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Welcome to This Reading Mama! I’m on Day 3 of a 5 Day Series entitled The ABCs of Learning Toys and Manipulatives. The idea is to list toys and manipulatives that can be used when teaching each letter of the alphabet. If you’re new today, please click on the image above or here to see the letters A through J. You can also see all the topics covered here, as there are 60+ bloggers going through their ABCs as well!
Words highlighted in blue are actual links and will take you to a product page or a post where you can see the item being used in action.
K is for…
- KEYBOARD– If you don’t have room for a full piano, get a small keyboard. My three oldest LOVE to play with our keyboard when I rotate it out.
- KEYS– we have this really neat key set from Lakeshore Learning, but we also have sets of keys that I made from old keys that the kids, especially MBug likes to play with
- KEYS WITH HOUSE
- KITCHEN SET & KITCHEN ACCESSORIES– I am very blessed to have a hubby who is VERY handy. He built our kiddos this kitchen set last year. MBug (currently 2.5 years) plays with it almost every day in some way. If you don’t have a hubby who can do this, I would definitely go with a wooden one. It will last so much longer!
- KITCHEN UTENSILS– tongs, scoops, medicine droppers, cups, ladles, etc. There are all sorts of fine motor things you can do with these…and they’re already in your kitchen!
L is for…
- LACING– cards or these neat, little animals are great for hand-eye coordination and fine motor
- LAPTOP– We have two pretend laptops that are a hit with all the kids when I pull it out!
- LEGOS– A BIG hit at our house and a great way to sneak in some fine motor work! I just found these awesome Lay-N-Gos. What a cool idea. I may just have to invest in one as we have TONS of LEGOS!
- LETTERS– anything with letters: puzzles, foam letters, books… you name it!
- LIDS– save those bottle lids; any and every size or color for some sensory play and math concepts
- LINCOLN LOGS– need I say more?
- LINKS
- LITE BRITE
- LITTLE PEOPLE– we have quite a few of these sets and while my boys didn’t play with the Little People, MBug sure does. She’d rather play with just the people!
M is for…
- MAGNADOODLE
- MAGAZINES– cut out pictures, use for sorting, talking about feelings, find letters or words, such an open-ended activity…and use old copies that you were going to recycle
- MAGNETIC TOYS– Here are some of my favorite magnetic toys: magnetic dress up set, magnetic wooden vehicles, magnetic puzzles, Leap Frog fridge toys, construction set: large and small, Creator Block sets, magnetic letters and numbers, PowerClix (ALL my kids have a blast putting these together!) the list could really go on and on…there are so many options out there.
- MAGNETS
- MAGNIFYING GLASS– you can get a basic one, a tabletop tripod glass (I’d love to have one of these!)
- MARACAS
- MARBLES/MARBLE RUN
- MARKERS– anything Crayola or washable!
- MARSHMALLOWS
- MAT– something to tumble, or learn on, or DIY
- MEDICINE CUPS
- MEDICINE DROPPERS– great for fine motor!
- MICROWAVE– we have this one
- MIRROR
- MUFFIN TINS– these are very open-ended and are great for sorting
- MUSIC– get up and dance! My kids LOVE music. Some of our favorites are Jana Alayra, Greg & Steve, Hap Palmer, and Cedarmont Kids collection.
N is for…
- NERF GUN
- NESTING TOYS– You can use cups from your cabinet, Tobbles or some nesting and stacking cups like these
- NEWSPAPER
- NOODLES
- NUMBERS– Our favorite toys for learning numbers are: Counting Cookies, DUPLO set, magnetic number molds, and lacing numbers
- NUTS
- NUTS and BOLTS– We have these and we also have this design and drill set, which my three oldest enjoy playing with
O is for…
- OATMEAL– great for sensory play or spread out into a cookie tray and use for “writing” letters or numbers with fingers
- OCEAN ANIMALS
- OCTAGONS
- OIL
- OVEN– cook something together or use the pretend oven in the kitchen set
If you’re looking for more ideas on getting your kids learning, check out all these ABCs of series. These bloggers simply amaze me! 🙂
- A Waldorf Mama from Triple T Mum
- After School Activities from The Educators Spin On It
- Hands-on History from Adventures in Mommydom
- Home Daycare or Family Child Card from My Buddies and I
- Homeschooling from Enchanted Homeschooling Mom
- How to Home Preschool from In Lieu of Preschool
- Math Activities from Blog Me Mom
- Montessori from Living Montessori Now
- Science Activities & Play from Science Sparks
- Teaching Math from Montessori Tidbits
- Thrifty Teaching Tools from Kindergarten & Preschool for Parents & Teachers
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~Becky
[…] Day 3: K-O […]