Ever wondered what it’s like to spend two weeks surrounded by toys? My colleaguesfrom our sales team have been manning our exhibition stands at the London and Nuremburg Toy Fairs showcasing over 100 of our new products for 2015. Buyers from well known retailers and education suppliers stopped by to decide what new items (if not all of them) they’d like to stock. It’s always an exciting time of year for us as the tireless work which has gone into developing this abundance of products comes into fruition. Our customers are always so receptive to our new product offering, read on to find out more…London Toy Fair HighlightsOur new Top of the Tables! Times table game took centre stage - designed to help children master multiplication in order to shoot and score. Here is Jo Moore from our product development department who demonstrated the game to customers and even the Toy Fair TV film crew. Jo is also an ex-teacher so was truly qualified to promote the true educational benefits to visitors.We also had an unexpected guest who showed a keen interest in our Nancy B range, specially designed to encourage girls to get excited about science. His favourite item was the Aquascope! We’ve since been in touch with Vernon so we can send the entire range for his daughters to enjoy. We hope it’ll help them get enthused about science.Nuremburg Toy Fair HighlightsMy colleagues Helen and Claire were lucky enough to be invited to the opening ceremony of the Nuremburg Toy Fair which also hosted the Spielwarenmesse Toy Award. Our Mental Blox Critical Thinking Challenge game had been nominated within their PreSchool Toy category which was a huge accolade for us.Lastly, I have to tell you about the customer reception we hold each year – it’s an occasion where we thank our loyal customers and seeing as it had such a GREAT theme I thought I should share. The evening consisted of key toy and education buyers enjoying the GREAT British party we put together. Guests enjoyed traditionally British food and I can’t leave without telling you about ourspecial guest – none other than HRH, the Queen. Who would have thought onewould have been visiting the toy fair?Claire JohnstonHead of Marketing and Communications
Throughout 2016, multiple judges have put our toys and games to the test! We are delighted to have received several prestigious accolades that have recognised our toys for their quality, durability, educational benefits and fun factor. Discover what toys have scooped awards this year below.Â
Awards DescriptionThe Code & Goâ„¢ Robot Mouse Activity Set is part of Learning Resources’ STEM range and provides a basic introduction to coding and programming.  This fun set challenges players to programme Colby the Mouse to navigate through a custom built maze and find a block of cheese! Designed for children aged five and above, it supports the development of a variety of skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication skills, programming and self-correction. Judges Comments“Children wanted ‘just one more go’ with this - a sign of a great purchase.†– Toy Talk Awards“The STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set would encourage children to build hands-on coding skills in a fun and enjoyable way. It was very easy to construct and represented excellent value for money!†– ERA AwardsÂ
Awards DescriptionImagination has no limits with Plot Blocks™! By combining a multitude of different settings, characters, objects and actions, children create a truly unique story with just the roll of 6 cubes. The set includes 18 picture cubes (six each of who, what and how), six double sided setting mats and four transparent setting mats for children to create their very own story setting. Pick a setting, roll two of each cube and let the endless stories begin! Judges Comments“Children of all ages enjoyed playing with the Plot Blocks. The bright colours of the blocks are great for the young children whilst the older children enjoyed the variety of setting cards. The cubes are of a good size and the game is easily stored in the box. I think it is fantastic that the game encourages creativity.†– Primary Teacher Update Awards
 AwardDescriptionGive little ones a kick-start into beginning astronomy with this real working telescope! Built specifically for growing minds, the comfy two-eye goggle piece and nose cut-out guides keep your child’s eyes focused on exactly the right spot. The telescope is focus free: no adjustment needed! The 10x magnification provides fantastic views of the moon, while keeping the field of vision wide, which is essential for young children’s understanding of magnified views.Judges Comments“A fascinating starting point for small children to enjoy viewing the night sky†– Right Start AwardsÂ
AwardDescriptionColourful puppy friends snap together and pull apart to make a variety of rhyming words. Great for reinforcing fine motor skills, the set includes ten heads and ten tails that can be mixed and matched to make over 55 rhyming words. Start by matching colours and identifying letters, then move on to building three letter words and rhyming. Judges Comments“A simple education resource which was engaging and did its job well. The children enjoyed the idea of pups and made the activities fun particularly as they pretended to be pups and one point. Some could blend the words together fairly quickly and others needed practice but all improved after just a few play sessions. A very useful resource for children just beginning to blend words together , but familiar with letter sounds which encourages literacy, communication and language skills.†– Practical Preschool Awards
AwardDescriptionA new spin on learning for the youngest of engineers! Hands-on construction and colourful underwater pals provide a fun way to build fine motor skills. Big, chunky play pieces fit easily onto large gears, providing endless mix-and match play. This friendly set encourages creativity and allows children to explore cause and effect, Set includes board, eight large gears, seven sea creatures and a chunky handle. Judges Comments“Great toy, fun looking, nice bright colours and well made†– Bizzie Baby Awards“I really liked this product and so did mason as has never stopped playing with it, very bright colours which is attractive to younger kids.†– Bizzie Baby Awards
AwardDescriptionThis illustrated set of 21 double sided activity cards teach patterns and sequences, sorting, grouping, early arithmetic, size recognition and positional awareness. The set also includes a 1-20 number line. Â The wipe-clean cards can be used individually by the child or supported by a teacher. Activity guide included with even more activity ideas to use with the cards. The cards are designed to be used with our All About Me Family Countersâ„¢ Â (sold separately).Â
AwardDescriptionIntroduce and explore six simple machines as you make amazing discoveries, design solutions for real-world problems and conduct your own investigations. This colourful set includes a lever board, wedge, pulley with role and hook, card with four removable wheels, Archimedes screw, four barrel weights and ten double sided activity cards to build early engineering and problem solving skills.Â
AwardDescriptionTactile learning is a bag full of fun with Teaching Tac-Tiles™! Colourful, engaging pieces with rich textures (smooth, bumpy, ridged and rough) engage a child’s senses and strengthen fine motor skills. Children aged three and above learn shape identification while building vocabulary and early maths skills. Includes 20 pieces in five shapes and four textures plus 10 activity cards.#LoveLearning
Learning Resources was presented with an Education Resources Award in the ‘Primary Resource or Equipment – Curriculum learning resources including ICT’ category for its STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set. Held on the 18th of March, the awards honour the quality and diversity of products, schools and the most dedicated members of the education sector. In their eighteenth successful year, the awards are organised by BESA, the trade association representing educational suppliers in the UK sector, and Brilliant Marketing Solutions. New for 2016, The STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set engages primary children as they build hands-on coding skills. Children create their very own maze using base tiles, tunnel pieces and walls and then programme Colby the Robot Mouse to find the cheese. Easy-to-use, Colby lights-up, makes sounds and features two speeds with colourful buttons that match coding cards for simple programming and sequencing.The judges, an independent panel of experienced educational professionals, most of whom are classroom teachers said, “the STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set would encourage children to build hands-on coding skills in a fun and enjoyable way. It was very easy to construct and represented excellent value for money!â€Caroline Wright, director at BESA, comments: “What makes these awards different is that they focus on the resources, services and people that really make an impact on learning and the day-to-day work of the teachers in the classroom. The UK education sector is currently in the unprecedented position of offering ever improving standards of excellence. Thousands of educators from across the world visit the UK each year to review and buy products from our suppliers because of the quality offered. We would like to congratulate Learning Resources for its outstanding resource.†Elements of STEM learning are highlighted within the purpose of study across the Science, Mathematics and Technology curriculum for Key Stages 1 & 2 in UK schools. The National Stem Centre has stated that the ‘government has long identified STEM education as a major priority at both school and HE level’ and that the ‘effective provision of STEM in schools requires a foundation of strong subject teaching.’ The STEM Robot Mouse supports parents and teachers to bring coding to life and create exciting learning experiences.Mrs Chimes from South Wootton Infant School tried the Robot Mouse with her class:“This product is absolutely fantastic for the new KS1 ICT curriculum and requirements for children to create a series of instructions and plan a journey for a programmable toy. The children could use the product without adult support and really enjoyed it.’â€Learning Resources were also finalists in the SEN-non ICT category with their All About Me Family Counter Activity Cards and the Primary- non ICT category with Plot Blocks Story Building Activity Set.
Toy Fair Time!
Ever wondered what it’s like to spend two weeks surrounded by toys? My colleaguesfrom our sales team have been manning our exhibition stands at the London and Nuremburg Toy Fairs showcasing over 100 of our new products for 2015. Buyers from well known retailers and education suppliers stopped by to decide what new items (if not all of them) they’d like to stock. It’s always an exciting time of year for us as the tireless work which has gone into developing this abundance of products comes into fruition. Our customers are always so receptive to our new product offering, read on to find out more…London Toy Fair HighlightsOur new Top of the Tables! Times table game took centre stage - designed to help children master multiplication in order to shoot and score. Here is Jo Moore from our product development department who demonstrated the game to customers and even the Toy Fair TV film crew. Jo is also an ex-teacher so was truly qualified to promote the true educational benefits to visitors.We also had an unexpected guest who showed a keen interest in our Nancy B range, specially designed to encourage girls to get excited about science. His favourite item was the Aquascope! We’ve since been in touch with Vernon so we can send the entire range for his daughters to enjoy. We hope it’ll help them get enthused about science.Nuremburg Toy Fair HighlightsMy colleagues Helen and Claire were lucky enough to be invited to the opening ceremony of the Nuremburg Toy Fair which also hosted the Spielwarenmesse Toy Award. Our Mental Blox Critical Thinking Challenge game had been nominated within their PreSchool Toy category which was a huge accolade for us.Lastly, I have to tell you about the customer reception we hold each year – it’s an occasion where we thank our loyal customers and seeing as it had such a GREAT theme I thought I should share. The evening consisted of key toy and education buyers enjoying the GREAT British party we put together. Guests enjoyed traditionally British food and I can’t leave without telling you about ourspecial guest – none other than HRH, the Queen. Who would have thought onewould have been visiting the toy fair?Claire JohnstonHead of Marketing and Communications
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