Top 5 Ways to Get Your Game On This July 4th!

What better way to celebrate Independence Day in America on July 4th than by learning more about the United States?

The Learning Tree Toy Experts have chosen our top 5 games filled with patriotic facts and fun.

1: Great States!

This board game for is for kids 7 to adult. It includes 100 questions in each of 4 categories to keep you playing through a 3 day weekend and beyond! The playing board is a map of the US, but you don’t need it to play, sothe game is travel friendly in case you’re going to grandma’s. Just take the cards and you’re ready to play.

The categories, Fact, Find, Figure and Fun will have kids learning all the states, their capitals, fun facts – even North, South, East and West as they figure out which states are east of California, etc.

Great States! is made by International Playthings.  AND, there’s Great States Junior for kids 4 to 8 to introduce them to the 50 states using names, picture and shapes.

2: Scrambled States of America

The Scrambled States of America

The 50 states are all mixed up and they need help to find their way home!

In Scrambled States of America, players are dealt 5 State Cards they need to match to the card turned over from the Scramble Card deck. Scramble Cards have clues on them that relate them to other states, such as a state that touches at least 6 other states or a state that has 4 or more syllables. If a player can match a State Card from their pile to that Scramble Card, they’ll slap their State Card and yell out the state’s name. That card then goes into their Home Pile, and a new Scramble Card is turned over for the next round. Whoever has collected the most State Cards in their Home Pile by the end of the game, is the winner.

This action-packed card game by Gamewright is a great way to teach basic knowledge of U.S. Geography. Players will learn everything from state capitals and nicknames, to the shape and location of each state. For 2 – 4 players, ages 8 and up.

3: All Around The USA

BrainBox All Around The USA is a 10-minute memory recall game let’s you test your brain with 10 questions in 10 seconds, giving you countless learning opportunities! Players study the pictures-and-facts side of the card for 10 seconds, then they flip to the other side to see how many of the 10 questions they can answer.

Quick,  can you name the state capital? How many stars are on the flag? What river flows through this state?

This is a good travel game too! By Mindware for ages 8 and up

4: Spin USA

Spin USA

Geosafari Spin USA let’s you spin and play your way across the U.S.A!

Have fun and sharpen your U.S. geography skills! Players press the timer, and then everyone races simultaneously to find their particular state before times runs out. This is a fun family board game where everyonelearns state locations and capitals. the Spin Timer requires 3AAA batteries which aren’t included.  Spin USA is made by Educational Insights for 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up.

5: Score Fifteen: Fifty Nifty States

How much do you know about our 50 states?

Fifty Nifty States asks you more than 100 five-question quizzes that will challenge, reinforce, extend your knowledge, and stimulate your thinking process. Take it with you on vacation, play it while waiting for a table at a restaurant, or enjoy it on a quiet evening at home. It’s a great family quiz game that makes learning fun. Fifty Nifty States is made by Gary Grimm and Associates for ages 8 and older.

Long after the fireworks explode and the hotdogs and apple pie eaten, these games will be teaching kids (and adults!) about American history, geography and social studies…all while having a great time with family and friends.

See all these educational games for kids here at The Learning Tree store.

Have a Happy and Educational 4th!

Stick(er) with it!

It’s easy with Sticker Factory!

We have trouble believing that there would be anyone out there who wouldn’t find Sticker Factory pretty cool. Come on, people, you get to design and make your own stickers!

Take an everyday, ordinary (ahem, boring!) piece of paper and turn it into your own unique stickers, with only a few simple steps. If you’re artistic, you can draw your own pictures. Or, if you have trouble even drawing a stick figure, you can use the included stencil or cut out a picture.

Then just send the paper through the laminating sticker machine…and presto! You have your own unique stickers for any kind of use…notebooks, scrapbooks, gift tags…or just for fun!

Sticker Factory comes with a 10-foot roll of sticker paper and a matching length of sticker film, the stencil, burnishing tool, pencil and instructions. We know you’ll stick with it, since it’s so much fun!

Gift Wrap? No Thanks! Birthday (+$1.50) Christmas (+$1.50) Hanukkah (+$1.50) Price: $24.99 Quantity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Toddler Toys Get Kids Truckin’!

Designing your very own a custom-built vehicle when you’re only three? How cool is that!?

And then building it yourself…from magnets?! Even cooler!

Working Trucks from the makers of Magna-Tiles give your little builder the chance to build a vehicle just like they do at the factory! Our Toy Experts think this set is pretty fun in that kids can build their very own imaginative creation or fun vehicles like bulldozers, police cars and fire trucks.

The 27-piece modular magnetic system comes with 4 wheeled base units and plenty of other pieces for little vehicle builders to create their own fleet. All of the pieces are held together with magnets, adding another element of fun, as well as the promotion of fine motor skills (no pun intended!).

Working Trucks Magnetic Combination Vehicles are perfect for children from ages 3 to 6.

Click here for more info or to purchase from The Learning Tree.

Crafting Fun With Brain Noodles

Using your noodle has never been this much fun!

We can’t quit playing with Brain Noodles™ …and neither can kids who come into our stores! These twisty, bendy crafts (think jumbo, oversized fuzzy pipecleaners) are bright, colorful and fun for all ages of kids and kids-at-heart. Jumbo silky fiber stems that bend any way you want, Noodles are amazingly versatile and can be turned into anything you can imagine. They can even be thrown into the washing machine if they get dirty!

Brain Noodles™ can be used again and again in unlimited ways. You can create free-form or follow instructions that explain how to make all sorts of things! Brain Noodles™ are perfect for crafts and quiet play time (they’d be incredibly easy to take along to a restaurant for any restless kiddos!), but they also make great party favors and birthday gifts. Turn Noodles into the recipient’s first initial for package-toppers (we’ve been known to bend and attach a Noodle or two onto gifts we wrap at our two stores)!

Use Brain Noodles™ to make:
· A Halloween jack-o-lantern or a gobbling turkey for Thanksgiving!
· A fuzzy tic-tac-toe game!
· A tiara for a princess
· A dinosaur or a dog or a bug
· Anything your mind can dream up!

Here at The Learning Tree we’ve got oodles of Noodles and would love for you to share in the fun!

Click here to learn more or to get Brain Noodles™ for yourself!

Keep Your Kids Healthy through Play

Healthy habits are much easier to maintain when started early in life. According to the American Heart Association, kids in the United States today are less fit than children of the previous generation. Even kids as young as two or three are spending more time playing video games and watching television than engaging in physical activity. This increases their risk for obesity and the many problems it causes including juvenile diabetes. It stands to reason we can best help our kids acquire healthy habits if we encourage them early, and participate with them. We can take some proactive steps to help our kids learn to enjoy physical activities and keep sedentary activities in balance.

It’s important to limit television and computer time and get kids outdoors to breathe fresh air and connect with nature. If your child balks at leaving the TV or the computer, find an activity that inspires them . Let them decorate a scooter or a flying turtle for their own sidewalk parade. Set up a bicycle racecourse for the Tricycle Tour de Sidewalk. Children instinctively know how to run, jump, tumble, and twirl. All kids need is for adults to provide the space, time and supervision they need to be healthy, strong and happy.

Play = Exercise. Engaging children in active play has many benefits. Muscle mass and bone strength are increased while body fat is decreased. Rousing physical play shrinks anxiety and improves mood. Nobody can stay mad after jumping on a Blast Pad or an Ultra Stomp Rocket ! Early physical activity can even be linked to a reduction in chronic diseases in adulthood.

An excellent way to introduce exercise for kids, especially 2 through 8, to physical activity is through daily walks. Is walking to school an option, or to a friend’s house, or the park? Now that fall is here, you can suggest picking up different colors and shapes of leaves along the way. Let your toddler pull a wagon or ride a trike . And don’t let “bad” weather stop you. A walk in the rain with umbrellas is fun for children of all ages.

Be a role model for your little ones, not only as an honest and kind person but as a healthy and physically active one as well Leave the car, TV and computer at home and get outside and walk, bike and run with your kids. The benefits will be life-long for all of us.

Indoor Camping Trip

On those long winter days, when my brothers and I were suffering from acute cabin fever, mom brought out the old comforter and let the fun begin. We draped it over the back of the couch then pulled some kitchen chairs in to hold up the other side. Voila! Our tent was built and we were ready for camping. Sometimes mom even lit a fire in the fireplace to add another element of atmosphere to our play. Just a simple snack to tide us over at our campsite and we were transported far away from the cold howling winds outside. Under that old comforter we “visited” everywhere from Alaska to Africa. We fished in mountain streams with yardsticks and we went on safari for elephants out in the Serengeti. Suddenly the afternoon had passed in a most pleasant way and we were begging her to let us leave our wonderful camp until tomorrow.

The only downside of our great camping adventures was trying to keep our “tent” secured to the couch and the chairs. We spent quite a bit of time re-draping it and trying to secure the edges. What reminded me of this is a product we started to carry last year – the Fortamajig . This clever toy consists of a large piece of rip stop nylon with lots of loops to secure it to chairs, trees, doorknobs or whatever is handy. It also has a door, a mesh window and even corner pockets for storage. Since it’s washable it can go outside for year-round tent building fun.

Kids love a little “house” of their own whether it’s under an old quilt, inside an appliance box or with a versatile toy like the Fortamajig . Add a snack, maybe trail mix or granola bars, a canteen or a travel bottle of water and send your kid on a “vacation” that they create. It’s an ingenious way to turn a rainy afternoon into an adventure.