At KinderTown we love high-tech toys for the youngest learner but we are also passionate about hands-on play. So, put down your device and try out the top 2 toys for hands-on play for children ages 3-6. We beat you’ll have some fun as well! Gears, Gears, Gears Gears! Gears! Gears!, by Learning Resources®, invites children to practice their engineering skills by combining pieces to make them move with one another. The play is open-ended, and children can create endless combinations of gears. The gears do go together easily and can be repositioned and changed without frustration, and taking the ..read more

Coding is the latest craze among tech lovers and their kids. Consider these toys if you want to develop your kid’s coding skills. Fisher-Price® Code-a-pillar Review Code-a-pillar is a toy aimed at the youngest learner. It is intended to introduce 3-6 year-olds to the concepts behind coding. Right out of the box, the caterpillar comes with batteries installed and is ready to play with, a big win for children in this age group. You will need a large open space with a hard surface. The goal for your child is to connect the pieces of the caterpillar in order to make it move in the intended direct ..read more

What child doesn’t enjoy the act of smashing and breaking? Try this easy activity with your child and enjoy the hammering together and develop gross motor skills in the process. Hammer Away: Master hammering skills with a toy hammer to smash water beads, hammer golf tees into the bottom of an egg carton, mounds of clay, foam trays, or into the ground. Place flowers (wild flowers, dandelion weeds, etc…) between a folded piece of paper to hammer into flower prints. Try the recipe for making baked cotton balls and have fun crushing them into pieces. (Science) Materials 1 cup flour 1 cup water Fo ..read more

Race homemade rockets, airplanes, birds, or your own creation on homemade zip lines. Discover how the length and steepness of the line affect how the items move. Materials Paper tube Craft supplies (paper, tape, markers, paint, feathers, duct tape, glue, craft sticks, etc.) Fishing line or thread Directions Create an original “racer” by decorating the paper tube as a car, bird, airplane, rocket, or other items with the craft supplies you have available. Allow drying thoroughly if necessary. Locate two sturdy objects to which you can secure the fishing line. Secure the fishing line to one ..read more

Create a decorative, mobile-inspired bird feeder from items found in your back yard, recycling bin, and around the kitchen. Materials Paper towel tube or a cardboard cereal box Several sticks of different shapes and sizes Corn syrup or molasses Basting brush or paint brush Birdseed 2 open containers (one to hold the bird seed and one for the corn syrup) Single hole punch String or yarn Tape Scissors Oat cereal rings Directions Fill one container ½ full with bird seed. Fill the second container with corn syrup or molasses (enough to paint with). Cut the paper towel tube into several rings. I ..read more

Create some healthy under-the-sea-themed snacks to share during a picnic, barbecue, or any time that suits your family. Here are some ideas to get you started. See if your child can come up with some of his own creations to add to the list. Family Activity Focus: Health Playful Dolphins Ingredients Bananas (not peeled) Grapes Cups Marker Sea Star Sandwiches Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to transform your child’s favorite sandwich, toast, waffle, pancake, or slice of cheese into a sea star. Fish in the Sea Ingredients Fish-shaped crackers Cream cheese Rice cake Blue food coloring Directi ..read more

Summer is a great time to get outside and enjoy nature. Enjoy these Nature Themed Apps. Educational Apps with a Nature Theme Domi Domi Nature Shapes (iOS, Google Play) Domi Domi Nature Shapes – Matching and Sorting for Toddlers works to develop early childhood skills in a calming nature environment. Children must match the outlines of the creatures to the fully colored animals including crabs, owls, sea turtles, and sea horses. As your child progresses throughout the five different areas, the difficulty level increases from marching shapes to sorting the objects by color, type, and size. Sort ..read more

Here is a fun math activity to help your child practice skip counting by 10s up to 100. Instructions Have your child skip count by tens and color the corresponding square on the 100 Chart (download below). Allow your child to choose a new color each time they come across another multiple of ten. Continue the pattern coloring all the multiples of 10. Have the student look at the pattern and write down or talk about her observations. Download 100 Chart (pdf) Example The post Skip Counting by Coloring Rainbow Tens appeared first on KinderTown ..read more

KinderTown loves the app Quick Math Jr. by Shiny Things. It’s uniquely made to capture kids’ attention and help them learn about counting, ordering numbers, adding, subtracting, and writing numbers. The app is centered on colorful and playful monsters. One of five different game areas is randomly selected when the gameplay begins. The areas are represented by a bus, a light bulb, a pair of eyes, a house, and a train. One of the greatest features of the games is that they automatically adjust to your child’s learning level so they are appropriately challenged as they learn and progress through ..read more

Todo Telling Time includes six mini-games that develop skill in telling time. Three levels of play are included in each of the games. The concepts about the clock, such as counting by 5′s and arranging the numbers correctly on the clock face, are developed in several of the games. Additional games related to the concept of time include understanding the days of the week, months of the year, and the calendar. The app includes a fun quiz section that can be used to assess a student’s development of these skills. Todo Telling Time ($4.99, App Store) → Todo Telling Time ($4.99, Google Play) → Tod ..read more