Toys&Games

With so many toys on the market today, it is sometimes hard to choose the best educational toys for your child. Educational toys are toys that help a child develop essential skills needed for success in life, including, but not limited to, thinking skills, social and emotional development, and the tools needed to learn math, reading, and writing. Something as simple as a cardboard box can be an educational toy if your child plays with it in a creative way.
When your child reaches the elementary school age, he has a strong grip on many basic skills and has begun to develop many specific interests. Friends and relationship gain extreme importance during these years as well, so our child will engage in lots of social play. Early elementary age children still love to play, but the best toys and games for this age are more detailed and more advanced than those they played with as preschoolers and babies.

Early elementary age children have mastered most large motor skills like running and jumping and enjoy sharpening those skills with lots of physical play. Their social behavior and strong value of friends means many of these games and physical activities are designed for group play. Team sports and backyard games of baseball or tag are increasingly popular during these years.

Bicycles, jump ropes, and even skates are ideal outdoor toys at this age. Encourage your early elementary age child to spend lots of time playing outside, especially with his friends. Outdoor play sets with swings and climbing features promote healthy physical development and benefit your child with fresh air and exercise. Social skills continue to develop as well as children play together and follow rules for outside games like Hide and Seek.

Young elementary age children still learn about their world through pretend play. Outdoor forts or play houses can provide hours of new adventures as children expand their imaginations with new and unusual play scenarios. Pretend play enhances language skills and social growth, and helps children gain a better understanding of their personal feelings and ideas as well as the world around them.

Dolls, action figures, and their props are usually popular pretend toys for young elementary schoolers. Take care to select dolls and play sets that reflect your personal family values. While many of today's “popular” toys portray pop culture looks and attitudes, there are still wholesome dolls available that teach modesty and kindness.

Early elementary age children enjoy using their still-developing fine motor skills as well as their cognitive understanding to master new crafts, develop new creations, and to master fun games. Remote control cars and planes are great choices for this age. Young elementary agers may enjoy building and painting models as well, but many may still need guidance as they work on these projects.

Continue to provide your young elementary age child with a wide selection of books. Encourage him to read to himself and invite him to read aloud to you and younger siblings. This is a good age to begin selecting short chapter books to use during your daily story time. Make puppets with your child and act out his favorite stories to make reading and comprehension even more interesting.

Social board games are also great choices at this age. Games like classic Battleship are not just fun, they increase logical thinking and problem solving skills as well as promote good sportsmanship and social development. Multi-piece jigsaw puzzles are also great activities at this age. Puzzles enhance mechanical and fine motor skills, concentration, and perseverance. Young elementary age children also enjoy fun, educational computer games. Educational software appropriate for this age are available in several specific interest areas and are designed to develop a number of various skills, including math, creative thinking, and logic.

By : Daniel Jowssey