When it comes to choosing Learning Toys as gifts for children or for use at home as a tool for their development, it is helpful to have a little understanding of the types of play that are essential to a rounded childhood and the types of learning toys that support these vital areas of child development
Naturally, kids learn best through avenues that make the most sense to them but children also need to learn through a variety of ways and to be exposed to toys that feature different developmental benefits in order to develop all their senses and intelligences. At Crafts4Kids we stock high quality educational toy brands, ones where we know that the development benefits have been researched and the toys tested on their best critics – kids and parents! Before you choose the educational toy gift from the Crafts4Kids.co.uk range, here is a very quick summary of types of play and that will help you in your learning toys selection:
Physical Play - learning through bodily sensations and movement. Toys of this type help children learn through activities that challenge their hand-eye coordination and improve both their gross and fine motor skills. Children that learn best through physical play are often athletic and enjoy sports, so the optimal toys for them focus on manipulating objects, building, dancing and role-playing or other forms of make believe that involve motion and action. Browse our role play toys collection.
Verbal Play – learning based on linguistic play whether written or oral. Toys of this type are perfect for children who love language where play can include anything that focuses on written words (like word board games or writing and reading books) or oral words (like story telling sessions or writing and staging plays). Linguistic play will improve listening skills, allow for word creation and association, and benefit overall language skills. Browse our story telling toys collection
Logic Play – learning focused on reasoning and sequencing and concentrating on numbers and patterns. Toys of this type will improve children's problem solving abilities and to identify processes, patterns and sequences – children’s jigsaw puzzles, logic and strategy games and numeric toys all come into this category of learning toy. Browse our classic games and toys collection
Music Play – learning based on rhythm and melody. Music is an essential part of childhood development and kids with strong musical interests pick up on sounds others do not and they learn best through an environment rich with music and dancing. This type of play also improves listening skills and creates a new level of interaction with the surrounding world. Browse our musical toys collection
Spatial Play – learning that is visual, full of colour, creativity and imagery. Educational Toys of this type encourage a child's artistic, creative side and will improve children's observation skills and stimulate an active imagination. Whether creating a future master, building the next great architectural wonder, or sewing the perfect soft toy this benefit of play adds the visual dimension to a child's learning environment. Browse Kids Art, Crafts For Kids and Easy Sewing Projects collections for inspiration.
Intrapersonal Play – learning that is independent, fostering inner reflection and awareness of feelings is an important aspect of healthy childhood development. Playing alone encourages children to recognize their own emotions, feelings and thoughts, as well as how to control them and allows children to take charge of their activities and explore their environment at their own level and speed. Educational Toys, such as Pretend Play Toys, improve children's self-motivation and self-esteem as they engage their imaginations and take the initiative to create their own forms of fun and learning.
Interpersonal Play – learning that encourages communication, positive interaction and teamwork with others through cooperative play. Educational Toys of this type teach children about group dynamics, how to understand others' feelings, to share ideas and to work in a productive, collaborative way. Cooperative Play Toys by Peaceable Kingdom and Djeco have proved to be very popular.