Playing with purpose is what KneeBouncer games are designed to do! Learning objectives and developmental goals are tied to every game we produce! And since playing with purpose is our goal, there are many ways you can connect KneeBouncer games to toys to extend your child’s learning!
We chose five of our favorite KneeBouncer games for toddlers and preschoolers. And we’ll show you how to connect and extend our games with toys! This is our second blog on the topic; check out Connecting Play Between KneeBouncer Games and Toys for more purposeful play.
Peek-A-Zoo
Peek-A-Zoo is the perfect way to teach your toddler about animals! It introduces all kinds of wild beasts, the big and the small, from elephants to newts! Peek-A-Zoo is excellent for toddlers because they only need to press a button, and a new animal appears! Turn the sound off to make the game more challenging, and ask your toddler to name the animal themselves!
Extend Peek-A-Zoo off-screen by creating an animal scavenger hunt outside or in your house! You could also lay a series of animal toys on the floor and ask your child to point to different animals when named. Another fun activity is singing “The Animals in the Zoo” to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus.” Change the phrase to, “The lion in the zoo goes roar, roar, roar.” Or, if you don’t want your animals living in the zoo, say “the lion in the jungle, etc.”
Bugaboo
Play Bugaboo to develop your child’s number recognition and counting skills. It also develops a child’s mouse or finger pad skills when playing on a computer or laptop. Bugaboo is an ideal way to learn numbers because it presents numerals out of order meaning kids can’t simply memorize rote counting. They must recognize and understand numerical concepts. Take the game to the next level by turning off the sound and asking your child to name the number and then count as they build their bug!
One way to connect this KneeBouncer game to toys is by playing the old-school game Cootie by Hasbro. Counting cubes, blocks with numerals, and dice games are other ways to extend the play and practice numeral recognition and counting.
Ship Shape
Play Ship Shape to practice shape recognition. The game’s repetitive nature helps little ones solidify shape names by viewing them in different orientations, colors, and sizes. Turn the sound off and test your child’s shape knowledge by asking them to name the shapes that pop up on the screen!
A great way to connect our Ship Shape game to toys is by playing a shape match game. You can make one at home using index cards and colored markers. Building with shaped blocks helps children understand geometry and lets them see shapes in various orientations and as 3-D representations, for example, a square vs. a cube. Shaper sorters and shape puzzles are other ways to teach shapes and connect play!
Music Maker
Music Maker teaches kids about instruments, melody, and rhythm. Your tot can choose a guitar, keyboard, or drum to explore musically. Each press of a key or tap of the screen plays the following note in a familiar song. Or, with the drums, kids can explore rhythm and beats. Open up two devices and play music together, or your kids can create as a duo on individual instruments. There are also individual instrument games you can play. The individual games give kids a choice of playing a familiar song or creating their own.
Connecting our music games to toys is easy and fun! Break out some instruments and start playing! Encourage your child to create their music and explore what an instrument can do! If your kid is ready for more advanced musicality, play games using rhythm patterns or copying the rhythm and counting, create a personalized version of Name That Tune using their favorite songs, or have your child indicate which pitch is higher or lower.
Robot Ruckus
Get your techy kid to learn letters by playing Robot Ruckus! Your child is given two letter choices and has to choose the correct one five times. The repetition and the fact that letters are presented out of order help kids learn letters and not just memorize the order of the alphabet. The robots are fun and colorful and provide positive feedback!
To extend the play beyond Robot Ruckus, play letter match games with letter blocks or flashcards, or make your own! Send your child to find different letters in print around the house on a letter scavenger hunt. We also love these alphabet robot transformers by JOYIN!
There are so many fun ways to connect KneeBouncer games to toys you probably already have or games you can make at home! The key to purposeful play is to make learning playful and fun. Choose your kid’s favorite KneeBouncer game and discover the creative ways you can extend the play off the screen!
August 23, 2023, by L. Elizabeth Forry
