Teaching Supplies Bring the Classroom Home

Parent involvement in a child’s learning can take many forms--almost all of them good. One form I think is very effective but often overlooked is the use of classroom curriculum materials at home. These materials are a great tool for reinforcing classroom learning, or for preparing a child who will soon begin school.

Many parents don’t realize that they have easy access to many of the same books, gadgets and other supplies used by teachers. In fact, some excellent curriculum supply stores on the Westside are open to the public.

Here are some interesting and reasonably priced teaching supplies I’ve found that are easily adaptable for home use:

For preschoolers, puppets are great for promoting active play. They help kids learn to communicate and are especially helpful for children with problems expressing themselves or talking about problems.

The best bargains are Big Mouth puppets at $5.95 each. They’re big, fluffy, colorful and easy to manipulate (no confusing finger holes). Big Mouths come in about 10 animal forms, including dragon, chicken, bear and frog.

Balls are a big part of young children’s play, and big rubber utility balls give the most bounce for the buck. They’re suitable for indoor or outdoor play and come in a variety of colors and sizes. For example, the popular 8 1/2-inch size costs $5.85.

“People-colored” art supplies are a hot item these days, probably owing to the multiculturalism trend. They’re great for toddlers but are suitable for any student’s art projects.

You’ll find people-colored paints ($2.50 a pint), crayons and markers ($3.75 per dozen), and construction paper ($5.95 for 60 sheets). Each product includes 12 skin tones--with names such as melon, peach, chestnut and gingerbread.

Math skills are becoming more necessary for academic and career success, so home study is crucial. My two favorite items are traditional but effective: flash cards and wipe-off books.

Depending on the child’s age and grade, you can work on addition, subtraction, multiplication or division--there’s a set of about 100 cards for each made by Ideal School Supply. Each set costs $5.95.

Wipe-off books, made by Trend Enterprises Inc., allow repeated math practice because they’re erasable (that is, so long as you use a wax crayon or grease pencil).

There’s a range of books for various ages and concepts, such as “Count to Ten” for ages 4 and 5, and “I Can Subtract” for ages 6 and 7. Each edition costs $2.95.

Studying science means getting to play with wonderful gadgets.

The magnifying glass is a standard in most classrooms from kindergarten through sixth grade because it’s portable and reveals otherwise unnoticeable worlds. About $3.75 will get you a decent model (2 1/2-inch diameter) to keep your child busy indoors or out in the yard.

Magnetism is also fun to learn about. A simple magnetic wand ($1.95) makes discovering magnetic items around the home seem like magic.

The Solargraphics Kit ($2.60) is fascinating: It uses sun-sensitive paper to produce “pictures” of objects placed on it. All you need is tap water, any object and about 10 minutes for easy developing.

Your child can stir up a storm--actually a tornado--with the Tornado Tube ($2.50). Take two plastic soda bottles, fill one with water, connect them with the tube and turn the filled one upside down. The resulting “tornado” is truly hypnotic (grown-ups are fascinated too).

The Bug Box is one of favorites. It contains about 50 big, rubber, very lifelike specimens of a variety of bugs and insects. There’s also a booklet that tells about each kind of bug and suggests a wealth of learning activities. The Bug Box costs $12.95.

American Teaching Aids offers a wide variety of charts and posters illustrating scientific topics and concepts, such as space travel, rocks and minerals, animals, pollution and the human body. They cost $1.29 to $1.99 each.

Geography is easier and more fun with some teaching supplies too.

Flash cards, for example, are as effective in this subject as they are in mathematics. A set of cards featuring U.S. states, their capitals and other facts made by Media Materials costs $6.95.

Map games are entertaining and hard to wear out. Educational Materials Associates makes a set of games focusing on different regions--Africa, Latin America or the United States. Each game includes several smaller games, a board, deck of cards and provisions for beginning, intermediate and advanced levels of play.

And, again, you’ll find a variety of geography-related charts and posters by American Teaching Aids, all in the $1.29 to $1.99 range.

So where do you find all this? I can recommend two curriculum supply stores on the Westside: Lakeshore Learning Materials at 8888 Venice Blvd. (310) 559-9630, and School Service Co., 647 S. La Brea Ave. (213) 933-5691.