Educational Toys and Games

All the world’s a stage, according to Shakespeare. With these new presentation tools and game shows, your classroom can become a learning stage. And you are the director!
Classroom Jeopardy is an interactive teaching device to use in the classroom to review and/or learn new content.  Students seem to love it because it’s exciting and is a non-traditional teaching technique. 
The Classroom Jeopardy! machine console comes with Classroom Jeopardy! Editor software, which enables you to create your own questions and answers that address all the core content for your curriculum. The software provides sample question formats and guides the game creator through the process. The newest version is easier for editing your existing games or creating new Jeopardy games. The system was introduced to the market in 2002.  It was a great system but annoying to make the games. The console plugged into a television and there was a keyboard attached to the unit to create game. It was very tedious and difficult to make last minute changes. The newer version system is much easier with the Classroom Editor Software. You can easily create custom Jeopardy! games and answer keys on your PC or Macintosh computer and download them onto a Classroom Jeopardy! cartridge in one easy step. Plus, you can view and download other teacher-created games on the Internet. If you already have the system and would like to take advantage of the newer version purchase the Classroom Jeopardy Link Editing Software. It comes with everything you need.
Each Jeopardy! game has 13 categories – six in the first round, six in the Double Jeopardy! round and one for the Final Jeopardy! question. The Teacher’s Guide gives suggestions for creative categories, tips for involving the entire class and ideas for curriculum integration. Once you have created your game, the Classroom Jeopardy! Link connects your computer to a cartridge so you can save the new game.
This system is the tool to motivate students at any age.  Schools nationwide have been issued grants for this well known product.   The internet site www.EliteToyStore.com is an authorized retailer for the manufacturer Educational Insights and gives free tech support 7 days a week 10AM – 10PM @ 646 322 8365.  They use the system to host fundraising with local schools and know all the little tidbits to make it successful.  Accepting Purchase Orders and offering a $135. discount is also making it hard to resist !!  Visit the website at www.EliteToyStore.com.

I have a little 4 year old daughter and a 6 year old son that love to interact with toys.  They was just introduced to the the Calico Critters Cottontail Rabbit Family. The entire family is a fuzzy Critter and wears a tiny little cloth outfit. Not only are the figures sturdy and appear to be well-made, but the clothes the characters are wearing are cute and a good quality. Each cute creature is poseable, playful, dressable and completely collectible! We have so many tech toys to entertain our children they can’t entertain themselves (or their parents). Calico Criters are a soothing reminder the world can be a simple place for children. The entire line comes with so many different families; Hawthorne Hamster Family, Norwood Mouse Family, Fisher Cat Family, Lambrook Sheep Family, Dalmatian Dog Family, Marmalade Bear Family, even Fox and Monkey Families! The Calico critters live in Cloverleaf Manor and they are sweet and innocent. It is a relief to see toys without violent characteristics. The creator of Calico Critters has a story behind each family. The Cottontail Rabbit Family is down-to-earth and hardworking. They take great pride in their family and the skilled work of Father, Aaron’s furniture making.  
 My daughter plays with the accessory set Baby Play Nursery School. The nursery School is packed with activity and fun, with lots of things to do all day long: jump up and down the bright colorful stairs, climb the small ladder to the rooftop patio. My son (six years old) is in charge of outside play. The critter students behave and play “nicely.” My son helps teach and then they all play and chill out in a super cool pool - that my daughter loves. Of course, after filling their tiny brains with education in the classroom - they need to play. 
Calico Critters Outdoor Furniture Set includes a great sandbox.  A picnic table with umbrella, chairs, plates and cups are also included in the set as well as a tricycle.  Each piece is well-constructed and sturdy.  Unlike so many of the plastic toys we buy, this furniture set is made of wood (even the toy pail and shovel), and it shows in the quality.  Pieces are sturdy and do not break off easily - what a relief! There are so many ways to expand this line that I know exactly what to get next gift time!

What was the first official toy? Who played with it? Let’s face it - there’s always been children. Have you ever asked yourself - in the beginning, what “toys” did children own? Men, women, and children have all loved to have fun with toys since their very beginning. And probably always will.
A ball couldn’t have been to difficult to invent - although we have changed the color and size to fit our needs. In 1969 Parker Brothers introduced the Nerf ball, a polyurethane foam ball that is safe for indoor play. By year’s end, more than 4 million Nerf balls were sold.  In 2000 B.C. Egyptians began to play a game that resembles modern-day checkers. The object of the game is to clear the board of the opponent’s checkers or to block the opponent’s checkers so that they cannot be moved. If a player cannot move, that player loses the game. Checkers haven’t change too much. The company Melissa and Doug created the same game Old Fashion Checkers  with a classic feel to it.

Video game systems - now that’s a game the cavemen couldn’t even dream about.  In 1985 the first Nintendo Game System was born.  When was that little guy Mario born? 1986. Hasn’t he aged gracefully? After 23 years Nintendo leads the market for the younger generation of gamers.  The newest sytem: Nintendo Wii Video Game Console System . It arrived over 2 years ago and stores cannot keep the system on the shelves. The newest version gets kids (and adults) off the couch! Nintendo believes the sky is the limit on who to target.  They are releasing Wii Fit on May 20th.  An excercise program on a gaming system. Wii Fit wants to change the way you think about fitness. It wants to change how you excercise, how you balance, and even how you move. It will tell you your BMI and will track your progress in “getting fit.”  I guess it’s not just a video game - it’s a money making machine for Nintendo!