Smart Aids Head Back to School

Every year, new curricula and styles of teaching come into vogue that affect back-to-school product designs. How are manufacturers keeping up with current demands from educators and parents for the 2006 to 2007 school year? TDmonthly Magazine spoke with them to find out.

Choosing a Focus
“Overall, parents and educators really seem to want to see math and language resources that can help to prepare children for school and proficiency tests,” explained Theresa Gamble, director of marketing at Learning Horizons. “Children need resources that strengthen the child as a whole person, including language and vocabulary, school social skills (i.e., sharing, following directions, taking turns), early math (including shapes, adding, counting) and various other basic skills that are necessary in early school years (e.g., opposites, sorting, time, money, etc.).”

Other manufacturers chose specific product categories in which to create new designs. “This year, our focus is in science,” said Alice Martin, director of marketing at Dowling Magnets (ToyDirectory). She said that based on company research, “Parents are looking for science projects they can work on with their kids.”

So Dowling has updated science kits they sold years ago by providing easier-to-follow instructions and creating more experiments. For ages 12 and up, the Science Discovery Kids kits are expected to be on store shelves by the time science fair season picks up in late summer, when the company traditionally receives requests for such products.

On a similar note, Julia P. Morgan, CEO of Pal Toys LLC (ToyShow), said her company’s activity-laden Reading, Writing and Math Bright and Beyond decks have been selling well to teacher outlets because of current educational curriculum. “Teachers tell us that they have to be more creative to keep classes interesting in this era of worksheets and testing …. We've also been told that there are always those ‘gap’ times, when a teacher needs to fill in with a 10-minute activity or reward time. Bright and Beyond decks fit the bill.”

Likewise, Kelly Christensen, national sales manager at Kidz Delight, said, “We work with a lot of different teachers — our president has a degree in education. We’re building more logic into our products. We try to get kids to think outside of the box.” The company is coming out with an interactive memory matching game that works off the traditional Concentration model, but asks kids a question that they have to answer through matching.

Revamping Products
Toro Luby, president of Bulls-Eye Creative (ToyShow), took the advice of his sales rep and created a new product, DoodleFoam, to meet retailers' desire to find more versatility in his flagship product, the Tieramid.

"We took the same basic pattern design and moved it to arts and crafts," Luby explained. "The category has been booming, and this product will fit into a lower price bracket."

He added that he will receive more feedback this summer through the opinions of test market groups that will include homeschooled children and those taking summer classes.

“I feel the trend for this year will be more focused on the creativity and imagination front, rather than on just telling them what to do,” agreed Edmund Shen, president of Shinet Corp., makers of KidInventor kits. He explained that the learning process is the truly important aspect and that can’t be found in a book: Kids need hands-on experiences.

David Bishop, president of Planet Import Inc., parent to Uncle JimStones, echoed this notion. His company is busy creating materials for use in geology discussions. “We create a lesson plan, if you will. We begin looking at what’s being taught and tailor our products to meet that need.” This year, many second and third graders in will be taught a gem and fossil program, so Uncle Jim Stones is coming out with two Classroom Adventure Kits that get kids involved in learning.

Capitalizing on Computers
Charlie Kapp, technical director at My Little Genius, maker of kids’ computer equipment, noted that his company is meeting that same need while providing kids with advanced technological know-how. “Computer and keyboarding skills are ever more important these days — and for younger and younger kids. As these trends continue, it's just as important for kids to develop these skills as early as possible, for both their educational and daily use,” he said.

Another hot topic resulting in many educational products is nutrition. Mindy Myers, CEO of Sound Advice Inc., spoke about the NoteNiks Menu Templates CD. “The software was designed to make it easy for a food service director to input their menu into a pre-fabricated design, but the grids also contain healthy eating comics. Kids (and parents) are drawn to the comic strips, which impart messages about the importance of drinking less soda and eating more vegetables.”

Beyond new educational focuses, there are always new ways to teach old concepts. “We heard that a lot of schools teach geography at certain grade levels, but that there weren't a lot of classroom learning materials available,” said Bob Galinsky, founder of GeoToys (ToyDirectory). “Teachers like the GeoPuzzles because kids like to do them, so you're not forcing them to learn geography.”

Still, some manufacturers are sticking with the tried and true. “My favorite product for back to school is the Bonnie Terry Reference Pack,” said Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET, and head of Bonnie Terry Learning. “It consists of two guides that give kids and parents everything they need to address any writing project and/or math assignment they will have this school year.”

Others pointed out that if an educational product isn’t fun, it just won’t work. When it comes to Rainbow Treasure Hunt, “kids are the ones asking to play it,” offered Jacquie Watkins, president of Write-To-Read Inc. “While guessing and finding clues, they are learning how to write and read.”