The Smart Mom’s Summer Toy Box Keeping kids busy over the summer can be a challenge. Finding fun things to do is hard enough but add the element of time for working parents and you’ve got the makings of a summer filled with smartphones, video games, and Netflix. That’s where the Smart Mom’s Summer Toy Box comes in! We’ve put together a list of affordable toys and games that can help build your child’s cognitive skills—like attention, logic & reasoning, processing speed, memory, and auditory and visual processing. These items boost the foundational skills needed to make learning ANY subject easier and faster. Your kids won’t even know they’re learning because they’ll be having so much fun! 1. STEM 11-in-1 Solar Robot Kit This 231-piece DIY educational building toy can be transformed into four vehicle models and seven animal models. This kit helps children use the visual processing, attention, and logic & reasoning skills to build and understand the process of building the robot. Not only is this kit fun, it’s STEM based and can provide a hands-on educational experience. AGES: 6+ PRICE: $19.99 2. Spot It! by Blue Orange Find the symbol that each of two cards has in common. A fun, fast game for the entire family. Available in a waterproof version! This card game helps build attention skills, visual perception, and processing speed while keeping even the youngest members of the family engaged. AGES: 6+ PRICE: $14.99 3. Kanoodle With 12 puzzle pieces, 200 puzzle challenges, a 48-page illustrated puzzle book, and carrying case, this 2D and 3D brain teaser puzzle game will keep kids entertained for hours. Put your kids’ brains to work! They’ll have fun while building visual processing, attention, and logic & reasoning skills. AGES: 7+ PRICE: $13.99 4. Quiddler by SET Enterprises Inc. Combine your hand into one or more words trying to use the highest point value letters. This fun game helps build some of the foundation tools needed for reading, such as sound blending, attention, segmenting, and other visual processing skills. AGES: 8+ PRICE: $12.99 5. Clumsy Thief Junior by Melon Rind A fast-paced card game requiring a mix of strategy, addition skills, and luck! No matter how lucky you are, this game will require strategy, planning, and attention skills. It’s a great way to build math computation skills too! AGES: 5+ PRICE: $17.50 6. Simon Micro Series Follow the game’s commands to Bop It, Twist It, and Pull It in the right sequence. There’s a reason this game is fast paced; it’s designed to boost auditory and visual processing, attention, memory, and processing speed! AGES: 8+ PRICE: $11.99 7. Travel Blokus Try to fit as many pieces on the board as possible while strategically blocking opponents. Take this game on the road for your next family vacation to build spatial reasoning, visual processing, strategy, planning, attention, and problem-solving skills. AGES: 7+ PRICE: $9.99 8. Telepathy Jr. Go head to head to see who can be the first to guess their opponent’s secret square. Players will need strong logic, problem solving, deductive reasoning, memory, and visual processing skills to beat their opponent, but the more they play, the better those skills. AGES: 6+ PRICE: $14.79 9. SET Junior Match your tile to a tile on the board. Get a point chip for every set made. Start to recognize sets while matching color, number and symbols. Players will need to rely on their visual processing, attention, and logic & reasoning skills to win! AGES: 3+ PRICE: $12.99 10. Connect 4 Try to get 4 same-colored discs in a row before your opponent. This classic game requires planning, strategy, visual processing, attention, and logic & reasoning skills. The more you play, the stronger these skills will get! AGES: 6+ PRICE: $10.99 Help you kids fight the Summer Slide with these brain-boosting games and toys. They’ll have fun without even knowing they’re building stronger cognitive skills in the process!