The Different Types of Educational Toys for Kids

If you have kids, then you understand exactly what Maria Montessori meant when she said “Play is the work of children”. Just like baby animals in the wild, play is how children learn about themselves and the world around them. Play develops their intelligence, their creativity, and their problem solving skills. Plus…it’s fun! There are many educational toys for kids that will help them learn and develop while having a great time in the process.

Building Toys
Building toys are great fun, and can keep kids busy for hours on end. What’s more, they help your child develop hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and creative imagination. They are best when they include a lot o different colors and sizes, and even shapes that connect together in all sorts of possible ways. Lego is an obvious example of this type of educational toy, but for smaller hands Duplo are bigger and easier to attach and pull apart again. Plus, they aren’t small enough to pose a chocking hazard to your little ones. Items like clay and playdough also fit in this category.

Musical Toys
Musical instrument toys may drive you crazy, but did you know they have been shown to help your child’s math skills? Children who learn a musical instrument tend to perform up to 35% higher on math, science and spatial relationship tests. Of course, they also encourage creativity, and help develop an appreciation for music later on.

Social Toys
You may not think that a simple dollhouse or grocery store set is helping your child learn, but it is! These sorts of interactive toys help your child develop and practice social skills, and learn to understand how they relate to other people in the world. They also allow for creativity, since the child can make up a variety of situations to act out, and depending on the toy can teach other skills as well…the grocery store playset, for example, can help with hand-eye coordination and math and counting skills.

Physical Toys
We often forget that physical education is just as important to a child’s development, mainly because they get most of their physical education by running around outside. But there are educational toys for kids that help them develop both  intellectually and physically. The kid’s Yoga Deck is a pack of cards with yoga poses that kids can use to help them develop balance, flexibility and gross motor skills while having a fun game. There are also many Nintendo Wii games that encourage physical development, such as the various Wii Sports games and Wii Fit.

Reading Toys
These are widely available now, especially with the advent of small, kid-friendly computers. You can find letter puzzles, letter magnets for your fridge, and systems like Leapfrog and V-Smile that offer interactive learning games that teach reading. Of course, the best reading toy is the good old fashioned book. Even babies will benefit from being read to, as it will set them up for easier reading when they are toddlers.

Educational toys for kids are widely available in stores, but can also be found around your own house! Old clothes, scrap paper and crayons, even a cardboard box turns into a fun, developmental tool in the hands of children. Just sit back and watch them play…you might even learn something!