| When the adjective "educational" is applied to | | | | child enters into the next stage of school years |
| anything, be it television shows, books, games, | | | | they will have all the necessary prerequisite skills |
| and especially toys, one tends to associate words | | | | needed so they can be ready to learn. |
| like boring, tedious, dull, and so on to whatever it | | | | Educational toys provide a great way to |
| may be. Yet in recent years the importance of | | | | guarantee a child is growing throughout the stages |
| assistance like educational toys in the developing | | | | of development. Blocks, for example, are a |
| child has become not only popular but quite | | | | fantastic way to cultivate the fine motor skills |
| necessary to promote the growth of healthy | | | | because they require hand and finger coordination. |
| brain function and skills adults use on a day to day | | | | But not just any blocks will do, blocks like the |
| basis. But not to worry these are not the | | | | Magna-Tiles by the Valtech Corporation are what |
| educational toys of old, they are bright, colorful, | | | | to utilize because they are designed specifically for |
| spark imagination and are so engrossing many | | | | childhood development. They are 3D magnetic |
| times the child doesn't even realize all they are | | | | building tiles that can either be clear or colored and |
| learning. | | | | come in 32 or 100 piece sets. |
| The first 8 or so years of a child's life are | | | | The Magna-Tiles help in developing a child's ability |
| extremely crucial to the primary development of | | | | to pattern, shape recognize, understand magnetic |
| both physical skills and mental capacities. It is said | | | | principals, and help in 3 dimensional thinking. They |
| that a child's IQ can be increased by about 50 or | | | | are also widely used in early childhood education |
| so points in early childhood through the proper | | | | programs. Along the same line as Magna-Tiles, |
| stimulation. While the idea of playing classical music | | | | there are WEDGiTS from ImagAbility. WEDGiTS |
| to your baby in hopes of increasing intelligence is | | | | are a type of building block that can be nested, |
| still being widely debated about effectiveness, | | | | stacked, lined, and wedged together to create |
| educational toys designed specifically to encourage | | | | millions of different shapes, creatures, and |
| basic math, science, and creative concepts have | | | | designs; the only limitation is the child's imagination. |
| been proven to work. | | | | The multidimensional, challenging building sets |
| The critical stages of the child's primary | | | | boosts the cognitive process by stimulating the |
| development can be broken down into parts and | | | | creative process and providing a chance to let the |
| they mark new beginnings and exciting changes in | | | | child's mind wander to far-off places. |
| your baby's maturity. The period marked from | | | | Another useful educational toy is the Oball from |
| birth to about age 3 include what are called, gross | | | | Rhino Toys. This amazing and uniquely designed |
| motor skills. These gross motor skills include: | | | | toy comes from the Rhino Toy founder David |
| sitting, walking, lifting of the head, crawling, | | | | Silvergate, who just so happens to have a degree |
| balancing, and some beginning hand-eye | | | | in Physics. The Oball is a sculpted light weight ball |
| coordination. The next stage is roughly between | | | | that is formed from overlapping rings, which |
| age 3 and 5, and includes the development of fine | | | | makes it easy to catch, throw, hold, hit, and kick. |
| motor skills. | | | | The Oball is the farthest thing from an ordinary |
| The fine motor skills are the use of small muscle | | | | ball and is sure to inspire a child's imagination, while |
| movements, usually associated with fingers in | | | | developing gross and fine motor skills. |
| coordination with the eyes. Also during this | | | | Educational toys are vital in developing a child's |
| important time, there are rapid changes in the | | | | mind. They are fun, promote creativeness, and |
| child's cognitive (thought processes) and language. | | | | help in the necessary skills a child has to master |
| Now these stages are not passive procedures, | | | | for school years and life. They come in all forms, |
| even though they can develop on their own to an | | | | shapes, and colors so maybe the term |
| extent. They need to be actively stimulated and | | | | "educational" might not be so boring after all. |
| worked to ensure full development, so when the | | | | |