Junior Game Pack
We are thrilled to offer three fantastic Junior games — Rush Hour Jr., Clever Castle, and Hoppers Jr. — for your classroom. Purchase this pack for a limited time at the Teacher Special price of only $35.
Learn more and play online versions of Clever Castle and Hoppers Jr.
Contact the ThinkFun Education Department Tanya Thompson, Director of Education Programs
tthompson@thinkfun.com
Charlotte Fixler, Education and Curriculum Specialist
cfixler@thinkfun.com
Great prices on vintage ThinkFun puzzles.
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How Young Does It Start?
Bill Ritchie is CEO and co-founder of ThinkFun Inc.
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A student tests out an early prototype of Hoppers Jr. |
Did you know that puzzle-solving is one of the earliest skills a child develops, right there with language and memory? I know this first hand... my Great Auntie Aileen used to tell the story of how once I, sitting in diapers in the middle of the floor to play a picture puzzle, called her "Tupid!" when she tried to help me with one of the pieces.
What attracts younger children is different than what attracts older children and adults to puzzles, though. The dividing line here is a big one and is based around the point where a child changes developmentally. It generally occurs around 8 years old, when children are entering third grade where they begin to appreciate the personal feeling of success that comes from working through a difficult, frustrating challenge and getting to a solution.
For younger children in the "pre-frustration" stage (K-2nd grade, generally), the most important way to use puzzles is to help children develop confidence in themselves, to feel that they understand what they are doing and that they have a mastery of the puzzle playing process. Puzzles for this group should be familiar, be easy to understand and fun to play, and should offer a high ratio of success to challenge. Yes there should be difficult puzzles for the most confident young puzzlers, but only as part of a progression.
We introduced Clever Castle and Hoppers Jr. last summer. We carefully developed challenges according to the philosophy described above that we discovered through our testing process with schools. We are now working to develop these games into Classroom Versions for teachers to use as a Resource Center in their classroom. If you are interested in working with us on this project, please get in touch with Tanya Thompson...
How a Game Is Born...
Charlotte Fixler is the Education and Curriculum Specialist at ThinkFun Inc.
As a classroom teacher, I always marveled at the way a great game could engage students, encourage them to take risks, stretch their thinking, and help certain learners shine by drawing out previously undiscovered skills, all in the safety of a fun play experience.
While I always had a deep appreciation for good games, it was not until I joined the education team at ThinkFun that I truly understood the incredible process that goes into developing each and every game we make.
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| A student tester arranges tiles on a Clever Castle prototype. |
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Last winter, the company was interested in developing new "junior" products for children in kindergarten-2nd grade called Hoppers Jr. and Clever Castle. I spent several months in schools testing both, and each session yielded new insights. For example, a group of kindergarten students who arranged their froggies on the sidelines in Hoppers Jr. led to the development of resting spots on the side of the board. Clever Castle began with simple graphics, but our sharp little testers told us immediately that the theme needed jazzing up!
Most importantly, watching our young testers struggle miserably with the first challenge sets we tested helped us realize that players at this age like repetition and the feeling of success. We needed to ease young thinkers into the play pattern of the game and build their confidence. I am so proud of these final products and the fact that they were developed by months of trial and error watching kids playing them in the classroom.
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Students stretch their thinking with a fun game of Rush Hour Jr. |
Great news!! We have developed online tutorials and interactive challenges for both Hoppers Jr. and Clever Castle. These will help you to introduce these games and will allow you to play through challenges at each level. If you use either a projector or an interactive online white board, you can play together with your entire classroom!
In addition to Clever Castle and Hoppers Jr., this Junior Game Pack also includes Rush Hour Jr., a much-loved favorite. I hope you will take advantage of this offer and explore these three fantastic games with your students. These games have been tested by students, teachers, and parents, and approved by all with a big thumbs up!
If you are interested in being a part of the exciting testing process for future products, please contact me at cfixler@thinkfun.com.
ThinkFun Junior Games
Are Great for the Classroom
Shannon Sutter is a Gifted Specialist in Loudoun County, VA.
Wow! ThinkFun has done it again with the creation of its two newest junior games, Clever Castle and Hoppers Jr.
Everything about these games is enticing to the young learner: the colors, the materials, and the ease at learning how to play these games, as well as the online tutorial.
A few of my students and I have worked with Clever Castle and Hoppers Jr. from the development stage through production. They intrigued me in the beginning and continue to amaze me as commercial products.
My students were able to assist in the creation process (longing for them to be produced) and now are able to use these games as part of our spatial learning, logical thinking, and deductive reasoning lessons. However, they just think they are playing amazingly wonderful games!
As a primary teacher I strongly recommend adding Clever Castle and Hoppers Jr. to your bag of tricks!
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