Tedco Education Toys and Games Review

Today's gameschooling blog review is super educational!  Now I know what you're thinking.  Shouldn't all gameschooling reviews be "super educational?"  But the answer is no.  Some games are subtle in their educational value, but they're still educational.  Sometimes you need a "covertly educational" item.  Haha! The folks at TEDCO Toys, however, have lots of "overtly educational" toys!  And they're fantastic!  Let me introduce you to a couple of them!

Animal Quest Globe and Game





The folks at TEDCO sent us this geography game and, I'll be honest, I wasn't sure whether the kids would like it or not.  Well, I couldn't have been more wrong!  This simple game was a HUGE HIT!  The game consists of an inflatable globe, a set of trivia cards, and 4 caly sticks (tiny suction cups) for marking your spot on the globe.



The game instructions say that the "mission leader" picks a card, turns it around to show the animal on it to the other players (while covering up the question on the card).  The players then race to find that animal on the globe.  The first one to find that animal and stick their caly stick on it then gets to try and answer that trivia question.  If they get it right, they win the card.  As soon as a player wins 5 cards, they win the game.



Here's what I liked:
1.) The game is changeable.  For our first few games I wanted to eliminate the whole racing to find the animal so it would be less stressful for my youngest.  So we took turns. The first child would pick a card, find the animal, and then try and answer the question.
2.) It's great for learning/reviewing the continents and countries. We've been working on reviewing the continents - especially with the younger kids - so this game has been great!  For example, if one of the kids picks the ocelot card, they will find that animal.  Then I'll ask them to tell me what continent that is (South America).
3.) The trivia questions are very informative, but not overly difficult. - All of the questions are multiple choice or true/false questions, so even if you don't know the answer, there's a good chance you'll get it right.  This is great for playing with different ages because the younger ones don't feel like they're at a huge disadvantage. The questions are also very interesting!  Even I'm learning a lot!  For example, the ocelot question is: "Do you know what 'ocellated' means? A. striped, B. having eye-like spots, C. wavy." (The answer is B!)

The second item they sent me was their Solar Beads.



This set includes UV beads that change color in the sunlight!

What I like:
1.) It's a great science experiment AND craft activity! You can make a necklace or bracelet!
2.) Its a great way to teach kids about sun exposure and safety!  One of the 3 experiment ideas they give on the back of the package is to take some of the beads, put them in a ziplock bag, and rub sunscreen on the bag. See what happens.  Its a great way to discuss sun safety and why sunscreen is so important!

I received these items, free of charge, from TEDCO Toys, in exchange for my honest review.