TDmonthly's ToyFair 2006 Preview--Educational Product Category

InnoTab 2 Learning App Tablet - Pink by VTECH

Give children their own durable touch-screen tablet with VTech's InnoTab 2 Learning App Tablet. This multi-functional tablet for children ages 3 - 9 includes a photo/video camera, a 5-inch touch screen, 2 GB of onboard memory, an SD card slot for expandable memory, and media players for MP3s, photos, and videos. The InnoTab 2 comes with an art studio, coloring app, one e-book, two motion sensor games, and 2 free downloads from the Learning Lodge Navigator. Additional songs, games, e-books, and videos are available for purchase online on VTech's Learning Lodge Navigator. 11/15/2012 (Price: $79.99)

Squishy Science from Head to Toe by SMARTLAB TOYS

Smart Lab's Squishy Science from Head to Toe sparks curiosity and reveals the mysteries of the human brain and body for kids eight and up. This set includes transparent, anatomically correct models of the human body and human skull. Kids dissect the squishy organs and glow in the dark bones, nerves and eyeballs with lifelike surgical tools. The colorful information booklet, Organ-izer, and activity cards are packed with scientific information about the human body and the brain.
— As of 11/15/2012 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars from 15 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Fun and educational; includes and educational guidebook. Cons: Hard to snap the skull together. 11/15/2012 (Price: $39.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Creator 3 by ZOMETOOL, INC.

This kit allows users to increase the size, complexity and richness of their models. The number of interesting things one can build increases exponentially when one has more parts. This kit is perfect for those who have already caught the Zometool bug or families and groups who want to build together. Total parts: 738.
— As of 11/15/2012 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars from 9 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: A great educational tool; can be used to teach geometry, or just for fun. Cons: Rods have to be pushed really hard into the balls in order for the creations not to fall apart. 11/15/2012 (Price: $149.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Gemstone Necklace Excavation Kit by GEOCENTRAL

A great item for today's adventuresome girls. Each kit contains a gypsum block with 7 different embedded gemstones and a spiral pendant. Once the stones have been excavated, she can choose a favorite stone to wear in the necklace. Stones can be changed to coordinate with her outfit or her mood. Launch date: August 2012. 11/14/2012 (Price: $11.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Visual Display - Class Calendar by MINILAND EDUCATIONAL CORP

Class Calendar presents a visually complete representation of the day, month, year, today’s weather, and the season in 4” x 4” frames. It includes images of the seasons, weather, months, day, date, and storage basket. It is provided in both English and Spanish. Launch date: January 2013. 11/14/2012 (Price: $76.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Etni Fastening Doll by MINILAND EDUCATIONAL CORP

Children will learn to fasten buttons, zippers, snaps, shoe laces, buckles and more, while playing with these multicultural dressing dolls. Each doll measures  15-3/4" tall. Ages 3 - 9. Surface-washable. Launch date: January 2013. 11/14/2012 (Price: $19.50) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

New Sprouts™ Ring It Up! My very own cash register by LEARNING ENCOUNTERS

Cash in on curiosity with this modern cash register that makes playing shop irresistible. Features a fun coin slide and pop-open cash drawer. Includes chunky buttons and 5 number coins. Ages 2+. Launch date: January 2013. 11/14/2012 (Price: $29.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Boikido Wooden Stacking Town by BOIKIDO

A complete multi-activity stacking toy with 15 colorful wooden blocks for stacking, sorting, and building.  Collapsible posts for added safety. Learn numbers and counting. Develops motor skills and hand-eye coordination. 2 strings included. Tested to meet European and U.S. safety standards. Launch date: February 2013. 11/14/2012 (Price: $34.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Boikido Wooden ABC Cubes 28 Pc Set by BOIKIDO

There is no better way to learn alphabets, numbers, colors, and shapes than by playing with these 28 colorful wooden Boikido cubes. These cubes are also building blocks that stimulate imagination. Develops motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem solving skills. Launch date: February 2013. 11/14/2012 (Price: $29.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

World Landmarks TOOB® by SAFARI LTD.®

Take a tour around the world exploring the inspiring and wondrous cites of the World Landmarks TOOB® from Safari Ltd®.Packaged in a reusable acetate tube, this set contains seven replicas, including the Great Wall of China, Mount Rushmore, Stonehenge, Buddha of Lantau, Easter Island, Neuschwanstein Castle and Colosseum. Hand painted figures measure 1.5” to 3” (4 to 7.5 cm) and are suitable for ages 3 and up. All Safari Ltd® products are 100% guaranteed and lead free to ensure children’s safety. Launch date: 2013. 11/8/2012 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Cambrian Life TOOB® by SAFARI LTD.®

Discover the explosion of life in the Cambrian Sea with the Cambrian Life TOOB® from Safari Ltd®. This TOOB® features some of the most notable of these creatures from 500 million years ago. Packaged in a reusable acetate tube, this set contains eight replicas, including the Anomalocaris, Vauxia, Naraoia, Trilobite, Ottioa, Sanctacaris, Sidneyia, and Charniodiscus. Hand painted figures measure 1.5” to 3” (4 to 7.5 cm) and are suitable for ages 3 and up. All Safari Ltd® products are 100% guaranteed and lead free to ensure children’s safety. Launch date: 2013. 11/8/2012 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Glow-in-the-Dark Jellyfish by SAFARI LTD.®

Be extra careful not to touch its venomous tentacles. Its translucent appearance makes this Safari Ltd® Jellyfish difficult to spot, even if it glow-in-the-dark. This hand painted replica from Safari Ltd® measures 4.5” L x 4” W (11.5 x 10.25 cm) and is suitable for ages 3 and up. All Safari Ltd® products are 100% guaranteed and lead free to ensure children’s safety. Launch date: 2013. 11/8/2012 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Glow-in-the-Dark Starfish by SAFARI LTD.®

Day or night, kids will never lose sight of this Glow-in-the-Dark Starfish from Safari Ltd®. It’s soft, bumpy skin will trick kids into thinking they’re holding a real starfish. This hand painted replica measures 4.5” L x .5” H (11.5 x.5 cm) and is suitable for ages 3 and up. All Safari Ltd® products are 100% guaranteed and lead free to ensure children’s safety. 11/8/2012 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Zingo!® SightWords by THINKFUN

Zingo! Sight Words is a fun, interactive game that teaches reading skills through fast-paced play. Designed for players ages 4-6, this game teaches early readers to recognize and read some of the most common words in the English language. The sight words featured in this game were identified by leading educators as the most fundamental. Learning and mastering them is key to becoming a successful, fluent reader - doing it through play makes learning fun. Launch date: September 2012.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval, Play On Words (PAL) Award
— As of 11/15/2012 this product had 4.9 out of 5 stars from 17 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Helps kids learn to read; Easy to learn, but still challenging and fun. 11/8/2012 (Price: $19.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Swish™ by THINKFUN

Featuring cool transparent cards, Swish is an innovative spatial game for children ages 8 and up that challenges mental muscles to the extreme. Players must examine cards, mentally flipping & rotating to make matches, or “Swishes.” Swishes are made by layering cards so that every ball swishes into a hoop of the same color. Players must prepare their brain for a seriously fun workout during this fast-paced challenge that’s fun for the whole family.
Awards: Parents’ Choice Silver Honors award; TOTY Nominee for Educational Toy of the Year 2012.
— As of 11/15/2012 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars from 56 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Helps develop spatial relation skills; Well designed; innovative gameplay. Cons: Might be difficult for younger kids. 11/8/2012 (Price: $12.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Hot Dots® Pen by EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS INC.

The Hot Dots pen works with dozens of Hot Dots card sets, providing instantaneous visual and audio feedback. Simply press the pen to choose an answer on any Hot Dots or Hot Dots Jr. card for an immediate response—cool, kid-friendly phrases for correct answers and gentle redirection for incorrect responses. 11/7/2012 (Price: $10.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Homework Helper Workbook - First Grade Activities by CARSON-DELLOSA PUBLISHING

First Grade Activities Homework Helper provides children in first grade with extra help in learning important skills. Packed full of fun-to-do activities and appealing art, children will have fun completing the reproducible pages while learning first grade skills at the same time. Answer keys are also included where needed. These workbooks provide help for students who need extra practice with basic skills, for the accelerated student who enjoys an extra challenge, and for the young learner who is developing basic concepts and readiness skills. They also help boost self-confidence and reinforce basic skills with activities that are geared to the specific grade level.
— Gregory Sahagian, owner of Learning Express of Beverly in Beverly, Mass., told TDmonthly in a Fall 2012 survey that they sell 4-5 dozen Kumon Homework Helpers each month, making them a top-2 best selling educational products. 11/7/2012 (Price: $2.99)

Hot Dots® Laugh it Up! Vocabulary Development Cards - Multiple-Meaning Words by EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS INC.

A rich vocabulary is critical for successful test-taking, particularly in reading comprehension. Hot Dots Laugh It Up! Vocabulary Card sets are a fun and interactive way to grow kids’ vocabularies. Includes 6 Interactive vocabulary card sets in all, including synonyms (2730), antonyms (2731), multiple-meaning words (shown here), prefixes and suffixes (2735), context clues (2733), and homophones (2732). 50 double-sided, illustrated cards per set (100 questions), featuring jokes, riddles, cartoons, and kid-friendly questions.
— In a Fall 2012 survey, two out of 12 retailers told TDmonthly that Hot Dots were their best selling educational toy. 11/7/2012 (Price: $9.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Extended Kit by LITTLEBITS ELECTRONICS INC

The littleBits Extended Kit is the third and biggest kit by littleBits. We hand picked all of the most fun, mechanical Bits and crammed them into one double-decker kit. This kit contains all the Bits one needs to make littleBits creations. It features a dc motor, motion trigger, buzzer, 2 wires, and more. 11/2/2012 (Price: $149.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Classic Set by CUBICITI COMPANY LLC

The Classic set consists of 36 varieties of maple blocks. Painted with non-toxic water based acrylic paints and sealed with organic beewax.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval 11/2/2012 (Price: $79.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Shake Rattle And Drum by WESTCO EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTS

This handcrafted wood set includes seven pieces: A bucket drum with a natural skin head, a pair of drum sticks, a single jingle stick, a handled castanet and a pair of mini maracas. Fun for the whole family or class! Includes a parent/teacher friendly activity guide for ideas on using the items to encourage child development.
— As of 10/30/2012 this product had 4.6 out of 5 stars from 26 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: The drum makes a nice noise; fun for kids on their own or in groups.
Awards: 2015 TDmonthly Top Toy Award 10/25/2012 (Price: $39.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

ABC Clappers by WESTCO EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTS

The Sounds Like Fun ABC Clappers are 3 brightly painted, hand crafted wood castanets with handles in graduated sizes and sounds. One side is labeled 1, 2,3, and the other side is labeled A, B, C. For color, number, shape and letter recognition, beginning pattern making, and hearing high and low sound changes. Includes a parent/teacher friendly activity guide for ideas on using the clappers to encourage child development. Launch date: 2005. 10/25/2012 (Price: $18.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Big Words Flashcards by KNOCK KNOCK

Kids (and grown-ups) love to learn and say silly-sounding words—not to mention impressing others with them—so we’ve created Big Word Flashcards, featuring some of the coolest multisyllabic terms in the dictionary. With fun definitions, child-friendly phonetic pronunciations, and playful illustrations, these cards will introduce youngsters of all ages to the joys of loquacity. Launch date: January 2012. 10/25/2012 (Price: $12.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

This...or That? Activity Book by KNOCK KNOCK

Little ones love defining what it is that makes them so special, and so do we. This fun activity book encourages kids to explore their own imaginations and preferences—treehouse or fort? Pirate or ninja? Filled with whimsical illustrations, playful prompts, and awesome stickers, This...or That? gives kids the power of creative decision making. Launch date: June 2012. 10/25/2012 (Price: $14.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

My Fitness Passport by KNOCK KNOCK

Combat a universal childhood affliction—exercise resistance—with our Kids’ Passports. Featuring fancy sticker “stamps” as rewards, this official-looking booklet will trick even the idlest of youngsters into making an adventuresome, interactive game of moving and grooving. Launch date: January 2012. 10/25/2012 (Price: $10.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]