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#11
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Toys again: for 2-year-old
Gia wrote:
Thank you for the suggestions! I might go with the play kitchen. They have a number of choices at the local Toys R Us. Somehow, I wanted to escape the stereotype of girls cooking, I guess. I think that's a trap, too. Many little boys enjoy play kitchens tremendously as well. Stereotyping doesn't start there. And really, when you get down to it, the solution isn't to stop girls from cooking anyway. It's to get boys *to* cook, so that both boys and girls are competent cooks by the time they need to be. As for books and blocks, we have tons of them already, so I was wondering about something else that might give us a better start in preschool. She is interested in letters and shapes, and I don't think I'll be pushing these too forcefully Any preschool worth its salt won't be pushing those things either. If you have to "get ready" for a preschool (other than by providing appropriate social opportunities and a rich environment for your child), it's not a developmentally appropriate preschool. My husband was considering a toddler laptop, but I didn't see one that I liked yesterday at the store. Most of them are really abysmal, largely because most are developmentally inappropriate. Truly, there's no silver bullet here. It may seem like all these wonderful toys will make your child a whiz kid, but they don't. And even if your child enjoys them, for most of them the fun is very short-lived. Best to let your friends and neighbors spend the money and get the few moments of enjoyment while visiting ;-) Best wishes, Ericka (whose kids have an embarrassing number of toys, including the so-called educational ones, and is thus very familiar with this phenomenon) |
#12
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Toys again: for 2-year-old
On 24 Nov 2006 22:05:53 -0800, "Gia" wrote:
(Having said what I wish, though, my child has recently become very interested in pretend-cooking, so the thought of a play kitchen crossed my mind. This is not as educational as I'd like it to be, but it's a possibility.) A play kitchen is actually extremely educational for this age. By playing in a pretend kitchen, children: learn what the roles of mothers and fathers and children are. understands what it feels like to play at being somebody other than himself. learn how to use his imagination. learn how to cooperate with other children. Pretend play comes in several stages and it is a very important part of childrens' cognitive learning. The first stage is where kids pretend by mimicking... feeding dolls, talking on the phone, etc. The average for this is 12m - 21m. Symbolic pretend may be a second stage of pretend. If a child is pretending with a prop, and the prop is something completely different... then are they mimicking or truely pretending? I almost think it depends on the situation. A child that picks up a block and pretends it's a piece of food, or telephone... yes, it's more elaborate than just using a toy phone as a phone, but at the same time it seems closer to the first stage than the third, and probably falls into something inbetween. Now, if someone uses a prop such as a sippy cup to be a tree for a terradactyl and her nest.... that seems far more elaborate. How about a backyard is a lake that a child is swimming in? Again, both are using 'props', but both seem to be 'true pretend' "True" pretend, is what is referred to as starting at 3 years. That's where a child is pretending something is completely different. A child gets on all fours and barks like a dog, is a basic example. A child pretends to be a princess, and develops an elaborate story and plot around it. Some kids bypass this phase. -- Dorothy There is no sound, no cry in all the world that can be heard unless someone listens .. The Outer Limits |
#13
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Toys again: for 2-year-old
"Nan" wrote in message ... I also vote for the play kitchen! So-called "Educational" toys, while looking good to parents, tend to be booooring to kids once they've pushed the buttons and heard all the sounds. Play, play, play is more educational than any electronic teaching toy. This is being echoed so many times, I must put my two cents in. DS loved educational toys. He couldn't get enough of them. He learned his numbers and letters all from the toys. I even had him tell me about the "bowels." I said, "bowels?" He said, "Yes, _bowels_ -- a, e, i, o, u accompanied by the associated sounds." I was in shock, since I never taught him letters, numbers, and I never heard his toys teach him vowels. I asked him where he learned them, and he said Leapster, at his daycare. He was 3 yo. DD, OTOH, didn't care much for his educational toys, hasn't learned a thing from them, so it is very individual. She learns everything from books. I'd say not every kid thinks educational toys are boring, but go with educational toys only if the kid likes the stuff. |
#14
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Toys again: for 2-year-old
"Gia" wrote in message ps.com... I am trying to find a good educational toy for a 2-year-old girl. Ideally, it would help with the numbers, letters, and shapes in a fun, interactive way. (Having said what I wish, though, my child has recently become very interested in pretend-cooking, so the thought of a play kitchen crossed my mind. This is not as educational as I'd like it to be, but it's a possibility.) In any case, please suggest good toys that will entartain, but also teach a curious 25-month-old. Gia It's curious to me that I have trouble remembering what my kids played with at age two. The only thing that they really enjoyed and played with for a long time, was a good value for the money, and I didn't end up donating or throwing away, was Duplo. All Hail Duplo! (and Lego) |
#15
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Toys again: for 2-year-old
In article ,
"Sue" wrote: Everything is educational to a 2-year-old. Just get her things that she is interested in and don't worry about the educational aspect because she learns something with everything she does. Beaut summary! applauds -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) "Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled." Kerry Cue |
#16
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Toys again: for 2-year-old
In article ,
"toypup" wrote: "Nan" wrote in message ... I also vote for the play kitchen! So-called "Educational" toys, while looking good to parents, tend to be booooring to kids once they've pushed the buttons and heard all the sounds. Play, play, play is more educational than any electronic teaching toy. This is being echoed so many times, I must put my two cents in. DS loved educational toys. He couldn't get enough of them. He learned his numbers and letters all from the toys.[...]I'd say not every kid thinks educational toys are boring, but go with educational toys only if the kid likes the stuff. I am getting confused here. What is an "educational toy"? Is it just anything marketed as "Educational" to the Great Unwashed Masses? I thought an "educational toy" was something like Duplo, wooden blocks, nesting cups, or a Shape-O. Things That Beep And Flash normally don't meet the criteria for me -- they can usually only be used in limited ways, and I think one of my criteria for Educational Toys is open-endedness. -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) "Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled." Kerry Cue |
#17
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Toys again: for 2-year-old
I think in this instance, educational toy, is an electronic one that teached
the child something, like letters, numbers, colors, etc. Of the type that when you push a button it says, "A" , or "blue" to correspond to the button pushed. such as this http://www.amazon.com/VTech-Alphabet-Electronic-Fundamentals-Reading/dp/B00000IRU2' "Chookie" wrote in message ... In article , "toypup" wrote: "Nan" wrote in message ... I also vote for the play kitchen! So-called "Educational" toys, while looking good to parents, tend to be booooring to kids once they've pushed the buttons and heard all the sounds. Play, play, play is more educational than any electronic teaching toy. This is being echoed so many times, I must put my two cents in. DS loved educational toys. He couldn't get enough of them. He learned his numbers and letters all from the toys.[...]I'd say not every kid thinks educational toys are boring, but go with educational toys only if the kid likes the stuff. I am getting confused here. What is an "educational toy"? Is it just anything marketed as "Educational" to the Great Unwashed Masses? I thought an "educational toy" was something like Duplo, wooden blocks, nesting cups, or a Shape-O. Things That Beep And Flash normally don't meet the criteria for me -- they can usually only be used in limited ways, and I think one of my criteria for Educational Toys is open-endedness. -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) "Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled." Kerry Cue |
#18
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Toys again: for 2-year-old
"Chookie" wrote in message ... In article , "toypup" wrote: "Nan" wrote in message ... I also vote for the play kitchen! So-called "Educational" toys, while looking good to parents, tend to be booooring to kids once they've pushed the buttons and heard all the sounds. Play, play, play is more educational than any electronic teaching toy. This is being echoed so many times, I must put my two cents in. DS loved educational toys. He couldn't get enough of them. He learned his numbers and letters all from the toys.[...]I'd say not every kid thinks educational toys are boring, but go with educational toys only if the kid likes the stuff. I am getting confused here. What is an "educational toy"? Is it just anything marketed as "Educational" to the Great Unwashed Masses? I thought an "educational toy" was something like Duplo, wooden blocks, nesting cups, or a Shape-O. Things That Beep And Flash normally don't meet the criteria for me -- they can usually only be used in limited ways, and I think one of my criteria for Educational Toys is open-endedness. I think you know what it means in this thread. Just because a kid has Leapfrog toys doesn't mean he doesn't have other toys. DS had Megabloks and nesting cups and wooden blocks, but his great thrill was Leapfrog toys. Nothing wrong with that. He liked to learn from them, just like DD likes to learn from books, and there's nothing open-ended about a board book. She sees her ladybug book with numbers and she counts through them every day just like he had his Leapfrog bus and he said the letters every day. Does this mean DD doesn't play imaginatively because she likes to study the numbers in a book? Of course not. The same with DS. Is a board book with one number and picture per page educational? Yes. Is a block on the Leapfrog train with one letter and picture per side educational? Just as educational as the book. |
#19
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Toys again: for 2-year-old
"deja.blues" wrote in message news:f46ah.7646$7a2.6953@trndny06... "Gia" wrote in message ps.com... I am trying to find a good educational toy for a 2-year-old girl. Ideally, it would help with the numbers, letters, and shapes in a fun, interactive way. (Having said what I wish, though, my child has recently become very interested in pretend-cooking, so the thought of a play kitchen crossed my mind. This is not as educational as I'd like it to be, but it's a possibility.) In any case, please suggest good toys that will entartain, but also teach a curious 25-month-old. Gia It's curious to me that I have trouble remembering what my kids played with at age two. The only thing that they really enjoyed and played with for a long time, was a good value for the money, and I didn't end up donating or throwing away, was Duplo. All Hail Duplo! (and Lego) My daughter still loves her Lego, and she's now 11. Her imagination never fails to amaze me. She often gets the sets with where you're supposed to make the specific things, but she constantly changes them into her own creations. And she loved Duplo when she was little. Jen |
#20
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Toys again: for 2-year-old
toypup wrote: I think you know what it means in this thread. Just because a kid has Leapfrog toys doesn't mean he doesn't have other toys. DS had Megabloks and nesting cups and wooden blocks, but his great thrill was Leapfrog toys. Nothing wrong with that. He liked to learn from them, just like DD likes to learn from books, and there's nothing open-ended about a board book. She sees her ladybug book with numbers and she counts through them every day just like he had his Leapfrog bus and he said the letters every day. Does this mean DD doesn't play imaginatively because she likes to study the numbers in a book? Of course not. The same with DS. Is a board book with one number and picture per page educational? Yes. Is a block on the Leapfrog train with one letter and picture per side educational? Just as educational as the book. I totally agree with everything you've posted. I don't know anyone who gives their child only "old fashioned" open-ended play toys. If they did, I'd feel sorry for their kid because he's missing out on some really fun toys. There are times when DS will focus on his wooden blocks for hours, and other times, it's his kiddie lap top. He benefits from both types of toys. Right now his favorite toys are his Hot Wheels and his guitar (a real guitar) but in the past it was his LeapFrog bus or his V-Tech barn which teaches colors, numbers, animals and their sounds. They all have value. -L. |
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