The 10 best "learn to read" toys for kids in 2022
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Learning to read should be a fun experience
Reading is the cornerstone of childhood education. A young reader will develop a stronger ability to focus, improved memory, strengthen vocabulary skills, and even better understand empathy. These benefits will serve them well throughout school because they give kids the proper tools for problem solving, no matter the subject.
It is critical for us to make sure our children can take advantage of these great benefits so that they can be on the correct path to success in school. This path to reading success doesn't start in kindergarten, the learning starts at home during the early years. Enjoying books with your child is a great way to help them start to form a positive relationship with reading. However, it is always a wonderful idea introduce other fun ways for kids to interact with words or even practice those basic reading concepts. We really love using toys to bring new educational insights to children.
We've put together an amazing list of the best toys to teach or even strengthen your child’s early literacy skills. With these learning resources, your child will learn letter recognition, sight words, writing, and even begin to read books in an engaging way. Your child will learn to read in no time!
Letter Recognition
The path to literacy starts with the ability to recognize each letter. The more practice a child can get the faster they can learn and then move to learning other concepts. The toys that stand out to us in this category are the ones that utilize an interactive component and keep your kids engaged for hours. Once your little ones can recognize and say the ABC’s, then it is time for them to start learning letter sounds. We believe it is never too early to start learning phonics. Both of our selections teach letters as well as phonics, and let your child form the proper association between sight and sound.
1. LeapFrog Tad's Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set
One of the best learning resources for recognizing letters is the “LeapFrog Tad's Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set.” We've come a long way since those old magnetic letters that I remember from my childhood. Now the letters that stick to your fridge can also make sounds, giving kids the opportunity to learn and be engaged! Simply insert a letter into the base to hear its name, letter sound, or said in a sentence. The fridge magnets can even be personalized by adding your own photos. It can also play 3 learning songs including the ABC song to make it an even more enjoyable experience. This toy helps children by putting them on the right path, and building a solid foundation.
Best for kids: 2 to 4 years old
2. LeapFrog My Own Leaptop
This toy is so fun! It’s a little laptop that literally lets your children be like Mom and Dad by sending and receiving pretend emails. Whenever you need to hop on your laptop to work… you will find your child grabbing their Leaptop to quietly work next to you. The cuteness factor is off the charts with this toy! It really is an excellent tool because it gives your kids the ability to feel “grown up,” all while teaching the alphabet and phonics. It has 4 learning modes in which kids learn ABCs, Messages, Games and Music (16 songs and melodies).
Best for kids: 2 to 4 years old
Learning Sight Words
Sight words are common words that children can recognize instantly without having to sound them out. They play an important role in literacy because many of these words do not follow the basic phonics principles, so they can’t be sounded out or decoded like other words. Kids that can recognize words by sight become more fluent and speedy readers and in turn helps them to gain even more confidence when reading a book. With that said, we think it is important to find fun ways to help kids memorize these words. No better way than with games. Let's grab sight words!
3. Sight Words Swat by Learning Resources
This silly sight words game is perfect for teaching up to 220 Dolch sight words! Unlike traditional flashcards, this sight words swat game involves high concentration, quick reaction and word recognition. First, a bunch of flies with sight words written on them are scattered on the table in front of the children. Then 4 kids pick up their cute little fly swatter. Another person (usually a grown up) calls out a sight word, and the kids have to think fast and swat the corresponding fly! The first one to hit the correct fly gets to keep it. The child to collect the the most sight words wins. This is such a fun, simple concept that motivates kids to do their best with a little competition. Learning sight words has never been this fun!
Best for kids: 3 to 8 years old
4. The Fidget Game- Sight Words with Pop Fidget
This game is a simple yet effective twist on the traditional flashcards we grew up with. Each player gets a colorful rainbow pop fidget toy. Then, players take turns flipping a card to reveal a sight word. If they can read the sight word out loud… then they get to roll the dice. The dice roll will determine how many bubbles they get to press down. The first one to push all the bubbles down wins! Your children will be learning without even realizing it. The game comes with sight word packs for pre-k, all the way through grade 3, so it can be used as your child grows and increases their reading level.
Best for kids: 3 to 10 years old
Developing writing skills
When it comes to learning how to write letters and even words, practice is key. Writing reinforces all aspects of literacy as well as developing fine motor skills. We love giving our kids a crayon or marker to practice writing… but it can often end in a mess or even drawings on the furniture. What better way to practice writing letters than by using a mess free, portable magnetic board?
5. Write and Learn Creative Center by VTech
The VTech Write and Learn Creative Center is not only our favorite magnetic drawing board, but one of the most effective learning resources. Kids learn early writing skills with interactive lessons that teach the correct letter strokes for uppercase and lowercase letters in a fun way. In addition, your child can boost creativity with step by step instructions teaching them how to draw different lines, shapes and objects. It also comes with magnetic stamps, and 8 stencils for tracing pictures. The VTech Write and Learn Creative Center will put younger children on a path to become early readers for sure!
Best for kids: 3 to 6 years old
6. Magnetic Drawing Board for Writing by SGILE
For a more simple and straight forward option without all the fancy bells and whistles, we think the SGILE Magnetic Drawing Board is another great choice. It offers a large drawing area to easily practice writing those uppercase letters, along with a mess free way to develop your child’s creativity while building coordination. It also has the alphabet written on the border of the drawing board for quick reference.
Best for kids: 3 to 8 years old
Learning to read can be fun and easy with tech
It is so important to give your child a fun and positive connection with reading early on. This will spark a love of learning that can last a lifetime. The best toys for kids are the ones that help children develop their reading skills while they’re having fun. This is easily achieved with the help of technology. High tech toys are interactive and offer a high level of educational value because the company invests in research and development to create innovative learning tools. Here are some of our favorites. They are more pricey than others on our list but it is difficult for us to put a price on literacy. If a toy can keep your child engaged while offering numerous ways to grow important reading skills, then we say it is worth it.
7. Osmo - Little Genius Starter Kit
The Osmo - Little Genius Starter Kit is one of our favorite toys on the high tech list. It’s an interactive alphabet game for your tablet (not included) that has your child physically creating letters. This toys combines tactile with technology in a way that brings an amazingly unique experience. Get started with 4 hands-on learning games for a magical, educational adventure. In the ABC game, your child will interact with Mo the monster as he shows the little ones how to form letters with the included silicone Sticks & Rings. Kids learn over 300 words and 50+ different phonics sounds while developing their fine motor skills.
Best for kids: 3 to 5 years old
8. Plugo Letters- Educational Word Game and App
This amazing app is another wonderful choice that combines your tablet screen time with physical pieces. This robust app offers 9 games and 300+ levels with no in-app purchases. This step by step adventure will have your child learning how to spell many different words, growing their vocabulary from 3 letter words to 8 as they play. In addition, it helps kids with phonics, and practicing word usage in sentences. The versatile game can grow with your child as they increase their knowledge by developing grammar concepts like adjectives, nouns, verbs, vowels and more.
Best for kids: 4 to 10 years old
9. LeapFrog LeapReader System- 10 Book Mega Pack
Our kids love the LeapFrog LeapReader system! It is one of the most effective reading tools we have on our list. It is a wonderful example of technology bringing our children an innovative way to help them learn to read. The electronic stylus pen can interact with the physical LeapReader books in an amazing way. You can simply tap on a page with the pen to have it read the entire page, or tap an individual word to have it said out loud, or even hear the word sounded out. This 10 book mega pack helps kids gain a fun way to learn vowel sounds, sight words, word blending, spelling and more. It would be hard to find more value with another reading toy.
Best for kids: 3 to 5 years old
10. Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids tablet 2022
This list of toys can’t be complete without including the Amazon Fire HD 8 kids tablet. This tablet was made for kids! It includes a well built Kid-Proof Case with built-in stand for easy viewing, and a 2-year worry-free guarantee for those unexpected accidents. It also comes with 1 year of curated Amazon Kids+ content! Amazon kids + is an all in one subscription offering access to thousands of books, Audible books, movies, TV shows, music stations, apps, and games specifically for kids ages 3-7. The tablet has great parental settings and filters for safety, making kids unable to access social media or in-app purchases without parental approval. The 8 inch screen makes navigating learning apps, and playing those phonics games a breeze for little fingers, yet small enough for easy on the go learning. This tablet will be your child’s learning and entertainment hub for years to come. Well worth the cost in our opinion.
