Play to Learn

Thank you Lakeshore Learning for providing us with the toys pictured here. We have had hours of fun and they have greatly enhanced our homeschooling experience. If you’re looking to step up your Birthday, Easter, or Christmas game, choose a toy that encourages imagination like these educational and developmental toys form Lakeshore.

There is a movement toward schooling at younger and younger ages in our country. In twenty years, it won’t matter if your little read at 5 or 8, but you can severely damage creativity and imagination by not making room for play. In fact, young children learn better through play. It takes fewer repetitions to learn when you use a game or imaginative play to introduce a new skill. So, put down the workbooks and check out some of my favorite toys to encourage learning and play.

1. Nuts About Counting!. Encourages counting, adding, and coordination by requiring littles to thread nuts onto bolts. Provides hours of fun and pretend play.

1. Letter Crayons Word Building Center. Encourages word creating and letter recognition. Builds a basis for spelling work. Can be used early to learn letters and match them while introducing the idea of combining letters to make words.

1. Treehouse Imagination Builders, Fairy Land Playset, and Royal Kingdom Adventure Castle. Here comes imaginative play and hours of fun. The treehouse provides opportunity to design and build many different ways. Combining sets provides hours of occupation, creativity, and imagination.

1. Snap-Bots and Snap-Dinos. Allows for creativity (see how many combinations you can make!) and fine motor skills. My kids love to snap these toys together over and over!

1. Alphabet Learning Locks. Encourages letter recognition, matching, and phonics. Practice fine motor skills as they open each lock.

Get your kids off the electronics and into the world of learning. Make learning fun for not just the kiddos but you (I admit, even I enjoy opening each lock and snapping together those dinos). Foster imagination and encourage education by throwing away the workbooks (okay, okay unless you have a child who loves workbooks- every kid is different!) and embracing toys that encourage learning through play.

No workbooks were harmed in the making of this post. In fact, we enjoy books often, at least that’s what our overflowing shelves indicate. All children are different, some enjoy writing for hours and others prefer building. Providing an environment that fosters all sorts of learning is the best thing for our children and that’s just what Lakeshore Learning does with their assortment of developmental toys and teaching supplements.