The Best Educational Toys for Children
Are you struggling to find gifts for the children in your life this year? Whether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle, finding the perfect gift for the little ones in your life is always a major task. After all, you always want to make sure that they have the best holiday possible. However, you also do not want to buy them useless junk. The great news is that there are numerous fun and educational toys out there that children will love, and that will leave you feeling that you’ve made an important impact in their development.
Snap Circuits
A fun new way that kids are learning about science is with Snap Circuits. Snap Circuits are a series of small electronic circuits that snap together on a prewired board to create one working unit. Your children can add lamps, motors, and speakers to the unit and learn how to arrange the circuits on the board to make their unit work correctly. Snap Circuits has received much praise in the toy community for exposing children to the basic science of electronic circuitry.
LeapFrog
You simply cannot talk about toys today without talking about electronics. Many kids pass their time by playing games on computers, video game consoles, and tablets. The good news is that there are many educational games for sale that will keep them learning while they are having fun. LeapFrog is a popular toy company that has dedicated itself to offering wonderful educational games to children of all ages. The LeapPad is a tablet device aimed entirely at children that you can fill with apps and games that will promote learning and education. While many of the games popular on regular tablets tend to be mindless time wasters, every game you put on a LeapPad will help your child grow smarter and more capable.
LEGO
While there have been many advancements in the world of educational toys in the last few years, don’t forget about the old classics. Legos, for example are always a hit with young boys and girls alike. Legos are not only fantastically fun to put together, they also encourage children to think about building solid structures out of small interlocking pieces. This encourages thinking that can build engineering and construction skills. Other old favorite that you should never overlook are Lincoln Logs, Train Sets, and Chemistry Sets.
Goldie Blox
Speaking of engineering and construction skills, there is a new line of building toys directly aimed at young girls. Goldie Blox are a twist on classic building toys, previously aimed mainly at boys, which offer a fun and feminine flair. With Goldie Blox, your young lady will be encouraged to cultivate engineering and problems solving skills along with her male classmates. These skills could take her all the way to a career with engineering.
Qwirkle
The best kind of fun always happened with the whole family. Board games have always been a fantastic way for everyone to have a great time. Educational board games aimed at children are a great way to get the whole family involved in learning. Qwirkle from MIndWare is one of the most popular educational board games on the market for children at this time. The game is aimed at children six years and up. It is a game that combines the matching of colors and shapes with the logic and reasoning of creating strategy. You’re children will have so much fun playing, they won’t even realize that they are learning.
With a few ideas about some of the excellent educational toys out on the market, you can now narrow down your Christmas shopping list. Think of the gifts you give your children not only as mindless toys that they will use and forget, but as an investment in developing skills that they will carry with them into their adult lives.
Image Credit: freedigitalphotos.net/Stuart Miles