Today’s newest educational and developmental toys turn playtime into
a learning opportunity through games, mazes, puzzles and videos that entertain
while helping children improve their cognitive, perceptual, sensory, memory
and motor skills.
The Touch
Building a Better Brain
Anthony Innovations’ newest version of The Touch
($29.99) (ToyShow)
challenges players to a test of time and wit while developing fine motor
skills, tactile awareness and cognitive memorization. Players race against
the clock to match playing cards to detailed game pieces, such as a giraffe,
space shuttle, football helmet, etc. to earn points. But there’s a catch
– players must reach into a dome and try and find the right game piece
using only their hands. The game progresses as each player tries to fill
up various categories by collecting and trading pieces. What players don’t
realize is that behind all the fun they’re actually building neuro-pathways
in the brain while visualizing pieces.
Noah, The Creature Teacher
Timeless Classic Meets Modern Creativity
Inspired by the story of Noah and the Ark, Noah, The Creature
Teacher™ by Jazz Toys (ToyShow)
is an easy-to-learn game that features a 12-inch long plastic ship, a set
of 26 pairs of jungle animals, two wild tokens (Noah and the Dove) and four
reference cards. Children take turns asking each other for animals and feel
inside the ark for the animal they are trying to pair, which builds tactile
recognition. The player with the most pairs wins. Handy reference cards
tell how animal names are spelled and alphabetically sorted. The box, directions
and reference cards are included in seven languages – creating a unique
multicultural product. The game recently hit retail shelves last month with
a retail price of $49.95. Seven additional creature sets will be available
beginning in winter 2004 with the release of Prehistoric Creatures.
Baby’s First Impressions
Videos Encourage Learning
Designed to help infants and
toddlers learn basic concepts like colors, numbers, letters and even languages
like Spanish, French or German, Small Fry Productions’ Baby’s
First Impressions (ToyShow)
video series uses bright colors, upbeat music and familiar objects to
encourage learning. Three of their newest videos ($15.95) include Shapes,
Colors and Animals.
Spaghetti Legs
Mazes Twist and Twirl Children toward Learning
Known world-wide for creating superior quality bead and wire
mazes, Educo’s (ToyShow)
three-dimensional mazes help children develop early learning skills while
encouraging cooperative play. Their Spaghetti Legs Table
($144) offers floor level play for toddlers while older children can explore
the bead and wire maze at tabletop level. Five play wires form a ring
around a figure 8, while three wires hide a row of tiny beads that peaks
out from inside a nest of colorful wooden rings in Ring Around
a Row-sy ($62.99).
Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle Little Star ($55) features four brightly colored
play wires that reach toward the sky as children turn the handle of the
see-through musical element to hear “Twinkle Little Star.” Children can
pull the flower puzzle beads apart, zoom them along the wires and hook
them back together again.
