November 9,1991
EL UVALDE TIMES
Page 9
Choose educational gitfs for Christmas By Jane Chavez
It is not too early to be discussing Christmas shopping. We feel that it is important to share educational gift ideas with you. When looking for Christmas gifts for your children, select basic items for creative thinking and play. Expensive toys are not always educational.
Here are some suggestions for your Christmas gift list: For younger children, select some of the toys that help them do creative play. A doctor or nurse’s kit turns them into a young professional; a cash register with play money makes them a business man or woman; a blackboard gives your child a chance to be a schoolteacher; a telephone makes them a secretary, receptionist or an executive; with a tool kit they can become a carpenter and with a barn full of animals and farm machinery, they can be a farmer or rancher.
Select toys that improve their skills such as large beads to string or interlock; lego sets for building; play dough or clay for modeling; simple musical instruments for playing and singing an sets of tools (shovel, pail, truck) for playing in the sandbox or at the river. You also might select tools for gardening (hoe, rake, shovel) or household items (set of play dishes or pots & pans) to play house. Maybe someone in the family with carpentry skills could make a small stove or refrigerator to encourage creative play.
Each household should have a set of building blocks with the alphabet and numbers. Starting at an early age, children can use them for building skills, to learn the alphabet and numbers, and to increase their addition and multiplication skills.
To improve your child’s reading skills and knowledge of the world about them, subscribe to a magazine. The gift will arrive monthly to be enjoyed by your child and the rest of the family. Suggestions for a magazine should take into consideration the child’s age and interests. We suggest that you to the public library and review the magazine as well as to get the address and subscription information.
We suggest that you consider: National Geographic World-magazine for young readers interested in animals and people in the USA and other countries. Discovery-science interesting short stories and vocabulary lists for junior high and high school students.
Reader’s Digest- features
interesting short stories and vocabulary lists for junior high and high school students.
National Geographic-magazine that focuses on people and places around the world, maps are included in the magazine. Newsweek, Time or US News and World Report- weekly magazines that discuss current events.
We recommend that each child establish their own personal library. Start by buying them one or more of their favorite storybooks when they the are very young. Add to the collection with Christmas or birthday gifts over the years. Consider your child’s interest as you purchase the books—do they like books on animals, insects, birds, flowers, trees, fish or rocks? Or do they prefer science, auto mechanics, woodworking, airplanes or computers? A child’s personal library puts emphasis on the value of reading and of books in the home.
Games and puzzles are a fun way to teach math and vocabulary skills with the whole family participating. Some fo the possibilities are:
Scrabble-a word game for two, three or four players. The play
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consists of forming words on the playing board using letter tiles with various score values.
Monoply-a game with two competing teams. A player makes a drawing on a sheet of paper and his team members have to guess th work or concept within a limited time. This game is excellent for all age groups .
Pictogragh -a game with two competing teams. A player makes a drawing on a sheet of paper and his team members have to guess the word or concept within a limited lime. This game is excellent for all age groups.
Trivial Pursuit -a game for several players. Each player must correctly answer questions in each of six categories in order to move on the six spokes of the playing board. The categories include geography, history science and nature, entertainment art and literature, and sports anc leisure.
UBI- a question and answer game that involves several players. The team players must find the answer on a map of the world. This games is recommended foi older children and parents as it is more difficult. It is excellent
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their skills through the use of addition flash cards. See related article on educaitonal gifts for Christmas by Jane Chavez.
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