Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Beach and Magic Moves

Greetings from one of my favorite places on Earth!

This week my family is at Emerald Isle, NC for our annual beach vacation. The ocean is warm and the weather is perfect–but even so, my young children need a lot of in-condo activities during our breaks from the sun. Out of the entire bin of toys and art supplies, there is one clear favorite, the Magic Moves Electronic Wand. It looks like this:

This ingenious little toy may look like any number of cheap plastic light-up toys, but it is really a preschool/elementary school music and movement class packed into a kid-friendly plastic case. Its catchy little theme goes like this: "Shake it up, work it out. Magic moves is all about.... Moving!" It has 90 different movements, from "Stomp like a dinosaur," to "float like a butterfly," to "gallop like a camel." After each movement instruction, it plays appropriate instrumental/orchestral music to accompany the movement, followed by "freeze!" and the next motion. There is also a button to repeat the movement, so when my kids get to one they especially like they will do it over and over.... and over. Though the sound quality from the speaker is not fantastic (though it's quite good for the low price), the musical selections are very well done and sound like music I would pick for creative listening and movement time in my classroom.

The manufacturer's recommended age for this toy is 3-10. Though it might be seen as a "little kid toy" by the older set, it is a fantastic toy for siblings and is a fun way to get an older sibling to play with a younger one without getting bored. It would also make a lovely, unique gift for any kid 8 or under (or older, if the child isn't sensitive to a toy looking like it's for younger kids). My kids get a ton of exercise without even realizing it, and I love how they really listen and move to the style and beat of the music.

It's time for more sunscreen here, but I'll be back next week! Happy July. :)