37 - Sunday, December 13, 1987 - Nacth Shore News

Toys can be an educational experience

EDUCATIONAL toys have
recently experienced a
resurgence in popularity.

. Contributing Writer

These toys have been actively
promoted by child psychologists as
a way of helping children acquire
specific skills and enhancing intel-
lectual development.

Using creative high technology
methods which capitalize on the
child’s interest as well as incor-
porating the psychological princi-
ples of Jearning, these toys appear
to have replaced the old fashioned
drill and practice and flash cards.

Toys such as Sesaize Sireet
Cookie Counter, Spelling Starter,
Micro Explorer Set, Little Pro-
fessor, Speak n’ Read, Alphie U1,
My Talking Computer, etc. can
help teachers and parents make
learning more enjoyabie for
children.

Many of these educational aids
can play an active role in enhanc-
ing the chiid’s creativity and pro-
blem-solving abilities.

As well, children can acquire
perceptual-motor, inathematical,
scientific, spelling, language and
reading skills as they play.

Many..of the better products
have incorporated multi-level
operations which increase their
play value.

For example, with Fisher Price’s
Spelling Starter, a young child can
progress from letter recognition to
actual spelling, going from simple
to complex, allowing learning to
continue as the child develops.

Although these products can
play an active part in the educa-

tional process, they are not intend-..

ed to replace the essential role of
teachers and parents.

Many of these products capital-
ize on the basic principles of im-
mediate positive reinforcement
while incorporating a programm-
ed, structured learning approach.

Children can learn basic infor-
mation in a relaxed, game-like at-
mosphere without the pressures
that parents and teachers may
sometimes create. These electronic
learning games will repeatedly go
over the same problems without
ever yelling at the child, losing pa-

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tience, or asking how many times
the same problem must be repeated
before it is learned.

For many children, learning is
an abstract activity which has little
perceived relevance in the real
world.

Many of the educational toys
available today can go a long way

IN

=

in helping children understand
relationships and acquire skills.
Parents can use these educa-
tional aids as a way of reinforcing
basic concepts taught in school and
providing a creative, enriched en-
vironment for their children.
Dr. Derevensky is the Associate
Professor, Department of Educa-

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