Family Scholastic Adventures
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THE PERFECT BOOK NOOK Creating A Cuddly Place to Read & Relax
SPACE EXPLORATION
Mars, The Moon, and Other Solar System Curiosities
GADGETS, GEARS, & TECH
Engineering & STEM's Finest Finds This Holiday
Disclosure:Â Most of the items included in this guide were provided from brands for advertisement and/or review purposes. All opinions expressed herein are honest and my own. #ad
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Holiday Gift2 Guide 0 2 0
Happy holidays
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We' ve had our share of trials this year, and still the holidays bring a sense of hope and renewal. Let us count our blessings in added family time and a slower pace of life. Let' s rejoice in the mindfulness of our children' s educational needs, knowing we have so many options to adding value. This year' s edition will highlight many of the wonderful ways we can continue to come together as a family, continue to teach our young ones, and continue to have fun learning as a family unit.
The holidays are personal, with caroling traditions and favorite dishes, nostalgic cartoons and the internal heart-warming glow that radiates off the gift-giving spirit. At Family Scholastic Adventures it is our mission to suggest only the best valueadding, engaging ideas that foster those personal memory-making moments. We strive for those precious moments of discovering new skills and interests together, and truly seeing our children blossom - well into the new year. It's been a blessing to have more family time, despite all the hardships of 2020. Keeping our focus on this renewed idea of familycentric living and learning, this year's holiday guide offers an abundance of family game options, terrific science kits & STEM builds, classic story time toys. Be sure to check out our favorite selection of gift subscriptions to keep our littles learning throughout the year. Have a memorable & playful holiday!
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Barbara Spalding
Imagine, Explore, Play
Enclosed photos are courtesy of Pexels, various brands, and our own team's creativity.
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Where learning and play come together
Here's to Jurassic-size Adventures 1. Dino Strike Egg 2. Robo Alive 3. Dino Smasher Mini Eggs by Zuro 4. Dino Attack Target by Zuru 5. Dino Smasher Surprise Egg by Zuro 6. Ice Rex Smasher Dino by Zuru 7. Dino Attack Gun
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Gears, Gadgets & Tech
Robotic Fun
TileBlox
STEM
Click Formers
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Copper Circuits
Just Add Fruit & Veggies
g n i z i r e m s e M ie n c e Sc
Hand Cranked Flashlight by STEM Lab
Froggys Lair @ www.froggyslair.com
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Just Add Egg by Griddly Games
Leapfrog Adventure Globe Salt Water Potato Battery
EXPLORING SPACE THROUGH PLAY By Barbara Spalding Images provided by Pexel
There's something about outer space that fascinates all of humanity, and has done so since the beginning of time. Whether it's the joy of discovering a new star or celestial pattern, the thrill of astronaut exploration, or the warm glow the moon gives off on a clear evening… the night sky and beyond captivates us all. Incredible art, movies, and stories have been created, based on our sheer curiosity and ever-evolving understanding of our galaxy, and more recently, the Mars expeditions. When our children tap into that curiosity, exploring possibilities unimaginable to generations before us, we are encouraging and opening the path for the best breakthroughs yet. Couple years back, Victoria received an Aeromax astronaut suit and upon putting it on, she said it transformed her. She felt like a real scientist and her imagination took off. Playing with the smallest figurines or having the opportunity to “play the part” as Victoria did… can have huge implications in terms of further encouraging them to explore their curiosities and our galaxy.
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empowering these budding scientific brains,
g n i t n a o n o i c M s Fa rs & a M
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National Geographic NT114CF Telescope
2. National Geographic Solar Power Moon Buggy 3. The Usborne Book of Astronomy & Space 4. Code Rocket by Let's Start Coding
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The Best Stocking Suggestions 1. Potion 2. Jubuka 3. Roto Brain Coding Puzzle 4. Last One Lost 5. Sparkle Kitty 6. Measurement Toolbox 7. RubiK's Christmas Tree & Junior 8. Master Thief 9. Ninja Bots 10. Pixie Crew Mosaic Panel 11. Rubik's Edge 12. Wheel Of Fortune Card Game
n o i t a n i g a m I g n r Letti e v O e k a T
Zuru MAX Build Set
Dr STEM Teacher Playset
Dr STEM ATM & Cash Register Itty Bitty Prettys
www.ThinAirBrands.com
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Cash Register
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Subscription Gifts Make the Sweetest Longlasting Surprise
Box
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Games "As a long-time educator and designer, I believe that learning can be – and should be – fun. Our challenge was to develop a game that could keep children focused during the learning process, a constant struggle in the digital age. The genius of Gridopolis is that the modularity of the game and system promotes creativity and critical thinking while also teaching STEM in a screen-
– Dave Schultze, creator and founder of Gridopolis Games
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free environment."
150 “get-to-know-you” questions that drive great discussions and dialogue. Kic (Kids in Conversation) teaches kids the art of conversational curiosity.
In Global Warning, players work together to clean up the earth and slow climate change while the temperature rises with each turn. Engaging and educational, doesn't get better than this. www.adventerragamesusa.com
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The King’s Abbey is a strategic dice placement game that transports players to a time when great abbeys were illustrious parts of the Middle Ages.
Exercise your mind and outwit your opponents with a game of Oversight. Two to four players compete to be the first with 4 tokens in a row.
Games
Drive recycling trucks around town and maximize your score by collecting higher-value materials in Recycle Rally. But sort carefully! If too many recyclables are left behind, useful stuff is incinerated and the whole town is in trouble. www.adventerragamesusa.com
Power Haus game teaches kids they have real power to fight climate change!Players live together in an inefficient house that wastes energy and must make changes to reduce utility bills. www.adventerragamesusa.com
Be a game night hero with Gridopolis. It's the only modular and expandable game that is easy to learn and dynamically changes while you play!
This easy-to-play cooperative game is a big hit with kids! In Water Game, players roll dice, float down the river, and draw “Saving” and “Wasting” cards to learn how to save water in everyday life, as well as “Quiz” cards. www.adventerragamesusa.com
It’s the ultimate mental Math Match! Players add, subtract, multiply or divide score cards to get the closest Math Match to the target dice.
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Games
In Butterfly, players move the hedgehog around the board collecting butterflies. However, some are worth more than others. Players need to watch out! Catching a wasp means losing points.
In The Race Across The USA Game, players race across the USA to be the first to visit six states, answer geography questions, then get back to their home states to win the game!
In The Scholastic Brainiac Game, players spin the SMART Spinner, then compete to answer questions in five subject areas: Science, Math, Arts, Reading, and The World.
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Who will BREAK OUT of prison first? Harry Highjump and Billy Breakout have both had the same idea, but will they get in each other's way? Each needs to tie a knotted rope to freedom.
It’s been 30 years since Cary Underwood disappeared. Due to a recent earthquake, we now have discovered the body and more clues to crack this case. In Underwood Cellars, work alone or with others to deduce the victim’s murderer, their motive, their means, and the opportunity for the murder.
Games
Players sprint to arrange a set of 5 blocks so that they match a pattern shown on a card. In Match Madness, first player to succeed grabs the card and a new matching race starts. Tensions rise as you scramble to outpace and outsmart your opponents in this ingenious game of perception.
Petey has sprayed the Hot Dogs with "living spray," and they have all come to life! Turns out, Dog Man LOVES Hot Dogs, and is hungry to save the day. The player to eat the most Hot Dogs wins.
A toxin is running through your veins. Can you deduce the ANTIDOTE before it's too late? Antidote is a deadly-fun card game for up to 7 players, with rules for as few as two.
Full of amazing facts about our wonderful world, Totally Gross helps kids absorb and understand all of the major scientific disciplines.
Players hit the tree with the axe to gather bark blocks, which are worth 1 point each. They must also avoid removing Core Blocks, which are worth 5 negative points. Tac Tac Jack is a engaging and an unexpectedly addicting family game for all ages.
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Games
Avoid snakes at all costs! Danger Noodle is a card game for people who love cute and kind animals like Forest Corgis, Prison Ponies and Floating Potatoes, and who want to stay away from sharp and angry animals
Featuring a simple and ingenious play mechanism, DISRUPTUS revolves around new ways to CREATE, TRANSFORM, or IMPROVE ideas or objects.
Pente is a contemporary strategy game based upon several closely related games that have been popular in Asia for centuries - most notably the game of Go!
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Like on the show, contestants will answer census questions to gain control of the cards. From there, it’s a game of High-Low where a player must determine whether the next card turned over is higher or lower than the previous.
The stars are out, in Stars Align, and players take turns spotting their color stars in the sky by playing constellation cards to the map. Once the sky is full of stars, they start to twinkle, or flip to the reverse color.
Games
Five hungry mice clans have overtaken the residence but only one will reign supreme! In Head of Mousehold, each player heads a mouse clan and strives to outwit the other clan leaders by sending their mice on risky missions.
The Korner’d Challenge is a puzzle that’s also a game! Simple in design, but deceptive in execution. Includes double-sided game board and tiles for 2X’s the fun!
Grow a beautiful garden of tiles on which flower meeples bloom down connecting vines of the same color. In Trellis, players race to be the first to play all their flowers first in this cascade of color and fun for 2-4 players.
Sparkle*Kitty is an adorably fun, social, and magical spell card game for all ages, sizes and genders. You are a princess trapped in a tower, using the sweet & simple words to combine to cast spells and escape.
Unlike any other Chess teacher, No Stress Chess teaches you how to play using illustrated cards and an illustrated 2-sided board.
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Games
Teams of two square off to see who can guess the secret PASSWORD first. But you’ve got to be clever when you communicate because players can give only one-word clues, and the fewer clues given the higher the score.
Get the wheels turning and practice learning skills with a unique way to play! With 8 colorful, light-up controls and 12 games included, RockIt Twist It, offers an exciting new challenge at every turn.
Elevate your reflexes and visual perception to superhero level when playing Kabammm! Get rid of your cards quickly by matching icons and take advantage of powerful combo moves!
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Tile Up is a fiendishly clever strategy game. Players try to score points by creating shapes out of their tiles that match goal cards. Easy enough, right? Well, you can only place tiles on top of other tiles if the two tiles are different colors & the tile on top has a lower number than the tiles it is covering. One of the great features of Scrabble To Go are the Tile Racks. They include a privacy shield that clicks down to hold your tiles in place. You can confidentially store racks, with your letter tiles in them.
Games
In Rise of Tribes, players lead their prehistoric tribes to explore new lands, father resources and discover new tools in an attempt to rise to greatness. Choose to build villages, raid neighbors and maybe even ride a mammoth in this new strategy title.
1300 AD, Western Africa – the desire for goods such as ivory in Europe drives the development of many trade routes, with caravans of camels delivering goods across the desert landscape. In Caravan, camels are placed by the players to deliver goods where they are wanted.
Expancity is an upwards moving strategy game where players build a 3D city together. Players work together to form the city grid, all the while trying to shape the city in order to grant them the most valuable buildings and contracts.
The fast-stacking, nerve-racking, block-building game! Quick, grab a BUILDZI block and start building. Be the first to build your tower, but — careful — don’t let it tumble. 32 BUILDZI blocks, 32 tower cards, 32 block cards and lots of ways to play!
In MoonQuake Escape, challenge your opponents with the spinning, changing 3D surface of the doomed prison planet of Zartaclaton. A massive MoonQuake grants you sudden freedom from aliens, but there's only one way to escape-the last rescue rocket.
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Games
Holy ship…we’re sinking! Serious nostalgia as you play Titanic, as Jack, Rose, and other passengers of the Titanic in this awesome party game using cunning and strategy. It’s up to you to save as many passengers as possible from the sinking Titanic over the course of nine rounds.
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My Pet Robot: Tumbling Hedgehog
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Adventure Games: Volcanic Island
Exit Game: Enchanted Forest (mid-level)
Embrace The Value Of Quality Storytelling
Ou r FA VO 202 RIT 0T E oy: Storytime Toys Book & Playset Constructed of durable foam Easy storage box w handle Amazing colorful detail Based on classic stories Encourages reading & play
My Fairy Garden
VTech KidiZoom Cam
Little Red Wooden Puzzle
Write Your Own Stories
Lantern Lands www.brightstripes.co
Write Your Own Scripts
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Storytime Toys Hansel & Gretal Books & Playset
MAKE SOMETHING MAGICAL Fashion Angel Sugar Scrub
PAINT SOMETHING INTEREST PIQUING
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Faber Castell 3D Paint
BUILD SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL Klutz Tiny Camper
THE BEST IN BOOKS
A Household of Healthy Reading Habits Foster a health reading habit with your children by choosing books of their interests, cuddle up and read with them, and encourage story play, imagination coupled with their reading time.
The Story T ree
k of Usborne Boo E IM TT NIGH
The Story of Exploration
The Usborne Complete Dickens
The Nutcracker
Black Beauty
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Alice In Wonderland Graphic Novel
Create An Inviting Book Nook
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Tents, forts, and hideaways - the PERFECT makings of an intriguing and inviting book nook because there's something about providing a semi-enclosed, cozy space that entices children to visit and stay to read and play. Here are our tips for crafting such a corner or space: 1. Find a semi-secluded, quiet spot 2. Add pillows and at least 1 blanket 3. Collect some plush toys as reading buddies (even better if family pet enjoys the nook too) 4. Keep related story time activities close by such as puppets, simple crafts, coloring book (our favorite is Storytime Toys' Goldilocks playset & book.) 5. Compile a nearby basket to hold misc items like non-perishing, mess-free snacks (goldfish, almonds), extra fuzzy socks, gum, fidget toys, etc) 6. Consider headphones and a listening device with audiobook options 7. Flashlights are a MUST 8. Lastly, gather a various books and magazines both fiction and nonfiction, easy to read and family favorites
For added flair, consider stringing lights and offering focus-friendly classic music to perfect the ambiance.
We
the Bird's Eye Family
Bird's Eye Family Success Center is a nonprofit community center focused on supporting the whole community through family programs & activities. We are excited to support them with donations of new games, crafts, books and more to enhance their children's learning corner. https://birdseyefsc.org/ @BirdsEyeFamilySuccessCenter / (856) 517-9100 / Pennsville, NJ