Play is an essential part of learning for young children, especially in their preschool years, between the ages of 3-5. The combination of mental and physical stimulation provided by toys and games enables young children to develop a wide range of skills and get essential physical exercise.
The range of preschool toys and games available today is surprisingly large. Let's look at a few of the main types and see what they have to offer preschool children.
Sit & Ride Toys
Older boys and girls may have bicycles, but children's love affair with having their own wheels starts much younger than that. Sit and ride toys provide great physical exercise for young children and encourage development of hand-eye coordination and balance.
Once they are a little older, a range of pedal toys and tricycles enables them to travel further and faster, turning your garden into their own private road network!
Creative Toys
Young children are very quick to absorb new skills and ideas and creative toys such as paint sets, crayons and Play Doh enable them to put their imaginations to work and learn about colours, shapes and modelling.
Electronic Learning Toys
It doesn't seem long ago that computers were something grownups used, but these days computers reach into every aspect of our life - including children's education. Electronic learning toys such as the Leapfrog Clickstart help teach preschool children about problem solving and numbers and often require them to solve puzzles in order to progress in games - making learning fun.
Along the way, they start picking up the computer skills that will be as essential as writing for today's children.
Construction Toys
There's nothing better than building something with your own hands! Construction toys like Lego Duplo are designed for children who are too young for Lego. They can help develop hand-eye control and introduce children to the concept of completing tasks.
Your child will learn how to build structures in logical steps - by either following the instructions or using their experience and imagination to create their own models.
Character-Themed Toys
A daily treat for many children is their favourite TV show - whether it's Bob the Builder, Peppa Pig or Postman Pat. These series all have their own ranges of character toys and while some people might dismiss them as gimmicks, the reality is that they can be highly educational for preschool children.
By identifying with the characters of their toys, children can create role-playing scenarios and imaginary conversations that will help improve their understanding of how people interact and develop hand-eye and physical coordination skills.
Large-size jigsaws are available for most popular characters, too, which make perfect problem-solving toys.