| Kids love playing with toys. They are fun, they come | | | | next. This is why they are also called counting |
| in bright colors, different shapes and sizes, have | | | | frames. The abacus has been used for centuries to |
| different textures and material, and most importantly | | | | teach children how to count and use basic arithmetic. |
| they allow kids to be imaginative and creative. Not | | | | It was invented before there was a standard |
| only are toys used just for fun, but they are also | | | | numeral system. Not only is the abacus a great |
| educational. A lot of children's toys are designed to | | | | learning toy for young children, it is still used in |
| focus on memory, matching, colors, the alphabet, and | | | | different parts of the world by merchants. |
| imagination. Young children are very interactive and | | | | Busy beads are designed to improve children's |
| observant, and most of what they learn is from | | | | dexterity skills, or hand and eye coordination. Busy |
| what they see around them. This is known as being | | | | beads are used by moving the patterns of beads |
| a tactile learner. | | | | around to other areas of the toy. The wires that the |
| Tactile learners, which most young children are, learn | | | | beads are on move in different directions, and aren't |
| from life experiences such as taste, touch, and smell. | | | | vertical like the abacus. Young children can be |
| There are learning toys designed especially for tactile | | | | entertained for hours by moving the beads around; it |
| learners. Activity tables usually include three of the | | | | is a hands on experience. The toy is engaging |
| best tactile learning toys that your child will benefit | | | | because the beads make different patterns from |
| from. Three great tactile toys are: an abacus, busy | | | | their bright colors and different arrangements. |
| beads, and manipulatives. Activity tables usually | | | | Manipulatives are also used to learn basic math, like |
| include all three types of toys, but they can also be | | | | the abacus. However, you can make almost any item |
| purchased separately. Manipulatives are also easy to | | | | a manipulative. Puzzles are also categorized as |
| make on your own with supplies from your home. | | | | manipulatives because children have to use their |
| An abacus is used for counting and simple math | | | | hands to place the pieces in the correct places. A |
| problems. They are similar to busy beads, but are | | | | manipulative is any toy that requires a child to |
| used mostly for counting. They also look very | | | | manipulate the toy in some way with their finger and |
| different because an abacus is a frame with straight | | | | hand/eye coordination. |
| wires used to move the beads from one end to the | | | | |