Hi Learning Expressions Readers!
A couple of weeks ago we debuted our brand new Learning Express website. Our blog is now integrated into that site, and we'll be posting from there moving forward. We hope you'll check it out! http://www.learningexpress.com/blog/
Thanks for reading!
Greetings, Learning Expressions Readers!
Do you have trouble finding
appropriate games for your tiniest tots? Most games are designed for
children
who are at least three years old—but Roll & Play™ is a simple game designed
for children as young as 18 months. So how do you play this with your little
one? Read on to find out!
At first the Roll & Play just looks like a soft, brightly colored cube. But it also comes with a pack of cards (that are split between six skill categories) and a handy built-in pocket to store the cards when playtime is over. Each color on the cube corresponds with a category – yellow is for emotions, purple for body parts, green for animal sounds, blue for colors, orange for counting, and red for actions. With eight cards in each category, there’s no limit on the ways you and your little ones can explore.
The rules of Roll & Play™ are simple and intuitive. To get started, you give the cube a roll and see which color faces up. Then you flip a card that matches that color and act out the silly skill on the back of the card. Each card has a written direction as well as an adorable illustration for you and your children to follow. Here are a few examples from each category:
Yellow/Emotions: Make a scared
face.
Purple/Body Parts: Pinch your nose.
Green/Animal Sounds: Quack like
a duck.
Blue/Colors: Find something
blue.
Orange/Counting: Hop 4 times.
Red/Actions: Play peek-a-boo.
We love that this soft plush
cube is easily adaptable to fit any child’s needs, from counting and identifying
sight words to simply matching colors. Your child will develop color and image
recognition skills, gross motor skills, basic reading comprehension, and learn
to follow simple instructions. The game requires no setup and cards are easy to
act out alone or with a group. For a game that will have you grinning,
giggling, and sometimes even roaring like a lion, look no further than Roll
& Play™.
Thanks for reading, talk to you again soon!
Kathryn
Happy February, Learning Express readers!
This week I got to dive into two incredibly unique jewelry-making kits. By my side were friends of our family, sisters Anna, 11, and Megan, 9. I chose these sisters to test drive the jewelry kits because these gals know a thing or two about jewelry making. They have a craft room that’s as well stocked as any Joann Fabrics, and creating beautiful jewelry is high on their list of favorite activities.
We had a ball, gabbing away and spinning and weaving one-of-a-kind bracelets and necklaces. The
experience brought me straight back to the wonderful days of Girl Scout camping, which is sadly the last time I remember making any jewelry. I have such fond memories of staying up ‘til all
hours of the night, tying knot after knot of friendship bracelets or weaving lanyards by a crackling fire, bonding with my friends.
There’s something so wonderful about getting together with your best girls and creating jewelry to share and trade. As much as I adore my wild boys, I find myself feeling just a wee bit sad that they’d probably never want to partake in the evening of jewelry making the way Anna and Megan did. Nope, it’s probably monster trucks and baseball as far as the eye can see. But, alas, I digress. Back to the toy reviews!
Get Wired by the Orb Factory
With more and more households ditching their landlines in favor of cell phones, there’s a lot of extra telephone wire out there. The folks at the Orb Factory figured out a way to put all that extra material to good use: enter the Get Wired jewelry-making kit.
Each kit contains a special coiling tool designed to wind up telephone wire into unique, modern looking jewelry. And, if you’ll recall from a time that your old phone jack ever needed repair, telephone wire comes in all manner of vibrant colors.
Anna and Megan got straight to work winding away, without actually even reading the directions. Rather, helpful pictures accompany the pamphlet, and that was enough for the girls to figure out the coiling tool.
One of the best parts about using the coiling tool is that if you make a mistake, it is simple to back track, smooth out your wire, and fix your mistake. Also, the girls appreciated the fact that the coiling tool comes with suction cups to stick it firmly to the table. That helps to ensure a tighter, more professional looking coil.
Both girls were really excited by the unique material. “I’ve made a lot of jewelry, but I’ve never used telephone wire before!” remarked Anna. “Yes, this is really cool. I can’t wait to show my friends!” agreed Megan.
I noticed that if one cared to actually read the directions, one would find that the kit offers a wide range of winding techniques – from the basic ones Anna and Megan first employed to the much more intricate. As I’ve said during other toy reviews, I appreciate this so much. If you are going to spend money on a product, why not get one that will grow along with your child?
Also, the kit is quite comprehensive, which is another plus. It contains an ample supply of wire, jump rings and clasps, earring hooks, beads, and elastic string. The girls had everything they needed short of a pair of scissors to make their funky creations.
And what happens when you run out of telephone wire? We compared the wire from the kits with the wire in the kitchen phone jack. Sure enough, it is the exact same thing. A quick call to our local hardware store revealed that telephone wire will run you 33 cents for a foot-long bundle of 6 different colors. Cheap, easy, and surprisingly beautiful – what could be better?
Rainbow Loom by Choon’s Design
The folks at Choon’s Design created an ingenious little loom that weaves small, colorful rubber bands into fabulously groovy bracelets.
“This is just so addicting,” explained Anna with a smile, as she secured each rubber band in place over the proper peg.
“I love the way the bracelets look, and they’re also really comfortable!” chimed in Megan, as she admired her first Rainbow Loom work of art.
The three of us noticed that the little c-clasps provided for the bracelets are also really clever. They are simple and clean and blend right into the jewelry. Another positive is the fact that there is a wide range of patterns for the looms – from novice to advanced. So, this product also has that great longevity factor. The girls were able to figure out the basic weaving patterns easily from the included directions. Howeve
The kit contains an overly ample supply of rubber bands, but all sorts of color varieties are available at
Learning Express stores when you run out. Another smart product that takes inexpensive, readily available materials and offers a fun way to transform them into unique, wearable works of art! Crafty girls everywhere will adore both the Get Wired and the Rainbow Loom jewelry kits.
Greetings, Learning Expressions Readers!
We're back from a busy few days at Toy Fair and are so excited about the fun new toys and games we discovered there. If you've ever wondered what it's like to wander around the Javits Center, you're in luck! Today we're sharing our behind the scenes video with you. Enjoy!
Greetings, Learning Expressions Readers!
Well we’re back from another exciting morning on the show room floor!
Rather than just show you pictures, we wanted to make sure to share some video from Toy Fair with you today. Below you’ll find an awesome giant dinosaur, Calico Critter Belle getting jiggy with it, and Cory Hendon (son of our Roseville manager!) showing us his mad yoyo skills. Enjoy!
Over lunch today our owners are chatting with
the folks at TY. We’ve just been introduced to the
third generation of Monstaz,
taken a look at some new Beanie Ballz, and seen the new Hello Kitty designs.
So cute, right?
Talk to you again soon!
Kathryn
