15+ toys for homeschoolers to build literacy

In our family, we built early learning up with Rock'n learn and Leapfrog DVDs, educational-therapeutic apps (available on all devices) including ColorsKit series for exceptional learners, wooden alphabet puzzles, many montessori-inspired cards, and self-correcting puzzles. I would still recommend these activity sets listed below for their depth and to help along literacy and handwriting at any age, particularly for the hands-on learning!

Melissa & Doug Alphabet Sound Puzzle
This would be great if your child is comfortable with uppercase letters, the sound puzzle makes the letter sounds when the piece is placed correctly. Also check out this See & Spell wooden puzzle.

Learning Resources Alphabet Soup Sorters
These are cans, roughly the size of real soup cans, so I would probably add my own objects for seasonal or special interest times. Alphabet objects can be found all over online, and on amazon itself under different company and product names.

Learning Journey Match It! 3 Letter Words
These self-correcting puzzles are based on sight words, if you have enough you can introduce them gradually as you move through phonetics. Moving forward there are self-correcting puzzles for picture-to-word, compound words, and more! browsing for Didax puzzles and other Match It! sets will show more variety.

Didax Educational Resources Lowercase Sandpaper Letters
Tactile letters of any kind, especially sandpaper help develop motor coordination and preparation for drawing or tracing forms. If you use duplicates, you can use them for tracing of larger words, and supplement handwriting exercises. Browsing for tactile word cards will bring up Key Education's tactile sight words cards, where a full word is made textured on each card.

Learning Resources Letter Construction Activity Set
They also come in giant magnetic sets, and small foam magnetic sets. Activity cards are in this one, so it builds self-correction skills and each segment is a consistent colour.

Lakeshore Learning's Magnetic Sight-Word Sentence Board
Teaches sentence fragments, introduces punctuation, and uses pictures and words on subject tiles. The board has colour-coded self-correction to match the border of the tiles.

Key Education Big Box of Word Chunks 
word building with elements of self correction. Also check out this set of Easy-to-Read Words, Sentence Building and Silly Sentences

How to Tell a Story by Daniel Nayeri

This book comes with 20 story blocks, as the child reads they can put their twist on how the story Story Cubes, but has a book that acts a guide, and the bright colours, large blocks make it a great place to start for early writers.

Lakeshore Learning's Build-A-Story Flip Book
Lets kids write silly stories and practice paragraph development.

Winter Activities

1. volcanoes Watch This
2. sugar crystals Watch This
3. make a cloud in a bottle Watch this
4. tornado in a jar Watch This
5. freeze bubbles Watch This
6. balloon rocket Watch This
7. make a lava lamp Watch This
8. explore echos and percussion throughout the house
9. make your own microscope slides
10. track and graph what time the sun rises and sets
11. what happens when water turns to ice?
12. make 3D paper snowflakes
13. exploring gravity preschool discoveries
14. STEM activities from A-Z
15. this toy zip line is a great idea
16. design, build, study bridges
17. design, build, and study simple machines
18. explore the parts of a computer
19. use electronic circuit kits
20. montessori unit Antarctica
21. build a shelf
22. use wrenches and screwdrivers 
23. how do appliances work?
24. how do electronics work?
25. design and architecture 
26. compare the north and south polar regions
27. build a model igloo
28. learn about inventions designed for the cold elements
29.  winter water cycle
30.  snow storm in a jar
31. discover tree identification in the winter
32. discover how animals adapt in winter
33. unit studies about the polar regions
34.  bake some bread
35. make your own pasta
36.  grow your own herb garden
37. make dishes from around the world
38. make your own condiments
39. homemade marshmallows
40. gingerbread houses
41. hot chocolate science 
42. make homemade ice cream
43. calming jar
44. marble track
45. salt dough ornaments
46. make your own beeswax figures
47. make peg dolls
48. take up knitting
49. DIY anything
50. make your own picture books
51. make a fairy house
52. origami 
53. paper airplanes
54. knit a scarf
55. visual arts projects
56. make a snow globe
57. make your own puzzle
58. make your own story stones
59. make a birdseed ornament
60. crystal suncatcher
61. make your own light table
62. dressing frames
63. transferring and pouring
64. tying knots
65. working with scissors
66. keyboarding exercises
67. learn a chore
68. learn a card game
69. winter solstice activities
70. advent activity tree
71. storytelling
72. montessori-inspired play dough activities
73. make a sundial
74. winter-themed games
75. winter lanterns
76. make a wreath
77. learn to sew by hand
78. pine cone science
79. try new recipes
80. make snow ice cream
81. use circle time throughout the day
82. turn a sink or tub into a water table
83. use indoor climbing equipment
84. use gym toys
85. make an obstacle course
86. use string as a web to crawl through
87. use sensory bins (for all ages)
88. make ornaments
89. make candles
90. study moon phases
91. learn how animals stay warm
92. make molasses or maple syrup snow candy
93. myth busting: snowflakes are alike
94. read snow-themed poetry
95. colouring or painting snow
96. make your own snow
97. check out this free winter ecology teacher guide
98. try pendulum painting
99. check out this arctic and inuit lapbook unit 
100. this is a great winter-themed unit study for older kids and middle schoolers 

 Also...
Look at these amazing ideas!

• Waldorf-inspired winter crafts
• Montessori-inspired activities and units
• A great example of a winter-themed provocation in a Reggio-inspired way
• many more indoor/outdoor winter science activities
• Wonderful ideas for sensory activities 
• snow day activities
• Winter time homeschooling
• Winter homeschooling ideas
• Really great thinking outside the box on these activities, love them! 
• Homeschool Winter Blues?
• the kids' winter cottage activities
• kitchen science lab for kids

find these using the links above!

last minute christmas gifts

This blog's recommendations for gift-giving for kids who are self-directed learners and exceptional learners too!

Melissa & Doug's Classroom Play Set
 Everything in this is kid-directed, that's why we recommend it. So much easier to extend knowledge to a child's world or bring them out of their own by using play sets. includes:

• dry-erase printing practice and writing boards
• clock face, weather and calendar pieces
• attention grabbers such as a bell and pointer

 Batman Story Cubes
These are great, I would definitely get it myself. Story Cubes help with developing stories and for inspiring creative writing, play, and conversation. These would be perfect for a superhero fan.

Melissa & Doug's Wooden Vehicle & Traffic Signs
Great for kids learning to cross the street, and the rules of the road for both cars and pedestrians.

Stackable Base Plates
These are a great and affordable idea for the kids who love to mix lego with other toys, or have so many sets that they pay little attention to. Sometimes a base or a building is all that's needed.

Crayola Multi-Color Light Board
Its a multi-purpose light board, that can be drawn on and has different plates (white and black) and various light settings to change how it looks. I can also see how it could be used with activities for light tables.

Hot Dots
If you haven't read the posts on how we incorporate hot dots into montessori lessons, go check it out. I love that its reinforcing and helps a child demonstrate their knowledge and communicate their learning.

 Janod Magnetic World Puzzle 
The pieces are the shape of the country (mostly) and underneath all the pieces is simply a continent map. All around a wonderful educational tool and toy for anyone starting culture studies or geography. Also look up the animal world map.

Teach My
These kits range developmentally from early toddlers up to more recently young school aged children. I love each and every one of them for the well-rounded multi-sensory resources that fit together perfectly.

Kimochis
These are soft, machine-washable, characters and animal plushies that make up a whole curriculum of mindfulness for youngsters, to teach feelings and communication. It may require some shopping around to purchase them in US or Canada.

Gorilla Gym
These are great playground and gym inspired equipment that can be set up in your home without drilling holes.

Engino Discovering STEM 
These kits are really great for the self-directed learner, especially if they have a natural passion for engineering, construction and physics.

Smart Games
We love these in our house, they are developmentally appropriate for many children of many ages and abilities. Great logic and critical thinking exercises.

Lego Education Community People Set
 These Duplo size minifigures support learning about people from around the world, and community helpers.

Learning Resources Giant Geosolids
These 6 inch tall geometric solids have a small opening that can be used to fill them with sand or water.

Handwriting Without Tears' Slide Stamp and See Screen
Just like the name says this is a magnetic board that uses the wooden pieces from this program, a fun alternative or extension to letter building.

Smart Anatomy - Interactive Human Body
comes with: the soft foam pieces, a smart pen, poster, book, and guide.

Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set

This STEM activity has problem solving, puzzles and coding.

Sensory Diet Ideas for older kids (6+)

{DISCLAIMER: I am not offering medical advice, nor am I a professional. I am only a parent.}

What you need to begin:

• an occupational therapist
• a journal to keep track of interests, and activities
• a chart to sort triggers by communication, sensory, or anxiety. 

 There are many ways to implement a sensory diet, mostly it depends on where, who, and what its purpose is. Sometimes a sensory diet is used to improve an over- or under-sensitivity, sometimes its just to make transitions easier, and other times its to help with developmental growth differences, delays in sensory processing, or to aide in self-regulation.

Here's a great explanation of the 7 senses and how they may affect a person on the autism spectrum. In this post we are dealing with just 5, because olfactory and taste in our homeschooling environment is mostly home-ec! All of the equipment suggestions below are based on kids over 6 years old.

In most instances a sensory diet is a well-adapted form of recreation which can help an individual respond better to speech and language exercises, or other integrated social activities, so long as the activities provide the appropriate input and maintains the balance that the developing nervous system's needs.

Sense of Movement

•  for people who are actually identified as experiencing vestibular dysfunction [use this link]

Body Awareness

• for people who are actually identified as experiencing proprioceptive dysfunction [use this link]

Sense of Touch

• for people who are actually identified as experiencing tactile dysfunction [use this link]

Visual Input

•  for people who are actually identified as experiencing visual sensory processing disorder
  [use this link]

 Auditory

• for people who are actually identified as experiencing auditory sensory overload [use this link]