Academic Toolbox May Newsletter

    Spring greetings!  Hope this finds everyone enjoying the spring weather now that is has FINALLY arrived.  Cody who is one of our part-timers and a Senior at Eastmont keeps me posted on how many weeks of school are left.  Gee, wonder why he is so intent on keeping track??  Yes, the school year is flying by but some of you teachers might have a different opinion.

Thinking of spring? Did you know?

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Dwight and I enjoyed our trip to the Educational Toy show, which included a visit to a game and hobby show.  Of course we couldn’t resist from buying.  New product will be arriving though out the coming months.

We were introduced to a magazine called: “Toy Tips” at one of the seminars we attended.  It is filled with lots of parenting helps and suggestions and also features safety reports on a variety of toys from different manufacturers.  Toy Tips can be purchased at most newsstands or you can ask us for an address to subscribe.

Webkinz Extravaganza was a huge success.  We gave away lots of webkinz and other fun prizes.  It was fun to watch the children play the games and choose just the right Webkinz to adopt. 

We must apologize for the parking lot mess that we had a few weeks ago.  The construction was not in our control nor was the lack of notice given for the construction.  We hope the asphalt will be done soon so we won’t have to deal with the dust.

 Thought for the month:  You are the only one who can use your ability.  It is an awesome responsibility.

New product from the Educational Show now in stock

Ministers Chess is actually two different chess games.  The conventional game and Ministers which is symmetric chess, employing a 9x9=81 square board.  Along with the regular chess pieces, there are also two Ministers (Queens), one on each side of the King.  The idea is to break the bond of memorized opening moves and to have to ‘think’ again. 

Everyone likes dominoes (no not Pizza) the game, that is.  How about “Bendomino”?  This game is played just like regular dominoes but the pieces are curved allowing for a twist in the game.  Also Fundomino instead of dots, there are numerals on the curved shape.  There are also a few symbols that add a twist to the game.  Both games geared for ages 6 to adult.

New in today! Triopolis underwater city.  Hatch and grow one of the animal kingdoms weirdest creatures, the triops. 

New from Melissa & Doug, every little girls dream, a  Deluxe Kitchen play center that offers a sturdy stove top, roomy refrigerator, fancy freezer, see-though oven door with knobs that turn,  a microwave with turntable, and spacious sink.  Beautiful detailing and bright colorful graphics that assembles complete in one unit.  M & D also offer a wooden kitchen accessory set and a variety of wooden food sets.  The kitchen makes a great gift for the little Granddaughter or for use in a preschool or daycare center.

Shopping card drawing winner this month is Mary Zontek of Wenatchee.  She has $25 to spend at our store.

Answer to April 2008 Puzzler [Grades 11-12]
Q: There are ten bags of gold, each with one ounce coins. In nine of the bags, the coins all weigh one ounce. But in one of the bags, the coins all weigh one-tenth of an ounce more or they all weigh one-tenth of an ounce less, although you can't tell by looking; all the coins in all the bags look alike. You have a scale that you are allowed to use once. How do you identify which bag has the bad coins and whether or not they weigh more or less than they should?
A: Label the bags 1 to 10. Take 1 coin from bag 1, 2 coins from bag 2, ..., 10 coins from bag 10. (Mathematicians would say to take n coins from bag n, where 1<=n<=10.) You have 55 coins. Weigh them. If all coins were fair, the scale would read 55 ounces. If, say, bag 4 had the bad coins and the coins weighed more, the scale would read 55.4 ounces. If, say, bag 9 had the bad coins and the coins weighed less, the scale would read 54.1 ounces. In short, multiply the difference between the weight and 55 by 10 to get the bag number; the coins weigh more if the weight > 55 ounces and less otherwise.

FINAL REMINDER

Summer Bridge books are in stock now.  Remember that if your school is participating in our program, you should buy through them as we donate over $4 per book they sell to the PTO.  Your cost is only 3 cents more (just to make it an even dollar amount) than if purchased at the store. 

Last Note

We will be setting up our travel selection of games and books to make your traveling more fun and productive.  This display will be together around mid-month.

Blessings to all!

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