Corporate play-time encompasses play-based practices and attitudes in organizations. The implementation of these practices can create innovative and problem solving work teams. The benefits of corporate playtime are supported by The National Institute for Play, a nonprofit that focuses on expanding scientific knowledge of human play and the benefits of play to public life. Active play is integral in the accomplishments of successful individuals. Humans are uniquely designed by nature to enjoy and participate in play throughout their life. Play enables individuals and organizations to harness the power of play...

A new toy buying guide will be extremely helpful to parents who want to purchase educational toys for their children, the team at Click-A-Brick says. The new guide, published by the bestofneworleans.com site and entitled “The best toys to engage your child’s imagination at any age and where to find them in New Orleans,” includes the latest recommendations from both the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The new guide lists nine criteria that a toy should meet to be considered a...

The Alliance for Childhood, a nonprofit partnership of educators and health professionals, released a report titled ‘Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why children need to play in schools.’ It argues that education in kindergarten has changed drastically. It has become overly focused on academics and test preparation. As a result, active play time has diminished and children no longer have the opportunity to learn through play and exploration. Studies have shown the vital importance of play in young children’s development. Children who engage in play have greater language skills, better social...

The report “A Research-Based Case for Recess” by Olga S.Jarrett of Georgia State University, published by the the U.S. Play Coalition, reveals the importance of recess for children. It cites that the majority of the top-ranking countries in international tests have schools that provide frequent play breaks. For example, English primary children have breaks in the morning and in the afternoon. They also have a long lunch break. Children in Japan receive 10-20 minute breaks between 45-minute lessons. In Finland, schools offer 15 minutes to play after each 45 minutes...

Building block company Click-A-Brick is responding to fans that have continually requested more eyes, spinners, and wheels for their Click-A-Brick sets by announcing the launch of its 16-piece Booster Box to fulfill this need. The Booster Box, slated for release later this month, will contain four eye pieces, which can be used to give creations a distinct face; eight spinner pieces, which can be used to make one area of a creation spin while still being connected to the rest of the creation, and four wheels, which can be used...

The team at educational building toy company Click-A-Brick agree with expert tips to get children interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. In a recent television segment, Burns and McDonnell Foundation director Julee Koncak provided tips on how parents can engage their children and get them excited about studying STEM subjects. Among the tips Koncak offered were buying building blocks for young children, giving them science and engineering based toys to play with and performing simple science experiments with them at home that they can do with household...

The team behind building block toy Click-A-Brick says while students at Lehigh University have admirable intentions, their development of a mobile app to help preschoolers understand geometry concepts is misguided. The as-yet-unnamed app, which is still in the development stage, is being touted as a way to give young children "a meaningful and accessible block-building experience — without actual blocks," according to a news release from the developers. To build their app, Lehigh University undergraduate students Faye Sheppard and Luke Zhang, school psychology doctoral student Brittany Kuder, and associate professor...

The Toys To Life genre is a fast growing billion dollar category in the toy marketplace. It uses physical figurines to interact with a video game. The toy figurines are connected to a game console via a USB peripheral. The figurine generates an in game character to interact with. It can also be used to unlock exclusive levels and special perks. The NPD Group -a global information tracking company- states that over 70 percent of parents are aware of the Toys To Life genre, otherwise known as IGT (Interactive Gaming...

The team behind educational learning toy retailer Click-A-Brick says the Mid-Year Impact Report from the Toy Industry Foundation (TIF) brings a smile to their collective faces and they congratulate the charitable organization for helping nearly 300,000 children in need by providing them with toys and services. This year, according to the recently-released report, the TIF and its national partners have helped more than 7,000 children living on U.S. military bases through its partnerships with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) Military Services and 64,000 children in foster care through...

The Strong is a museum dedicated to the history and exploration of play. It is designed to be highly interactive and is one of the largest history museums in the United States. The mission of the Strong museum is to explore the concept of play and how it encourages creativity and helps to illuminate our cultural history. The Co-Founder of the educational toy company Click-A-Brick Jason Smith praises the museums initiative. “The Strong museum is the definition of amazing,” Smith said. “For someone like me, an avid gamer and a...