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Most preschoolers are kinesthetic learners (that is, very hands-on) and love the bright, colorful Melissa and Doug play food found in nurseries and preschools. The kids learn a lot just from making up their own games; they’re keen observers and imitators. You’d be amazed to see them practicing the cooking and cleaning tasks they’ve seen mom or dad perform in the real kitchen, murmuring phrases to themselves like they hear them do “hmm…need 2 cups milk…milk, milk, milk” or “it burning oh, no, oh, no!”

Kids can learn even more through adult interaction with them in their games. Two heads are better than one and yes, you do have an imagination just as good as your child’s. You can add in degrees of stimulating complexity to his games that he’s never thought of. For instance, he or she may not yet have caught the resemblance between stacked sofa pillows and an oven, but if you build one with him and “bake” the play food breads or cakes inside you teach him so many things.

Talk as you do it, don’t be afraid to throw in words he doesn’t know yet, to build his vocabulary. This will flow naturally if you’re really getting into the spirit, “Hmm…this oven will burn the cookies if it doesn’t have a thermostat, “ (pick up small block, puts it on top), “there, that’s better, that’s the thermostat.”

Kids at this age are just sponges for new words. Even if they don’t speak them back right away, their eager mind still snaps them up and starts processing them. Studies show that the number of different words they’re exposed to between 0-3 years of age is directly related to how broad their vocabulary is later in life.

If a child is not naturally a verbal learner, but is more kinesthetic, getting involved with his play food is a perfect way to build language skills. Talk to him about what he’s doing, in an upbeat, fun and energetic tone. Laugh with him and tease him, say things a few different ways so he hears several words for the same thing. It’s a great way to expose him to new vocabulary in a way he enjoys.

Play food is good, too, for helping kids practice pre-math skills like sorting, colors, shapes, and identification of objects, and even counting. With brands like Melissa and Doug, or Learning Resources, it usually comes with a handy storage container to sort or count into. Personally, I like the Melissa and Doug brand because it is high quality and they package it in attractive reusable containers, unlike some of the other brands. But you can also use any container from around the house. Here’s a sample conversation that develops all these skills and more:

“Ok, where are the chocolate chip cookies? No, silly, that’s the cake, yes, it’s a baked good, but it’s not cookies. Yes, those are the cookies!  Don’t they look scrumptious, absolutely super delicious and full of warm chocolate goodness? Oh, that’s right they’re not warm yet, we have to put them in the oven. Where are the other play food cookies? Yes, the sugar cookies. Let’s bake them, also. Ok, now, we have to set the timer and wait for them to cook.”

(At that point, you can practice counting, if you want. “How many seconds should they bake? Let’s count ten seconds. One, two…” Or go ahead and set a real timer for five minutes and practice some sorting and colors.)

“What can we do while we’re waiting? Let’s gather up the vegetables. Where did they all go? Here’s the lettuce and the tomato, where’s the carrot? Let’s look for it. Do you see it? Where could it be? Let’s search for it. Do you remember what the carrot looks like, it’s orange, and pointy, and about this long, or is it this big, (arms wide) no, right, it’s pretty small and little (move hands back to the actual size of the carrot), hmmm…is it beneath the sofa? No… Is it behind the sofa? No… Is it under this book? …oh, there it is! I’ve spotted it! Do you see it too?”

“That’s right! Way over there in the corner! How did it get so far away? These vegetables, they like to wander off. Ok, look, now we have some vegetables, the lettuce, the potato, the tomato, and the carrot. Where are the fruits? Here’s a fruit, what’s it called? Did you say apple? That’s right. It’s the same color as the tomato! What color is that? That’s right, red! Let’s find all the red foods. Do you see another one? Great! That’s right! The ketchup is red. Is there anything else? I see something over there, what is it? Uh-huh, it’s a cherry. Look at all these red foods. How many do we have? Let’s count them… one, two, three, four. That’s right!”

“Ok, that’s the timer! Let’s check on those scrumptious chocolate chip cookies and see if they’re done…”

In just five minutes of play, the child has practiced colors, sorting, remembering something, and has heard synonyms for size (long/big, small/little) and location (under/beneath) and other synonyms as well (baked good/cake or cookie, look for/search for; look/see/spot). He’s practiced counting and he’s exercised his imagination pretending the sofa pillows are an oven. He’s heard and enjoyed the rhythm of language through big words like ’scrumptious’ and ‘delicious’ and through goofy utterances like “these vegetables like to wander off”.

It’s just a few of the ways that play food can be used as more than just a toy, but as a real enhancement to a preschool education. The kids love it, and it is fun for adults too. So, if you’re looking for toys that are fun and educational at the same time, try this! While my personal favorite is Melissa and Doug, other brands include Learning Resources, Girl Gourmet, Step2, and Haba. The important thing is to get involved with the child. You can help turn play food into a real educational opportunity. You’ll both be glad you did.