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I've found two a bit of a tricky age when it comes to toys, puzzles and learning games. There's so much aimed at babies involving sensory and tummy time and then it seems to skip to ages three and four with words, numbers and pre-school games with not a lot for that seemingly awkward age in between.
We spend a lot of time with Joshua reading, drawing and painting but we wanted more educational games and puzzles so, after much searching, we discovered Orchard Toys last summer and promptly found ourselves choosing between flashcards, cute jigsaw puzzles and fun games.
The best bit? You can search their products by age so I've put together five of our favourites that are brilliant for two-year-olds.
This is one of Orchard Toys newer games and one that has quickly become a favourite. My sister is a huge fan of Sloths and Joshua has picked up on that so this has been the go-to many times. Aimed for ages two-four, Sleepy Sloths is a fun performance game that encourages children to make sounds and perform while practising their listening skills. The aim of the game is to wake the sloths by picking up cards with suggestions such as barking like a dog or making a police car noise. If they turn a shh card then all the sloths remain asleep - it's a lot of fun and Joshua loves it.
Another newbie, First Lotto Sounds is fun, fun, fun! It's a sound game where players can make the noises themselves (which is what we do as it's hilarious) or you can use the Orchard Toys app to play alongside the game. You then just match the pictures to the playing boards. It also includes a six-piece puzzle for added playtime. This has become our storm game over recent weeks, I don't think there's anything better than cosying up with family and playing board games!
I love puzzles and Joshua started helping me with some at home so with his love of buses not letting up anytime soon, the Big Red Bus Puzzle was perfect for him. It's a super chunky floor puzzle with fifteen pieces featuring a big red bus! This has given hours of fun and once the puzzle is made, it's a great way to teach new words by getting Joshua to point out everything he sees on the bus image.
The chunky pieces are also wipe clean which is a dream with sticky toddler hands.
This is a super simple game that's great for hand-eye coordination with two ways to play with one or more players. For game one, you take it in turns to match and post the letters into the correctly coloured post box which has really helped with teaching Joshua to take turns. As he's still young we've only played it this way so far but if you want the game to be a little more advanced then players can pick a post box and post all the letters which match their chosen post box to win the game. It's a lot of fun and one we really enjoy playing.
The final recommendation is one that's seen a lot of love. The Mummy & Baby Jigsaw Puzzle is a six in one puzzle box with chunky pieces that are fab for little hands. They also wipe clean too! Featuring six much-loved animals such as bears, penguins and whales - the puzzle really helps to get those hands moving and you can encourage your little ones to say the names of the animals or the noises they make aloud too.
There are a whole host of excellent puzzles, games and more available from one year right up until eight years from Orchard Toys. It's a brand I know we'll be shopping with for many years to come. They're just fun, educational and they make great gifts too!
What games do you like to play with your little ones?
