Diskoveries – Playing to Learn: Toys, Smart Toys, and Play

Diskoveries – Playing to Learn: Toys, Smart Toys, and Play & Learn with the iPad By Joan Tanenhaus

product review

Playing to Learn: Toys, Smart Toys, and Play & Learn with the iPad By Joan Tanenhaus

Once again, a collection of toys that focus on play, fun and learning. They are designed to encourage language and communi- cation, thinking skills and creative play while also setting a context for turn-taking and social skills. Have fun playing and learning.

to-grasp Little People “friends” Emma, Jack and Dog included, too. As they begin their imaginative play, children hear songs, sounds and phrases that encourage them to help around the house, information about caring for pets, and ways to develop healthy habits. They can press buttons, open doors, turn on lights, move sliders and hear sounds and songs. They can feed the dog, make the bed, have Emma go up and down the steps, give Jack a bath in the tub, flush the toilet, put away toys and more. There are songs that introduce teamwork, playing togeth- er, helping, healthy habits, morning routines and household chores. If you want, you can also add other little people (Lit- tle People Big Helpers Family Figures (sold separately) include mom, dad and baby.) The house opens for play time and then packs away easily with all the furniture and Little People inside. The handle on top makes it easy to carry and take along to a friend or to family. Excellent for young children for symbolic play, language development and social skills. Also great to use in a therapy session, classroom setting or at home. It links with other Little People playsets and is an open-ended, exploratory toy for pretend play and for the development of language and social skills for young children. To help you relate this early learning to other play situations, Fisher Price has some excellent apps for learning as well as vid- eos and other web resources. Also there are some fun apps for

Little People Big Helpers Home (Fisher-Price: https://fisher-price.mattel. com/shop/en-us/fp/little-people-house- town-car/little-people-big-helpers-home- fhf34) Another wonderful Little People toy, a playhouse designed for exploratory and pretend play. This house, available in pink or blue, has many rooms and areas to explore, along with easy-

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Fisher-Price: Little People Big Helpers Home: YouTube Video Link:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm1riHmiZmk

Vehicle Playsets: Jinja’s Jet (www.sagomini.com)

your iPad and Android tablets that encourage pretend play relat- ed to house and home: Apps: • My Town: Home Doll House (www.my-town.com) • Toca House (www.tocaboca.com) • My PlayHome (www.myplayhomeapp.com), • My Town: Grandparents (www.my-town.com ) • Pepi House (www.pepiplay.com) • Fisher-Price Storybooks Rhymes (www.fisher-price.com) • Fisher Price Videos: Fisher Price Little People full epi- sodes on YouTube. • Fisher Price Online Games & Activities: http://play.fisher-price.com/en_US/index.html

Vehicle Playsets are a series of toys designed by Sago Mini, a company that has produced and created extensive products and resources that provide excellent open-ended creative play expe- riences with both toys and apps for young children. Sago Mini characters and apps encourage children to explore, imagine and discover. Inspired by the popular Sago Mini app Planes, Jinja’s Jet features one of the favorite characters, Jinja the cat. For ages three and up, this toy contains the airplane, Jinja the pilot, two friends, Tom and Astrid and a group of related objects (a mini suitcase, and mini teddy bear, selfie stick, juice box, sleep mask) that all store away in the cargo hold. This toy, and others in the Vehicle Playset series are designed to promote social skills, cre- ative and pretend play. Other sets in the series include: Hugbot & Kiki’s Fire Truck , and Neville’s Ice Cream Truck.

Other: See reviews below:

• Jinja’s House (www.sagomini.com) • My Little House (www.smartfelttoys.com)

Vehicle Playsets: YouTube Video Link: : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghysKBXB3Yw

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For more fun with Jinja the cat, see Jinja’s apps: Sago Mini Road Trip, Sago Mini Fairy Tales and Sago Mini Doodlecast (www.sagomini.com) Sago Mini, Toca Boca and other open-ended apps related to vehicles: ) • Sago Mini Planes (www.sagomini.com) • Sago Mini Trucks & Diggers (www.sagomini.com) • Toca Train (www.tocaboca.com) • Toca Cars (www.tocaboca.com) • Duck,Duck,Moose Trucks (www.duckduckmoose.com) • Duck Duck Moose Build-A-Truck (www.duckduckmoose.com) • Monster Truck Doodle (www.shoethegoose.com) • Pepi Garage (www.pepiplay.com)

• Dr. Panda Café (www.drpanda.com), • Cake Doodle (www.shoethegoose.com)

(Please note that both the Portable Playsets and Vehicle Play- sets contain small parts that are a choking hazard and are not for children under three years old.)

Jack’s Diner: YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku4kubobadc

Portable Playset: Jack’s Diner (www.sagomini.com)

Portable Playsets: Jack’s Diner (www.sagomini.com)

Portable Playsets is another fun series from SagoMini. Jack’s Diner , for ages three and up, features Jack the rabbit and friend Dennis the octopus, along with things you would want in your diner - booth seats, a jukebox, take-out window, washroom, mugs and bowls, paper menus and dollars and more. Play as a cook, a server or a customer! When you’re all finished, every- thing closes up and the diner has a handle so you can carry it anywhere you want to play. Other sets in the series include: Jin- ja’s House and Harvey’s Spaceship. (Jinja’s House was reviewed in detail in DISKoveries in the April/May issue of Closing The Gap Solutions.) For more fun with Jack, the rabbit, see Jacks’s apps: Sago Mini Superhero, Sago Mini Babies and Sago Mini Trucks & Diggers (www.sagomini.com) Sago Mini, Toca Boca and other open-ended apps related to Diners, Restaurants and Cooking: • Sago Mini Pet Café (www.sagomini.com), • Toca Kitchen (www.tocaboca.com) • Toca Kitchen Monsters (www.tocaboca.com),

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• Toca Doctor (www.tocaboca.com), • Toca Life: Hospital (www.tocaboca.com), • Toca Pet Doctor (www.tocaboca.com), • Dr. Panda Hospital (www.drpanda.com) • Pepi Doctor (www.pepiplay.com), • Pepi Hospital (www.pepiplay.com)

Pillow Playset: Pillow Doctor: (www.sagomini.com)

Sago Mini Pillow Playsets: YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTMBWEx0YME

Pillow Playsets : Doctor’s office (www.sagomini.com)

Pillow Playsets is the third group of new and creative toys from SagoMini. The toys in this group feature a throw pillow that unfolds to reveal a fun and unique play area. After play, the toy folds back up again and can be used as a pillow. As Sago says, it’s “a world of play, hidden away”. Doctor’s Office is one of the three options- the white pillow is covered with black illustra- tions related to the theme- band aids, syringes, glasses, first aid bags, tissues, stethoscopes, clipboards and so much more. Great for playing an I Spy game! When ready to play, just unfold and spread out on the couch, or chair- and let the fun begin. Once unfolded, the Pillow Playset is three panels and you lay it out so that the child can stand and play or even climb onto the couch and sit next to it while playing. The Doctor’s Office comes with a plush stethoscope, knee hammer, syringe and thermometer. There’s a picture of Harvey the Dog, one of the Sago Mini char- acters, dressed in a lab coat, holding a clipboard and ready to help patients. Young children use the plush accessories to en- gage in creative play. There are also secret pockets which help the imaginative play- a blood pressure cuff to slip into, a flap to lift and reveal an x-ray and a pocket to tuck away medical tools when not in use. When done, just fold up again into a pillow. And it’s 100% machine washable. It also becomes a great take-a-long toy. Children can use it as a pillow on a road trip and then have a fun toy to play while visiting. The others in the series are Kitchen and Doll House. For more fun and to help reinforce and expand concepts re- lated to the Doctor’s Office , see the following apps:

My Little House (www.smartfelttoys.com)

Designed by a speech pathologist, My Little House is the first in a series of well-designed language learning tools. It’s a revers- ible; three-dimensional felt covered cardboard house that can be used in three different ways. First, it can be placed flat on the table or floor so you can see all four panels of the inside of the house. Flip it over and you will see the other four panels, show- ing the outside of the house. The inside shows eight different rooms with the outlines of

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36 objects that correspond to the 36 colorful felt pieces included with the house. The rooms are arranged with one room on the bottom of each panel and one room at the top. There’s a kitchen, living room, bedroom and dining room on the first level, a baby’s room, an office, a bedroom and bathroom on the top level. The next two ways to play are created by standing the house up and folding it into a 3D house. Because of the Velcro on top and sides, this can easily be done to form a house with four walls and a four-sided roof. Open it up and re-fold it so you see the outside of the house (four walls and four-sided roof). When playing with the inside, the felt pieces can be used to match the outlines. When playing with the outside, there is plenty of space to create your own design or rooms. These 36 items have been selected to provide maximum opportunities for language devel- opment. For example, the included objects also demonstrate colors, sizes, shapes, opportunities for counting, description and narration and examples of spatial and temporal concepts. This open-ended learning toy can be used at home, in school, by a child alone or in a group, and encourages open-ended imaginative play and social interaction. In addition to the house, My Little House comes with a box to store the house and piec- es, with a convenient handle on top, making transporting easy. Also included is a pamphlet with an overview of concepts and skills you can address in play. The second in this series, My Little Farm, just became available. Others are planned. To help reinforce these early learning concepts in other relat- ed play situations: Apps: • My Town: Home Doll House (www.my-town.com) • Toca House (www.tocaboca.com) • My PlayHome (www.myplayhomeapp.com) • Pepi House (www.pepiplay.com)

• Jinja’s House (www.sagomini.com) (see above), • Little People Big Helpers Home (www.fisher-price.com) (see above) and • Pillow Playsets: Doll House (www.sagomini.com) (see above)

Rocktopus: (Fisher-Price: https://fisher-price.mattel.com/shop/ en-us/fp/think-learn/think-learn-rocktopus-fxw98)

Rocktopus (Fisher-Price: https://fisher-price.mattel.com/shop/ en-us/fp/think-learn/think-learn- rocktopus-fxw98 ) Rocktopus is a musical octopus that contains errorless play and some learning games using music as the focus and moti- vator. It encourages children to explore a variety of musical styles while learning about different instruments and rhythmic patterns. Rocktopus won the prestigious Toy of the Year Award in the Preschool category at the 2019 Toy Industry Association’s Toy of the Year Awards Ceremony. Rocktopus has eight “tentacles” to hold different combina- tions of the 15 musical instrument modules. On the easiest lev- el, children just select an instrument module, insert it into the tentacle, and press to hear it named and played briefly. If they want to hear more complex music, they can enter the “Mix and Match Music” mode, and add up to four instruments to hear them played together and to make the music go faster or slow- er. It’s simple exploratory play that encourages children to lis- ten to a variety of musical instruments, and to make errorless choices. In the Musical Math game, children follow spoken in- structions such as “hand me some instruments, hand me three instruments, take away two instruments, take away all four in- struments, etc.” As children place and remove instruments in the tentacles, the toy reinforces the math concepts – “Now I have

My Little House: YouTube Video Link: https://youtu.be/NqzlB1A-Lv8

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two instruments. One plus one equals two.” Children are guid- ed to add and take away the correct amounts. In the Bop and Rock game mode, children follow directions to keep the lights a particular color. They are guided to “bop the instruments” that change color. Within the classroom, Rocktopus offers opportu- nities to encourage turn taking and group play, as well as inde- pendent play. There is a free app in the App Store and in Google Play that lets you create your own music video. Very simple and highly related to the toy, the app lets users pick a location (from three choices), pick type of music (rock, pop, etc.), add a selfie and brief message, then select three instruments, touch to play solos and record. Videos can be edited, saved or deleted. This makes for an easy, fun and personalized follow-up activity. As discussed, there will be another review here- Sphero Mini Robot- with graphic, review and video link. I expect to receive the toy during the week of Feb. 18 and will send the review to you, I expect, during the following week. I’ll get it done as fast as I can

Sphero Mini Robot (www.sphero.com/sphero-mini, www.sphero.com/education/)

This amazing app-enabled mini-robot is the size of a ping- pong ball, and, when controlled by your iPhone, iPad, or your Android devices, it has 7 different driving modes, 3 games, cod- ing activities and so much more. Available in a variety of colors, its colorful shell encases a small robotic device that includes a gyroscope, accelerometer, and LED lights. Although designed for ages 8 and older, the Sphero Mini Robot has many fun and educational applications for younger children as well. On the easiest level, players can move their Mini around us- ing 7 driving modes which are displayed on their device. With Joystick mode, they just touch the big circle on screen and drag it in any direction to move the mini around. In Slingshot mode, players pull back on the circle and release to drive (in any direc- tion in a straight line). In Tilt mode, they tilt the device in any direction to drive; in Kick mode, they flick the on-screen ball to kick--tap to trap it and curve to swerve it. In Golf mode, they use their device like a golf club and swing. Two additional modes are Face Drive and Scream Drive. In Face Drive, you hold the device up so your face is on screen- use a smile, a frown, a smile and tilt, or a wink to drive in the directions you choose. Smile goes forward, a frown backward, etc.) In Scream Drive, you touch and drag to steer and scream at different levels to accelerate and slow down. What a motivating way to reinforce facial expression,

Rocktopus: YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_okOQZvkung

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voice control and to practice fine motor skills! (See link below to watch how each of these modes work.) The settings area lets you control the LED color, the bright- ness, the maximum speed of the robot, music and volume. In ad- dition, Sphero is known to continually update their robots and apps, adding functionality and new features all the time. To charge the robot, you need to open the outer shell, plug in the mini USB cable (included) and connect to a power source. It will then pair easily with your device over Bluetooth. The original packaging is an excellent way to store the Mini. Since the robot is small and can roll around, this is very helpful, especially in an active classroom or a busy household. Those 7 driving modes would be enough to highly recom- mend this robot, but there is so much more. There is the includ- ed set of mini bowling pins and cones that you can set up in any configuration you want. Drive the Mini to go through an obstacle course or to knock down the pins in a game of bowl- ing. There are three games to play on your device using the Mini like a joystick controller (for older users). You can also download the Sphero Edu app which provides an introduction to program- ming. The app contains lessons for various ways to program the robot- Draw (for beginners), Blocks (for intermediate coders) and Text (for learning to use JavaScript to write text programs). With Blocks, you can just drag and drop blocks of code, modify numbers if you want, and watch how the change alters the pro- gram. The Mini is an excellent choice for classroom learning and exploration or for use at home for motivating and challenging educational fun. Look for reviews in the future of some other outstanding Sphero products.

MORE NEW WAYS TO PLAY AND LEARN WITH THE IPAD

Marbotic (www.marbotic.com)

Marbotic is the company that brought us Smart Letters and Smart Numbers , sets of 26 high quality wooden upper case let- ters and 10 numbers that work together with a group of excel- lent, free literacy apps and with the iPad2 and later. The front of each letter has a metal handle that makes it easy to grasp and press. The back of each has here small rubber-like “feet”, all in varied spots that identify them as particular letters or numbers when they are placed on the screen. A full review of Smart Let- ters and Smart Numbers and all the Marbotic apps appeared in DISKoveries in the April/May 2017 and the June/July 2018 issues of Closing the Gap Solutions magazine. New from Marbotic :

Deluxe Learning Kit (www.marbotic.com)

Marbotic Deluxe Learning Kit: (www.marbotic.com)

The new Deluxe Learning Kit contains a set of three wooden puzzle trays, containing the 26 lower case letters and the num- bers 0-9 in a sturdy, well-constructed wooden case. The first tray has the letters a-m, the second has n-z, and the third holds the numbers 0-9. All the apps now work with both lower and upper case letters. The Deluxe Learning Kit is a great way to keep the letters and numbers together, while at the same time offering an alphabet puzzle play experience. An excellent classroom addi- tion, it also reinforces organizational skills and helps with alpha- betical sequencing.

Sphero Mini Robot: YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4XBH5ggq-w&t=63s

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Osmo (www.playosmo.com)

Coming Soon: Marbotic has announced the production of a new co-branded product with Educo (www.educo.com) called Magic Phonics. It consists of interactive wooden letters that in- teract with tablets. A dedicated app will introduce letter/sound correspondences to help reading skills. More information as it becomes available.

Osmo is an award-winning game system that has created new ways for children to play, learn and interact with the iPad. DISKoveries has included reviews of Osmo since it first came out in 2014. These games have included Tangram, Words, Master- piece, Newton, Numbers, the Coding Family (Codie Awbie Game, Coding Jam Game, Coding Duo), Pizza Co. Game and Mind Racers. (See DISKoveries in CTG Solutions 2015-August, 2016-April and 2018-June). The Osmo system comes with a tablet stand and a reflective mirror. The mirror is a red attachable piece that lets the tablet see the environment below and in front of it and translates movements to the device. Osmo is now available for the iPad version 2 or higher, for Amazon Fire Tablets, and for the iPhone. (Games are sold separately.) New from Osmo:

Marbotic Deluxe Learning Kit: (www.marbotic.com)

Osmo Detective Agency: (www.playosmo.com)

Osmo Detective Agency (www.playosmo.com)

Marbotic’s Deluxe Learning Kit: YouTube Video Link: https://youtu.be/3PG8gdeD2ME

This is another fun and creative learning game from the de- velopers of Osmo. Those of you who are familiar with the old Carmen Diego software series will immediately be familiar with this game. Players, ages five and up, run their own detective agency and play as detectives whose job is to solve a crime by traveling from place to place, following clues and tracking down the criminal. Included in the box is a magnifying glass, a map holder box and four double sided folded cardboard maps. Each of the maps has a small tab with a visual symbol, signifying the maps location (i.e. Cairo, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Paris, New York,

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Osmo Detective Agency: YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OL6Vq1CfLg

Beijing, Osmo Town and the World.) The maps are full of graph- ics of the city’s landmarks and other features and city objects (i.e., New York has the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Build- ing, street signs for Wall St., 53rd St., bridges, cars, buses, boats, post office, pizza restaurant, and so much more.) It’s a real “I Spy” type of task finding the locations/objects needed. When the thief and missing object is identified, the player takes out the corresponding map (given as a visual clue) and given a series of spoken clues: different buildings, characters, objects, etc. Hints are available. Famous landmarks are often shown as actual pic- tures, with some basic facts spoken. There are several different kinds of clues- match a picture ex- actly; find a clue that matches the shape of the clue; find a color- ful clue that matches a black and white picture; find a clue that looks like the picture; find as many clues that you can that match the picture; find a clue that matches the text description; find a clue that fits all of the descriptions and find all of the three clues. When you find the object, you place the map so that the picture is in front of the tablet, and then put the magnifying glass over the object. That helps the app recognize the picture. Players will continue to follow a series of clues to catch the thief and find the stolen object. Some of the options available include the ability to mute the background music, to auto read clues and text and to disable timers on all clues with time limits. There is an office and desk to meet the characters, look at the case files and see case rewards. Like other Osmo programs, this is an excellent and motivating game that will encourage players to problem solve, explore social studies, work on figure-background and visual scanning skills while also learning as they are having fun.

Osmo Super Studio: (www.playosmo.com)

Osmo Super Studio (www.playosmo.com)

Each of the Super Studio games from Osmo, for ages five and up, contains an iPad app with a Super Studio sketchpad that has reusable pages, a Super Studio marker and a cloth for wiping off the pages when completed. When users put the sketchpad in front of the iPad with Osmo base and reflector, the app recog- nizes it and will guide them through illustrating an interactive storybook, sketch lessons and other activities. They add their own artwork to the story, or if they want, they can get tips and suggestions. When each page is completed, their artwork will appear on the screen and animate. In Super Studio Mickey Mouse and Friends , there are six stories to animate, with Mick- ey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Goofy, Daisy and others. Each page has a picture with at least one area left incomplete. For exam- ple, there’s Mickey without the outline of his face and ears, Daisy without her bow, her dress and something she’s carrying and there’s Pluto without his ears and nose. Super Studio Disney Princess has six more stories (33 pages) starring Ariel, Belle, Ra- punzel, Lumiere, Cogsworth and many others. The third game in the series is Super Studio Incredibles 2 , which has charac- ters Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Violet, Jack and others. In all of the games, a narrator tells the story of each page. Users are encour- aged to fill in the highlighted areas, using the included purple marker to draw the suggested objects and a choice of six colors to then fill in their drawings. (If they want to color in themselves, they can purchase different colored markers separately from

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Osmo.) After the page is complete, their picture will animate and become part of the story. There are options to turn off back- ground sound and to reset progress and begin again. Users are guided along with much support and praise and reminded to erase each page before moving on, so the book is ready to be used again. Children don’t have to finish the story in one sitting- they can return to complete all the drawings anytime. Follow- ing the story, there is also a “Learn to Draw” activity, with guided step-by-step learning. These new well-done Osmo programs are good for many learning skills – visual perception, visual-motor coordination, motor planning, following directions, understand- ing new vocabulary in context, sequencing skills and attention and focus. Joan Tanenhaus, M.A., CCC, Speech-Language Pathologist/ Assistive Technology Specialist, is Founder and Executive Direc- tor of Technology for Language and Learning, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the use of computers and technology with children and adults with Special Needs. (e-mail: ForTLL@aol.com)

Osmo Super Studio: YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtz64nKDP1w

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