granite slopes of Mount Rushmore alongside Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington, became known for many achievements during his presidential tenure. He was the main impetus behind the Panama Canal project, linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and having a practically limitless effect on world trade. But he was also known as a conservationist who protected many of our national parks and forests from development and human habitation.