Tagged with 'holidays'

Trimming the tree with toddlers and preschoolers is as tough as it sounds. So many shiny, pretty things to touch and hold! This year, let your little ones in on the decorating fun, and save your sanity with a little learning tree of their own!

A three- or four-foot tree is plenty big. Put it on a sturdy stand so it’s sure not to tip, and place it in your playroom or other open space. Then turn this time-honored tradition into a fun, family learning activity by decorating the tree with child-safe ornaments made of everyday objects, like the Learning Resources Back in Time Dinosaur Counters.

We turned this colorful set of 72 dinosaurs into props for our holiday-themed lesson by wrapping flexible ornament hooks around each one, then hanging them on the tree. Once they’re hung, there are many ways to learn and play this holiday!

1. Color Learning

With all the dinos hung in the tree, challenge your child to find and remove all the orange ornaments, then all the blue, green, red, yellow, and purple in turn.

2. Counting

Once the dinos are down, take a careful look at each pile. Which one is the biggest? Which one is the smallest? Be sure to use early math vocabulary words like more than and less than. Next, help your child count each pile, saying each number as you move that dinosaur aside.

3. Sorting

When you’re done counting, let your little one jumble up the piles into one giant, rainbow-colored dino dig. Then see if she can sort the piles by attribute. Try sorting first by color, then jumble them up again. Then try sorting by type of dinosaur, then by size. Sorting is an important early math skill, as it helps children begin to identify and group “like” objects.

4. Matching

Next, choose four different dinosaurs. Show them to your child one by one, and see how quickly he can find a matching dinosaur in a pile. Make sure the pairs are identical in both color and type of dinosaur.

5. Letter Learning

Preschoolers can practice their letters with this dino-covered learning tree, too! Place the dinos back in the tree, and then challenge your pint-sized paleontologist to find all the dinosaurs whose color starts with the “O” sound, then the “Yeh” sound, the “Buh” sound, and so on.

6. Fine Motor Skills

When the learning and fun are done, you still have one last chance to slip in some developmental practice! Ask your child to place the ornaments back on the tree, working those fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

• All Kinds of Learning Fun: Kids learn counting, colors, matching, imagination, fine motor skills, and more with the help of these fun, friendly polar pals in this educational toy set!
• Five Fun Polar Animals: Each of the friendly polar animals doubles as a finger puppet that’s ready for all kinds of imaginative adventures!
• Grows With Your Kids: These polar animals and their toddler activities grow with your kids from toddler skills and beyond—build new fine motor skills during early pretend games, then move on using the set as an early math and color teaching toy!

• All Kinds of Learning Fun: Kids learn counting, colors, matching, imagination, fine motor skills, and more with the help of the fun, friendly birds in this educational toy set!
• Five Birds, Five Different Expressions: Each of the friendly birdy finger puppets sports a different facial expression, which helps kids identify and talk about feelings and other social-emotional learning (SEL) skills!
• Grows With Your Kids: These birds and their toddler activities grow with your kids—build new fine motor skills during pretend games, then move on using the set as an early math and color teaching toy!

• Learn Numbers and Colors with Spike and Friends: Counting and colors come easy with the help of Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog and his fun Fine Motor Friends in this board book adventure’s toddler activities!
• Learning’s Fine with Pictures and Rhymes!: As kids follow this exclusive full-color board book’s fun illustrations and playful rhymes, they’ll learn new skills from this number and color teaching toy!
• Fine Motor Fun: This educational toy set has 5 Fine Motor Friend figures ready to help kids explore their imaginations and build fine motor skills!

• All Kinds of Learning Fun: Kids learn counting, colors, matching, imagination, fine motor skills, and more with the help of the fun, friendly birds in this educational toy set!
• Five Birds, Five Different Expressions: Each of the friendly birdy finger puppets sports a different facial expression, which helps kids identify and talk about feelings and other social-emotional learning (SEL) skills!
• Grows With Your Kids: These birds and their toddler activities grow with your kids—build new fine motor skills during pretend games, then move on using the set as an early math and color teaching toy!

• Snail-tastic Skills: Kids build brand-new shape, color, and number skills when they mix and match this educational toy set’s 10 colorful snails!
• Three Ways to Match: Sort and match these two-piece snails by shape and number, or use them as color-teaching toys!
• Ages and Stages: Specially designed with little ones in mind, this educational toy set helps kids as young as 18 months build essential fine motor skills!

• ONLY ON AMAZON! This fun learning toy is EXCLUSIVE to Amazon, where you'll also find many more of our award-winning learning toys!
• Brew up mugs of pretend cocoa, tea, or coffee with these fun toy kitchen accessories!
• Realistic play food pieces include cocoa, kettle, cookies, and more!
• Build social and imaginative skills with every pretend cup!

At every moment right now, everywhere on the globe, billions of people are making their holiday preparations and plans, keeping the traditions of their culture alive. During this season of merrymaking, let’s take look at holiday customs celebrated on each of Earth’s continents – with special assistance from our Puzzle Globe and Buddy Builders!

Joyeux Noël, France!

More than 66 million people live in France, a country located on the continent of Europe. On Christmas Eve, children put their shoes out near the fireplace in the hopes that Père Noël (Santa Claus) will fill the shoes with gifts. It is no surprise with all the delicious French food that most of the holiday is centered around the Christmas Eve meal, or “Le Réveillon”. Sometimes the Christmas Eve dinner will go late into the night – maybe past midnight! Those who prep for such grand meals spend lots of time at the holiday markets – open-air shopping experiences for food pop up in major cities across France during holiday time.

Shubh Deepavali, India!

Located within the continent of Asia, India is home 1.32 billion people. Diwali is a colorful, light-filled feast for the eyes, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists, both in India and around the world. Typically falling between mid-October and mid-November, Diwali is the triumph of good over evil or light over darkness. It is the time of year to wear new clothes, visit friends and family, and share food, gifts, and sweets, all held over the span of five days. Homes are colorfully decorated and candles are lit to celebrate the light. And what better way to bring in the light than fireworks! Amazing pyrotechnic shows captivate Indian cities during the nights of Diwali.

Happy Hanukkah, United States!

The United States, situated in the middle of the continent of North America, blends lots of cultures and traditions. Millions of Jewish people in the U.S. celebrate Hanukkah, or “Festival of Lights”.  Reciting prayers, lighting a menorah with candlelight, and eating lots of traditional food stretch for eight nights during Hanukkah. Kids play games with a dreidel, a spinning top marked with letters in Hebrew. They also exchange gifts and sing songs. Traditional food for Jewish families are latkes, a type of yummy potato pancakes topped with applesauce or sour cream.

Nkwagaliza Sekukkulu, Uganda!

In Uganda, an inland country within the continent of Africa, Christmas is referred to as Sekukkulu. Held over December 24 and 25, this holiday is about food and family. Many food traditions are centered around chicken, which is often wrapped in banana leaves to steam it, giving it a special flavor this time of year. There is far less emphasis on giving gifts during Sekukkulu, rather an emphasis on sharing food and time with family and friends. However, new clothes, especially for children, are important part when stepping out to church on this holiday.

Feliz Navidad, Venezuela!

Christmas time in the country of Venezuela, located on the continent of South America, is a very joyous and religious time, lasting nearly a month! Like many families across the world, Venezuelans’ big celebration is on the night of Christmas Eve, where all go to church to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The center of many household decorations this time surprisingly not a Christmas tree, rather a pesebre, or nativity scene depicting the manger in Bethlehem. And in Venezuela on Christmas morning, most roads are closed off for the holiday. Many take to foot to head to church, being awoken by bells or firecrackers to signify the start of the celebration.

Merry Christmas, Australia!

Australia, both a continent and country, is located in Earth’s southern hemisphere. Grab the sunscreen because it is actually summertime in Australia during the holidays! Since Australians love to be outside, Christmas Day is typically spent at the beach, swimming or sailing. When Australians head out to sing their traditional “Carols by Candlelight”, they often change the traditional lyrics about snow and cold to fit their climate. The Aussies also celebrate Boxing Day on December 26, a day to recoup from the holiday, and to shop major sales from local retailers.

Happy New Year, Antarctica!

Antarctica, otherwise known as the South Pole (the literal polar opposite of where Santa hangs his hat), is the southern most point in the entire world. It also is the locale of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, home to nearly 200 scientific researchers. To ring in each New Year, the scientists go out in the tundra and physically adjust the marker for the Geographic South Pole, to pinpoint the Earth’s axis of rotation. Because the South Pole itself sits onto of a sheet of ice, it moves about 30 feet every year. All the world’s flags involved in the South Pole Station surround it. What a way to ring in the New Year

The story of Thanksgiving Day is also the story of America. You see, a long time ago, the king decided which church his people would attend in England. Some people wanted to choose for themselves and left England to find a place where they could pick their church. 

After traveling around for a while, these English families got on the Mayflower boat and sailed from England to America. They were hoping to land in Virginia, but the weather was terrible, and they had to stop sailing, so they landed in Massachusetts instead. 

Massachusetts can be cold in the winter when the pilgrims landed there. Their trip took 66 days, so they were also exhausted and hungry, besides being cold. Very, very hungry. 

Lucky for the Pilgrims, the Native Americans had already lived in America for a long time. They knew how to grow food, hunt, and fish and shared their food with the starving Pilgrims. Without their help, the settlers would have died. 

The following spring, two very special Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to use fish to prepare their lands so they could grow crops like corn, pumpkins, beans, and peas. These Native Americans were called Abenaki and Tiasquantum and were part of the Samoset tribe. 

The Pilgrims and the Samoset tribe were friends and decided to join to protect each other from other Native American tribes who might attack them. 

That November, the Pilgrims harvested the foods the Native Americans had taught them to grow. They had so much food that they decided to celebrate their harvest and went out to hunt for deer to eat at their feast. The Native Americans heard the Pilgrims’ guns and got worried that they would break their deal and attack them, so they sent their men to find out what was happening. 

When the Native Americans learned what the Pilgrims were doing, they joined in the hunt. The Pilgrims invited them to their feast to say thank you for all that the Native Americans had taught them. All in all, 53 Pilgrims and 91 Native Americans were at the First Thanksgiving! Can you imagine having 144 people at your house for Thanksgiving? Instead of turkey, biscuits, and pie, the Pilgrims and Native Americans ate deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat. 

Give the gift of preschool readiness skills in this year’s stocking stuffers! Your little ones can learn while playing with the Holiday Preschool Puzzle Pack from Learning Resources. This pack of 4 puzzle card sets includes two- and three-piece puzzles that help kids master early spelling, counting, shape, and number skills through brain-teasing puzzle play.

Each puzzle features full-color illustrations and fun holiday puzzle shapes, including an ornament, star, stocking, and tree. Designed with little ones in mind, each puzzle is self-correcting, making it easier for kids to puzzle out the right answer. The Holiday Preschool Puzzle Pack makes an easy stocking stuffer for kids—split up the puzzle packs among four different stockings, or give the entire set as one larger gift! The path towards new preschool readiness skills has never looked so festive!

Curl up with some hot cocoa! This cozy set is perfect for little ones looking to warm up on chilly days. The carafe, mugs, and chocolate container create the perfect recipe for imaginative play. Stir in as much chocolate as you like and top it all off with some fluffy marshmallows. Fresh-baked cookies are the perfect snack to enjoy with your toasty beverage.

Santa's Cookies Set

Get into the holiday spirit with this imaginative set of toy Christmas cookies just for Santa! Kids can add a touch of realism to winter role play with Santa’s Cookies from Learning Resources. This 12-piece set of fun play food includes everything kids for pretend baking fun, from cut-out cookies to a rolling pin, spatula, baking sheet, and more!

When their play Christmas cookies are ready, kids can serve them up to Santa with a plate, glass of “milk,” and write-and-wipe note that helps build essential imaginative skills. The perfect addition to any toy kitchen set, this play cookie set also helps kids master hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills with pieces that are just right for little hands. Each amount of play food wipes clean when playtime’s done and is durable enough for years of holiday play kitchen fun.

Reach in and feel all the textures! Help the fuzzy dog find all the bones he hid in his doghouse. All bones are textured and made of rubber or cloth and feature smooth, silky, scratchy, bumpy, ridged, and more textures. Grasping, exploring, and manipulating the different textured bones leads students to further develop their ability to use their fingers and hands purposefully and improve manual dexterity.

Rise & Shine Diner

Wake up and smell the imaginative learning fun! Kids start their day with restaurant pretend play every time they serve up pretend breakfasts from the Rise & Shine Diner from Learning Resources. This deluxe diner playset includes 23 play food versions of all your morning favorites, from waffles and pancakes to fried eggs, fruit, and more, as well as the, pretend utensils needed to “cook” and “eat” them!

Though this realistic play food looks good enough to eat, it’s even more fun to serve—the Rise & Shine Diner’s restaurant playset comes with everything kids need to open their play diner, including a write-and-wipe menu, placemat, and guest check that add a touch of authenticity to play restaurant role play. Each piece of play food wipes clean when playtime’s done and is durable enough for years of play restaurant fun.