Have you finished your Christmas shopping this year? Having children means spending some time finding gifts that are educational, but also fun and will keep your kids entertained. There’s nothing better than seeing your kid’s faces brighten when they tear open a gift that they can’t wait to play with. They may not realize that they will be learning when they play it, but who cares? At our daycare in San Antonio, we wish you and your family a happy holiday. To help you out if you haven’t finished shopping, here are our favorite educational toys.
Teaching Cash Register
Your children can learn what money is, identify the coins, practice addition and subtraction, and if they are old enough, they’ll begin to see placeholders. Have your child pretend that they are a cashier and they can check you out, or you can be the cashier and they can be the grocer to see what the process is from the other side. Having them place the coins in the right bins will teach them hand/eye coordination. Some training cash registers have built-in scanners, scale, a coin slot, and voice messages.
Smart Market
To get the full cash register experience, give your child a play market set. Find a set that includes play food with prices, a basket, and maybe even play money. Your child can learn what healthy food is, how to shop, they can add up the prices to be sure they have enough money, and then they can check out with their new cash register too. Learning the value of money and how to use it is a great benefit of going to our daycare.
Gears Building Set
A gears building set is sure to keep your child busy for at least half an hour. We can’t guarantee any longer than that. There are many sets that include a lot of different colors and sizes so your child can play with separating colors and building a tower that is as tall as they are. This toy is great for teaching hand/eye coordination, problem-solving, counting, matching, and sorting. The staff at our daycare love to watch children learn these skills.
Foam Pattern Blocks
You may have played with pattern blocks yourself, but what makes these fun is that they are large enough to spread out on the floor, and there’s less chance of pieces getting lost! Your child can explore patterns, create large designs, and learn how to fit different pieces together. This is also a great introduction to geometry with words like square, triangle, rhombus, and trapezoid.
Bug Jars
If your child is itching to get outside after opening presents, they can use their new bug jars to explore the Earth around them. Science bug jar sets often come with lids that have a magnifying lens so children can get a better view of the totally cool bugs they found. They might get a little dirty, but it’s all in the name of science!
Finding educational toys can be tricky for parents. When you’re considering a certain toy, ask yourself if they will be engaged with the toy physically and mentally. If they will be, that’s a good sign that it’s a quality educational toy.
For a high-quality daycare in San Antonio with staff who are passionate about childhood education, give us a call today for a tour of our facility.