(I originally wrote this post when Edison was a toddler. This activity was fantastic for practicing the alphabet and phonics. Now that he is in preschool, we are still getting a lot out of it. Even though he knows his alphabet, the game is great for phonics practice and we have modified it to help with vocabulary too!)

I have a lot of board games left over from when I was a kid, and I just can’t wait until my son is old enough to enjoy them. Lately, I have started adapting some of the games to work for younger kids. Even though Scattergories is quite a bit above his level (it requires writing), I did manage to find a great way to “play” it with my son.

My spirited child has more fun learning when he is moving. So, the other day, I pulled the alphabet die out of our Scattergories box and turned it into a little alphabet and phonics game. We called it Letter Ball.

The “rules” were simple. My son would roll the die, run after it, tell me the letter on the top of the die, and then we had to come up with words that started with that letter. The nice thing is that the Scattergories die does not have the notoriously difficult letters like X and Z.

This little alphabet activity kept him occupied for about a half an hour. It also gave him the opportunity to run around and throw things in the house, always a plus with an active child.

Practice Phonics and Introduce New Vocabulary with Your Preschooler

Even though my son is now a preschooler, I am still able to modify the rules to keep it challenging. Now, we pick a category like “food”. Then, when he rolls the die, we have to come up with foods that starts with that letter.

So, not only does the game help him practice phonics, but it also expands his vocabulary because he can’t just come up with the same old words time after time.

Scattergories Letter Ball in Action (Toddler style…)

The post Practice the Alphabet and Phonics with Scattergories appeared first on Wild Edisons.

It is well made and has done a fantastic job of standing up to our rambunctious little boy. (Incidentally, it is also made from green materials, always a plus in our book.)

From the Manufacturer

The Plan City Airport comes complete with a 2-story play area, flight control tower and moveable elevator: which connects the ground and second floors. Car park is on the first floor while the second floor features the check-in counters, luggage conveyor-belt and sky-path is connected to the plane. This play-set includes an airplane, cargo trailer and 2 figures of the co-pilot and captain, product measures 12.6″ x 21.7″ x 10.6″. (more…)

The post Toddler Toys We Love: Plan City Airport appeared first on Wild Edisons.

Of course, children are all different, especially the spirited ones. These are just some ideas if you need to get a gift for a toddler boy.

Ohio Art Classic Doodle Sketch
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

This toddler toy has entertained our son for countless hours on long car trips, when staying in hotels, etc. (Note: I put the stamps in a ziplock baggy and leave them at home.) It is a great way to let them get artistic without the mess and my son loves erasing the screen.

DUPLO My First Farm
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

Between gifts and CraigsList.com, I can’t believe how many DUPLO’s my toddler has. Each set is great by itself, but combining sets is when the real fun begins. They are wonderful for the imagination and building skills. My husband, step-son, and I were all big LEGO kids, and now we are raising the next generation.

Melissa & Doug Deluxe Latches Board
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

I first saw this at a friend’s house. They said, “It is a lot of fun, but now my daughter can escape ANYTHING.” I totally agree, but it is one of my toddler’s favorite toys. It is fantastic for fine motor skills and also introduces numbers and colors.

Fisher-Price Little People Animal Sounds Farm
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

Lord help me, but my toddler loves this farm. There are flaps to lift, doors to open, slides to slide, and just about everything makes a sound. We found it used, so ours does not have the pig or the goat…A fact which our toddler points out every time he plays with it. Jeese!

Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden 27-Piece Lacing Beads in a Box
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

I have to admit, I was a little surprised by how my toddler boy took to this lacing set. He loves stringing the blocks on the cords. I am not complaining though. It really is a wonderful activity for improving fine motor skills. It doesn’t hurt that there are numbers too, so we can work on counting at the same time.

Melissa & Doug Car Carrier
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

Have you noticed that I like Melissa & Doug? If you have a toddler boy who likes cars, you might want to combine this car carrier with a simple set of wooden blocks so that you can make buildings and garages. Just a tip…

LeapFrog: Fridge Farm Magnetic Animal Set
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

Honestly, we never owned this toy, but two of my friends have it on their refrigerators, and my toddler is enthralled with it every time we visit. It is great for teaching matching and animal sounds, but I like it because it entertains him in the kitchen which is where I always seem to need help distracting my toddler.

The post Toy Gift Ideas For Spirited Toddler Boys appeared first on Wild Edisons.

My 2 year-old is into trains…Today. Tomorrow, he might be into farms or airplanes or who knows? We got him the The Great Toy Story Train Chase from Lego Duplo because when he outgrows trains, he can use the blocks to build something else. Since all of the sets work together, we have fun turning his barn into a train station and making his fire truck into an emergency milk delivery truck.

Duplo’s are great for building fine motor skills and absolutely fantastic for cognitive skills. My son can take apart the train and put it back together faster than I can. And, the sense of fulfillment he gets when he creates something new is great for his self esteem.

Hotwheels Color Shifters are a fantastic way to practice colors with toddlers. Dunk them in water and they change colors depending on the temperature. We keep a small bowl of water with ice in it next to the bath and our toddler is so engaged that he hardly notices when we wash his hair. Incidentally, they also will change color if you hold them in your warm hands. This has kept him occupied out of the tub too.

Along with entertaining our spirited toddler, the cars give us a great opportunity to practice colors. Such a silly toy, but we all love them.

The Classic Doodle Sketch is a modern day twist on the Etch A Sketch. My son happily entertains himself by drawing with the magnetic pen and shape stamps and then erasing his pictures with the little slider. (The slider alone makes this toy great for spirited toddlers.)

Most of the time, we use it together though. He likes to tell me what to draw and I do my best to make a cartoon representation of it. (Without a second’s notice, he wipes it clean and asks for something else.) Sometimes, we practice our letters and reading by writing the names of movies that he can choose from or places we are going or people we are going to see.

I absolutely love the Shapes Magnetic Book (Magnetic Play & Learn). It comes with a bunch of magnetic shapes that you can use to make pictures in the book. We use it during potty time because it is pretty self-contained and entertains him more than just a book. It is also good for long car trips and visiting relatives that believe that children should be seen and not heard.

The best part is that he doesn’t even realize that he is practicing his shapes and colors.

In case you are new to WildEdisons, I love alphabet puzzle mats. There are so many educational toddler activities you can do with them. For some ideas, check out my post Toddler Alphabet Puzzle Mat Activities.

The post Great Educational Toys for Spirited Toddler Boys appeared first on Wild Edisons.

The post Toddler iPad Apps We Love: My first Tangrams HD appeared first on Wild Edisons.

The post Toddler Toys We Love: Alphabet Puzzle Mat appeared first on Wild Edisons.

With 26 alphabet letters, the pictures are not terribly complex. It was pretty obvious where we needed to draw the next line, and my toddler did not have any trouble finding the next letter. The big problem was that he did not have the fine-motor skills to actually draw a decent line. Suddenly, I loved this activity even more. Not only was he learning the alphabet, but he was practicing his fine motor skills at the same time!

Check Out These Alphabet Dot to Dot Worksheets on Amazon!

The post Alphabet Dot to Dot appeared first on Wild Edisons.

The post Online Reading of the Children’s Book Goldilocks and the Three Bears appeared first on Wild Edisons.

The post Toddler Toys We Love: Alphabet Magnets appeared first on Wild Edisons.