The Many Ways Shape Sorter Toys Benefit Children’s Development
The life of a toddler is a constant variation of sleeptime, mealtime, and playtime. Obviously, as a parent, you’re aware of how important it is for your child to have a nutritious diet and get adequate sleep. But are you aware that toys can also have a great effect on kids’ development? Considering how they are like tiny sponges that take in everything they are exposed to on a daily basis, choosing toys that are not only fun but also educational is super important.
Shape sorting toys are just the kind of toys designed to entertain and challenge the young mind. Not only do they provide a fun pastime for a toddler, but they also work as effective learning tools. A shape sorter consists of a variety of three-dimensional objects that correspond to holes in a container. By manipulating the objects to correctly fit in the holes, toddlers begin to grasp the concept of shapes and basic geometry.
There are all kinds of shape sorting toys on the market. Some are very simple, designed to teach the most basic of shapes like a circle or square. And others can be more complex, teaching children a number of other things besides shapes. Like for instance the wooden Noah’s ark and animals activity box which can be a great tool to introduce children to a variety of animals, as well as teach them the story of Noah once they’re old enough.
Any toy that presents a challenge is not only super fun to play with but it also promotes the logical thinking needed to solve it. Fitting the shapes in a shape sorting toy teaches children problem solving. So, when a toddler tries to fit a rectangle in a triangle hole and it does not fit, he/she continuous trying with another hole, and then moves to another hole until he/she succeeds. This motivates children to be persistent in coming up with a solution and not become discouraged in the process. This kind of trial-error-and-success experience represents a crucial base for learning other skills, like riding a bicycle, reading or writing.
The fact that children are actively engaging their hands by trying to match the various shapes with the holes, helps develop fine motor skills. This way children work on their grasp and improve their finger dexterity, which can be useful as it helps them with many everyday tasks, like for instance using a spoon. Plus, they also exercise their hand-eye coordination, trying to bring a particular shape to a corresponding hole in the box.
As opposed to toys that run on batteries, these simplistic toys are very effective when it comes to sparking creativity in children. A toy like the wooden Noah’s ark and animals sorter can encourage children to use their imagination and try to come up with a story that ties all the objects together. Plus, a toy that doesn’t make any noise means that children will need to make their own sounds which in turn helps develop crucial language skills.
