May 2010 Notable Toys — Educational

Living on a farm is a lot of hard work, but just think about the variety of animals under care. Using the stiff straw, the soft feathers and the bubble wrap, preschoolers can learn through their sense of touch about these animals. "Children ages 2 to 5 years old learn best when engaged in activities that integrate their fine motor skills. 1-2-3 Preschool Projects develops hands-on activities that are packaged according to themes. They feature a variety of textural materials that encourage the development of a child’s fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, language, math, drama, science, and tactile skills," Linda Scanlan, owner,1-2-3 Preschool Projects LLC, told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 2010.

Players should gather their sunglasses, snowshoes and mosquito spray for travel to the Americas. Players use destination and transportation tiles to chart a course through North, Central and South America and the Caribbean — touring by airplane, cruise ship or on foot. With a little luck and clever planning, they just might outmaneuver their fellow travelers and be the first to make connections for a complete 10-day journey. It's "exclusive to the specialty market, great for families and educational settings," Leah Sugar, VP Marketing, Out of the Box Publishing, told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 7, 2010.

This colorful version of Memo features some of the smartest animals from the animal kingdom, such as the elephant, chimpanzee, dolphin and parrot. Players try to match up as many of them as they can before their opponent. Terra Toys produces "environmentally friendly products that teach about conservation through an easy to understand medium, Saving Wild Animals," Sean Tyrrell, Category Manager, Terra Toys, told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2010.

Shoulder Buddies are a collectible, educational accessory that kids can wear on their shoulders, backpacks, hats, etc. Shoulder Buddies are packaged with a collectible "Smarts" card that teaches their "Smarts" through an easy-to-remember acronym. A "Shoulder Buddies Coin" is also included, which is used to attach them to your shoulder. They also have a hole on their back so that kids can attach them to their backpacks with a keychain, which is also included with the product. There's also a book that corresponds to the Shoulder Buddy characters. "Shoulder Buddies are very unique because they are an adorable character that can be worn on the shoulder," Jeaneen & Kevin Muller, Managing Members, Shoulder Fun USA, LLC, told TDmonthly. "They definitely attract attention when wearing them and our variety of characters each have a different learning message that comes with them." Launch date: October 2009.

Part of the Wild Animal Series by Papo, this hand-painted figure is very detailed and shows an authentic representation of how tigresses carry around their little bundles. It is approximately 1:20 scale. "Papo wildlife series is easily the best quality figure for the price. The proportion and stance are exact as well as the coloration," Brian Shackelton, Operation Manager, Hotaling Imports Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 15, 2010.

Quadrilateral Pieces is a geometry puzzle. Kids of all ages can improve their spatial sense as they rotate, turn and flip the pieces to construct five different quadrilaterals. "Teachers and students will love it because students can use the puzzle to help them remember what they learn about different types of quadrilaterals," Mary Kay Bacallao, President, Learning by Design, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2010.

Vocation Dolls (Fr. Juan Pablo and Sr. Mary Clara, sold separately) are huggable, plush, 13" dolls fashioned for imaginative yet inspirational play. They include a full-color companion booklet detailing five real stories of men and women who became priests and nuns — courageous stories of real modern-day heroes and heroines. These high-quality dolls are designed as exceptional toys for gift-giving, to delight parents, grandparents and godparents with their unique, faith-based appeal. Launch date: December 2009.

This colorful outdoor thermometer has temperature-appropriate clothing pictures next to the numbers. It is designed to: empower kids to independently choose the right outfit to wear in various temperatures; teach kids to read numbers and to understand the concept of measuring the outdoor temperature as they continue using their thermometer; relieve parents of the struggle with children over appropriate clothing to wear for the day, making morning routines faster and easier; help teachers to teach kids reading and understanding of the outside temperature and seasonal changes; and help schools to get kids appropriately dressed for school recess. Launch date: May 30, 2009.

This soft-sculpture, children’s mass kit is designed for play at home or church. This colorful, high-quality toy, when used in conjunction with the included companion booklet, is designed to be an ideal manipulative for instruction in the classroom or playroom. It includes 12 pieces and a booklet in a durable nylon carrying case that's created "to educate, entertain and enrich faith," Stephen Abdalla, President, Wee Believers, told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 5, 2010.

See how much you know with hundreds of interesting questions on dozens of different topics. Have fun competing with the invisible opponent as you play games by yourself. Each book includes 48 pages of fun and a special pen.

Revisit the story of how Tiana and Neveen meet. Magic Pen® Painting is a fun and easy way to paint - but with no mess! Use the Special Pen to paint each picture and watch the colors instantly appear. Each book includes 24 pages of fun and a special pen.

Buzz Lightyear and Woody are two great friends on one big adventure. The activities include Magic Pen® Painting, and Invisible Ink with Stickers. The Special Pen also produces a rainbow of colors instantly. The Special Pen reveals the invisibly printed pictures. Then match your stickers to the appropriate spot.
Book 1: Each book includes 24 pages of fun and a special pen.
Book 2: Each book includes 24 pages of fun, a special pen and stickers.

Biffle is fun-loving and cheerful. Biffle shares his "Smarts" of Friendship. Shoulder Buddies are unique to their Feather color, so no two are alike. They come with a collectible Shoulder Buddies Coin and a Backpack clip. Please be advised that Shoulder Buddies are an accessory, NOT a toy. They are not recommended for children under 4 years of age.

Entertain and teach baby by creating scenes made of fabric covered foam. House scene includes a Square, Triangle, Circle, Rectangle, Car, Bus, Door, Window, Chimney, Flower Garden, and Dog.

Child can learn about construction with this fabric covered foam product. Easy assembly using color-coded Velcro. Children 2 and up can enjoy learning to build this barn and play farm games with it. There are 15 sections to put in place with picture steps provided. A self-confidence building product with creative play value.

Inchimals is a set of 12 wooden blocks with animal images that measure from 1” in height (ladybug) to 12” high (giraffe).  They can be combined with the 100 write on/wipe off math puzzles for kids to practice counting, number values and recognition, fine motor skills, language and more. Launch date: Spring 2010.

In this gravity-defying, 3-D word-building game, two to four players are challenged to add stacking letters to a tower to form words up, down or sideways to earn points. They must be careful, though, as any new letter could send the Konexi into a full collapse. The game comes with 26 red letters, a die, a mover, a pad and pencil, and a rules manual. Launch date: Fall 2010 (specialty and mass retailers).

Written by Keltie Thomas and illustrated by Stephen MacEachern, this book delves into the history of science of figure skating as a sport, a lineup of the most creative moves, info about partnerships and rivalries, and much more.

TDmonthly Review:

Please click here to read TDmonthly´s Toy Expert review of this product.

Written by Mary Wallace, this tale of Alaska's Inuit people illustrates each letter of "Inuksuk" in acrostic poem, connecting the meaning of each word to the people and their surroundings. Launch date: September 2009.

These jaguars are part of a plush collection featuring stuffed animals and puppets that share characteristics of their real animal in the wild. A hangtag explains each animal's distinctive qualities. Retail price ranges from $16 to $36, depending on size. Launch date: January 2010.
— Kate Tanner, owner of Kidstop in Scottsdale, Ariz., was impressed with this plush line at Toy Fair 2010.

Complete with an illustrated guidebook, this developmental kit comes with 10 multi-sensory games and craft activities to let preschoolers practice early cutting and fine motor skills.

The sixth illustrated book of the series follows Mandy, an adopted Chinese girl, and Pandy the Panda, her best friend. Mandy and Pandy Visit the Zoo is an exciting story journey through the local zoo, with Mandy and Pandy stopping by different exhibits and greeting the animals.  Children can learn the Chinese and English names for exciting wild creatures such as tigers, hippos and flamingos. An audio CD is included with each book to help reinforce what is being read and for English-speaking children to hear the proper pronunciation of the Chinese translation. Each CD includes the entire story read aloud by the author in both English and Chinese. Launch date: Spring 2010

The fifth illustrated book of the series follows Mandy, an adopted Chinese girl, and Pandy the Panda, her best friend. In this version of the classic “I Spy” game played by kids everywhere, Mandy and Pandy visit the lake and ask each other about the colors of the objects around them.  All the colors of the rainbow are named, along with brown, white and black. An audio CD is included with each book to help reinforce what is being read and for English-speaking children to hear the proper pronunciation of the Chinese translation. Each CD includes the entire story read aloud by the author in both English and Chinese. Launch date: Spring 2010

The Touch Learning System comes with a side QWERTY keyboard. It is based on self-education mostly, with Mom and Dad interface that puts the kids in these roles as they go through specially designed educational applications. The screen lets them tap, flick, pat or drag and drop. According to the apps' requirements, children will be using the MobiGo through the QWERTY keyboard, just like their parents. These should also check online on the official website as VTech offers progress reports and reading certificates.