Monday, July 18, 2016

Summer Toys & Games from Educational Insights


With the kids out of school and a lot of rain days,  I've been looking for ways to keep mu family occupied when they're stuck inside. Educational Insights has tons of fun games and toys to help make your summer run smoothly. Here are three of our top picks.




Sophie’s Seashell Scramble™ Game

The Big Idea
Help Sophie the Otter find yummy shells to eat in this pattern-matching spin and swim game! Players spin the spinner and use the Sophie squeezer to pick up a shell with a matching pattern. The first player to collect one shell of each pattern wins! 

Shhh...They’re Learning!

  • Develops critical pre-reading and strategic thinking skills
  • Enhances fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination
  • Promotes sharing and turn taking
  • Helps develop social skills

Cut to the Chase

  • Board game designed to teach patterns and pre-reading skills
  • Quick, fun game that children can grasp quickly
  • No reading skills required
  • Easy setup and cleanup
  • Based on the award-winning The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game!®

My Thoughts

This is such an adorable game!  The object of the game is to collect one of each type of seashell. They all have different patterns. When you spin the wheel, you may land on one that has the same pattern as a certain shell. Then you get to grab that one. If you hit a wave, everyone has to toss one shell back. The octopus is the most exciting spot to land on. You have a wager a shell and spin again. You may wind up with two shells, or you may have to put one back. To make it more fun,  you use the cute little Sophie shaped squeezer to pick up the shells. Whoever gets one of each shell first will be the winner.


This is a great game. It's quick and easy, so you can get a few rounds in at a time. It helps children learn patterns and encourages social skills. It's great for younger children because no reading is required.

Brownie Match™ Game

The Big Idea
Players take turns spinning the spinner and flipping the brownie they think hides the matching number. Make a match and scoop it up with the spatula, but be on the lookout for special spins, like burnt brownies and spilt milk! You might just lose a brownie or a turn. Collect five brownies first to win!

Shhh...They’re Learning!

  • Helps develop memory and matching skills
  • Encourages numeral recognition
  • Helps increase fine motor skills
  • Promotes sharing and turn taking
  • Helps develop social skills

Cut to the Chase

  • This fudgy find-it preschool game encourages numeral recognition and builds memory and matching skills!
  • Includes 16 brownie game pieces, 1 spatula, 1 spinner, and 4 plates
  • Multilingual instruction guide
  • No reading required for gameplay
  • For 2–4 players

My Thoughts

This is another great game, especially for bakers in training. The game pieces look so good, it's hard to resist taking a bite out of one!  But these brownies aren't for eating. Each one has a number or star (which is like a wild card) underneath. To play the game, you spin the wheel and whatever number you land on, you use the spatula to pick one a brownie that hopefully matches that number. If you guess correctly, you get to keep it. If not, you have to put it back. You could also land on a burnt brownie and have to put one back or get a chance to steal one from another player.  The first to fill up their tray is the winner.

This game teaches kids to recognize numbers and helps them to build their memory skills. When my daughter isn't using the brownies to play the game, she also enjoys using them in her play kitchen. It's like getting two toys in one!

The Big Idea
Kids can zoom into build ‘n’ play fun with Design & Drill® Power Play Vehicles™! Your little engineers can build their copter by snapping the pieces together. Then, they can use the motorized mini-drill to add the bolts. Finally, it’s time to add artistic flair and customize their creation with colorful stickers, and zoom into creative STEM play! Once their chopper is ready to hit the skies, they can use kid-power to spin the blades and lift off!

Shhh...They’re Learning!

  • Perfect for STEM learning
  • Explores patterning, matching, and counting
  • Builds construction and fine motor skills
  • Encourages creativity and imagination while building confidence

Cut to the Chase 

  • Build your own helicopter, complete with moving pieces, using 4 snap-on parts
  • 15 Clear bolts
  • Motorized, kid-friendly mini-drill with socket bit
  • Colorful & decorative stickers
  • Multilingual instructional guide
  • Drill requires 3 AAA batteries (not included


My Thoughts 

My son always wants me to get him those little block sets, but he's just too young for a million pieces. He gets frustrated, the pieces get lost, and we never get to see the finished product. The Design and Drill sets are just as much fun, but so much easier to assemble. Plus, kids get the added advantage of getting to use a toy screwdriver to assemble their masterpieces. After it's all assembled, there are some cute stickers you can add to make it look even more authentic. 

Putting the helicopter together only took my four-year-old son about half and hour, and he was able to do it mostly on his own. Once it was completed, he had a great time pretending to fly it around. He can easily take it apart and put it back together again as many times as he likes. Since the pieces are big, they are harder to lose. 



GeoSafari® Jr. Great Excavations Turtle™


The Big Idea
Little explorers can excavate and examine finds in the backyard, beach, or playground with this durable turtle. Features five kid-friendly tools that are tough enough for any adventure! Perfect for STEM learning.

Shhh...They’re Learning!
  • Ideal tool for sand and dirt exploratory play
  • Introduction to basic scientific tools
  • Encourages outdoor exploration and hands-on scientific discovery
  • Perfect for STEM learning
Cut to the Chase
  • Turtle tool with shell sifter and 4 detachable tool legs
  • Includes easy-store, snap-in mini shovel, brush, 2x magnifier, and tweezers
  • Turtle measures 5.5" wide and 8.5" long
  • Features head and tail handles

My Thoughts

My children had a ton of fun with this play-set at the beach. It's shaped like a turtle, but every part of it's body is a tool kids can use to discover and learn. They strained the sand at the beach looking for shells and came home with a ton of treasures. Each of the legs is a shovel or chisel to help them root through the sand. You can also use it in a sandbox or anywhere else where you can find some good, clean dirt. It's a great way to get kids to explore their surroundings. 

These are only a few only one example of the educational toys and games you can find at Educational Insights for both family and classroom use. This awesome company has been providing us with the best in educational games for years.Make sure you thank them by visiting their face book fan page  to keep up with new additions. 



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