I’m off to the FOX6 TV studio in Milwaukee to share my newest PAL Award winners that can help reinforce skills essential for classroom learning. Here are my Talking Points:

Play Your Way to Success in School

Background on Sherry:

Sherry Artemenko, Speech Language Pathologist and Toy Expert is here to share super fun toys to reinforce and build skills essential to classroom success, through creative play, games aucasinosonline, drawing and interactive Today I am featuring some of the PAL Award’s latest winners that spark smart play. Information on all these toys is on my website, playonwords.com

Silly Street Character Builders by Mindware, 4 years and up, ($29.99)

  • Little actors stretch their story telling skills, learn elements of a story.
  • Little animals with different facial expressions front and back/ outfits
  • Add accessories like scarf, cape, apron, camera or canteen
  • Choose setting from treehouse, city, jungle, bedroom, or cafe
  • Language of emotion: is cat confused or content? Giraffe sad or excited?
  • Express their emotions through animal characters…can better relate to others and regulate their own emotions

Available at Mindware. Click here

Crayola Ultimate Light Board, 6 and up, ($24.99)

  • Kids love to draw so they can create art, write message, trace picture
  • Can help strengthen little hands for hand writing
  • Use special Mini Gel FX Markers
  • Turn on light watch the magic…LED’s built into frame make colors glow
  • Teacher wanted to use it for announcing birthdays as kids arrive to class

Available at Crayola. Click here

Fire Station by Hape, 3 years and up, ($99.99)

  • Kids fascinated with fire trucks so perfect scenario to get their story start
  • Heliport, basketball court, garage, office, pole to slide down.
  • Accessories to expand the story: hose, computer desk, dog, fire hydrant
  • Ring alarm bell, come down the pole, open the garage doors for quick exit
  • Several kids can play at once to increase language learning, collaborative

Available at Hape. Click here

Blank Slate by USAopoly, 8 years and up, ($24.99)

  • Simple directions to this fill-in-the-blank fun
  • Takes some critical thinking, word association and a dab of EQ
  • Match another’s answer and win points
  • pick a word less obvious or common…
  • roller blades had 1 match but not roller skates, basketball court won over
  • Apples to Apples, try to match another player’s thinking-experiences and interests

Available at USAopoly. Click here

Leapstart 3D Learning System by Leap Frog,

  • Added new feature to its amazing interactive learning system
  • Pop up screen with 3D animation
  • Kids learn through many modalities: auditory, visual, tactile
  • Used book, “Shine with Vocabulary Language and Communication Skills”
  • Sight words, descriptive, position, nouns, emotion words/ Princess Power

Available at Amazon. Click here

Touch & Discover Sensory Turtle by VTech, 3 months and up, ($19.99)

  • VTech’s new baby products designed for enriched play through discovery
  • So much to explore and discover on this turtle
  • Maximum opportunity for parents to describe actions and parts
  • Colors, textures patterns, Peek-a-boo with legs and head hiding
  • Opposites: push/pull, long/short, in/out
  • Ball for catch, rolling grabbing
  • Yellow button: vocabulary, playful rhyming songs, sing-a-long fun

Available at Amazon. Click here

Sharingland Cardboard Playhouse Kits, All ages, ($99)

  • Could barely get this Epic Castle out of the box fast enough while 4 year-old slipped on his armor, helmet and shield, “Stand back! Slay the dragons!”
  • Didn’t stop talking the whole visit
  • Crowned himself king in charge of protecting the princesses–sister, mom
  • Dry erase marker to personalize, practice reading and writing
  • Teacher mom thought it would be a great reading nook for her classroom

Available at Sharingland. Click here