Here are the terrific new toys and games, our latest PAL Award winners, featured on my segment on NBC CT this morning. Kerry-Lee Mayland gave a great interview as usual, getting hands on with all the new products I showcased.
It’s Back to School and parents are asking what they can do at home to reinforce and support the learning in their child’s classroom. Here are some great new products that can do just that:
Disney Sofia the First Magical Tea Time Game by Wonder Forge (3 and up, $20)
- Don’t we girls all love a tea party!
- Learning colors, matching, pretend play storytelling and social language of manners
- Blow on your teacup or squeeze the magical tea pot to change the color in your cup and collect treats–key lime pie, chocolate covered strawberries– from the matching colored fairy headmistresses
See ‘n Spin Alphabet Rack by B Kids (12 months and up, $40)
- Kids love to spin the alphabet, searching for letters in their name, guessing what object might be pictured on the back–cute illustrations of Bebee and his friends
- Learning upper and lower case letters associated with words, preparing for reading
- Portable learning, moms love it’s self contained and no letter blocks to pick up
Loco Lingo Games by HABA ( 3 and up, $12.00)
- Trio of games that are fantastic for exercising listening skills
- Players listen intently to stories, rhymes, poems and riddles and want to be the first to grab the object or picture being named.
- Builds listening skills, inference as kids listen for contextual clues preceding the word, “I went to the sandbox and used a (shovel).” Child said, “I knew that before you even said it!”
- Children need to focus and listen to access the curriculum in the classroom
Racing Round Stacking Pyramid by Janod (12 months and up, $15.00)
- let’s not forget our toddlers, any room in the house is their classroom
- as they love to put things in and out of containers, why not turn them over to stack a story about silly animas driving up the road?
- Begin learning the language of math (increasingly important as children are required to write out how they got an answer, what worked and what didn’t): numbers, describe the action on the race track, match the puzzle
Artzooka! Recycle Sticker Creations by Wooky Entertainment (5 and up, $4.00!!)
- Fun craft projects that provide a platform for pretend play–collect toilet paper rolls, cans, and plastic bottles, use the 250 stickers to create castles, submarines or pirates
- Imagination, creative play as kids construct their projects and take off providing sound effects or stories using their props
Nancy B’s Science Club Moonscope and Star Gazer Activity Journal by Educational Insights ( 8 and up., $50)
- Can magnify the night sky up to 90x to view mountains on the moon or Saturn’s rings
- One in a series of science tools to get girls interested in science
- Language learning in recording observations, making comparisons, and creating a writing piece about your activity in the Star Gazer’s Journal–record the differences between a daytime and nighttime moon, describe your thoughts and feelings about seeing Saturn and Jupiter up close, write a poem or song about the night sky
