Tag Archives for classroom

Blast from the Past: Let’s Doodle! Coloring Sheets

Talk about Blast from the Past! Here are some awesome holiday themed sheets from our very own Let’s Doodle books. Sadly, we no longer produce these sheets, but feel free to take them off our blog and print them out for your kids or your classroom!

https://i0.wp.com/i.imgur.com/8bAgL.jpg

 

From Inspiration to Conception: Magic Moves

Marcia, here. I’m the product manager for Language Arts and Teacher Resources, and I make toys for Educational Insights.

Here’s one I invented last year — Magic Moves. It’s my absolute, all-time favorite.

There are thousands and thousands of toys in catalogs and stores! Where do they come from and how do they get there? Magic Moves started with an idea from my past life as a preschool teacher. For seven years, I read stories, did arts and crafts, dug in the sandbox, turned a jump rope, and “Hokey-Pokeyed” my way about. By far, circle time was my favorite time of day. It was cut-loose fun where we sang, danced, and got the wiggles out assisted (back then) by a tape player!

Fast forward 20 years to working in product development for an educational toy company. I wanted to make something that would make circle time magical, that parents could use to inspire their kids to be active, and that was simple enough for preschoolers to play with themselves.

I put my idea – a talking, musical magic wand that would promote creative movement play – down on a piece of paper and pitched it to the team here. I wish I could say its brilliance cast a spell over them, but it actually took me three tries to convince the group that it would be successful. So, if you think you have a great idea, stick up for it!

After the idea was approved, I hired an industrial designer to draw a picture to show the factory what it would look like.

I worked with a programmer to write a document to show the factory how it would work.

I worked with a musician and lighting designer. He wrote the tunes and designed the light shows that go with them. He also designed this cool simulation to show us how they worked together.

I had taken some wonderful workshops on creative movement and music and wanted to make sure the wand had a variety of musical styles so we incorporated Latin, Afro Pop, and techno or “club” style music.

I also wanted to inspire children to move in different ways so there are slow tunes and fast tunes; heavy, ponderous tunes for stomping, and sinuous, mysterious tunes for slithering. And, that’s another thing. I wanted the children to hear rich vocabulary in the course of their movement play – stomp, slither, and strut, for example.

In the meantime, the factory made me a model so I could test its size with children. It turned out to be too big so they made me a smaller one to test with kids again. This one worked.

Next, the factory made me what we call a breadboard, a circuit board with switches that simulate how Magic Moves would work. It’s kind of weird looking, isn’t it? This helped me test the wand’s programming, lights, music, and speech.

The factory also made me a plastic model with nothing inside. That model was used for photography for the wand’s package which our Creative Dept began designing. They also designed the decorations that add to the wand’s magic – like the stars and swirls.

At this point, the factory made me another model. This model looked like and worked like the real thing only the electronics were outside the toy. It had to be tested and tested some more so that we could determine that it was working as expected.

Finally, in October, everything was ready for production to begin. The factory started making Magic Moves. The first shipment of the toy arrived in our company’s warehouse in December – ready to ship to the toy stores that ordered it. From concept to shelf, it took over a year and a half to develop Magic Moves.

I’m so proud of it I want to ….strut like a peacock!

 

September 10th, 2012 Deal of the Day: USA Foam Map Puzzle

Put together a giant map to learn states, capitals and more with today’s Deal of the Day, our USA Foam Map Puzzle!

Watch Young children learn U.S. geography as they create a colorful, illustrated map. Ideal for kids ages 5 to 7, our USA foam puzzle map features 54 water-resistant interlocking pieces with all 50 states, capitals, landmarks, wildlife and more!

This product normally sells for $29.99, but today only until midnight tonight, you can get it for just $19.99 with Free Shipping when you enter EIFREE at Checkout!

Get your USA Foam Map Puzzle Here: http://www.educationalinsights.com/product/usa+foam+map+puzzle..do?sortby=ourPicks&sortby=&&from=Search

September 9th, 2012 Deal of the Day: Spinzone Magnetic Spinners

Add a fun spin to your classroom activities with today’s Deal of the Day, SpinZone® ‘s Magnetic Whiteboard Spinners! Use these three giant 11″ spinners to turn your whiteboard into a custom game or activity for the whole class. Simply draw a circle, write in content, attach a spinner, and play!

Originally $19.99, Get three SpinZone(R) Spinners for $14.99 (saving you 25%) until midnight tonight PST over at http://www.educationalinsights.com/product/spinzone-reg-+magnetic+whiteboard+spinners.do

September 8th, 2012 Deal of the Day: Quiz Whiz

Looking for a fun way to prep your students for a test? Check out today’s Deal of the Day, Quiz Whiz™!

Educational Insights has taken the homework out of creating electronic game charts. Simply choose from one of the 10 included question and answer sets, make your own quizzes with the included template, or assign students to create their own custom quizzes, learning as they go! Then, insert your questions, easily set the correct answers with the press of a button, and watch as students engage with this digitally dynamic quiz board!

Quiz Whiz normally retails for $49.99, but you can get it for only $21.49 today and save 57% if you purchase this product before midnight PST tonight!

Buy it at: http://www.educationalinsights.com/product/quiz+whiz–8482-.do

September 6th, 2012 Deal of the Day: Positive Reinforcement Stamps

Looking to add some excitement to grading papers? Then, today’s Deal of the Day is perfect for you! You can now use encouraging out-of-this-world messages to give your students’ work a “stamp of approval” with our Outer Space Positive Reinforcement Stamps. Each set features six themed wooden stamps and a built-in stamp pad in a compact, convenient wooden desk set.

These wooden stamps are regularly $12.99, but you can get them for only $4.99 today. Use our free standard shipping code – EIFREE – and these stamps are a steal! Hurry—this deal is only good until midnight (PST) tonight! http://www.educationalinsights.com/product/outer+space+positive+reinforcement+stamps.do

September 4th, 2012 Deal of the Day: Classroom Scrapbook Pocket Chart

Today is September 4th, 2012 and our Deal of the Day is our Classroom Scrapbook Pocket Chart!

Teachers take hundreds of photos each year. Quickly and easily display them in this adorable wall-hanging Class Scrapbook Pocket Chart! This chart includes 14 photo pockets, fun printed quotations, and whimsical decorations. It even includes an included template for you to create and print student yearbooks!

This pocket chart normally sells for $14.99, but you can get your very own for only $7.99 today and get FREE standard SHIPPING on your order by using promo code EIFREE. This deal is only good until midnight (PST) tonight, so click here to order one now: http://www.educationalinsights.com/product/class+scrapbook.do

September 3rd, 2012 Deal of the Day: Quiz Bowl

Today is September 3rd, 2012 and we’ve got another great Deal of the Day for you! For many years, thousands of teachers at all levels from elementary to adult education have known that “Quiz Bowl” competitions are the ideal way to promote student involvement, better retention of curriculum material, and higher test scores! Now the wireless GeoSafari Quiz Bowl system makes these contests more fun than ever for students to play and easier than ever for teachers to administer!

It’s test prep made fun! Just enter your questions using the user-friendly game-authoring software, assign the number of points per question, type in the players’ names (optional), print out a copy of the questions and answers for the host, and you’re ready to go! It even allows bonus questions for extra points! After the questions asked by the moderator, the name of the student who “buzzes in” first is displayed on the scoreboard. The moderator simply presses “correct” or “incorrect” on the error-proof, intuitive Host Controller, and the Quiz Bowl Scoreboard does the rest. Lively sound effects and flashing lights add to the fun from beginning to end!

GeoSafari Quiz Bowl is your ticket to real classroom excitement and increased learning! GeoSafari Quiz Bowl Includes everything you need for two teams of five players each.
Originally $499.99, you can get yours for only $89.99 (SAVE OVER 80%)!

This deal is only good until midnight (PST) tonight, so get shopping! http://www.educationalinsights.com/product/quiz+bowl.do

Don’t forget about Free Standard Shipping when you order by entering EIFREE at checkout!

Septemeber 1st, 2012 Deal of the Day: Classroom Quilt Pocket Chart

It’s the first day of September and we wanted to start off the month with one of our fan favorite pocket charts: the Classroom Quilt Pocket Chart!

A time–tested favorite, now available as a reusable pocket chart! Reinforce lessons and display student work across the curriculum all year long, and year after year. This Pocket chart measures 6.25″L x 6.25″H and includes a teacher tip sheet with a reproducible quilt square to make additions to the quilt hassle-free and seamless! Use it to reinforce lessons in symmetry, fractions, weather, life science, creative writing, art, and more. This chart features 30 clear vinyl pockets to display the work of every student and sturdy grommets that allow you hang it on the wall, bulletin board, or pocket chart stand.

This pocket chart normally retails for $29.99, but for today only until midnight tonight (PST), you can get it for just $14.99! Not to mention that we’re also including free shipping with this Deal of the Day purchase (Simply enter EIFREE at checkout).

Get your Classroom Quilt Pocket Chart here:
http://www.educationalinsights.com/product/classroom+quilt+pocket+chart.do?from=Search#