BabyLit comes to PERC!

Thanks to the good people at BabyLit, who donated the entire run of these wonderful board books to PERC! For those of you who haven't encountered BabyLit, you will be enchanted by the adorable way they make classic literature accessible to the youngest child. The concepts are simple, the execution is clever, and the illustrations are amazing. Come in and check them out. You and your child will love BabyLit.

What's a boomwhacker?

When I heard that we were ordering boomwhackers for PERC, I was a little confused. What in the world is a boomwhacker?

Boomwhackers are tuned tubes that make notes when you hit them, kind of like a xylophone. This is a great way to teach kids the rudiments of music, as well as the physics of sound (why do long tubes make lower pitches than short tubes?). They are now available for checkout at PERC!

Other new items:

 Pixy Cubes can be combined lots of ways to make different pictures. Watch your kids use logic to put the patterns together.

This A to Z dinosaur puzzle has uppercase letters on the front and lowercase letters on the back. He's fun to put together, and comes with his own tray to keep all the pieces in one place.

Rings and gears and monkeys! Oh my!

We received some extra funding this year so we're having fun adding to our collection of educational toys. Here are some of the new things we acquired this week:

Meadow Ring Toss

Kids enjoy practicing their aim with this ring toss. Set up the three wooden posts, then toss the rope rings. Colored beads on each ring match colored symbols on the bases of the post. This one will be very popular as spring is coming.

Gears & Puzzles Deluxe

Put the puzzle pieces together, add the colorful gears, turn the crank and watch them go! This set can be assembled in countless ways, letting children use their creativity and see cause and effect in action. I think this is my new favorite.

Balancing Monkeys

This new toy combines motor skills and math. Children can see how the distance from the tree changes the balance of the monkeys. A lesson in basic physics for the preschool set.

For more of our new acquisitions, visit our online catalog and click on What's New.

Making room for growth

You may have noticed the many boxes of freebies we've had outside our door for a couple weeks. PERC is in the process of clearing out many of our "tired" items to make room for all the new toys we want to get. We have substantially thinned our collections of videotapes, CD-ROMS (many of which no longer work with newer computers), and audio cassettes. We hope to focus on motor skills and sensory toys for younger children, as well as some new fun games for older kids.

Here's an example of some of things we've acquired just this week. All of these items are available to you, our PERC patrons, for free. Check out our online catalog and click on "What's New" to see everything.

New Item: Tumble & Glow Froggio

One of the items we've purchased lately is the Tumble 'N Glow Froggio.

Our Roll 'N Swirl Ball Ramp has been so popular that we'd thought we'd get this little guy to help fill the demand for this type of motor skill toy. Come in to PERC today to check him out, or put him on hold by logging in to our online catalog.

More new items at PERC

Here's a sneak peek at more of the fun items we got for Christmas!

WINGO combines word-building, bingo, and dominoes to make a game that's a fun way for kids to learn language.

This fishing game gives little kids a colorful way to practice motor skills and learn about underwater life.

The First Atlas is a wonderful addition to our DK series. Lots of pictures and information about peoples and cultures makes this book interesting to kids and parents alike.

All these things are available for checkout. Make sure to come in soon and see us!

New items from our wish list

Thanks to a generous donor, we have some new items from our wish list to share with our patrons!

This Melissa & Doug Cookie Set has twelve cookies with frosting and oven tools. It helps teach basic shape and color recognition and beginning math skills through creative pretend play.

The Family Dinner Box of Questions has 75 cards designed to promote conversation at mealtime.

The Peek-a-Boo Panda encourages babies to experiment with interactive play. The panda has arms that click into place in front of its eyes.