Educational Toys to Use During School Closures
These 9 educational toys will keep your child learning, not just entertained, while schools are closed for COVID-19.
With schools and daycares closed across much of the world, children are spending more time at home than ever before. While extra time with our kids is a plus, it can feel difficult to keep them engaged when parks and playgrounds are off the table.
These 9 toys are not just fun and entertaining, they also encourage kids to learn while they play, which is more important than ever before.
Our Top Educational Toy Picks
The best toys that engage your child an encourage learning are:
- Stacking and sorting toys
- Alphabet toys
- Clock toy
- Robotics set
- Blocks
- Workbench toy set
- Wooden face play set
- Manners book
- Arts and crafts library
Scroll down to see more about our picks…
For the youngest tots, this colorful sorting game is an excellent choice. It encourages them to practice fine motor skills as they work to place the nins in the cups. This set is also great for reenforcing color vocabulary and matching skills.
Grapat Nins Cups and Coins Stack and Sort
$49.90
In this unique alphabet puzzle, kids lift the letters to reveal a picture of something starting with that letter below. To keep them learning, encourage them to think of other things that start with the letters too!
Tender Leaf Toys Alphabet Pictures
$30
These letters have endless possibilities for educational play.
Practice putting the letters in order together. Put all of the letters in a basket and ask your child to choose one, then think of things that start with that letter together.
Choose 5 letters and send your child on a “scavenger hunt” to find objects beginning with each letter around the house.
See how many simple words you can build with the letters.
There are so many fun ways to help your child learn the letter names and sounds with this beautiful set!
Sweet Felt Dreams Alphabet Letters
$125
Anyone with a toddler knows that routine is super important to these little people. Help them understand their daily routine as you make the adorable little bear figure do everything from get up in the morning to take a bath at night. Move the clock hands to introduce the abstract concept of time as well.
Moon Picnic Make My Day Clock Toy
$59
For tots 4 years and up, the Modular Robotics Discovery Set is a super fun and engaging way to introduce coding. Kids can snap together the magnetic faces of the robot blocks to build hundreds of different robots. Bonus – this is one that can definitely keep the kids engaged for hours while you get something done at home!
Modular Robotics Discovery Set
$139.95
This block set is great because it’s fun and educational for multiple ages. The youngest tots will enjoy practicing hand-eye coordination and stacking the blocks while older tots will love studying the dinos’ names, skull, footprints, and time period illustrated on the sides.
Uncle Goose Dinosaur Blocks
$20
With over 15 difference science experiments, the Hape Deluxe Scientific Workbench makes science so fun for kids! Recommended for tots 4 years and up, this set is made from wood and nontoxic paint.
Hape Deluxe Scientific Workbench
$119
Social end emotional learning is just as important for young kids as academic learning. This set allows them to build a wide variety of faces reflecting different feelings from excited to sad to help them become more aware of and learn to identify feelings. This is more important now than ever as even the youngest kids can sense our anxiety and the disruption in routine that is happening all around them.
Tender Leaf Toys What’s Up Set
$30
Young kids are fascinated by the social rules of our culture, called “grace and courtesy” in Montessori. They love learning about how to shake hands, how to introduce themselves, and how to properly set a table. This book is the perfect way to practice these skills together.
Read a section together and then act it out with their dolls or stuffed animals. Throw the fanciest tea party putting all of the etiquette rules in action.
Marie-Chantal Manners Start at Breakfast
$50
Continue exploring
- Sticking to a predictable schedule during isolation can help families stay focused and reduce anxiety. Here’s a sample schedule and activity suggestions for all ages…
- We’ve curated a selection of the best screen-based and screen-free educational tools to keep your children’s minds sharp during isolation…
