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Educational for 5 year olds


25 Best Educational Toys for 5-Year-Olds (2023 Reviews)

In our desire to do the best for our kids, we can sometimes try to make every moment an academic learning experience. However, play is an essential element of every childhood, and the fun aspect of educational toys for 5-year-olds can be lacking.

We’ve combined our experience with extensive research to bring you this list of 25 educational toys that will not only teach your 5-year-old but will be a fun-filled way to spend their time.

Our Top Picks

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Model

Product Comparison Table

Features

Building Global Citizenship

LeapFrog Magic Adventures Globe

  • Passive & active learning
  • Wide range of knowledge
  • Stylus is attached to base

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Geo Hero

Imagimake: Mapology World

  • Durable
  • Meets ASTM standard
  • Familiarizes colors, shapes, and geography

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Unique Concept

Sphero Specdrums

  • Durable silicone construction
  • Portable for travel
  • Versatile &engaging

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Curiosity Unleashed

Outdoor Explorer Kit

  • Explorer vest has plenty of pockets
  • Working compass
  • Clipboard encourages note-taking

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Gorgeously Gross

Galt Toys Slime Lab

  • Simple, age-appropriate science
  • No household items needed
  • Fun experiments

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Programmable Fun

Botley the Coding Robot Activity Set

  • No gadgets required
  • Attention holding & versatile
  • Flexible play options

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Single Player Fun

CoolToys Math Game

  • Promotes logical thinking
  • 65-piece set
  • BPA-, lead-, and phthalate-free

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Ms. Frizzle Approved

Magic School Bus Engineering Lab

  • Follows Magic School Bus show
  • 33 experiments to try
  • Progressively builds knowledge

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Playful Paleontology

Create With Clay Dinosaurs

  • Durable, reusable skeletons
  • Combines art & science
  • Comes in other variants

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Screen-Free Robotics

Gears! Gears! Gears! Robots

  • Compatible with other sets
  • Structured & free-form play
  • Screen-free & non-motorized

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Table of Contents

  • Our Top Picks
  • The Best Educational Toys for 5-Year-Olds of 2023
  • What Should a 5-Year-Old Be Learning?
  • How to Choose Educational Toys for 5-Year-Olds
  • Laugh And Learn

The Best Educational Toys for 5-Year-Olds of 2023

Here are our suggestions for some of the best educational toys for 5-year-olds.

1. LeapFrog Magic Adventures Globe

Building Global Citizenship

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Tap the stylus against the globe and hear one of thousands of educational facts about geography, geology, animals, habitat, and more.

For interactive fun, there’s a puzzle game, an “against the clock” challenge, and a quiz.

In addition, the base has a 2.7-inch screen on which you can watch over 600 custom videos from the BBC Wildlife team.

Pros
  • Passive and active learning opportunities.
  • Wide range of knowledge.
  • The stylus is attached, so it is difficult to lose.
Cons
  • The screen could be bigger — it’s tiny for watching videos.

2. Imagimake: Mapology World

Geo Hero

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How can you incorporate learning while playing? Imagimake will help you!

Have your child become familiar with maps, shapes, and colors with this fun-to-play but interactive puzzle.

The puzzle includes the states in the US and the world.

Pros
  • Two puzzles in one set.
  • Meets ASTM standard.
  • Teaches color, shapes, and geography confidence.
Cons
  • It may be too challenging enough for some kids.

3. Sphero Specdrums

Unique Concept

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Creativity meets tech with these fabulous little rings from Sphero.

Slip a Specdrum onto your finger and tap them against the included “play pad” to create music.

Alternatively, you can tap them on any surface, and the rings will create sounds in response to the surface’s color.

Download the app to your smartphone, tablet, or any other Bluetooth enabled MIDI device, and you can create music wherever you happen to be.

Pros
  • Durable silicone construction.
  • Portable — since they will work on other surfaces, they are great for traveling.
  • Versatile.
Cons
  • Requires an app download.

4. Outdoor Explorer Kit

Curiosity Unleashed

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Landing at the sweet spot where affordability and price meet, this kit contains everything your child needs to begin exploring the wonderful world of nature.

Gently scoop up your bugs with the globe ended tongs and drop them into one of the bug boxes for observation. Then note your observations on the clipboard and pad.

Encourages observational skills and physical activity as well as a way to learn about our natural environment.

Pros
  • Explorer vest has plenty of pockets.
  • Working compass.
  • Clipboard encourages note-taking.
Cons
  • Cheap plastic bugs.

5. Galt Toys Slime Lab

Gorgeously Gross

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The Galt Toys Slime Lab has seven different scientific “experiments.”

The 16-page instruction booklet guides you and your child through the steps to make, among other things, a glow-in-the-dark slime alien and a bouncy slime ball.

The box has everything you need to carry all of the booklet’s experiments, so there’s no need to supplement the kit with other items, which we think is a huge bonus.

However, beware of the fart noise slime experiment. It induces unstoppable giggles.

Pros
  • Simple, age-appropriate science.
  • No household items needed.
  • Appealing.
Cons
  • Slime can be messy.

6. Botley the Coding Robot Activity Set

Programmable Fun

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Botley introduces the basic concepts of coding — the idea that you create a series of commands, send them to the robot, see what it does, and change your commands if the outcome is not what you wanted.

This set includes over 70 accessories so your child can build fun courses to send Botley through, including the programming device.

Pros
  • No phone, tablet, or computer required.
  • Attention holding and versatile.
  • Flexible play options.
Cons
  • Requires 5 AAA batteries.

7. CoolToys Monkey Balance Cool Math Game

Single Player Fun

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CoolToys Monkey Balance is a fun math game for children to play alone or with others. That means it’s good for an only child or for kids with siblings or a lot of friends.

It’s made with safe plastic materials which are BPA, lead, and phthalate-free.

The first challenges are appropriate for complete beginners and then become progressively more challenging. Now learning math should never look dull and boring with this game.

Pros
  • Promotes logical thinking.
  • 65-piece set.
  • BPA-, lead-, and phthalate-free.
Cons
  • Won’t appeal to everyone.

8. The Magic School Bus Engineering Lab

Ms.
Frizzle Approved

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Open up the fun, bus-shaped storage box and discover 33 experiment instruction cards, a “data notebook” for your child to record their observations, a solar panel, a motor, an electrical buzzer, and more.

The kit asks questions and encourages your child to form a hypothesis, building on their experience from previous experiments and then testing their theories.

Pros
  • Links to Magic School Bus show, which your child may already love.
  • Engaging.
  • Progressively builds knowledge.
Cons
  • Some household materials are needed, such as vinegar.

9. Create With Clay Dinosaurs

Playful Paleontology

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This set from Create With Clay has a trio of molded plastic dinosaur skeletons. It also has all of the clay you need to flesh them out and create three models, a T-Rex, a stegosaurus, and a triceratops.

The clay is non-toxic and non-staining, and there is also a pair of googly eyes for each dinosaur and two modeling tools.

Pros
  • Durable, reusable skeletons.
  • Combines art and science.
  • Other sets are available.
Cons
  • More clay would be better.

10. Gears! Gears! Gears! Robots in Motion

Screen-Free Robotics

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With more than 110 brightly-colored pieces, this Robots In Motion set gives your child options. They can either follow the instructions and build one of the pre-designed robots or let their imagination run wild and design one of their own.

Finished robots are not motorized, so there’s no need for batteries. However, depending on the build, they do have plenty of fun and exciting moving parts.

Pros
  • Compatible with other Gears! Gears! Gears! sets.
  • Structured and free-form play opportunities.
  • Screen-free and non-motorized.
Cons
  • May need adult help for disassembly.

11. Merge Cube

Holographic Fun

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The Merge Cube is a foam block that interacts with your smart device.

You aim your device’s camera at the block while you are holding it, and as you turn the block in your hand, the image on the screen will move in the same way.

This allows you to view things through the app on your phone, such as a globe, as if you were holding them.

Pros
  • Useful for visual learners.
  • Wide range of apps.
  • Fun games.
Cons
  • Some features require a paid subscription or VR headset.

12. GeoSafari Jr. Ladybug Garden

Marvelous Metamorphosis

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This robust ladybug garden allows you to watch as larvae turn into ladybugs over the course of around four weeks.

Full instructions for the proper care of your larvae are included. Once you buy your larvae, which are not included, you transfer them to the habitat, and you can feed them through the smaller lid within the main lid, preventing escapees.

Pros
  • Encourages observational skills and patience.
  • Built-in magnification spots.
  • Reusable.
Cons
  • Ladybug larvae are not included.

13. Learn & Climb 21 Experiments Science Set

Attention Grabber

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While this is not the highest quality multiple science experiment kit out there, it is a decent one for the price.

Along with a variety of basic items such as PVA glue and baking soda, the kit contains sturdy plastic test tubes with screw-on lids and a stand-in in which to place them. It also has a fun volcano, Petri dishes, and a beaker, all of which are reusable.

The experiments are interesting enough to capture a 5-year-old’s attention and demonstrate a range of scientific principles.

Pros
  • Instructional videos are available.
  • Progressively more difficult.
  • Reasonable quality equipment.
Cons
  • Requires household items.

14. Squishy Circuits Kit Electric Circuit

Electrifyingly Good

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With an Squishy Circuits Dough kit, your child will learn about electricity while molding imaginative creations. There are instructions for making a range of models. Then, when your child is more confident, they can begin building models of their own.

There is a variety of LEDs and connectors, a battery holder, and batteries. The conductive dough set includes access to the mobile app, which has several step-by-step videos for additional projects.

Pros
  • Screen-free activity.
  • Encourages creativity.
  • Maintains interest.
Cons
  • Could contain more dough.

15. Sight Word Swat Game

Slap-Tastic

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With five levels of play, this fun game grows with your child.

The concept is simple. One person reads out a sight word, and the other players race to “swat” the fly-shaped card with the matching word.

There are five colors of card and bug, each with a different level of difficulty. It also includes several blank cards and two dry erase markers so you can use the words of your choice.

Pros
  • Combines physical activity and wordplay.
  • Storage bag included.
  • Suitable indoors and out.
Cons
  • Some kids get aggressive.

16. Dive into Shapes!

Perfectly Formed

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While this is a box of cards, plastic balls, and sticks, some kids will enjoy this for hours on end.

The cards show different 2D and 3D shapes for your child to recreate, as well as challenges connected to that shape. One card shows a cube and asks if you can build a bigger one.

Part of this toy’s beauty is that it can be used with cards or without for free-form play.

Pros
  • Promotes fine motor skills.
  • Teaches basic math concepts.
  • Encourages creative thinking.
Cons
  • Could include more challenges.

17. Crashapult! STEM Challenge

Laugh And Learn

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This is an excellent toy that introduces the concepts of force, motion, and direction to kids while they play.

The child operated seesaw catapult sends the ball flying through the air.

It’s up to your little one to work out how to make it pass through the hoops and land in either the goal cup or the target funnel.

Pros
  • It can be a high or low energy game.
  • Outdoor or indoor play.
  • No batteries are required.
Cons
  • More accessories would be nice.

18. GeoSafari Ant Factory

Amazing Arthropods

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Enjoy watching your ants create their city in this escape-free ant habitat from GeoSafari.

When closed, the colony is sealed to prevent escapees. It’s designed so you can provide your ants with the food and water they need through a small, escape-proof opening.

It comes with a dropper and a tunnel starter, but you do need to buy some play sand for the ants to live in.

Pros
  • Includes an activity guide.
  • Promotes nurturing.
  • Fascinating for the entire family.
Cons
  • Sand is not included.

19. Educational Insights Hot Dots

A World Of Literacy

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One pen and two spiral-bound books combine to bring you 100 lessons in literacy covering spelling, punctuations, comprehension, vocabulary, and more.

Your child presses the Hot Dots pen on their answer in the book, the pen reads it out, and then tells your child if they are right or wrong.

Pros
  • Great for travel.
  • Expandable.
  • Easy to use.
Cons
  • It does get some false readings at times.

20. Jackinthebox Space Educational Stem Toy

A Space Explorer’s Delight

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Projects included in this box include a solar system mobile and a kaleidoscope, but that’s not all there is to this big box of space-themed crafts.

Add a pack of Oreos, and you’ll learn how to lick the cream off the center and create a diagram of the phases of the moon. Then there’s the board game you make yourself, the constellation streamer, and the rocket experiment to enjoy.

Pros
  • Aimed at craft lovers.
  • Unusual projects.
  • Age-appropriate.
Cons
  • No background information.

21. Beaker Creatures Liquid Reactor Super Lab

For Budding Scientists

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The central part of this toy is the “reactor lab” into which you drop the reactor pods. The pods sit in a beaker, and when you pump the liquid from the tubes to the beaker, there’s a chemical reaction that reveals a fun creature.

The set comes with two pods, and you can buy additional pods.

Pros
  • Other creatures are available.
  • 15-piece set.
  • Reusable.
Cons
  • Potential for a mess.

22. Plugo Tunes by PlayShifu

Music to your ears

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Plugo Tunes is a keyboard that you link to a tablet or smartphone. You place your device on the stand, in the play pad, set the keyboard on the mat, and you can learn musical notes as well as how to play over 50 tunes.

You need the internet to download the initial app, but once that’s done, you do not need any wi-fi, internet, or Bluetooth connectivity.

Pros
  • No batteries are required.
  • You can record your own music.
  • Portable.
Cons
  • Requires a smart device to get started.

23. Circuit Explorer Deluxe Base Station

Flexible Creativity

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Circuit Explorers is a unique line of building toys with built-in connectors that allow your child to build exciting 3D circuits within toys that move and light-up. The instructional booklet is image-focused, so no reading is required.

There are multiple Circuit Explorers sets, which work alone or together, so if your child enjoys this set, you can always add more to the mix.

Pros
  • Teaches circuit basics.
  • Guided and open-ended play.
  • Promotes logical thinking.
Cons
  • Batteries required.

24. Learn & Climb Play Money

Financial Literacy

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Use these realistic notes, coins, credit cards, and a checkbook to teach your child about money.

The items come in a storage tray and can be used as either a teaching tool in themselves or as part of a broader game, such as a pretend store.

We particularly enjoy using this set to demonstrate the differences in the prices of things our children would like.

Pros
  • Promotes financial literacy.
  • Excellent for math.
  • Works with multiple toys and games.
Cons
  • Cashless transactions are making this less relevant.

25. Sum Swamp Board Game

Adds Up To Fun

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Particularly useful for learning-averse kids, Sum Swamp is a hit in our home because our daughter doesn’t realize she’s practicing math.

As you work your way around the board, you encounter math challenges that require you to exercise your addition and subtraction muscles.

It is easy to learn how to play the game while being challenging enough to be a worthwhile learning experience.

Pros
  • Learning disguised as fun.
  • Camouflaged math drills.
  • Just competitive enough.
Cons
  • Not for older kids.

What Should a 5-Year-Old Be Learning?

It is entirely normal for a child to be ahead of their peers in some areas and behind them in others. This is because we all learn things in different ways and at varying rates.

When you look at the milestones for a 5-year-old child, remember that these are the things an average child of this age will be able to do. It doesn’t mean they can magically do these things the moment they turn 5, but sometime before their 6th birthday.

So, with those thoughts in mind, here are some of the things you can expect your child to be able to do before they turn 6.

Count To Ten

Your child will probably be able to count to ten before their 5th birthday, but, to some degree, this will be a matter of saying words in a particular order rather than understanding the concept of numbers and counting.

Name At Least Three Shapes And Four Colors

Being able to recognize and name colors and shapes is an essential foundational skill. Not only is this ability important for math, but it also expands your child’s vocabulary and allows them to express their needs in a more specific manner (1).

Express Positional Vocabulary

Using and understanding positional vocabulary helps your child to communicate more effectively. When your little one can tell you things like the book they’d like is “on top of” the bookshelf, it reduces frustration.

Grasp Money Basics

Although your child will not be able to estimate the cost of something accurately, they will begin to learn which banknotes and coins are which. They will also start to understand some concepts, such as four quarters being the same as one dollar.

Recognize Written Words

While reading may be a little ways off for your 5-year-old, you can expect them to recognize some essential, familiar written words. One example is if they are familiar with a stop sign, they will be able to read the word STOP in other situations.

Draw Shapes By Copying

Looking at a shape and being able to name it is a different skill than hearing the name of a shape and being able to draw it accurately from memory. So, if you ask your child to draw a triangle without any reference, they may not be able to, but they will be able to copy one.

Draw Recognizable Objects

It’s around this time that your child will start to add more detail to drawings. They will also have better fine motor skills. You’ll begin to see things like a drawing of a body rather than a stick figure.

Stack Blocks

Those new counting and fine motor skills can be combined, and your child will be able to stack several blocks in response to a request. If you ask, “Can you build a tower of ten blocks?”, your child will be able to do so.

Share & Take Turns

This is the age when kids begin to enjoy playing, sharing, and taking turns with others. They will start to enjoy board games, card games, and other activities that require patience and cooperation.

How to Choose Educational Toys for 5-Year-Olds

With so many options available, how do you choose suitable educational toys for a 5-year-old?

Purpose

Choose toys that cover a variety of skills and academic areas. Toys that provide an opportunity to develop artistic and physical skills are just as important as those focusing on reading.

Child’s Preferences

One of the best ways to help your child learn is to choose items that relate to their current interests, learning style, and preferences. It’s not just about the subject matter.

So if you have a quiet child, board games and crafts might be suitable, and if you have an active kiddo, the kind of games that allow them to jump about will be better.

Durability

Educational toys for 5-year-olds do not have to last forever, but it is important that they stand up to use for a few years at least. Look for items that are well made from quality materials.

Safety

By the time your child is 5 years, choking hazards are no longer a big concern unless you have younger children in the household, too.

Now you’ll want to look for toys that are free from harmful or potentially harmful materials and will not break up into dangerous pieces.

Budget

Rather than looking for toys and trying to stretch your budget to afford them, set a reasonable budget, and look for the best toys in your price range. This will minimize the chance of spending too much on things your child may not enjoy.

Laugh And Learn

Play is a critical part of childhood and one that can be overlooked when we try to pack our children’s lives full of educational experiences.

However, these educational toys for 5-year-olds have been chosen because they are inherently fun. The learning element is a fortunate by-product and a blast for adults and children to enjoy together.

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Top 23 Educational Toys for 4-5 Year Olds

The world of toys is endless. There are a lot of toys with colors, materials, and different benefits on the market. In addition, toys vary according to intended purpose and age. All of these factors make choosing the appropriate educational toys hard for parents.

Luckily, as MentalUP, we are here to help parents solve this confusion. In this blog, we will explain what makes a toy educational and list the best educational toys for 4-5 year olds that benefit their personal development.

If you want to discover the world of toys, we suggest you keep reading! Here we go!

What Makes a Toy Educational?

Before getting to the best educational toys for 4-5 year olds, let’s clear up what makes a toy educational for kids. The answer to this question depends on the expected benefits of the toys.

Toys that are designed for kids to stimulate learning while playing can be called educational toys, or by its other name, a learning toy.

These kinds of toys are generally designed for kids intending to meet an educational purpose like improving numbering, categorizing, and creativity skills. In addition, they typically aim to teach kids about subjects like animals, food, and seasons during the games to play at home.

13 Best Educational Toys for 4-Year-Olds

Age is the most determining factor for kids' educational needs and personal development. Four-year-olds are still trying to figure out the things around them. And they tend to question everything they come across.

So educational toys for 4-year-old kids should contribute to their curiosity and teach them about the world around them while enhancing their physical and cognitive skills.

In addition, the best educational toys for 4 year olds typically include experimental toys that enhance kids' communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving skills.

Checking all the toys to ensure that they strengthen these skills can be a daunting task for parents. Thus, we’ve created a detailed list of the best educational toys for 4 year olds. If you want to get straight to the point with choosing your toys, dive into our list!

1. MentalUP

Kids nowadays consider computers and tablets as toys. This situation makes some parents worry about the time that kids spend with technological devices. Yet, we have good news! With the right sources, you don’t have to worry about their screen time.

The MentalUP app provides a safe educational environment for your kids with its fun learning games for 4-year-olds.

By including a variety of activities that improve kids' attention, visual recognition, creativity, problem solving skills, and learning ability, MentalUP turns every technological device into a high-quality educational tool.

On MentalUP, you can find age-appropriate games for your 4-year-old kid, including memory cards, spotting the difference, and matching games! 🧩

All these games of MentalUP are developed by pedagogues, academicians, and game designers. That's why those games are beneficial, child-safe, and fun! 🤩👏

DOWNLOAD NOW

2. Toyk - Aqua Magic Mat

This large-sized doodle mat toy joins our list of great interactive and educational toys for 4 year olds with its pens, drawing temples, booklets, and puzzles.

As one of the top educational toys for 4 year olds, this toy improves kids' hand eye coordination, color perception, creativity, and literacy skills. If you are looking for a learning toy that your kids enjoy playing with for hours, this toy might be the one for you.

3. The Learning Journey- Match It!

The Learning Journey’s Match It toy is a colorful 20-piece spelling puzzle of 3 and 4-letter words. This toy offers a great chance to enhance kids' vocabulary and spelling skills.

In addition, this award-winning toy boosts children’s letter recognition and reading skills as well as concentration, problem-solving, and fine motor skills. If you need a simple yet educational toy, check this one out!

4.

Skillmatics - I Can Write Mat

As the winner of the 2022 Parents’ Picks Award, this writing mat is one of the best educational toys for 4 year olds. This educational toy comes with 14 highly engaging and repeatable activities that build kids' core skills with fun activities.

The activities in this reusable mat include topics from the alphabet, numbers, colors, and shapes to improving kids' problem-solving, creative thinking, writing, and reading skills with age-appropriate, innovative, and skill-oriented content.

5. LIKEE - Wooden Pattern Block Set

This set of wooden pattern blocks is one the fun educational toys for 4 year olds. The set comes with 36 wooden blocks and 60 pattern cards to bloom your kids' imagination and creativity skills.

This toy is a perfect fit for improving kids' color and shape recognition, spatial awareness, and problem solving skills. Your kids will enjoy sorting the blocks by color and shapes and making patterns with them!

6.

Cenove - Floral Arrangement Playset

This 130-piece gardening set comes with various accessories and STEM toys that encourage kids to sort, match, and build as they create different kinds of flowers.

As one of the best educational toys for 4 year olds, this toy contributes to kids' naturalistic intelligence and improves their hand eye coordination and gross motor skills, as well as problem-solving, analytical thinking, and ability to spend time independently. It can be listed as one of the best learning games for girls!

7. Maxee- Sight Word Game

This sight word game set is one of the best educational toys for 4 year olds to improve their literacy skills. This set includes 192 sight words coded in different colors according to the level of difficulty.

Your kids can start learning sight words with blue cards that include easy, pre-kindergarten sight words and gradually work their way up to purple ones.

8. Fansteck - Button Art Toy

This is an innovative, educational toy that includes 50 button pegs, two clips, one pegboard, and one storage tray to enhance your kids' cognitive development by making various unique patterns.

As one of the best fun educational toys for 4 year olds, the toy can bring out the artist inside your kids and enhance their hand eye coordination as well as imagination and creativity.

9. Free To Fly - Take Apart Dinosaur Toys

This toy is more than just a sturdy dinosaur set. It comes with a variety of dinosaurs with replaceable body parts to foster kids' imagination and creativity.

In addition, these exciting dinosaurs help kids build better gross motor skills, improve their critical thinking skills and contribute to their brain development.

10. LOKUO - Wooden Dentist Playset

This educational toy set includes a variety of dental tools that kids can pretend play with. This toy is a great source for teaching kids about the concept of dental hygiene and helping them overcome the fear of dentist visits.

Role-playing with this dentist set can help kids improve their social, emotional, and communication skills. Also, it helps them learn medical concepts more easily.

11. Parhlen - Building Blocks

This building blocks set is one of the top educational toys for 4 year olds to improve teamwork skills.

The toy set includes 244 pieces of building blocks, nuts, bolts, wheels, and an interchangeable electric screwdriver. This is a great alternative for parents to support their kids' logical thinking, shape recognition, and creative thinking skills.

12. Wedraw - Interactive Talking Robot

This fun and interactive talking robot comes with STEM essentials to teach kids about shapes, simple math subjects, letters, animals, body parts, jobs, and over 100 sight words.

The robot uses a human voice to teach kids through drawing and enhances hand eye coordination as well as fine motor, problem-solving, writing, drawing, and imagination skills.

13. Homecent - Engineering Building

This is one of the most effective educational toys that encourage kids in science, engineering, art, and math subjects by challenging them to build whatever they can imagine.

Homecent’s building set can help you promote your kids’ hand eye coordination and support their divergent thinking, problem-solving, and creative thinking skills.

10 Best Educational Toys for 5-Year-Olds

Kids’ emotional, social, and thinking skills continue to develop at the age of 5. Kids from this age group start to express their feelings better, recognize concepts of time (like yesterday, today and tomorrow), and build better relationships with their peers.

Thus, educational toys for 5 year olds should teach them about emotional concepts, improve their communication skills, and encourage them to take part in group games and activities.

Typically, the best educational toys for 5 year olds include fun and interactive toys that improve kids' cognitive development and learning ability.

Considering all these factors, we’ve made a list for parents by compiling the best educational toys for 5 year olds. Let’s discover the most age-appropriate and beneficial toys for your 5 year old kid.

1. MentalUP

MentalUP offers the best solution for transforming any electronic device into one of the best educational toys for kids. With its fun learning games for 5-year-olds, the award-winning app can provide an entertaining learning experience.

MentalUP includes a variety of games and activities for 5-year-olds that supports the development of their visual attention, counting, comparison, decision-making, sustained attention, and focusing skills.

Check out MentalUP’s logic, attention, memory, visual, and verbal intelligence games for 5-year-olds! 🥳

To support your kids' personal development in a fun way, you can trust MentalUP’s 150+ learning games. Plus, it also features 240+ physical activities! 🤸👟

MentalUP is completely ad-free. It doesn’t require any parental control. All you need to do is download it now and introduce your little one to a wonderful, colorful, and educational world! 🚀✨

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2.

Educational Insights - GeoSafari Talking Microscope

This educational toy is designed for 5-year-olds and older to teach kids about natural habitats. Educational Insight’s talking microscope comes with 100 facts and questions to feed kids' curiosity and improve their science knowledge.

So this toy can foster your kids' interest in science, biology, botany, and the animal world by improving their naturalistic skills.

3. Connetix - Magnet Blocks

This magnet block set is one of the best toys for 5 year olds as it is specially designed to support the cognitive and motor development of kids while allowing them to play as they want.

Building different objects and environments can encourage your kids to learn STEM concepts like construction, gravity, momentum, and leverage. In addition to that, it improves their creativity, imagination, and social skills.

4. Crayola - Color Chemistry Set

This fun chemistry set will take your kids on a science journey! Crayola’s Color Chemistry set comes with a variety of toys and accessories for your kids to experiment with and build science projects.

Experimenting by matching the colors and creating volcanoes with this set can motivate your kids to learn about colors, science, and chemistry and support their STEM knowledge, like cause and effect, recognition and gravity.

5. Hape - Solar System Puzzle

Hape’s gorgeous solar system puzzle provides a great resource for 5 year olds to learn about solar systems and planets.

We all know that puzzles have many benefits for kids' brain development. So playing with this toy can improve your kids' attention, memory, shape recognition, and problem solving skills as well as hand eye coordination.

6. The Learning Journey - Super Telly Teaching Time Clock

Teaching your kids about time with The Learning Journey’s fun, interactive and educational toy can be a great idea.

This toy is designed to teach kids about both digital and analog times with two teaching methods. Plus, it can be used as a real clock, an alarm clock, and a night light!

7. LeapFrog - Magic Adventures Globe

This interactive learning globe will take little explorers on an adventure with high-quality videos and help them explore the world around them.

Spending time with a learning globe toy can enable your kids to learn about different cultures, countries, currencies, flags, and famous places. In addition to that, this toy can improve your kids' categorization, recognition, and geometry skills.

8. Dan&Darci - Rock Painting Kit for Kids

Dan&Darci’s Rock Painting Kit is one of the top learning toys for 5-year-olds as it contributes highly to kids' creativity, imagination, and STEM skills.

This kit comes with various accessories and colors to provide your kids with experimental art activities. So this kit can teach your kids about arts and crafts and improve their color recognition skills.

9. Butterfly EduFields - Electric Motor Kit

This is one of the most fun educational toys for 5 year olds. The Electronic Motor Kit will encourage your kids to make DIY projects and bring out the little scientist in them.

This set includes 50 pieces and accessories with which kids can build hovercrafts, tornado mixers, motorboats, and many more. If you want to help your kids improve their problem solving and critical thinking skills, you can add this one to their toy arsenal.

10. Learning Resources - Botley the Coding Robot

This fun and interactive robot can teach your kids how to code and improve their STEM skills.

In addition to that, it can help kids explore math, science, technology, and engineering concepts more easily and build better critical thinking skills.

How Educational Toys Are Useful To 4-5-Year-Olds?

Kids from this age group are always curious about the world around them. So they question everything and are highly open to learning new things.

In this situation, educational toys play an important role in teaching them various subjects like STEM, animals, planets, food, and colors.

To be more precise, let’s discover how an educational toy benefits kids’ personal development in four ways.

Increase Motor Development

Motor development in early childhood is essential for kids' long-term personal development. Educational toys provide the opportunity for kids to practice their gross motor skills and improve kids’ hand eye coordination skills.

Improve IQ, Concentration, and Problem-Solving Skills

Educational tools enhance kids' cognitive skills like attention, concentration, problem-solving, and critical thinking. So spending time with educational toys gradually improves kids' overall IQ. You can check your 4-5 year olds’ IQ with the MentalUP IQ Test!

Support Social and Emotional Intelligence

Playing with educational tools can teach kids about emotional concepts and how to express their feelings. So this process helps build stronger social and emotional intelligence skills in children.

In addition to that, educational toys that require playing with other adults or peers can help kids improve social skills by teaching them leadership, sharing, and waiting for their turn.

Boost Creativity and Imagination

During childhood, kids keep an incredible sense of curiosity and they continuously try to understand and figure out the world around them. Thus, educational toys that let kids experiment, create, and build, expand their imagination skills and boost their creativity.

Frequently Asked Questions About Educational Toys

So far, we have learned about what makes a toy educational and discovered the best educational toys for 4 to 5 year olds.

Now, it's time to answer questions about educational toys that might arise in your mind as a parent. Here are the most essential questions about educational toys with answers.

Which skills are developed with educational toys?

Educational toys have many benefits for kids' personal development. These kinds of toys can help kids improve their STEM and cognitive skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, attention, creativity, recognition, and spatial awareness skills.

In addition to that, educational toys enhance kids' dexterity skills as well as gross motor skills and hand eye coordination.

How to choose the right educational toys for 4-year-olds

Before choosing a toy, you should always carefully examine the toys to understand if they are appropriate for your child. When choosing a toy, you can consider factors such as safety, age appropriateness, skills that benefit the kids, and material.

Where can you buy educational toys for 4-5-year-olds?

There are a lot of educational toys for 4 and 5 year olds online. You can search online for the most educational ones or check your local toy shops.

Are technology-based educational toys beneficial for 4-5-year-olds?

The answer is yes, but you don't need too many of them. Today’s kids are born into the age of technology, and they enjoy spending time with devices. So, you can find beneficial options to turn technological devices into educational toys, like MentalUP.

Meet the beneficial technology with the award-winning app, MentalUP! 🏆

MentalUP offers 150+ learning games as a technological, educational toy for 4-5-year-olds and elders. 😍

You can track your kid’s development with detailed analysis tools and compare the results with his/her peers! 📊👏

Millions of families and teachers trust MentalUP to improve kids’ cognitive skills while having fun. Be one of them! 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

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10 November 2022

Publish Date: 10 November 2022

Lauran Cole

Cognitive and research activities of children 5-6 years old. Experiments and experiments with substances and materials. Winter. Senior group. GEF DO

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For the successful implementation of work in the direction of "Cognitive development" (cognitive research activities - the study of objects of the surrounding world and experimenting with them) with children of preschool age, this manual is intended, which includes 16 technological maps and a methodological description of the management of experimental activities preschoolers. In technological maps, the goals of experimentation are formulated, a description of the content of cognitive-research activities and the expected effectiveness of experimentation are given. Methodological support describes the features of the formation of cognitive research activity in preschool children, determines the goals of children's experimentation, and briefly, in the form of recommendations, presents a description of the guide for experimentation. The cards also imply pedagogical participation - the teacher can independently, focusing on the individual characteristics of the children in his group or on the previously studied material, supplement the technological cards with content at his discretion, describe the results of mastering the experiment.
Designed for preschool teachers, teachers of additional education, parents of preschoolers.

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For the successful implementation of work in the direction of "Cognitive development" (cognitive research activities - the study of objects of the surrounding world and experimentation with them) with preschool children, this manual is intended, which includes 16 technological maps and methodological description of the management of experimental activities of preschoolers. In technological maps, the goals of experimentation are formulated, a description of the content of cognitive-research activities and the expected effectiveness of experimentation are given. Methodological support describes the features of the formation of cognitive research activity in preschool children, determines the goals of children's experimentation, and briefly, in the form of recommendations, presents a description of the guide for experimentation. The cards also imply pedagogical participation - the teacher can independently, focusing on the individual characteristics of the children in his group or on the previously studied material, supplement the technological cards with content at his discretion, describe the results of mastering the experiment.
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Book “Cognitive and research activities of children aged 5-6. Experiments and experiments with substances and materials. Winter. Senior group. GEF DO" is available in the online store "Chitai-gorod" at an attractive price. If you are in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don or any another region of Russia, you can place an order for a book “Cognitive and research activities of children 5-6 years old. Experiments and experiments with substances and materials. Winter. Senior group. GEF DO "and choose a convenient way to receive it: pickup, delivery by courier or sending mail. To make buying books even more pleasant for you, we regularly hold promotions and contests.

Educational video for children: TOP 20 children's programs

Probably not in vain the concepts of children's programs and educational videos for children are growing together more and more. Educational videos are often built on the principle of a series of programs, and programs, thanks to the Internet, become a resource that is available not at a certain day and hour, but at almost any moment.

Today's TOP-20 children's programs were prepared for us by Tatyana Pirozhenko (Tavika) , author of blog This is interesting! , who received an honorary award Blog of the Year in the action Choice "Mom Blogs" 2012 , author and host of the Pochemuchek Club , where you can send any children's questions and get detailed interesting answers. In general, it is obvious that today's review will be a good navigator in the world of educational videos for children.

Some time ago I presented to your attention a review of educational and educational cartoons . Today I continue to acquaint you with educational videos for children.

This time I want to offer you a review of children's programs. All these programs were watched by my children at different times (my son is now twelve years old, my daughter is five), and my comments about them are based precisely on our personal experience.

Educational video for children:

for , against and "zones of special attention"

0067 video and any, the best children's programs will not replace the child's communication with parents and peers . Therefore, you should not abuse watching TV.

One program (about 15 minutes long) a day will give a good developmental effect. But a whole hour of such broadcasts will have a stupefying effect on a child. Not to mention the health risks that constant sitting in front of the TV can cause. So control what and how much your baby is watching.

In addition, the question remains: At what age can a child be allowed to watch TV? For example, the French Higher Broadcasting Council banned the operation of TV channels broadcasting programs for children under three years old. In the opinion of the Council, such broadcasts are harmful to the health of children. After all, according to some medical studies, watching TV at this age can cause problems with speech and sleep, addiction, passivity and lead to other diseases of the nervous system.

On the other hand, it is the TV that is often the “window to the world” for babies – with the help of it one can learn and understand so much! With your own eyes to see the ice of Antarctica, people of bygone eras, to visit space . .. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine a modern child who would not be familiar with the TV at all. And it is in our power to make sure that this acquaintance only benefits him.

So, here is a list of 20 educational and educational programs for children, “tested” by my children. I would be glad if you share your impressions about educational video products for children in the comments, tell us about what you like and watch.

Children's programs: top 20

Telemouse (Die Sendung mit der Maus)

Germany, ARD. Produced since 1971. The duration of the episode is 26 minutes. Age 4-10 years old

The main character of the program, cartoon Mouse, together with her friends present a series of short videos on a variety of topics - from observing the life of animals on a farm to stories about professions and the history of everyday things. The plots are interspersed with three or four cartoons, which in themselves are very unusual for our eyes. This is not a Russian school of animation, but not an American one either. But something completely different, original.

In Germany, this program is called the “school of the nation”. She is very popular. Discs, computer games, soft toys, T-shirts and even stamps with Telemyshka are produced. The program also has its own website (www.wdrmaus.de). Unfortunately, this is the only program from the entire list that I could not find on the Internet in Russian. It was broadcast in 2006 by the Rambler channel. Then her eight-year-old eldest son watched her with delight. We digitized the program, and it was kept on our disks until our daughter grew up to it. The quality of the digitization is terrible. But there is nothing to replace it with, I have never seen Telemyshka in Russian anywhere else. If you can find or can watch in the original language, I highly recommend it! Even adults will be interested in it.

"This is my house" ("My beautiful house")

France, 1998. 28 episodes of 7 minutes. Age 4-12 years.

In each episode of this children's show, children from some country introduce viewers to their home, customs and way of life. Spectators seem to spend one day visiting them. Venice and England, Cuba and Belgium, Denmark and Israel and many more different countries and cultures. Very informative from the point of view of studying the traditions of different peoples. And adults are no less interested than children.

"Academy of Arts"

Russia, "Bibigon", 2008. The duration of the episode is 12 minutes. Age 5-10 years old

Dmitry Khaustov is broadcasting with several children. During the show, they learn different styles and artistic techniques of drawing. As a result of an open lesson led by invited artists, children in the studio create their own masterpiece and learn the basics of artistic literacy. In the opinion of my son, who himself studies at an art school, the program is a bit boring - there is little content, a lot of shows. But he watched to the end all 50 episodes that we had. I haven't shown it to my daughter yet.

“There is such a profession”

Russia, Production Bureau, Karusel. 2008-2012 year. 52 episodes of 25 minutes. Age: junior and secondary school

Young hosts Pavel Serdyuk, Lenya Bolotnikov and Nika Lysakova introduce viewers to representatives of different professions and their work. In each series, we can see how the presenters try to master one of the professions: a turner and a cook, a hydraulic engineer and an architect, a minister and a diver. Very informative and useful in terms of career guidance. But it is difficult for preschoolers to watch it - a lot of adult text.

"Funny Science" ("Science in the Yard", "Backyard science")

Australia, 2003-2007, 156 episodes of 12 minutes. Age 5-12 years old

Two adult leaders, together with a company of children of different ages (about 7-10 years old), make crafts, arrange experiments and experiments. And in a playful way they learn the laws of nature. No theory - pure entertainment! On the screen, everything happens so simply and provocatively that it is difficult to resist and not try to repeat what you saw in the program yourself. Highly recommend!

"Galileo" (Russian analogue of the German program "Galileo" of the ProSieben channel)

Russia, STS channel, from 2007 to the present, more than a thousand episodes. The duration of the episode is 45 minutes. School age.

Host - famous musician, KVN and physicist Alexander Pushnoy. In addition to the children's program, the magazine "Science by Experience" is also published. In the program, in an entertaining way, answers are given to many children's "why?" And How?". Just look at the list of topics for a few random shows:

  • Which country has the best football snacks?
  • Who invented the passenger elevator and how?
  • Does water affect how the vase breaks?
  • What are 14 vehicles that can be used in winter?
  • What and why do people collect? How is garbage collected in Cairo and in Europe?
  • What is it like to work as a lumberjack and puppeteer? How are the Diving Competitions going?
  • Is it possible to turn a director into a professional wrestler?
  • How does the gimlet rule work?
  • Who will win in the battle of originals and their models?

Amazing program, I myself watch it literally with my mouth open!

"ABVGDeika"

Russia, from 1983 to the present. Series duration 25 min. Preschool age.

Do you remember the song from your childhood: “ABVGDeika is study and play, ABVGDeika, ABVGDeika it’s time for children to know the alphabet…”? For 35 years now, the characters of the program (now they are clowns Klepa, Roma Romashkin, Shpilka, teacher Ksyusha Sergeevna and postman Pechkin) have been creating educational videos for children: they teach young viewers to read and write, count, traffic rules and rules of conduct. And since 2010, a children's developing magazine of the same name has also been published.

But neither I nor my two children liked this program as a child. This is my personal opinion, but I can't stand grimacing adults trying to play "childish" roles. There is a strong sense of falsehood in them.

Art History with Piggy and…

Russia, Karusel2, 2012, 50 episodes of 10 min. Age: older preschoolers.

Heroes of the program "Good night, kids" - Khryusha, Stepashka, Filya, as well as the leading aunt Yulia and a cartoon character. art critic Mr. Arts, - get acquainted with the basic terms of art, examples of paintings by famous artists, visit museums around the world. A series of such children's educational programs, in my opinion, is not bad, but my daughter, after watching the entire series, did not show any interest in it.

In addition to this cycle, there are similar ones on other topics: “Russian language together with Khryusha and …”, “Learning to count together with Khryusha and …”, “English together with Khryusha and …”, “Travel around the world together with Khryusha and …” .

All About Animals2

UK, BBC, 2005-2010, 52 episodes of 25 min. Age: from 3 years old to old age.

Great documentaries that the BBC is famous for! In each series there is a story about any one animal. Very entertaining, dynamic, understandable, interesting. Easily accepted by children. The only thing that personally seems to me a drawback is the long duration of the series. For preschoolers, it's still too much. Well, for schoolchildren and adults - just right.

"Multstudiya"

Russia, "Karusel", 2011. 13 episodes of 25 min. Age: senior preschool and school.

A program from which you can learn everything about cartoons: how and who invents, voices and makes them. The guests at the studio are well-known animators and children's writers. And the most interesting thing: in each issue there are lessons on how to make cartoons yourself using different techniques. Hosted by Alexander Oleshko.

A beautifully crafted and very entertaining show. Watch with the whole family with great pleasure!

Academy of Entertaining Sciences. Mathematics"

Russia, 2012. 49 episodes of 13 min. Age: elementary school students.

Hosts Albert Razumnik and his learned hamster talk about the history of mathematics, about mathematical concepts and terms. In each program there is a fun break - tasks for quick wits and logic.

In addition to "Mathematics", the "Academy of Entertaining Sciences" also has "Physics", "Chemistry", "Music", "Biology", "Geography", "Astronomy".

Not a bad educational video for children, but I can't say what causes some excitement. Have only watched a couple of episodes so far.

“Piggy bank of tricks”

Russia, “Telenyanya”, 2010-2011. 83 episodes of 25 min.

The host of the magic show, magician Yuri Arbuzov, invites a child from the audience to the stage and demonstrates a trick with his help. After that, the secret of the trick is revealed, and children are taught how to repeat it on their own. Each episode features a guest from among pop or movie stars.

The show itself is helpless, but it's interesting to watch the reveal of the trick's secret.

"School of Magic"

Russia, "Bibigon", 2010. 51 episodes of 13 minutes. Age: elementary school students.

Another magic show with a master class on how to make a magic trick. Conducted by Ilya Larionov and four children 7-10 years old in the studio, who, together with the audience, learn to perform simple tricks.

The show is not much better than the previous one - the presenter lacks "drive". Although the tricks are well chosen.

"Aty - Baty"

Russia, TV channel "My Joy" 2008-2010, 68 episodes of 13 minutes. Age: junior and middle school.

The history of the Russian army, famous battles and biographies of great generals, presented in the form of an eyewitness account - the Old Soldier (Honored Artist of Russia Yu.G. Grigoriev). The program uses visual material: maps, paintings, weapons and uniforms from museums. It will be interesting for boys who are fond of "war games".

Time to Space

Russia, Karusel, 2010, more than 76 episodes of 15 minutes each. Age: senior preschool, school.

The transmission was created jointly with Roskosmos. It is led directly from the ISS by cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. And on Earth, two children help him (Egor Klinaev and Yulia Sorokina). The program consists of four blocks: a story about life and life on the ISS, training of astronauts, "Mysteries of the Universe" and a theoretical part.

Our family is very interested in everything related to space, so this program could not help but become one of our favorites!

"Let's paint!"

Russia, "Telenyanya", 2008 - 2011. More than 100 episodes lasting 20 minutes. Age: preschool.

Educational video for children - Lessons from the Violet fairy and her assistant Kalyaki-Malyaki. Together with the children in the studio, the audience is taught various drawing techniques. According to the official website, all the exercises used in the program, as well as the advice of the Violet Fairy and her assistant on the maintenance of the workplace of a real artist, are carefully selected by a child psychologist.

I didn't like it at all: I have already spoken about my attitude towards grimacing adults playing various fairies and other fabulous creatures. My daughter watched several episodes with interest, but her patience is not enough to sit through all 20 minutes to the end.

Miracle Travel

Russia, Karusel, 2007-2010, issues of 15 min. Preschool age.

Puppet show with elements of geography. I did not like it - a lot of noise, fuss ... little geography.

"Visiting Grandfather Local History"

Russia, Karusel, 2009-2012. 62 issues, 15 minutes each. Preschool and primary school age.

The puppet character Grandfather of Local History visited all corners of Russia, and then began to travel to other countries of the world. The program contains a short story about the geography, history and traditions of the area visited. Besides, it's a folk tale.

Large-scale project. And the format is very good: short and only the most important. Exactly what a child needs to know for general erudition. But personally, the puppet character really jars me. The children looked on with curiosity.

"We're going to play!"

Russia, "Karusel", 2009 - 2010, issues of 13 min. Age 3-5 years.

Children's program for the development of speech and logic. The girl Chatterbox together with her friend Tishka the bear are collecting items for the game. To do this, they need to explain the task to Grandfather Secret and complete all his tasks.
The idea is not bad, the execution is not up to it. They didn't look.

Sesame Street

USA, PBS, p. 1969 years old to the present. More than 4 thousand issues. The duration of the release is from 30 to 70 minutes. Age: different cycles for different ages - from 3 years to 12. The Russian version was released from 1996 to 2008 on different channels.

One of the world's most popular educational television programs for children. This is a puppet show in which characters not only teach kids to read and write , but also help them explore the world, learn how to communicate and resolve conflicts peacefully. The show has a lot of humor, songs and games. American and Russian experts in the field of child development take part in the preparation of the issues.

The classic American way of presenting material. I do not consider myself to be his supporters, therefore I have included this program in the list only for completeness - after all, this program is insanely successful all over the world.

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