A Guide to Educational Wooden Toys

When it comes to our children, we want to consider all of the factors that contribute to their development and well-being when choosing their products. Our wide collection of educational wooden toys for kids and toddlers makes one of these many tough choices easier, offering our kids eco-friendly, time-honoured toys that will spark their imaginative minds and endure through the (sometimes messy) creative process.

As a family business, we at Alex & Moo have curated an excellent selection of wooden toys to provide the best possible, most educational play experience for children while also limiting our carbon footprint. With our collection of wooden toys, parents can be sure that they’re doing the best they can for their children and the planet!

What Are Educational Toys?

Wooden toys have been around for centuries and have stood the test of time for a reason. They are naturally eco-friendly (often made by hand), physically durable and versatile in their functions. They are also typically made of larger, block-style pieces, which reduce the hazard of choking common with many toys.

Of course, wooden toys create an atmosphere for children to play and have fun, but with learning and knowledge development at the forefront of parents' concerns, wooden toys provide a perfect playground for both fun and educational growth.

Why Are Educational Wooden Toys Important for Toddlers?

Wooden toys are educational in their very nature, offering children a tactile way to explore the world around them. As toys for toddlers are often one of the first ways they learn about cause and effect, educational wooden toys offer an engaging and interactive space for this. Wooden blocks help children to understand spatial awareness, as shape sorting encourages problem-solving skills, and simple puzzles help to develop fine and gross motor skills.

Educational wooden toys also encourage imagination and creative play, allowing children to express themselves in ways they may not be inspired to otherwise. Wooden toys stimulate a child’s senses, allowing them to explore their surroundings through touch and sound, without filling in the blanks for children like other toys on the market. Wooden toys, in their many varieties, give children the foundation to play, create and problem-solve independently – all while being eco-friendly. They help children to make connections between what they see and do every day, aiding in their overall development.

The Main Benefits of Educational Wooden Toys

Eco-Friendly and Open-Ended

Wooden toys are educational and provide children with safe and stimulating surroundings to discover and learn. Rather than completing actions for our children, they are open-ended tools that leave the idea-forming and creativity to their users. 

As we’ve stated, the benefits of educational wooden toys are vast and include being eco-friendly and sustainable, versatile for all ages and durable for long-term use. But wooden toys have a direct impact on the minds of children, providing benefits far beyond lasting a few years longer in the toybox.

Nurturing Children's Innate Drive to Play 

A toy should feel like a friend to our kids, inspiring imagination and exploration of the world around them. Open-ended wooden toys offer countless opportunities for a child to take a simple object and create an imaginative play scenario, as opposed to “entertaining toys” that amuse children in a much less engaging way. Instead of flashing and ringing in a child’s face, stimulating them externally, educational toys ignite stimulation from within the child themselves. 

Why do babies and children need toys? Because it is how they learn about the world around them – and wooden educational toys make an excellent choice for their longevity, educational value, and tactile qualities. They are timeless pieces brought to life with nothing but a child’s imagination and stories – something we at Alex & Moo know is superiorly precious. 

Help With Motor Development

It’s important that children advance both their fine and gross motor skills as they play. When interacting with smaller toy pieces such as blocks or puzzle pieces, children develop fine motor strength in small muscles through the act of gripping and releasing that they may not engage in other scenarios. Alternatively, larger, loose wooden toy pieces stimulate gross motor skills. For example, running and jumping with a wooden toy racecar can help the child strengthen their large muscles to propel themselves forward.

Help With Cognitive & Problem-Solving Skills

The skills that the brain uses to think, reason, remember, focus and problem-solve are of the utmost importance to all of us. So, of course, it’s especially essential that children develop these important skills as they grow. Even as adults, play encourages learning and development, helping us to find out-of-the-box solutions to problems. For a young child, play is the primary place that this is discovered. 

Often coming in the form of puzzles, building blocks or educational games, wooden toys provide various ways to engage and develop children’s cognitive skills. By learning how to identify shapes, sizes, colours and numbers, children learn how to exercise understanding and control over tools – valuable skills that they will continue to develop over the course of their lives. 

Our Favourite Educational Wooden Toys

Now that we understand the expansive benefits of educational toys, let's explore some of the stars of our Alex & Moo wooden toys. While even the simplest wooden toy provides endless opportunities to the creative mind of a child, some of our favourite products range from coloured blocks to imaginative sets.

Tender Leaf Toys | Fire Engine – This colourful and fun fire engine set is detailed and includes many accessories for your child to create endless scenarios.

Grimm’s | Square Mosiac 36 Pieces - Pastel – This aesthetic block set will inspire children to build anything they can conjure up, from gates and fences to castles and houses – all while developing their motor and cognitive abilities.

Kinderfeets | Cotton Natural Tent – Provide your children with the ultimate play fort with this wooden and cotton tent. The possibilities of what could go on in or around this structure are endless.

Tender Leaf Toys | Woodland Animals Set – This colourful set for ages three and up brings your child’s favourite woodland animals into their play space. 

Tender Leaf Toys | Doll House Children's Room Furniture Set – This full set provides active engagement and entertainment for hours, and is suitable for all wooden doll houses. 

Grimm's | Small Wooden Buttons - Pastel (Set of 24) – These wooden buttons are ideal for sorting, stacking, and imaginary play!

Grapat | Bowls and Marbles – This set inspires children to sort shapes and colours to no end.

Fabelab | Organic Dress Up - Moon Fairy Wand & Tiara Set – Set the scene for creative, fairy-filled play with this want and tiara. 

At Alex & Moo, we believe educational wooden toys are essential for helping children and toddlers grow and develop. Our collection of wooden puzzles for kids is designed to help nourish your child’s creativity, curiosity and learning – all while providing hours of fun along the way. Contact us for more information on our range of wooden toys today.