ABCs educational toys for preschool kids at The Savvy Source for Parents

ABCs TOYS

Letter Factory DVDs

by Leap Frog

For ages 2 to 5 years

View Letter Factory DVDs on Amazon.com >

Some kids are bound and determined to learn things all on their own, and the more they sense that you, their well-intentioned parents, are trying to teach them something as you chat, the more they resist. Got one of those? We're here to help. And frankly, even if you've got one of the more amenable kids on the block, sometimes we all have to turn to an outside source for either teaching or reinforcement. These two videos, sold separately or as part of a five-part set by LeapFrog and bundled by Amazon at a discount if you buy both together, are amazingly effective in teaching the hard part about letters - the sounds they make and how they fit together to make words. Again, LeapFrog works magically in this area. Give the kid a little time with the DVD - and we are the last people to be advocating tv as surrogate teacher or parent, but the fact is, sometimes things are taught really, really well by smart people behind a video - and you'll be astounded by how quickly they start to get the way this whole alphabet thing works. We can't make this stuff up: One of our associated little ones conquered the whole thing during a car trip with a DVD player, and another one was driving his parents a bit nuts when they were awakened at night by his muttering from the next room of various phonic noises as he taught his stuffed animals the way it all worked. We can't guarantee the same success for you, but we sure know where to tell you to start….

Phonics Bus

by Leap Frog

For ages 6 months - 3 years

View Phonics Bus on Amazon.com >

This little bus is one of those LeapFrog toys that just plain works. It speaks toddler-ese with clearly spoken words and sounds and catchy little tunes, and it's a cute little yellow bus with a kid-sized handle on top. What's not to love? Your littlest preschooler can cart it around the house, pushing all the individual letter buttons to hear (depending on the mode selected) the name of the letter, the sound the letter makes or a song associated with that letter. There are removable LeapFrog characters in the seats of the bus, and the little wheels actually roll along, playing three different versions of "Wheels on the Bus." Which means that when it's stuck in your head in the middle of the night, you'll have three different versions to cycle through as you drift back to sleep.. But never mind, the point is that your little one will love it. And if the alphabet song is running through his or her head in the middle of the night, just think how lucky you are. (Note: The Alphabet Pal caterpillar and the Letter Factory Fridge Magnets from LeapFrog are other similar toys, although not quite as grab-able as the little yellow bus.)

Alphabet Blocks

by Mudpuppy

For ages 1 to 3 years

View Alphabet Blocks on Amazon.com >

Perhaps you are ready for just some good old fashioned building or puzzle play. Not so much direct teaching of the alphabet or phonics, but just play, and so much the better if the alphabet happens to appear in beautiful and engaging paintings on the toy itself. Mudpuppy knows what you need. These blocks are mostly just wonderful building tools, except when they are also pieces to a puzzle (or really six different puzzles, depending on which sides you place facing up). Oh, and they happen to be yet another way to inspire you and your child about the alphabet - M is for moon and G is for grasshopper and H is for hummingbird. The illustrations are truly grand, and the toy delights. (Note: The Nature's Alphabet 2-Piece Puzzles have the same great illustrations, and they give a different fine-motor-skill angle to the fun of playing with the alphabet.)

Alphabet Puzzle

by Melissa and Doug

For ages 2 to 5 years

View Alphabet Puzzle on Amazon.com >

There is a delightful moment in alphabet learning when your little one is so sure that a B is a B that he or she will just frown at the suggestion that a b is also a B. Preposterous. Charming as it is, it does seem that learning both capital and lowercase letters is required for true mastery of the alphabet, and this 52-piece wooden puzzle is a perfect way to get there. Underneath the letters, written upper- and then lower-case, next to each other, like an old-fashioned schoolbook, are pictures of things that start with the same letter - yo-yo underneath the lowercase Y, for example. And the letters can be removed from the puzzle (be careful of the small, choking-sized little pieces in order both to keep them away from littler siblings and to keep them from getting lost) and manipulated by your child. She can master the order of the alphabet and the different kinds of letters, and then she can progress to spelling simple words, all by herself. A wonderful way to have her really touch and feel and ‘own' her own alphabet.

Here Come the ABCs CD or DVD

by They Might Be Giants

For ages all ages

View Here Come the ABCs CD or DVD on Amazon.com >

This album, originally released as an audio CD and now available as a DVD with puppets singing along, is a fantastic break from traditional "kid music." The alphabet is clearly just the springboard for the band, as they riff both musically and lyrically on the letters and end up on a wonderful, winding path through upbeat, ballad, country and electronic/funk music. The songs are catchy without being annoying, and it is one of the few CDs that you won't dread your little one asking for in the car. For the tenth time in a row. The songs are great, and if you start listening to it all by yourself because it just happened to be playing when you got it for a rare moment without the little ones in the back, we promise, we won't tell a soul.

Create Your Own Books

by Faber Castell

For ages 4+ years

View Create Your Own Books on Amazon.com >

This kit gives the youngest storytellers the chance to put words and pictures to paper in two attractive, hardcover blank books. One book is 8 1/4" x 11" and the other is 6 1/4" x 8 1/4". The smaller book includes a die-cut frame to add a photo and create an "all about me" book, or perhaps a biographical study of a favorite pet or relative. The kit includes story starter ideas, an assortment of markers, clip art, sticker sheets with story enhancement stickers, number stickers and the alphabet. For preschoolers and their parents, this kit offers many opportunities for creative collaboration. Mom and Dad can take dictation, or maybe design a page of their own. While they may not end up on the best-seller list, these books are destined to become treasured family keepsakes.

Our Theme for August 2008

Down by the Shore

Now At BeingSavvy

Start Singing: Sea Chanteys

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Thu

August

2008

Sea chanteys (or shanties, if you'd like to introduce your preschooler early to the world variant spellings) ... Read more >

ABCs Educational Toys