As Asher gets older the age suggestion on toys means less. At this point, I trust my instincts more than that 3+ sign on a toy. Partially because with his imagination he can play with a toy intended for a baby for hours and ones that are for his age range and older he will solve and move on from quickly.
Asher loves puzzles, numbers, and letters. Something I’ve picked up on is with his love for puzzles, he tends to finish them quickly. So I would mix all the puzzles to extended the time to occupy his mind. The annoying thing about puzzles is, once you lose one piece, the entire puzzle becomes useless. I can’t tell you how many scavengers hunts we’ve been on to find those missing pieces. Only to learn after I throw the puzzle away, the missing piece ends up turning up in some strange places!?
So recently, I found this one Jigsaw Puzzle and HE LOVES IT! I can’t remember the last puzzle he sat with this long. It helps him problem solve and also it teaches patience.
Also, for my number lover, with all of those bags of blocks… I got a sharpy and put numbers on them and spelled the number on the side. We call them our number blocks! It helps him learn his numbers and also how to spell them. Talk about a 2 for 1, lol.
I’ve often been asked for tips about what I do and how I’m teaching Asher. To be completely honest, we are still making things up as we go along. My tip is just to know that not all kids learn the same. Since he loves puzzles, I found puzzles with words on them. We also watch everything with the captions on. He catches on because of his love for words, but I also am intentional with making sure he’s surrounded with what he loves. So it’s a journey and we will continue to learn together.
