Educational Toys For Kids - Learning Resources

Multiple-award winning Learning Resources is a leading manufacturer of pretend play and educational toys. You can often find a lot of Learning Resources toys in school and preschools. You can also find a lot of their products in my house!

Some of their toys my kids play/played with have been or were with us for years and are still as popular as the day we first opened the box. They are high quality toys with an emphasis placed on allowing your kid to be a kid and have fun while also learning how to do things or the way things function in the world around them.

When my kids were younger, I always liked to give Learning Resources gifts to friends' kids for birthdays, they're always a big hit. If you're looking for a great quality toy that will stand the test of time, at a reasonable price, and that may just teach your child something, this parent strongly recommends pretty much anything from Learning Express. A few of my family's favorites are mentioned here.

The Smart Snacks Rainbow Color Cones help your child learn colors - 2 cones and 8 different colored scoops are marked on the inside with the color name. Stacking scoops helps develop fine motor skills. These were HUGELY popular with my kids and their friends for YEARS and I definitely saw the learning component of them.

The Sorting Cupcakes were a tie for first place with the cones. They're great for shape recognition - each has a different shape on the bottom that corresponds to its shape into the matching pan.

Another favorite in our home was the Stack and Count Layer Cake. Kids can build their layer cake while they build their number skills. Stack alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla to make a cake, all numbered with 1-10. One of the best parts is that the layers nest for easy storage.

The longevity that these toys have had in my own household is second nothing. We had both these ice cream cones and the cupcakes in my house - and they played with them all the time - for many years. I also noticed that when they had friends over to play, these were some of the most popular toys that they all loved to play with, and that is the reason why I say that they would make fantastic gift ideas for kids.

I haven't met a kid yet that doesn't like to play doctor and Learning Resources has more than one option here. These pretend doctor kits have it all - enough for a whole team of doctors to play at the same time!

The play cash registers from Learning Resources feature lights, sounds, and voice messages. My kids loved the Pretend & Play Calculator Cash Register. They hold real-size money and include play coins and bills, even coupons and credit cards. Some even have a scanner, scale and coin slot. These are a great way to teach coin recognition, addition and subtraction with your child(ren). Learning Resources thinks of every detail, they even have an automatic shut-off to prolong battery life!

For the slightly younger set, consider the Supermarket Checkout by Learning Express where "checkers" can slide food items across the working conveyor belt as the scanner light flashes - much fun for kids!

The Learning Resources Pretend & Play Sliceable Fruits & Veggies was a huge hit with my kids; they played with it for years! Slice the fruits & veggies apart (the halves are attached with Velcro), then match pieces together to make a whole. It's a great for dexterity.

There's also a dozen doughnuts set that features a removable frosting pattern that fits on top for countless matching games. It includes a doughnut box for storage.

To enhance fine motor skills, check out the Truffles set. This set of 13 "truffles" features outer chocolate pieces in 6 shapes for children to match with the corresponding centers.

You may wonder what makes pretend animals educational. Well, when it comes to children, it doesn't take much to make something educational - pretend play is what these type of toys evoke or require and that type of play is very important for young children and their developing minds. It helps bring out their thoughts and imagination and supports their language and communication building skills. I don't think my kids are alone at all in their love of all animals. In fact, when my kids were little they knew the name of a few of our neighbors, but they knew the name of every dog in the neighborhood! They had many pretend animal sets and they played with them on a daily basis when they were younger. Now, at 11- and 12-years-old, they still play with some of their toy animals!

Boys and girls alike love to mimic their parents, especially in the kitchen, so a pretend kitchen and/or some kitchen items like pretend food sets and kitchen utensils, cups, plates, and more can foster hours of fun pretend play for them.

Learning Resources has a ton of pretend kitchen, food and utensil toys to choose from and all are great and very popular with the little ones.