Learning Toys for Teaching ABC’s

Over at the “Deal”ectible Mommies Facebook page, we asked a number of fans what tools and toys they used for teaching their children ABC’s. There were SO many amazing suggestions that I decided to take these suggestions and combine them with the research I personally did, and offer you a list of learning toys that are very helpful in teaching ABC’s.

Every child learns differently and although my youngest can recite the ABC song no problem, she is currently having a difficult time with letter recognition. Read on to find out what other parent’s are using to successfully teach their children the ABC’s. Oh, and a bit of money saving advice…. buy these items from Amazon! I spent nearly 3 hours in ToysRus and the mark up on these items was around 20-25%!

LeapFrog – Letter Factory – PRICE: $8.99 OR check out the combo pack: Math Adventure to the Moon/Letter Factory – PRICE: $17.99

Fridge Words Magnetic Word Builder – This learning toy has magnets that teach and sing. Three different play modes allow little ones to hunt for a letter, build a word or hunt for a word – PRICE: $25.42 Shipped.

Melissa & Doug Magnetic Chalk Dry Erase Board – This set features a chalk board on one side, a dry erase board on the other and comes equipped with 36 magnetic letters and numbers. Parents and children alike, can take turns placing the ABC’s and numbers to the board and then practice writing them – PRICE: $12.24

Sassy Count N Spell Appliques – A set of 36 letters and numbers that cling to any tile or bath surface.  Why not make bath time a learning time?  You may also want to check your local discount or dollar store for sponge letters.  PRICE: $5.99

Fisher-Price Fun 2 Learn Color Flash Laptop – I underestimated the power of a learning laptop until I handed one over to my youngest. Children engage this learning tool, and this one teaches letters, phonic, numbers, music, games and typing. What sets this laptop apart from others is that the screen changes colors and the graphics seem to be better than the others I took for a test drive. PRICE: $29.99 Shipped.

Leapfrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set – This learning tool was suggested more than any other by parents on our Facebook page!  This set of 26 magnetic letters attach securely to your fridge.  Each letter talks, sings and teaches letter names, sounds and learning songs.  This is a wonderful tool for letter recognition.  PRICE: $21.99

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Book& CD) – Need I say more? PRICE: $7.91

Baby Einstein Alphabooks – Features 26 mini board books that depict everyday object. This set allows children to connect a picture to a letter and really holds children’s interest – PRICE: $18.99

Tried and true advice from our Facebook Fans:

“We also spent last winter doing a “letter of the week” with activities, songs, videos, sound box books that related to the letters. my kids loved it”

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“When we showed her the letter we linked it with a name of somebody she knew, m=mom and so on; it was amazing how quickly she picked them up when she had something to associate them with; she was really little and the funny thing is at first sometimes she would say the name when she saw the letter instead of saying the letter!!! it really does work though!!!!”

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“The song…..sang it over and over. To know what they are….we are working on that now with my 2 year old. We write them all on the chalk board and when she gets the name and sound right we erase that one. It’s her favorite game to play.”

There is, of course, the time honored tradition of flash cards and activity books, as well as constant repetition of letters. Integrating letters into your everyday routine and connecting ordinary objects to letters and sounds, will ensure your child has their ABC’s mastered in no time!

A big Thank You to our fabulous FB fans for their amazing suggestions and advice!