November 2008 Notable Toys — Educational

The Pig is available in two sizes that can be stacked. The low one is for the child who has just learned to sit. The big one is for the older child, and once you stack them, they fit teenagers and grown-ups. It is nice to have an example of each animal, because the child grows along with them, and as a result they can be used over a long period of time. The six-layer Pig has a size that enables the child to sit on it while in movement, which enhances not only a child's balance but also the joint senses. Children can lie across them and have the backside of their bodies strengthenend, and children can exercise their arms through the pressure from their own body weight. Fine motor control can be stimulated by putting things into the pig's snout and picking them up again. Launch date: September 2008.

The Crocodile's most obvious function is as a staircase, which enhances a child's strength and balance. When turned upside down, there's an angled surface. The see-saw function appears when the crocodile is placed on its back and the child can walk/lie on its entire straight surface. The furniture will grow with the child given that the small child can muscle in on the low step and the higher steps are for the toddler. The crocodile has three seating levels for the small child and is splendid for the social dimension that two to three children can sit together on the same piece of furniture. There is also the option to stack them as a bench, which allows two heights. "bObles is a playful interior environment for children, with a design their parents would love to place within their homes," Director Mette Dyhrberg of bObles told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 2008.

Teach My Toddler is the first all-in-one learning kit for toddlers. The kit contains 17 coordinated teaching tools to help toddlers master the basics: alphabet, numbers, colors and shapes. It has been awarded Best Bet for Toy Report 2009 by the Canadian Toy Testing Council and voted "latest and greatest" product for 2009 by Canada's Neighbourhood Toy Association. USA Launch date: February 2009.

The “So Skip Counting” musical CD and companion workbook set features hip, musically relevant and mobile products that combine teaching with music. The math CD features original songs in 10 popular music genres: punk, folk, blues, funk, country, reggae, new wave, early '60s surf rock, classical ballad and electro pop. The introductory skip counting set, created after consultation with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the State of Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCE) also includes a workbook to practice and test acquired skills, a laminated 100 chart, a pencil and a portfolio. Launch date: September 2008.

My Smart Budget is a fun, parent-child interactive financial literacy program that trains kids as young as 8 to become Money Wise for Life™. Kids CREATE their budget; DECIDE to spend, save, share or invest; MANAGE their activity; and TRACK their results. Parents CREATE the budget; FUND the budget monthly; DELEGATE management and STAND BY to help. Professionally designed by Day Timer, the kits includes everything needed to get started. "Just like an adult, kids get to manage a real budget on expenses that are all about them while still under the tutelage of the parent. Well beyond an allowance program, the expenses the parent incurs for the child are delegated to the child to manage. No more kids asking for money everytime they want something. No more worried parents when they send their child off as a young adult," Creator Danielle Aguiar told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 2008.

Kimochis are small pillows with a feeling (happy, sad, silly, brave) printed on one side and a corresponding facial expression on the other. Each Kimochis plush character comes with a set of three feelings and a How-To Kimochis Feel Guide. The characters have a special pocket where kids can store their "Kimochis" — of feelings. Using the characters and their Kimochis, kids can get in touch with their emotions through puppetry and play. "Getting back to the basics by playing and communicating with Kimochis is a simple, yet powerful way to teach children how to: be aware of feelings, choose how to communicate in emotional moments, and redo mistakes. Children will be drawn to the fun, adorable, accessible characters. Parents will be drawn to the high-quality craftsmanship and the valuable educational content," Associate Susan Schroeder of Plushy Feely Corp. told TDmonthly. Launch date: August 2008.
— Amy of Coffee with the Mrs. reported that her son “loves his Kimochi Cloud doll and is already starting to use more words about feelings since he got the doll.” He has even improved his reading by identifying the words printed on the emotions.
—    Take It From Me’s Kristin used the emotions of her daughter’s Kimochi to help her deal with the complex emotions she was feeling about a recent move. The Kimochis were so successful, Kristin said, that: “Now every time my daughter starts to get upset, I refer to the Kimochis and looking for what she feels helps her to calm down and relax.”
Awards:   Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

A set of fifteen colorful 4" x  7-1/4" cards designed to keep babies interested and engaged. Early language will develop as children look, play, and are spoken to. Included is a parent card, which suggests talking points and learning games to play with baby. Launch date: January 2009.

When these lifelike, miniature plastic animals and dinosaurs embedded with barcodes are swiped with a scanner,  a pre-recorded voice offers acts about the creatures. Animal figures are available separately for $4.99 to $12.99 each.

Each 80+ page book is packed full of age-appropriate games, activities, account tracking and more to enhance the learning of the KidsWealth Program. Trackers include Game Tracker, Activity Tracker, and Money Tracker. Each tracker is suited for a different age range, the higher age range tracker being more advanced than the previous and each tracker teaches about the five KidsWealth accounts and contains activities asking for decision-making, goal setting, and plan execution.

In the footsteps of the first discoverers of Lascaux, this unique and unusual visit goes into the original cave, closed to the public for over 40 years — an immersion into one of the most ancient periods of history, corresponding with the emergence in Europe, a little over 35,000 years ago, of a new human species, Homo sapiens sapiens, modern man. "Lascaux, A New Look" offers an interpretation that is original, rigorous and scientific, an interpretation that encourages further discovery and lets the imagination run wild. This spectacular film recreates the experience afforded to the few visitors who were allowed to go room by room and panel by panel into the original cave. Running time is 53 minutes. "As far as we know, there are no other DVDs in the marketplace with such comprehensive detail on this particular subject," President Amy Woodworth of Crystal Productions told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 17, 2008.

This weather system includes four functional weather instruments: wind vane, anemometer, thermometer and rain gauge. Launch date: November 2008.

Kids can create their own ancient Egyptian pyramid, scare friends with the built-in mummy sounds, and use the built-in hieroglyphic decoder to read and write their own hieroglyphics — all while learning about ancient Eygpt. Launch date: November 2008.

Kids can learn all about mummies while creating their own from the inside out. With this project, children wrap, paint and display their mummy in the provided carved stone resting place. Launch date: November 2008.

This educational game for one to four players lets individuals create their own scale-model hurricanes. It includes a board game and activities, plus a 29-page fun fact booklet. Launch date: November 27, 2008.

The Lightning Lab simulates lightning and real storm sounds, and includes a 22-page booklet. "The fun and fact booklet not only guides you through using your Lightning Lab, but it's full of fun and interesting facts about the weather," Janice Hudy, sales and marketing assistant for POOF-Slinky, told TDmonthly. Launch date: November 2008.

This set allows one to build and display all nine planets of the solar system. It includes a 64-page fun and fact booklet that shows how to conduct more than 20 fascinating experiments with the completed models. Launch date: November 2008.

Kids can project their own scientifically accurate views of the ever-changing night sky, and will learn to locate actual stars and constellations. Launch date: November 2008.

This beautiful 3-D mobile of the solar system is easy to balance and hang, and comes with glow-in-the-dark paint for spectacular night viewing. Launch date: November 2008.

Here's a safe and fun way to learn the basics of chemistry without blowing up the house. This kit uses common household substances to make fun things such as rock candy, super bubbles, molding clay, flip-flop slime and more. Launch date: November 2008.

Cryptography, the spy science of secret messages, is everywhere. Kids can learn the secrets to keeping secrets with this product, using codes, cyphers and hidden messages to communicate. "[It] comes with a step-by-step, easy-to-read manual that will guide you through fingerprinting," Janice Hudy, sales and marketing assistant for POOF-Slinky, told TDmonthly. Launch date: November 2008.

Kids can study the basics of chemistry while creating five different types of ooey, gooey ooze: sewer slime, wiggly wonder, power putty, flip-flop slime and glooze. Launch date: November 2008.

This kit introduces the basics of electric circuitry. It can be used as a telegraph, or kids can change the circuit and use it as a bell or buzzer. The battery is not included. Launch date: November 2008.

No tools are needed to make this powerful electric motor that powers its own motorboat and teaches the basics of chemistry. The battery is not included. Launch date: November 2008.

Kids can build a working crystal radio that will pick up radio stations and allow them to experiment with radio waves while learning chemistry basics. No batteries or soldering are needed. Launch date: November 2008.