Drake is turning four soon and every time he moves into a new stage or discovers new interests, it opens up new avenues for toys and books that can help him in his learning and development. I have a tendency to buy toys with some kind of teaching or thinking element, perhaps influenced by the toys I was given as a child. As Drake gets older, I want to help him gain skills such as critical thinking without pushing him the way I felt my parents did with workbooks and endless drilling sessions. One of the ways I have thought about it is through play and toys. Like my previous strategy game post, I think the little girl I care for is learning many of these skills through games. Drake is still too young for the ones on my previous list, so I decided to try to find some more age appropriate games for him.


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1) Marble Run– I think marble runs and Rube Goldberg set ups are so neat to watch.  There is reward in patience as you build and work toward the finish to get everything lined up and set up to see everything fall into place. I think Mr Chocolate would probably enjoy doing one of these with Drake and it might be a nice daddy son activity for them after dinner.

2) Inchimals–  My mother actually wanted to get this for Drake for Christmas but it was backordered at that time so sShe plans on getting them for his birthday. I love the concept of introducing measurement with these little rulers with animals on them. I think its a great beginner way to show the concept of heights and different lengths. I’m partial to them because it combines Drakes curiousityy with his natural love of animals.

3) Bunny Peek A Boo– At first glance I didn’t think much about this game, but the more I read about it the more I liked it.  The concept is simple: with the four blocks in the set replicate the picture on the card.  Through it children learn spatial perception and how a slight change can alter the whole puzzle. You can also discuss concepts like in/out/top/bottom when describing the placement of the bunny. They can also build their own designs with the card figuring out where they want to place the rabbit in relation to the box.

4) Pengaloo– Part matching, part memory, all penguin – what’s not to love?  Drake has started to get the idea of memory games and matching cards, so this makes the typical game a little more fun as you have to match the colors on the dice under the penguins.

5) Puzzles–  Drake loves puzzles so I am always looking to add more to his collection and find more complicated ones as he masters them.

6) Rush Hour Junior– I have seen Rush Hour being played at a toy store in my local mall.  This is the junior version of it.  The object is to try to move your ice cream truck through the traffic set up by cards.  There is some strategy as you work to figure out the best path through the congestion. This might be a little hard for Drake now, but I think one he can certainly grow into.

7) Colorfall– This is one I think Drake might be a bit too young for as it requires a lot of patience and fine motor skills, but I think the game will appeal to him even if he might not be able to fully master it.  I watched a demo of it at the mall and was hooked.  The concept is simple: by lining up the colorful dominoes according to the picture card, they will make a picture when they fall over of something as simple but visually appealing as a rainbow to a robot or a flamingo.  Watching the dominoes fall into place is always fun to watch, but seeing a picture form as you do it is even neater. I have my eye on this for me even!

8) Animal Logic–  If you’re noticing a pattern of animals as teaching tools, it’s true. I know what Drake likes so i’ts easier to push new learning strategies on him when he is already interested in the subject matter. This is a puzzle game where you need to help the animals cross over a rising river using different pattern combinations and stipulations set out from cards in the game. This is more of a logic puzzle and I’m not sure how Drake will do and whether at four will he be ready to understand these concepts, but I think he will be willing to try since they are animals and grow into the game.

9) Reptangles–  I saw these recently online and I am so curious about them.  I like the fact that they are a building toy but not in the conventional shape at all, allowing for more abstract and out of the box building. It’s a bonus that they take the shape of turtles.  The colors look attractive and pleasing and this is on the top on my list for Drakes birthday.