There's absolutely no doubt that parents are the unsung and forgotten heroes of the Christmas season. They spend ungodly amounts of time, money and effort trying to find that ideal present for their son or daughter. But it's practically nothing compared to how much we'd truly sacrifice for our kids.
However, what if this year you did something a little different? Rather than just chasing whatever the toy-of-the-moment is, what if you tried to get your child a gift that actually taught him something (besides video game hand-eye coordination)? We all know that there are countless games out there and some of them are ultra cool, but I think parents have an obligation to get at least one or two gifts that also teach their children something in addition to just being a fun toy. Keeping that in mind, here is a short list of neat teaching toys for kids:
Leapfrog Scribble and Write: The Scribble and Write is a fun toy deliberately designed to teach children the alphabet, and it does this via several methods: guessing letters; tracing upper-case and lower-case letters; and drawing shapes. Basically, letters and shapes, shown in the form of red dots, appear in a traceable writing area on the front of the toy. Verbally, the Scribble and Write prompts children to trace the object which appears using a stylus which comes attached. (In the "guessing" mode, the Scribble and Write draws a letter on the tracing surface and children have to identify it by pressing the proper alphabet button on the frot of the Scribble and Write.)
Baby Einstein Count and Compose Piano: An exceptionally cool learning gift, this toy piano has three teaching modes (keyboard, composer and counting) and has a "keyboard" that consists of five large colorful keys numbered 1-5. Depending on what the current mode is, pressing a key can play a single musical note (keyboard mode) or portions of classical music (composer mode). In counting mode, the toy the number of the key is announced before music is played. In addition, there is a language selector which allows for the numbers to be pronounced in either English, Spanish or French. Finally, another dial lets the child choose whether the musical notes are played on a flute, xylophone or piano.
Leapfrog Phonics Pond: This device (which has the letters of the alphabet on buttons on its front) does a great job of teaching phonics in various ways, including: (a) Finding Letters by Sound - Children are given the sound of a letter and asked to identify it; (b) Spelling - Various words are spelled out, and children are asked to press the corresponding letters that make up that word; and (c) Music - Children are prompted to press a letter, which will cause music to be played - mostly perennial favorites like "This Old Man," "Yankee Doodle," and the like.
Needless to say, the list above is by no means exclusive or all-inclusive. There are lots of cool toys and gifts out there to help your child learn and grow, while being fun at the same time. Moreover, I truly think, in this instance, that it's possible for kids to have the best of both worlds.
However, what if this year you did something a little different? Rather than just chasing whatever the toy-of-the-moment is, what if you tried to get your child a gift that actually taught him something (besides video game hand-eye coordination)? We all know that there are countless games out there and some of them are ultra cool, but I think parents have an obligation to get at least one or two gifts that also teach their children something in addition to just being a fun toy. Keeping that in mind, here is a short list of neat teaching toys for kids:
Leapfrog Scribble and Write: The Scribble and Write is a fun toy deliberately designed to teach children the alphabet, and it does this via several methods: guessing letters; tracing upper-case and lower-case letters; and drawing shapes. Basically, letters and shapes, shown in the form of red dots, appear in a traceable writing area on the front of the toy. Verbally, the Scribble and Write prompts children to trace the object which appears using a stylus which comes attached. (In the "guessing" mode, the Scribble and Write draws a letter on the tracing surface and children have to identify it by pressing the proper alphabet button on the frot of the Scribble and Write.)
Baby Einstein Count and Compose Piano: An exceptionally cool learning gift, this toy piano has three teaching modes (keyboard, composer and counting) and has a "keyboard" that consists of five large colorful keys numbered 1-5. Depending on what the current mode is, pressing a key can play a single musical note (keyboard mode) or portions of classical music (composer mode). In counting mode, the toy the number of the key is announced before music is played. In addition, there is a language selector which allows for the numbers to be pronounced in either English, Spanish or French. Finally, another dial lets the child choose whether the musical notes are played on a flute, xylophone or piano.
Leapfrog Phonics Pond: This device (which has the letters of the alphabet on buttons on its front) does a great job of teaching phonics in various ways, including: (a) Finding Letters by Sound - Children are given the sound of a letter and asked to identify it; (b) Spelling - Various words are spelled out, and children are asked to press the corresponding letters that make up that word; and (c) Music - Children are prompted to press a letter, which will cause music to be played - mostly perennial favorites like "This Old Man," "Yankee Doodle," and the like.
Needless to say, the list above is by no means exclusive or all-inclusive. There are lots of cool toys and gifts out there to help your child learn and grow, while being fun at the same time. Moreover, I truly think, in this instance, that it's possible for kids to have the best of both worlds.
About the Author:
For great educational toys and gifts visit www.cooltoysandgifts .com to find learning toys and other cool toys and gifts.
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