The 2012 holiday shopping season is gearing up! Many people have already started hitting the stores, and those who haven’t are at least trying to come up with great gift ideas for the kids in their lives. This holiday season, give a gift that is both educational and fun! These top educational toys for preschoolers 2012 all make excellent gift choices for chidlren.
5 Educational Toys for Preschoolers for 2012
The LeapFrog LeapPad2 Explorer
is going to be one of the hottest educational toys for preschoolers this season, so grab it while it’s still on the shelves. We talked about all the great features of the Leap Pad 2 in another post, but in case you missed it, here are a few of the highlights:
- Features a library of over 325 titles, with more added frequently.
- Comes in pink or green.
- Features a front AND back camera, so your child can capture the world in 360 degrees!
- Teaches thousands of skills, from reading to language to math to health.
If your child loves to play school, they’re go nuts for the Learning Resources Pretend and Play School Set
. It features everything kids need to create their own miniature classroom. Comes with: gradebook, stickers, hall passes, clock, bell, dry erase board, handpointer, crayons, double-sided calendar, double-sided map, and more. When they’re done playing, the set folds up flat for easy storage.
Building blocks are one of the best educational toys for preschoolers because they inspire so much creativitiy and imagination. They’re also fantastic for fine motor skills. While little hands may be too uncoordinated for tiny LEGO pieces, they’re just right for LEGO Duplo Building Blocks 
.These blocks are sized just right for preschoolers. With tons of different sets to choose from, Duplo offers something for every child.
Fisher Price’s Little People toys have always been a huge hit in our house. Children can use the myriad of different sets to create their own scenes, act out issues that are on their minds, and learn about social interactions. The little girl in your life will certainly love the Fisher-Price Little People Disney Princess Songs Palace
! It features seven palace play areas and several of the Disney Princesses.
Music not only soothes the wild beast (or post-nap, wild preschooler!), it’s also a fantastic tool for sensory integration skills. Symphony in B Music Toy
lets children become leaders of an orchestra and teaches them about 13 different musical instruments! They’ll also learn how all the elements come together to create songs. This educational toy for preschoolers is also selling out pretty quickly, so it’s a good idea to snag yours while it’s in stock.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.