Long gone are the days when children would be lined up in strict rows in a big square classroom and made to recite their spelling, times tables, or the significant dates of the Civil War. In the modern era, education has taken on a new and multidimensional role, straddling the lines between play and learning, home and school, independence and socialization. However, in a market that is saturated with educational tools for teaching or engaging young people, how do you pick the best ones?

Below, you’ll find a brief list of some of the best tools for offering children a well-rounded view of the world, as well as the skills and abilities to navigate their way through it.

1. Good Ol’ Fashioned Books

Even with the advent of countless replacements for books in the past few years, there really is no replacement for the real thing. However, fortunately, gone are the day of stale books about Tommy and Jane going to the soda shop to spend a nickel – there are an unbelievable number of creative, beautiful, and diverse books for children and young adults to choose from.

You might want to pick books with stunning illustrations that will captivate children’s hearts and minds or choose a book with complex characters from diverse backgrounds that will open up their views on the world. Either way, you can’t go wrong with a good old-fashioned book.

2. Big-Screened Tablets

Computers that can move with children are possibly the best educational tool to come out of the twenty-first century so far. While desktop computers and laptops offered the opportunity to access the amazing resources of the internet, as well as develop digital skills, they kept little ones tethered to one spot. This isn’t great for young ones with lots of energy, and it also anchors imaginative practices to one place. On the other hand, tiny computers like smartphones don’t have the scope of space for imagination to roam free!

With a big tablet for kids, the best of both worlds has been achieved. Children can dive into the depths of the online world, enjoying engaging games, films, television shows, and activities, all while moving about the room and socializing.

3. Multimedia Playsets

Many feel as though when educating children, they have to choose between chunky, shiny, (often gendered) plastic toys and more wholesome formless sets of wooden blocks. That false dichotomy has been blown away in the era of multimedia playsets, which combine toys and objects of all types in order to provide a diverse and fascinating playscape for your young ones. These toys can also be used in lessons to represent objects for counting or figures in history.

Allowing young people to use their brains as well as their bodies in manipulating these collections of tactile toys is a great way to make sure that they are experiencing holistic and enjoyable learning!

The best part about all of these learning tools is that they can be used in conjunction with one another! There’s no limit to how you can combine tools for education so as to give young kids the best idea of what the world is really like.