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Learning Toys Teach the Basics

The things your child learns in his or her first few years of life form the building blocks that make up many of the complicated things he'll learn later on down the road. Mastering the alphabet, numbers, shapes and more before the age of 5 can help kids become confident students in school. More importantly, early learning can instill confidence and independence in children of all levels of ability so that they become effective learners and communicators outside the classroom too.

However, you don't want to think of childhood as simply a chance to stuff little heads with knowledge. Childhood should also be full of playtime. After all, a child's job is to play.

Fortunately, play and education can happen at the same time with the help of learning toys. Like multi-sensory toys, learning toys are often great for building fine motor skills and developing the senses; but they are perfect for getting a firm grip on many early learning basics. Mastery of letters, numbers and other concepts helps kids get ready for more advanced learning: geometry, literature, logic and more.

The ABCs
Learning to listen and speak are essential to strong communication abilities, and communication is the foundation of any civilization. We get along best with each other when we communicate effectively. But before you string words together to form sentences - and there are toys that help with that too, you must learn the consonants and vowels. Letters Puzzle Boards are a great place to start. This set of large, colorful peg boards provides visual stimulation as well as basic awareness of letter shape. The EyeSpy Bags™ ABC Bag, for ages 4 and up, contains all the letters of the alphabet. It's fun to sift through the bag and find letters in the proper order; you can also use this activity to develop spelling skills by naming words that begin or end with the found letter. The Alphabet Sound Puzzle dazzles the ears when your child puts each letter in the correct slot.

Once your child learns letters, he can begin developing a vocabulary, as well as an understanding of how words and sentences form thoughts. Picture Noun Cards provide a fun way to expand knowledge of everyday objects. They make for a great guessing game between you and your child or your child and his friends. Occupation Cards are another vocabulary builder: the fronts of the cards depict a person doing a certain job, such as baker or fireman, while the backs of the cards provide fun facts about each career. Children enjoy learning about different occupations and imagining which one they will choose when they grow up. Match it! Alphabet puzzles come in a set of self-correcting pieces that fit together, picture with word. Each of these activities works visually and can easily be used by kids with hearing impairments.

Children with hearing challenges might be interested in learning the visual language of signs. The Sign Language Peg Puzzle helps with the basic ABCs by challenging kids to match each sign with its "hearing" letter. The Signing Board Books work with children as young as 8 months. Colorful drawings illustrate nursery rhymes alongside clear signing instructions. The set includes classic favorites like "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

The Smart Talk™ System, for English or Spanish, teaches over 450 key vocabulary words while also providing a bit of fun with neat sounds and flashing lights. Your child is guided by this toy to see a picture, hear its name and repeat its name back. Headphones make it possible for kids to play with this toy quietly.

Once your child has mastered the basics of vocabulary, he can practice writing the ABCs with handwriting toys and games. Magnetic Trace-A-Letter uses a magnetic pen to move a metal ball along each letter's indented shape. This activity develops fine motor skills, concentration and a basic understanding of penmanship. Pre-writing skills can also be mastered with other magnetic maze puzzles in fun shapes like apple and gumball machine, which also fosters number understanding. Additionally, lacing and stringing sets help build dexterity in the fingers and are a great precursor to formal handwriting.

The 123s
Learning and understanding numbers makes for more than just math scholarship: a strong numeric foundation boosts logic and reasoning skills in the long term. Grownups use these abilities when dealing with time and money every day. Little children can start strong with small math and logic concepts. Learn the numbers in a fun way with Number Puzzle Boards and Counting Pegs Box, which challenge kids to count out and place pegs next to a given number. The EyeSpy Bags™ Numbers & Counting Bag works in much the same way as the ABC Bag, but poses a number recognition challenge via a colorful, cozy fleece bag instead of letter recognition.

Next, advance to sorting challenges with Deluxe Multifunction Sorting Box, Design & Drill tool-themed activity, Flower Match Garden Patch and Ladybug Flower Game. While helping children grasp amounts, these activities also help with color and shape recognition. Match it! Mathematics puzzles foster counting, addition and subtraction skills.

Continue the reasoning development with Shape Sorter Remote Control Airplane and other stacking and sorting toys. Little kids might not realize they're learning because they're doing what they do best (i.e. playing), but learning the numbers, colors, shapes and more and sorting by these distinctions increases fine motor abilities while building a reservoir of useful information.

Communication and Reasoning
Knowledge is one thing, but application of learned facts is a whole different ballgame. Self awareness is the key to good communication. So, once the basics are in place, expand playtime with toys and games that make communicating thoughts and emotions easier.

It may seem obvious to adults, but facial expressions can often take time to master. If you've ever seen a baby fall down without getting hurt but then look to caregivers for cues on how to respond, you might have seen that baby laugh if the caregiver laughs or cry if the caregiver expresses concern. What the baby is doing is mirroring the expression of the nearest adult. Expressions Puzzles introduce kids to a range of emotions and show them how to display emotions in a safe, healthy way. Teach your child to make an angry face instead of using an angry action like hitting, kicking or slamming doors. If spoken or signed language skills are ready, that angry face can evolve into a mature discussion about what's making him upset. Emotions Paddles are another playful way to learn to express emotions, and they can also be used for creative role-play and storytelling.

Advance conceptual understanding with Things That Go Together. More than just testing vocabulary, this activity expands children's logical understanding of how things work: first, next and last; cause and effect; and awareness of "same" and "different."

The great thing about learning toys is that they are doing so much behind-the-scenes teaching while your child is playing. He or she might not realize that they're gaining useful information because they're having terrific fun, both individually and with friends! When choosing a toy, consider selecting a learning toy for the added benefit of enriching the mind of your young child, whatever his level of ability. Learning toys work well at home, at daycare and at school.