Learning is fun! Exploring numbers and colors with toys!

Let’s count from zero to 10, learn colors, and open up some toys!

Cookie Monster is back, and we found him hanging around the cookie jar again! This time, we counted our cookies, and as a special treat Abby Cadabby stopped by to magic up some Sesame Street coin banks! Inside the banks, we found loads of toy surprises - blind bags from Marvel 500, The Secret Life of Pets, Shopkins, Lil Woodeez acorn, Disney Funko Princess and Sidekicks Mystery mini, a Pokemon hyperball, and more! 

Each coin bank represented a different character from Sesame Street and a different color: Elmo for red, Cookie Monster for blue, and Oscar the Grouch for green! To further teach colors - I incorporate every color of the rainbow for each toy surprise, ROYGBIV, the acronym that represents the spectrum of color - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet! I threw in some monochromatic as well. 

Learning can be fun for a toddler! It is so hard to keep a child engaged in a task for a span of time, which is why toddler activities should be kept at 15 minute modules. You would be surprised how quickly your day will go with a busy toddler. Learning through creative play sparks their imaginations, and will ignite a craving to learn more!

We enjoyed exploring the Counting Cookies play set by Learning Resources. Today we practiced number recognition by looking at the number on the back of the cookie, and figuring out which number it was. Then, we put the cookies back in the cookie jar in numerical order. 

The cookies are the perfect size for my little guy’s hands, and the cookies just look so real and delicious! This set is recommended for ages two and up. This set is ideal for any age, but there is a choking hazard as a child can easily put the cookie in his or her mouth. However, the age limit is noted because the product was only tested for usage by a child aged two and up. Adult supervision is always required when playing with a toy, especially one that mimics food to avoid the placing of the object in their mouth. I purchased this set from Amazon for $12.19, but you can also purchase it at Target.com for the same price - pair that with your RedCard,if you have one, and save an additional 5% off!

This set is a wonderful tool to help build your little one’s confidence with counting. Using familiar tools like yummy cookies, and familiar characters like Cookie Monsters displays familiarity and fun. I feel like fun and learning can be paired together! My son didn’t see this as work, or felt that he was missing out playing with his toys - he was learning and identifying other ways to count! Now with common core education, a simple count from one to 10 is simply not enough! 

Smart Snacks Counting Cookies, 13 Pieces

Promotes imaginative play, coordinates baking and numbers, promotes number recognition, enhances hand-eye coordination, and teaches to count 0-10, helps the child understand the relationship between numbers and quantity.

Perfect gift for your toddler or pre-schooler!