toys Archives - Happy Pinay Mommy

Guest Post: The importance of toys in educating kids

happypinaymommy — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 04:38:41 +0000

Guest post on toys and learning.

Teaching through play will always be one of the best ways to cultivate learning. We have all gone through childhood and im sure most of you, fellow moms will agree that learning through toys and games have been the most enjoyable. At the same time, these educational game sets have been more informative for children and tend to encourage a higher retention of the lesson.

Today’s guest post is all about how toys help our children learn, as well as toys you may want to keep an eye on as you buy stuff for your children. So withour further ado, here’s our guest post —

The importance of toys in educating kids

By Ashish Bist

Photo credits c/o appstruck.com

Toys have been here since the beginning of civilizations. The mentions of Yo-Yo like toys can be found in the ancient pictures engraved in stones of China, Egypt, and a few more countries

But, in the last few decades, parents and toy manufacturing companies have realized the importance of these toys in educating children.

And, especially in the last decade, we have seen a surge of toys in the market that are more than a way just to pass the extra time.

If you look around, you’ll easily find toys that will help in developing a different set of skills. For example, a toy, such as a Rubik’s cube can make your kid think more logically.

Or, a world map puzzle will teach your kid about various countries and their positions, while he/she exercises his/her brain to come up with answers.

Similarly, there is toy available for almost everything you might want to teach your kid. If parents understand this fact perfectly, then they will be able to augment and supplement the education that their children get in school with the right kind of toys.

Now, we are going to look at toys that are specific to different subjects that are taught in schools.

Toys relating to school subjects

The Magic School Bus Chemistry Lab(Chemistry)

This is just one example of a chemistry set, but there are several such sets available in the market.
Chemistry like any other subject is boring until you find an interesting way to teach.

The most interesting way to teach chemistry, is through experiments. So, with this kit, your kid will learn Chemistry while mixing chemicals. Since it is a set designed specifically for kids, everything is controlled and safe for kids.

Thames & Kosmos Physics Workshop(Physics)

Thames & Kosmos Physics Workshop (Physics) Physics, like chemistry, is best taught using real science experiments for kids. This kit allows your kid to perform more than 30 experiments. As your kid goes through these experiments, he / she learns about various basic concepts of physics that can be combined together to make complex machines. For example, he will learn about gears, pulleys, pivot, wheels, axles, etc.

Learning Resources Fraction Tower Activity Set(Fraction)

Fraction is a topic that not only confuses kids but adults as well. With the help of this fraction tower activity set, your kid will enjoy solving math problems relating to fractions.

Like, other toy sets mentioned in this list, this one also turns learning into play, so your child gets educated without even realizing it.

Key Education Sentence Building(Language)

Having a good language skill will help your kid in whatever field of career she chooses. Hence, it is important to have good command over the language.

It consist of several pieces of tiles, each containing a verb/noun/pronoun/articles, etc. And, each type of words is color coded. For example, a verb tile will have a green color, and a noun tile will have a red color.

Color coding helps your kid to understand the structure of language a little better.

Osmo Pizza Co. Game(Entrepreneurship)

Parents now understand that it is better for them to be a job giver rather that job seeker, but running a business is not taught in the school.
With this Pizza co. game your kid will get an experience of how to run a pizza business, which includes making pizzas, interacting with customers, taking payments and returning the change.

You can get a simple Monopoly set. Although it appears very childish, it can surely instill a sense of entrepreneurship in your kid.

Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set(Coding)

Since the world is rapidly moving to a virtual world, there will always be a need for coders and programmers.

Unfortunately, schools don’t focus much on teaching their students the art of programming, especially when they are young.

With this activity set, a kid can learn the basics of programming without delving into the complications of syntax.

You have to program a mouse to move around a giving path using only the block codes, which makes it easy to learn.

Kano Computer Kit(Computer)

If you want your kid to learn how a computer functions, then the best way would be to build a computer.

Kano computer kit has all the basic components you need to build a computer. You do need a screen with HDMI input.

After working on this your kid will have a thorough understanding of how a computer works and he/she can use that knowledge to build a more complex computer.

Toys that your kid has during his/her childhood can make a huge difference in the overall development. Hence, it is important to select the toys carefully.

About the author: Ashish Bist is a 25 year-old computer engineer, who authors the toy blog Appstruck.com. Apart from providing toy reviews, the website also discusses the various ways each toy can help children learn.

So there you have it, hope you learned something from this week’s guest post. If you want to share something that you have originally written — a poem, an essay, a blog post or even an open letter relating to motherhood and parenting, please get in touch with me through email or any of our social media channels. You do not need to have your own blogsite to contribute a guest post. Till next time!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tEDq7ILkdM

https://happypinaymommy.com/2018/07/16/this-weeks-baon-ideas-week-04/

The post Guest Post: The importance of toys in educating kids appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Best way to declutter toys towards happier homes

happypinaymommy — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 08:32:52 +0000

Moms seeking to get organized are always in search of the best way to declutter toys.

Moms seeking to get organized are always in search of the best way to declutter toys.

Unlike my eldest, my bunso only has a few toys. Maybe because there are already existing toys from his big sisters, or maybe because I have learned that they do not need much really. I’d like to think that i have learned already about keeping toy shopping at a minimum, decluttering and toy rotation.

Declutter toys

Before, we used to buy toys on a weekly basis. Now, we just buy during special occasions, when the merit board calls for it, and some happy meal toys in between. Less clutter, less expense too.

Every week we ask the girls to just get their top five faves in their toy bin then keep those at the end of the week, and choose another five for the coming week. The rest of their activities would be coloring and arts and crafts.

(Post Continued Below)

=====================================================================

You may also want to read:

==========================================================

This practice helps me a lot too in keeping our home more orderly. Having three kids without a helper can be challenging and all the more when there is too much kalat around. I encourage you to declutter toys and donate to your barangay daycare. Involve your kids in the process. If you dont have the time and the strength, get in touch with the church’s Buena Mana so they can pick it up in your home.

Toy Decluttering guide

I scoured the internet for various ways to pare down and declutter children’s toys. Like any mom seeking to have a more organized home, I was on the lookout for the best way to declutter toys. Practically Hippie for instance shared a way to organize and trim down your children’s toys using the KonMari method. The author mentioned non-negotiable toys, or the toys that they will have to get rid of. “Before beginning to declutter toys, we agreed on a list of non-negotionable items to discard: (1) broken toys; (2) duplicate toys; (3) unsafe toys; (4) loud toys; and (5) toys that aren’t age appropriate.” As for the toys that they will be keeping, the author said these will be toys that spark joy for their family (consistent with the Konmari principle, those that promote imagination, and those that are healthy for both their family and the environment. Check out their whole guide here.

Another blog that helps a lot in sparking the urge to declutter toys is the website called Becoming Minimalist. It shared tips on how to have just the right amount of toys for your family, while operating on the thought that “enough” can be subjective for each family. The author of the article, Joshua Becker in essence, is convincing parents that having just the right amount of toys will benefit children, and at the same he emphasized that parents have the ultimate control when it comes to decluttering. Check the website here.

The struggle can be real

For some parents, the struggle to keep toys at a bare minimum can be real, and I have been there and I can totally relate. But when we started paring down the number of toys that we have and regularly declutter (or destash for those that can be resold), I have come to appreciate the joys of having a “tamed” toy collection that has both benefitted us as parents, and our children.

Till next post everyone. If you have the time, hope you could drop by my Facebook page and hit the like button, so you can receive regular updates from Happypinaymommy.com direct on your newsfeed. You may also follow us on our Instagram and Pinterest Accounts! Hope you could find the time to hit the like or follow button in these pages.

Thank you so much!

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with some tips on decluttering toys:

Teaching English Online for Stay-at-Home Moms

The post Best way to declutter toys towards happier homes appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Where to Buy Wooden Toys in the Philippines

happypinaymommy — Thu, 19 May 2016 06:49:24 +0000

Wondering where to buy wooden toys in the Philippines? here are some shops you may want to check out. (Photo Credits)

If you are looking for Wooden toys for your children, or to give as a gift, then this is a post for you.

Wooden toys are slowly becoming the choice of toys for more and more parents because unlike its plastic counterparts, it has more natural components, and less chemicals.

Not only that, wooden toys are durable, classic, encourages the imagination, not as distracting as traditional plastic toys, improves hand and eye coordination, and it lasts longer than most toys therefore it can be passed on from one child or another.

Gladly, more and more toy stores and shops carry wooden toys, unlike before when plastic toys dominate the toy arena for babies and kids of all ages.

So for those of you who are looking for wooden toys, here is —

Where to Buy Wooden Toys in the Philippines:

Toy stores – This is of course an obvious answer. Although wooden toys just usually occupy one shelf of the many, many toy shelves in Toys R Us or To Kingdom, or whatever Toy Store, let us all just appreciate the fact that at least they now carry these kinds of toys, although they are more expensive than their plastic counterparts. Usual brands that can be found on toy stores include the famous Melissa and Doug, and then the wooden toy blocks of different sizes in gigantic pails. I’m telling you my kids play with these for hours!
Book Stores – Gone are the days when wooden toys are limited to just wooden blocks. Most National Bookstores, Fully Booked, and big book stores carry wooden toys so check them out too.
Lazada – Has a wide array of wooden toys that you can choose from. Like this kiddie wooden animal sorting xylophone which is perfect for your toddler (buy it here) , and then this wooden blocks with alphabet and caddy – buy it here and these wooden alphabet puzzle toys with handle – buy it here.

(Post Continued Below)

========================================================

You may also want to read:

=================================================================

Divisoria – Where else can you find cheap toys but in Divisoria. Head on to one of the stalls inside 168, and in the stalls that sell trinkets and stationeries you can find wooden toy puzzles at unbelievably low prices. You just have to be wary though about the paint that they use and discourage your child from putting the toy in his or her mouth.
Specialty Shops – Hobbes and Landes, among other specialty toy stores carry wooden toys of all kinds – although slightly pricier than other outlets as the toys they carry are usually imported.
Online Stores – There are many online shops (both FB and Instagram based) that sell wooden toys, in fact some of them even hold preorders. You may wanna check out the following FB Shops – Mama.Baby.Love sells wooden floor blocks which comes at 35 pieces per set, and are made of pine wood, 3.5kilos total weight at P2,500.00 per set – check out her FB Page here. Baobao Babies on the other hand carry the Bolkido line of wooden toys which are just so nice, I swear even you will get entertained playing with them they have carts, construction site wooden blocks, cube wagon, counting blocks, and more. Check out their site here.
UPDATED JUNE 9, 2016: Oh Baby! Online Store — This FB and Instagram-Based online shop has a ot of wooden toys that are not only educational, but are definitely adorable, durable, and happy to look at. The toys are also reasonably-priced so you can also give them as ifts to your pamangkins, and inaanaks. Check out heir FB Page here.
UPDATED JUNE 9, 2016: Quigle Baby — Yes, the same online store famous for Quigle Bum Cloth Diapers also sells various wooden toys such as blocks, shape sorters, bead roller coasters, hammering blocks, among others. Check out their website here.
UPDATED Oct 11,2016: 9 Months and Beyond — If you want to physically check out wooden educational toys for your tot then head over to Teachers’ Village in Quezon City where 9 Months and Beyond’s physical store is located. They also ship orders via their FB Page here.
UPDATED Oct 11, 2016: Mom and Milly– Mom and Milly carries various types of wooden toys which includes sorters, pounding toys, puzzles, bead mazes, blocks, cars and trucks, trains, lacing toys and the like, at reasonable prices! Check out their shopping site here.
UPDATED April 25, 2017: WonderWorld Toys Philippines — Has super nice wooden toys that will send you back to your childhood! Yes, you and your child will sureply enjoy the many wooden educational toys (among other toy items) being sold by WonderWorld Toys Philippines through its website The Discovery Depot. From wooden cash registers, bulldozers, doll cradles and more! They offer free shipping for orders amounting to P1,500.00 and up! Here’s a link to their online store.

Also, you may want to check out second hand stores, and online merchants and individual online sellers that sell pre-loved wooden toys, if you are fine with buying pre-owned stuff.

So there you have it I am sure there are other shops that sell wooden toys for kids in the Philippines. I promise to update this post as soon as I get to discover more. Hope you could drop by my Facebook page and hit the like button, so you can receive regular updates from Happypinaymommy.com direct on your newsfeed.

Thank you so much!

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with this video on the benefits of playing with wooden toys:

Requirements for Catholic Confirmation in the Philippines

The post Where to Buy Wooden Toys in the Philippines appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.