Toys that Motivate Learning at Home!
No matter what your little one's school situation looks like this year, extending learning through play and reinforcing skills being taught at the toddler and preschool ages is so important! Practicing skills like writing and sounding out letters at home with exciting, educational devices, toys, and products will help continue to make learning a fun experience!
The best, top picked educational learning toys for toddlers, preschoolers, and even bigger kids come from LeapFrog!
Preschool Success Starts Here!
Your preschooler won't ever want to stop playing with the LeapStart® Preschool Success!
This interactive learning system keeps little ones engaged with learning activities in each of its books. Tap the stylus on the pictures and words to practice early reading and math skills and listen to the audio for an experience that reinforces learning and helps kids better understand concepts. The LeapStart® Preschool Success interactive learning system’s touch-and-talk activities including games, puzzles, and creative challenges enhance learning to help develop children’s math, reading and problem-solving skills. The best part is that this system grows with your little one while keeping learning exciting with its extensive library of books (sold separately) that cover a variety of topics from preschool through first grade.
Parent Tips for Home:
Turn off the TV - Snuggle up on the couch or sit tall at the kitchen table while flipping through the pages and playing the learning games. There are so many choices to play in the interactive books that your little one won't get bored. There is always something new to play on the next page!
Perfect for travel - The LeapStart® Preschool Success opens like a book or binder which allows it to sit flat across your little one's lap while riding in the car. The stylus is connected, so it won't get lost while you are trying to drive. The directions for the learning games are easy enough to follow that preschoolers can be successful even if you are not sitting right there.
Pinch the pencil - Practicing and strengthening fine motor muscles is an important way to reinforce activities that are happening in school. Encourage your little one to try to pinch the pencil instead of gripping it with a fist while playing.
Animal Facts & Fun!
Calling all animal lovers!
The LeapFrog® 100 Animals BookTM is jam-packed with animals from all over the world! The book keeps little ones entertained with all of the animal choices and learning activities that seem never-ending! The book allows you to hold 100 animals in your hands. It includes 12 habitats and environments and offers the opportunity to explore and learn about animals from the desert, savanna, rainforest, ocean, and more through its pictures and photographs. Kids can play in English and Spanish while learning animal names, sounds, and fun facts!
Parent Tips for Home:
Create a science center - Gather the animal toys that you already own and a magnifying glass. Add them all to a small table or tray. As your little one reads and interacts with the animals in the LeapFrog® 100 Animals BookTM, encourage him or her to see if he or she can find the same animal on the tray and use the magnifying glass to look for details about the animal’s characteristics in the book.
Match the animals - Print animal images from the internet. Cut them out and add them to a piece of construction paper. As your little one flips through the pages and presses the animals to learn more about them, have him or her find the matching animals on the paper. Cover each one that is found. Try to find them all in the book!
Draw & write the facts - There are so many animals and facts to learn about each animal included in the book. Have your little one draw a picture of the animals and help list facts that are learned about each one. Turn the pages into a homemade book to read along with the LeapFrog® 100 Animals BookTM!
Play & Learn with Bailey!
Cute and cuddly Bailey wants to be your best friend!
The LeapFrog® Speak & Learn PuppyTM is the cutest interactive learning toy for toddlers and preschoolers! While playing with Bailey, they will forget that any learning is taking place. Bailey is a plush puppy with fun flappy ears that will talk to you while teaching you numbers, letters, and emotions. As kids learn to talk, this interactive dog repeats what they say and asks questions to help keep the conversation going and encourage vocabulary and social skills. Little ones can explore animal facts, sounds, food, feelings, letters, and numbers through Bailey’s four paw buttons and light-up collar. Sing along with Bailey too! The Speak
& Learn PuppyTM grows with your little one and offers three learning levels.
Parent Tips for Home:
Make up a song - Bailey will repeat what you say in a fun way! Help your little one make up a fun song to have Bailey "sing" back to him or her. Coming up with a silly song is a great way to practice early reading skills and build vocabulary.
Comfort & learn - While no one wants a hard toy given to them when they’re upset, Bailey is the perfect friend to cuddle up with. While little ones can be distracted through play, song, or interaction, toys like the LeapFrog® Speak & Learn PuppyTM help teach little ones that feeling happy again is ok!
Looking for More Learning Fun
You will want to check out the LeapFrog® Mr. Pencil’s ABC BackpackTM and the LeapFrog® ABC Phonics Word BuilderTM as both are great additions to the above top picked learning toys for home!
Your little one will be able to take the backpack with him or her to all of his or her siblings’ sporting events. The bonus is that he or she will be able to carry the LeapFrog® Mr. Pencil’s ABC BackpackTM on his or her back, so you will have less to bring along. The pencil is attached to the backpack, so the letters don't easily fall out of their spots. This will help you worry less about losing any parts of the backpack. Take the time to teach your little one how to find the notch in each letter to easily remove it from its spot. This will allow the learning to be more successful!
There are so many alphabet learning options with the LeapFrog® ABC Phonics Word BuilderTMv, which will be available this fall. As soon as your little one is able to move the red slider back and forth, so much learning will be able to take place! Practice letter sounds, letter matching, stretching CVC words, and more while playing. The additional vowel cards can be used as the consonants are mastered for more of a challenge. Take the word builder along with you in the car or even to play at a restaurant while waiting.
No matter what kind of school learning extension you are hoping to achieve at home, the LeapFrog® line of interactive toys, devices, and products will help your little one be even more successful!
Nicole Franklin is a former kindergarten teacher who now uses her Early Childhood Education Degree in her preschool classroom. She is the creator of the blog, Modern Preschool, where she shares hands-on learning activities for teachers and parents to use with their preschoolers and kindergarteners.