Best Learning Tools For Preschoolers
Looking for the best learning tools for preschoolers?
If you’re anything like me, you are always on the lookout for learning resources for your child.
Is my child prepared for school? This is a thought that keeps me up at night. My husband has had to endure hours of listening to me stress about this. I am constantly asking mothers I know with older children in school to tell me all the DETAILS. Tell me exactly what I have to do to give my kid a jump start.
I know I worry way too much about this. But I can’t even count how many times I have been told by other mamas that kindergarten is the new first grade.
So it definitely eases my mind when I find things that my daughter loves and is learning at the same time.
A few years ago, my husband and I were discussing the possibility of homeschooling her. Of course, I dove into a black hole of things I could put in our homeschooling classroom. We have since changed our minds and decided to send her to school.
But we do have a learning room in our house!
I love the room so much that I sometimes get upset that she won’t be homeschooled. But most days I am fine with our decision. Mama is looking forward to some me time.
We have all the things on this list. They are fun, educational, and preschooler-approved!
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Here Are 12 Of The Best Learning Tools For Preschoolers
1) Puzzles
- IMPROVE OBSERVATIONAL SKILLS – The two-in-one puzzle is more than just a jigsaw; in game mode, it provides a fun challenge for children to quickly and accurately find a specific image. This is a huge boost to object recognition and observational skills.
- BOOST OBJECT AND WORD RECOGNITION – An alternative game is also included which encourages children to find the object along the edge of the puzzle within the main puzzle image. This provides a new and fun challenge for children after they have mastered building the puzzle.
- ENCOURAGE BOTH INDEPENDENT AND SOCIAL PLAY – The puzzle is designed to provide both independent play, which is a great boost for self-esteem, and an opportunity for playing together, which is a fantastic way of developing social skills and collaborative skills.
- INCREASE CONCENTRATION & FOCUS – The intricacy of the puzzle picture rewards the child as they build, encouraging them to persevere and maintain focus to complete the task. The prospect of the game that can be played when the puzzle is complete is further motivation.
- PROMOTE CONVERSATIONAL ABILITY – The puzzle picture is full of bright, colorful detail and a fun dinosaur theme to encourage the child to discuss the pictures. The game another great way of getting the child to chat about the images while having fun.
Puzzles are great for kids of all ages. They are especially perfect for helping little ones with their fine motor skills. Not to mention it requires them to concentrate and practice patience. This puzzle of the United States is our current favorite.
2) Cash Register
- Cash Register for Kids: Working solar-powered calculator and pretend cash register
- Encourage Money and Math Skills: Includes 30 actual-size pretend bills, 40 plastic coins, pretend credit card, and activity guide. Pretend bills measure 6.25″ x 2.625″, pretend coins range from .80″ (penny) – .995″ (quarter)
- Realistic Toy Cash Register: Makes a cha-ching sound when the drawer opens
- This preschool Learning Toy encourages imaginative play
- This is the perfect math toy for toddlers 3 years and up!
This is a great one for introducing basic math skills. Kids who love to role-play will also really enjoy running their own store with this cash register. Just the other day Brooklyn charged me $56.00 for some bread and milk. Her store is high end apparently. This is one of the best educational toys.
3) Educational Insights: Hot Dots Jr.
- AWARD-WINNING HOT DOTS! Hot Dots give kids the on-the-spot encouragement they need to boost confidence and build readiness for school through self-paced, independent learning fun
- EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR PRE-K READING! This set includes 2 spiral-bound books with 85 Pre-K level lessons in Letter Recognition, Reading Readiness, Phonics, Sight Words, Punctuation & Grammar, plus 15 challenge activities to prepare children for kindergarten
- INSTANT FEEDBACK: Hot Dots Jr. Ace – The Talking, Teaching Dog Pen provides audio feedback and lights up green for correct responses and provides gentle redirection and lights up red for incorrect answers. Sounds can be muted. (Pen requires 2 AAA batteries, not included.)
- CONFIDENCE BUILDING: Immediate audio and visual feedback enables kids to learn on their own at their own pace, building academic confidence and encouraging independence!
- AT HOME LEARNING ACTIVITY: Makes a great activity for kids to stay engaged, entertained, and learning outside of the classroom. We are dedicated in providing resources that keep your kids learning and having fun while at home.
This is a great educational tool that makes learning fun. Kids will love the talking pen that gives them encouragement along the way. Reading, math, and science are just a few of the sets they offer.
I also love that this is a gift that can be used for years. It would be perfect for handing down to younger siblings.
4) VTech Touch and Learn Activity Desk
- Interactive Learning: This toddler desk and chair set comes with 5 different activity pages to explore; your little one can engage with these directly on the desk to learn new words & sounds
- Language Skills: Make learning the ABCs fun and easy with the LED display that illustrates letter and number stroke order, as well as how to draw basic shapes
- Multiple Ways to Play: The toddler table transforms from a desk into an easel & chalkboard and includes storage space for art supplies to encourage play and discovery
- Inspire Imagination: Pretend to make a phone call or listen to fun tunes on the music player; the progress button reports on your child’s skill levels across the various learning activities
- Special Features: The activity center features 100+ vocabulary words, 20+ activities, and 20+ songs and melodies; requires 4 AA batteries (not included); child size stool included
This is another one of those things that will get years of use. Kids will learn colors, numbers, letters, and so much more. It comes with five activity pages but there are some really fun expansion packs. It also converts to an art station. This is nice for when kids need to switch it up a little. This desk has been a favorite in our house for years.
5) LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set
- Play with 26 interactive alphabet tiles! Sing along to fun learning songs and explore the world of A to Z with colorful letter tiles that talk, sing and teach about the alphabet.
- Includes Magnetic Tile Reader, and 26 Interactive Magnetic Tiles. Skills learned include phonics, the alphabet, fine motor skills, and vocabulary.
- Celebrate A to Z with fun learning songs, including the “Alphabet Song” and “Wheels on the Bus. ” Kids can learn the alphabet by placing individual magnetic letter tiles on the bus window.
- Build vocabulary by pressing any letter twice to hear Tad use it in a word and a sentence. Place any letter on the bus and press it once to hear Tad say the letter’s name and sound.
- Fridge Phonics reinforces alphabet knowledge, including letter names and sounds, which is an important first step in learning to read. Playing with the letter tiles, which are designed for easy manipulation by little hands, also helps strengthen fine motor and coordination skills.
Stick this to the fridge and let little ones explore on their own. This is great for teaching children the alphabet as well as letter names and sounds. It also sings ‘The Alphabet Song’ and ‘Wheels on the Bus’ which are big hits in most houses. Check it out here.
6) Melissa and Doug Lacing Beads
- BRIGHTLY COLORED WOODEN BEADS: The Melissa and Doug Primary Lacing Beads set is composed of 30 brightly colored wooden beads in a variety of shapes, 2 colorful laces, and a wooden storage case.
- EASY TO ASSEMBLE: Our wooden bead play set includes beads in five distinct shapes that are easy for little hands to grasp. The laces are thin enough to allow the beads to fit seamlessly.
- HELPS DEVELOP STRONG SKILLS: This Melissa and Doug kids beading set helps children develop strong fine motor, cognitive, and visual perception skills, while promoting hand-eye coordination.
- GIFT FOR AGES 3 TO 5 YEARS: These beads set makes an exceptional gift for kids from 3 to 5 years. Add the Melissa and Doug Lace and Trace activity set to round out the hands-on play experience and give kids another engaging option for screen-free fun.
- THE GOLD STANDARD IN CHILDHOOD PLAY: For more than 30 years, Melissa and Doug has created beautifully designed imagination- and creativity-sparking products that NBC News called the gold standard in early childhood play.
This comes with 30 wooden beads and 2 laces. This is great for color recognition, fine motor skills, and sequencing. The beads come in five different shapes and are perfect for little hands.
7) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Quiz it Pen
- Editors of Phoenix International Publications (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 07/24/2018 (Publication Date) – Phoenix International Publications, Inc. (Publisher)
Kids who are obsessed with Mickey Mouse will love this set of interactive learning books. There are 4 books that cover topics from letters and numbers to identifying different emotions and even a little Spanish.
8) School Zone Preschool Workbook
- WORKBOOKS – Writing in workbook pages, as opposed to typing on a computer, can help kids to focus and to learn. Writing by hand fires up specific areas of a child’s brain, improving a child’s ability to not only remember what he or she learns but to think of new ideas
- AMAZING – BIG Preschool Workbook is packed with 300+ colorful exercises that make learning fun! These proven activities will help prepare your child for success by teaching colors, shapes, alphabet, basic phonics, numbers, early math and more! 320 pages of learning material!
- RESULTS – Our learning materials have helped educate three generations of kids, creating lifelong learners, and the legacy continues. Digital content, flash cards, workbooks, readers, toys, and games—all are crafted through a child’s eyes while integrating parent and teacher standards
- PREPARATION – Let us help you prepare your young child for the next grade level with our workbooks, flash cards, books and a Little Scholar Tablet. Keep kids “classroom ready” with our workbooks, flash cards, tablet, accessories, and more!
- AWARD WINNING – School Zone content has won The Parents’ Choice Foundation Award, Tillywig Toy Awards, Brainchild Award, Family Choice Award, Mom’s Choice Awards Honoring Excellence, Gold Star Toy Scholastic Parent and Child Award and many more
This workbook is just awesome. It can make a huge difference in giving kids an early start on understanding concepts they will need to know in school.
9) School Zone Flash Cards
- Involve your child in the joy of learning the ABC’s.
- Children will get to know phonics and be able to connect letter sounds with objects: K is for Kite, for example.
- 52 unique, colorful illustrations; Letters written in bold, block-style; All upper- and lowercase letters included; Thick, glossy cardstock .
- Rounded corners for easy sorting; 3 Answer Cards for quick reference; Parent Card offers game instruction; A great value!
- School Zone (Author)
There is nothing fancy about these. Flash cards are a tried and true method for teaching kids.
10) Matching Games
- What you get – Marvel matching game comes with 72 tiles and instructions
- Clear instructions – Easy to learn with a clear instruction manual. Learn to play in less than five minutes
- Develops critical skills – this game helps preschoolers practice their focus, memory, and matching skills
- Characters you love – enjoy fun pictures of all your favorite Marvel superhero and villain characters, including Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Iron Spider, Spider-Girl, Vision, Ms. Marvel, Black Panther, Venom, Loki, Ultron, Sandman, Wasp, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Doctor Strange, Hawkeye, Falcon, Ant-Man, Nova, Squirrel Girl and more
- Great for kids and families – matching not only offers great solo play opportunities for your preschooler, but is also a great game for adults to join in on the fun. It takes just 15 minutes to play, less than 5 minutes to teach, and makes a fantastic Easter gift
These are great for memory skills as well as getting kids in the habit of taking turns. We have had this game for a couple of years and it continues to be a favorite.
11) Melissa and Doug Calendar
- Daily magnetic calendar: The Melissa & doug my magnetic daily calendar displays the day of the week, date, weather, and special events; comes with 80 magnets, which include years, months, days of the week, holidays, emotions, and more
- Two fabric hinged dry erase boards: This kids’ daily calendar comes with a pair of fabric hinged dry erase boards, 1 featuring the calendar template, and 1 that is blank and can be used for magnet storage
- Encourages communication: Our Melissa & doug daily calendar encourages children to communicate with family members and friends, as their anticipation of upcoming events and special occasions is displayed on the calendar
- Great gift for kids 3 to 7: This Magnetic Daily Calendar is an exceptional gift for kids ages 3 to 7 years; Add the Melissa & Doug Magnetic Responsibility Chart to round out the hands on learning experience
- The gold standard in childhood play: for more than 30 years, Melissa & Doug has created beautifully designed imagination- and creativity-sparking products that nbc news called “the gold standard in early childhood play.”
This is awesome for introducing months of the year, days of the week, and seasons. There are also magnets for different emotions and holidays. This calendar is great for giving kids an idea of what morning circle time may be like at school.
12) Match It! Spelling and Mathematics
- BUILD ON EARLY READING SKILLS – The Match It! Spelling collection of puzzles teach a range of early reading skills including letter recognition, word formation and spelling. By putting the cards together to form a word, the child gains important understanding of the mechanics of reading, all aided by the pictures which provide a clue to the word being formed.
- ENCOURAGE CONFIDENCE IN LITERACY – The puzzles contain both three- and four-letter words. Learning to read can be a daunting process, but self-correcting puzzles, where the pieces will only fit if they are correct, can provide a boost of confidence. This can help any child to feel more positive and confident when approaching literacy tasks.
- INTRODUCE KEY PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS – These puzzles are an ideal way to help your child develop basic understanding of how to solve simple problems, developing important skills that will help them as they progress on to more difficult tasks.
- IMPROVE MOTOR SKILLS: Thick, durable cardboard construction makes products easy to grasp and use, and also a great way of improving hand-eye coordination and encouraging the development of essential motor skills.
How cool are these? They are mini-puzzles that help teach early reading skills. The mathematics set is my daughter’s top pick. I love seeing how proud she is of herself when she matches them all together.
Do you have any favorite learning tools for preschoolers? Please share!
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