I absolutely LOVE education. I love being able to teach my kids something new and the whole process of learning has always fascinated me. Now that I'm a mom, I'm always on the lookout for good educational resources to help my kids understand the world around them. When they go to school, I want them to enjoy the experience of learning and feel confident in their classroom.
Here are my favorites that I've used with Everly in the last couple years. I highly recommend them because we use them A LOT. I also recommend them because they are things my daughter has asked for over and over. The age that these can be used for varies depending on the child and where they are in their learning. I would recommend buying on the early side and just giving it a try sometimes. If it seems frustrating for them, either simplify the activity or wait and try again later. I hope you find this list useful!
1. ABC Mouse
What: A HUGE online education resource available on an app and desktop version.Who: Ages 2 & up
How to use it: A profile can be created for each child with a "learning path" at their specific level. The activities gradually become more advanced and offer a wide range of varied activities. For younger kids, simple touch painting is really fun, a touch and say style activity for learning numbers, letters, colors, shapes and so on. Games specific to each goal (reading, writing, numbers, shapes, cause and effect, etc.) are my kids favorite things to do on the app! Books can be read aloud with different variations of difficulty. Printables are available as well with coloring activities, dot-to-dot, cutting exercises, tracing activities and so on. We love the coloring pages for specific holidays, too. The options are endless! I highly recommend sitting down with your child when using the app since some of the activities need an explanation and you will be able to monitor their progress more carefully.
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2. LeapFrog LeapStart
What: A device that is interactive with a pen. Multiple levels for activities that work on more than 50 skills per grade level from preschool through 1st grade. Books are sold separately but are labeled by level.Who: Ages 2-7
How to use it: I love the simplicity of this activity because I can explain it once and and then let the kids play with it. Each book has a level (A number on the bottom left displays the level) and inside the book, each page has a learning mode, quiz mode and game mode. It's great for car trips or for any wait times at other places.
3. Zingo
What: The is a board game that teaches quick matching skills. We played a slower version when the kids were younger but now make a race of it a bit more. It's basically Bingo, but with pictures.Who: Ages 3 and up (the box says age 4 and up, but the game can easily be simplified)
How to use it: Put the tiles into the Zinger device, pass out the cards (one to each player), pull back the Zinger to reveal two tiles, if a player has a match on their card, they call it out and put the piece on their card. A way to simplify - have the child have 2 cards and walk through the matching process with them.
4. Puzzles
What: Matching simple 2 - 4 piece puzzles.Who: Ages 2-5 depending on the puzzle.
How to use it: For younger kids, select only 3 or 4 puzzle groups at a time (not entire box) and have the pieces in the correct direction so they can easily match (for example, all left sides of the puzzles on the left size in a row and all the right sides of the puzzles on the right side in a row).
5. Whiteboard and Dry Erase Markers
What: Super simple small white board and dry erase markers,Who: Ages 2 and up (with supervision)
How to use it: Copy-cat drawing (draw a line then "can you make one, too?"), Circle the correct answers (draw two different letters like A and B for example, and ask them to circle or erase all of the Bs)
6. Tracing Books
What: I love these! Super simple, reusable activity books we call "homework".Who: Ages 2-5
How to use it: For younger ages, sit with them and guide their hand before letting them do it on their own. Use books with simple line tracing first (vertical, horizontal, diagonal, etc.) before shapes, letters, numbers and so on. Should be used with supervision!
7. Peg Toy
What: A stacking toy with several different colors and a foam mat with holes.Who: Ages 2-5
How to use it: Simple building, color organization, patterns, and using the imagination!
8. Flashcards
What: Flashcards for items, shapes, colors, numbers and upper and lower case letters.Who: Ages 2 and up
How to use it:
- Start simple with just a few cards (4-5 maybe) and have the child repeat after you when you say the name of the card.
- Quiz them on their own (simply, "what is this?")
- Put all the cards on the floor and ask the child to pick up the card with whatever you ask (can you pick up the card with the cat on it?).
- Find patterns or similarities (can you pick up all the cards that are orange?)
9. Big Preschool Book
What: A huge activity book that covers writing, alphabet, colors, shapes, numbers and so on.Who: Ages 2 and up
How to use it: We made a goal of a few pages a day and kept a star chart for when the day's pages were completed. We went straight through from beginning to end, but if you want a variety of activities, you can skip around, too.
10. Hooked on Phonics
What: An app, monthly subscription and comprehensive materials for learning to read.Who: Ages 3 and up
How to use it: We love the app and the monthly subscription has been amazing! This works wonderfully as a supplement to ABC Mouse since it delivers hard copies to your door every month with a very specific plan for reading development. Everly loves it and looks forward to completing each level. The app offers less than ABC Mouse but has a very easy plan to follow.
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Get your first month of Hooked on Phonics for just $1
Have fun with these! If you have some favorites that are not listed here, share them with us in the comments!
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