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Toys That Teach
Kathryn L. Stout, B.S.Ed., M.Ed.
Published: December 1999
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Young children can learn a great deal as they play. Following are just a few items that can be used fairly independently by children from ages 3 to 6. Why not give gifts this Christmas that will also provide a strong foundation for later learning?
- Activities that develop eye-hand coordination (also referred to as visual-motor skills) help with handwriting and drawing.
- Activities that include patterns to follow will provide practice in visual discrimination (seeing differences) necessary to later reading.
- Activities that develop eye-hand coordination (also referred to as visual-motor skills) help with handwriting and drawing.
- Activities that include patterns to follow will provide practice in visual discrimination (seeing differences) necessary to later reading.
- Parquetry or Pattern Blocks with pattern cards to reproduce (Young children place the pieces on top of the pattern card.)
- Peg boards and pattern cards to be copied. The smaller the pegs and holes, the finer the coordination required.
- Puzzles. Begin with those that have one piece per slot for the very young.
- Sewing cards, Lacing Shapes.
- Wooden beads to string with pattern cards to copy.
- Dot-to-Dot books.
You can encourage a child to think critically by helping him identify the patterns he is copying. For example, he may have copied the pattern on a picture card or copied a model already on the peg board that uses six pegs in a pattern of red, yellow, red, yellow, red, yellow. Once it has been completed, ask him to continue by placing at least two more pegs. Does he choose red and then yellow? If so, he has identified the pattern in the model. If not, point out the pattern and then ask, "What color should you try next?"
Reading comprehension involves, among other things, the ability to recall and organize information. The following materials offer practice in those skills at a foundational level, and they're fun:
- Picture Sequence Cards. These are cards with 3 to 6 pictures per set which the child arranges in order. For example, one set may include a seed under the ground, a seedling, and a full-grown plant. The cards would be out of that order and the child would arrange them, left-to-right, to illustrate the proper sequence.
- Storybooks with audiocassettes. A child can listen to the story as he looks at the words and turns the pages. This alone will help develop language skills and a love of reading. However, if you encourage the child to tell you about the story, he will also learn to recall and retell plot events in chronological order.
Critical thinking includes the ability to make associations. At the foundational level, children identify things that, in their experience, are associated closely with one another: paper and pencil, bucket and shovel, watering can and plant, etc. Some companies offer these in puzzle form. That is, a box contains several two-piece puzzles with one picture on each piece. The child knows the association is correct if the two pieces fit together. The Living and Learning catalog (below) lists the following two-piece puzzle sets:
- Things that go together
- Opposites
Other sets are available with picture cards for the child to match, but because they are not puzzles, parent supervision is necessary.
In case you have difficulty finding any of the items mentioned, here are a few possible sources:
Classroom Resources catalog from National
School Products 1-800-627-9393
Hach
1-800-624-7968
Hands
on and Beyond 1-888-20-LEARN
Young children do require a great deal of supervision. But when they play with the materials listed above, parents can take a guilt-free break! Simply demonstrate how to use the items, and then maintain the appeal by storing them in an area that is visible to the children, but that requires permission before use. You can also establish quiet periods during the day in which you offer the children a choice of activities, including these. This type of play does make a difference.