Until earlier this week, when our electricity was restored following the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, family time was all about board games, crafts and anything that could be played by firelight. While those first few rounds of Candyland were doable, the novelty soon wore off. (I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t envisioning an escape plan–for one.) And with school closed for more than one week, I began seeing signs of brain drain I hadn’t seen since summer vacation. Before I was ready to throw my hands up, our mailman delivered a welcome treat: a trial sample of Little Passports, one of the more entertaining boredom busters we’ve seen in a long time. This subscription-based service lets kids ages 7-12 play armchair traveler
educational toys Archive
Next week, my 4-year-old heads back to preschool. That means it’s time to brush up on sharing, taking turns and all those social skills that have become a bit rusty since June. (Sure, she’s had plenty of practice with big sister this summer, but sibling rivalry eventually takes its toll.) On a rather humid, late-summer afternoon, we decided to stay indoors and put those character-building skills to the test with a brand-new board game. Perfect for ages 3 and up, Animal Soup is a wacky mix-and-match game that rewards astute players with entertaining results. The premise of this no-reading-required game is simple: Be the first person to correctly pair different animal tops and bottoms with similar colored backgrounds, and you win. If your child is
Now that my 4-year-old is a fully fledged preschooler, we’re looking forward to an exciting year when she’ll have a chance to master all sorts of skills. From coloring in the lines, to putting letters together to form sounds and words, there are no shortage of activities to help her learn and grow. And while my daughter has taken to certain things, like completing puzzles and dressing her Calico Critters, I notice that she shies away from things that frustrate and challenge her, such as removing stickers from their backing (they tend to rip if she’s not too careful). To help fine-tune those dexterity skills, we hear that lacing is a great trick, and the new Lacing Peacock from Hape Toys seems like the ideal
Sometimes, my 2nd grader likes to speak backwards–not facing away from me, but mixing up the order of her words. She, of course, thinks it’s hysterical; I find it maddening, especially by the end of the day. Because she gets a kick out of making us work to figure out exactly what she’s saying, it’s a real power kick…for a 7-year-old. But I figure there’s got to be a positive side to her punchy behavior. Maybe this strange sense of little kid humor was the inspiration for Sentence Shuffle Fun Deck. Housed inside a Band-Aid-style box are 56 illustrated cards containing a bunch of words that are out of order (for instance, “scaredy cat is a Linda.”) Players must then unscramble the words to form
I must confess: I am a weather geek. Nothing gives me quite a thrill as the words “five-day forecast.” Just ask my husband. He says I refer to rain as “precip” (do I really?), and that I smile when I hear the weather man say, “High pressure will dominate.” Naturally, when we had children, I hope to spread my love of all things weather and eventually cultivate my own little storm chasers. What better way than with a kid-friendly weather station? If you’re looking for a last-minute holiday gift for a kid who’s more at home outdoors than in, we predict you’ll love the Storm Chaser Portable Weather Pod. Part of the Backyard Safari Outfitters collection, this handy gadget goes wherever the wind takes you
My 3-1/2-year-old is fascinated with puzzles. She started out with simple 3- or 4-piece wooden models whose knob-handle pieces made them easy to complete. Before long, she was moving on to puzzles with more pieces, especially the ones that had sounds and other bells and whistles. I notice there’s a particular one at our local library that she favors: a maze of animals whose tummies get filled with tiny marbles by using a magnetic wand. Each time she “feeds” the hippo, she shouts out in jubilation. I’m impressed with her persistence, as it wasn’t too long ago when she would have given up and cried if she wasn’t successful right away. Practice and patience are two things I’m trying to teach my girls, and I’m
My 3-year-old is learning French in her preschool. (When I was 3, the only French I could master was in the form of fries.) Today, exposing a child to her diverse, multicultural surroundings has become the norm, beginning well before the school-aged years. And since research shows that younger children demonstrate a natural aptitude for learning a second language, it helps to look for entertaining ways to cultivate this love of learning for your little one. Any parent who’s already familiar with the Little Pim line of educational DVDs will find the brand-new board book line to be a natural extension. And even if you don’t know the charming little star of this series, you’re bound to find a new learning partner for your preschooler.
My 7-year-old has just started getting the hang of Hangman. I knew that day would be coming once coloring books and makeshift games of Tic Tac Toe on restaurant playmats quickly lost their allure. Now that she’s become a solid reader, it’s a great way to build on her growing vocabulary and keep her motivated to read for pleasure. For kids who love a good game of words, but may not be ready for Scrabble, comes Flip to Win Hangman, a portable game that works just as well while waiting for dinner to arrive, as it does traveling to Grandma’s. I like that kids can turn over each letter possibility as they fill in the corresponding answer on the dry-erase board; having the alphabet front