Learning Path Stones

First Words

First Words
Infants string sounds together to imitate language. Later they use these sound strings to represent things in the world (baba for bottle). As toddlers they progressively build vocabulary and begin to learn the principles of word order (red ball, not ball red).

Spanish Vocabulary

Spanish Vocabulary
Exposure to foreign languages at a young age can help children understand their own language better. Studies show that children who are bilingual or who study foreign languages enjoy increased academic achievement and perform better on standardized tests.

Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect
Children progress from a simple observation of action and reaction (spin the wheel to hear music) to a deeper understanding of cause and effect (germs make you sick). Cause and effect is important because it signals that a child can perceive hidden or abstract forces on objects.

Exploration and Curiosity

Exploration and Curiosity
Toddlers use their curiosity and logical reasoning skills to solve everyday problems. By investigating all sorts of possibilities, they develop unexpected solutions and creative problem-solving strategies.

Music

Music
From birth, children love music and even prefer it to speech. Apart from the obvious joy of music there are a number of surprising benefits to listening to music: it helps develop language, problem solving skills, memory, and physical coordination.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine Motor Skills
The development and coordination of small, refined muscle movements allow infants and toddlers to use their thumb and forefinger to grasp small objects, paint and eventually learn to write.

Gross Motor Skills

Gross Motor Skills
Gross motor development includes the ability to control large muscles, like those used for sitting up and crawling, and later, for walking, running and jumping.

Sensory Exploration

Sensory Exploration
Infants and toddlers experience the world using all of their senses. However, vision is by far the main sense that they use. As they explore their enviroment babies examine objects, recognize people and learn about depth and movement. Taste and touch are also important senses for babies.

Early Number Sense

Early Number Sense
As early as 6 months, babies begin to understand the concept of numbers, noticing small groups of one, two or three things. As children develop number sense they learn to count by ones, skip count and count backwards, gaining the foundation for operations. Children who have good number sense find learning operations like addition and subtraction much easier.

Awards

• One of "Best Toys of 2007" guide, Parents Magazine