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Archive for December, 2009
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.
Teachers are one of our greatest cultural treasures. With the promise of little pay, they make considerable sacrifices in the interest of molding the young minds of America. Rambunctious children make the life of a kindergarten teacher a little more stressful than most. As they undertake one of the most important societal roles, many of these teachers could use a helping hand. Good academic habits start at home, where parents can oversee and monitor the child’s progress.
Some early childhood activities that parents can use are reading stories and playing games with their children. Children acquire most of their vocabulary at a very young age, so parents should introduce gradually more challenging reading material. Parents should be mindful of the harm of overwhelming children, however. Each child learns at his or her own pace. Early childhood education only feels like a parental chore for a short time; soon enough, the child’s natural hunger for knowledge will begin to manifest itself.