Playing Is Educational

It’s been proven that kids who have active imaginations while they’re young tend to be more creative, innovative, and successful as adults. But in addition to fostering imaginative practices, it’s also important to address early learning. We learn a significant portion of the sum of our knowledge when we’re young, and children who start learning as early as 3 or 4 will have a much better chance at advancing in education than children who don’t start learning until kindergarten and grade school. Early learning can encompass a variety of topics, including the basics like problem solving, deduction, and reasoning, as well as more advanced subjects like reading and math. Giving your child fun educational toys and games, and spending time learning with them will help them develop more quickly.

It’s also a good idea for you to ensure your children interact with other children their age.  Developing social skills is also an important part of development, and children who have educational skills but lack social skills will be at a disadvantage, and vice versa.

When it comes to buying toys for toddlers, some people are okay with just giving them the latest in TV-related action figures, thinking that it won’t harm kids. While this is somewhat true, simply giving a child a toy robot or a vapid doll isn’t challenging their development or imagination.

There are some great online resources that carry appropriate toddler educational toys, such as child building blocks, which are able to combine fun with learning.  Kids will be able to pick up on games, learn their shapes or alphabet and all the while have a good time without compromising any part of their psyche.

In the present economy, the childrens educational toys category is one of the few growth areas of the toy industry. I predict an even greater scramble to parade, perhaps even exaggerate, the educational benefits of toys in the marketplace as each vendor vies for a larger share of this hot category.

Retailers are challenged to sift through the claims and “edu-speak” and select items that have both kid appeal and real benefit. A key selling point for an educational toy is its ability to offer a broad spectrum of benefits, maximizing purchase opportunities and minimizing the likelihood that only a few of a child’s skills are really being developed.

The growth of the educational toy market can be traced to parents’ belief that they need to supplement school-based learning — particularly in light of the rapidly evolving job marketplace — and that toys can have at least a moderate impact on learning. These two beliefs correspond to two basic types of educational toys: “curriculum,” or content-based, and “cognitive,” or skill-based.

When children are in the early stages of development, their minds absorb and retain an astounding amount of information. This is why little children can learn a new language and understand tens of thousands of new words in a few years time, when it takes some adults months of training just to gain a rudimentary understanding. During these first years, it is important to help your child learn and make education fun.

One of the best ways to promote learning is through the utilization of fun and interactive toys. There are a variety of playthings on the market today for infants and young children. Many toddler educational toys are reasonably priced, and are a sound investment in your child’s future.

Given that our world is progressing at a rapid clip from a technological standpoint, it’s important to give young children every advantage possible. That means exposing them to multimedia from an early age. Educational DVDs and computer games are widely available, and there’s no question that they have a considerably beneficial impact.

Still, there’s something to be said for good, old-fashioned games that require kids to interact with the real world. Baby building blocks present kids with limitless creative possibilities the likes of which cannot be duplicated on a computer screen. Young architects can learn rudimentary lessons on physics and spatial relations simply through trial and error.

If you’re looking to purchase an educational gift for your young child, you will likely come across a wide assortment of available toys. Especially in the recent past, there has been a greater emphasis placed on the importance of these educational products. Therefore, they fill the shelves in greater numbers and in greater diversity than ever before. And while this is a positive step in the right direction, it can leave parents a little overwhelmed. After all, how do you determine which toy is best for your child?

The best tactic is to try a lot of different options. Start your kid with educational board games. If you find that they aren’t responding well to these kinds of games, move on to educational puzzles. Perhaps these are more suited to your child’s skill set. After all, the most important thing to remember is that educational toys are intended to teach your children something. If they aren’t learning from them, they aren’t of any use. And don’t be afraid to let your kid help you pick the toys. If your kid expresses an interest in something, he or she is a lot more likely to actually use that toy.

There is nothing quite as scary as becoming a new parent. You are suddenly presented with more responsibility than you’ve ever had before. But for many parents, once that initial fear wears off, there is still a more nagging fear that you won’t raise your children well. Especially since everyone you know is most certainly offering advice, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. What advice do you take? What advice do you disregard?Although it’s easier said than done, the best thing for new parents to do is relax. At the most basic level, children just need a loving, supportive home. Provide this, and your child is sure to flourish. Also don’t forget that an emphasis on education will give them a huge advantage in the world, both professionally and personally. Instill a love of learning early with various educational toys, and your child is sure to thank you in the long run.

A child’s early learning is enhanced by early childhood activities that promote imagination, from independent play to interactive play.  There are a wide variety of early childhood toys available to enhance their imaginative play. 

On a daily basis, your child see you prepare and cook meals.  There are many toys available for your child’s food play activities that will provide hours of educational play.  Pretend play food is available that ranges from fruits and vegetables to multicultural meals, such as, sushi from Japan, pasta pronto from Italy, and fiesta flavors from Mexico.

Have your child prepare you a pretend meal.  They can prepare a picnic lunch basket, have a pizza party, or set the table with plastic play dishes and have a fine dining experience.

What is your favorite pretend food play experience?

During the day, children observe their surroundings and then role-play their observations during their pretend play.  With the use of childrens educational toys, they can play out working in an office space, a supermarket, or an animal hospital. 

When your children engage in pretend play, they are also improving their problem solving skills, oral skills, and writing skills.  Their self-esteem will increase as they discover that they can be anything, just by pretending.

This human brain cross-section model is a valuable tool for teaching students about the complexities of the human brain’s anatomy. 

The cross-section model comes apart for hands-on classroom demonstrations.  One half  of the brain model is labeled with the parts of the organ while the other has letters for testing purposes.

Parts of the human brain and their functions:

Cerebrum / Cortex - Largest part of the human brain associated with higher thought and action, that is divided into the following sections:

• Frontal Lobe - associated with attention, motivation, reasoning, problem solving, planning, decision making, parts of speech, movement, and emotions
• Parietal Lobe - associated with movement, orientation, recognition, and perception of stimuli
• Occipital Lobe - associated with visual processing and recognition of the printed word
• Temporal Lobe - associated with memory, perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech

Other sections are also illustrated on the human brain model.