Toy Recommendation Guide 2013

Here it is… The ultimate toy recommendation list… Now if only I could afford 1 of each of them…

Check it out:

http://intelligentnest.com/2013/10/20/the-toy-recommendation-guide-2013/

Toy Tuesday: Hangman

I’m back! It’s been awhile since I’ve written a post… my world has been a little crazy lately! I’m back in action this week, featuring the Melissa and Doug Hangman game! How cute is this?! The letters are pretty resistive, working on finger strength when turning them over. Great game for letter sequencing, spelling and writing simple words, making handwriting fun, and body awareness. Love the size and the ease of storage. It’s compact and easy to carry around. What other fun ways have you used hangman for?

Lacing

I have been brainstorming a way to help my kids understand the concept of lacing. A coworker and I came up with this idea: green for go, red for stop, with a green line to follow with the lace. Starting at the star, push the lace through the green hole, pull it through until it stops, and follow the green line to the next green hole. I haven used it with several kids and it is helping! I plan on making one with only green holes to remove some of the visual cues. Has anyone else tried something fun to help with lacing?

Mardel Monday: Lab Mice

This game is too fun. 100 puzzles, with 3 different levels of difficulty, and an awesome cognitive component for only $18 is a superb deal! To play the game, you must connect the color mouse to his corresponding cheese, without crossing any other paths. What a great way to make mazes fun!

Mardel Monday: ThinkFun’s Amaze

Love this ThinkFun game (and a few others!) 16, interactive mazes, to challenge our cognitive process, executive function, visual motor skills, and fine motor skills. Very challenging, and only recommended for kids who can handle the thinking demands. Great option for challenging older kids!! It’s small, compact, easy to travel with, and easy to set up. The mazes challenges are shown for set-up. Use the “pen” to move through the maze! As you trace through the maze, you’ll find red bars that can be moved left or right to create a new path. So fun!