During the summer, I'm always looking for fun ways to incorporate learning into the daily routine for my 3 and 4-year-old sons. That's why it felt like Christmas in July when a box of Eureka® manipulatives arrived at our house! These interactive toys allow them to play while practicing basic concepts, such as counting and sorting, as well as math, language arts and more.
The first thing my soon-to-be-kindergardener pulled out was the tub of Connecting Spelling Tiles. This 156 piece set features upper and lower case letters with cute illustrations as well as an activity sheet. He was so proud and excited when he spelled the word CAT all on his own! The Connecting Spelling Tiles retail for $11.99.
A similar Tub of Connecting Number Tiles is also available which includes numbers 0-9 and mathematical symbols. For early learning, they can be used to practice counting and number recognition, while older children can practice adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. This set retails for $10.99.
My 3-year-old went straight for the Counting Bears with Cups. These are a best seller for Eureka®, and after watching my son play with them for hours I completely understand why! The set includes 50 plastic bears, with 10 of each in 5 different colors, along with 5 cups that match the bears. The cute bears and bright colors help make leaning fun, and can be used for practicing counting, sorting, matching and so much more! The Counting Bears with Cups retail for $8.99.
Together, the boys had a blast playing with the Money Tray Clamshell by Eureka®. We added the dollars and coins to our toy cash register and have spent many afternoons playing "store" since then! As they get older, they'll be able to use this set to practice counting money and making change. The Money Tray Clamshell retails for $7.29.
Other Eureka® items include the Learning Clock ($4.99) which helps kids have fun while learning basic facts about telling time, the Matching Interlocking Puzzle ($4.99) that helps teach matching, plus picture and word identification and the Lace and Learn Safari Animals ($3.99) which includes 5 colorful animal shapes and two 24” laces.
All of these products and more are available to purchase at Education and Fun in Reading, PA or online here. Also be sure to visit them on Facebook and Pinterest.
Disclaimer: Eureka® provided these items for my family to review at no-cost. However, all opinions are my own.
