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Articles:

• The Most Important Criteria for Educational Toys
• Why Educational Toys And Games Are Important For Early Learning Among Children
• When, What, and How You Should Teach Your Preschooler

 

 

 

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The Most Important Criteria for Educational Toys

 

Submitted by: Amy

When it comes to purchasing toys for your children, naturally you'll want to find ones that are educational. But it can sometimes take awhile to find the right toys for your child. Each child has different interests, different strengths, and different methods of learning. When purchasing toys for children, there are many factors to keep in mind.
 

One thing to consider is what your goals are for a particular toy. There are several different kinds of educational toys on the market. There are those that help children to learn, and there are those that help encourage a child's imagination. In addition to keeping in mind your child's strengths, weaknesses, and interests, it is also important to understand which type of toy you'll need.

Questions To Ask When Choosing Toys

So, what are the most important criteria for educational toys for children? Here are some questions to keep in mind:

- Do you need an educational toy or one that encourages the imagination?

- Does your child have any weaknesses that you want to correct?

- What strengths does your child have?

- Is the toy labeled safe for your child's age?

- Does the toy have a good reputation? Is it getting good reviews?

- When speaking to other people who have the toy, does it seem to be working?
 

 

A Balanced Collection

In the early years of child development, it is important to achieve a balance between finding toys for your child's strengths, weaknesses, and imagination. This means that you should also have a combination of electronic toys and simple favorites such as the tried and true favorites such as blocks, building sets, dolls and action figures.
 

Reading Reviews

A great way to make sure the toy you would like to buy actually delivers on its promises is to read reviews. The reviews are written by people who have tested the toys. Or, they may be parents who have observed their children as they were using the toys. You can get reviews from both parents and professional sources. You may also want to check in the forums, newsgroups, and blogs.

Most Important Criteria

So, when it comes to purchasing toys, the most important thing to remember is to buy a collection of toys that will suit a variety of purposes. Imagination and education are the two things to keep in mind. You can choose from new, electronic gadgets to the old favorites. Each of these toys has its own special purpose. It is up to you to figure out exactly what your child needs.
 

 

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About the Author

Help your child to learn and have fun at the same time with educational games and toys from Mastermind Toys! http://www.mastermindtoys.com/

 

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Why Educational Toys And Games Are Important For Early Learning Among Children

Submitted by: Low Jeremy

 

Educational toys and games, when smartly guided and supervised by adults, can be a powerful tool for early education and learning process. For many, games and toys are simply what they seem to appear: implements of recreational activities for children. But when properly understood, and used effectively, educational toys and games can result in more emotionally stable and intelligent children.

In terms of education, the absorption of knowledge in children usually takes in the form of formal and informal learning. Formal learning constitutes enrolling in school or entry to any similar educational institutions.

Informal education on the other hand takes place outside schools and is mediated by resources and people outside the classroom. But actually, differences between the two are not that wide. For instance, activities in informal education are eventually used to strengthen formal education.

One of the activities frequently used in informal learning environment is playing games among children, and having them play certain educational toys to achieve the desired result. Since children are by nature learners, and have this capacity to absorb almost everything, a good combination of educational toys and games can really produce encouraging results.

The importance of proper educational toys and games for children is now a settled maxim that there are many literatures now which explain the importance of using educational games and toys to strengthen early learning in children. Both the reasoning power and emotional abilities of children can be developed during plays, using the right games and toys.

In using toys for re-enforcing educational games, adults should be keen in observing the children's individual personality. This would help the children realize their potential early, and encourage them to pursue their leanings, encouraging them to play similar games and educational toys, thus, strengthening the talent.
 

However, it should be noted that there are differences in the development of children, in terms of their reasoning and emotional capability. Also the individual personality of children should be considered, before deciding on the appropriate educational toys and games for learning or simply, playing purposes.

Each child has a different development pace and should be tackled uniquely. One child might want to do the same thing and play with the same toy repeatedly for days, while another might be interested in a toy only for a moment and look for another one after a while. Thus, play should not be limited to a set of rules. Kids need to operate in flexible play environment to appreciate the virtues of freedom and independence.
 

Educational toys are very much in demand right now because of the variety of activities they carry in just one device. As opposed to the common toy, wherein the child is confined to just one activity, educational toys allow the child to explore different subjects and work with different types of learning paces and methods.

For instance, Hasbro's Baby Einstein Company has an educational toy line that encourages kids to learn unique subjects like art, music, language and poetry. Meanwhile, Jakks Pacific's Child Guidance line carries toys that teach music fundamentals through an interactive device. And these are just some of the toys that are out in the market today. With the growing demand for educational toys nowadays, it won't be surprise when parents and children will be preferring these products more and more.

Children's educational toys are, right now, a little expensive. But parents who have purchased one for their kids will tell you that it is worth every cent. Not only will their children enjoy their playtime, but they also learn a lot of new things that would feed their intellect and motor skills.

It should also be noted that as children grow older, does necessarily mean the end of educational toys and games. As they are approaching the adolescent stage, children experience emotional upheavals, which can be stabilize to a certain degree, by engaging into games appropriate for their age, one of which is sports. Sports, from the most physical like boxing to more mental like chess, is just an expression of humans never-ending need to play games and toys.

 

 

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About the Author

Low Jeremy maintains http://Educational-Toys.ArticlesForReprint.com. This content is provided by Low Jeremy.

 

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When, What, and How You Should Teach Your Preschooler

 

By: Deanna Mascle

 

A while back LeeAnn from Las Vegas asked my opinion on just when is the right time to begin teaching her 2-year-old daughter. She has already begun teaching basic concepts such as alphabet, colors, and numbers, but some members of her family feel that she is pushing her little girl.

In my opinion, the easiest way for LeeAnn to test whether or not she is pushing her daughter can be found in this quote: "Is it too soon, or should I let her keep going as long as she is interested and is having fun?"
 

If LeeAnn's daughter is interested in the concepts that she is learning and having fun while learning then it is definitely the right time to teach her.

Young children are interested in the world around them and they are interested in what their parents know. Building on that interest to teach basic concepts (just as LeeAnn is doing) is not pushing your child -- it is meeting your child's needs. One of the most important things you can do for your child is to offer an environment rich in learning opportunities. If you give your child the opportunity to learn then he will learn -- it really is as simple as that.

Remember, young children are learning a great deal about themselves, their family and caregivers, and their world ever day. For most of those lessons you are the teacher. By the time your child has reached the age of 2 you have already taught hundreds, even thousands, of important lessons about how to function in the world and society. Indeed, many of the everyday activities you perform with your child also have academic implications. For example, the books that you read to your child and the songs you sing with your child have a lasting impact on literacy. It is no great stretch to add other concepts into your repertoire and this can make a great deal of difference in how prepared your child is for preschool and kindergarten.

There are really only three things you should remember:

~ Keep it fun. Making learning into a game and your child will always enjoys what you have to teach her.

~ Keep it light. Educational products and activities that are actually games are wonderful but don't force your child into spending time each day with flashcards or the like. They'll most likely learn faster and more meaningfully if you have an alphabet scavenger hunt at the supermarket.
 

~ Embrace the teachable moment. but don't schedule lessons and force educational activities on your child. When the opportunity presents itself (and it will countless times in a day!) take advantage and use it for a lesson. For example, simply putting on socks can be a lesson in right and left, colors, or counting!
 

HOW TO TEACH

So how do you teach your preschooler without scheduling lessons and forcing them to pay attention? You embrace the teachable moment!
 

What is the teachable moment? It is simply an opportunity that springs out of normal, everyday life or as children become older and more verbal a timely question or comment.

Time when you and your child are in the car, for example, is a wonderful teaching opportunity that many parents overlook. If you are reunited after a day's separation then you can share stories about your day-and in the process work on vocabulary and literacy skills as well as teach your child about the world around them. You can also use cars and trucks to teach colors, road signs to teach shapes, and so on.

Mealtimes are also wonderful teaching opportunities. Counting is easily worked into almost any meal, such as telling a child they can have two cookies or giving them five tater tots. Shapes and colors can also be brought into mealtimes. For example, my son likes to choose the shape for his sandwiches-triangles or squares? As a child grows older you can also do letter sounds with the various foods, such as milk starts with "mmmmh".
 

WHAT TO TEACH

Skills you should work on with your child fall into eight basic categories, according to early childhood educators:

~ Social/Emotional Skills, which will be the greatest predictors of success in life.

~ Self esteem, which is crucial for all learning.

~ Physical Skills

~ Communication Skills: listening, speaking, singing, drawing, gesturing

~ Basic Concepts such as colors, letters, numbers, vocabulary

~ Categorizing Skills, what is the same and different

~ Compare and Contrast Skills, which is the higher order level of Categorizing

~ Experiences on which to draw. These are perhaps the most important of all, as they provide a frame of reference for future learning. The more experiences from which a child can draw, the better s/he will understand both learning and the world.

These are all literacy skills and they are all key to your child's future success. If you need still more help identifying concepts that your child should master then study the developmental milestones for your child's age at http://PreschoolersLearnMore.com.

So rest easy, LeeAnn, you are doing exactly the right thing for your daughter!

 

 

 

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About this Article Author:

Visit Teach Your Preschoolerat teachyourpreschooler.com for preschool learning resources. Submitted with Article Distributor.

 

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