The Best 2021 Educational Toddler Toys From Kmart

If you follow my facebook page or know me in person then you'll be well aware that Kmart is one of my favourite stores. I'm pretty certain I could go there every single week and still find more awesome things to buy. I'm totally obsessed with their homewares and craft items and lately they've been bringing out some pretty awesome kids toys as well. Now that bub is a toddler I've been incorporating learning into her play as often as possible and Kmart seems to have hit the nail on the head with a great range of educational toys for toddlers. I'm all for handmade and high quality toys, but sometimes the cheaper ones have their place too {and lets face it sometimes cheaper is better for the budget too}. So here's my favourite toddler toys from the current range and how we use them for learning.

*While this post was originally published in 2016, I aim to update it regularly as Kmart expand and change their toy range, however as Kmart are constantly updating their product selection I cannot guarantee all products in this post will be readily available*

MY FAVOURITE EDUCATIONAL TODDLER TOYS FROM KMART {2021 EDITION}

KMART CHUNKY ALPHABET PUZZLE

The chunky alphabet puzzle is hands down my favourite educational kids item I've bought from Kmart probably ever. We're obviously using it for bub to learn the alphabet, but there are many more ways to use it than just as a puzzle. We made a game putting all the letters in an empty wipes container where bub pulled out a letter, then said what it was and found the right spot on the puzzle. We use it to match up with letters in her abc book. We also use the letters in sensory tubs and we use this alfoil puzzle hack to make it even more interesting learn phonics. There are so many possibilities beyond using it as an actual puzzle. 

KMART WOODEN BLOCKS

You really can't go past a good basic set of wooden blocks. There are so many open ended play opportunities. We often build towers, houses, rockets, trees, bridges and castles with our blocks. I also originally taught my daughter colours while we were playing with wooden blocks and we started introducing basic shapes this way too. They're also great for stacking, sorting and counting.

KMART MAGNETIC TILE BLOCK SET

Magnetic tiles are an amazing open ended toy for children of all ages. They can be used for building and imaginary play as well as teaching shapes, colours, literacy and numeracy skills. Check out this post for over 50 different ways to play with magnetic tiles. The Kmart magnetic tiles are a great cost effective introductory set to try out before potentially upgrading to other brands like Connetix or Magblox. 

3 IN 1 BLACKBOARD AND MAGNETIC WHITEBOARD

I bought this 3 in 1 blackboard for my niece at Christmas and have it on my list to buy for bub for her birthday. This product is great because one side is a magnetised whiteboard and the opposite side is a blackboard so there are many different ways for kids to be creative. It also includes chalk, pens and a set of alphabet magnets. The board can be used to learn the alphabet and practice letter recognition, to learn spelling and also for free drawing. I also love that its portable so it can be taken to appointments, restaurants and play dates.

COUNTING MONEY BOX

This counting money box from Kmart has also been one of my favourite purchases as we hacked it into a simple fine motor colour sorting activity. The money box is a great tool for fine motor play and learning money value as is, however when we first got it my girls were too young to understand the value of money so we changed it into a simple colour sorting activity instead. To hack it we simply removed the backing board, turned it around and then stuck coloured dot stickers above each column. The girls have used it with plugging flowers, paddle pop sticks and metal rimmed counters. It's also easy to switch the backing board around and turn it back into a money box which we'll be doing now that my big girl is learning the value of money. My friend Holly from Simplify Create Inspire also hacked the kmart money box into a barefoot investor spend, save, give money box for kids.

KMART TRAIN TABLE

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A post shared by Casey - Play Advocate 🌈 (@littlelifelonglearners) on Jan 10, 2020 at 1:41am PST

The Kmart train table is great as a train table {and also comes with a 70pc train set including tracks, bridges and trains}, however I think the real genius of the train table is that it can be converted into an inexpensive small world table. The simplest way to do this is to buy some artificial grass and get it cut to the size of the train table. From there you can add animal figurines, artificial plants, rocks etc to set up simple or elaborate small worlds. My friend Casey from Little Lifelong Learners has loads of ideas using their train table as a small world table and discovery table over the last few years, swipe across the image above to see just a few of her ideas and read this post to see exactly how to convert the kmart train table into a small world table.

KMART PLAY TRAY

The Kmart drinks tray, or as they're more popularly known the kmart play tray is my most favourite investment for play, so much so that we have three different colours. We've used ours hundreds of times over the years for various small world and sensory play set ups. The deep sides and metal base make it perfect for sensory play using either dry or wet materials.

PLAY ACTIVITIES USING KMART PRODUCTS

• Alfoil puzzle hack
• Baby doll shape matching activity
• Dinosaur egg small world
• DIY alka seltzer lava lamp
• Tape resist animal rescue
• Frog life cycle small world

For more Kmart play ideas join my Facebook Group Kmart & Ikea Play Hacks & Ideas where we share all sorts of ways to use Kmart and Ikea items for play. 

Disclosure - this post is not sponsored by Kmart in any way, I just spend most of my money there so thought I would share the things I've been buying lately. Please note Kmart are constantly updating their product selection and whilst I aim to update this post regularly, I cannot guarantee all products will be available. This post contains some affiliate links to non Kmart products for your convenience which means I may earn a small commission, at no cost to you, should you make a purchase.