How to pick out fun educational-learning-thinking toys young children will enjoy

'Tis the season for holiday shopping. Today, a guide to help you pick out fun educational/learning/thinking toys young children will enjoy. I asked Donna Scovill, manager of Marbles: The Brain Store in Chicago and mom of three children 12 and under, a few questions about toys that will make great gifts this holiday season and get your kiddos thinking.

Examiner: Why opt for learning/educational/thinking toys?

Donna: I have found that in an age of electronic games, you have the posibility to grow distant from face to face play with your children. Everyone is so quick to download the latest iPod ap or buy the newest Wii game, not me, I am so excited to find a great family game where we can all sit down and play together. Specifically a game that will give my children an opportunity to put their brains to good use with problem solving skills, quick visual scanning skills, or improve on their math and word skills all while have a good time!

Examiner: What are the top three things gift givers should to look for in an educational/thinking toy and why?

Donna: I believe that when shopping for educational games for children you should look for a few things. 

1) The game should be fun and interesting. 2) I try to find games that have a "hidden" focus on specific areas of education that you are trying to work on. For instance, while playing games such as Dizzios, you can help children with basic pattern recognition and beginning mathematics. And finally, 3) the game should never be too advanced for the child or they will get frustrated and give up.  

Examiner: Why are puzzles good thinking toys and what kinds (not brands but types) are best?

Donna: One reason that puzzle games are good thinking games is because they allow you to both challenge and improve your cognitive skills such as complex problem solving and visual memory. When looking for puzzle games, again you want to make sure that you choose one that is age appropriate. Mazes, strategic planning puzzles, and jigsaw puzzles are all great for the brain but challenge different parts. For instance, mazes work your visual scanning, concentration, and memory. Strategic planning puzzles, such as a game that we have called Rush Hour, challenge your sequencing and spatial reasoning. Jigsaw puzzles challenge your pattern recognition and dexterity.

Examiner: What are three gifts do you sell at your store that you recommend to preschoolers (think 3-4 yrs)?

Donna: For the preschoolers, I would recommend Pallina,  Pengaloo, and PigzUp!  Pallina is a cause and effect game that requires strategic thinking skills, a steady hand and a healthy dose of concentration as the child removes colored sticks one by one while trying to be the one with their ball left in the basket. Pengaloo is is a memory and color recognition game. This charming game consists of 12 wooden penguins that have a hidden colored egg underneath them. You roll two colored die lifting up 2 penguins looking for the matching colored egg. The first person to collect 6 penguins wins. PigzUp! is another wonderful wooden game that works not only your motor coordination and decision making skills, but also builds counting and color recognition skills. In this fast paced stacking game, players will flip of their top card revealing a number and color. When the two cards match, players will race to stack up the wooden piggies according to the number on the card. The first player to build their stack wins that round.

Examiner: What are three gifts do you sell at your store that you recommend to kindergartners (think 5-6 yrs)?

Donna: Games for this age that I like are Equilibrio, Qwirkle, and Magic Labyrinth. Equilibrio is a great game that will help children improve their coordination. There are 18 precision-cut blocks that are used to construct three-dimensional structures that correspond to illustrated challenges ranging from simple shapes to complex. Qwirkle is a game that will help boost both visual perception and critical thinking skills. In this game, you are making connections between both color and shapes, while also building basic math skills. Magic Labyrinth is a one of a kind memory game with hidden mazes and  a mystical theme that will help with your abilities to keep track of locations, people and hidden paths to win the game. The object is to be the first person to collect 5 tokens from the board before your opponent. But the trick is you must remember where hidden walls are that block your way.

Examiner: What are three gifts do you sell at your store that you recommend to young elementary children (think 7-8 yrs)?

Donna: For this age group, I love Smart Mouth, Metaforms, and Pentago. Smart Mouth is a quick thinking word skills game that reveals two tiles with letters on them and challenges players to be the first to come up with a word that begins and ends with the letters. This game tests and improves the children's word skills as they have to search their brains for words that have a defined starting letter and ending letter. Metaforms is a game that works logic and reasoning skills, and also helps you recognize patterns and sharpen your creative thinking skills. You will use visual clues to place nine geometric shapes into a grid and find the unique solution to each puzzle. These are skills that will later help your child with solving algebraic equations. Pentago is a game that works reasoning, planning and problem solving skills. It is recommended for anyone looking to to sharpen their strategic and logical conceptions. This is a two player game that you win by getting 5 of your marbles in a row on a board that is divided into four quadrants that rotate. Sounds simple, but the trick is that after you place a marble into play, you must rotate a quadrant 90 degrees. This game forces you to think moves ahead and map out a plan to be the first to get your five marbles in a row.  

Examiner: Anything else you want to add?

Donna: Personally, what I like most about the games, is the fact that in such a busy and electronic world, families are enjoying sitting down at the table and being a family again. Not only are my children learning educational skills, but this time is also filled with conversations of daily problems and questions or concerns. Many of the logic and critical thinking games go hand in hand when we sit down and play and solve our daily problems. Finally, I believe that children learn through play, and brain games are an excelent  tool to lead them into a successful future.

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There are a few other items at Marbles that I'd personally like to recommend.

For children 8 and up and Moms, Dads, grandparents, teachers, etc. -- Colorku. This is an addicting game that I've had a blast solving. It's like sudoku, but with colored marbles.

For children as young as three who are good at problem solving on up to adults, Meta-Forms, which Donna mentioned above. I've played this with my 3- and 4-1/2-year-olds. The 3-year-old was interested and thought it was fun, but lost interest after two rounds. But my 4.5-year-old loved this game and played over and over, zipping up through the levels. I liked the challenge myself.

And for little ones who like to build, check out Dado Cubes. Read more of my thoughts on those in this review.

For more gift ideas for young children throughout this holiday season, look for Toy of the Day features highlighting only toys my kids and I have personally tested and enjoy.