Wooden toys are good.
There’s something wholesome about them, wouldn’t you agree?
No plastic, loud noises or flashing lights.
No tantrums when it’s time to stop.
Wooden toys are calming.
And wooden toys are educational.
But what does educational actually mean?
Children learn through play. If the materials on offer present a challenge that is interesting, children will engage. They will explore and learn.
In fact, anything at all can be educational, from an empty cereal packet to the nuts and bolts in your tool box. All that matters is that your child has a gap in their understanding that the material in question can answer.
Here is a toddler.
She has spent all week playing with empty water bottles, screwing lids on and taking them off again.
You present her with a doll’s house. She walks away.
You offer a toy workbench and she is captivated. There are screws to twist and vise handles to turn.
This child was exploring the rotation schema. In that moment, any object offering the possibility to twist and turn would be educational.
So if anything can be educational, does that mean all toys are created equal?
No.
Because some toys offer more possibilities than others. The more open-ended they are, the more likely it is that your child will find a way to use them that presses the right developmental buttons.
It’s not that an electronic toy is necessarily bad. It’s simply that it’s one-dimensional. Press the buttons a few times and the novelty wears off. There’s nothing more you can do with it.
Educational Wooden Toys
Wooden Building Blocks
These timeless classics are far more than mere stackables. As your little one engages in building structures, they’re unknowingly grasping concepts of balance, stability and spatial awareness. And let’s not forget the vocabulary and teamwork involved when building castles with a playmate.
See wooden blocks and stackers
Shape Sorters
These are not just a perfect primer for shapes and colours, but also great for polishing hand-eye coordination. The triumph of fitting the shapes into their respective slots is also a lesson in perseverance and achievement.
See Tortoise Shape Sorter, Noah's Shape Sorter Ark
Wooden Figurines of Animals
A menagerie at your child’s fingertips! With wooden animal figures, the imaginative possibilities are endless. What escapades will the jungle animals embark upon today? This sort of symbolic play is crucial for your child’s mental development.
See wooden animals
Stacking Toys
These captivating toys subtly introduce your child to the concept of order. The satisfaction of successfully assembling them in the right sequence is invaluable.
See wooden blocks and stackers
Puzzles
Though they have a single solution, the cognitive dexterity required to piece together a puzzle is crucial. It’s a mental workout for your child’s brain.
Play Kitchens
Your child is the chef and the sky is the limit. From concocting outlandish dishes to mimicking daily routines, play kitchens are social interaction hubs.
Wooden Train Sets
Choo choo! Your child is the train conductor on an endless journey of discovery. Train sets introduce them to foundational mathematical concepts through movement and representation.
Final word
Everything is educational. It’s just that some things are more educational than others.
Rather than a toy box overflowing with objects only suited to a limited range of play, why not choose multi-purpose, open-ended toys? These wooden classics will last a childhood - and beyond - and offer perfectly pitched learning through play.
