Homeschool.com's Top 15 Educational Gifts of 2008

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LeapFrog's Tag™ Reading System is one of Homeschool.com's
top picks this year for Educational gifts.

Testimonials:

"Our Cara always disdained reading and felt that it was very boring.  With LeapFrog's Tag Reading System she has fun.  She enjoys learning because she can now interact.  It's amazing to see her so enthused to use the system."
        - Denise

"Even though this product is intended for children between the ages of four and eight, my daughter (who is two) loves this just as much as my son! It's great for car rides or long trips because the kids can play and read all in one. That makes both me and my husband happy. Another great thing about this system is its size. It's much better than the other products that we've bought."
        - Amy

World Discovery Box is a hands-on, interactive science learning center for families and homeschoolers. With over 30 natural specimens included, the Discovery Box offers a rich learning environment that can support your homeschooling science curricula and become the beginning of a life-long collection of natural specimens. This box is full of fossils, minerals, marine life and insects that children can touch and examine.

We really enjoyed this box because it enables parents and children to connect through exploration. With the discovery box, you can make any exploration a learning experience. Whether it is in the back yard, a hike in the woods or a trip to the beach, the discovery box will lead your child to further exploration in the "classroom". Parents can celebrate discovery and create an extremely rich learning experience by capturing the memories and learning opportunities around each discovery moment.

Testimonial:

"We can't say enough good things about the Discovery Box. It is such a great learning tool for our son. When we received it, we took it out of the box and opened up just one of the drawers and our son went crazy for the sea creatures. When he was able to touch and feel the sea star along with the sand dollars and shells, he got so excited. We went straight to the beach that day so he could go explore other specimens! He wants to go scavenger hunting on the beach and in our backyard so he can fill up the rest of his box. I recommend this for any child who likes to explore or is a hands-on learner! We loved the fact that we could research where a particular insect was found, and tailor our son's learning to that specific area of the country so he could learn more. This is such a wonderful piece for our homeschooling curriculum, and there is so much room in this box for future discoveries. I can't wait to continue exploring with our son."
        - Kate

RINDIN the Puffer is a wonderful inspiring story about an odd looking puffer fish with googly eyes and no chin! This fun story begins with Rindin being the target of a joke, just for being different.  However, when the bullies meet up with a hungry barracuda, Rindin saves the day!  This beautifully illustrated hard-back book, along with the award-winning DVD, shows children the importance of ‘being yourself' while respecting individual differences in others. This set is a great way to inspire children to see peers in a positive new light and be more tolerant of others.

What we really loved about this storybook and DVD were the wonderful principles behind the story combined with the beautiful illustrations and animation. The DVD has such an amazing quality and shows just like any other animated film you'd see in the movie theatre. There are so many learning and communication opportunities in this storybook and DVD, not to mention the accompanying Resource Guide, which can be downloaded from their site. The Rindin Resource Guide is an aid for adults that provide ideas on specially formulated questions you can ask your children to assist them in discovering the principles in the story. For each principle, there is a game the child can play to further impact the principle. This set includes a hardcover book with 36 colorful pages and bonus DVD.

LeapFrog's Leapster2 is the only preschool learning game system that offers personalized insights into what your child is learning. Following on the heels of the best-selling Leapster® learning game system, the new Leapster2 handheld is the next generation of learn-everywhere gaming from LeapFrog.  Like the Leapster learning game system, the Leapster2 handheld offers a robust learning experience through built-in tutorials and learning levels that adapt automatically to your child's pace.  Its touch screen and stylus help develop motor skills used in writing, while its compact design makes it easy for kids to play on the go.  It's also compatible with all 30+ Leapster learning games, so kids can practice a wide variety of skills for schooling as they play and learn with their favorite characters.

What we really liked about the Leapster2 was that it offers kids the ability to play on the go, yet learn at the same time. These days, we as parents are almost always going somewhere, so it's nice to be able to give our kids something educational to do on the way to Grandma's house, soccer practice or ballet. The Leapster2 also has sound controls so that the sound can be turned up or turned off and even has the option for headphone use. Some other key features that we were happy to see were the encouraging and friendly voices, the bright and clear graphics, and the built-in help, if children needed more instruction. We also liked how comprehensive the unit was, helping children with phonics skills, the alphabet, consonants, sight words and homophones, vowels, art and design, shapes, early number sense, more than/less than, number recognition, sequencing, addition and subtraction. It's a great way to introduce children to the world of gaming in an educational, imaginative and, most importantly, fun way.

This gaming system comes in blue/green and pink, and has great titles that include Star Wars, Dora, Cars, Wall-E, Disney Princess, Word-Chasers, Cosmic Math, and more. Also, just like the other Leapfrog products that won awards this year, the Leapster2 system connects to the Leapfrog® Learning Path, which is a free online tool that offers parents insight into their child's learning.

Recommended for ages 4-8, Leapster®2 Learning System has a suggested retail price of $69.99.

Testimonial:

"I am definitely not a mother who is big on electronic games for small children, but, having said that, the Leapster2 has been such a great product for my daughter. She had little interest in toys before having the Leapster2, and from the day we received it, she has played it without me encouraging her to do so. What I also love about the Leapster2 are the learning games. I don't feel so bad about her playing an electronic game because they have taught her so much already. Autistic children are much better visual learners, and the Leapster2's graphics and games are perfect for the way my child learns! This product has taught my daughter so much. If this quit working tomorrow, which I highly doubt because it's so sturdy, I would go out and buy another one! I recommend it to all my family and friends! As I said previously, I'm not big on electronic games for small children, but I am glad I had the opportunity to try this product because I've now changed my mind about products like these. I have seen such a turn-around with my child and I am just so thrilled! Thank you LeapFrog!"
        - Paula

Let your child's imagination run wild with the Lil Explorers' Snack Shop & Lil Explorers' Workshop. Serve yummy treats or start your own handyman service for your friends and family! The Lil Explorers' Snack Shop features colorful graphics, a canopy for extra play space and a tunnel port for crawl-through fun. It's an instant hang-out with a charming awning and front fence to help set the scene. The Lil Explorers' Workshop features colorful graphics, flap door entrance for easy accessibility and a three-dimensional workbench. Both structures are created with durable and soft, polyester materials and will fit up to three kids. Patented Twist ‘N Fold technology allows for instant set-up and quick fold-down for convenient storage and travel.

We really liked how convenient it was to set up for an afternoon of imaginative play on a rainy day or in the backyard when it's sunny. These products allow children to play, while also encouraging them to learn and explore the world around them. Parents will enjoy the quick cleanup, and it's great for individual or group play and creative development. A tent is a classic toy that is always a hit with kids, and these are no exception! Let their imaginations run wild with any of the Playhut® tents.

"My daughter loves this play hut! She pretends she has opened up her own little bakery and has so much fun concocting stories about the last customer who came in, or how she baked today's muffins. She also loves to just sit in it while doing other activities such as coloring. It's so easy to fold and unfold and on days where we have good weather, we even take it outside. For children with big imaginations who like to role play, this is the item for them! It's big entertainment, for a small price!"
        - Sherri

"My son loved the workshop! We put it out in the garage over the weekend so he could work outside with his father. He would run into the kitchen and say, "Mommy, Mommy, come see what I made in my shop!" It was the sweetest thing! He had so much fun having a mini shop--just like his dad. My husband really enjoyed seeing our son interested in all the tools he had lying around, bringing them in and out of his tent (only the safe ones of course). I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has a little boy."
        - Jennifer

Entice your child's imagination with these fun sets! Your children will love these durable sets which encourage imaginative play and intellectual development.

With the Build N Roll set by Plantoys®, children become designers and planners of their own little world. This set includes 44 natural and colored blocks, 3 wooden balls, and a windmill. This wooden ball track set provides children with the opportunity to design and construct all sorts of paths for the balls to follow, developing both intellectual and thinking skills

With the Farm Set by Plantoys®, children have the plenty of opportunities to role play with various characters, letting their imagination run wild. This colorful 2-story Barn with Farm Animal set is the perfect addition to a child's bedroom or playroom. It includes a moveable ladder, 4 fences, a milk churn and a sack of grain. The animals in the Farm Animal Set by Plantoys® include a cow, a calf, a piglet, a sheep dog with moveable head, and a sheep with removable wool. The barn has a skylight roof and open wall that gives children easy access to the barn and the hay can even be hoisted into the barn by a pulley and pallet at the front gable. This product is great for individual or group play. A real-life looking barn for real-life imaginative play!

We really liked that these toys are so durable and built to last. They have great colors, they're easy to assemble and take apart and they're unbelievably sturdy. They're both a great set for imaginative play and intellectual development. We were also happy to see that PlanToys® is committed to being a green company and making green toys for children. The Build N Roll set is also compatible with other PlanToys® Construction Sets, so the possibilities are endless!

With Thames & Kosmos Space Exploration Kit, kids will be able to blast off on a mission to explore outer space and the objects in it. They'll learn about rocket propulsion, constellations and planets, how Earth's rotation creates day and night, how Earth's axis and revolution around the sun causes the seasons, and how the moon's rotation around Earth gives us the phases of the moon. With a full-color, 32 page experiment book to help guide your space exploration, you'll be able to see for yourself how meteorites formed the craters on the moon, make a moon flipbook and moon calendar, build a sundial and solar collector to experiment with the sun, grasp a comet's tail and learn about how meteoroids become falling stars, build a telescope and star map, swing a moon sling, find the man on the moon, recreate lunar and solar eclipses, learn about falling stars, discover how the universe is expanding, and build your own model of the solar system. With a kit like this, there are hours of educational fun in store.

With the Thames & Kosmos Bubble Builder kit, kids will be able to explore the whimsical wonder of bubbles. For countless generations, people have been fascinated by the unique properties of soap bubbles. Your child will get to see for themselves why these elegantly simple structures of soap, water and air are still studied by scientists, modeled by mathematicians, emulated by architects, and immortalized by artists and writers. They'll get to learn about the love-hate relationship between soap and water, read about the history of soap bubbles, learn how to mix the perfect bubble solution, observe the color of bubbles and how you can tell when the bubble is about to pop, learn about soap, water & surface tension and play tricks and games with the bubbles. Whether you blow giant bubbles, mini-bubbles, bubbles within bubbles, chains of bubbles, or bubble blankets, this is sure to be a hit!

For the older kids, the Genetics & DNA kit from Thames & Kosmos is sure to be a hit. They'll learn about the branch of biology focused on heredity and variation in organisms, DNA, inheritance and how traits are passed down from parents to children, and dominant and recessive genes. They'll even get to see genetic material with their own eyes as they isolate the DNA from a tomato in a test tube. This kit will help kids learn about the biology of reproduction, the components of cells, and how chromosomes are combined and copied. It'll also how them how to assemble a model of the double-stranded helical structure of DNA, and how the different parts (nucleotides) fit together to compose it. They'll read about how scientists use DNA sequencing to reveal the order of nucleotides in DNA and about the influential scientists, including Mendel, Watson, and Crick, who made breakthrough contributions to this field. For those students who like problem solving, this kit will even teach them how to analyze DNA evidence to identify suspects and solve a crime.

We really loved these products because of all the educational content included in each kit. It's a great holiday gift and can also be used throughout the school year for science projects. These make great gift and are a great supplement to any curriculum.

Testimonials:

"This was the perfect gift for my 8 year old daughter. She could read the instructions herself and loves trying out the safe but fun activities. The activity book is full of neat ideas and I can't wait to try out more activities with her. The manufacturers have put together a nice package, with a beautifully illustrated and informative instruction manual."
        - Shelly

"This shouldn't be considered a toy. It's really way more than that, and the educational value puts it over the top. It was simple for my daughter to start and it allowed her to work on the projects in the book right away. It is a great way for her to work on her own and see how things work in the world around her. The project book gave step by step instructions with no confusion. My son, who just turned 10, needed some assistance from me with the DNA kit, but it was minimal. I think it's an excellent product, well made, with lots of discovery potential. I was very pleased with the kit, as were my children. This is a product I would recommend to any parent who has a child interested in science."
        - Dave

All you need is your imagination and The Original Let's Animate kit, and you'll be on your way to making your own animated cartoon! This is a great kit for kids of all ages and young-at-heart adults. Learn about animation as an amazing art form and create your own animation. Use the instructional booklet and registration peg bar to make your own images move across the page. The kit includes the booklet, peg bar (like those used by professional animators), and approximately 400 sheets of pre-punched animation paper. What we enjoyed about this kit was that it enabled children to be creative. Children can create their own cartoon and actually learn how animation works. On top of everything you receive with the kit, you also have the option to send in your finished drawings to have your animation placed onto a VHS or DVD free of charge. Children will be so excited when they see their drawings become a movie. This kit allows your child to create his or her own animation independently, or work collaboratively with others and is great for the home schooled child with a creative mind.

"This is the kit to own if your child thinks they want to become an animator! Our daughter already owns a few animation books that teach technique, so when she received the kit, she was ready to draw. It's great for the imagination of young children. They can write up a short story and then sit down and animate it. I really liked how it stimulated my children and got them away from the TV. What a treasure this will be in 20 years."
        - Gina

"We started using this program with my daughter, and within a week, she was able to play basic songs and she is learning more and more each day. She is so excited because she has been interested in playing the piano for a few years now, but we don't live near any piano teachers. This is perfect for homeschooling families who don't have access to piano teachers, or families who are looking to save money on those expensive weekly piano lessons. I've seen my daughter's confidence skyrocket since she has started using this DVD program. Any time someone comes to the house, she demands that they sit down and she plays what she has learned. It's a wonderful program and my daughter is very happy."
        - Janice