Disclosure:This article contains affiliate links. I will receive compensation if you make a purchase after clicking on a link in this article. I received a free item, but it in no way influenced my opinion.

Summer comes with a lot of unstructured time. From, “When’s the next snack, mom?” to, “I can’t clean all of my toys!” it’s hard to carve out productive work time. In the summer, I make learning fun. Interesting, challenging activities motivate children to stay on task and learn. Although my kids can be reluctant about doing work in the summer, they were very happy to try out some new educational toys from Educational Insights.

Educational Toys For Summer Learning

One of the first items we tried out was an awesome group of Once Upon a Craft kits. Each kit comes with a book, a fun activity, and instructions on how to complete the activity. Reading skills can really fall behind in the summer. I loved that the core message with these kits was all about encouraging literacy. The best part was that the activities were fun, so my kids were eager to complete their reading of a short story book to prepare themselves for the activity.

Samantha was really excited about the new toys. One of her favorite was a set of Rainbow Prancers Puppet-on-a-Stick markers that came in a set of three. Previously, Samantha received the full size unicorn puppets, and her photo from that article, which you can read here, was featured in the Educational Insights toy catalogue. The smaller unicorn puppets were awesome because they were also markers. Samantha loves doing art, and new markers always inspire her!

She was also really excited about the Nancy B’s Science Club Compost Kit & Decomposition book. I had no idea she knew so much about compost! Kindergarten taught her a lot about what to include and how it works. I’m really proud that she has such an interest in science. This compost kit will be very helpful in integrating science into her daily life. I liked the magnified spots for viewing the inside of the kit, and I found the decomposition book to be really useful.

Another item I was excited to try out was the Light Filters for Every Season. Since I’ll be back in a classroom soon, I was happy to imagine how nicely these would look. Fluorescent lighting can be very distracting for students. With light filters, you can create a warm, welcoming environment. I really liked how these easily connected with magnets. They looked very simple to set up, and I look forward to using them!

Opening up the Once Upon a Craft Kits was very exciting. The first kit we looked at was the 12 Dancing Princesses. One thing I liked was that the instructions recommend reading the story first. It was fun to cuddle up together and read about the adventure of 12 sisters. Georgiana decided she wanted to work on this kit because she noticed the fun party scene backdrop. She enjoyed coloring figures for the scene. I was happy that she worked independently so I could get some work done without feeling guilty.

Samantha was excited to work on The Frog Prince kit. She enjoyed decorating the crown. Having her work independently gave me some much needed mom time! I loved that she was learning and thinking about the story as she played. The stained glass art activity was her favorite. Putting the paper against the windows was beautiful.

Two other Once Upon a Craft kits I received were the Rapunzel kit and The Princess and the Pea kit. I thought it was really neat that my kids were learning about such classic stories in such a fun way. Each kit had very unique activities that made my kids excited to learn about literature. The activities were great conversation starters. We had a great time going over reading skills and integrating art.

Giveaway

I’m excited to host a giveaway of some Educational Insights toys! Learning with educational toys can be so much fun, and I look forward to sharing this with one lucky US winner! The winner will receive all four of the Once Upon A Craft sets (Rapunzel, 12 Dancing Princesses, The Frog Prince, and The Princess and the Pea) along with the Rainbow Prancers Puppet-on-a-Stick markers. Enter with this simple Rafflecopter widget!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

What type of educational toys do you prefer in the summer? Share in the comments!

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Disclosure

This article contains affiliate links. I will receive compensation if you make a purchase after clicking on a link in this article. I received a free item, but it in no way influenced my opinion.

Amber July 13, 2016

Those unicorns look adorable. 💖

Amanda | Maple Alps July 13, 2016

That compost kit looks pretty cool! What great summertime toy ideas!

Angela July 13, 2016

oh these are awesome kits! I’ll have to keep these in mind as my nieces and nephews get older!!

Jill Robbins July 13, 2016

These kits look like a lot of fun. I’m always looking for birthday gifts that are a little different than what everyone else has. These would be perfect for that.

Mary Burris July 13, 2016

I used to love the Frog Prince when I was little. These are awesome kits!

Mary
Jingle Jangle Jungle

Nellwyn July 13, 2016

Looks like fun! I would have loved something like this when I was a kid!

Natasha July 13, 2016

These look fun. I love the idea of the compost kit!

Jamie Loomis July 13, 2016

What awesome kits! The composting is a great idea and perfect for summer. The Princess and the Pea was one of my favorites. The activities make wonderful memories to make the story even more special!

Steph D. July 14, 2016

These are perfect for kids 🙂

KidCongeniality July 14, 2016

Entered! My fingers are crossed for this fun giveaway!

Kimberly July 14, 2016

These look like so much fun!!! My girls would love this stuff. We are really working on reading more, so these kits would be amazing. Thanks for sharing 🙂