Hop on over to some fun with Patch’s Pockets — an early game for toddlers integrates counting, color matching, and pretend play. With four bunnies and four different pocket colors, little ones engage in color matching through visual discrimination and practice descriptive language too.
The box becomes a part of the play as different colored carrot pieces are placed in the garden (slots). Kids practice fine motor control and precision as they put in and take out carrots, and match those actions with words — great for learning prepositions. Our 3-year old toy tester naturally began pointing and counting carrots as they were sorted into each bunnies’ colorful pocket. Counting carrots reinforced one-to-one number correspondence, and we took language development even further to talk about “more,” “less,” and “equal/same” concepts.
Pretend play was easily incorporated as the other side of the box became a big pot for delicious carrot soup. Children can engage in imaginative scenarios, which promotes the use of verbs and sequencing language. This also encourages turn-taking and collaborative storytelling, essential components of pragmatic language skills.
Toys that require active participation and dialogue between the child and adult are more effective in promoting language development. Patch’s Pockets is a multifaceted tool that supports various aspects of a child’s development. Its emphasis on interactive play aligns with best practices in language development.
Available at MindWare
