Alphabet Toy Baby Blocks

Alphabet blocks are one of those timeless, classic toys that delight every generation. My first child is now nine years old, and I bought his very first set of ABC blocks when I was still pregnant with him.

I wanted my children to be able to play with toys that did not require batteries, flashy lights, or noise. I wanted them to develop a robust imagination and appreciation for simple entertainment.

Now that my oldest is nine, I have added five more children to our brood, and I still have that first set of alphabet blocks. We have added additional sets along the way, but the ABC blocks are always one of the first toys that we bring out when a new baby starts sitting up, and is ready to start playing with toys.

The first set of ABC blocks that I purchased were from Target. They were a nice sturdy set and came with a wooden wagon.

The blocks that are now my absolute favorite though are the Uncle Goose Blocks. Uncle Goose makes blocks in upper case, and lower case. Uncle Goose also has alphabet blocks in french, spanish, hebrew, italian, german, greek, chinese, russian, korean, polish, danish, japanese, and last, but not least, braille.

Whatever language you speak, or want your baby to learn, Uncle Goose has you covered.

All Uncle Goose blocks are handcrafted in Michigan from basswood. The ink used on the blocks is non-toxic and is nice and bright. Each block is a 1 3/4 inch cube.

There is texture on each block as the letter, number and animal pictured on the block is embossed.

Depending on which set you purchase, your Uncle Goose blocks will either come in a cloth sac, wooden wagon, or other container.

My children always love to check which animal goes with the letter they are looking at. This is a fantastic way for them to begin learning letter sounds.

ABC toy blocks are not only fantastic toys for babies and toddlers. I also use them with my pre-readers. We homeschool our children, so I teach everyone to read. I now use ABC blocks to help my children with learning the alphabet, learning letter sounds, and learning to blend sounds.

The animal pictured on each of the toy blocks corresponds with the letter sound. This gives your reader a great mind picture reference to help them remember each letter sound.

To teach blending of sounds with the ABC toy blocks, simply have the child say each individual letter sound while holding the letter block. Then have the child hold the blocks together as they practice blending the sounds.

For my children, holding onto the letters, and manipulating them helped the concept of blending sounds click much faster than if they were just looking at letters on a page.

There are all sorts of other baby blocks, and other toy blocks for your child to play with.

My babies and young toddlers really enjoy playing large cloth blocks. Some sets even have a bell or rattle inside to make a soft noise.

There are also shape sorters, which my toddlers love to play with. This is another one of those timeless toys that will keep your child occupied without all of the bells and whistles.

Fisher Price makes Baby blocks that are made from clear plastic with a toy inside. These are called Peek-A-Blocks. My babies really enjoy playing with these.

I always try to get down on the floor with my kids at least once a day and encourage them to build something truly amazing with their ABC blocks and other toy blocks.

I supply strong pieces of cardboard to place in between each layer of toy blocks to make the structure more steady. Over the years we have built amazing castles, beautiful barns, and tall skyscrapers with the blocks.

We always try to keep the building up until Daddy gets home at the end of the day.

I think the fact that I participate in the play time is what spurs my children on to enjoy playing with such simple, classic toys.

In a world where almost everything we encounter is computerized or automated, I want to make sure my children learn the pleasures of simple, old-fashioned entertainment.