Orchard Toys – Learning made fun!

With Christmas round the corner and school holidays raising the issue of ‘how you are going to entertain the kids’, Insight would like to recommend you turn to Orchard Toys. A leading designer and manufacturer of educational games and jigsaw puzzles for children aged 18 months to 12 years, Orchard Toys are renowned for their original game concepts that are not only stimulating and a great way to learn, but inject a lot of fun for all the family!

Established for over 40 years, Orchard Toys strive to provide a real choice when it comes to their collection of games and jigsaw puzzles, devising fun and exciting new concepts that will have your child learning the alphabet in no time and discovering new words, numbers and characters. Their award-winning games are a favourite here at the Insight office and, even better, all the board used for the games, jigsaws and product packaging is 100% recycled. So, not only can you have fun with the whole family, you will also be assured that your purchase is environmentally friendly, right down to the paper used for the printed covers.

Designing games with the ethos of ‘learning made fun’, and combining bright, bold and fun designs, as well as ensuring durability and quality, with sound educational principles, Orchard Toys really do have everything covered! Their range is varied with games that incorporate green credentials such as their products ‘What’s Rubbish?’ and ‘Flower Pot Game’, helping children to learn about recycling, composting and green issues.  An extra plus is that all the products are tested in domestic and school environments to ensure that they are educationally sound and meet the approval of their harshest critics- the children!

Orchard Toys also work closely with an educational adviser, who works alongside the design team to ensure that skills necessary in the various National Curriculum key stages are built into the design of a jigsaw puzzle or into the gameplay of a game. With such dedication, this has meant Orchard Toys has regularly been awarded toy industry awards, with over 50 won in recent years, for both the quality of our products and customer service.

So, for those wanting to find out even more about how the games work and what’s available, Insight reviewed two of Orchard Toys most popular games to give you a better idea…

Alphabet Lotto £9.25
Ages: 3-6
Players: 2-5
Learn the letters of the alphabet in this fun lotto game! Choose which side of the board you play on and try to be the first player to find all the cards that match the letters, or pictures, on your lotto board.

Educational Benefits:

•    Develops letter recognition
•    Improves memory skills
•    Links with Early Learning Goals

“My daughter Jess absolutely loved this game! She has just started to learn the alphabet and so I thought this would be a great way to keep up her enthusiasm, whilst spending quality time having fun! Plus, with 4 ways to play the game, there is no danger of Jess getting bored easily and she actually keeps placing the box in my hands to play more!” Insight Director, Jenny Cross.

Slug in a jug £7.25
Ages: 5-9
Players: 2-4
Three fun rhyming games. Play Slug in a Jug by collecting rhyming cards to make a silly sentence, or play Find the Rhyme or Rhyming Pairs.

Educational Benefits:

•    Links with National Curriculum English Key Stage 1
•    Encourages observational and language skills
•    Develops personal and social skills

“My girls are really hard to please when it comes to games and so, when I introduced them to slug in a jug I was a bit apprehensive. However, I was amazed to find that both of them loved putting together silly sentences and they really bounced off each other when it came to matching up the rhyming pairs. It’s great for the girls who are aged 5 and 8, as the game ties in with what they are learning at school and so anything that helps with their progress is a real must-have!” Accounts Manager, Rachel Garrard.

Visit www.orchardtoys.com to view the whole range or phone 01953 859520