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Change it up! DonorsChoose.org
- EI Editor Posted On Nov 4, 2014
AnnMarie may have the best jokes in the office, but she's very serious about helping the youth. This past month, she made it her goal to make a contribution to DonorsChoose.org for the Change It Up! program, where each month an employee chooses a worthy organization for which to fundraise and collect spare change.DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help public school students in need. Here's how it works: 1. Public school teachers across the U.S. post classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class. 2. Supporters can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires them. 3. Once a project reaches its funding goal, the materials are delivered to the school. 4. Supporters get photos of the project taking place, a thank-you letter from the teacher, and a cost report showing how each dollar was spent. If contributors give over $50, they'll also receive handwritten thank-you letters from the students.At DonorsChoose.org, you can give as little as $1 and get the same level of choice, transparency, and feedback that is traditionally reserved for someone who gives millions.Teachers are constantly honored at the organization. Check out the surprise that the founder, Charles Best, set up for a few Bronx public school teachers (try not to cry): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XHJQIefAsYFind out how you can help AnnMarie donate to DonorsChoose.org, HERE.
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Posted on Sep 2, 2014
Best Back to School Gifts for Students [caption id="attachment_2204" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Back to School Gifts![/caption]While most kids are sad to say goodbye to the fun of summer break, you can ease their transition back to school with awesome gifts perfect for students of all ages. We believe that education and fun should be combined. Our games and toys allow kids to practice communication, develop problem-solving skills, increase creativity, learn to collaborate, and build their basic reading and math skills. Here are few of our favorite toys, games, and tools that are both entertaining and educational, ensuring that your loved ones will start the school year off right.
Hot Dots® Jr. "Ace" - the Talking, Teaching Dog®: Meet Ace, part learning companion, part magic wand, and part pen. This amazing pen works with the Hot Dots activity cards (sold separately, see below) to help teach kids basic math and reading skills. This toy is especially designed for younger students, and encourages fun learning by lighting, buzzing, and laughing as children move their way through the activity pads. The wand encourages independent discovery by cheering for kids for correct answers and gently redirecting children on more challenging questions. Great for home or the classroom, this toy helps review key learning topics and build new skills! Hot Dots®: The Hot Dots books features an array of games and activities that encourage playful and interactive learning for children of all ages. Children answer questions using the electronic pen, then receive audible feedback as they progress through the math and reading activities. Activities are designed for children of all ages, so you can find the Hot Dots to suit your child’s specific needs. 
Dinosaur Puppet-On-A-Stick™, Set of 3: Teachers and parents alike love the educational and imaginative possibilities of Puppet-On-A-Stick! This trio of wacky Jurassic characters can be used by kids on their own or in groups. Create a dinosaur-inspired story using Crusher, Stomper, and Buster as they adventure through the prehistoric world! These toys are easy to clean-up, making them ideal for the classroom or at home. Watch as kids practice communication skills and further develop their imagination using these amazing and adorable dinosaur puppets! Smencils®: Add some flavor to classwork and homework with Smencils. Smencils are gourmet-scented pencils, offered in a variety of colors and scents, including Gum-E Bear, Cherry Vanilla, Pom Paya, Blackberry, Juicy Melon, and many more! In addition, Smencils are made from 100% recycled newspapers, making them a green alternative to standard wooden pencils. We also have Puppet-on-a-Stick pens and Wacky Winderz™. With so many options for fun and learning, your home or classroom will be buzzing with laughter! Check out these toys and more for some great ideas for back-to-school gifts for students on educationalinsights.com. Your kids are sure to love the wonderful playtime additions, and you’ll love watching the children reap the amazing educational benefits.
READ MORE
Best Back to School Gifts for Students [caption id="attachment_2204" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Back to School Gifts![/caption]While most kids are sad to say goodbye to the fun of summer break, you can ease their transition back to school with awesome gifts perfect for students of all ages. We believe that education and fun should be combined. Our games and toys allow kids to practice communication, develop problem-solving skills, increase creativity, learn to collaborate, and build their basic reading and math skills. Here are few of our favorite toys, games, and tools that are both entertaining and educational, ensuring that your loved ones will start the school year off right.Hot Dots® Jr. "Ace" - the Talking, Teaching Dog®: Meet Ace, part learning companion, part magic wand, and part pen. This amazing pen works with the Hot Dots activity cards (sold separately, see below) to help teach kids basic math and reading skills. This toy is especially designed for younger students, and encourages fun learning by lighting, buzzing, and laughing as children move their way through the activity pads. The wand encourages independent discovery by cheering for kids for correct answers and gently redirecting children on more challenging questions. Great for home or the classroom, this toy helps review key learning topics and build new skills! Hot Dots®: The Hot Dots books features an array of games and activities that encourage playful and interactive learning for children of all ages. Children answer questions using the electronic pen, then receive audible feedback as they progress through the math and reading activities. Activities are designed for children of all ages, so you can find the Hot Dots to suit your child’s specific needs. Dinosaur Puppet-On-A-Stick™, Set of 3: Teachers and parents alike love the educational and imaginative possibilities of Puppet-On-A-Stick! This trio of wacky Jurassic characters can be used by kids on their own or in groups. Create a dinosaur-inspired story using Crusher, Stomper, and Buster as they adventure through the prehistoric world! These toys are easy to clean-up, making them ideal for the classroom or at home. Watch as kids practice communication skills and further develop their imagination using these amazing and adorable dinosaur puppets! Smencils®: Add some flavor to classwork and homework with Smencils. Smencils are gourmet-scented pencils, offered in a variety of colors and scents, including Gum-E Bear, Cherry Vanilla, Pom Paya, Blackberry, Juicy Melon, and many more! In addition, Smencils are made from 100% recycled newspapers, making them a green alternative to standard wooden pencils. We also have Puppet-on-a-Stick pens and Wacky Winderz™. With so many options for fun and learning, your home or classroom will be buzzing with laughter! Check out these toys and more for some great ideas for back-to-school gifts for students on educationalinsights.com. Your kids are sure to love the wonderful playtime additions, and you’ll love watching the children reap the amazing educational benefits. READ MORE
Posted on Oct 9, 2012
From Inspiration to Conception: Magic Moves
Marcia, here. I’m the product manager for Language Arts and Teacher Resources, and I make toys for Educational Insights.Here’s one I invented last year --- Magic Moves. It’s my absolute, all-time favorite.
There are thousands and thousands of toys in catalogs and stores! Where do they come from and how do they get there? Magic Moves started with an idea from my past life as a preschool teacher. For seven years, I read stories, did arts and crafts, dug in the sandbox, turned a jump rope, and “Hokey-Pokeyed” my way about. By far, circle time was my favorite time of day. It was cut-loose fun where we sang, danced, and got the wiggles out assisted (back then) by a tape player!Fast forward 20 years to working in product development for an educational toy company. I wanted to make something that would make circle time magical, that parents could use to inspire their kids to be active, and that was simple enough for preschoolers to play with themselves.I put my idea – a talking, musical magic wand that would promote creative movement play – down on a piece of paper and pitched it to the team here. I wish I could say its brilliance cast a spell over them, but it actually took me three tries to convince the group that it would be successful. So, if you think you have a great idea, stick up for it!After the idea was approved, I hired an industrial designer to draw a picture to show the factory what it would look like.
I worked with a programmer to write a document to show the factory how it would work.
I worked with a musician and lighting designer. He wrote the tunes and designed the light shows that go with them. He also designed this cool simulation to show us how they worked together.I had taken some wonderful workshops on creative movement and music and wanted to make sure the wand had a variety of musical styles so we incorporated Latin, Afro Pop, and techno or “club” style music.
I also wanted to inspire children to move in different ways so there are slow tunes and fast tunes; heavy, ponderous tunes for stomping, and sinuous, mysterious tunes for slithering. And, that’s another thing. I wanted the children to hear rich vocabulary in the course of their movement play – stomp, slither, and strut, for example.In the meantime, the factory made me a model so I could test its size with children. It turned out to be too big so they made me a smaller one to test with kids again. This one worked.
Next, the factory made me what we call a breadboard, a circuit board with switches that simulate how Magic Moves would work. It’s kind of weird looking, isn’t it? This helped me test the wand’s programming, lights, music, and speech.
The factory also made me a plastic model with nothing inside. That model was used for photography for the wand’s package which our Creative Dept began designing. They also designed the decorations that add to the wand’s magic – like the stars and swirls.
At this point, the factory made me another model. This model looked like and worked like the real thing only the electronics were outside the toy. It had to be tested and tested some more so that we could determine that it was working as expected.
Finally, in October, everything was ready for production to begin. The factory started making Magic Moves. The first shipment of the toy arrived in our company’s warehouse in December – ready to ship to the toy stores that ordered it. From concept to shelf, it took over a year and a half to develop Magic Moves.
I’m so proud of it I want to ….strut like a peacock!
READ MORE
From Inspiration to Conception: Magic Moves
Marcia, here. I’m the product manager for Language Arts and Teacher Resources, and I make toys for Educational Insights.Here’s one I invented last year --- Magic Moves. It’s my absolute, all-time favorite.There are thousands and thousands of toys in catalogs and stores! Where do they come from and how do they get there? Magic Moves started with an idea from my past life as a preschool teacher. For seven years, I read stories, did arts and crafts, dug in the sandbox, turned a jump rope, and “Hokey-Pokeyed” my way about. By far, circle time was my favorite time of day. It was cut-loose fun where we sang, danced, and got the wiggles out assisted (back then) by a tape player!Fast forward 20 years to working in product development for an educational toy company. I wanted to make something that would make circle time magical, that parents could use to inspire their kids to be active, and that was simple enough for preschoolers to play with themselves.I put my idea – a talking, musical magic wand that would promote creative movement play – down on a piece of paper and pitched it to the team here. I wish I could say its brilliance cast a spell over them, but it actually took me three tries to convince the group that it would be successful. So, if you think you have a great idea, stick up for it!After the idea was approved, I hired an industrial designer to draw a picture to show the factory what it would look like.I worked with a programmer to write a document to show the factory how it would work.I worked with a musician and lighting designer. He wrote the tunes and designed the light shows that go with them. He also designed this cool simulation to show us how they worked together.I had taken some wonderful workshops on creative movement and music and wanted to make sure the wand had a variety of musical styles so we incorporated Latin, Afro Pop, and techno or “club” style music.I also wanted to inspire children to move in different ways so there are slow tunes and fast tunes; heavy, ponderous tunes for stomping, and sinuous, mysterious tunes for slithering. And, that’s another thing. I wanted the children to hear rich vocabulary in the course of their movement play – stomp, slither, and strut, for example.In the meantime, the factory made me a model so I could test its size with children. It turned out to be too big so they made me a smaller one to test with kids again. This one worked.Next, the factory made me what we call a breadboard, a circuit board with switches that simulate how Magic Moves would work. It’s kind of weird looking, isn’t it? This helped me test the wand’s programming, lights, music, and speech.The factory also made me a plastic model with nothing inside. That model was used for photography for the wand’s package which our Creative Dept began designing. They also designed the decorations that add to the wand’s magic – like the stars and swirls.At this point, the factory made me another model. This model looked like and worked like the real thing only the electronics were outside the toy. It had to be tested and tested some more so that we could determine that it was working as expected.Finally, in October, everything was ready for production to begin. The factory started making Magic Moves. The first shipment of the toy arrived in our company’s warehouse in December – ready to ship to the toy stores that ordered it. From concept to shelf, it took over a year and a half to develop Magic Moves.I’m so proud of it I want to ….strut like a peacock! READ MORE
