About This Event

Please say goodbye to flashcards if you are thinking about teaching your child about letters and letter sounds. There are so many interactive phonics toys for preschoolers that will engage your child in a fun and rewarding learning experience.

When children enter preschool during the ages between 3 and 5, there are many important skills they learn. They learn to make friends, share toys, follow a classroom routine and their teachers' rules. Children learn to sing songs, hold a pencil with their fingertips, write their name, cut with scissors, put on and take off a coat, and manage their personal items, such as a backpack or a lunch bag.

These years before kindergarten, children are exposed to vocabulary words, letters and numbers. They learn that there is a size difference between uppercase and lowercase letters and that each letter has a corresponding sound. They might enjoy listening to stories and watch their parents or a teacher read words along with the page. They develop the understanding that when these letters are put together, they make words and that these words can be sounded out when reading. Through a lot of repetition and practice, these skills are a foundational skill for early reading skills and phonics.

It is important to offer some learning experiences for children at home. These phonics toys allow kids to explore letters and sounds in a more relaxed way, which may help them when they enter school makes the complicated skill of reading a little less challenging.

LeapFrog Fridge Phonics

This is a great first phonics toy for younger children who are learning to identify uppercase letters and their corresponding letter sounds. It is small, portable, and even includes a magnetic backing to be placed on the front of the refrigerator, on a metal door, or on a magnetic whiteboard. Children choose a letter, use their hands to maneuver it into place just like a puzzle, then push it to hear the letter and letter sound through a short song.

VTech Lil' Speller Phonics Station

The VTech Lil' Speller Phonics Station is for preschool and kindergarten-age children who already know their uppercase letters, and are learning more about smaller, lowercase letters. The toy has a clear window that houses lowercase letter tiles. By placing 1 letter into the speller, the kids can hear the letter and its corresponding sound. Up to 3 tiles can be placed into the speller at the same time, and more advanced learners can experiment with letters to create simple, 3 letter consonant-vowel words like dog and hat. The toy also includes some animations along with the word to help children learn new vocabulary and remember the spelling.

LeapFrog LeapPad Educational Tablets

Educational tablets in the LeapFrog LeapPad series provide children with phonics games and activities using a durable, touchscreen tablet. Kids play games through individual cartridges or by downloading apps from the LeapFrog App Center. Kids can safely surf the internet on teacher-approved websites. There are a variety of LeapPad tablets of varying price ranges, that include the LeapFrog EPIC and LeapFrog Platinum tablets. Parents and gift-givers can choose a tablet with different features that is the best size and experience for their child.

LeapTV

LeapTV is a video game system for young children ages 3-8. Kids interact and play different educational games in 1 of 3 ways, using their body, a pointer, and a handheld controller. Many of these games feature their favorite Disney characters and get kids learning while moving and having fun.

LeapFrog LeapReader

LeapReader books are amazing. A LeapReader (previous known as the TAG reader), is a large stylus pen. Kids can touch the pen to the pages of the book and learn vocabulary words, how to sound out words, and answer questions by playing reading comprehension games. This toy will grow with your child as their skills advance. The pen is also able to read entire books out loud and on special paper, kids can also use it to learn to write. Many LeapReader books include popular children's titles from Dr. Seuss such as The Cat in the Hat or stories featuring Disney characters. The LeapReader Jr. (formerly known as the TAG Jr.) is for younger children ages 1-3 and uses durable board books.

Pete the Cat Hot Dots

Pete the Cat is a famous friend of preschoolers. Kids love when their teachers and parents read Pete the Cat books. Using spiral-bound books with beautiful illustrations, featuring Pete the Cat and friends, kids can answer multiple-choice questions using the stylus pen. Placing the pen on the correct "dot" will either make lights and sounds or both to indicate whether the choice was correct or incorrect. Parents should work together with their children using these workbooks, as some children may not be able to read the questions.

VTech InnoTab Educational Tablets

Educational learning tablets such as the VTech InnoTab series of tablets also encourage children to play letter and phonics games utilizing a durable touchscreen. Games are downloaded online through the Learning Lodge or with cartridges purchased at retail stores. With these tablets, children can browse the internet, watch videos and text family members through a secure connection with teacher-approved websites VTech also has an Android-based tablet, the InnoTab MAX.