Awesome Gift: Snap Circuits (8 & Up)
All-around awesome gift! Kids use building blocks with snaps to form electronic circuits.
There are various blocks (switch, lamp, battery) numbered and in different colors so it’s easy to tell them apart. Kids learn to build a light switch, a motor, sound-activated devices and more. The instructions are simple and straight-forward, and it comes with hundreds of do-it-yourself projects. Kids of love it! Learn about electronics while building your own devices.
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Entertaining Gift: Fisher Price Storybook Rhymes (Ages 6 mos. – 3 yrs)
Another good product geared towards combining fun and learning, Storybook Rhymes does a fine job of introducing the rudiments of letters and numbers.
Presented in the concept of storybook, it goes over numbers 1-3 and the first three letters of the alphabet. It also introduces three basic colors. The book contains classic nursery rhymes (e.g., “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”), which are sang as the child flips through the pages. It is a fun, interactive toy that kids will enjoy.
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Great Gift: Leapfrog Scribble & Write (Ages 3 – 5 yrs)
If you ever wanted your youngster to begin learning the alphabet, the Leapfrog Scribble and Write is a great way to start.
Leapfrog, for those unfamiliar with the company, develops toys and games that merge education and fun. While not everything they put in the marketplace is a home run, the Scribble and Write is one product that probably is.
The S&W (see left) is crafted to teach the alphabet, and it does so in several ways: tracing upper-case and lower-case letters; drawing shapes; and guessing letters. Basically, letters and shapes, shown in the form of red dots, appear in a traceable writing area. Verbal instructions voiced by the S&W prompt children to trace the object which appears using an attached stylus. (In the “guessing” mode, a letter is drawn on the tracing surface and children are asked to identify it by pressing the proper alphabet button on the S&W.)
In brief, the Scribble and Write is a great way to get your child familiar with the alphabet, both in terms or recognizing letters and writing them.
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