Two strong partners work together for early childhood education

What do you get, when you bring a manufacturer of “inventive playthings for inquisitive minds“ and Germany’s leading provider of learning aids and reference books together to develop an educative book series for preschool children? That’s obvious! You will get products perfectly designed to match the demands of their target demographic. What is more, your children will have another playfully opportunity to broaden their minds and train their skills.

“Spiel dich schlau!” that’s the name of the cutting-edge product line by Duden and Haba

The new line of educational games, "Spiel dich schlau!" perfectly combines the high standards and demands of Haba and Duden. Haba stands for innovative play fun, original design and high quality materials. And Duden always provides strong learning concepts for every age group.

An age-appropriate combination of reading, listening and learning through play – that’s the concept of the new "Spiel dich schlau!" line by Haba and Duden. Each box contains a book of rules, a guidebook for parents and many beautiful wooden figures. A fantastic story conveys first skills and trains children’s listening comprehension. Funny illustrations and lovable characters support the stories. Each double page presents a task or the instructions for a board game on a fold-out page. Most games feature different levels of difficulty thus paying regard to different stages of child development and always providing a new challenge. With tokens, dices and figures children may re-live the story and train the subject matter of the book.

About fantasising dragons and cunning witches

The new product line starts with four important kindergarten topics: shapes and colours, numbers 1 to10, letters and listening comprehension. Each book targets children aged between 3 and 7 and is now available at specialized toy retailers and in book shops throughout Germany.

Hexe Habiba in the Forest of Letters Habiba the Witch’s life is far from easy. She has to pass the witch exams and discover all the witch signs that are hidden in the forest – within only four days and nights. But that’s not all about it. She also has to find out about their names and sounds! Just good, that she is a witch and that the little raven without-a-name helps her. Attentive children will also be able to help the little raven in the end ... The book introduces children to sounds and letters and conveys first skills in reading and writing. In addition, it promotes retentiveness and concentration.

Karl Feuerstark Tells Incredible Stories Emil the little dragon loves to visit his uncle. Karl Feuerstark travels the world and likes telling about his incredible adventures. Are they all true? Anyway, Karl claims he can not only breathe fire but also do magic. He once performed a rain spell in England, but something went seriously wrong and now it almost always rains there ... Besides listening comprehension this book also promotes creativity, free speech as well as retentiveness and concentration.

Princess Tapeta and the Masters of Counting Princess Tapeta has a new hobby: Wallpapering. When the king has had enough of it – his daughter has a very special taste in wallpapers – he suggest, she should build her own castle. No sooner said than done. Let’s say ‘almost done’, as this is a major project. You need builders for it. And – as always – Tapeta overdoes it: She employs even ten builders! Will everything go smoothly …? The book introduces number 1 to 10 and conveys first mathematical skills like counting, calculating and comparing quantities.

Pirate Paul on Treasure Hunt This adventure story tells about Pirate Paul, who finds a bottle message with a mysterious treasure map at the beach and sets out to hunt the Treasure of Shapes and Colours. On his way he meets funny creatures that help him to solve the riddles. And, of course, Pirate Paul does a lot of mischief. Treasure hunters come up with strange ideas sometimes ... This education game promotes recognition of colours and shapes as well as retentiveness and logical thinking.

Who plays wins! – Education can be fun

Children always win when they play, even if they loose one game or the other. But what exactly do they gain apart from fun? They gain cognitive abilities and fine motor skills. “Pirate Paul on Treasure Hunt” for instance introduces preschool children to shapes and colours. They learn to recognize, name and differentiate between “red” and “blue”, round” and “square”. For youngest players it may also be a challenge to throw the dices. Moving the counters trains their fine motor skills and their eye-hand coordination. What is more, "Karl Feuerstark" trains their memory, their capacity of reaction as well as their concentration. It’s not always enough to be lucky with the dices; in most cases, children have to develop tactics and try to realize them – always in age-appropriate settings. In addition, they acquire soft skills on their way, including:

• Courage and Self-Confidence
  Playing games always implies: I will try something new and I do not know what will happen. The end is always open. Here children may try their courage under playful circumstances.
• Sense of Unity, Team-Spirit
  When children play together with their parents, they do not only enjoy the game, they also feel: I am important; there are people that have time for me. Cooperative games don’t have winners or losers. All children are members of the same group; they discuss their tactics and act in cooperation to reach their target together… They have to be faster, stronger or cleverer than their joint opponent. If they succeed, they share their joy; if they lose they may console each other.
• Communication Skills
  Playing games promotes talking – before, during and after the game. Most families develop their own special variants of rules. So they train their communication skills by talking, discussing and making compromises.
• Understanding of Rules
  To play board games, children have to stick to the rules – just like in real life. Each game has its own rules that have to be understood, remembered and followed. That’s sometimes hard to understand for children, but – fortunately – the same rules apply to all players, also to Mum, Dad and elder sisters.
• Emotional Skills
  Who wins can be proud. Who loses, feels miserable, disappointed or sometimes even furious. But each child will learn: A new game always bears a new chance.