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Preschool

9 best board games for preschoolers

An expert toy buyer dishes on the best learning board games for preschoolers.

By Amy Valm

9 best board games for preschoolers

best board games for preschoolers

Making learning fun

We went straight to the expert to compile this list of the best board games for preschoolers. Sandra Smith, the marketing product manager at Scholar's Choice, has been buying teaching and learning toys and games for 16 years. Here are her top picks!

9 best board games for preschoolersPhoto: iStockphoto

Alphabet Fun To Know Puzzles

Teaching letter recognition and early reading is a breeze with this 52-piece puzzle (which forms 26 mini puzzles, one for each letter) with photos of an item with it's name below and connecting pieces with corresponding letters. A for apple!


$16, scholarschoice.ca

9 best board games for preschoolersPhoto: Scholar's Choice

Snakes and Ladders

The classic game is a great way to get kids counting. "You can talk about odd and even numbers, patterns and counting by twos or threes," says Smith. 


$23, scholarschoice.ca

9 best board games for preschoolersPhoto: Scholar's Choice

Three Little Piggies logic game

These little piggies need help building their 3D puzzle-piece houses. But watch out—if you see the wolf, hurry up and get your piggy out of harm's way. This game is great for developing logic skills. 


$40, mastermindtoys.com

9 best board games for preschoolersPhoto: Mastermind Toys

POP for Letters game

Little learners can reach their hands into this cinema-style box to find 100 popcorn-shaped cards with upper and lowercase letters. It's a fun way to teach letter sounds and recognition. 


$15, scholarschoice.ca

9 best board games for preschoolersPhoto: Scholar's Choice

Smart Start Cheese Dip

In this spelling game, players use a mouse tail to hook cheese-shaped letters. It's great for practicing fine motor skills, too. 


$35, scholarschoice.ca

9 best board games for preschoolersPhoto: Scholar's Choice

Blue Orange Games Spot It! Jr Animals

Beautifully illustrated, each card features six cute animals for kids to spot. Flip two cards and have your little one quickly identify two matching images. They'll have so much fun, they won't even know they're improving their visual perception and cognitive skills.


$16, indigo.ca

9 best board games for preschoolersPhoto: Indigo

Ravensburger Premier Mots French Game

This puzzle is a fun way to quiz little ones on basic French words and helps wee linguists practice their fine motor skills as they spell out some bon mots by piecing together the colourful pieces. 



$18, scholarschoice.ca

9 best board games for preschoolersPhoto: Scholar's Choice

Let's Feed The Very Hungry Caterpillar game (is this the proper name?)

Based on Eric Carle's much-loved best-selling book, players move their caterpillar around the board to different pieces of fruit, stoping for a snack and collecting a butterfly puzzle piece as they move along. "If it's familiar, the child can pick out what colour caterpillar they want to use. It's about learning simple numnbers and it all goes back to one of their favourite stories." The game also encourages building skills and letter recognition. 


$23, scholarschoice.ca

 

9 best board games for preschoolersPhoto: Scholar's Choice

ThinkFun Zingo! Bingo!

Perfect for pre-readers, players match the picture to the word via cards with simple illustrations and a word below. "This is great because the word is on the card with the picture, so when your child sees the card, they'll know the picture and begin to recognize the words as well," says Smith. 


$30, mastermindtoys.com

9 best board games for preschoolersPhoto: Mastermind Toys

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