Most kids ask Santa for toys at Christmas. It’s usually something that makes noise and eats batteries. Rarely is it a learning toy. Every kid deserves one of these toys at Christmas but let’s face it parents, you’d also like to get your child something that encourages learning. Little kids are much easier to convince that learning toys can be fun and Teach My is here to help. 

Teach My are all-in-one learning kits. There are three different kits available:

• Teach My Baby designed for ages 6+ months
• Teach My Toddler designed for ages 18+ months
• Teach My Preschooler designed for ages 3+

Brightly-coloured and full of different activities for each age, Teach My kits help kids learn through playing in only 20 minutes a day. Holly and I were each sent a kit to review and here’s what we (and our little ones) learned!

 

 

Teach My Baby

Little J received his Teach My Baby kit when he was just 14 months old. No age is too young to start learning! The kit arrived and he was ready to jump in (perhaps because the box was yellow, his favourite colour). 

Here’s what’s included:

• Teach My Baby First Words Learning Set
• Teach My Baby First Numbers Learning Set
• Teach My Baby Self Learning Set
• Teach My Baby Sounds & Touch Learning Set

Features:

• 12 One Piece Puzzles
• 6 Two Piece Puzzles
• 6 Touch and Feel Flashcards
• 6 Mirrored Flashcards
• 6 Mirrored Nesting Blocks
• 5 Finger Puppets
• 4 Board Books
• 1 Double-Sided Storyboard
• Teaching Guide
• Storage case

The idea behind it is that you pick one section each day and work on the contents for 20 minutes. Well, Little J was having none of that. He wanted it all and he wanted it now! He loved pulling one of the bags out of the travel case, ripping open the velcro and pulling out the book enclosed in each. Books are one of his favourite things to play with. 

Getting a very active young toddler to sit down and learn for 20 minutes is a daunting task. But fear not: these are designed for learning 20 minutes per day which means you can easily spread it out throughout the course of the day. He really took to the bag of Sounds & Touch, having fun barking like a doggie and feeling the furry animals on the cards. The Self package was also popular as he liked when I stacked the blocks just so he could knock them all over! He learned where his hair and eyes were by looking at the mirrored cards.

This was a great kit to encourage learning with my little guy. He is constantly pulling the box from the shelf, begging me to open it and let him play. While we sometimes sit and learn, I also give him free time to simply look at everything included in the bags. His big sister is very helpful in telling him what everything is such as when he hands her one of the finger puppets – she will happily put one on her finger and make the animal noises for him. She enjoys the kit as well – the First Words puzzle cards and the animal puzzles are her favourite.

While these are fantastic kits that really encourage learning, I have only two small issues: 

1. The plastic storage box is a dust & cat hair magnet! Everything clings to it. While it’s a sturdy construction that even my Baby Hulk hasn’t broken yet, be forewarned that it will attract any speck of dust in your house. It’s a small price to pay for the awesome contents inside.
2. The instructions included do not provide a lot of information. While the premise is to spend 20 minutes per day on one section, there is little detail beyond this. I suggest visiting the official website for ideas as well as their YouTube channel and Pinterest boards. Or you can get creative on your own! 

You can purchase Teach My Baby from various retailers such as Walmart.ca, Amazon.ca, Target and Toys R Us Canada. 

 

 

Teach My Preschooler

Mr. J is four years old. I’ve also got Miss P who is two. We tried out the Teach My Preschooler kit which is designed for ages 3+. Both kids were curious to see what sorts of fun was contained in the bright green box.

Here’s what’s included:

• Teach My Preschooler Reading Learning Set
• Teach My Preschooler Printing Learning Set
• Teach My Preschooler Numbers to 100 Learning Set
• Teach My Preschooler Math Learning Set

Features:

• 10 Readers
• 60 Flashcards
• 1 Flashcard Reward Tin
• 1 Flashcard Holder
• 1 Magic Drawing Board
• 78 Print Transparencies & Printing Guide
• 101 Train Flashcards
• 3 Posters
• 2 Flip-Books
• Foam Numbers, Counters and Equation Signs
• Teaching Guide
• Storage case

Mr. J was a big fan of the magic drawing board. It’s a great way to get your preschooler learning how to write. He enjoys writing letters on the board, especially the letter J!

Learning numbers is something we have been working on with both of the kids. It was wonderful to have a kit that both of them could enjoy. My only complaint is that there needs to be more #1’s included in the box. We’re well into the teens now so Mr. J wants to make all of the numbers from 1-20 in order (we keep getting stuck at 13). While it’s very simple to do one number at a time, Mr. J likes to see them all in a row, making it easier to visualize the numbers.

Miss P’s favourite part of the Teach My box is the alphabet books. She likes to pull it out, bring it over to daddy and have a little story time. This kit doesn’t only provide a great learning tool, it also helps our family bond with some quality time. As a parent, I love a learning tool that makes the time spent together seem more like a fun game than a boring lesson. 

You can purchase Teach My Preschooler from various retailers such as Walmart.ca, Amazon.ca, Target and Toys R Us Canada. 

Also be sure to check out the Teach My Toddler kit for ages 18 months+ and the many additional add-on packs that are available for each of the kits including bath time kits! And coming soon is the Teach My Kindergartener kit for ages 4+.

You can enter to win your very own Deluxe Teach My Kit of your choosing! The contest is open to all residents of Canada & USA. Contest closes on Friday December 11th, 2015. Winners will be contacted via email. Good luck!

 
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