I have a new favorite among online stores in Super Duper, Inc. Super Duper carries amazing therapy supplies and boasts “fun learning for kids”, and they live up to that. Along with Ring Bling (a previous review), they sent me many other things like the MagneTalk Match-Up Adventures Kit. These language-based barrier games help children learn to follow instructions, give instructions, learn storytelling, improve vocabulary, and more. This set features five scenes (ocean, space, camping, picnic, and grocery store) and 10 matching magnets for each one. Because this a two-sided set, there are enough of each for both sides of the barrier, you can entertain and teach multiple children at once and it even has a workbook and instruction manual for teachers and therapists to use.
This barrier game set is amazing. I have been so thrilled with it and the valuable things it teaches. I started directing my children with instructions like, “put the empty basket on the picnic table” but eventually I moved to giving more complex ones like, “first you need to put the fish near the diver, then after you place the starfish in the center, place the treasure chest below it.” Following these kinds of complex instructions not only teaches them to pay attention, but also improves their auditory memory. My kids, like many, have trouble with following these kinds of verbal instructions and the barrier games have truly helped to improve this ongoing problem.
In addition to being educational, these are also fun and my kids have both found so much enjoyment in creating, tearing down, and recreating fun scenes with the pieces. They love making silly scenes, like putting fish in space, or creating personalities magnets and playing out dramatic interpretations. No matter how they play, they are learning and exercising their brains and that’s what I like to see.
As an added bonus, this set all stores away very nicely in a case so there is little chance of losing pieces or them being torn up by misuse. Plus, both sides of the barrier are dry erase as well, so the boys can use dry erase markers and draw their own fun scenes or do homework on it. I am also happy to report that this set is extremely well made so it is sure to last a long while. The magnets themselves are not lightweight or flimsy, they are very thick and would not be easy to tear up. I can honestly say this set has far exceeded my expectations and I am thrilled to add it to my educational collection.
You can purchase this and all of Super Duper, Inc. supplies on their website, www.superduperinc.com. Barrier games come in many varieties but this set with 10 scenes, 100 magnets, two-sided barrier, and carrying case for everything retails for $89.94.
Thank you to Super Duper, Inc. for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon. All opinions expressed are my own.
