Reviews for 5-7 years old
I remember making paper fortune tellers when I was young. For a couple of years it seemed to be the preferred activity among my friends. Many spare moments were spent paired up with someone happy to share their latest pyramid-shaped origami creation, and spread their words of wisdom. Now there’s a new spin on this old favorite and it’s called Cahootie. Cahootie enhances this experience by assigning a theme to each fortune teller, and by encouraging positive open-ended conversation with friends and family to naturally occur with each activity. Each Cahootie is pre-made — nicely designed using sturdy coated cardboard and adorned with vibrant illustrations and strategically placed words related to the assigned theme. My Cahootie is appropriately called “My Fab Family,” and encourages discussion among peers and family members about family activities and relationships. Each Cahootie comes with reusable stickers containing questions, such as, “what is your favorite family activity,” that kids can stick on to their fortune teller. There are also a few assignments, such as, “call your favorite uncle, and tell him why he’s so special to you.” The intended goals are to form positive connections, promote self-esteem and self-discovery — extremely important during the “tween” years. Cahootie’s physical design and the way one plays the game (spelling out the words your partner chooses by moving the Cahootie this way and that, opening the secret flaps, etc.), certainly resemble the game we all played. But the meaningful conversation-starter component is all new. Instead of discovering playful fortunes, your grandchild has the potential to discover so much more.
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We recently picked up Bananagrams and are wondering why we didn’t join in on the fun sooner! I’ve never been a big Scrabble fan, partly because of the game’s slow pace. But this variation on the classic word game is a “bunch” of fun! Although Bananagrams doesn’t claim to be a form of Scrabble, it does contain some of the essential elements of the game — forming words using letter tiles and arranging them in crossword fashion. From there it takes off… fast! All players play independently at the same time, and that’s what keeps the pace going. No board is necessary — a table or floor space is all you need. Each player starts out choosing 21 tiles/letters (the “bunch”) and can immediately begin forming words and arranging them (and constantly re-arranging them if necessary), until his/her letters are used up. If you can’t use a letter, then you must say “Dump,” and discard that letter, taking 3 letters in return. But the game doesn’t end there. Once a player’s original 21 tiles are used, he/she must say “Peel,” and take a tile from the “bunch” of leftover tiles. At that time, all other players must also take a tile. This continues until there are fewer tiles in the “bunch” than there are players. The fact that the game is so portable — simply a bunch of small letter tiles in a canvas banana shaped bag — makes it easy to bring anywhere. And the fast, free-form style enables children to participate. Our kids are practicing their spelling, and at the same time, we’re all enjoying a fun game together. Invented by a family spanning three generations, it’s no wonder that Bananagrams is such a fantastic intergenerational activity!
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Sabu & Me has great appeal as a children’s book because its author is a child. 7-year-old Maura Lane tells of her relationship with her dog Sabu — from the day Maura arrived home from the hospital until now — in very simple terms and style. Since Sabu was a rescue dog, Maura has decided to donate profits from the book sales to PAWS Chicago, an organization dedicated to helping homeless pets. Kids and their parents will appreciate Maura’s expression of unconditional love for Sabu. Kids and family members who have dogs (or who have had dogs in the past) will identify with the story of how Sabu has always been there for Maura. Regardless of whether or not they have pets themselves, young children seem to universally enjoy stories about them. As we all know, animals, especially dogs, are adored — simply for being themselves. Sabu & Me’s one-sentence per page format allows for the book to either be read to a very young child, or for early readers to read it themselves. It begins with “When I arrived home from the hospital Sabu sniffed me,” and goes on to explain how from that point on, Sabu was right by Maura’s side as she learned to crawl, talk and walk, and how he has hugged her goodbye as she leaves for school, kept her company when she is sick, and snuggled with her at bedtime. The cheerful full-page illustrations by Hazel Mitchell nicely complement the story. Sabu and Me is an everyday kind of story that is easy to relate to and touches one’s heart.
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SET has become a family obsession. It’s a superb game, and we all love it. What’s so unique is that it can be challenging for adults, but young children can easily learn how to play and be just as good at it (if not better at it!) as family members of any age. For instance, our 5-year-old daughter is without a doubt, the SET champion of our family, usually putting us all to shame. The card game’s design and rules are simple and elegant, allowing you to exercise your pattern matching and visual perception skills in a serious way, while also having loads of fun! The deck has 81 cards, and you can lay out either 12 or 15 cards at a time. The object is to find sets of 3 cards that have patterns made up of things that are either all the same, or all different. There are 3 colors (red, green and purple), 3 types of shading (outlined, striped or solid), 3 shapes (ovals, diamonds and squiggles), and either 1, 2 or 3 shapes on each card — all of these attributes combining to make possible sets. These rules may sound complicated, but once you start playing you catch on quickly. What makes the game even more fun is that everyone plays against each other (and you can have many playing at the same time). Whoever finds a set first yells “set,” and play stops until that person takes the cards making up the set. Then three new cards are laid down, and so on, until all cards are laid down and there are no more remaining sets. If someone yells “set” but it is not actually a set (this happens often, at least for the adults), a point/card is deducted. And whoever has the most cards in the end wins. What makes this game even better is its portability. Take it on trips, to visits with friends and family — anywhere! It’s a fantastic intergenerational game. Play it with your grandkids and you will be amazed by their ability and also by how much fun you can have playing it together!
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Whimsmoore, a start-up company that sends toys-of-the-month and sells “pretend play” products and related children’s books, evolved from a family wanting to share their cherished tradition with new generations of young children and their grandparents, aunts & uncles, etc. It all started as a relationship between an aunt and her young niece a thousand miles away. When Rachel would visit Aunt Linda, she would rush to the secret magical play house under Aunt Linda’s stairs, deemed the “Elfery,” to see if there were any signs of the “Elves of Glimmer Glen.” When not visiting, Aunt Linda would send monthly gifts to Rachel on behalf of the Elves. A special bond developed between Rachel and her little imaginary friends, and more importantly, between Rachel and Aunt Linda. Many years later, with the bond still strong between them, Rachel and Aunt Linda decided to start a business together, reviving the Elves and sharing them with other families. Should you purchase the gift-of-the-month, Whimsmoore will send enchanting little gifts to your grandchild each month for up to 12 months (monthly gifts can also be purchased separately). Elfish gifts include a Lavender Eggling Plant (just crack the top of the “egg,” water, and watch it grow!), Mini Valentine’s Mailbox, Mini Bake Set, to name a few. Each monthly gift comes with an original Elfery Storybook written by Aunt Linda. Whimsmoore features a nice selection of related imaginary play products, which can be purchased from their website. The toy-of-the-month gift is suggested for children age 5-7, and the “Elves” are a unique and playful way for distant relatives to connect with the young children in their lives.
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Our daughter loves her new personalized book, If I Were Big. Of course, young kids always love being the star of a book — seeing their name in print and hearing it read to them out loud. And, if the story and illustrations are engaging, even better! If I Were Big is one of four titles currently offered by MJM Books. Their other customizable books include: Ruler of Space, What Animal are You, and A Day at the Park. If I Were Big seems to tap into the inherent desire young children have to be older and bigger than they are, walking your grandchild through an adventure in which s/he continues to grow bigger and bigger, larger than everyone and everything else around, and eventually using “a house as a chair, a tree for a toothbrush, buildings for stairs,” etc. The story concludes by admitting that your grandchild (the star of the book), is not big at all, and, in fact, is small enough to fit in Mommy & Daddy’s arms — the best size of all. The illustrations that accompany the exaggerated examples of “big-ness” are really quite adorable, and have a simple yet sophisticated (almost retro) look. Each book has its own style and theme and you should be able to find a title that fits you grandchild’s interests and personality. You get to choose the appropriate skin, hair and eye color, and you can have a special message printed in the first page of the book. The order is easily placed online from the publisher’s website, where you can page through a sample of each book virtually.
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Goosie Cards$16 and up at Goosie |
Goosie Cards are a great product for several reasons. First, they’re extremely high quality. Large, durable, glossy lamination enables them to withstand a fair amount of bending and biting (it happens occasionally). Next, they’re educational. Using a combination of visual images and printed words, they help babies and toddlers with speech development, preschoolers with pre-reading skills, and young school-aged children with early reading. But what makes Goosie Cards most interesting is that you can personalize each card with your own family photos, thus creating your own custom set of memorable photo flash cards to present to your grandchild. Since they are high quality, in addition to providing a fun learning experience, a set of personalized Goosie Cards have the potential to become a keepsake of sorts, that grandchildren can use to remind themselves of you and other family members, friends, pets, vacation memories, etc. Of course, we love the simple yet effective way Goosie Cards help to strengthen intergenerational family connections. It’s easy to upload photos to their website, and Goosie Cards are produced and delivered quickly. And, if you don’t want to personalize your set, Goosie Cards has a fantastic library of stock photography to choose from to design what they call “Chic” flash cards. Or, you can even purchase a gift certificate so parents can make their own set for your grandchild. You may also appreciate the fact that Goosie Cards were invented by a new mom who saw a unique opportunity to enhance early learning — as well as the fact that they’re made in the USA. Another classic product with a new twist, and executed perfectly!
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We always appreciate manufacturers who take a beloved, tried-and-true product, and revitalize it, introducing it to a new generation of children who will appreciate it just as much as their parents and grandparents did. FeltTales felt story boards are just this type of simple, classic toy, yet they have a modern look and feel with themes that should appeal to both boys and girls ages 3 and up. In addition to the “Pups in the Park” theme, shown here, you can choose boards ranging from “Pretty Princess,” and “Let’s Go to the Ballet,” for your granddaughters, to “Dinasaur Days,” and “Pirates at Shipwreck Cove,” for your grandsons. On the back of each story board is a “story starter,” in the form of a few rhyming verses regarding characters and theme, to get creative juices flowing if necessary. Each FeltTales story board comes with at least 19 moveable felt pieces that feel great to the touch as only felt can. A bonus is the portability of FeltTales, each having its own travel handle and an attached plastic zip-lock pouch to carry the pieces — a perfect activity to bring to grandparents’ homes (or to a restaurant), and to play with together!
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Personalized Meal Time Plate Sets $29.99 and up at Olive Kids |
Personalized gifts are fun to give — and kids love seeing their names on anything. These personalized melamine kids plate and placemat sets make great gifts and are super functional! The plates and placemats (also sold separately) are a newer product line offered by Olive Kids, a New Hampshire-based mom and dad company that, in addition to designing kids tableware, offers kids bedding, clocks, floor pillows, and other kids room decor items. Olive Kids’ design themes are simple and nostalgic, from “Flowerland,” “Mermaids,” and “Tea Party,” for girls, to “Under Construction,” “Ride ‘Em Cowboy,” “Dinosaurland,” and “Out of this World,” for boys. As you may know, all kids tableware sets are not created equal. These sets are of exceptional quality — the plates are solid and the mats are well-laminated to withstand washing. And, because the many themes Olive Kids offers are carried throughout the product lines, you can continue to purchase gifts from the same theme — for instance, sheets, comforter, clock and tableware — all with the “Out of this World” space theme. Or have fun and mix up the themes. There are plenty to choose from!
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By now it’s well known that the best time to learn a second language (such as Spanish) is during early childhood, and that the best method of instruction is total immersion — with no English spoken and no translation used. Developed by a mom who wanted to teach her children Spanish effectively, Whistlefritz Adentro y Afuero (Inside and Out) is the latest in a series of total immersion beginning Spanish DVD’s for kids ages 2-7. Extremely well-produced and instantly engaging, these DVD’s could compete for airtime against any existing educational TV show for young children. Whistlefritz uses a proven Blues Clues-like style, placing an engaging live host against a backdrop of simple animation, with Fritzi, a mischievous mouse, as her sidekick, and live (adorable) children to interact with them. The actors speak slowly and clearly, and, when appropriate, representations of the word or phrase being taught are shown on the screen. Your grandchild will learn the words for many common foods, the numbers 1-10, etc., not to mention the phrases that make every day simple interactions possible. For instance, Donde Esta (Where is)?, Muy Bien (Very Good), and many more. A bonus — the real children throughout the DVD, in scenes shot at a playground and eating various common foods, are familiar for kids, helping them realize that even though their native languages are different, they all enjoy the same kinds of things. And, with superbly entertaining and educational instruction such as this Whistlefritz DVD, it’s entirely possible for them to communicate with one another! In addition to Adentro y Afuera, Whistlefritz offers two other beginner DVD’s — Los Animales (Animals), and Vamos a Jugar (Let’s Play).
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