Prepare your child for school and ease anxiety through play
Returning to school after a long break can make children anxious, especially if it is their first year or they are moving from one school to another.
The unfamiliar experiences of a new school year can cause worry: new friends, new activities, and entirely new subjects. Going back to school can be stressful for children! Parents and caregivers can help by introducing children to a learning environment before they start school.
First, schools follow a timetable of lessons and activities. Establishing a similar routine at home ahead of time can be very helpful.
For example, a few weeks before school starts, encourage children to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day to establish a new routine (Back-to-school tips from the AAP). Talking about and listening to what happened at the end of each day can also encourage them to share their experiences once they start school. Listening to your children and asking questions about their day can help you better understand their positive and negative experiences, too.
Children can feel anxious about meeting new people, school timetables, or overwhelming homework. Parents can help them work through these uncomfortable feelings by making the back-to-school environment feel familiar and appealing through play.
How can toys support academic learning?
Educational toys, particularly those focused on academic learning, are designed to meet educational goals and help children develop specific skills. During early development, they help develop sensory awareness, imagination, and social skills.
During playtime, educational toys give children their first experience of activities they will do at school. Talking as you play helps children imagine themselves in a school setting.
Children's progress in writing or counting depends on the development of movement, fine motor, and cognitive skills, alongside concentration and visual skills. Educational toys make academic learning entertaining while helping children practice essential skills. Just choose toys that are appropriate for their age.
Even a blackboard at home can turn school role-play into great fun! How about drawing pictures or tracing letters? Find more ideas in 3 Ways to Encourage Writing Practice Through Play.
Toys can support academic learning without putting pressure on children because they are designed to make learning fun. Babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and older children can all benefit from play. Let's explore some great options!
The best educational toys!
To support important learning in toddlers, a multisided activity center offers plenty of ways to play and excellent value.
Wild Safari Adventure Center is a toy packed with elements for children to touch, handle, and explore. There is plenty to keep them interested as they discover new things within this play set. Working through challenges helps toddlers concentrate, a skill they will also need to practice at school. Moving around to explore its different sides gives them movement practice, and, importantly, helps develop problem-solving skills.
Which toys can introduce children to the world of math in a fun way?
Math requires spatial understanding and memory. Like other abilities, these skills need gradual practice until children understand the concepts and become confident with calculations.
Moving through space increases our awareness of our surroundings and our relationship with objects. Children can develop mental images, which are essential for understanding mathematical patterns.
Rainbow Bead Abacus, a rainbow wooden abacus, is ideal for learning arithmetic. Having children move one or two red beads from one side to the other helps them learn colors and focus on their hand movements. Saying the numbers aloud as the beads move helps children learn numbers, estimate quantities, and picture how moving more beads reduces the number on one side while increasing the number on the other.
It is easy for children to enjoy this toy. Ten rows of ten beads in five colors can inspire endless ways to play.
Having more educational toys encourages children to practice other mathematical concepts in greater depth. Monster Math Scale brings them closer to basic arithmetic by combining key principles in a practical, simple, and fun weighing scale. How many funny monsters are there? The weights are shaped like little monsters in different colors. Children can enjoy placing monsters on the scale's paws, moving them around, and adding or removing them until the scale balances. This simple game introduces weight, equality, balance, addition, and subtraction.
Has learning math ever been this easy and fun? Read more about the Monster Math Scale.
While playing with your children, explain that they will do similar activities at school. These familiar memories can help them feel more enthusiastic in an educational setting.
With these preparations, school can stop being something children worry about. Are you ready to play with your children and help them settle comfortably into the school year? Start with these toys! Remember to get their supplies ready, too, with this Kindergarten School Bag Packing Checklist.
If you are looking for an excellent developmental toy, Hape toys are a great choice, with a wide range of wooden toys that support children's development at every age.
Thoughtfully designed with children's learning in mind, these toys help practice important skills such as seeing, listening, observation, fine motor control, problem-solving, imagination, and creativity. They also support integrated academic learning through STEAM.
Their sturdy designs and durable materials support children's development while prioritizing safety, with non-toxic colors and FSC-certified wood. Their strength and long lifespan also make them environmentally friendly.
Hape is therefore a global wooden toy brand that values toy safety standards and environmentally responsible manufacturing.
It is easy to see how Hape wooden toys can enrich these activities and help keep little ones away from screens.
What matters most is sharing happy moments as a family, because wherever there is love, there is a complete home! What activities do you enjoy with your child? 😁
Hape Thailand
Love Play Learn
🌐: Browse all products /hape-brand-page
Follow the latest news and special offers FB : Hape Thailand