Is it better to give my child rest now or work on school skills?

A great way for children to practice school skills throughout the summer is through play. LeapFrog’s tablets have over 1000 games and eBooks to download and play. Their apps cover a wide-variety of curriculum topics, and have been reviewed and approved by their team of Learning Experts. Fat Brain Toys (www.fatbraintoys.com), ThinkFun (www.thinkfun.com) and Learning Resources (www.learningresources.com) also have some great, educational games for young children such as AnimaLogic, Inchimals, Zingo, Robot Turtles and Mental Blox Critical Thinking Game. Some other fun toys that promote learning are Lego, building toys such as MagFormers and GoldieBlox and puzzles. If you keep the focus on playful learning, your children can have fun and work on their school skills at the same time!

Jennie Ito, Ph.D.

Child Development Expert

Jennie Ito is a mother of two and a child development consultant who specializes in children’s play and toys. Before becoming a consultant for LeapFrog, she was an intern at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and later worked as a content expert for the Association of Children’s Museum’s “Playing for Keeps” Play Initiative. Jennie earned her doctorate degree in developmental psychology at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.