Summertime…when the playing is easy (Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen)

No batteries. No lights and sound. Almost no rules. Seems like 1970? Some of the newest toys I’ve played with this summer are also some of the simplest and most fun. Here are three to reach for when the hot sun and lazy days seem to zap your desire for battery-powered energy.

Rory’s Story Cubes by Gamewright literally keeps the good times rolling with nine die, each covered with six pictures instead of numbers. Roll ‘em then, starting with any image, begin to tell a story using all the face-up pictures. Players can take turns, share the plot, or play solo. The myriad “once upon a times” promise an open book of possibilities.

Stix & Stones by Educational Insights is a mash-up of Pictionary and Name That Tune. Players vie to see who can use the fewest sticks and stones to “draw” an object chosen from a deck of cards. “I can build this object in 6 stix!” Variations for team play, young kids, and 3 players make it adaptable to most situations. I also found it fun to challenge myself to make solo “prehistoric” pictures.

For the youngest (6 months and up) kids, the newness of the Stacker by Green Toys isn’t in the classic play pattern, but in the use of recycled plastic material; the non-traditional, non-primary colors (egg yolk yellow, orange juice orange, sky blue, and lime green) and the cleverly molded shapes that stack in any order, not just big-to-small. Each shape also has tiny holes that will probably fascinate a baby who watches water seep through them in the bathtub. -- Wendy Smolen

Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen is co-founder of Sandbox Summit®, a series of conferences that explore the synergy between play and technology. The most recent Sandbox Summit was presented by MIT’s Education Arcade in May 2010.

Comments

[Steph on August 25, 2010 at 05:37 PM]

I love the idea of the story cubes. What a great way to encourage your children's creativity!

[Childrens Wooden Toys on September 15, 2010 at 03:04 AM]

I love the look of the Stacker, it's so simple but for me that can create the best play thing for kids, especially as they then have to use their imagination when playing.

I looks sturdy and long lasting too which is important for young kids as they seriously like to throw things around. Thanks for sharing!

[click here for find more info on October 17, 2010 at 09:23 PM]

I think that it would be a very good thing to have some good benefits as this would just ensure that the kids have a good time even while staying inside the house during the summers. The kids staying indoors are more likely to get irritated faster and in this circumstances some interesting toys and someone to play with will be of a great relief to them and a help to the elders.

[Toronto debt settlement on November 17, 2010 at 03:24 AM]

I used many of the companies battery but all are bad, but when i have been using this battery my kid's got good play.

[London escorts on March 23, 2011 at 12:33 AM]

I had absolutely nothing of my own not my time (three children under 7 years means no golf at the weekend and no happy hour, and be a partner in a law firm increasingly means 65 + hours per week), not my house (my wife decorates it), not even my salary.

[Double Glazing on June 25, 2011 at 11:54 PM]

Having green toys for kids is also a little way of teaching them to be an environmental enthusiasts. It is great that at a young age we are already teaching them to take good care of our environment.