Holiday Magic: Celebrate, Play & Learn Together with Edx Education The holiday season is a magical time for families. It’s a chance to slow down, reconnect, and create cherished memories with loved ones. At Edx Education, we believe that family time during the holidays isn’t just about celebration—it’s also an opportunity to learn, grow, and bond through play. As we prepare to welcome 2026, we invite you to embrace play-based learning with our engaging toys, products, and downloadable resources. Our new activity pack, Edx Education Fun Family New Year Activities 2026, is designed to help families connect while fostering creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking skills. Let’s explore the importance of family time during the holidays and how our activities can make this New Year’s Eve unforgettable for you and your children. Why Family Time Matters Strengthens Family Bonds: Sharing experiences, traditions, and laughter strengthens the connection between parents and children. These moments help children feel secure, loved, and valued. Encourages Communication: Family activities provide a natural setting for conversations. Whether it’s a discussion about your goals for the new year or a simple chat about a fun game, these interactions help children develop communication and social skills. Boosts Development Through Play: Play is an essential part of childhood development. Through interactive and engaging activities, children improve their cognitive, motor, and emotional skills while having fun with their family. Creates Lasting Memories: The joy of celebrating the holiday season together leaves a lasting impression. These memories form the foundation of family traditions that your children will cherish for years to come. Introducing Edx Education Fun Family New Year Activities 2026 To make your family’s holiday season even more special, we’ve created an exciting downloadable resource: Edx Education Fun Family New Year Activities 2026. These activities are designed to entertain, educate, and inspire children of all ages. Best of all, they’re easy to access—just download, print, and play! Ready to start your New Year adventure? Download New Year Activities 2026 Here How to Get Started Visit our website and download the Edx Education Fun Family New Year Activities 2026 here. Print the activities and gather your materials—many of which are items you likely already have at home. Set aside time to complete the activities together as a family. Remember, the goal is to have fun while learning and connecting! Play, Learn & Create with Edx Education For more inspiration, don’t forget to tune in to our podcast, Play, Learn & Create with Edx Education. This season, we’re sharing tips, stories, and expert advice on incorporating play-based learning into your daily routines. You can listen while crafting, playing, or winding down after a busy day. A New Year of Play-Based Learning Awaits As 2026 approaches, let’s make a resolution to prioritize family time and play-based learning. By engaging in meaningful activities with your children, you’re not only celebrating the holiday season but also fostering a love for learning that will last a lifetime. At Edx Education, we’re here to support you every step of the way with our toys, resources, and podcast. Download our Fun Family New Year Activities 2026 today and start creating memories that will carry your family into the new year with joy, curiosity, and connection. Let’s play and learn together. Happy New Year from all of us at Edx Education! Back to News & Awards

News & Media Top Back-to-School STEM Toys on First Coast Living | The Toy Association As families prepare for the upcoming school year, The Toy Association recently joined First Coast Living to showcase the essential STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) toys that are making waves this "Back-to-School" season. We are thrilled to see Edx Education featured as part of this curated selection, highlighting our commitment to learning through play and providing high-quality educational materials for children globally. The segment focuses on how these toys help bridge the gap between classroom learning and home play, ensuring children stay engaged and curious. From hands-on math manipulatives to creative engineering sets, these STEM toys are designed to build critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Watch the full segment above to see the highlights and discover why these toys are the top picks for teachers and parents alike this year. #STEMToys #BackToSchool #TheToyAssociation #EdxEducation #FirstCoastLiving #LearningThroughPlay Back to News & Awards

Episode 44 – Heather Welch from Edx Education today we will be in conversation with Christian Ulrich, Spokesperson of the Executive Board at Spielwarenmesse, Managing Director of the agency “Die roten Reiter. He is responsible for marketing, corporate communication as well as press relations, oversees the development of new business opportunities. The Business Administration graduate launched his career as a Consultant for the agency group Serviceplan. This was followed by positions as Advertising Manager and finally as Head of International Marketing at Fischer Group. He joined Spielwarenmesse eG in 2007 as Director Marketing and brand management, global marketing for all trade fairs and events, and the creation of the special shows. Christian is a marketing guru of trade shows and events Today we are chatting with Christian on Future of Toys, Highlights for the Nuremberg Toy and trade events 2022. What’s next? Here are the highlights from this episode: {2:59} The Nuremberg Toy Show {6:40} Physical versus digital trade shows {12:11} Finding the best materials {16:50} Monopoly, Twister and the resurgence of board games #toyfair #toys #nurembergtoyfair #edxeducation 🎙️ Listen to this Conversation on Spotify Click to Play Podcast Edx Education: You’re listening to education experts with edx education. Education is evolving. Join Heather Welch from edx education, chatting with teachers, psychologists, parents, authors, creatives, and other tons of experts. This podcast discusses home learning, school readiness, being creatives, changes in education, discussing what’s next hands-on learning. Or as we like to say, learning through play. Heather Welch Welcome, everyone. Today we are in conversation with Christian Ulrich spokesperson executive board at the Spielwarenmesse managing director of the agency. Now, Christian, you’re definitely going to have to help me with the how-to say the agency’s name. Christian Ulrich The agency’s name is. Die Roten Reiter Heather Welch Christian Ulrich looks after the corporate communication, as well as the press relations oversees the development of new business opportunities for the Spielwarenmesse the business admin graduate launched his career as a consultant to the agency group service plan. Well, it was followed by positions as advertising manager. And finally, as international marketing at the group, he joined the Spielwarenmesse in 2007 is the director of marketing and brand management and global marketing for all trade fairs and events, and the creation of special trade shows as well. Christian is a marketing group of trade shows and events. Today. We’re chatting with Christian on the future of toys, highlights for the year, both toy and trade events. And what’s next for the MSCI. Welcome Christian. Thank you so much for joining us today. Christian Ulrich Thank you for having me. It’s great to be here. Heather Welch It’s lovely to speak to you, especially cause it’s been a year since we’ve been over to the toy show and actually Nuremberg is such a beautiful place and especially Christmas. So can I ask you today to introduce yourself to our listeners and tell them about your passion for marketing? Christian Ulrich My name is Christian, my passion for marketing started already when I was studying, it was clear for me whenever I studied economics. I wanted to go into marketing later on. Especially I was interested in international marketing and, I still think it’s, it’s really exciting. To talk to people or to, make communication, for, for people from different countries because their mentalities are so, so different. Also, in the area where I work now in the toy business, you see that. There there’s a totally different opinion towards toys, why are they bought, um, and then how are they used and how long, what is the life cycle, for example, in different countries. And I think this is really, I’m very excited. Heather Welch Am I correct in saying it is one of the largest toy shows in the world. Am I correct in that? Am I correct? It’s good. Christian Ulrich You’re absolutely correct. it’s the largest. They are really, all the market leaders from all the different product groups and from. All over the world, the USA is the biggest toy market still in the world. Um, of course, there there’s a strong representation from Europe, and a growing one, um, from, uh, Well. Heather Welch That’s fantastic, something like 65,000 buyers and toy traders from 130 nations. I mean, it’s, it’s huge. It’s absolutely huge. It’s one of edx education favourites every year. it’s something that we all look forward to going to each year. So, and you’ve been there for quite a while. So you’ve been seeing the development of it over the years and how it has Changed which is exciting. But before we go on to the toy fair, I’d love to hear about your previous career before joining the Spielwarenmesse Christian Ulrich So I started after I was studying uni an advertising agency, um, worked for companies like BMW then I’ve worked really for, investment banking even for some time, but just for one and a half years, so possibly in my kind of business. I changed, worked for a long time. And the, they are producing, um, among a lot of different articles, also toys like Fisher technique, which is a rather famous, especially in Germany. And then this was my beginning with this kind of toy business. I was starting here. In the beginning, I was responsible for marketing and the press work. The new executive board and my two colleagues, we started now this year, Heather Welch Congratulations. I can see investment banking and toys go together. Definitely, on the same lines you can see, have you been able to have any trade shows at the Spielwarenmesse in the last 18 months? Have you been able to get some trade shows up and running since all? it’s just seemed like it’s been a good two years now. Christian Ulrich It was a tough time for us. so the last one was in 2020. 2021, we had a kind of digital platform for people at the Spielwarenmesse. We have, now we have another fair in the stationery business called insights which now, could not take place this year. The last year we also digital platform for this, but we have real physical fairs, also in other countries. So we have some subsidiaries in India, for example, and in Russia and in China and especially the fair in Russia, took place, was one of the first phases actually, that started again after the pandemic. I have to say it was quite successful. Heather Welch Were you and your team able to go over there and actually be part of it, with all the travel restrictions, stones. Christian Ulrich See the photos and videos and be ending them, because of the travel restrictions. Heather Welch A wonderful experience having an actual in like a, when you’re, in-person at a trade show rather than a virtual cause we’ve done quite a few over the last 12 months and I just think he has such a different experience. Would you agree? Christian Ulrich Yes, absolutely. It’s so different. There was a time, I would say at the beginning of the pandemic when a lot of people thought, um, so we don’t need fairs anymore that the physical ones we can just switch on to, the digital fairs and then everybody was starting a lot of new businesses. The new startups were created. It didn’t take a long time until everybody was realizing that it’s not the same. you kind of look into the eyes of your, your, your contact partner. and especially if you want to create new business, new context. This is so hard to do it in a digital way. So you really need this face-to-face situation for this. And then we found out, very fast. The face of concentration that you have is totally different because when, when you’re watching some kind of online presentation,, you very soon are starting to do other things. You check your emails, you’re making something, you switch off your video. And so. in a face to face situations, Heather Welch Especially with toys, you like to touch feel, see, do it’s that there’s a, there’s a, there’s a magic when you touch a toy, rather than seeing someone else touch it over a video or anything like that. hey had a hybrid name for physical and digital. Was it physical or something? They came out and there was a new. Name putting the dictionary for the hybrid, the new normal, they were calling it at one stage that virtual and the physical together, we all want to be on the floor. I don’t think that a lot of us would prefer not to go digital again, to be honest, but listen, I’m really interested as edx is we do educational toys sector. We’re really interested in what’s the future of toys. And what do you think about the Nuremberg toy fair? Christian Ulrich We have one big topic this year, which is called toy scoring. Actually, it’s not absolutely new because we started this, as a, as a special show, um, in 2011 was a long time ago. and already at this time, we knew that this is not just a trend for maybe one year or two, but this is, Tendency that will last very long and you have to stay. restarted it for this, for the next edition of the fair. And we did a survey, among consumers in different countries, all over the world to find out, um, the attitudes of consumers towards, green toys, sustainable toys. What is the buyer? What are the buying patterns? Um, um, um, are people looking for sustainable toys, um, or are they willing to pay a higher price, for example, and then this is a topic that you will find everywhere on the fair. So there will be, some kind of, lectures in our business forum. Um, but there will be a special show as mentioned. and we will present of costs, um, this new study. on the fair and, actually this, this special show is not only about the material. Of course, it’s about, new materials, recyclable materials, materials like cork or bamboo. of course, but also it’s about the educational value of toys that are transporting the topic of sustainability. It means to them explaining children. How is solar and achieve working or Windcraft um, um, or why is it important, um, to not pollute the oceans plastics? And then there are a lot of new toys in this segment, um, and this is what be the present they are at the fair, but also, why our digital platform that will start next. Heather Welch Oh, this is really exciting. It is a really hot topic all around the world. Did you, when you did the study, did you find certain countries were higher, looked at they were more interested in sustainability than others? Or did you find that all of them were very interesting? Oh, yes. Christian Ulrich Maybe found out quite big differences and actually the differences that we did not expect, because I can say in Germany, you think, um, we are, um, um, on the top, uh, if it’s ball about sustainability, but that’s not really true. There are a lot of other countries we have. This is quite important than in the meantime, and that it kind of tell too much because in January, but, um, there, there are some countries where we actually did not expect them Heather Welch It’s really exciting. As a manufacturer, we’ve tried materials like FPC which is like, , the biggest agricultural waste is right rice house in Taiwan where we manufacture. And we tried with this material for the past couple of years and we’ve been manufacturing it as well, but then we’ve also gone to something it’s like recycled bottles as well. So we’re trying new materials because we haven’t, we don believe we’ve found the bee’s knees of material. The material that’s going to, you know, outlast everything to the highest, highest manufacturing. We’re sort of really whipping, trying a whole lot of different materials over the past few years. It does take time and you ask all of the manufacturers, it does take a lot of time to, and I’m sure you’ll find that as well, because you know, we’ve gone, you’ve gone to bamboo, you’ve gone to woods. You’ve got. Sustainable. And sometimes it just, there’s a lot. There’s a lot to think about and actually to change moulds and everything as well. So it’s actually quite a fun journey to go on as a manufacturer. When you do actually look at all these sustainable options and you try and, you know, manufacture with it. we found at one stage, I don’t know if you’ll find this with some of the others. The testing for the countries didn’t necessarily correlate with the toys as well. So there had to be a catch-up for the testers to come in line with what the recycled materials as well. Christian Ulrich The topic is so extremely complex. it’s not about only the products, but it’s also packaging, but is very, very important. Um, so can you use recyclable packaging or can, you can reduce the packaging at all? Maybe you don't need any packaging for your product. And then also, um, if you’re talking about sustainability, um, also logistics. So transport, from the production to the consumer is also something that you have to have in mind. Of course, Heather Welch I think the shipping costs have blown that out of the water this year. So I think that paid a huge costume where people buy as well listen, what’s next for your team. So what’s the next thing that you’re focusing on at the moment for the messaging in the team, the executive. Christian Ulrich I think we have some, really new, exciting topics for the next fair. it’s called the game inventors convention. So this is an, an existing, fair, it’s here in the, in the vicinity of. Um, and it’s especially for game inventors, game authors, and the, on the other side, the, um, game producers, bring the pink together, the inventors, but the. And it’s a small set. it’s at the moment it’s just for maybe German Austrian and Swiss, companies and inventors. And we think that there’s a really big potential for this kind of matchmaking, on our fear, because you can bring it to a much more international level. And we were starting to market this kind of event because it’s just for one day, um, some weeks ago. And, I think after two weeks, we have been, booked out. So, maybe we had to increase the capacity and because so, many inventors from other countries where. Because they said they don’t have a platform in, in their countries, but there is this kind of community you’re seeing, also, in, in Spain and Italy, in France and in other countries, and they were really interested in, in shining and this kind of event. Heather Welch So is it, is it digital gaming or is it board games, traditional games or digital gaming or hybrid? Christian Ulrich It’s actually it’s board games. It’s the traditional board games. Heather Welch Which in the last 12 months have taken a huge rise, you know, with everyone when they were homeschooling locked down, all this, you know, different jigsaws board games actually did come, come back into trends quite high. Christian Ulrich That’s absolutely true bought games, puzzles. Um, they’ve been extremely successful during the pandemic. I think a lot of new, new customers, um, um, have been created in this, So, or people that, that may be used to play board games in their childhood, and now they rediscovered it together, their children I think this is a really very, good development. I think it will last on after the pandemic Heather Welch Christian, do you have a favorite board game? Do you have an absolute favourite ball game from your child? Christian Ulrich It’s difficult to say names because they are, they are all exhibitors. Yes. I have to admit that, um, I really loved monopoly and I still like it very much. And then. It is special addition for special cities, for example. Heather Welch I do like that. And they have actually brought out once called buildup, I think as well. But I have to say that my favourite is for my two active little boys. I played twister and I can get them quite tired in doing half an hour, getting them jumping around. We changed the rules a little bit, that they have to jump over each other and all sorts of things have to do handstands. You name it to get them tired with. When we’re doing home learning? No, no. I never knew about the agency, the second agency that you’re managing director of. So what does the agency do? Christian Ulrich This agency was formed as a kind of creative team within our marketing team. So about, six, seven years ago i was very successful and, so we thought it would be good to create an own agency, out of this team. And then be very, fast. We could create some, some new business with the HTC and, actually it’s, uh, It’s about toys because we understand this market very well. the fear business. So this is why we have two groups, quite different companies. so some of them work in the fair business. They are organizing fairs like we do as our company. producing toys or they are retailers, retailers for toys, uh, and some of them, to introduce us that, our exhibitors on the affair. So this is the combination then, um, for both and then. Anyone who wants to have some of the services, from our agency about just contact me directly. Heather Welch So how can our listeners contact you and hear about the fair and get, keep up to date because we know that last year things changed really quickly? So how can, everyone keep up to date about what’s happening with the trade fairs this year, and also keep getting in touch with you all yourself while you’re doing. Christian Ulrich So if you’re not, on our website, we are watching the situation and then we get all the framing conditions, um, very intensively. Um, and we try to keep everyone updated with all the latest information. So just check, um, THere are my contact details. Heather Welch Christian, we look forward to seeing you in, in February. I hope it’s a little bit smoother than it was last year in the run-up to the toy fair this year. And we really look forward to seeing everyone and hopefully being on the ground again. I hope you have a wonderful time, nice Christmas and new year, and we will hopefully see you in. Christian Ulrich Thank you very much. And I really hope to see you in February in Nuremberg. Thank you. Edx Education: There are so many exciting developments happening right now in education. edx education would love to hear from you. So do get in touch with subscribing to our podcast, which is available on apple beams, Spotify tune-in and so many more. This podcast series is brought to you by Heather welch from edx education. She’d like to say let’s create lifelong learners. Back to News & Awards

Edx Education has partnered with Gecko On the Move to work with primary school teachers and children in remote parts of Asia and Africa. They provide training to teachers in math manipulatives to strengthen the teacher’s understanding and knowledge in teaching mathematics. After the initial training, they observe lessons, mentor teachers and provide feedback. By supporting the project, we made a difference to a child’s life by providing them with the opportunity to be educated. Gecko On the Move’s vision is for children to connect, discover and create through mathematics using manipulatives. We fundraised to employ a local Tanzanian facilitator and teacher for an entire school year. Gecko On the Move is managed by international volunteer teachers and guarantees 100% of your money goes directly to the project and no money is used for administration costs. Although this specific fundraising initiative is now closed, you can still donate here: https://bit.ly/Gecko101 If you have any questions or want to volunteers please contact: info@geckonthemove.org or visit www.geckoonthemove.org SOURCE: Gecko On The Move – Registered UK Charity no:1188327 Back to News & Awards Tags: at-home resources, Covid 19, Education for all, Gecko On the Move, GOTM, learning at home, learning through play, OPEN-ENDED TOYS

Edx Education has been involved with the mobile kindergarten, Zhi-Shan Foundation in Taiwan. With the resources and support from Edx Education the mobile kindergarten has been able to visit more remote villages, teaching children who haven’t previously been able to access formal education opportunities. It has been a great way to be able to provide opportunities for these children to play and learn. The mobile kindergarten is named “Mountain Elf”, and its colourful design was created by the Atayal artist Mi Lu Hayong. The concept is “Sharing Love”. “Getting involved with the Zhi-Shan foundation mobile kindergarten has been one of the most rewarding projects for Edx Education.“ The feedback from Rimong & Zhi-Shan who visited the villages has included amazing stories about the positive changes that have taken place. There has been an increase in communication because of the ability to reach remote areas with provisions for educational opportunities and so much more for families, villages and communities. “This has been a wonderful experience for our Edx team to be part of.” – Murray Jackson, CEO, Edx Education In the beginning, the program supported elementary school students to receive adequate education and care in indigenous communities, Hsinchu. Zhi-Shan decide to expand the program to kindergarten as well. The villages are widely spread, it was hard to find the best location for all the young children. Then the idea of the mobile kindergarten was created with funding from Edx Education we can now bring all the educational toys, books with teacher and social workers to more than 12 locations in the mountains near Hsinchu County. With the van, they provide education for children, provide a support system for parents or grandparents, providing job opportunities to the communities whilst building the relationship with them. Zhi-Shan will then get more opportunities to visit more and more families to then build the support system in the village. “Every child should have a chance to learn, especially through play and hands on materials”– Pony Wong, General Manager, Edx Education So now, they are not only bring educational toys and books in the mobile kindergarten, but they also provide cultural courses, a toy library service, and refer kids to early intervention services if needed. 一台車、一張網、一個孩子都不能少—A car, a network, we won’t miss any kids. At Edx Education, one of our aims is to help provide education opportunities for all especially in the early years. We were pleased to have teamed with the wonderful Zhi-Shan foundation to help make it happen with a mobile kindergarten in Taiwan. We are so excited to have so many of these projects underway at Edx Education.

Edx Education has been involved with the opening of the after school center in Hualien. With the Kaixin Workshop, Edx Education has sponsored the renovations of a house turning it into an after school centre for the aboriginal children from the local primary school in a village north of Hualien. It is one of their new pilot projects to provide more education opportunities for children around the world and especially in Taiwan. As part of the ceremony the team went for a river walk to see the local sites, and enjoyed traditional dancing. Two children from the center painted us a wonderful pictures so we could share the memory with the rest of the team in our office in Taipei. Our CEO, Murray Jackson, and the team were there for the opening of the renovations. All hands were on deck with the building of the furniture and the finishing touches so the children could start to utilize the center the very next week. We were pleased to hear that the numbers for the after school center have exceeded expectations, and all the children, teachers and parents are happy and excited to be able to have the facilities available to them. Edx Education believe in providing education opportunities to all. We look forward to being involved in many projects going forward.

Chris Byrne – The Toy Guy Learning Toys Early Math101 to go - Edx Education Number sense, geometry and logical thinking are essential for children learning mathematics in kindergartens. Early Math101 to go is designed for children aged 3-6. Parents can have quality play time with their children who can learn number sense, geometry and logical thinking through playing together. Each kit has high quality manipulatives, activity cards and activities, and is packaged in a hand carry plastic case. SOURCE: WGN9, Chicago Back to News & Awards

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — “We made an effort to visit as many waterfalls around Western New York as we could, so we hit 11 weeks of waterfalls some in our own backyards and some a little further away,” Colleen Kirk co-owner of Revolution Buffalo said. The Kirk family love exploring the outdoors. She has a two-year-old named Henry and is about to pop with her second child due in the next week. Kirk says she and her husband decided to commit to having an eco-friendly household, from the products they use to the furniture they have in their home. “For me, it means bringing products into our that support the environment, some that are recyclable they have elements of nature in them so our kids are exposed to things that are doing good things for the earth,” Kirk said. One of those products is an eco-friendly recyclable crib mattress. Made out of a food polymer, the mattress is 90-percent air. “All these things are really important like a safe nights sleep, cleanliness is really important how do you find all that and brands that are eco-friendly?” Kirk said. Kirk says she has many different brands she trusts and she likes to check out products using eco-friendly hashtags on Instagram. Supporting local businesses as much as she can is important to her too. Sometimes convenience over eco-friendly products does win out-- but Kirk says she is hoping to influence her kids to make earth-friendly choices too. “You can celebrate the earth around us and that community is a really important thing and see us supporting these things and that’s gets woven into some of the choices they make," Kirk said. Some eco-friendly toys, the Newton Baby recyclable mattress, and other eco-friendly influencers to follow. SOURCE: BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) Back to News & Awards

What It Is Young learners can create almost anything with the FunPlay Rainbow Pebbles and Junior Rainbow Pebbles sets. Both products link science, math, and art, and encourage kids to think creatively as they put the colorful pebble pieces together in a variety of ways. FunPlay Rainbow Pebbles includes 36 pebbles, a tray, and 25 activity cards. The smooth pebbles offer a calming tactile experience, and the bright colors visually stimulate younger children. Kids can match the pebbles pieces to what's shown on the activity cards or explore with the pieces and build however they want. With parent participation, these pebbles can be used as a tool to help with color recognition, sorting, sequencing, and more. Junior Rainbow Pebbles can also be used to introduce those same educational concepts but for younger children, ages 18 months and up. This set's 36 pebbles are also colorful and smooth for a nice tactile appeal, and little ones can practice their fine motor skills as they match the pebbles to what's shown on the eight activity cards or explore and build however they want. Is It Fun? We like the combination of tactile play with education and art that both of these sets offer. On their own, kids can explore the feel of the pebbles and how the pebbles can be arranged, which helps develop problem-solving skills and creative thinking. But when parents engage in the play, the developmental benefits are extended even more. Either of these sets would be a nice way to encourage STEM learning at home. Who It’s For Rainbow Pebbles: for ages 3 and up. Junior Rainbow Pebbles: for ages 18 months and up. What To Be Aware Of Each Pebbles set is sold separately. Back to News & Awards

As parents are spending more time at home with their kids, many are asking if there is a right way to play? Former Elementary School teacher Elizabeth Turner says there is no wrong or right way to play. As a mom of three– Turner says having some structure is great but letting their imaginations roam is what really helps them build important skills. “I really do see the value of play and learning is so much more about the process of them exploring and experimenting,” Turner said. Turner says letting kids be the directors of their own play helps them grow. On average, early childhood experts say 90-percent of a child’s brain develops by the age of five. Brenda Andolina, a spokesperson for play, tells parents to let their children explore with all sorts of different toys. “There are some really fun ways to get your kids talking… get them thinking, all of this is critical thinking, critical learning and problem-solving in a really fun way to do it,” Andolina said. Building a truck, using rainbow rocks, and working with shapes– Toys help influence learning but everyday activities can have a major impact as well. “Make the most out of the intimate moments you share every day,” Turner said. “Talking about the science you see, using some numbers in context… just know what you do on a normal day provides so much more than you can write down and calculate.” Some of the toys feature in the video: Edx Education.com: rainbow pebbles, math kits, and geo-sticks Crayola: Create-to-learn Family projects John Deere: by TOMY Buffalo Games: Charades, Scavenger hunt, puzzles SOURCE: BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) View Original Story