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Last Minute Gifts: Game recommendations from the Teach Me Store

Still looking for some last minute gifts? The staff of the Teach Me Store in north Raleigh offers some great suggestions.

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Camp by Education Outdoors
By
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall
I've been shopping at the Teach Me Store in north Raleigh for probably the last five years.

The store features all kinds of educational games, books, toys and more for babies to adults. While it's a favorite store for many local teachers, it's also popular with parents looking for that unusual or hard-to-find educational toy that you often don't find at your national chains or typical toy store. It's also a popular spot for kids working on their science fair projects (and that time of year is coming up!).

From personal experience, I know the staff also is great at making recommendations for those kids who are hard to buy for. A few years ago, I had no idea what to get my twin nephews. All their suggestions were hits.

I was at the Teach Me Store the other day shopping for some Christmas gifts when I asked store owner Diane Weisbrodt if she might be able to offer some recommendations for family games. She was more than happy to help.

So if you're shopping for your hard-to-buy-for nephews or other kids in your life, here are some great recommendations for games. 

Camp by Education Outdoors
A trivia based board game centered around the great outdoors. Children and adults of all ages (4+) will be tested at age-appropriate

levels on their general know-how of North American wild animals, ecosystems, habitats and outdoor safety guidelines.

Qwirkle by Mindware

Qwirkle is as simple as matching colors and shapes, but this game also requires tactical maneuvers and well-planned strategy. Earn points by building rows and columns of blocks that share common attributes. Look for opportunities to score big by placing tiles touching multiple pieces with matching shape or color. The player with the most points wins.

Mighty Mind by Leisure Learning Products

These spatial relationship puzzles are designed primarily for the elementary-aged children. The puzzles are designed to have children orient the various shaped playing pieces over top of outlined picture forms. The challenges range in difficulty catering to ages three through eight. Children will learn basic skills in geometry, problem solving strategy and self confidence.

Zip It! by Bananagrams

This is a fast-paced two player word game. Using six-sided letter dice each player competes against one another to be the first to use all dice to construct a crossword puzzle of their own, challenging the players to pull from their accumulated vocabulary and spelling skills. Ages seven and up.

Brain Boxes from Mindware

Players have ten seconds to examine a fact-filled card with the intent of memorizing as much information from it as they can. Questions on the back of the card test how much the players have been able to learn and retain from the front images. Each and every card is pack full of fun facts and trivia. With several box sets available on topics such as animals, geography, ABCs and more Brain Boxes are sure to delight.

Eye Know by Wiggles 3D

It's time to put your visual memory and general knowledge to work. Challenge your friends and compete to collect the most game chips by identifying images and answering intriguing trivia questions. Choose from people, animals, monuments, inventions, symbols, maps and more! Identify the image and get ready for more fun.

The Teach Me Store is on Spring Forest Road right near its intersection with Capital Boulevard.

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