Check out these engaging edutainment kits for children who are stuck indoors for what seems like a never-ending rainy day.
Kids can set up and crew their own construction site with the Road Work Construction Set ($39.99) by iPlay iLearn. It includes everything exasperated drivers routinely see closing down lanes and causing traffic jams: crane, bulldozer, forklift and assorted other construction vehicles, plus safety cones and barricades but it’s all pure fun when kids re-create these scenes and others on the family room floor. The set’s 50-plus pieces, geared to ages 3 to 10, inspire hours of creative play while sneaking in lots of early educational skill-building, including spatial relationships, mechanical interactions, hand-eye coordination and cognitive processes.
Photo: Amazon
Don’t let the utter adorableness of the My Gnome on the Roam adventure suitcase ($29.97) fool you into thinking it isn’t packed full of teachable moments. Created by busy working mom and middle school teacher Anne Armstrong, this captivating kit inspires active learning through the award-winning My Gnome on the Roam storybook; a journal for recording memories and experiences and magical pen; an app that suggests things to do daily, like making crafts and playing games as a family; and a ready-to-be-painted gnome that is destined to show up in countless selfies. Armstrong created the kit for kids ages 3 to 12 and included lots of prompts for imaginative, family-fun play: taking the gnome out to explore the world beyond their own backyard, recording their story and then sharing it with the “gnome community” through the app and social sites, engaging family reading time. A customizable Traveling Adventure Gnome with Home ($9.97), which includes the gnome and his cardboard house, is also available. Both items may be purchased on Amazon. The My Gnome on the Roam app is $1.99.
Photo: Amazon
Cupixel Sketch ($69.99) turns any child into an artist with a fully stocked art kit, and in four simple steps. Install an app that uses augmented reality technology and comes with online assistance from real-life artists. Upload a favorite image or photo. Sketch it on a canvas. Grab a brush and some paint tubes and go to town. The kit has everything a budding artist needs to create a masterpiece in about two hours, including a dozen acrylic paints and mini canvases, sketching tools, paint brushes and more. Also in the kit is a stand for propping an electronics device and a painting pad to keep the canvas firmly in place. Right now, during this time of social distancing and remote learning, Cupixel Sketch is including a free refill box for every box purchased.
Photo: Amazon
Remote-learning math class just got a lot more fun. For the 8-plus crowd, E-Blox offers Circuit Blox 115 ($32.99), containing 40 pieces for building more than 100 projects. Young engineers learn all about electricity, current and voltage, and discover how lots of moving parts work lights, alarms, motors, switches and more all while constructing fun projects. Each of the light, wire, battery and switch blocks in Circuit Blox has a job to do, and each type is color-coded for easy identification. An included instruction manual guides kids through the various projects, connecting each to the particular field of study.
Photo: Amazon
That’s what Plus-Plus Learn to Build sets ($24.99) are all about. From flat mosaics and puzzles to 3-D animals, people, vehicles and more, the Learn to Build set, geared to kids ages 5 to 12, is an activity- and learning-inspiring STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) toy that stimulates fine motor skills and creativity, not to mention focus and patience. And it’s BPA- and phthalate-free.
Photo: AmazonAs parents deal with school closings and activity cancellations because of the coronavirus, it’s a new normal for nearly everyone. Here are free online learning resources to help keep your child connected to education and schooling. Get links for math, English, social studies and science for all grade levels.
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As with adults, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises children 2 years and older to wear cloth face coverings when in public settings.
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