November 2010 New Specialty Toys — Educational

The reproducible pages in this resource can be used to create a class set of all 12 books in the Sing Along & Read Along with Dr. Jean series. Students can personalize their very own readers and then use them for repeated reading practice as they sing along or read along in class or at home. The set includes engaging activity ideas for each title to promote an interactive learning experience and reinforce many early childhood concepts.

Kids can use this decorative computer paper to personalize and jazz-up newsletters, announcements, awards, writing center prompts and more! 50 8 1/2" x 11" sheets are included per package.

This motivating bookmark is designed for celebrations and reading rewards, with an added bonus message: make a difference by living green. It comes in a pack of 30 bookmarks, so every student can learn about taking care of the environment while reading various books. "These bookmarks not only promote an eco-friendly lifestyle, but are made with 20 to 28-percent post-consumer waste material," Creative Teaching Press Marketing Specialist Lauren Tuculescu told TDmonthly.

The innovative READ workbook series is expertly designed for beginning readers. Each READ grade level offers a Step In workbook with shorter stories and simpler sentences and a Step Up workbook with stories and sentences that are a bit longer. Both options are specifically written to support beginning readers as they read, explore, and discover early reading success. "The Step Up, Gr. K–1 workbook features an exciting combination of learn-to-read stories, engaging questions to build vocabulary and spark discussion, and dynamic story-based activities," Creative Teaching Press Marketing Specialist Lauren Tuculescu told TDmonthly.

Kids can celebrate special occasions and great accomplishments with these whimsical crowns. The adjust-to-fit crowns measure 6.25" x 24," and the set includes 30 crowns per package. "Rather than a birthday sticker or button, these colorful crowns truly make the birthday boy or girl feel like royalty!" Creative Teaching Marketing Specialist Lauren Tuculescu told TDmonthly.

This 12-book set of readers is designed to help alleviate children's fears by providing a fascinating, up-close look at how "scary" creatures live and why people do not need to be afraid of them. Featuring the magnificent images by Dwight Kuhn, one of America's leading nature photographers, these readers aim to help children appreciate the positive contribution animals make to our world. The text includes sensible precautions people should take when interacting with the animals to avoid being harmed. The included two-CD set features audio read-alongs to complement the readers with 12 bonus tracks featuring comprehension questions based on information found in each book, and wait time is provided to pause the CD to allow students time to recall what they have just heard or read and to then verbally respond. Following the pause, the answers are given so that students can check their responses.

Teachers can welcome new students with this back-to-school Web-themed display. Use the colorful pieces to promote an interactive learning environment while introducing students to the latest trend in Internet-based communication. Each bulletin board set includes a “Welcome!” sign, a “Class Web Page” chart, 30 student web page headers and four customizable web buttons. "This product is trendy, and speaks to students on a level they can relate to and enjoy," Creative Teaching Press Marketing Specialist Lauren Tuculescu told TDmonthly.

Writing Boosters is a comprehensive, supplemental writing program carefully aligned to the Core Curriculum. The program contains a CD, wall posters, story cutouts and 30 pages of activities and strategies. The CD is a dramatic reading of the story with sound effects to engage students. "This is a 'Pick Up and Teach Product', ready for teacher use right out of the box," Bruce Brown, President  of World Class Learning Materials told TDmonthly.

This third and final volume of the "Earth Heroes" books features the youth and careers of eight of the world’s greatest environmentalists who championed the protection of wildlife. It includes the historic and contemporary figures of William Hornaday (saved the bison from extinction), Ding Darling ("A Duck’s Best Friend"), Rachel Carson (author of Silent Spring), Roger Tory Peterson ("Inventor of the Modern Field Guide"), R.D. Lawrence ("Storyteller for Wolves"), E.O. Wilson ("Lord of the Ants"), Jane Goodall ("Champion for Chimps"), and Iain and Saba Douglas-Hamilton ("Saving the Elephants"). This highly readable volume with illustrations and photographs calls attention to the waves of influence that spread from the ideas and actions of these heroes for the Earth.
Awards: 2010 Mom's Choice Award - Gold Medal

In this second of the BLUES Go Birding series, five adorable cartoon bluebirds go on another bird watching adventure. This time they follow in the footsteps of the famed Roger Tory Peterson, and see birds on every coastline of America. Filled with both information and entertainment, the BLUES are a delightful introduction to birdwatching and the major shorebird species for children.

What mystery material is on a toothbrush? Where is the coldest place on Earth? Why are frogs famous for being slimy? This kit’s 12 activity cards reveal all. "This deluxe kit combines our You-Track-It Weather Lab, Indoor Outdoor Microscope and Extreme Secret Formula Lab all into one," SmartLab Toys Director of Sales and Marketing Darcy Morris told TDmonthly.

With this kit, kids can explore the science behind weather using this interactive station to track wind, rain and temperature. Five experiments take children from challenging the local weatherman to predicting the weather using crickets. "A full-on forecasting station," SmartLab Toys Director of Sales and Marketing Darcy Morris told TDmonthly.

With over 194 pieces, Teifoc’s Beginner Brick Construction Set incorporates real, reusable miniature bricks for building, encouraging imaginative play for children interested in constructing up to three of their own designs. Safe and soluble sand and corn extract-based mortar holds the bricks together. To build a new model, simply soak in water, dry the bricks and start again.

Incorporating real, reusable miniature bricks for building, this set encourages imaginative play for children interested in constructing up to three of their own designs. A safe and soluble sand and corn extract-based mortar creates a house and water mill. To build a new model, simply soak in water, dry the bricks and start again.

Standing 4' tall, the Eitech Eiffel Tower metal building kit lets builders re-create an impressive replica of this famous Parisian structure. The kit can be brightened with the attachable lights combo. Over hundreds of parts and tools are included in each construction set.

The C31 Mega Model Train is a sleek locomotive that features more than 2,560 parts. Step by step illustrated instructions are included for easy-to-follow directions.

Kids can channel their inner creativity with Eitech’s Solar Powered Construction Kit and build an environmental friendly model powered by sunlight. Simply place the solar panel directly under sunlight and watch as it takes off. Each kit builds up to three solar powered models. Illustrations and tools are included for easy assembly. "Solar Panels allow for eco-friendly fun!" Eitech Media and Marketing Coordinator Caitlin King told TDmonthly.

Timberworks Toys are heirloom quality, large-scale construction sets made from hard maple. 52 pieces of high quality timbers, widgets, gable ends (triangles) and more are included to spark a child's imagination. Builders can start by making a small house, and then transform it into a bridge or a tree house.

Timberworks Toys are heirloom-quality, large-scale construction sets made from hard maple. The wheeled vehicle set features 48 pieces including four wheels to create endless possibilities to engage a child's imagination. Builders can make anything from a simple car to a dragster or an airplane with this large-scale construction set.

71 pieces of timbers, widgets, gables (triangles), and more make a creative building set that allows children to use their imagination to make a number of different structures such as a house or a bridge. This set is designed to be ideal for a busy, high-traffic play area.

This 98-piece innovative building set includes timbers, widgets, gable ends (triangles), wheels, and more. The set features timbers up to 24" in length, providing children the ability to create anything from a car to a house, a bridge or a plane. This set aims to provide the flexibility to engage true beginners as well as to challenge "future engineers."

Young readers are introduced to the alphabet and corresponding animals at the same time. Wild Animals literally jump, slither, and fly off the page in this illustrated pop-up featuring 26 creatures hidden within the pages of the book. Antelope bursts through the letter A; Leopard lurches from behind L; Giraffe reaches its long neck over G; Koala peeks from behind K; and Penguin waddles out from behind P. The book also includes accompanying playful first-person text designed for reading aloud with a young child and photographs of each animal.

Power Tunes is an album from speech-language pathologist and multi-award winning songwriter Joe Rothstein, MS, CCC-SLP. Favorites like “School Song,” “Food Song” and “Opposite Song” aim to pick kids up and get their bodies and brainwaves moving together while empowering them with important language tools. "Power Tunes uses principles of speech-language pathology to to help toddlers and young children learn vocabulary, speech sounds, and early academic concepts," Turning Points Media President Joe Rothstein told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2009 iParenting Media Award; 2009 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
— “I have several students with speech issues in my room this year and was thrilled with the results of playing this CD for my class,” explained the reviewer from The Opinionated Parent. The critic added that “Whether your children have speech concerns or not, it’s a great CD … I give it a ten out of ten – even if I wouldn’t listen to it without my kids around.”
— Heather Sedlock, Special Needs Kids Examiner for Examiner.com, listened to the CD both on her own and with a group of children and toddlers with speech-language deficits. Heather and her co-reviewers enjoyed the “10 upbeat, get-you-out-of-your-seat songs,” which she found perfect for home, school, daycare and travel settings.

Kids can build up to three crane models with the Deluxe Motorized Crane. Each set includes over 960 pieces, a three-way cable control, three gear motors, and a ball bearing joint for ultimate control and function. Step-by-step illustrated instructions are included for easy to follow directions.