Hi there. In this educational post, I would like to feature the Toy Theater website. This website is used fairly often in my Mathnasium online work. As we do not have physical desk tools like we did at the centre, we managed to find this neat Toy Theater website for mathematics based educational tools and games.
As there is so much stuff on this website, this post provides an overview and a sample of what the website has.
The pictures are screenshots from the website (except for the first image).
Topics
- A Collection Of Teacher Tools
- Math Learning Tools
- Toy Theater's Read Section
- A Collection Of Games
- Notes
A Collection Of Teacher Tools
The teacher tools in this website is quite rich in terms of the variety of topics. There are many virtual manipulatives and tools that can be used for teaching concepts such as fractions, counting money, shapes, patterns, place value and so on.
For those who are teaching online, running this on a second or third screen with the share screen function would be a great supplement.
Spinner
The spinner on this website is nothing too complicated. You can spin a colour spinner or a spinner with the numbers from 1 to 5.
Math Flashcards
Toy Theater has their own online flashcards with nice colours and animations. Choose between addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Most flashcards do a quiz and recall format where they want the right answer. The flashcards here are in the multiple choice format. Multiple choice flashcards could be good for those who need more work on their arithmetic.
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Play Money
This website does have play money for showing coins, dollar bills and additional options for showing numbers and basic math symbols. The screenshot below is for Play Money Canada but the ToyTheater website also has Play Money for United States, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, India, Mexico, Brazil and Phillipines.
Interactive Clock
I think that it is difficult to teach how to tell time without a visual aid or a manipulative tool. The interactive clock from the website shows an analog clock along with a numeric time in the middle. You can change the time by moving the minute hand around or by moving the hour hand around.
This clock does contain dash lines to help with alignment for the short hour hand. There are additional options for toggling the hour hand on or off, toggling the minute hand on or off, colours on the clock border and for toggling between the 12 hour system and the 24 hour system.
Math Learning Tools
There are a lot of neat and engaging math learning tools from this website. The mathematics here is heavily focused on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. I still had fun trying out some of these math based games. It keeps the brain going.
Missing Divisor Game
This Missing Divisor game is a flashcard style game where the user fills in the blank of the division problem. The problems are in a multiple choice format.
Missing Multiplier Game
This one is similar to the Missing Divisor game. It is just with multiplication.
Space Race
Space Race is a nice racing game that helps accuracy and speed in addition. Move your racer only to the yellow squares. In order to move the racer, you have to carefully and quickly select the number of spaces it takes for the racer at the current space to go to another yellow space. Race to the finish to clear the level.
Multiply Racer
Multiply Racer is a multiplication based flashcards style racing game. Multiplication problems in this game as presented in a flashcard multiple choice style format. Win the race to advance to the next level. There are five levels to this game.
Subtraction Sumo
You control a small sumo wrestler. The opponent is a larger and fatter sumo wrestler. To push the opponent off the arena you have to answer the subtraction questions correctly and rapidly. There are 5 levels to this subtraction sumo madness.
Tug of War Addition
Win the Tug of War by answering addition problems. Answering addition problems correctly will pull the larger opponent closer to the water in the middle.
Toy Theater's Read Section
ToyTheater does have a read section for activities on the English language.
Alphabetical Order
This activity is quite basic as the task is sorting the letters in alphabetical order. Suitable for Junior Kindergarten, Senior Kindergarten or grade one.
Hidden Picture Bus Stop
The Hidden Picture Bus Stop is a part of the Hidden Picture series on Toy Theater. Given a word at the top, find and click on the object. The game reminds of the I Spy books where you try to find hidden items.
Alphabet Bridge
This game requires the user to fill in the missing letters to complete the ABC order. Fill in the missing letters fast enough to help the green superhero win the race.
Word Mine
This Word Mine game seems to be like a modified 3D word search. Click on the letters from the available letter cubes to spell the above word. The character can be moved around to reveal more letters. Completing the words does require navigation, patience and problem solving. This game may not be suitable for everyone. Classic word searches can be more fun.
Word Scramble
In Word Scramble, a word that has its letter mixed up appears at the top. Click on the picture that matches the above word when it is spelled correctly.
A Collection Of Games
ToyTheater does have its fair share of games. Here is their menu screen for games.
This section does include classic games such as Tic Tac Toe, Snakes & Ladders, Pinball, Mini Golf, Checkers, Chess and Darts. Here are some screenshots.
Notes
This website is a very nice resource for teachers, educators and for homeschooling. Having interactive elements makes this more fun and engaging for young learners. Some of the tools on the website allows for trial and error which is important for learning.
Many of the games are easy to follow and get you thinking fast. There are a few games on here that are either slow or it takes time to understand the instructions. Overall, this website is rich in content and in utility.