Posts Tagged ‘learning’

Melissa And Doug Gift List For the Holidays

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Some of the best types of learning is when you are having fun while learning.  Young children faster when they feel no fear and pressure. So, that is why the market is buzzing with learning toys – these toys that impart learning while having fun. One company that stands out in the crowd in terms of quality, safety and educational learningthrough toys is Melissa and Doug. They have been mixing fun and learning in just the right mix since the 80’s.

From music to play food, Melissa and Dougs toys offer a lot of fun for children with a nice educational twist.  These toys are also popular because they offer complete value for money with everlasting designs and durability. Here are some Melissa and Doug educational toys without which your Christmas shopping is incomplete with confidence.

Wooden stringing beads

Toy by Melissa and Doug including their wooden stringing beads are an excellent play pal for kids.  With beads available in [different, children learn to stack them in combination and use their creativity to make bracelets and necklaces.  These learning toys teach the children how to spell words and how to arrange them, how to recognize shapes and colors and it also allows them to work on their counting skills.  The age for these toys is 4 and older.

See and Spell

One of the most endearing toys for preschoolers, see and spell works on multiple skills. This Melissa and Doug wooden puzzle teaches children to associate images with words, to spell these words and it also works on their hand eye coordination. This toy puts their naive brains to work and sharpen their memory as they recall what they have learnt. They have to pick the letters and insert them in their proper slots that help them in improving their maneuvering and fine motor skills. They can further use the letters for stenciling.

Wooden play food

Play food is one of the best way to teach your child the importance of balanced diet right from the beginning. Toy food comes in a variety of ways such as; pizza, fruit, cookies, and even B-BQ items food, kitchen stuff to fridge food sets. You can introduce your children to the benefits of different food products along with which items to be stored in fridge. They can learn the concepts of fractions and develop basic arithmetic skills. Breakfast, lunch and dinner set puzzles help them learn about the varieties in food along with how to set table and adopt certain social skills. Children love to model what they watch in the real world, this pretend and role play enahnces their imagination and social skills.

Kids Easel

One of the toys that always is a big hit is the Art Easel by Melissa and Doug. The young artists receive a very supportive message with this toy and this really stimulates their creative and imaginative side. This easel lends itself to easily adjusting the height to allow children of different age groups to use it with ease and the ability to clip the pages which allows them to attach scribbles, paintings or photos to the easel with a freedom to use their work station the way they want to.

We have listed some of the educational toys offered by Melissa and Doug. There are many shops that selll these gifts but there are only few sites that provide exceptional service along with great prices. Great Kid Gifts is one of those rare sites that offer huge discounts and genuine products. Go ahead and make this Christmas special for your little angel by including Melissa and Doug toys in your Holiday toy list.


4 Things to Know When Getting Children Toys

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Kids under 2 seem to discover new things with every passing moment. With new things at every nook and corner of the house, they remain pretty intrigued and busy throughout the day may it be a drawer full of utensils or a wardrobe door.  The toys often fail to engage them for long term but this does not mean that they are of no value. The items in the house are not challenging enough to contribute to the toddler’s overall development in the long run.

Toy websites have so much to choose from that we are often confused on what the the actual benefits any toy will offer. So, here are some tips on how to choose the right toys for your child.

Safety

A major element in buying gifts for children is Safety. The toys should not have any sharp corners or very small detachable parts. It is important that you find toys that you know that what it is made out of is non toxic and if it happens to be painted that it doesn’t have lead paint. Since children love to throw their toys or whatever they have for that matter, keep this in mind when getting them toys. It must be durable and it helps to be soft but this is more for the parents safety than for the child. melissa and doug toys are known for their adherence to safety guidelines. You can purchase them online from stores like Great Kid Gifts.

Engaging

Communication skills of toddlers are at the developing stage so you must buy such toys that promote ‘interactivity’. Toy phones, talk-back toys, and plush toys get the children to talk and react. You can get involved in pretend conversations and role playing activities that help them develop different social skills.

Manipulation

Handling toys is one of the best way to promote gross motor skills like grasping, maneuvering, tossing and better hand eye coordination. Toddlers are delighted to play with a ball to do this. They like to kick it, toss it and catch it. Ball promotes the physical activity as well which is a must for good health of the child. Building blocks, stacking rings, nesting toys all help in developing better manipulative skills. Toys that work on small muscles are also very helpful like pushing a button or lever, bulding block toys, dials or handles or stroking the toy hammers.

Art

This is the best time to encourage creativity in children. So buy colored pens or crayons and paper and hand it over to them for complete enjoyment. Books also inspire them to be imaginative and creative like story books. Although they cannot read, they love to turn the pages so buy cardboard books for them whose pages cannot be torn.

Getting gifts for toddlers requires you to keep in mind the developmental lessons the toys offer and the capabilities and interests of your child. A toy that enhances imagination and sparks adventure along with being within the appropriate age range for your child. Keep in mind these items and buy toys that nurture the young minds positively.


Making Garlands While Learning

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Why not do something fun with your kids that is also educational? As a bonus, this same project can be used to create wonderful memories of time you spent binding their heart to your own.

Creating garlands and chains of flowers provide you just such an opportunity. If you have a son, tell him you are teaching him an important skill so that he can make his wife feel pretty one day. Your daughter will feel much like a princess with a wreath of flowers on her head.

For this project, you will need flowers with sturdy stems. Some of the flowers that work well for this include: asters, black-eyed Susan, daisies, globe amaranth, red clover, zinnias, bachelor buttons, chrysanthemums, dandelions, marigolds, and tithonia.

Practice counting skills as you collect 25 to 30 flowers. Once collected, you both can sort them into equal piles. Sort them by colors or size. All of these skills are reinforced with repetition.

Other learning opportunities are identifying the plants and flowers. Do you know which plants are good to eat? Do the plants have other uses? Learn to identify the parts of the flower. Show your child where the stamen and pistil (the name for the style, ovary and stigma) are located. What function do these parts have? The ideas are endless.

Children develop fine motor skills by pulling the flower heads firmly and gently. By reaching for the swaying flower blooms, a child develops hand eye coordination.

Sit together with your child and show him how you use your thumb nail to gently pierce the stem just below the flower’s head. Place the stem of a second flower through this hole. Then pierce a hole into the second flower’s stem, below the flower’s head. Encourage your child to help you place a new stem through the hole you created in the second stem. This builds fine motor skills.

This is repeated until your garland is long enough to fit your head, wrist or neck. On the last flower’s stem, make a slit long enough to allow the first flower’s head to slip through. After you knot the last stem, you can then either trim the extra stems or braid them into your wreath.

Adorn your child with the finished project in anticipation of Daddy’s arrival home.

From a child’s perspective, you just took the time to make something pretty with them and had a lot of fun. You’ll know that you practiced fine motor skills, while learning about botany, counting, color identification, sorting and how to sit still to see a task to completion. Not only will your child benefit from these things, he will be enriched listening to your stories and gain an appreciation of the beauty of God’s creation.