On The Blog
Why to Explore Engineering
Engineering brings science, maths and even art together to design and construct structures and solve problems! It refers to the practical application of knowledge and design to achieve solutions to human problems and is incredibly diverse! Engineers constantly build on past knowledge and successes to improve and evolve structures, technology, machines and much more – nearly everything we use...
Introducing Maths in the Early Years
Successful learning, understanding and performing mathematics relies on a range of factors, including motivation, language ability, attention, attitudes, IQ and social and educational experiences. Due to the complex nature of maths, and the variety of factors involved, kids learn at different paces and in different ways. Some kids require hands-on experiences, some require opportunity to...
Kids & Science – Fun Ways to Learn!
According to recent studies, less students are choosing to study science in their senior years of high school, and many adults don’t find science enjoyable due to negative schooling experiences. Why does this matter? Many of us often don’t realise just how much of our lives incorporate science, and how scientific issues impact us and modern society e.g. human health, the climate and...
A Quick Look at Speech & Language Disorders
This week at Educational Toys Online, we’re taking a look at speech and language disorders. Language development can be broken down into both expression (expressive language) and comprehension (receptive language). Expression refers to the ability to produce words and sentences with appropriate vocabulary, grammar and other conversational rules, whereas comprehension refers to the ability to...
Supporting Speech Development
As discussed in one of our previous blog posts, Using Play to Develop your Child’s Language Skills, language development is one of the most striking developmental changes occurring from infancy into childhood. Language is a form of communication, an umbrella term referring to any way in which we receive or express messages including speech, gestures, writing, texts, email, sign language, code...
Helping Your Child Master Handwriting
Writing is another complex process that requires the integration of a number skills acquired over a period time. It’s a complicated part of a child’s development where language, literacy and fine motor skills all come together. Not only do children need to be able to perform the manual act of writing physical markings, but they need to be able to attribute meanings to the markings, and...
Learning to Read & Understanding Dyslexia
Learning to read is an extremely complex process, made possible by a number of basic ‘pre-reading skills’. Whilst a lot of kids learn the final task of reading fluently and advanced comprehension at school with highly trained educators, developing the necessary pre-reading skills can be supported at home through toys and play! To understand the complexities of learning to read, we’ve...
Using Play to Develop your Child’s Language Skills
One of the most striking developmental changes occurring from infancy into childhood is the development of language. Can you believe that at 18 months most infants can produce about 50 words, with parents and caregivers playing a significant role during this time in their child's long-term language accomplishments (such as the ability to express themselves effectively in adulthood) and overall...
Sensory Stimulation & Early Brain Development
Did you know that brain growth occurs most rapidly from birth to age 3? Early brain development is a fascinating area! Unsurprisingly, infancy is a period of great change within the brain as it builds connections, or ‘synapses’, between its neurons. This is particularly important for cognitive development, as neurons are the ‘working units’ of the brain and the synapses have the important job of...
Attention & Learning
In everyday life, attention plays a critical role forming the basis of our experiences and consciousness. We are always fixing our attention on something, and to complete a task successfully, we must be able to focus and concentrate our mental resources, including shutting out distractions! Attention is a key part of our Cognitive Development – a topic we are exploring here at Educational Toys...
Playing & Problem Solving
This month at Educational Toys Online, we're taking a look at cognitive development. Though we hear this term often and know it's important, it isn't always clear what this means for your child. Simply put, cognitive development is all about gaining thinking skills, and learning to perceive, process, store and retrieve information. It's how children come to understand how the world works and...
Top 5 Apps That Get Kids Moving
As we continue to explore physical and motor development this May at Educational Toys Online, it seemed fitting to have a look at apps that help get kids moving! There are lots of reasons why keeping active is important for kids. According to the 2016 Active Healthy Kids Australia Report Card, when compared to inactive kids, active kids have : Better concentration More confidence &...
Kids with Sensory Processing Issues
Our sensory system is responsible for receiving and interpreting sensations from our surrounding environment. It receives information through touch, taste, vision, smell, sound and movement to help us understand our environment and respond appropriately. If a child’s sensory system isn’t ‘working properly’ they have difficulty experiencing their environment and are often unable to...
What is Developmental Coordination Disorder & Dyspraxia?
So far, throughout the last few weeks, we’ve focused on the development of gross and fine motor skills, and how toys can support this. We’ve talked mostly about ‘typical’ development, but what happens when motor development doesn’t follow this path? Movement issues can take different forms, and may look like general clumsiness, poor balance and posture, specific weaknesses in fine or gross motor...
Fun Ways to Build Fine Motor Skills
As we continue to look at physical development this month, this week’s blog is exploring fine motor development! Fine motor skills refer to movements involving smaller muscles – like those in the hands, wrists and fingers, which are used to manipulate small objects. Fine motor skills allow kids to: Stack blocks Grip peg-puzzles Thread & lace beads Eat with a spoon, knife and fork Hold...
Play and Gross Motor Development
For the next month at Educational Toys Online, we’ll be discussing the physical aspects of child development. From infancy, kids are learning what their bodies can do, and begin gaining control over their muscles and building coordination. It’s a crucial part of child development as it promotes exploration of their environment, which in turn promotes development of other areas e.g. cognitive and...
Our 6 Top Apps for Kids and Their Feelings
Social-emotional learning is a crucial part of development and has a profound impact on other areas of a child’s development, their wellbeing and mental health. Developing emotional intelligence allows kids to recognise, express and manage their emotions and building social skills allows kids to interact, form positive relationships, work with others, and show understanding and empathy. ...
Anxiety and Learning
This week’s blog will explore emotional difficulties children experience, specifically anxiety, and how this impacts their learning. Kids are no different from adults when it comes to experiencing difficulties or worry, and parents are in the best position to identify issues with a child’s emotions, thoughts or behaviours. According to Beyond Blue it is normal for kids to experience a...
Developing Empathy and Social Skills Through Play
This week we’re focusing on two key ways you can promote development in this area through play. Learning to express one’s emotions, interact appropriately with others and empathise is key for emotional and social wellbeing and these skills can be a great outcome of the following certain types of play. The Benefits of Persona Dolls: Building Empathy & Tolerance Persona dolls, such as...
Social Difficulties
Social-emotional development is believed to be fundamental to other areas of development such as language, cognition and general life skills. Being socially and emotionally competent allows kids to explore and grow within their social environments, both at home and in the community. Weaknesses in this area can negatively affect a child and lead to lifelong problems, so it is important...
5 Tips for Supporting Social-Emotional Development
Social and emotional development is crucial and influences many aspects of a child’s interpersonal and intrapersonal experiences. Our emotional development allows us to recognise, express and manage our emotions, which in turn shapes our behaviours, allowing us to achieve our goals and interact with others effectively. Likewise, our social development allows us to interact, form positive...