Reviews for Educational
How'd They Build That - (Fire Truck)?$8.99 at Amazon.com |
We’ve been introduced to a new series of educational kids DVD’s called, “How’d They Build That?”. How’d They Build That – Fire Truck will appeal to aspiring young firefighters (and other children who are generally interested in how things are built) from ages 5 and up. With adult supervision, some even younger enthusiasts will certainly learn a thing or two as well. This particular DVD visits Seagrave Fire Apparatus, in Clintonville, Wisconsin — a company that’s been around since 1881 and makes many of today’s fire trucks. The simple narrated format tells how Seagrave started out as a ladder company, and then, with requests for custom-made ladders from fire departments, eventually began building the trucks to go along with the ladders! The DVD shows some of the components of the vehicles, including various types of ladders (which average 100 ft. long when fully extended!), hydraulic platforms, etc. Fun Facts are also dispersed throughout the 58 minute program. For example, one Fun Fact states that there are between 1,800 and 2,500 parts in an average fire truck. Another one explains that it takes between 1,500 and 3,500 hours to build a single truck. Also, did you know that some parts are held together by very strong tape? Or that fire trucks can actually be any color whatsoever, even though the standard is red? In addition to the Fire Truck DVD discussed here, the How’d They Build That series also includes: Big Truck, School Bus and Concrete Truck.
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Hop To It! by Playroom Entertainment offers a new twist on memory games. It’s fast paced and appeals to kids of all ages (recommended for ages 5 and up), as well as parents and grandparents. 21 picture tiles are arranged in a row or a circle — although you need to be sure to have a beginning and an end. Then 3 discs are used to cover the first, second, and third (for advanced play) picture tiles. Each player is allowed to briefly view all of the tiles before beginning play, and when ready, the hourglass timer is set and the player must remember what the object on the first tile is. If they guess correctly, another player quickly moves, or “hops” that cover disc onto the third object tile. Then the player must quickly recall and say what the object on the second tile is, and so forth. When the time is up each player collects the picture tiles they’ve recalled and when each player has had a turn the tiles are counted and whoever has the most wins. The next time the game is played the object tiles are mixed up and rearranged. This is definitely one of those games that can be challenging for both children and adults (a great intergenerational activity!), requiring one to exercise and train the part of the brain that controls visual memory. It’s certainly been challenging for this game reviewer and her family! We also like that it’s small and portable — and the affordable price makes it a great gift idea for anytime!
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Ask Magazine, for kids ages 7-10, is one of several kids educational magazines by Carus Publishing (see our review of Muse Magazine). Ask’s articles focus on arts and sciences, answering questions a grandchild might ask (for instance, Why do we sleep?), in articles that are in-depth and appropriate for kids this age. The Case of the Disappearing Bees, an article appearing in the September 2008 issue, discusses the current crisis that is stumping beekeepers and scientists, and scaring farmers, food manufacturers and all of us who eat the crops bees have always dutifully pollinated. The article’s content is challenging, yet not over the top. An adult would probably need to read along with a 7 or 8 year old, and a 9 or 10 year-old would enjoy reading and learning on their own. Another great article, titled, Say Cheese! The Science of Smiling, discusses the many types of human smiles, as well as those of some animals, such as monkeys. Ask Magazine also includes shorter news stories, called, Scoops, as well as comic strips, contests and letters. A subscription to Ask Magazine makes a great year-long birthday or holiday gift idea. Stay tuned for reviews of more great kids magazines, such as: Babybug Magazine for infants to 3 years; Ladybug Magazine & Click Magazine for ages 3-6; Spider Magazine and Appleseeds for ages 6-9; and Cricket Magazine, Dig Magazine (all about archaeology!), Faces Magazine (about people, places and culture), and more, for ages 9-14.
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The TickleMe Plant (Mimosa Pudica from seeds) kids gift is a great science kit for ages 5 and up and fun for the entire family. Kids can experience the joy and responsibility of growing their own TickleMe plants from seeds, and then interact with them. Once the plants’ mature leaves have grown (within a month under the right conditions), you and your grandchild can literally tickle them and watch them move. This kit includes a reusable recycled plastic greenhouse (the gift’s packaging) to help nurture the seeds, as well as 3 TickleMe seed packets (with 10-20 Mimosa Pudica seeds and growing instructions on the back), 6 flower pots, 6 soil pellets and 10 science experiment ideas, such as: Use a toothpick to try to find out which part of the TickleMe Plant is most sensitive to touch. TickleMe plants can be re-potted when they are big enough and brought outside once temperatures don’t dip lower than 65 degrees. Seeds will take longer to grow in rooms that are cooler than 70 degrees. The company’s website has a Growing Tips section with specific instructions for growing, including tips for the Fall and Winter seasons. And for a budget-friendly gift idea under $10, TickleMe Plants sells a Mini greenhouse gift package that includes 1 seeds packet, 1 flower pot and 1 soil pellet for $5.95. This is a great birthday party favor idea as you can purchase 6 mini kits for $29.95. Parents may also want to mention the idea to teachers, as the company sells classroom science kits. TickleMe Plant Company was actually founded by a science teacher and, thus, has that seal of approval. A fun, creative, and educational gift idea!
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Idbids is a beautifully conceived and designed eco-friendly educational kit for kids 3 years and up. It makes learning about how to protect and preserve our environment fun for young children. The Idbids storybook included in the kit (Iddy Biddy Steps for a Greener World) is a sturdy small square book with vibrant photo-like illustrations showing each of the Idbids plush toy characters (Scout the Cloud, Waverly the Water Drop and Lola the Flower) engaging in a earth-friendly activity. It also explains in very simple kid-friendly terms why we should practice what the Idbids preach and the difference each of their recommendations will make to our environment. The storybook then refers kids to the kit’s Field Guide, that touches on more iddy biddy steps (10 total) they can take to make even more of a difference. The steps include: turning off the water while brushing teeth, turning off the lights when leaving a room, recycling, and using both sides of the paper when creating artwork. The guide then suggests that every time your grandchild takes one of these iddy biddy steps, they should color in one of the footprints that appear in the guide. Then, when all of the footprints are colored in, they can go to the Idbids website and print out a certificate of completion. The kit also includes an adorable Idbids character plush toy handcrafted from 100% organic Egyptian cotton and an organic fabric cinch sack that anyone (regardless of age) would enjoy. Of course, the Idbids kit’s packaging is made from 100% recycled paperboard. Idbids’ company motto is “Iddy Biddy Steps Make a Biggie Big Difference.” We predict that kids implementing the principles they learn from this gift (as well as what they learn from their parents, grandparents, teachers, etc.) will begin to understand what this motto means and will have some lots of iddy biddy fun in the process!
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The Message Marquee is a portable, wearable or mountable (if desired) light-up message board that can be used for work or play, and that the entire family will enjoy. The concept is simple. Use the black wipe-off marker to write a message on the front white-board of the Message Marquee. Turn it on and little flashing white lights surround the white-board message. Just like a marquee! Your grandchild may decide to hang it on the bedroom door with a “I’m studying” message, or family members can wear a “Happy Birthday” marquee to help celebrate someone’s special day. I’ve been using it to get my kids’ attention on school mornings and urge them to “Get Ready!” It’s a little bit silly but can help get a point across in a fun, smile-provoking way. Perhaps your grandchild could find a use for it during school presentations — or younger kids (with supervision) could use it for dramatic play setups. However your grandchild and family members choose to use it, the Message Marquee gets the point across!
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Some preschool and elementary school kids are learning Spanish words and phrases as part of their curriculum. These Use Your Words™ Kids Shirts by Whimsical Walney are another tool to help teach kids Spanish one word at a time, while also being fun and fashionable. The shirts come in short-sleeve or long-sleeve, and are made of high quality extra soft interlock cotton. The collars on the girls’ shirts are narrow, and would be considered more of a dressy tee. Each shirt features a perfectly clear and pleasing to the eye illustration of the thing to be accompanied by its English or Spanish word. You can choose shirts from three categories, such as Fruits & Vegetables, Professions, and Whimsical. Our daughter loves her long-sleeve watermelon shirt, which is white, and features a big chunk of watermelon in the middle of it. Underneath the image, in a playful yet clear lower-case font, reads “la sandia” — or you can also have it say “watermelon.” Choose Firefighter, from the Professions category, and the shirt will feature a firefighter’s hat, with “soy bombero” beneath it. Or choose Bubbles, from the Whimsical category, and the shirt will feature a bubble wand with floating bubbles and “las burbujas” beneath it. We should note that some styles are also being offered in French as well. Choose from size 6 months to 4. Muy Bueno, Whimsical Walney!
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Think It Ink It creative writing kits for kids are like mini creative writing courses, with tools and templates to help your grandchild get the juices flowing, while gaining a sense of completion and satisfaction as they literally publish their own storybook. Choose from four professionally illustrated wordless picture books — with illustrations that are playful and colorful, and that invoke a sense of wonder. The kit includes a sticky-note pad and pencil for the budding author to write a rough draft of the copy to accompany the illustrations and complete their storybook. There are also plenty of helpful tips for the child authors, as well as for adults who may be helping them. The first two pages of each book are instructions that can be read by your grandchildren or can be read aloud to them. They mainly consist of questions to assist with the creative process. For example, in Phase I, or the “Think It” phase, they may want to ask themselves: Who are the characters in the story? What are their names? What happens in the story? How does the story end? In Phase II, or the “Ink It” phase, they can begin writing or dictating their story onto their sticky notes, which then get placed on the appropriate pages with corresponding illustrations. There are similar questions they should ask themselves to guide them in the writing process, such as: What is happening in this picture? Then what happened? And, so on. Finally, in Phase III, or the “Publish It” phase, there are two options for publishing the storybook. One way is for your grandchild (or a helpful adult) to write, or “ink” the story directly into the template book, where the book’s title and author’s name can be written on the front cover. That is how it works if you purchase one of the Think It Ink It kits for $9.95. Or, for a more professional look, and for $29.95, their story can be written online via the company’s website, and then published into a custom hardcover book that includes the author’s photo and bio on the back cover. Either option makes a wonderful gift and a definite keepsake to mark another step in your grandchild’s understanding of the creative process and the power of words.
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What if you could buy a great gift for your grandchild (something you’ve found on Grandkids Gift Guide, of course!) — make that gift even more special by personalizing it and wrapping it in adventure — and, better, yet — make that special experience last 1 to 2 weeks, and forever in their memories? A new “adventure by mail” service called Giftventure will make that happen for you! All you need to do is go to their website and order a giftventure by choosing an adventure and answering a few short questions about your grandchild to personalize it. Choose a treasure map adventure for kids 4-8, a maze adventure for kids 8-12, or choose from several seasonal/holiday adventures. Their characters include: Captain Percy the Pirate, Fay the Fairy Princess, Gunther the Dragon, and holiday favorites — Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and Cupid. A giftventure includes 3-4 mailers to your granchild sent every three days from the character you choose. The mailers include colorful letters and posters, as well as puzzles and clues leading them to the location of your gift. Simply provide Giftventure with your grandchild’s name and address, location where your gift will be hidden, as well as a favorite toy/game and landmark to be incorporated in their special story. Giftventure will do the rest! If you know you want to give your grandchild a giftventure but don’t know exactly when — or you’re waiting for a special occasion to occur (a birthday, the holidays — or a special visit at your house or theirs!), Giftventure provides two simple options. One option is to have the giftventure mailed to you or your grandchild’s parents as a package, where everything is included, and the letters, etc. can be distributed (by grown-ups) at the most appropriate times. Or you can purchase a Giftventure gift certificate, which can be redeemed by you or your grandchild’s parents at a later date. Once you decide to give a giftventure, all you need is the gift — and you’re only a few clicks away from that! So… let the adventure and the memory-making begin!
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We’ve found that parents and grandparents tend to love Thinkfun’s brain teaser games just as much as their children and grandchildren. Top This!, one of Thinkfun’s newest additions for ages 8 and up, is no exception. The object of the game is to create the same overall shape using orange pieces of varying shapes stacked on top of blue pieces of varying shapes, or vice versa. Top This! borrows some basic concepts from classic tangrams, yet it has a wonderfully complex personality all its own. 40 game cards ranging from beginner level, to intermediate, to advanced, to expert level, show you the pieces of each color that you will need to complete each puzzle. Beginner puzzles/cards start with just 2 shape pieces of each color, and the remaining puzzles all require 3 pieces of each color. Most older children and adults should be able to get through the beginner and intermediate level puzzles without too much difficulty or with a bit of help. It is at the advanced and expert levels that the head scratching begins, and where you might find yourself obsessed with completing a particular card. Like many Thinkfun games, Top This! is beautifully packaged, with all of its 20 shape pieces, 40 puzzle cards (with solutions), and clever card holder, fitting into a nylon travel pouch. Top This! is hard to top!
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