One of the things I appreciate about summer break is that it gives my children some extra unstructured time during the day. Don’t misunderstand me, I am a huge fan of structure and schedules; in fact, my kids’ summer vacation is probably a bit more structured than most. However, included in our schedule is free play. This can look just about anyway the kids want it to – providing it doesn’t involve electronics. There is something wonderful about being able to play and use one’s imagination in anyway one chooses. Of course, this doesn’t mean that parents can’t have options available for their child to choose from. Which brings us to the topic of today’s post: Fun Educational Toys! There are literally thousands of great learning toys available to purchase and enjoy. Today we will look at ten of them you may want to consider.
1. Rory’s Story Cubes – This is a pocket sized game from Gamewright that is a creative story generator. It consists of 9 cubes with a total of 54 images. Kids roll the story cubes and make up a story based on the image cubes. This is for one or more players and is recommended for ages 8 and up (I personally think children younger than 8 would also enjoy it!) Great for encouraging creative thinking!
2. Geopuzzles by Geotoys – These educational jigsaw puzzles will help your little one brush up on his geography. With several puzzle options ranging from Africa and The Middle East to Latin America, these country shaped puzzle pieces help children to become more familiar with the geography of the world. Each puzzle contains somewhere between 50-69 pieces and is recommended for ages 4 and up.
3. Wikki Stix – If you have a kinesthetic learner, you can’t beat this classic! This yarn and wax manipulative will provide your child with hours of creative play. Wikki Stix are reusable and non-toxic. These are recommended for ages 3 and up.
4. Water Wow! – These spiral bound boards from Melissa & Doug are perfect for travel. The practice boards come with a chunky, refillable water pen that is used to reveal colors when used on the practice boards. Water Wow! comes in several different themes including numbers and alphabet. Recommended for ages 3 and up.
5. Zingo! Sight Words by Think Fun – Zingo! Sight words is for 4-7 year olds. This twist on the classic Bingo game helps kids recognize sight words . Anyone who has Pre-K to 2nd grade aged children will find this game helpful for teaching their kiddos to read every day words.
6. GeoSafari SeaScope (Educational Insights) – Recommended for ages 6 and up, this telescope is useful for exploring on land or under water! SeaScope comes with an attachable Aqualite flashlight for viewing objects in murky or dark water. If you have a budding scientist in your family, they will have lots of fun with this toy!
7. HedBanz – This “What Am I” game by Spin Master Games can be played with 2 – 6 players and is for ages 7 and up. Your kiddos will be rolling with laughter as they try to figure out what is on their headband by asking yes and no questions. In addition to being lots of fun, HedBanz also encourages kids to use creative thinking and deductive reasoning in order to guess what they are!
8. Inchimals (Fat Brain) – This adorable set of 12 math blocks will help your little one develop her math skills while she plays. Each block pictures a different sized animal (from the 1” ladybug to the 12” giraffe) and is for ages 3 and up. Measurement, addition and subtraction are fun with these animals!
9. Imaginets – What do you get when you combine imagination with magnets? Imaginets of course! These colorful magnetic shapes will not only encourage imaginative play but will also help develop your little one’s fine motor skills. From MindWare, Imaginets comes with a carrying case, a magnetic board surface (which doubles as a dry erase board) and 50 design challenges. For ages 3 and up.
10. Quirkle – Here is another fun toy from MindWare. In this exciting game of strategy, players match their tiles with other tiles of similar color and shape. Quirkle is for 2-4 players and recommended for ages 6 and up.
This summer make sure you give your kids plenty of time to play and enjoy being young. After all, childhood goes by too fast! Maybe your kiddo would enjoy one of the above learning toys or you may discover another great educational toy. We want to hear what your kids enjoy playing with – please share your finds below!
