Speed Slider
© 2011 Wild Planet
This bowl-sized toy is designed to be kicked like a soccer ball either alone, or in groups of up to six. The sturdy, half-dome component has a slick, flat underside so it can glide smoothly across the floor in response to a light toe tap (for small play areas) or a power kick (for larger spaces). The dome contains four big buttons, each displaying a different color, number and direction. The top of the dome has a fifth colored button and a speaker that calls out commands. Commands include colors, numbers, math problems, double digits, and sequences. Players kick the buttons that correspond to the command. (Example: 9 minus 7 player kicks button # 2; Dribble player kicks left button, then right button, then left button; 53 player kicks button # 5 then button # 3.) Younger players have the option to start with more basic commands, such as a single color or number, and work their way up to more challenging levels. Depending on the number of accurate kicks in each round, the game will either stay in beginner mode or automatically advance to games that incorporate a wider variety of commands and longer rounds. The game plays music, tracks each player's time or score and announces the results. Four additional games include: Speed Tap player taps the top button, alternating feet, as many times as they can in a timed skill drill; Speed Keep Away players take turns trying to keep one player from gaining possession of the slider; Speed Pass players work toward a shared score in a cooperative pass-kick version of the main game; Speed Memory player kicks the slider in the same order as a growing series of memory-building commands. Coming Fall 2011.
$25, Smart Toy
Teaches: lower body coordination, math facts