How to Use Learning Toys to Develop Your Preschooler
Knowing if your preschool child is a visual, audio or kinesthetic learner, will help you choose learning toys that will assist your child in growing in the areas that they love and developing the areas they are weaker in.
From 3 to 5 years, preschool children learn the skills that will allow them to move from dependant baby to independent school child.
The skills they learn in these years pave the way to reading, writing, making friends, speaking well and developing fine and gross motor skills.
Developing your preschooler’s visual learning skills
Visual preschoolers learn by watching and copying. Information needs to be presented to them for example by demonstration or pictures.
Because these children are adept at copying using their hands they have great:
★ Fine motor skills
★ Hand eye coordination needed for writing
However their gross motor skills and socializing skills may not be as strong. Learning toys can be used to encourage them in these areas.
Learning toys to develop preschooler’s visual learning skills
★ Board games: Gamewright Hisss Card Game
★ Building toys: Gears! Gears! Gears! Super Set Haba Basic Building Blocks Haba Clown Blocks
★ Drawing, coloring, painting: Colorforms My First Book Of Cutting Travel Etch A Sketch
★ Electronic learning toys: Leapfrog Clickstart My First Computer Leap Frog Tag Reading System Leapster Learning Game System
★ Hand eye coordination games: iPlay Wok and Roll iPlayUp the Water Spout Pegs and Pegboard Set with Pattern Cards
★ Memory games and cards: Finders Keepers Memory Game The Disney Edition Battelo Bamboo Game eBoo I Never Forget a Face Memory Game Bunny Hop
★ Modeling: Crayola Model Magic Play-Doh Creativity Center
★ Observation games: Where’s Waldo Look and Find.
★ Puzzles: Cranium Puzzles Plus Melissa & Doug Magnetic Hide and Seek Board
★ Science toys: Moon in My Room Inflatable Butterfly Life Cycle
★ Sorting and stacking toys: Cadaco Long Neckers Matching and Stacking Game Plan Toy Geometric Sorting Board
Toys to improve visual skills for audio preschoolers:
★ Toys which combine pictures & sounds: Fisher-Price Manny’s Fix-It Phone Melissa & Doug Farm Sound Puzzle Melissa & Doug Alphabet Sound Puzzle Sounds At Home Listening Lotto Talking Smart Sticks Letters & Sounds Little People Sounds Stable Little Super Star Classical Stacker
★ Larger blocks or easier building sets: Melissa & Doug Deluxe Jumbo Cardboard Blocks
★ Games which involve story telling about pictures
★ Toys which develop fine motor skills with sounds and music: Little Super Star Classical Stacker
Toys to improve visual skills for kinesthetic preschoolers:
★ Modeling: Crayola Model Magic
★ Toys with moving parts
★ Toys which encourage fine motor skills through movement: Fisher-Price Shake & Go Racers
★ Tactile toys: Touch and Match Shape Game
★ Larger blocks or building sets: Melissa & Doug Deluxe Jumbo Cardboard Blocks
★ Large easel: Cinderella Aquadoodle floor mat Melissa & Doug Deluxe Standing Easel
★ Large paper rolls: Picture Story Newsprint Paper Roll
★ Sidewalk chalk: Crayola Sidewalk Chalk
★ Finger painting: Elmer’s Fantastic Finger Paint Pack with Paper Smock & Table Mat
Develop your preschooler’s auditory skills
Auditory preschoolers learn by listening. Information needs to be presented to them verbally. They adore telling stories, singing songs, reading rhymes, listening to music and playing musical interments.
Their great listening skills give them with a strong socializing and communicating skills.
As they prefer to talk then watch, so they often need work on their hand-eye coordination. Also their gross motor skills may not be strong. Learning toys can target and improve on these areas.
Learning toys to develop preschooler’s auditory learning skills
★ Toys that teach with sound: Alex Tub Tunes Water Flutes LeapFrog Sing-Along Read-Along LeapFrog Text and Learn Learning Resources Pretend and Play Teaching Telephone Learning Basic Skills Through Music
★ Reading toys: LeapFrog® Fridge Talk Magnetic Wordplay Recorder,
★ Audio books
★ Toy musical instruments: Remo Kids Percussion Floor Tom Melissa & Doug Deluxe Beginner Band Set Woodstock Chimalong Schoenhut Baby Grand Piano
Toys to improve audio skills for visual preschoolers:
★ Listening bingo: Alphabet Soundtracks Game
★ Picture & sounds books
★ Toy laptops
★ Toys which combine sound and visuals: See & Learn Piano Flash Beat Drum LeapFrog Text and Learn
Toys to improve audio skills for kinesthetic preschoolers:
★ Books about action
★ Pretend play and dress ups: Pretend and Play Camp Set Pretend and Play Work Belt Tool Set
★ Toys that combine sound and movement: Alex Tub Tunes Water Flutes
Developing your preschooler’s kinesthetic learning skills
Kinesthetic preschoolers learn by doing. They need information presented to them by someone who will perform the activity along with them.
Gross motor skills including coordination and balance are well developed. They gravitate to games and toys that involve action.
These children need fine motor skills, hand eye coordination and speech and vocabulary worked on, so learning toys which encourage interest these areas are essential.
Learning toys to develop preschooler’s kinesthetic learning skills
★ Balance toys: Wobble Deck KikaFlik Multi Sports Trainer
★ Climbing toys
★ Sports equipment
★ Bikes and ride ons
★ Trucks for outdoor play
★ Gym toys: Gymnic ball, tumbling mat
★ Swings and slides: Yellow Disc Swing
★ Resources that combine learning with movement: Movement Activities A To Z Book Teaching with Movement Gr-K
Toys to improve kinesthetic skills for visual preschoolers:
★ Toys that encourage movement with visuals: Crocodile Creek Playground Ball Barnyard Rainbow Rhythm Ribbon Set
★ Watch and copy activities: Kids in Motion Preschool Aerobic Fun Gilad Kids In Motion Fun In The Sun
Toys to improve kinesthetic skills for audio preschoolers:
★ Toys that combine movement and sound: Melissa & Doug Deluxe Gallop-N-Go Stick Pony Radio Flyer Liberty Spring Horse with Sound Step Rocking Boat
★ Movement through music and dance: U-Dance Ready Set Move
★ Toys with texture: Wonderworld Eco-Friendly ABC Touchy Blocks
