Kids Learning

By six months of age your baby may be sitting unassisted, her coordination skills are growing in leaps and bounds, and she will soon be crawling, standing, and then walking. Six to twelve months is a fun time for parents and babies. Play a variety of games with your little one and watch her quickly master new skills, like language skills and fine and gross motor development.

Between 6 and 9 months your baby will love to experiment with simple cause and effect relationships like pressing a button to play a song. Little ones also love to explore sounds by banging spoons and toys together or on the table at this age. Give your baby an assortment of pots, coffee cans, and containers along with wooden spoons and metal spoons. Encourage her to play the drums as you sing along. The Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Toy Bench is a great toy to satisfy those banging urges. It also offers a number of educational benefits, like color and letter recognition, and provides opportunities for your baby to explore cause and effect.

Games with balls are a lot of fun at this age. Use soft, squishy balls to roll back and forth across the floor with your baby. Try dropping beanbags into a wide, open container. Your little one will love taking them out just as much as watching you toss them in. Once your baby starts to crawl, set up an obstacle course for her to crawl over. Pillows, large stuffed animals, and piles of soft cloth scraps make perfect climbing obstacles to boost her crawling skills and strengthen the muscles she will soon use to walk.

Sometime between 9 months old and the first birthday, most babies will begin to walk, some earlier and some later. During this age, your baby will be developing a number of new large muscles as well as her fine motor skills. She will know how to hold her toys and can probably throw them. These soon-to-be toddlers also love to imitate and copy the things they see.

Play sound games with your baby. Make a sound or unusual noise and encourage your baby to copy it. Try this with funny faces and movements for even more fun. Stacking and arranging blocks, cups, or other toys is also a fun game to enhance fine motor development. Give your baby an assortment of toys and a big box and watch her meticulously put them in and then dump them again all over the floor.

Sing lots of silly songs with your child and read everyday. Language skills are becoming quite strong during this stage and her vocabulary of understood words is growing rapidly. Repetition of her favorite story books, nursery rhymes, and songs can give her an even better understanding of the common patterns of spoken language. Songs with movements, like the Itsy Bitsy Spider, are favorites at this age.

As your baby begins to cruise around the house, typically using furniture to aid her balance, play walking games. Hold her teddy bear or another cherished toy a few steps away and encourage your little one to walk to you to get it. Remember to praise her efforts and not to make too big of a deal when she stumbles or falls. Once your baby becomes a confident toddler, there are tons of new games to enjoy together!

Submitted By: Nicole Munoz

Popularity: 2% [?]

Little kids need the right tools to help them grow and develop. Thus, the kind of toys we get them are crucial, because, as children, the best way to impart knowledge into their fresh minds is through play.
A child’s playtime should never be dismissed as just something to pass the time; because it is during play that they absorb everything they hear, see, smell and touch. Getting him or her an educational toy or game is one of the best things you can do for him or her right now.

The educational toys below are ideal to help jump start your kid’s curiosity and sense of discovery. The next time you’re going out shopping for a new toy for your kid, or for a gift for your favorite niece or nephew, you might want to consider the suggestions below.

LeapFrog’s Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set

When shopping for an educational toy, you might want to get something that is okay for even the youngest toddlers to use. Fridge Phonics features interactive alphabet figures that come with a magnetic reader, all of which you may attach to your refrigerator or any surface that accommodates magnets. Aside from its visual merit, it can also play a song while the child uses it. It will surely keep your curious baby preoccupied while you go make dinner or wash the dishes.

LeapFrog’s LeapStart Learning Table

Toddlers will definitely have a lot of fun with this educational toy because it carries a variety of games and activities in just one fajita. It can teach your child the alphabet, music, and colors, among other things. This is definitely great value for the price.

Fisher Price’s Laugh And Learn Home

Laugh And Learn Home is something every child should have. Awarded one of the best children’s educational toys some years back, this product teaches your child a host of subjects that will have him or her interested from six months old to even after he or she turns one. This is definitely an educational toy that will last a long time (provided that it doesn’t get smashed!) and bring a lot of benefits to you and your kid.

Shopping for educational toys and games is not really difficult, given the fact that toy manufacturers have effectively classified them into age levels and learning capacities.

However, with the multitude of products for every age group, getting the right game that would hold your baby’s attention could be a challenge. Ask the store attendant to give you a demonstration of the toy first before you bring it to the cash register. If it’s something you believe your child will enjoy, go for it.

By: Low Jeremy

Popularity: 4% [?]

Before entering the school system, children today are required to know more and be more skilled. When their parents were young the requirements were much less. As a parent, deciding what to teach kids in preparation for kindergarten can be a great challenge. Educational or learning games can help parents by providing a resource for them to teach children the necessary skills needed to begin kindergarten.

These educational games and activities can be both fun and challenging for adults and children alike. Because kids learn differently than adults, the games are made to be both educational and fun. Things like colors, shapes, counting, the alphabet and rhyming are commonly taught in these kinds of games. Remember the game “CandyLand”? This is a common children’s game that uses both colors and counting to teach kids in a fun and entertaining way. Memory is another skill children need to learn and practice before starting school. Children often have very sharp memories that just need to be reinforced, so games that teach memory are particularly helpful for this age group. These games are popular and fun for adults, too.

Some games make use of both movement and sound. If you don’t have that kind of game, you can make one up. Children need to move and they usually love music. In fact, music is a good teaching skill, so games like musical chairs can teach your child a lot and can help him or her stay active.

If you’re in the market for a children’s educational game, don’t just choose any game you see. Look at the box and take note of the age recommendation. While this is just a recommendation, it gives you an idea what age group the game has been created for. Some children need games that are designed for their actual age, while others are more advanced and will find games outside their age range more appropriate to their learning style.

Games teach more than just the basic educational skills so it’s important to set aside the time to play these games with your child. They not only learn their colors, numbers and shapes, but they learn how to take turns, how to win without gloating, how to be polite and how to lose at a game with graciousness. As a matter of fact, these are skills adults can use as well. Everyone can practice being a good sport.

Regardless of the games you purchase, remember always that it’s the memories of playing with your child that you’re really building. Even after they get older, they’ll remember that you took the time to play games with them and have fun with them. While educational games are designed to educate, they also have the benefit of teaching socialization and building a solid relationship between you and your child from a very young age. Your child will understand that he or she is worthy of your time and will build a self esteem that will carry them forth throughout their lifetime.

By: Joe Goertz

Popularity: 2% [?]

All parents want their children to grow up having lots of fun. Parents provide opportunities for their kids to participate in sports and clubs of all kinds.
If they are able, parents fill their home with toys and games to keep their children entertained and happy with things that are safe for kids to do. Parents should, however, see to it that their children have more than just fun. Childhood should be a time filled with learning and trying new things. Parents can combine their child’s desire for fun with their need for learning by choosing educational games.

Educational games are great because they are just what their name suggests: games that provide children with fun and promote their education at the same time. Parents who take seriously their responsibility to help their children learn new things and grow in important knowledge will be pleased to know that educational games are becoming increasingly available and popular for kids of all ages.

Think about your children’s ages and the unique educational needs they currently have. A three year old should be learning different things than an eight year old. If you are unsure of what educational games to buy for your kids, do a little research to see what kinds of needs your kids have and then find educational games to fit those needs. Talk to your children’s teachers to get good ideas of the needs that each of your kids have. Teachers will likely be able to suggest specific skills and goals that you can work on at home.

Educational games are a great way for parents to get involved in educating their children. Consider substituting educational games instead of a sporting event or an after school club that your kids are involved in. Find ways to balance the things your kids love to do with the things your kids need to be learning. In no time you may find that your kids choose educational games on their own once their learn how fun the games can be. It is a great thing when kids begin to request that educational games be a part of family time or a game night. Families can spend hours of quality time together laughing as they learn.

You can find educational games at many stores or online. Many companies are creating a wide variety of educational games for every budget. The next time you are tempted to pick up the latest video game for your child or to enroll them in an after school club, consider instead teaching your children to love learning by purchasing educational games for them.

By: Kirstine Pallette

Popularity: 2% [?]