Three Ways Teachers Can Use Toys in the Classroom

The old way of thinking said that toys were for home not for school. It used to be thought that toys were a distraction to students and playing wasn't part of the school day. Well, times have changed and experts agree that playing is one of the most important ways that kids learn. Playing allows students to mimic what they have learned, be creative, and express what is important to them.

Along with our thinking about toys at school, toys themselves have come a long way. There are many educational toys that help reinforce what teachers have been teaching and give children the opportunity to learn new concepts. Hands-on learning through these types of toys offers another way to learn in addition to oral and written learning. This type of hands on learning is called tactile learning.

To Introduce a New Concept

Teachers can use toys to introduce a new concept. A great example of this is the concept of money, making change, and the value of coins. By introducing a play cash register into the classroom, students can see the money, pretend to purchase items in the classroom, and make change for classmates. Now, by the end of learning a new concept, students have heard it, done written work on it, and touched the lessons making it much easier to retain.

To Reinforce a Concept

Once a new concept has been taught and practiced, reinforcing the concept is important. It is important because it can help students retain the information and allows any student who is struggling with the concept another way to look at it. Hands-on learning is important for students of all ages.

One example is a clock puzzle. After teaching students the concept of telling time, teachers can put out some clock puzzles and see how students place the numbers. Then students and teacher can take turns saying a certain time that students much show on their puzzle. There are many puzzles available that reinforce concepts such as numbers, letters, addition, subtraction, and more.

To Evaluate a Student

When a student seems to struggle with oral and written learning, presenting the material one on one through a toy is another option. This gives teachers the opportunity to evaluate a student's progress. If they can grasp the concept with the addition of tactile learning, then teaching methods simply need to be adjusted. If they cannot grasp the concept with the addition of tactile learning, then the student may need additional help.

When working one on one with students who need additional help or with special needs students, educational toys are a great way to evaluate the progress of a student. If they can't tell you verbally or show you through writing what they have learned, they may be able to present it to you through play.

Toys are not just for fun. Adding education toys to your classroom can help you to introduce a new concept, reinforce a concept and evaluate a student.

Kids Toys - The Joy Of Your Children

Kids are the biggest treasure of God to the parents. They are the most important members of the family. So taking care of them and their happiness is also very important. Happiness of their kids should be the first priority of parents. Kids are most happy when they are at play, while playing they enjoy their life and are out of everything in the world. They live in a world that is full of joys and their play.

Kids toys are one of the most important elements of their play. Toys are object use by kids to play. When it comes to growing up kids and teaching them about the world around us toys play a very important role. Playing with toys prepares the kids for their social role. Kids toys provide entertainment to the kids while also teaching them about different things. They have to develop the mental and physical skills of kids, which are very important in future as kids have to face the world and understand it.

Kids toys are found in many different forms. They may be representatives of dolls, animals, infants, and soldiers or of tools. Kids get entertained by playing with them as they think of them as if they are real and those living in the world the kids want them to. Kids toys also include different types of vehicles like cars, buses, motorbikes, airplanes, trains and trucks etc. Kids from ancient times are playing with such toys before there were two-wheeled carts but nowadays there are military vehicles, toy boats etc created by different companies like Hot Wheels, Matchbox etc. There are a huge variety of kids' toys available in the market giving each individual a chance to choose the one of their own choice.

Kids toys also exist in the shape of puzzles. Actually a puzzle is a problem that challenges humans' ability of applying ideas to solve a problem. To solve a puzzle you may have to recognize a pattern or crate a particular order. The children with good deductive skills are able to solve puzzles easily and faster then other children.

In some cases kids are interested in just collecting different toys to have a complete collection such as action figure, cartoon characters, lonely tones, mego dolls, teddy bears, strawberry short cake, super heroes, bobble heads, universal monsters, Simpson's, Popeye weebles, transformers etc. The most used and famous collectible toys are Barbie, matchbox car, toy gun, tow sewing machine and many more.

There are many famous toys shops in the world as its branches are spread over different parts of the world. It is the largest toys store all over the world.. All types of toys are available in this store and thus it is also the favorite shop of all kids because kids love shopping for new and different toys and this shop provides all the favorite and best toys for the kids.

With time and new technology new toys are created every year according to the needs and demands of the kids. Kids toys are ranked according to their fun and creativity. The top ten Kids toys for 2010-2011 are:

1. Sing-A-Ma-Jigs

2. My Pillow Pets for Kids

3. Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS Blaster

4. LEGO Harry Potter Sets

5. Squinkies Kids Collectible Toys

6. Cuponk Kids Games

7. Leapfrog Leapster Explorer Learning System for Kids

8. Fisher Price Lil Zoomers Spinnin Sounds Speedway for Kids

9. Fisher Price Imaginext Bigfoot the Monster

10. Disney Princess and Me Dolls

Fun Kids' Crafts & Toys to Do With Your 5 Year Old on Your Inkjet Printer

Kids these days may prefer to play with their computers, PlayStations, Xboxes or Nintendo Wiis. Yes, even five-year-olds these days know how to use those gadgets, and many of them actually do. However, a creative parent would be able to divert the attention of their little ones with the use of some paper and their trusty inkjet printer.

The trick is to create toys and kids' crafts with your inkjet printer. Here are a few ideas that you can use.

Jigsaw puzzles. You can download software that can create a jigsaw pattern on any picture. Use this on some of your child's favorite pictures and print them on matte paper using your inkjet printer. Afterwards, you glue this pattern onto a piece of cardboard then cut it up to come up with the jigsaw puzzle pieces.

Coloring sheets. Some parents may think of coloring books as a bit old-fashioned, but they are still a great way of teaching children about colors, shapes and space. Your own kids will no doubt enjoy them. But you do not have to buy coloring books; you can just create coloring sheets using your own inkjet printer. You can download coloring patterns from the Internet, or make your own if you are handy with photo-editing software.

Pretend food. If you are into baking customized pastries and cakes and if you have an inkjet printer that is dedicated to the creation of edible printouts, you can create pretend food for your kids. It does not even have to be pretend food at all.

Scrapbooking. It is never too early to start scrapbooking, and you can teach your child how to make one using your inkjet printer. Maybe instead of using actual photos, you can print family photos on your inkjet printer. And then, you can give these printouts to your kids, along with materials used for scrapbooking that they will not choke on or injure themselves with, such as cardboard, colored paper and ribbons, and let them have a go at their own scrapbooking project.

"Rubber stamps". Kids love playing with rubber stamps. You can make your very own unique "rubber stamp" by printing a pattern or a figure that you want on glossy or smooth paper using your inkjet printer. Once the paper is out of your inkjet printer, you can press the printed surface of this glossy paper on a dry and absorbent paper, and then you would have an imprint. While this may not be practical for daily play, it could be a wonderful way of adorning notebooks and scrapbooks.

There are many ways that you can entertain your children using an inkjet printer. You just have to be creative at finding these ways.

LEGO Harry Potter Toys

Has your family gone Harry Potter mad over the last few years? The books were such a hit that entire generation of children were hooked on the life of little Harry and his fellow students Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Now the newest of the films is about to be released Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and its all going to go crazy again. It's no bad thing though as this is a series that both adults and children alike can enjoy.

Harry Potter merchandise is all over the place and is going to be a great idea for 2010 Christmas present for kids. Though you may also like to include on your shopping list for kids Christmas presents other ideas that will have the kids excites and really happy. You could include a new kids kick scooter or Schylling Skitterbots or perhaps a Samsung Galaxy Tab for the really well behaved children.

The Harry Potter games and toys are available for any age group, there are the LEGO Harry Potter toys that are a vast range of superbly made toys, and LEGO is most tried and tested and always come out on top. The LEGO Hogwarts Castle is a must for the most fun toy that will have the children absorbed in to the realms of magic and Hogwarts. These Harry Potter LEGO sets provide children with a total experience that they will love.

If you and your children like the challenge of completing a puzzle then there are plenty of really great Harry Potter puzzles that will have you impatient to complete and see the fantastic results.

Or perhaps you are a steam train enthusiast and can not resist the temptation of seeing the Hogwarts Express steam Locomotive chugging around the living room. The Lionel Hogwarts Express O-Gauge Set is most impressive and with its working lights, puffs of steam, air whistle and three carriages pulled by the steam locomotive and tender there will be plenty of fun to be had.

Top five types of toys Waiting Room

Choosing the right activities and toys for your waiting area is important. It not only keeps children occupied and quiet so that office duties can continue uninterrupted, but it also keeps customers happier and more apt to return to your business. But what are the best types of waiting room toys and how does one go about finding them?

Not to fear! Here is our list of the five BEST waiting room toys to choose from.

#5 Puzzles
This toy box staple is just as relevant today as ever. Kids of all ages can enjoy the challenge of putting a new puzzle together, and there are many varieties and difficulty levels to choose from. Older babies all the way up to teens can keep themselves occupied for hours with this standard wait room toy, and best of all, they are generally inexpensive so you can buy more for less.

Today's puzzles are not only stimulating for the mind, but are longer lasting than the ones you may remember as a child. Tuzzle puzzles are, for example, in solid wood. These new editions do not bend and warp over time like cardboard, so they're great for when the inevitable child who is happy to chew on things.

# 4 tables and activity centers
These toys are popular waiting room stands and stations and art tables for specialized activities. Many of them can even accommodate more children, fighting over the toy would not be aanymore. This means that moms and dads can relax and read a magazine while their kids play, instead of constantly refereeing squabbles over toys.

Make sure you provide art supplies, actions figures, cups or dumping toys, etc...to go with each table. To cut down on mess, choose crayons or specialized water markers or paints and paper instead of traditional finger paints with messy clean up. If you choose to allow things like sand at the play tables, keep it in a specialized Area that will be easy to clean, and that no water anywhere near the area. Sometimes you can even play for the colored sand in particular tables.

# 3 Toy therapy
This waiting room toys are designed to teach children a skill or task in particular. Some of them refer to promote the physical aspects of learning how to jump, while others are purely intellectual concepts, motor skills. There are cards with shoelaces tie, "rock"jumping on, or even swings and balancing toys.

If your waiting area can accommodate larger toys, there are also many variations of the indoor playground with climbing options, slides, and cubby holes that kids can crawl through. These are often fun for kids in multiple age groups, and are among the most enjoyable waiting room toy options if space allows.

#2 Wall Toys
Waiting room toys that can be hanged or mounted to the walls are known appropriately as "wall toys". Tic Tac Toe games, drawing boards, and mazes are common aspects featured on wall panel toys. Typically, this type of toy is available for use with any age group and the games attached come in varying levels of difficulty.

This option is great because, since it is on the wall instead of taking up floor space, you can have many of them without using much room. For businesses with smaller waiting areas, it's a great way to pack a lot of fun into a compact area.

#1 Play Cubes and Beads
Our number one type of waiting room toy!
Everyone remember "busy beads" toys! You can add the new models to your waiting room toy collection, but choosing larger play cubes that feature the classic beads and colored tracks. Many tables are large enough to allow multiple kids to play at once...sometimes up to eight! These toys encourage sharing, color recognition and imaginative play. What is it about those crazy little Beads that kids love?

Some even play dice across multiple disks with colorful backgrounds and special shaped pearls to match. play dice Many features learning activities and games, instead of drawing the beads. These lessons are also fun for more than one child at a time, and are generally free of mess. No loose parts are another feature of the dice, a dice to make it perfect for your waiting room.

Educational Benefits of Playing With Wooden Puzzles

Wooden Puzzles are an important learning tool that can be used with children to enhance child development. The following are just a few of the many benefits that can be gained when using this incredibly well rounded learning tool.

Puzzles

* capture attention

* motivate participation

* stimulate conversation

* can be challenging without being overwhelming

* encourage success

* encourage independence and self esteem

Puzzles are a Self Correcting Learning Tool
When Children attempt to place a puzzle piece in it's place it will only fit if it is placed properly in the right space. The act of manipulating each piece, turning it and testing the fit, is the way children learn to problem solve and develop critical thinking.

Language Skills
Puzzles offer children an opportunity to develop many language skills. When a child asks for a certain piece they will often describe what they are looking for. For example, the round piece, the blue bumpy piece, etc. Puzzles are often used when working with Autistic children who have delayed speech ability as a playful tool to encourage speech.

Math Skills
Puzzles teach children several basic math concepts as well. While working with a puzzle children learn to categorize and organize pieces while doing that they are able to classify and label the pieces as well.

Eye-Hand Coordination
Wooden puzzles build eye-hand coordination. The ability to coordinate what the eye sees, the mind wants to do, and what the hands can accomplish takes a lot of practice. Puzzles offer an enjoyable way to practice this skill while encouraging independence.

Fine Motor Ability
Puzzles offer a fun way to develop fine motor ability. Children need to develop strength in the muscles in their fingers so that they can grasp things and hold onto them. This will later give them the ability to hold a pencil.

Social Skills
Wooden Puzzles offer opportunities to expand social skills as well. When children work cooperatively to complete a puzzle they engage in conversation. They develop a plan to solve the puzzle, they take turns and help each other solve problems as they arise.

Developing Persistence
When a child works on a puzzle until completion the child is developing persistence. Once the puzzle is solved the child can feel a sense of accomplishment which boosts his independence and self esteem.

Adaptable and Abstract Thinking
Children use adaptable thinking and deductive reasoning skills when they find different ways to put the pieces together. They gain the ability to think abstractly when they are able to see negative space, like the space where a puzzle piece may fit, and figure out what type of shape would be needed to fill that space.

Spur Imagination and Creativity
Playing with mosaic puzzles encourages imagination and creativity. The colors and shapes of the mosaic pieces serve to stimulate brain cells and encourage prolonged interest when arranging the pieces in endless designs.

In conclusion, wooden puzzles like the ones offered at puzzled1.com are an incredible learning tools. I believe that of all the educational toys, wooden puzzles are the most versatile and well rounded learning tool you can purchase for your child because they offer a host of valuable educational benefits that support child development.

Traditional Wooden Toys For Education and Child Development

Children are learning even before they are born. Every event or experience they have is educational which is why it is important for them to have access to play facilities and toys that will make a positive contribution to their ongoing learning.

Play activities contribute towards a child's educational development in many ways including:

Psycho-motor skills development: hand to eye coordination, dexterity
Language development
Communication skills
Cognitive skills: (concentration, perception, memory and logical thinking)
Creative thinking and problem solving
Personality development

Modern Toys

Today's toy shops are full of the latest whizzy electronic toys. Many are advertised as being educational but are really little more than attention grabbing noise making devices. Tests have shown that humans are predisposed to pay attention to rapidly changing events and loud or unusual sounds. Many modern toys exploit these predispositions with loud, noise-making flashing toys that will grab the attention of any youngster. While toys like theses may be amusing many actually provide limited educational value.

The right educational toys will be stimulating and fun to play with rather than simply another form of entertainment. And the right educational toy for a baby is obviously a lot different to the educational toy that will stimulate a 10 year old.

Babies and Infants

Babies and infants need things to look at, to touch, to shake, to taste, to rattle and to roll. Varied colours, varied textures, varied sounds and varied behaviours will all provide immense enjoyment and stimulation to an infant and they will be learning whilst having fun.

Toddlers in the 1 to 2 year age range are getting to grips with language and associations with the physical world. They like to stack things, build things up and then knock them down again. They will often find the packaging more interesting than the item that was packed!

The baby walker is a well known traditional toy that is loved by toddlers, helping them to take their first wobbly steps. Equipped with a cargo of assorted bricks that allow the child to stack and build and knock down while encouraging their creativity.

As they grow toddlers begin to copy and emulate the adults and older children around them. They will enjoy dressing up, role play and imaginative fantasy games that will see them adopting personas such as a postman, fireman, nurse or doctor. They will also benefit from problem solving, puzzle games, building sets and creative professions.

The castle is another toy classic toys that many of us remember from our childhood. The construction of the castle supports all types of skills development, including manual dexterity, language skills and creativity as a child imagines his castle occupied by knights and princesses, the Defensedragons and invaders.

Creative Play

From a very early age children will enjoy creating things by drawing, painting, gluing and colouring. As they grow their drive to create becomes ever more sophisticated. They will want to have a go at all sorts of creative play, from painting pictures to pottery. Luckily there are plenty of creativity toys from simple sets of crayons and colouring books to bead jewellery and flower gardens.

Don't be deceived by the hype and advertising of modern, supposedly educational toys. Many have limited educational value and are actually entertainment devices that provide little stimulation or opportunities for learning. There are many traditional toys that make ideal gifts and will provide a valuable educational experience for a growing child.