ThinkWorks News
ThinkBlocks Win Seal of Approval from The National Parenting Center
August 11th, 2008
Woodland Hills, CA - ThinkBlocks were named the Winner of The National Parenting Center's 2008 Seal of Approval. The panel of parents, children, and educators was wowed by the possibilities of the "exceptionally innovative" educational tool. "So many concepts are in play
here," the reviewers said. "Recognizing same and different objects; parts and wholes;
relations between objects and more."
The reviewers also remarked on the extensive support offered by ThinkWorks. When the panelists "visited the company website, they discovered just how many valuable logic and reasoning skills could be introduced to their young children."
Greg Wheeler joined ThinkWorks after teaching English in a Washington, DC, high school. He now provides support at ThinkWorks and was ecstatic that the reviewers mentioned the online resources. "We make sure that every educator has the tools they need to succeed with ThinkBlocks," he said. "I love working with teachers one-on-one to develop lessons and activities. Many of our best ideas have come as a result of collaboration with educators. And, whether it's through Thinkipedia or a discussion group, we share the results with the entire community of ThinkBlocks users. We were very excited to hear that the panelists found those materials helpful."
ThinkWorks COO Laura Colosi was proud of the award. "This is a great award for ThinkWorks," she said. "In my work as an evaluator, I study the effectiveness of major parenting initiatives. It's great to know that our work has such an impact on the education of children."
TNPC President David Katzner offered his congratulations to the educational company. ThinkBlocks, he said, are "worthy of this special recognition."
The full review is available below, at the website of The National Parenting Center, and can be downloaded in PDF format.
The National Parenting Center was created in 1989 as a source of reliable information for "parents as they tackle the challenges of parenting in the new millennium." Its Seal of Approval program is "an independent testing procedure conducted to judge a variety of products introduced and marketed to the parent/child consumer market."
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FULL REVIEW: "It's very apparent that ThinkWorks really stuck to its guns when developing the exceptionally innovative ThinkBlocks. After all it doesn't fit into any preconceived category of toy or educational product. Instead it brings new meaning to open ended play. You must truly want to explore new areas of learning and exploration to appreciate what ThinkBlocks is all about. So many concepts are in play here, such as recognizing same and different objects; parts and wholes; relations between objects and more. Out of the box the product may seem too abstract for some, but as our testers explored more and visited the company website, they discovered just how many valuable logic and reasoning skills could be introduced to their young children."