Toys for learning shapes, colors, numbers and letters
Intermediate puzzles
Simple board games
Sand and water play toys
Pedal trikes
Sports sets—basketball, tee-ball, golf, bowling, ring toss
Simple computer programs for early learning
Variety of sport balls, e.g., soccer, football, kickball, super bounce ball
Learning Toys
Why your baby will enjoy this toy now:
What you can do to help your baby learn more with:
Help your child experiment with all the different things this toy does. Observe what activities your child seems most comfortable with. You might find that she repeats things again and again, which is a normal part of learning.
Find toys that expose your child to different topics. If he takes an interest in a particular subject, visit the library to check out related books and videos. Also, search the Internet for little-known facts about it.
Read books or look up facts in a child’s encyclopedia together, and ask him what he thinks is interesting or unusual about each picture. Since your child is becoming more detail-oriented, he’ll appreciate it if you label different things. “This one is the triceratops. You can tell because it has three horns.”
To give your child’s budding reasoning skills a boost, play a junior version of “Twenty Questions.” Think of a person, place or thing and have him ask you “Yes” or “No” questions to discover what it is. “I’m thinking of something we ate for lunch today.” (“Is it round?” “Is it red?” “Is it crunchy?”) Reverse roles so he answers the questions.
Let your child experiment with your computer – under your supervision, of course! Find age-appropriate games on children’s websites. Using the keyboard can improve your child’s fine-motor skills, which he’ll use a lot in kindergarten.
On your computer, show her where the letters of her name are and let her type them. Print it out post it on the fridge. In time she’ll come to recognise the individual letters and see how they’re grouped to form her name.
Imagination is probably in full gear by now, so portable playsets that encourage a child to enjoy imaginative play while relating it to real-world activities are great.
What you can do to help your baby learn more with:
If you have the space, set up your child's dollhouse and furnishings where they won't have to be put away when she's done playing for the day. Dollhouse play is the type most little girls will come back to day after day; it will extend their interest if they can pick up their "story" where they left it off.
If your child has one or more playsets to go with her dollhouse, help her set them up together. Maybe there’s even a school or a playground that will help create a town. Some dollhouse sets are even small enough for tabletop play, and so compact and portable that she can pack them up and take the fun along.
Whenever you take your child's play world and relate it to her real world experience, you extend her interest in the play. Talk about the playground in your neighborhood, if you have one; if you don't, ask her to tell you what she likes to do best when you do visit a playground.
Playsets are great conversation starters. Talk about a real-life scenario that might take place in her play world. "How are you going to get the baby to sleep?" "What shall we cook for dinner?"
If your child is playing by herself, encourage her to tell you a story about what's going on in her pretend world. This will help her put words with her imaginative thoughts and give her confidence vocalizing her ideas. Or, make up a play together and act out the parts.
All children develop at their own pace, and reach milestones at different times. The highlights mentioned in this web site are meant as approximate guidelines only. If you have any questions about your child's development, consult your healthcare provider.
