{"id":27523,"date":"2022-06-27T17:00:21","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T21:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=27523"},"modified":"2022-06-27T15:55:02","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T19:55:02","slug":"new-toys-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2022\/06\/new-toys-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"New Toys in 2022!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Discovering new toys for kids is one of the favorite parts of my job. From STEM to art to discovery based play, I envision young patrons’ faces lighting up even before I put new toys on the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are fun things in 2022! Here are some highlights from the exhibit halls this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Many of us are familiar with Imagination Playgrounds \u201cblue blocks,\u201d but did you know that they have a new line of bone <\/em>blocks? With three different sizes, these are STEM and creativity and tinkering, all in one toy! What\u2019s great is that\u2013 in their words\u2013 you can \u201cbuild a dinosaur from the past, a futuristic insect, or an alien from outer space.\u201d What kid doesn\u2019t love the opportunity to create their own dino! Amazingly, they can be put in a mesh bag and easily washed in the dishwasher. Thank you for thinking of our kid\u2019s safety and new Covid protocols, Imagination Playground!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Percussion Play features real-life outdoor <\/em>musical instruments that can withstand heat, snow, storms, you name it! There are many options to choose from, including life-size xylophones, drums, chimes, and floor pianos. Not only is musical literacy essential in terms of fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and body mind connection, but it builds social emotional skills. These instruments are wonderful because they encourage making music together. <\/em>Multiple children can stand together at an instrument and make harmony, rhythms, or just plain exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve ever done circuits with your library kids, you know it can be a lot <\/em>of prep. The company Brown Dog Gadgets packages activities like paper circuits, wearable circuits, and origami circuits. Made especially for kids 10 and up, these can be done together or with a grown up. We all love family programming! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Have you heard of Tonies? We have them at our library, and they go like hot cakes! These are screen-free listening experiences, designed as a colorful box. Small figurines can be placed on top of the box and voila\u2013 it reads to you. We package several figurines together on a theme, such as \u201cDisney Pixar,\u201d \u201cAdventure Stories\u201d and \u201cAnimal Stories.\u201d What\u2019s cool is that they also sell Creative-Tonies, where you can record up to 90 minutes of your own custom content. Imagine preserving your families memories, singing songs in your own language, or sending messages to loved ones. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Lastly, have you heard of Stick Together? Think: paint by number, but with stickers. Kids receive small mosaic stickers and place them on a poster. After all stickers are placed, an image is revealed. A cool update- they do virtual boards! I saw a demo where a classroom of kids worked together at computers and slowly, they started to see two people. \u201cWho are they?\u201d they ask. Then, it is revealed\u2013 it\u2019s their teachers! What a fun, collaborative activity. <\/p>\n\n\n

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What new toys are you excited about? Please share!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(All photos courtesy of guest blogger.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Conference guest contributor Katie Clausen<\/strong> (she\/her) is the Early Literacy Services Manager at Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, IL. Her specialties include discovery-based play, picture book analysis, and storytime best practices. During ALA, she will be munching on Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish, and is thrilled to attend The Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy Banquet. If she could read any book again for the first time, it would be The Rabbit Listened <\/em>by Cori Doerrfeld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Discovering new toys for kids is one of the favorite parts of my job. From STEM to art to discovery based play, I envision young patrons’ faces lighting up even before I put new toys on the floor. There are fun things in 2022! Here are some highlights from the exhibit halls this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":345,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[2412,134,151],"tags":[2296],"class_list":["post-27523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ala-annual-conference-2022","category-guest-blogger","category-live-blogging","tag-toys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/345"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27523\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}