Christmas Alert! Top Toy Awards for 2009

Other ways to recycle your old toothbrush 

Tips To Recycle Old Toothbrushes

Don`t throw out that old toothbrush! Gosh but it is worth it`s weight in diamonds and gold. Just because it is getting too threadbare to brush your teeth with don`t think that its life cycle has come to an end. Your toothbrush still has a hundred othe...

Learn more about the Pyramids in Egypt 

Ancient Egypt Lapbook

Ancient Egypt is one of the most fascinating of world cultures! What child isn't intrigued with mummies, pyramids, and the complicated religion of this ancient civilization? Create an interdisciplinary study by including subjects besides just histor...

Educational Activities with a Transportation or Recycling Theme 

Global Warming for children

For young children to understand a concept like Global Warming it needs to be taught through hands-on observable experiments. Make a terrarium with falling rain. Melt ice and watch the water level of a lake rise. Observe what happens when plants rec...

What To Do With Lapbook Scraps

Although lapbooking is a great educational tool, it does create an abundance of scrap paper waste. This is a major turn off for some who are considering this method of education, and a source of guilt for many avid lapbookers. But good stewardship a...

Beep, Beep Goes the Bus

One of the most popular themes for preschoolers is transportation. Listen to the sound of a bus going beep, beep, beep. Hear the roar of the bus as it pulls up to the bus stop. Notice the hiss of the air coming from the brakes. With their bright col...

Transportation Unit Study

Young children are always on the go so it only follows that some of their favorite toys are cars, boats, planes and trains. This transportation theme can wheel us along with games, math activities and science projects that keep your child busily lear...

Get Kids Moving with this Top Toy Award Winner 

What happened to RECESS?

Do you remember the games you played during recess as a child? Think about all the physical activity that involved and what you learned from those recess games. Did you know that more and more recess is being replaced by testing and homework? While...

Learn How to Ride a Bike

Learning to ride a bike can be easy! This photo is typical of how most kids learn to ride a bike. Countless hours of wobbling down a relatively flat stretch of road or sidewalk with a parent hanging on to the handlebars or seat. More often than not,...

Learn more about Endangered Animals 

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

How do you feel about Gray Wolves? What do you know about wolves in general? Do wolves really dress in Grandma's clothes and eat little girls? In the Wolf Unit Study you can learn about the anatomy of these fascinating canines, where they live,...

Tiger Island: The Awesome Pawsome

 Tiger Island Zoo is raising tigers in order to save the gene pool of these endangered big cats. Sign a Petition to Save Tigers and learn tiger facts. And the Awesome Pawsome are born! Taj, Sultan, Rama and Sita come into the world, and Taj is t...

Are You Polar Bear Aware?

Polar bears are affected by habitat loss, destruction and degradation of ecosystems, pollution, over-exploitation and climate change. These factors are among the powerful and persistent impacts on polar bear populations and health. The purpose of thi...

Top Toys that Letters with a Transportation Theme 

Beep, Beep Goes the Bus

One of the most popular themes for preschoolers is transportation. Listen to the sound of a bus going beep, beep, beep. Hear the roar of the bus as it pulls up to the bus stop. Notice the hiss of the air coming from the brakes. With their bright col...

Transportation Unit Study

Young children are always on the go so it only follows that some of their favorite toys are cars, boats, planes and trains. This transportation theme can wheel us along with games, math activities and science projects that keep your child busily lear...

Learning The Alphabet Letters

One of the first steps in becoming a successful reader is learning the alphabet letters. The alphabetic principle teaches that spoken language is represented by written words that are made up of varying combinations of letters, and that these letters...

Penmanship: The Art of Teaching Handwriting

As a child I remember Mrs. Thompson, my first grade teacher, gently putting her hand over mine and guiding me in forming the letters. We wrote on green lined paper with dotted lines down the middle. After we had practiced for a whole week we were all...

Building Bridges with the Top Toy Award Winners 

Building Bridges Unit Study

Garner Rix and his family moved from Connecticut to Vermont in 1780 by oxcart. During his captivity he walked to Montreal and back. What was it like to travel in the 18th Century? There were few roads and even fewer bridges. The bridges over streams...

Choo! Choo! A Train Unit Study

Have you ever stood near a railroad track and watched a train? Trains are fascinating. They seem to be going so slowly at first and then faster and faster as they get closer. No matter what age you are, everyone loves trains. As your child chugs alo...

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Reading the classic tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff is a delightful way to kick off a Unit Study on Goats. We compare fiction and non-fiction goats, make graphs, build bridges and play lots of games. Goat's milk and goat cheese are staples in ma...

Dolls help children explore characters and careers. 

Floppy Doppy, My Favorite Baby Doll

Floppy Doppy was the first baby doll I ever owned. She was not a new doll and did not come wrapped in fancy paper nor was she tied with a bow. She came in a box of hand-me-down clothes from my cousins. Floppy Doppy's hair was brown and had been...

Do You Know a Fancy Nancy?

Do you have a Fancy Nancy in your house? A Fancy Nancy likes sparkles and glitter, lace and tulle. No amount of jewelry is too much. Tutus, boas, and satin are the latest fashion and she will wear them anywhere. Fancy Nancy is not just for little gi...

Community Helpers in Your Neighborhood

Community helpers are people who help us in our neighborhoods. We say that they provide a service for us. Find out about the various community service jobs in your community and who the people are that provide those services. From the postal carrier...

Educational Value of Stacking Toys 

0-12 Months: Top 10 Educational Toys

From the moment they open their eyes for the first time, babies are learning. You may think that this small newborn doesn't get anything. You are so wrong! She/he is learning from touching you, smelling you, hearing you, looking into your face, e...

Educational Value of the Top Toy Award Winning Pool Shark Game 

How I came to Love Teaching Math

Math has always been easy for me but it wasn't until I started taking classes to get my teaching certificate that I came to truly love math. Both my mom and dad loved to play card and board games. They taught my sister and I many mathematical concept...

About the Author of this Top Ten Toy Award Lens: 

Most any toy can be used in an educational way.

Evelyn Saenz: Lensography of a Teacher

My passion is teaching and finding ways to teach children in fun, hands-on, creative ways. The unit studies I make on Squidoo reflect my view that learning should be integrated and no skills should be taught in isolation. I believe that each topic s...