Tips and Advice from Parenting Solutions

Rush Hour and Rush Hour Jr.
Manufactured by: ThinkFun, Binary Arts
Format: Educational Toy
Ages: Rush Hour: 8 and up; Rush Hour Jr.: 6-8

Children can play with this puzzle alone or with others and will be kept entertained by the fun concept for long periods of time. To begin, players choose one of the 40 puzzle cards (there are different difficulty levels expansion packs are available) and place the plastic vehicles on the board to match the set-up “traffic jam” position shown on the card. Players solve the ‘puzzle’ by moving the necessary cars and trucks vertically or horizontally to clear the gridlock allowing his/her own vehicle a free path of escape from the jam.

Although the manufacture recommends the original Rush Hour for ages 8 and up, I have seen many younger children play it successfully. Both the original and junior versions of the game keep kids engaged with increasing levels of difficulty and are excellent choices for trips since they come with a travel pouch to keep all the components together.

Funthinkers
by Educational Insights
Format: Educational Toy
Ages: 4-8 (three difficulty levels)

Known as “The Tile Game” by my children, this toy is one of our family’s educational favorites. It consists of a simple plastic grid frame — which is used with any of the Funthinkers workbooks (45 puzzles in each) — and 16 square tiles that fit in the grid. By solving the challenges on each workbook page, the child determines the proper placement for each tile.

Kids get a real kick out of systematically moving each tile to the correct answer, and seeing if the color pattern matches the answer key once all the tiles are in place. The topics in reading, math and thinking skills are engaging and increase in difficulty to keep children challenged.

I recently bought this toy to a family gathering and all children age 4 - 10 were engrossed. It’s also a great toy to take with you to a restaurant, doctor’s office, or anywhere you may need to keep your child entertained while waiting.

Available at: https://educationalinsights.com/ (Item #4446 for frame and tiles. Items #4463, #4464, #4465 for books)