by Brittle Pen

Created on: December 15, 2006   Last Updated: November 16, 2010

For preschoolers, hands-on toys are a must. Learning at this age comes through touching, playing, and manipulating. As all parents do, I have made sure that my preschooler has toys that help him learn the fundamentals (alphabet, etc.) of reading. These toys range from high-tech to antique and, contrary to the adverts on TV, the traditional/antique toys are the ones that seem to provide the most stimulus for learning reading basics.

Alphabet Blocks

My son and I play a game with alphabet blocks that incorporate learning letters and DESTRUCTION. This game is one that he dearly loves. During this game, I stack up alphabet blocks in several towers and then invite him to tell me the letter on the block at the top of the tower. If he does this correctly, he can knock the tower over. This game gives him a great sense of accomplishment and can go on for a few minutes before he tires of it.

Chalk Board/Dry Erase Board

I think that chalk boards and dry erase boards are interesting to all children. My son loves to draw on them and he loves for me to write letters on them. He often wants me to write his name or other letters and have him read them. During this role playing game, he is ALPHABET SUPERHERO and I am the damsel-in-need of reading help!

Also with this game, we can work with high-frequency word (those words like "I", "a", "he", "she") recognition and reading from left to right.

Playdough

Believe it or not, playdough is a great medium for writing and shaping letters. My son wrote his first "J" in playdough. Paper these days is just too boring when you have playdough around the house.

Leap Pad

We've had some mixed success with My First Leap Pad. Unfortunately, this toy does not involve enough body movement or visual action to keep my son interested. It's also a bit frustrating for him. There is a protocol for when to touch the pad with the magnetic pencil and this protocol is not very forgiving. Just a few near-misses with the pencil cause the game to become a chore.

Computer Games

Computer games (CD-ROM) such as Reader Rabbit are great for kids to learn letters and the fundamentals of reading. Even on-line games on Nickjr.com can get a child interested in spelling. Whenever a game prompts the player to input their name, my son will work with the keyboard to find the appropriate letters to spell his name. This search-find-match type of game is excellent for reinforcing his letter memory. He also has a sense of accomplishment when he can hit the ENTER key and the computer game recognizes him by name.

Young children should be given a variety of toys for educational development in all academia. You never know which medium(s) is going to spark the most interest.

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