This idea was posted in a mom group I am apart of and I went with it! That night I went to my local Walmart and purchased this drip pan in the automotive section for $12!! I purchased some awesome Melissa and Doug magnets on amazon. I patiently awaited the arrival (who am I kidding no I didn’t) of our new wood magnets!

Lets talk about magnets for a minute, they are completely and utterly magical to just about every child!

Toddler activities: 

• Magnets are a great way to talk about
• animals
• animals sounds
•  colors
• shapes,
• Alike and not alike

You could group them by color, where they live or what they eat. You can count them! The magnets will hold your child’s interest for just long enough to accomplish some great learning!
Magnets help your toddler develop their small hand and finger muscles which are essential for learning how to draw and write.

Magnets teach cause and effect and other important problem solving skills that are essential for developing early brain connections.

Magnets are open ended toys which spark the imagination and creativity! Your child will be gaining experience in design and composition.

Games for preschoolers:

The first thing D and I did was line up the upper case letters in alphabetical order. It was so helpful to see which letters he was still struggling with.

Then we paired them up with their lowercase partners.  We pulled and grouped our vowels.

Animal letter match: 

We pulled out the animals and D put them under the letter they start with.

Games:

Hey get back here with that letter!

D grabs a letter off the board and runs away with it! I shout, “Hey get back here with that letter!” He then  has to tell me what letter it is. I then tell him to, ” Kick your way back here with that K!”  using a different action word that starts with the letter he stole every time.Bonus he burns energy!

Scavenger hunt

place magnets (shapes, animals, letters, numbers) on various services around your kitchen or any room. Give your toddler/preschooler a bucket or a bowl. Shout out a magnet and have them hunt for them! This is an amazing activity while cooking! Keeps them busy but close!

Muffin tin match

Place upper or lower case in the muffin tin and have them find their partner.  

We are having a blast with the magnet board! I’m sure as the weeks go on I will have even more exciting games and ways to use magnets for educating!