educational resources Archives - Stuff Parents Need

Learning Resources Twisty Droppers Water Droppers (Giveaway!)

April 19, 2013 By Tiffany Merritt 52 Comments

While I am feeling very sad, in some ways, that my baby is turning one in a few weeks, I’m also feeling REALLY excited.

Mostly because I know what her “big” present is. Since Layah isn’t a reader of mine, I can spill the beans here: she’s getting a water table! Layah takes her play VERY seriously, and I know that we are going to spend hours and hours on the back porch splashing in the water while big sister runs around in the yard.

I’ve already got the perfect accessory for the water table, and it is also great in the tub! Learning Resources Twisty Droppers are very affordable (just $12.99 for 4 droppers). They are sturdy (Layah has been chewing on them, so I know for a fact that they hold up well!). And they are FUN!

Kids love to play with water, and they also love to move water from one vessel to another. The Twisty Droppers provide a means through which they can have a lot of fun and also work on several different skills and competencies, including developing fine motor skills, strengthening hand muscles and learning cause and effect. While Layah doesn’ t yet have the hand coordination skills to use the droppers as they are intended, Darah does, and when she plays with them in the tub or at the table doing a water lesson, I can see her really concentrating hard. She LOVES watching how the water goes up the dropper, and then back down. The twisty effect really helps kids pay close attention to what is going on inside the dropper.

I think this toy is a winner. And if you don’t need all 4 droppers for your kids, they make fantastic gifts. What a cute item to put on top of a birthday present as part of the wrapping!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of Twisty Droppers!
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I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Product that Encourages Sensory for Toddlers (Giveaway)

March 20, 2013 By Tiffany Merritt 53 Comments

The Montessori method of education gives a very strong preference to using multiple senses during the learning experience. Whether you have an infant, toddler or preschooler at home, I want to encourage to make it a goal to find sensory activities to do at some point every day. Touch, taste and smell are all very important components of memory development, and they also help pique interest when used together.

Learning Resources has a terrific product available that can be used for years and years and for so very many uses. This summer we will be working on sensory for toddlers as Layah becomes a young toddler (oh…don’t make me cry!!!) and we will be working on sensory for preschoolers as well. The Primary Science Sensory Tubes will be getting a workout, holding all sorts of fun discoveries that we can study more closely.

This is a set of 4 sturdy, clear tubes. They can be opened on both ends and have high quality lids that can be screwed on of off. They come with an extra set of vented lids just in case you want to smell what is inside or if you have small creatures in there than need some air. LIke Ariel, for example.

We have already made an “under the sea” sensory tube. Darah really enjoyed scouring the house for anything that made her think of the ocean. She has quite a collection of sea shells!

I very highly recommend the Primary Science Sensory Tubes for parents of toddlers. Each product comes with 4 tubes, so you can even keep some and give others away as gifts.

What sensory activities have you been doing in your home, whether intentional or not? I’d love to hear!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of Sensory Tubes for Learning Resources!
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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: educational resources, giveaway, learning materials, learning resources, learning resources toys, primary science sensory tubes, review, sensory activities, sensory activities for preschoolers, sensory activities for toddlers, sensory toys

Teaching a Child How to Read a Tape Measure (GIVEAWAY)

February 21, 2013 By Tiffany Merritt 78 Comments

A few months ago, Darah asked, “How do you read a tape measure?”

Hmm…an interesting question! She can read the numbers on the measuring tape that her dad uses around the house, but she has figured out that the numbers mean something more than just a simple number.

I thought perhaps the best way to help Darah learn how to measure objects and how to read a tape measure would be by getting one just for her that she can use. Learning Resources has an excellent child’s tape measure!

A tape measure is actually an incredibly useful teaching tool. You can learn increments, fractions, and of course, measurements with it. You can also work on comparisons for the younger kids.

Here’s what we are doing to work on the skill of learning to read a tape measure.

When we are having a “measuring session” I get out a piece of paper and serve as the note taker. Right now we are learning about the foot measurement. The tape measure we have goes up to 4 feet. So we hunt for things that are less than one foot, greater than one foot but less than 2 feet, greater than 2 feet but less than 3 feet, and up to 4 feet in length. It is so cool to see Darah using her critical thinking skills and her estimation skills before the pulls out her tape measure to investigate length. She will often make a guess about how long an item will be. She isn’t often accurate, but this will improve with time, I think. Plus, we try to teach her that it is perfectly fine to be wrong. Better to take a stab at a problem and not get it right than to not try at all!

Does anyone have any tips on how to teach children the concept of inches? I’m not sure how long it will be before we are ready for that task, but I’d like to be prepared once she is!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a simple tape measure from Learning Resources!

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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: childrens tape measure, education, educational resources, giveaway, kids tape measure, learning games, learning materials, learning resources, learning resources review, learning tools, review, simple tape measure, tape measures

Barker Creek Magnetic Kidphonics Activity Set Review and GIVEAWAY!!

August 21, 2012 By Tiffany Merritt 105 Comments

Darah is showing some clears signs of readiness for learning to read. One of the clearest signs is that she is growing increasingly frustrated when she sits down to read that she can’t actually read the words. Tim and I read to her every day, but I can tell that she wishes she could read to herself. She often points to letters she recognizes on the page, or points to certain words and asks what they say.

Darah’s teachers have also reported back to us that she seems particularly interested in the language lessons in the classroom, and spends a great deal of time working on her letter sounds. We’ve been working on having similar lessons in our house so that she can continue working on something that interests her so much, and so that she can make strides on the path to reading.

Barker Creek is a website that has many award-winning educational products that are ideal for the classroom and for home. I took a bit of time recently to flip through their catalog. I was extremely impressed by the comprehensive selection of products that teachers and homeschooling parents would love to see in their classrooms. Even if you don’t fit into either category, they still have TONS of stuff that can provide educational enrichment to your child!

Want to see what we’ve been enjoying from Barker Creek?

Check out the Magnetic Kidphonics Activity Set, currently available for $49.99. It comes with the following elements:

magnetic a-z pictures (one picture for each letter in the alphabet)
magnetic uppercase letters
magnetic lowercase letters
magnetic Kidboard

We have both really enjoyed sitting down together to work on matching pictures with letter sounds. What we do is pick out a picture, then identify the letter sound it begins with and search for that sound. We don’t put the focus on the name of the letter, but instead, on the sound it makes, as I have learned that reading readiness skills are enhanced by looking at letters and thinking of their sounds even before thinking of their official names.

Darah really loves the Kidboard, and being able to make her own charts of pictures and corresponding letter sounds. Here you will see her latest completed board!

In addition to the letters and pictures, we also received the Learning Magnets Numbers and Math Signs set. This is going to be useful for several years, and we’ll be able to practice number identification, and later on addition, subtraction, division and multiplication! This set is available for $9.99.

We also received the Magnetic Kidmath Critter Counter Set, available for $9.99. I LOVE these magnets, as they make the abstract concept of math very tangible, using bugs as examples of quantities. Montessori education states that students are going to really learn a concept once it becomes tangible, and can be understood using all the senses. I believe these magnets are a step in that direction!

I highly recommend these tools for helping with reading and math readiness. My child is enjoying them and really seems to focus when she has her magnets and her Kidboard out for a lesson. I will also say that the quality of the magnets is quite good! I’d love to hear what you all are doing (or did in the past) to help your children learn to read and learn about math.

Don’t miss out on the weekly web-only specials at Barker Creek. They offer a variety of products at 50% off every week. Woo hoo!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Magnetic Kidphonics Activity Set!
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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: barker creek, barker creek publishing, barker creek review, barkercreek.com, classroom supplies, education products, educational products, educational resources, giveaway, learning magnets numbers and math signs, magnetic kidmath critter counter set, magnetic kidphonics activity set, review, school supplies, teacher supplies, teachers store, teachers supplies, teaching supplies

Learning Resources: Primary Science Magnet Set Review and GIVEAWAY!!

May 31, 2012 By Tiffany Merritt 101 Comments

The hits just keep coming from Learning Resources, folks. I’ve already introduced you to a few of their great products that make learning fun. Check out my reviews of the Letter Construction Activity Set, the Gator Tweezers and the Primary Science Mix & Measure Kit, all of which are used frequently at my house.

Our newest product that has been giving us experiment ideas is the Primary Science Magnet Set. It comes with 10 activity cards, and also has 10 more activity cards on the site that you can download! Darah has been learning about attraction and repelling thanks to this set. She’s been asking a lot of questions, and trying out different combinations of magnets to see how they come together or stay apart from one another. She especially finds the fact that they can repel each other to be really fascinating!

This toy recently won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Gold Seal Award, so Darah’s certainly not alone in her enjoyment of it! It’s designed for ages 4-12, but with adult supervision, 2 and 3 year-olds can also certainly have fun with it and learn a lot at the same time!

I absolutely love that Darah regularly asks me if we can, “do science” at home, and Learning Resources products have played a large role in opening her eyes to the world of experiments. They are a resource I would recommend to anyone looking for fabulous toys that teach.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Primary Science Magnet Set!

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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product from Learning Resources for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: construction toy, education resources, educational games, educational resources, giveaway, learning resources, learning resources games, magnet set, motor skills activities, preschool motor skills activities, primary science magnet set, review, teaching resources

Letter Construction Activity Set Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

April 27, 2012 By Tiffany Merritt 93 Comments

One important concept of the Montessori philosophy of learning is that children require true hands-on experiences with everything. They need to be able to engage many different senses when learning a concept. When it comes to learning pre-writing skills, children not only look at letter, but they trace them and they touch them. This is critical to the mind mapping taking place in their heads!

Learning Resources has an excellent resource that can give children that hands on experience that they need as they prepare to learn to read. Check out the Letter Construction Activity Set! It comes with a variety of pieces that children can use to literally build the alphabet. There are instruction cards that show children the materials needed to make upper case and lower case versions of each letter. This product helps children with hand-eye coordination, problem solving, and of course, letter recognition. I absolutely love it. If you are a teacher, know that there are enough pieces included so that four children can build the exact same letter at the same time, so this also makes for a great small group lesson.

Learning Resources is a fantastic destination for play items that develop critical skills for children as they grow and learn. I very highly recommend this set for your pre-reader, and I highly recommend the site for all your educational needs!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of Letter Construction Activity Set from Learning Resources!
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