If your kids are overdosing on TV, tear them away from SpongeBob (he’s not going anywhere, we promise) and check out cool toys aimed at education. We scoured three children’s stores and found items that help with a slew of life skills.
1. Budding urban planners have a field day with Geoville, a set of 50 flexible, plastic pieces that interlock to create mini village settings. Piece together houses, trees, yards and even white picket fences. By Quercetti Intelligent Toys, ages 3 and up. $21.95.
2. Play store properly with Learning Resources’ Teaching Cash Register. It demonstrates the ins and outs of using currency–and credit–with pretend money and a credit card. An LCD screen displays the value of coins as they’re placed into a slot, and a booklet full of math games sharpens skills. Ages 3-5. $44.95. Both available at the DuPage Children’s Museum Explorer Store, 301 N. Washington St., Naperville, 630-637-8000.
3. Learning fractions becomes much more fun when food’s involved. With Piece-a-Pizza Fractions, kids get acquainted with fourths, eighths and halves as they mix, match and serve plastic pizza slices. By Learning Resources, ages 2 and up. $16. At PsychoBaby, 1630 N. Damen Ave., 773-772-2815.
4. Spend hours counting the hours with Learning Resources’ Time Telling Puzzle Cards. The pack’s 24 cards feature both analog and digital time, and kids make matches by fitting puzzle-cut pieces together. Ages 5-9. $6.95.
5. Brand New World’s Loaf of Fun Bread features 12 slices of “bread” featuring the ABCs on one side and 1-2-3s on the other. Punchy illustrations, like one with bananas for the letter “B,” make learning fun. Ages 3 and up. $14.99. Both available at The Learning Tree, 4419 N. Ravenswood Ave., 773-769-3737.
