On Our Radar

7

THINGS TO TRY THIS MONTH

LEGO CLASSIC

SMART TEDDY

Are you tired of telling your kids to eat their dinner, pick up their room, wash their hands, brush their teeth or go to bed? Then let Smart Teddy give you a hand. All you have to do is hook Teddy up to wi-fi , download the app and you’re good to go. Teddy can play games with kids, teach and tell stories (including shorter ones and longer ones for bedtime). He can even help kids learn to manage their own emotions. Our 5-year-old reviewer loved how he can push Teddy’s paw to get him to talk (“That tickles!”) and was in awe when he talked on his own (thanks to mom using the app). Teddy is soft enough to sleep with at night and sturdy enough to hang out at the table and tell stories or remind kids to fi nish their dinner. $149.95 at

SmartTeddy.store or Amazon NISKITE INFLATABLE TUMMY TIME WATER PLAY MAT

This infl atable water mat is great for babies who are able to hold their heads up, push their upper body up and even rock on their hands and knees. They’ll like the squishy feel and the ability to move the objects around the mat, allowing them to learn basic cause-and-effect. Tummy time helps to strengthen babies’ core muscles for crawling.

$13.99 at Amazon

Lego bricks and other simple construction toys are great for STEM learning; they encourage creative innovation, fi nemotor skills, spatial skills, manipulation of objects and following directions. This set for younger children has more than 200 pieces which are slightly larger than regular Lego bricks. Special pieces such as windows and propellers encourage imaginative building and engineering.

$16.99 at Amazon

KUANGO TUMMY TIME MIRROR

This baby-safe mirror encourages tummy time and visual development, two essential skills for exploration. Babies can see black and white the best in the fi rst several weeks, so the designs on the backside are perfect for developing eyes. The colored fabric encourages touch for older babies, and the whole thing opens up and can hang on the back of the car seat.

$13.99 at Amazon

This article was written for BestReviews by Dr. Aimee Ketchum, a pediatric occupational therapist in Pennsylvania and the owner of STEM Starts Now, an early child development program. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.

PLAY-DOH FUN TUB PLAYSET

Play-Doh is a great sensory toy for young children to encourage their creative innovation, an important component of STEM learning. This playset comes with five colors of Play-Doh and more than a dozen tools, which foster engineering skills. Children can experiment with different molds to create whatever their imaginations conjure up. This kit can be supplemented with additional sculpting tools, such as toothpicks, plastic knives and forks. $15.99 at Amazon

KINETIC SAND DINO DIG PLAYSET

This playset comes with 10 hidden dinosaur bones for children to discover. The kinetic sand offers a great tactile sensory experience, while the hidden bones foster exploration and discovery while learning about dinosaur bones. Once the bones are extracted from the sand, children can use spatial skills, direction-following, fine-motor and problem-solving skills to build triceratops, stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons.

$19.97 at Amazon

AMAZON.COM PHOTOS

INSECT LORE BUTTERFLY GARDEN

This science set comes with a pop-up butterfly habitat, five baby caterpillars, chrysalis-holding log, butterfly feeder and STEM butterfly journal; tracking findings is an important part of the scientific method. Keep in mind that not all of the caterpillars will make it into butterflies. Prepare children for this outcome, which can be a teachable moment since it is part of nature. $36.99 at Amazon

SESSION 1: DECEMBER 15-17 SESSION 2: DECEMBER 20-22

LEARN ABOUTNATURE • HIKING • WINTER ARCHERY • CAMPFIRES • GAMES

JOIN US FOR FONTENELLE FOREST’S3-DAY WINTER BREAK CAMP

Campersages 8-12 yearsold willlearn about animal behaviorsduring the winter months, playgames and join us forfun winter activities at Camp Wa-Kon-Da from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day.

Learn more& sign up at FontenelleForest.org