Best Toys to Buy for Preschoolers that They Will Love and Learn by Using

Our modern society has forgotten how much children learn through play and interaction with toys. One does not need to buy the latest marketed educational toy to help your child acquire educational skills. Some of the best options have been on the market for years. It is all in recognizing the objectives and understanding how to take advantage of the fun while incorporating the learning.

Children of both genders are often drawn to playing with many of the toys I will discuss in this article. Too often toys are branded boy toys and girl toys. While girls and boys do have natural inclinations to toy choices, I was recently reminded by a younger relative to stop forgetting to send her cars, when I mail them to her brother. Never assume that children have specific gender based interests or have outgrown old favorites. Often something new will inspire an interest in an old toy habit, or a non-traditional choice.

The first group of toys I'm going to discuss are the car and construction toys. These toys develop a variety of great skills in reading, math, language, and fine motor skills. When I tell people that, they are often amazed. Matchbox cars teach children how to sort, identify, and categorize a topic. Watch a child play with their cars and most have a system for how the cars play together, some even how they are stored. These are very basic reading and math skills. As you watch them maneuver their Hotwheels cars, they are learning basic laws of physics. They are also starting to understand the general laws of cause and effect. When I drop the car down the stairs it does not seem to roll as expected. The beginnings of the scientific method are emerging. Construction toys also are a great way to work on fine and gross motor skills as they often require a bit more strength and assistance of the larger muscles groups to operate. Tonka Toys for years has been the name brand in the market to purchase for these types of toys. However, John Deere toys have emerged into the market as well with a solid line of toys for consumers to purchase. Melissa and Doug Toys have come out with a line of wooden toys that some parents are moving towards as well. There are toys in this product line as well. For those on a budget there are other manufacturers to choose for these purchases. You may want to consider looking for discount toys, or the option of buying used toys at yard sales or through on-line venues.

The next set of toys you should consider adding to the toy chest are the building toys. These are sometimes referred to as construction toys as well if you are searching on-line. Since I had a different definition above, I wanted to differentiate the two topics. There are many skills that evolve from exposing your children to building activities. Children again develop fine and gross motor skills. Communication skills often develop as projects generate a desire to share success and failure with a willing listener. There are a number of math, science, and reading skills that are also are advanced through building. Giving children a chance to work with a variety of building materials has long-term positive outcomes that are often noted later. This is especially true, when parents and teachers help children make the connections between what they know and what they are learning. Often this is one of the reasons play is dismissed. People fail to access the knowledge children have gained through play. For instance, there is a great deal students learn about geometry, area, and physics through building. However, all too often we do not give students the ability to attach the new language they are acquiring with the old material they already have learned through play. They may understand concepts that they lack the appropriate vocabulary to explain, so we mistakenly assume they do not know what we are asking of them.

Some of the best toys in this category are the old but tried ones. Wooden blocks are a great addition to any child's play time. Tinkertoys have been around for a very long time but are still highly popular for a reason. They allow children the ability to make simple toys and grow into more complicated creations as the child matures in abilities. Tinkertoy Construction sets allow parents and family to continue to add to the collection. This is one of those toys that whole families seem to engage in construction projects. Mega Blocks and Legos also fit into this category. Like Tinkertoys they allow children to start with basic building kits and increase the complexity of the projects as their ability to manage projects grows. Well less know Cuisenaire sells a product called Snap Cubes that also are a great building product for little ones. While they start building geometric figures and sticks with them, these eventually grow with the child to be used to learn math skills in counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, area, and measurement. These also are great for fine motor development as they do require some hand strength to put together and pull apart. While not a block, I am going to include Play-Doh in the construction category as well. Kids love Play-Doh and it is a wonderful learning tool. Again it is a great way to build fine motor skills in children. Many of the same skills we discussed about blocks apply to Play-Doh as well. However, Play-Doh has also marketed itself as a very learning friendly material. They offer letter and number templates for children to practice cutting. They also offer geometric shapes to work on those early geometry lessons. The last suggestion I have in this category is to purchase pattern blocks. Kids love to play with shaped blocks, why not introduce blocks that can eventually be used to teach? Wooden pattern blocks and the plastic varieties are available, along with a number of puzzles and activities to entertain your child.

Board games are another area that should not be neglected on the toy shelf. These games promote social skills. Many teach basic reading and math skills, teaching matching, counting, and patterns. The ability to follow directions, take turns, and learning how to handle the stress of not always doing well are learned as children begin to play board games. While it can be challenging for the child and those playing with a new learner, these skills are important to teach and to internalize. Some of the most common games have recently been released with new themes but are primarily the same as the original games. Three of the most common board games for preschool children are Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, and Hi Ho Cherry-O. There are other games on the market but these have remained classics for a reason. The rules are simple enough that children do not get frustrated, but the games engaging enough that children will play.

Another area to consider are play sets. Fisher Price Little People are the most famous that come to mind, Melissa and Doug, and Animal Planet produce others. However, walk any toy aisle and you can find a limitless supply. Again we have the fine motor skills and the language skills that develop through this type of play. One caution I would make is try to avoid the sets that do everything for the child. There are many great kitchen sets still available that focus on the child's creativity, not the child being manipulated and motivated by the toy. The focus should be on developing the child's imagination with the toy as a tool not the teacher. This should include outdoor play sets as well. I have seen some incredibly wonderful play areas that challenge kids to enjoy being outside and inspire creative play. I have also seen ones that stifle play by controlling and leading the play. It is important to evaluate how the toy works.

The last category is kind of a catch all. Lacing cards are a great fine motor activity for boys and girls. It does take some parents a bit of getting past teaching boys to sew. Apart form the wonderful fine motor benefits, do realize that most men will have to sew a button on at some point in his life. A lacing card is likely to help far more than any perceived issue of gender related toys. I was surprised at how challenging these were to find. However, since Melissa and Doug released theirs, more have come on the market. Wooden train sets did not quite fit into our car discussion but it is a huge market today. While Thomas the Train sets hold one of the largest market shares, there are still wooden train sets available at starter prices that families can hope to afford. Again as suggested before if you want a toy train set consider your options. If you want the Thomas the Train Toys, you can look for discount toys or used toy sales. However, you may also want to consider starting to buy toys that you can continue to support in the future. The choice is a personal one based on your budget. The last item that fell into this category is dress up. Boys and girls like pretending to be someone else. My nephews have gone through the cowboy, pirate, and policeman stages. The girls in those families have had some of the same phases along with dancers, doctors, and astronauts. Dress up clothes can be purchased in a variety of locations, but yard sales and second hand options are often some of your best deals.

These are some of the toys I feel are best for preschool children and are on my top lists when I buy for family members. There are plenty more out there to choose from. When choosing a toy, you should look at the age and actual maturity and ability of the child you are purchasing for and the advertised age of the product you are looking to buy. While some children can handle a toy with supervision that is rated slightly above his/her age, some children can not handle a toy that is younger than his/her age and find it highly frustrating. It is important to match the ability of the child with the toy. Where possible, buying toys that can grow with the child is both financially and educationally preferable. Toys that children can start with at a simple level and progress to more complicated play gives the child a chance to have a longer relationship with the toy and helps relatives know what to buy for future purchases.