I’m excited to share some great toys and games today on FOX6 TV “Real Milwaukee.” Tune in Monday from 9-10:00 to see these PAL Award winners, fun products to keep reading and writing skills sharp over the summer:
Toys and Tips on How to Keep Reading and Writing Skills Sharp Over the Summer
Rory’s Story Cubes–Scooby Doo by The Creativity Hub, 6 yrs and up, $9.99
Each set has 9 cubes with 6 sides of images, some obvious, concrete and some abstract.- Some kids go 3 dimensional, placing the lightning or bird flying over on another cube
- “Max” set great for kids with special needs.
- Licensed products, like “Scooby–Doo” solve your own mysteries–is a favorite in 1st grade classroom
- Excellent vehicle for storytelling and then writing out your story with the visual prompts
Bring Your Own Book by Gamewright, 12 years and up, $14.99
Great family game- Everyone brings a book to game table
- Read a prompt card, look through their books for winning response
- “Name of a Fast Food Restaurant” “First thing you say when you get up in the morning.”
- Reinforces reading comprehension, processing, association
Alex Toys Little Hands Big Artist Marker and Crayon Kits, 3 years and up, $14.50
Drawing strengthens muscles for writing, makes kids more confident and fluent when they start their inventive spelling- Kits have pictures to color in, trace lines, blank sheets
- Portable in own carrying case
Alphabet Woods by SimplyFun, 5 years and up, $28
Take a walk in Alphabet Woods, building trees with letters in alphabet order- Can play a branch letter which links the trees but maintains alphabetical order
- Collect little animals after each letter you play
Smartscope by Ravensburger, 8 years and up, $44.95
Collect specimens, put under the lens, add your device on top, take pictures- Can’t help comparing before and after, “pollen was woven with hairs on it.”
- Get out a notebook and record your observations and descriptions
Better Builders Emotions by Guidecraft, 2 years and up, $39.99
30 pieces of interchangeable bodies, faces, hair, feet fit magnetically- 6 faces express different emotions well-known to kids: happy, sad, angry, surprised, confused and scared
- Sparks conversation about feelings, situations and behavior
- Might use them to talk through a day at camp or playdate, then write a few lines about how it felt
Q’s Race to the Top 
by EQtainment, 3-12 years of age, $24.99
- These 2 products help build EQ Emotional Intelligence, which we can build with kids, and is linked to future success
- We can increase a child’s EQ by helping them name, identify, and regulate their emotions.
Janod Splash Adjustable Easel, 3 years and up, $89.99
3 year-old was finding the letters in her name w/ Splash Magnetic Letters- 5 year-old writing her name, drawing a house with a stove and broccoli.
- Blackboard on back, roll of paper on top so several kids play at once
