Re: Learning Games

Wow! a bunch of stuff I do is listed all ready.
However, my new #1 is:
I love, love, love Uno Moo! You can play it they way it is meant to as they get older but I use it a lot of different ways.
Basically it is a barn (container) and over 40 round shaped animals in 5 major colors. So it can be used for sorting games really easily. You can have them put them in one by one and count with them, or say the color of each one. They can sort them by color and put all of the red ones in first then yellow etc. My boy loves it, because at 2, he really likes to put things in and take things out of containers. There are many variations you can use on this and it isn't limited to this particular set. It totally could be done with the big legos and a box.
Hope this helps!

Making anything a 'learning' game... even with things you do everyday... cooking (letting them help you or count how many carrots you cut etc.), cleaning.... letting them clean/put away things that are 'red' etc., putting things away in different colored baskets, grouping toys by type & thus they learn 'categorizing' etc.

Putting on music and dancing to the 'rhythm' and counting out beats, playing hopping games and counting at the same time etc., teaching them words for their feelings ie: happy, sad, grumpy, frustrated, etc. so that they become 'able' to express themselves good or bad.... and then knowing how to 'express' themselves too which is also 'educational.'

Also doing 'pretend play' is a GREAT learning thing for kids.... it helps them to act out scenarios and the 'names' for things and works their imaginations.... and social concepts & manners and role playing.

Also playing "Simon Says" is a great game and for teaching them listening skills and following direction...

ANYTHING can become a 'learning' game....

all the best,
Susan

here are some games we play with our 3 year old:
Cranium Hullabaloo DVD Amazing Animal Adventure (by Cranium)
Zingo! (by ThinkFun)
Richard Scarry Busy Town (by I Can Do That Games)
Family Time Fun Beginner Dinner Games (by FamilyTime Fun)
How Tall Am I Game (by Jax) (just got it, havent played it yet)
Hungry Hungry Hippos
Uno

We used to do the memory game. We had some picture cards that came in pairs.. In the beginning I would lay them all facing up. I would pick a card and say.. Apple! where is the other Apple card? Our child would hand it to me.. I would ask her to pick a card.. The I would ask, what is that? She would tell me.. Ball. I would say where is the other ball?.. etc. etc..

Then I would take about 3 pairs of cards and turn them upside down. I would pick up a card and say, Ball! I wonder where the other ball is, and she would pick up a card and I would say what is that? she would say Apple! I would ask, Is that a Ball? She would say no.. so I would say, pick another card.. She would pick a different one and say Apple! I would say, do you remember where the other apple is? and she would pick up the matching apple card.. We continued this and still love playing the memory game..

Lots of puzzles. when she would outgrow 6 piece puzzles, I would have her do 2 or 3 at a time.. Once she mastered that went up to 12, 18 and 25 piece puzzles.. Once she mastered them, I would turn the puzzle upside down and have her put them together just by shape..

Blocks were a huge playtime.. she built all types of things.. I then would tape up big boxes and the kids in the neighborhood would build big box (block) towers and buildings..

She always had a ton of paper, paints, crayons and markers.. Even had a little tool box in the car with paper, scissors, stickers markers,.. joke books.. etc.

I would purchase children,s song CD's and books on tape for car rides and for nap and night time..

Dress up hats, shirts, skirts, pants.. Off and on.. button, unbutton.

Always count when at he store. I need 4 apples, help me count. I would hand her the bag as I handed her the apple.. 1, 2, 3, 4 Apples! Do we want 1 more? Her answer.. Yes please.. I would hand it to her.. Now how many do we have.. She would say 5. Folding cloths. Please carry dads socks to the room, j=how many pair are you going to carry?

You do not need a lot of toys or stuff, just everyday activities can be used to teach..

When they see a MCDonalds.. What is that letter? M. Do you see another M anywhere?

When my daughters were 2 & 3 we played Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, memory match, hangman (on a dry erase or chalk board), read books, puppet shows, legos, tinker toys and lincoln logs, and we played grocery store with toy fruit & veggies, a cash register, and a play little tykes kitchen.

Discovery Toys has the best learning games on the market. They are fun and educational. Many are on sale this month! I hope you'll take a look. Send me a private message if you have specific questions about any of them or if you need more info. One of my favorites is Zingo - on sale this month!

K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao

We like Hi Ho Cherry-o and Candyland. But my son is absolutely addicted to Cranium Cariboo Island. It helps with letter, number and shape recognition. There is no one winner...your goal is simply to open the treasure chest, so it doesn't turn competitive. It also has two levels, so once the "easy" level got to be too easy, we could change it to be more of a challenge.

Nursery Rhymes plays an important role in children learning. The rhyming words and soothing background music amuses the children to learn and sing along. It enables the child to learn and speak new words when growing up. In today’s world where the technology surrounds us and almost every important aspect of our life is linked with technology, there are also Nursery Rhymes that are available in smartphone applications.
Here is a beautiful animated nursery rhyme application for children to enjoy and learn.

Link ---> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobilet...

Read, read, read, books are a great way for kids to learn.

Blocks are great, especially if they come in colors. When you stack them, say "lets put the BLUE block ON TOP of the RED block", when it comes time to put them away, count them as you put them into the container.

Listen to all types of music. Clap you hands to the beat. Get up and dance. It helps teach them rythem.

For the 3 yo, puzzles, including one with the alphabet and one with numbers.

Magnetic letters (be careful, a choking hazzard for the 1 yo). Spell out the child's name. Sort by color.

The most important thing is to have fun.

you got some great ideas. just wanted to add that making sure to schedule unstructured play time is crucially important. your toddler son needs to learn to entertain himself and create his own play more than learn to write all his letters by two. have fun!