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Blog Article Archive |
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Toys That Stimulate Special Needs Children
If you have a special needs child, no one has to tell you about the frustration in finding not only age appropriate toys for your child but also toys that stimulate and the child can enjoy. Special needs children love to play and learn as much as any other child, they just need to do it a little bit differently. For younger children, brightly colored toys will hold their interest a lot more than other types of toys. For helping children learn to tell time, the brightly colored Time Tracker Visual Timer & Clock has a number of features that will keep your child entertained and learning to tell time through fun games. If you have a child that is bothered by toys that make noise, the volume can be turned down and it can work on a purely visual level. One thing many special needs children have in common is that they lack finger dexterity and a Basic Skill Discovery Pentagon is perfect for helping child learn the basic finger skills for dressing themselves. Lacing, zippers, buttons and more are covered around this pentagon and each side of the pentagon brings a new skill to master. One way to entertain a group of children is to play music and let them try to zip, button and lace as much as they can and stop the music and everyone has to move around the pentagon. Begin the music again and everyone does whatever is before them and continues what the other person started. The person to finish completing a side first is the winner. If you need to purchase a toy for a special needs child, use these tips and you'll have given them their new favorite toy.
posted by SensoryEdge
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Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Educational Toys Don't Have to Be Boring
If you think all educational toys need to be dull because they are learning toys, think again. Many toys are fun and educational and it's been proven through study after study that children learn best and retain that knowledge and skilled learned through play. You can make your child's room or their favorite play spot a fun learning area. Start off by using a rug that will stimulate learning like an ABC and 123 rug. This fun design has ABC letters and also numbers from one to ten. This rug can be used to play games like Addition Jump. Simple math equations are given such as "What is 2+3?" and then your child jumps on the carpet to the correct answer. It's a great way to encourage physical activity as well as learning. As your child learns more you can make the equations more complicated such as adding two numbers and subtracting one and letting him jump on the square on the carpet that is the correct answer. This rug also makes a wonderful foundation for letting your children's imaginations run wild and make up their own games. Blocks are another great item for learning. You can get all sorts of blocks that will encourage letter and object recognition. Plus your children can use a learning rug as a foundation to play with their blocks or other toys on and keep the learning fun. If you're looking for some educational items that won't put your kids to sleep, be choosy and add items that offer a lot of opportunities for both learning and fun.
posted by SensoryEdge
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Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Helping Your Children Develop a Love of Reading
Many parents fight a battle every single day trying to get their children to read and it involves pleading, bargaining and deal-making and usually winds up not working. The secret to getting children to love to read is to let them learn without knowing they are learning. Knowledge gained through play is the easiest and most effective way for children to learn any task. ABC Chalk Talk is a great way to entice your children to learn to love to read through play. This cool toy was voted Family Fun Magazine Toy of the Year Winner 2006 and it's innovative take on making reading a run activity is one of the reasons why. Most reading games are little more than glorified flash cards and in a nutshell they are boring to kids and do little to encourage them to read. The ABC Chalk Talk is an interactive touch pad that has over 30 touch sensors to help teach kids not only their alphabet; but also phonics, numbers, and colors. This fun toy has 5 fun activity modes and multiple levels of play. There is also a Music Mode that will help build an appreciation of music through the use of rhythm and rhyme. The ABC Talk Chalk Mat isn't a huge space commitment and can easily be hung on the wall for easy viewing or used on any flat surface. There is a removable double-sided chalkboard that slips into a holder on the front of the mat so kids can practice what their learning and erase away any mistakes. The kit also includes a hand pointer, eraser, and colored chalk. If you're tired of toys that are little more than gadgets that don't expand the minds of your children and teach them little to nothing, get them a fun toy that will let them learn to read and enjoy every minute of it.
posted by SensoryEdge
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Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Learning is Fun Through Pretend Play
The problem many parents find with the toys of today is they don't stimulate children to indulge in creative and imaginative play. Even coloring books have gone electronic where the child merely picks the color and the toy fills it in. These type of toys are fine for learning hand and eye coordination or learning to ascertain what different buttons do but they do nothing to open the minds of children. That's where pretend play toys come in. There are a good number of toys that will entice your children to pretend they are doctors, chefs and other occupations as well as toys that let children build towns and play the part of everyone in it. Pretend play toys are great for small groups of children to learn to listen to each other's ideas as well as cooperate when making up scenarios to play out. A fun pretend play toy that encourages not only group play but outside play as well is a Grill and Go Camp Stove for Kids. They can pretend they are anywhere in the world or even a place they make up in their heads and having the camp out time of their life. This fun camping stove looks authentic and comes authentically made with a grill and burner that light up and make cooking noises such as boiling and sizzling sounds. This extremely fun toy includes a kid sized coffee pot, frying pan, tongs, spatula, dull fork, and dull knife and will give your kids hours of imaginative fun!
posted by SensoryEdge
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Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Terrific Science Kits
If you have children of your own, you are probably already well aware of the fact that all kids just love to ask lots and lots of questions. This is because their little minds are just like sponges, always looking to soak up as much information as they possibly can. If you feel as though you cannot always answer all of the questions that they seem to ask, from inquiries of the moon being made out of cheese or what ants like to eat, then you might want to look into the help of a great science kit. There are tons of really incredible science kits available on the market that are geared for broadening little minds. You might actually find that there might even be a science kit for just about any subject that your child likes to inquire about. Besides helping you out by answering your children's questions, you will definitely find that you can even learn a thing or two! The Blood, Bones and Body Bits science kit is a box filled with some of the coolest information on what makes the human body tick. In addition to that, your child will just love all of the gooey items that can be made with the instructions inside from brains to a heart pumping blood! This neat kit is geared toward children ages five and older, along with any parents who feel that they have the stomach to endure the experiments. Enjoy all that science has to offer you and your kids!
posted by SensoryEdge
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Monday, December 11, 2006
Every Child Should Have A Doll House
Do you remember when you were young and you had the chance to play with an incredible dollhouse? Even if you are male, the chances are that you had a couple of encounters with doll houses in your younger years. The reason why doll houses are such an amazing item for young children to play with is because they can offer to many incredible hours of pretend play. This is why every little girl, and even boy, should have the chance to play with a great dollhouse. Doll houses are a magical toy that you can play with to let your mind wander, all the while exploring all of the possibilities of pretend play. Studies have shown that the more pretend playtime that younger children have, the higher the chances of high creativity levels as they grow. You are sure to find that the addition of a dollhouse into your home for your kids will be an investment that is well worth the money that you will spend. The Fashion Dollhouse by KidKraft is an excellent choice whether you run a daycare, are looking for something for your kindergarten class or even for your own children. This incredible house is over four feet in height and filled with all kinds of rooms loaded with terrific wooden furniture. The colors of the house are very bright and welcoming and there is even a safety hinge on the flip top roof so that no fingers will get pinched during play time. Introducing this dollhouse into your child's life might be one of the smartest moves you make when it comes to toys.
posted by SensoryEdge
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Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Bringing Outdoor Fun Inside
You probably know very well that each and every child loves to go outside to explore for a while and get completely caught up in nature. In addition to that, there are plenty of things that a child can do to play pretend and have an amazing time while they are outside. If you happen to be the proud parent of a child who really loves the outdoors, you might want to think about bringing some of those elements inside when the weather is cold or rainy. If you are wondering just how this is possible, you should know that bringing outside elements inside might be a little bit easier than you would think, especially when you have the help of an incredible play set. The perfect item for your little nature lover is definitely the Melissa and Doug Tree House Play Set. This wonderful play set encourages children to take part in pretend adventures that can keep them occupied all day long. You might even find that you will want to sit right down and play along with them! Included in the Melissa and Doug Tree House Play Set are great accessories such as a trap door, pulley system, tire swing, two play figures, a comfortable hammock that they can relax in and much more. You and your child should enjoy the realistic looking foliage and all of the possible play scenarios. When it is windy, raining or even snowing outside, this indoors play set is just perfect for nature pretend play!
posted by SensoryEdge
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Monday, December 04, 2006
Pretend Baking Made Easy
Whether you have a son or a daughter, you will find that all children just love to help you out in the kitchen, especially if you are going to be baking delicious cupcakes or cookies. However, because appliances can be complicated and the oven and stove get too hot, this may not always be an option. This is when the perfect gift of a pretend baking set can come in really handy! You and your child are sure to have hours upon hours of fun and incredible bonding time when you give them a chance to use the Super Baking Set while you are cooking in the kitchen. Go ahead and clear them a space on the counter or the table and let them get going with their own baking set so they can pretend that they are cooking just like you. Some of the awesome items that are included in this fun set include a rolling pin, pastry wheel, mixing bowl, different shaped cookie cutters, measuring utensils and more! There is even an oven mitt so they can pretend that they are taking their baked goods in and out of the oven. Once your child begins exploring pretend play with this baking set, you might just find that he or she will end up growing with a want to cook and bake. As they grow older, they can eventually take their pretend play a little bit further with real baked goods. Until that time, this pretend baking set is just right for little hands and growing minds!
posted by SensoryEdge
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