"Einstein Never Used Flashcards"

Although I am in the business of selling educational toys, I am proud to say that the toys I sell are DISCOVERY TOYS. If you don't know us, because we're not as big or famous as Fisher-Price or Playskool, we exemplify much of what Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and her co-author, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff talk about in their book, Einstein Never Used Flashcards: parental involvement and low-tech play leads to learning rather than memorizing. (Note: The New York Public library owns 16 copies. To put this is perspective, they have 20 copies of Albert Einstein's book Relativity).

Lane Nemeth, the founder of Discovery Toys, Inc., was also an educator, well-versed in early childhood development. In 1978, when Lane started Discovery Toys out of her garage, she complained of not being able to find in stores the kinds of toys she wanted her own child to play with: toys that were safe, non-violent, engaging, fun, able to stimulate a multitude of senses and learning styles, non-gender specific. She brought in various consultants like Dr. Mike Meyerhoff (Harvard Preschool Project) and Jim Trelease (Read-Aloud Handbook) to make sure that her sales field understood what set us apart from other toy companies. When I read about Dr. Hirsh-Pasek's research, I could almost hear Lane preaching to the Discovery Toys field years ago about what makes a good toy.

Several years ago Hirsh-Pasek visited CBS' The Early Show and talked about four simple things you can do to help develop your child's creativity and further their learning. Read more about that interview at www.cbsnews.com.

Won't you join me in helping parents and educators to get toys that will help children thrive? We need people all across America to carry these award-winning toys into the homes of others through our party plan because these toys are not sold in stores. It's a big job, with money to be made, even during a recession!