Jan 25, 2012

Leapfrog Educational Toys,Kids Love Them

Leapfrog is a brand of educational toys that proves the point that educational toys can be fun. Leapfrog manufactures interactive toys for children ranging from babies to kids 8 years and older. Here are some examples.

1. Popular toys for babies include the learn and groove toys. They combine learning, music and fun into one package. The babies can shake rattle and roll as they develop listening skills and music expression as well.
2. A great toy for kids from babies through toddler are the Scout toys. They are great naptime friends who can help the children learn to count, explore first words, or sing gentle lullabies as they become lulled to sleep. Kids love these guys.
3. For the toddlers there are plenty of great books. They can learn to count with the Sesame Street characters, or have fun learning letters from Big Bird.
There are other great books including learning colors from Curious George. Check out the other options.
4. For the preschooler comes the Leapster. It is a handheld device which contains up to 40 games to help your kids learn a variety of new skills.
Your kids think it’s a game but they are learning great stuff all along. This is a great toy to bring along on trips and you’ll find your child taking it with him all over.
There are plenty of Leapster games for your 4 – 7 year old. They can learn many new skills and improve upon others. Kids can learn addition and subtraction, letters, spelling, and many other things.
The products which Leapster produces are extensive and really help your child to learn and develop. Check out their website where you’ll find a great deal of helpful information to assist you in choosing a great new toy to educate and entertain your kids.

Jan 9, 2012

Educational Wooden Toys For Children

With all the high tech gadgetry available in children’s toys it can often be overwhelming for both parents and kids.
Why not consider something which has withstood the test of time and get your children some educational wooden toys? Kids for many generations have loved these toys and for good reason.

1. Despite the prevalence of complex and highly technical toys children do love to play with objects which allow them to use their imagination.
Otherwise why do we keep hearing the stories about a parent who buys their kid a terrific new toy only to find out that the child prefers playing in the box it comes in more so than the toy itself.
2. Educational wooden toys are high quality items which challenge and entertain children. They can be in the form of puzzles.
3. Sometimes they are jigsaw puzzles, or they may be puzzles which teach the child how to unlock a device.
4. A very popular toy for young children are stacking games. This is colored wooden pieces in different shapes and sizes.
It helps the child to locate and stack items in a required order. They learn to identify different shapes and colors and use this information to achieve a goal.
5. A set of wooden blocks are another great toy for kids. It helps them to create a fantasy home and really let their imagination soar.
Kids love to play with these for hours and many generations of children have done the same thing.
6. Wooden letters are a lot of fun. Children can use these letters to form fun words.
They can make games where each child adds a letter to eventually form a word. The longer the word can be, the higher the points. There are many variations to a basic but fun toy.
So these complex and high tech talking and walking toys may not always be necessary. Try some of these educational wooden toys and see how much fun your children will have with them. I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Jan 4, 2012

A Brief History Of Alphabet Blocks

We’ve probably all played with alphabet blocks at one time or another when we were young children. Alphabet blocks were one of the first educational toys specifically designed for children. While children built structures with these blocks, they also learned to recognize letters of the alphabet at the same time. Let’s discuss some of the history involved in the development, introduction and use of these blocks.

The first known alphabet block was introduced in 1693 by John Locke who was an educational philosopher. He announced that dice and playtoys with letters would help to teach children how to read.

The use of these blocks evolved such that they become commonly used in classrooms and preschools throughout the 19th century.

In 1820, alphabet blocks became commercially available for home use through the introduction of a commercially available set of alphabet blocks. The blocks were initially painted. Following these they were embossed with a design and a different paint color was applied to create the letters.

The use of alphabet blocks continued to evolve into a vitally important part of early learning. In 2003, the alphabet block was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

In order to be included, the toy has to achieve icon status and be recognized and remembered by a very broad spectrum of the population.

Since it was established in 1998, only forty two toys have been inducted into the Hall of Fame which help to establish the importance of this simple yet important toy and learning tool.