Playing Is Educational

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.

 The jigsaw puzzle is one of the oldest forms of amusement that dates back to the late 1700’s. The jigsaw has passed through many phases of development to become today’s modern pastime. Jigsaw puzzles have a range of uses, from education, entertainment, to emotional and physical therapy.

The predecessor of the modern jigsaw puzzle was invented by John Spilsbury in 1767. It was used as a teaching apparatus to help children to learn the geography of England and Wales. It was a wooden map with no interlocking pieces. In fact, interlocking jigsaw wooden puzzles were not introduced until much later, with the invention of saws that could cut raw materials such as wood with the accuracy needed to produce the interlock. From this beginning through the 1800s, jigsaw puzzles caught on and grew as a popular pastime.

By definition: An educational toy is a toy designed to teach people, typically children, about a certain subject or help them learn a skill as they play.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational toy

Puzzles:

Puzzles can teach a child topics like ABC’s, colors, shapes, animals, and geography.  Puzzles can also help with hand-eye coordination, teach sizes & shapes, and problem solving. 

Board Games and Card Games:

Board games and card games can be used to teach things like counting, colors, and reading, to more complex things like communication skills,  logical thinking, and organizational skills.

Games & Toys:

Games and Toys can be very educational to children.  By playing with educational games and toys, children can learn physical skills, such ashand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and even texture.  They can also learn about things like animals, colors, and the human body.

Dramatic Play / Creative Play:

Let them dress-up or play puppet show theater with puppets and dolls.  This will stimulate them to role play and express themselves through character play.  They can learn about different foods and even money by playing with Pretend Playsets.

Wooden Play Structures:

Children love to play outdoors on wooden play structures.  Wooden play structures encourage children to be physically active and mentally active as they determine if and how they can perform specific skills.  Children are increasing their imagination as they soar through the sky on a swing and play around it.

It is important to keep our young children involved and playing - get them to play with educational toys.