Last week I talked a little bit about incorporating some great toddler books into our homeschooling routine for Luke. Today, I’m going to share a little bit about some other things that you can do when getting a toddler ready for homeschooling.
Luke is our youngest. He’s two and a half right now, but he’s at that age where he loves to be involved in everything, especially when he sees his big brother and sister doing something. So when I’m sitting down with each of them going through their schooling every day, he can feel a bit left out from time to time. I hate that. If he doesn’t have something to do then there will be A LOT of interruptions and that doesn’t make for a good learning environment for my other two children and it stresses this Mama out. A great way to make your toddler feel more involved in the homeschooling process is to have some great toys available for them that not only catch their attention, but that help them use their imagination, problem solve and learn from. Sure, I could put him in front of a TV with his favorite cartoon, but doing that EVERY day is honestly not the best idea and giving him some things to play with that actually TEACH him something really makes me feel so much better.
That’s where The Baby Cubby comes in. The sweet folks there recently sent me a few toddler toys to try out and I knew that they’d be perfect for keeping Luke occupied while I’m teaching Caylin and Jack during the day.
The first toy that they sent to me was this Tegu 8-Piece Pocket Pouch. Tegu makes these super cool magnetic blocks. We’ve never tried them before, but they were a hit!
Luke loved taking the blocks apart and coming up with his own configurations over and over again. It took him just a bit to get used to them being magnetic, but the cool thing is that it was the perfect way to talk about magnetism! Another learning win!
We also talked about the colors of the blocks, the shapes of the blocks and he counted them as well. I love how they come in a great felt pouch that you can carry them in. I can just throw them in my purse and take them anywhere. They would be PERFECT for an airplane ride! They are SO coming on our next trip!
There is even a 6-piece set, 14-piece set, 24-piece set and a 42-piece set as well! I think we seriously need to get some more! I love how they are made with safe, non-toxic, water-based lacquers (for colors and clear coats) and they are eco-friendly, too! Oh, and there is a tote and magnetic wheels that you can get, too! Love!
The second toy that we were sent is the PlanToys Stacking Ring.
This toy was another hit. Luke loves to stack the rings SO much. He would pull them off and put them back on over and over again, creating his own new “tower” creations as he calls it. He smiles so big when he is playing with it. This toy is another great toy for practicing colors and it’s also great for hand-eye coordination. Not too long ago, Luke would say that everything was “green.” That’s his favorite color, but now he is doing so well with knowing what color is what and I really think it’s due to repetition and having great toys that he loves that gets him really thinking about it as he plays. This toy has been super beneficial for him. I will add that he loves to remove ALL of the rings and then will play with the rod and base like it’s a sword. I don’t recommend your child do that, but he IS using his imagination, too. ;)
Both this toy and the magnetic blocks are made of wood and are super durable, which is important if you have a toddler. I always hate buying cheap toys only to have my kids break them or for them to fall apart shortly after getting them. The key is to purchase toys that are durable and made well. Sure, you might spend a smidge more on them, but in the long run you’ll be saving money as you pass the awesome toys down through all of your children. These are also the kind of toys that I love to hold onto even when my kids have outgrown them.
The last thing that we were sent is the most adorable giraffe backpack from SkipHop.
We already have a couple of Skip Hop backpacks that we’ve purchased, but this one takes the cake when it comes to cuteness. Luke was SO giddy to get it! He put it on right away and didn’t take it off most of the day. Getting your toddler their own little backpack is a great way to include them in the schooling process. Yep, even homeschooled kids get a new backpack every year. ;) Luke sees his siblings with a backpack and him getting one automatically makes him feel included and a part of the process, even if he is a bit too young to do the actual school work. These Skip Hop backpacks are a great price and the perfect size for toddlers and they come in SO many adorable animals – you’re bound to find your child’s favorite and make their year!
Can we say, adorable?! Sigh.
You might not think a little backpack could make such a difference, but it’s small things like that that will make your toddler feel included in the homeschooling process.
Homeschooling can be stressful and hectic, especially when homeschooling more than one child, but when you have a toddler in the mix as well that you have to keep occupied, that makes things even THAT more complicated. Being sure that you have some good, quality educational toys, books and simple things to make them feel included (like a little adorable backpack) will help you SO much. Having those will help spark your toddler’s imagination and show him how fun learning can be.
Baby Cubby has a great selection of toys that would be the perfect addition to your child’s homeschooling routine. Some others that I love are: Skip Hop Alphabet Match & Play Puzzle, PlanToys Activity Blocks and Petit Collage Wood Puzzle + Play. I also love all of the musical toys that they have for toddlers, too.
The Baby Cubby has a wide selection of amazing products for babies, kids and Mamas – their website is definitely worth checking out. You can find it HERE. Oh, and you can even get some BabyLit books on their site, too! You know I love me some BabyLit books! ;)
I’m so grateful for companies that not only sell wonderful products, but that are run by wonderful people. That’s just what The Baby Cubby is.
One last thing, the sweet folks at The Baby Cubby also have generously created a special promo code for One Happy Mama blog readers! Yay! Use the code “happy” to receive 10% off of your purchase today through the end of the month! They’re also having a sale right now on the two toys that I mentioned above. Use the code “springtoy” to get 15% off of those thru the 25th of this month – so just a couple more days!
Homeschooling does have its ups and downs, but it’s truly a blessing to be able to stay at home with my children and pour into them ALL day. Watching them learn new things and get excited when they “get it” just makes it all worth it and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Your toddler might not be quite ready for real school just yet, but equipping yourself with some good, quality items for them to play with will not only lessen those interruptions you’ll have from them when you are schooling their older siblings during the day, but they will also help spark their imagination and grow their love for learning.
And that, my Mama friends, is a good, good thing.
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Find The Baby Cubby on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. Be sure to check out their great Baby Cubby Community Blog HERE, too! So many great posts for Mamas!
Disclosure: Baby Cubby provided me with the above three products for free, but all opinions I shared about their products are my own.
