Leah P's Top Picks for Preschoolers

Our recommendations this week will cover the Preschool Years. Here's my Top 5:

1. Scholastic Storybook Treasures DVDs. We rent these from the library and my kids love them. They are short videos of classic children's books. They add animation to the original words and artwork. Super fun. (4 disc set on Amazon for $19.49)

2. Melissa & Doug See & Spell. This is great for practicing spelling without having to know how to spell the word. And it uses lowercase letters, which my boys need practice on. ($15.10 on Amazon)

3. Melissa & Doug Pattern Blocks and Boards. Another Melissa & Doug toy that we like here at our house. This toy is good for fine motor skills and it's fun. ($13.55 on Amazon)

4. The Jesus Storybook Bible. This is the Bible we read out of for Family Bible Time. I like the pictures and the way each story points pretty explicitly to Christ. We have the original Bible, but I just saw that there is a Deluxe Edition out that includes a complete audio CD. ($16.49 on Amazon)

5. Bob Books. These books would be for the older end of Preschoolers. Bob Books are for beginning readers. The Beginner Set includes 12 books. Each book has simple illustrations with very simple sentences. Each book introduces new sounds and builds on the last. I tried these books with Samuel about a year ago when he was 3.5 years old. He knew his letters and their sounds, but he was not ready for the next step. I returned them to the library and put them in the back of my mind. Then about a month ago, I thought I might try them again. I checked them out from the library and we've had great success. Samuel gets so proud of himself when he can read a book. It really builds his confidence. And he is making big steps in learning how to read. ($9.93 on Amazon)

What about you? Any recommendations for a preschooler?