Fancy Nancy - the fancier, the better!
October 27, 2008
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Sometimes a girl just wants to be fancy. For Nancy, though, it’s not just sometimes - it’s ALL the time!
For this pint-sized diva, the title character of the book Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, being fancy is the only way to be. And while Nancy loves her family, she’ll admit that they are a little bit…ordinary. Mundane. Typical.
She, on the other hand, lives by the adage that “more is always better when it comes to being fancy.” More sprinkles. More frou-frou French words. More, oh, everything! Her favorite color? Fuchsia - which is a fancy way to say purple, after all!
But even though Nancy loves the fancy, and even though she tries to convince herself that fancy is the only way to go, she learns a lesson in this delightful book that sometimes your plain, old ordinary family is just what provides the most comfort in an embarrassing situation. What’s more, sometimes the most simple words mean the most.
We carry 3 Fancy Nancy books at The Learning Tree. Fancy Nancy, Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy and Fancy Nancy: Bonjour Butterfly. Click on the book titles for more information or to buy.
They are great books for ages 4 and up.
Crafting Fun With Brain Noodles
October 27, 2008
Using your noodle has never been this much fun!
We can’t quit playing with 
Brain Noodles™ …and neither can kids who come into our stores! These twisty, bendy crafts (think jumbo, oversized fuzzy pipecleaners) are bright, colorful and fun for all ages of kids and kids-at-heart. Jumbo silky fiber stems that bend any way you want, Noodles are amazingly versatile and can be turned into anything you can imagine. They can even be thrown into the washing machine if they get dirty!
Brain Noodles™ can be used again and again in unlimited ways. You can create free-form or follow instructions that explain how to make all sorts of things! Brain Noodles™ are perfect for crafts and quiet play time (they’d be incredibly easy to take along to a restaurant for any restless kiddos!), but they also make great party favors and birthday gifts. Turn Noodles into the recipient’s first initial for package-toppers (we’ve been known to bend and attach a Noodle or two onto gifts we wrap at our two stores)!
Use Brain Noodles™ to make:
· A Halloween jack-o-lantern or a gobbling turkey for Thanksgiving!
· A fuzzy tic-tac-toe game!
· A tiara for a princess
· A dinosaur or a dog or a bug
· Anything your mind can dream up!
Here at The Learning Tree we’ve got oodles of Noodles and would love for you to share in the fun!
Click here to learn more or to get Brain Noodles™ for yourself!
Zingo! - A Bingo Game for All Ages!
October 21, 2008
What does it say about a game when people who work at the toy store keep buying it to give as a gift? It must be a winner!
Zingo! is one of our most popular games. Even though it is intended for kids 4 to 8, adults have been known to say they’re going to play just one game…only to keep playing! One staffer gave the game to a family adopting two children and the parents-to-be reported in their thank-you note that “ My hubby and I have already spent over an hour playing Zingo! ”
A Bingo-style game, Zingo’s game cards are complete with nine squares with pictures (for those too young to read) and their matching words (for those learning to or already reading). Plastic tiles are released by a fun plastic dispenser and players race to match the tiles to pictures and words on their game card. The first to fill his or her card wins!
One of the best features of Zingo! is the two different boards which put younger players on an even level with more skilled older players. The younger kids have just as much chance of winning, which is good for their morale.
Zingo! is fast-paced and a fun way for children to use their observation skills; it assists with shape and pattern recognition, as well as nurturing short-term memory and more…but best of all, it does that and more while being a blast to play!
Game Night Was A Winner!
October 20, 2008
What’s in a game?
If it’s a game from The Learning Tree , the answer is most definitely fun – accompanied by some brain action when you’re not looking!
Oscar shows dad how to play Cranium Cariboo
Just ask Oscar who delighted in The Learning Tree Game Night (as well as the popcorn and candy corn!) at our Corinth store on Friday, Oct. 17. We kept the doors open, filled the bowls with snacks and pulled out some of our favorite games (shh…don’t tell anyone they’re educational!).
Oscar and his parents (and little brother, too) joined other families and Learning Tree staff at Game Night, where kid-height game tables were tucked among our shelves full of toys.
Quinn looks for bones and Logan is covered with Bugs!
From the adorable Diggity Dog with its barking canine telling players how many spaces to move in the quest to find bones to You’re Bugging Me! with its creepy crawlies that help teach colors, left and right and more, kids, parents and our staff played the night away!
David shows his skill at Rolit
Some of the other favorite games that kept our evening fun and entertaining were Blokus (our best selling board game ever!), Qwirkle , and Rolit (check out the how-to-play video here). It was hard to quit playing when it was time to clean up and head home.
We can’t wait until the next Learning Tree Game Night when we share more of our favorites with our friends!
Don’t forget to share your e-mail address with us so you don’t miss out on announcements about fun events and activities like Game Night!
Electronics are a Snap with Snap Circuits Jr.
October 15, 2008
Snap Circuits Jr. is an amazingly fun way for kids of all ages to learn the basic principles of electrical and electronic circuits.
The projects are fast, fun, and sometimes noisy. You can make a light turn on and off with a switch or your voice. You can power a fan, make a doorbell, create light-controlled sounds like a fire engine, ambulance, a computer, and more. You can also play electronic games. And all with just 2 AA batteries.
The kit comes with a base grid, over 30 various types of blocks, and a booklet of instructions with 101 experiments to build. No tools needed, everything just snaps together.
It’s easy to follow the instruction manual for each project. All the experiments are illustrated in color and numbered so you know which parts to lay on the grid first, second, and so on.
The base grid helps you space the blocks out correctly and keep them in place. All the blocks are color coded and numbered. There are switch blocks, a battery block, a lamp block, etc. We made several projects in under an hour.
The Snap Circuits Jr. kit is the starter version of the Snap Circuits 300 kit, which we also sell in our store, along with Snaptricity , and Snap Circuits Pro . All the Snap Circuits kits are a great way for kids to learn about resistors, capacitors, motors, batteries, series/parallel circuits, and much more.
The kits are recommended for children 8 years and older. There are some small parts that definitely aren’t suited for younger kids. But, our 6 year old has a great time playing with Snap Circuits and can follow the diagrams pretty easily so you may find them suitable for your 6 or 7 year old also.
We love all the Snap Circuits products here at The Learning Tree . They make terrific gifts that help kids – and adults (our Toy Experts learned a thing or three while playing with just the basic kit!) learn important scientific knowledge while creating tons of fun projects.
Snap Circuits Jr. from Elenco Electronics is our Learning Tree Toy of The Week . For more information or how to buy, click here to go to our store.
