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‘Tis the season to buy the perfect gift for your toddler. You might be asking your other parent friends what the most popular toddler toy is or maybe the commercials are telling you. But there are many gifts that are great, but often overlooked. Many of these items are materials you will find in our toddler classroom. Listed below are some of the most popular learning toys that we have found.
Each toy helps children learn and grow in different ways. Check out our list and see which toys your toddler would enjoy most!
Bristle Blocks– This is a great toy not only for building but for working small motor skills. These blocks stick together and pull apart. This gives toddlers the opportunity to work the muscles in their hands. They need to build these muscles to be able to hold pencils and write.
Duplos– A larger version of the popular Legos, these are perfect for a toddlers hand. Building up and out, they learn to measure, estimate and create.
Doodle Mat– Another fun way to work those fine motor skills. With the increased use of tablets, it is important for children to work their fine motor skills.
Balance Bike– We’ve talked about fine motor skills, now we have a great gift for gross motor skills. Toddlers love balance bikes! It allows them to prepare to ride a “big bike” in the future.
Numbers/Alphabet Matching– Matching is a great activity for any preschool age. A numbers and alphabet match activity is a great way for young children to begin recognizing what letters and numbers look like. It also allows for them to learn about similarities and differences.
Elefun Game– This has been a popular one for all our preschool ages. It is a great gross motor activity that can also be used for color recognition and turn taking.
Lucky Ducks Game– This game is a shape matching game. Fun way to introduce shapes and matching to little ones. Another turn taking game as well.
Scavenger Hunt– A fun game that allows children to find things on their own and follow directions. You can also create your own scavenger hunt that is tailored to your child’s needs and interests.
Matching Game– Toddlers enjoy finding matches. This helps them determine similarities and differences. They can learn to sort and classify using a matching activity.
Mosaic Pegboard– These are so much fun for learning about patterns and shapes. Children can be creative by using colors and shapes to create pictures and art work.
Puzzles– Once of our most popular activities in all classrooms are puzzles. In fact even our school age children enjoy the 500-1500 piece puzzles. Toddlers are learning about shapes, looking for similarities and details.
Wonky Donkey– Once of the most hilarious books ever read! If you have never watched the video that made this book a hit you can check it out here!
My First Library: Books are my favorite gift to give! This set is great for beautiful pictures and words for toddlers to learn.
The Color Monster – A great activity to help children identify emotions! Toddlers need help putting names to different ways that they feel. This is a great way to help them understand their emotions and the words that go with them.
I Love You to the Moon and Back: A popular book for any age, this story is a classic! A great way to end the day as a bedtime story as well.
Learn how to GROW A BOOKWORM
These are just a few of our very favorite items that are tried and true by many toddlers in our care! What are your favorite toddler gifts?
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