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As the world shares the important stories of famous women in history this month, we thought we’d share a few that hit a little closer to home – female toy inventors from the Educational Insights family! Read on to learn more about the backgrounds, inspiration, and motivation of three of our favorite female toy creators.

Nancy Balter

As a child, lifelong science lover Nancy Balter dreamt of becoming an astronaut. As an adult, she launched her career in education instead, becoming a science and math teacher via Teach for America and then spending 10+ years teaching middle school and running science, nature, and robotics clubs for kids. In an effort to share her passion for science with students beyond her classroom and engage more kids in STEM learning, Nancy eventually shifted her focus to science toys.

"Creating new items like the Nancy B science toys, Kidnoculars, and even math toys like Fraction Pie Puzzles and Fraction Formula was enormously satisfying as a way to reach an audience beyond my classroom and inspire an interest in STEM."

–  Nancy Balter

Among her most notable science products is Nancy’s namesake line – Nancy B’s Science Club®, a line of high-quality science tools ranging from microscopes and moonscopes to chemistry and compost sets, and more. Each product comes with an extensive activity journal featuring experiment ideas, stories, drawing and writing prompts, and more. Nancy’s goal with this line was to provide hands-on experience with real scientific tools, helping to get kids comfortable and excited about science, which in turn gives them the confidence to pursue science further in school and in life. The thriving line received both critical and consumer acclaim.

“I envision a future in which girls, as much as boys, are able to pursue their interests in science and math.”

– Nancy Balter

Today, Nancy is sharing her love of science with students all over by designing and sharing science curricula (available on Teacher Toy Shop). Students around the world can dissect flowers, build models of skeletons and volcanoes, and laugh their way through funny science lessons, courtesy of Nancy’s quirky sense of science-based humor.

Mom of two, Nancy is also involved in her kids’ school science programs and loves curling up with her daughter in front of a NOVA science episode and sharing all she knows about black holes.

Mary Jo Reutter

Mary Jo Reutter is the principal of You-Betcha Interactive, a Los Angeles based game and toy invention firm. She’s worked on popular games for everyone from preschoolers to baby boomers, including several Educational Insights best-sellers. This year’s smash hit Dice of Fury™, the furiously fast dice game where players roll and reroll in a race to match a challenge card – all while flexing their mental math skills – is a Mary Jo invention.

“While other kids imagined being sports heroes or movie stars, I dreamed of the day I’d see a product I developed in somebody’s shopping cart.”

– Mary Jo Reutter

After a kindergarten teacher shared the career choices for women – teacher or nurse – Mary Jo swore she would follow her heart and her dreams. And she did! She credits her parents for their support – her super-inventive dad lit her invention bug, while her working mom confirmed her suspicions that women could do and be anything they wanted.

While inventing toys and games is certainly not easy, Mary Jo is doing what she loves. She’s self-motivated, which keeps her busy, and has a thick skin, which sees her through the inevitable rejections while she waits for her next big hit.  And seeing one of her concepts come to life on a store shelf makes it all worth it. Mary Jo advises young women (and men) to create something new every day, whether writing in a journal, making up a song, taking photos, or drawing doodles.

“Remember that you are a creative being! Your creative expression is what makes life juicy, fun, and uniquely yours.”

– Mary Jo Reutter

Kim Vandenbroucke

Kim Vandenbroucke, founder of Brainy Chick Inc, is an award-winning creative thinker who has spent nearly 20 years inventing, designing, and developing toys and games for the mass and specialty markets. She has a passion for brainstorming which she shares with her office dog, Otis.

Kim has worked with Educational Insights for many years, and is responsible for several of our best-selling, award-winning, skill-building preschool games. Her Raccoon Rumpus™ has preschoolers rolling dice and choosing clothing cards for a band of marauding raccoons, all while developing matching skills. Kim’s Koala Capers™ card game builds pattern recognition and observation skills as players take turns rolling dice and searching cards for a crazy Koala match. And her Panda Rollers®, the game of color-matching panda-monium, features an all-play play pattern perfect for impatient preschoolers.

“With all of the games I create, I'm aiming for kids and families to make happy memories.”

– Kim Vandenbroucke

Kim has wanted to be an inventor since middle school. She loves the idea of solving problems creatively and coming up with brand new things. Despite not learning about many women inventors in school and being told that being an inventor wasn’t a real career, she landed a job as a toy and game inventor with an invention firm straight out of college.

Kim’s goal is to help kids learn to have fun while playing games, even if they don’t end up the winner. After all, not all of Kim’s ideas are winners! In fact, her advice to future toy inventors is to keep moving forward. Sometimes an idea isn't quite there, but often it's just bad timing or the wrong idea for the wrong company. Either way, Kim advises everyone to keep moving forward and thinking of new ideas.

“It's okay to fail or have an idea be rejected. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again.” –

Kim Vandenbroucke

If you’ve got a tiny tinkerer or a pint-sized problem solver at home, share the stories of these awesome inventors. Who knows – you might be raising the next terrific toy or great game inventor!

Introducing… Playfoam Sand, the newest sensory experience to join our award-winning line of Playfoam products! Soft and squishy and seriously sculptable, Playfoam Sand is specifically designed for preschool sensory play. Kids can squish and squash it, squeeze it into shapes, smash it flat, sift it through their fingers… It’s a totally tactile sensory activity you’ve got to feel to believe. Best of all, Playfoam Sand never dries out, so the sensory fun never ends!

Before we dig into the sensory fun, let’s take a moment to remember why sensory play is so important for little ones. Basically, sensory play builds kids’ brains! When kids use more than one sense at a time, their brains build multiple connections. The more senses used the more connections made. So, play experiences that kids can touch, feel, and see aren’t just fun – they’re also good for your little one’s noggin! (PS – Manipulating Playfoam Sand is also a spectacular way to encourage creativity, practice hand-eye coordination, build your kiddo’s fine motor skills, and develop the muscles they need to hold a pencil and use a fork!)

With four Playfoam Sand products to choose from, each with a guide packed with activity ideas, there’s the perfect Playfoam Sand experience for every child! Choose from the following products and give Playfoam Sand a squeeze today!

Playfoam Sand

Start with a basic set of Playfoam Sand, including eight brightly colored 6-ounce packs perfect for squeezing, scooping, sifting, and filling sensory bins.

There are endless ways to play with Playfoam Sand! You could use the yellow sand to create a beach-themed bin, add fish tank rocks, ocean-themed figurines, seashells, and more – then encourage your kiddo to sort the shells by size, lift the rocks with a spoon, and shovel the Sand into a small bowl or bucket. Or make a farm-themed sensory bin with green Playfoam Sand “grass”. Or mix the colors and shape the Sand into a beautiful rainbow!

Playfoam Sand Ice Cream Sundae Set

We’re serving up a triple scoop of delicious preschool skills! The Playfoam Sand Ice Cream Sundae Set comes with two colors of Playfoam Sand, two sundae boats, an ice cream scooper, 20 play toppings, and 10 order cards. Kids pick an order card, gather the toppings and Sand colors needed to crate the sundae shown, press the Playfoam Sand into scoops and place them in the boats, then add the matching toppings, practicing patterning – a foundational math skill – as they play.

Preschoolers can also practice counting as they place each topping on the sundae, build memory skills by attempting to match a verbal order, or stack the scoops to see how high they can go before their scoop tower topples!

@mamainthegalaxy

@mamainthegalaxy

Playfoam Sand ABC Cookies Set

Busy bakers build sensory skills and practice letter learning with the Playfoam Sand ABC Cookies Set! This set includes two brightly colored packs of Playfoam Sand, 26 letter stamps, a cookie cutter, spatula, and roller perfect for pretend play. Start by flattening the Playfoam Sand with the roller, then press the cookie cutter down, gently twist, and use the spatula to lift the “cookie” away. Pick a letter stamp and press a letter onto the cookie. Which letter is it? What sound does it make? Can you think of a word that starts with that sound? Need a hint? The object shown on each stamp corresponds with that letter (E is for EGG!).

A hands-on way to learn the alphabet, parents might ask kids to find a certain letter stamp, help them stamp the letters in their name, or even begin to build simple CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words out of stamped “cookies”. What a tasty way to play!

@lowliftfun 

@littleslearnandplay

Playfoam Sand Sensory Set

Looking for a self-contained, all-in-one, no-mess sensory set? The Playfoam Sand Sensory Set contains everything kids need to dig into totally tactile play, including three 6-ounce packs of Playfoam Sand, a scissor mold, a double sided roller/scooper, a kid-safe cutter, and two stampers.

With so many tools included, Playfoam Sand is great for hours of sensory play! Kids can scoop to fill the shovel end of the double-sided roller/shovel and transfer the scoop to another spot. Or they might use the shovel to add a second color of sand, then swirl to create a custom color. They can flatten the sand with the roller and then press a stamp to create a pattern. Or make 3-D Sand shapes using the scooper molds… or even create an A-B or A-B-C pattern using the two different molds.

Whichever Playfoam Sand you choose you can feel confident that your child is engaging in brain-building sensory play they’ll enjoy! Choose the perfect Playfoam Sand for YOUR preschooler, today!

St. Patrick’s Day is upon us! Even if you’re not making corned beef and cabbage for dinner or sipping sudsy green beer all day, you can still celebrate with five, fun, luck-o'-the-Irish-inspired crafts, courtesy of the little leprechauns at EI!

1.  Squishy Squashy Shamrocks – Playfoam® is the perfect St. Paddy’s day substance! Use it to craft a shamrock, pot of gold, top hat, horseshoe, Irish flag, or even a leprechaun! Younger kids might need a template – draw an outline on a sheet of 8.5x11 paper, have them color it in, and then overlay the matching colors of Playfoam on the paper. Lucky for you, non-toxic Playfoam never dries out, no matter how you store it, so the sculpting fun will last through Easter and beyond.

1. Paper Bowl Leprechaun – Follow the instructions from our friends at iheartcraftythings.com to create a paper bowl leprechaun! You’ll need a paper bowl (duh), acrylic paint, construction paper, and markers to create this lucky little cutie. Add some double-sided tape to the back and stick him around the house for a springtime version of Elf on the Shelf!

3. Paddy’s Sensory Bin Treasure Hunt – Turn St. Patrick’s Day into a treasure hunt with Playfoam Pluffle™! Fill a bin with bright green Pluffle, add sparkly bits like gold coins, beads, and shamrock glitter, and let your little leprechaun dig in. Supply a spoon and kid-safe tweezers and see if they can extract the goodies, sort them into piles by type/size/color, practice counting the pieces they’ve pulled, and more.

4. Leprechaun-Noculars – Add some suspense to your St. Paddy’s day – and get some fresh air, too – with adorable, DIY, leprechaun-spotting binoculars! Simply paint two TP tubes (or cover them in construction paper), glue or staple them together, then add sparkly embellishments like glitter, pipe cleaners, and pompoms (the creative crafters at viewsfromastepstool.com have some great ideas!) to attract the leprechauns. Take them out on a walk and see if you can spot one of those sneaky little suckers or scour the house to find your hidden paper bowl leprechaun! 

5. Playfoam Rainbow Color Match – Make your own luck with a lil’ rainbow Playfoam craft! Just cut a cloud shape out of white construction paper, draw a face, tape five craft sticks to the bottom, and draw a different colored dot above each. Now challenge your pint-sized Paddy to squish, squash, and roll out a strip of Playfoam and press it onto the craft stick beneath the matching color dot. Check out this video for step-by-step instructions

In honor of Black History Month, we’re sharing seven Black inventors, creators, and entrepreneurs making their mark on the children’s game, toy, and book industry, including:

Vashti Harrison

Our first feature is Vashti Harrison, a New York Times best-selling author, illustrator, and filmmaker. Vashti puts her unparalleled talent to use crafting beautiful stories focused on her Caribbean heritage and folklore. Her debut book, the beautifully illustrated Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, is a widely celebrated bestseller that features 40 inspiring African American women and their achievements. With seven titles to choose from, including Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History, Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World, and Dream Big, Little One, Vashti's Little Leaders collection highlights Black stories in a unique and engaging way. Celebrate Black History Month with Harrison’s FREE activity download featuring paper dolls, a word search, and coloring page.

Learn more at https://www.vashtiharrison.com/.

Ken Johnson

What began in his parents’ basement grew into one of the most successful games in the business! Inspired by the beloved card game Uno, Johnson developed Phase 10, a rummy-type card game, in just a few days, brought it to market, and eventually licensed the game to Mattel. The game went on to become an evergreen best-seller, with four variations including an electronic version. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this summer, Phase 10 is now sold in more than 30 countries and is the second best-selling card game in the world. Meanwhile, Johnson shares his tips and tricks with up-and-coming toy and game inventors to support their success.

Learn more at https://www.kenjohnsonspeaks.com/.

Lonnie Johnson

Johnson has made waves throughout his career, first as an Air Force engineer, then with his work with NASA on an outer planetary spacecraft that traveled to Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, but he really made a splash with his most playful invention—the Super Soaker! In production for more than 20 years, the Super Soaker has sold over 250 million units since its launch, generating more than $1 billion in sales over the last 30 years. The product was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2015. A proponent of perseverance, Johnson currently holds more than 100 product patents, including the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter (JTEC) Technology, named by Popular Mechanics as one of the Top 10 world changing technologies in 2008.

Learn more at http://lonniejohnson.com/.

Kemi Tignor

Devoted mom and savvy businesswoman, Tignor founded Upbounders in 2018 to challenge the notoriously homogenous offerings in the puzzle aisle and offer her son play options that better reflected his experiences. Available at favorite retailers like Amazon, Target, Nordstrom, and Anthropology, this line includes beautifully illustrated puzzles, memory games, and playing cards that celebrate the wonderfully diverse world of today’s kids.

Learn more at https://www.littlelikeskids.com/.

Yelitsa Jean-Charles

After growing up without having dolls that looked like her, Yelitsa Jean-Charles, the visionary Forbes 30 Under 30 founder behind Healthy Roots Dolls, pooled a variety of resources to launch her company in 2020, eventually raising $1.1 million and launching her line at Target.com. Her 18” dolls feature vinyl limbs, soft cloth body torsos, adorable outfits, and hair that’s washable and style-able, a feature that resonated with so many customers that the line has sold out three different times. Healthy Roots Dolls are designed to celebrate the uniqueness of each child, teach self-love, and represent the beauty in diversity. Both parents and children love how the dolls help little girls love their curls and the color of their skin.

Learn more about Yelitsa and Healthy Roots Dolls at https://healthyrootsdolls.com/.

Cynthia Watkins and Kathryn Burnett

The mother-daughter team behind Harperlman Dolls is committed to making dolls of color that represent the dolls they wished they’d had growing up. Their beautiful line of handcrafted linen dolls includes a variety of skin tones, hair textures, and outfits that provide better representation for little girls of color, reinforcing how important, intelligent, beautiful, talented, and creative they are and building their sense self-worth and self-esteem.

Learn more at https://www.harperiman.com/.

Black owned businesses are making a difference in industries across the board, including children’s products. We hope you’ll take the time to learn more about each of these pioneers in the industry and support Black owned businesses year-round.

Valentine’s Day is upon us, a time for snuggles, love, and… learning! Celebrate the day – and build key early learning skills – with seven sweet (and free!) Valentine’s activities, including pre-made, printable Valentine’s cards:

Counting Love Bugs Valentine’s Day Worksheet

Download this four-page Valentine’s counting activity for FREE, courtesy of Spark More Play! Simply download, print, and then use Playfoam, dough, or any other non-toxic molding compound to practice counting and numbers, build fine motor skills, and encourage creativity.

Valentine’s Day Cookies Activity

Download and print this tasty activity to practice fine motor skills, shape and color learning, and more! Simply use Playfoam, dough, or any other non-toxic molding compound to decorate each shaped cookie.

Playfoam Valentine’s Day Cards

Kids can create a custom, three-dimensional Valentine’s Day card, complete with envelope, using this free template! Just squish, squash, squeeze and smash Playfoam or any other molding compound onto the paper to make a one-of-a-kind Valentine’s masterpiece, then share with friends and family!

Sorting Hearts with Sneaky, the Snacky Squirrel Valentine’s Day Worksheet

Download and print this sweet candy hearts worksheet to help little ones practice sorting and matching – critical pre-math skills – as well as counting and addition! When you’re done, celebrate with some sweet Valentine’s treats of your own.

Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Nuts About You Color-In Valentine

If your little one loves The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game, they’ll go nuts for this sweet coloring sheet that does double duty as a super-cute Valentine! Click to download and print this sheet.

Frankie’s Food Truck Fiasco Color-In Valentine

Have some fun with everyone’s favorite feline, Frankie! Download this adorable coloring page and let your little one get creative – coloring is a great way to build fine motor strength and coordination as well as creativity and imagination!

Frankie’s Food Truck Fiasco Valentine’s Cards

Skip the store and download four fun Frankie Valentines for your child to hand out instead! Simply download, print, complete the to and from.

We’ve got Valentine’s Day covered with worksheets, coloring pages, cards, and crafts perfect for celebrating the love and slipping in some heart-shaped learning. Happy Valentine’s Day to YOU!

January 29th is National Puzzle Day, the perfect time to pull out your brain games and puzzles! Why? Well, there are bigtime benefits to puzzle play and brain teaser games, for both kids and adults. The biggest reasons to knot your little one’s noggin include:

Introducing Early Math Skills

Puzzles teach several basic math skills, including the fact that a whole is made up of parts (hello, fractions!). Puzzles also practice spatial reasoning, a key early math skill: which sized- and shaped-piece will fill which hole?

Practicing Important Social Emotional Skills

Puzzles and brain teaser games like our best-selling Kanoodle® require focus, patience, and resilience. What are you trying to accomplish? How might you get there? What else can you try if that didn’t work? Completing a puzzle also provides an incredible sense of confidence-building accomplishment.

Building Fine Motor Skills

Manipulating puzzle and brain game pieces builds fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Specifically, picking up and placing puzzle pieces has been linked to better handwriting skills.

Promoting Problem Solving Abilities

Puzzles and brain teasers have just one correct solution, requiring critical thinking (will this piece fit there?), logic (if that piece went there, which piece goes here?), and memory (did I already try that piece there?) skills. And the more they’re exercised, the stronger these skills become!

Working As a Team

Little ones often like to do things “self”, but puzzles are a great opportunity to work together, as a family. Assigning each member a specific job can help: maybe your little one finds the edge pieces, while their sibling separates pieces by color.

Building your little one’s brain is easy, with puzzles! Set aside some family puzzle time each night, set out a puzzle game and see who picks it up (with plenty of brain building games like BrainBolt® and nine different versions of our best-selling Kanoodle, we’ve got the perfect puzzle for every kiddo!), and be sure to model the importance of puzzle play with your own crosswords and sudoku!

Piles of gifts under the tree or around the menorah are an integral part of many families’ holiday traditions, and watching your kids unwrap the “best toy ever” is truly priceless. But too much of a good thing can be a bit overwhelming for everyone. This year, why not encourage your family to celebrate the true meaning of the holidays by giving the gift of togetherness? Give the together time gift ideas below a try, and share your memorable moments with us on Facebook or Instagram. We’re guessing you’ll have just as much fun and make even more meaningful (and lasting!) memories than with traditional gifts.

Story Time – Encourage each family member to choose a book (maybe their own favorite story?) for your child.Make sure to find some quiet time during your holiday visit for each gift-giver to read their story to your child. Consider snapping a photo of the two of them together and pasting it into the inside cover of the book, with an inscription that reads “Together time with ______” with the holiday and year.

Baking Bag – Gather the recipes for your family’s favorite holiday sweets, print them out, and pack them into a bag with a child-sized apron and a few fun cookie cutters. Encourage the best baker in your group to spend some time in the kitchen with your kiddos, whipping up some good old-fashioned family fun.

Cinema Magic – Surprise your little one with a new DVD or digital movie for their collection, maybe an old classic or the latest animatedrelease. Box it up with a bag of popcorn and a cuddly new blanket and pick a night to spend together, just the two of you.

Craft Corner – Gift the gift of creativity with a set of arts and crafts supplies. From Popsicle sticks and pom-poms to modeling clay and pipe cleaners, new materials will inspire your little one to get crafty and your holiday visitors can join in the fun!

Take a Trip – Consider forgoing individual gifts and blowing your holiday budget on travel instead! Whether a weekend away at a nearby hotel or a more exotic vacation, a trip provides endless opportunities to spend quality time together, as a family.

Tickets – If your extended family is local, encourage them to give experiences, rather than tangible gifts. Your kids will cherish a day with their grandparents at the zoo or children’s museum and your parents will have a blast, too.

Coupon Book – Some of the most special things can’t be bought. If your dad is a lifelong fisherman, ask him to gift your little one a day on the water with him. If your sister-in-law loves to sew, set up an afternoon for the two of them to spend stitching a doll pillow or simple skirt. From a coupon for a cousin sleepover to a day searching for sea glass with Grandpa, these gifts may just be the most meaningful your child receives this holiday.

The weather outside may be frightful, but we’ve got four FREE winter activities perfect for adding some squishy, squashy, sensory sunshine to your classroom or playroom! Log onto SparkMorePlay.com today to download free templates for each of the Playfoam activities below and keep your kids engaged, learning, and growing all winter long! Don’t have Playfoam? Don’t worry! You can use any modeling compound or other craft supplies for these activities.

Using squishy, squashy Playfoam and these free, downloadable activities, you can create a hands-on, sensory-stimulating, fine-motor-skill-building, educational experience to keep kids engaged at home or in the classroom this winter. Visit SparkMorePlay.com to find all these activities and more! Enjoy!