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The Best Preschool Learning Toys

Compared to toddlers, preschoolers have longer attention spans and play longer by themselves. They need both solitary and social playtime. Preschooler free play has more structure than carefree toddler and infant play, while social playtime teaches him to solve problems, get along with others and grasp fine and gross motor skills. Designers are junking toy ideas that mindlessly distract and are instead creating fun toys that teach. Educational toys not only entertain, but also challenge a child's interests and abilities. Look for interesting, well-designed and durable toys that coincide with skills and maturity while stimulating creativity.

Three Development Stages in a Preschooler
- From birth to age 1, a child's five senses are busy discovering the environment and learning about cause and effect. Rattles, mirrors, mobiles, blocks, pop-up toys, picture books, musical toys, squeezable items, swings and teething rings are recommended baby toys.
  
  From ages 1 to 3, a toddler walks, climbs, pushes and rides throughout his environment. Endlessly curious, he manipulates objects to solve problems. Toddlers need push/pull and riding toys, small trikes and wagons, simple puzzles, shape sorters, peg boards, moving games, lacing beads, blocks, stacking rings, pictures, coloring books, crayons, markers and clay.
  
  From ages 3 to 5, preschoolers play and share with other preschoolers. They enjoy dress-up, puppets, bead lacing, storybooks, larger children's puzzles and simple board games like Candy Land, Whack-A-Mole and Chutes &Ladders.
Best Preschooler Toys
- A crawling tunnel or play tent and attached tunnel help a child develop physically and socially. Wooden puzzles with finger pegs that allow a child to pick up pieces teach him to examine cut-out shapes and search for a matching outline. Different colors and shapes of building blocks first teach a child how to stack and then how to build houses or cities. Pretend toys include medical kits, kitchen sets, cash registers with play money, doll houses with furniture, dolls and stuffed animals, farm and community play sets, wooden trains, cars, dress-up play and puppet shows. Recommended outdoor or backyard fun toys include balls, kites, jump ropes, trampolines, water play items, slides, swings, climbing gyms, battery-operated riding toys and sport equipment.
School Readiness Toys
- Some wonderful toys that prepare a preschooler for speech and language are alphabet activity toys. These teach a child how to recognize letters, spell and master phonics. Another excellent choice is a toy that develops number and math readiness. These include puzzles -- either jigsaw or wooden cube -- which develop logic and visual acuity. Construction toys help a preschooler with spatial awareness and logic. Pattern blocks teach early geometry and symmetry as a child builds a checkerboard or block pattern with compound shapes.
Toys with Improved Designs and New Learning Concepts
- Melissa &Doug make wooden toys that improved flimsy paper and substandard plastic toys; children ages 3 to 8 tend to enjoy these toys. This manufacturer offers wooden "paper" dolls with magnetic clothes, along with doll houses, wooden kitchen and food sets, wooden dress-up figures and a castle with a king, queen, knights and drawbridge.
  
  Fisher Price Smart Cycle is both a video game and exerciser. Its electronic stationary bike hooks up to a television so preschoolers can pedal and ride while playing games with letters, numbers, colors, shapes and animals. The video features different road adventures such as Math Mountain, Shape Lake, Number Fields and Letter Creek. Children ages 3 to 6 enjoy the Smart Cycle.

Educational Toys