In a previous Blog I bemoaned the fact that there were no stocks of Blokus anywhere as Mattel takes over the Blokus Game in the UK. Well I found out today that the new Callisto Game designed by the great Reiner Knizia (maker of Ingenious)  will be coming out in the summer. I can report that Callisto will be a winner because it combines simplicity of rules with great game design. It is a game of strategy that will be addictive and can be played by all ages. It is similar to Blokus but adapts really well for 2, 3 or 4 players, in my view Blokus really works as a 4 player game than 2. I think Callisto willl make a brilliant addition to our range of educational toys and games

Blokus game is one of the best sellers at Rocketheads. But for the last month we have not been able to get hold of it for love or money. Whilst this is bad for business, the biggest headache is that the my family is without Blokus as well. The Blokus game is one of the most awarded educational games and it was one our favourites at home. In the meantime we would recommend Blokus Duo it is a 2 player version which, luckily, my sons prefer anyway!

Therae are many times that my youngest son (5 yrs old) just refuses to read or do some maths. This quickly becomes a battle of wills which I mostly lose. I have a few things that I try and find work more often than not - but nothing works 100% of the time.

I am often asked "Is there really a problem with thinking skills today and do educational toys make a difference?”  Well I believe that it is a real problem and that exposure to good educational toys in early childhood has a big impact. 
One of the most complete studies I have found is by Michael Sayer of London's King's College completed in 2008. He found that "high level thinking skills" of 14 year olds in 2008 were ONLY EQUAL to those of 12 year olds in 1976. In another study he concluded that 11 year olds today were 3 years behind those tested in 1975.
This contradicts most league tables which show results increasing - I know which results I believe. The problem is for both boys and girls - it’s just worse for boys. The educational toys and games on our site were chosen because they develop the higher level skills such as problem solving, logical thinking and spatial reasoning.

A large part of the problem of underachievement is that boys are forced into a female model of learning. Schools teach and value oral communication and ideas represented on paper. The language and fine motor centres and of girls' brains have been shown to develop much earlier than in boys. So despite their best efforts they feel undervalued and hard done by. This difference in language centres is not taken into account when primary schools , teach and evaluate performance.
Michael Gurian's article written in 2006 talks about differences in greater detail.  Michael is a researcher, author, and founder of The Gurian Institute, a respected organisation that has been trying to understand how boys learn. Helping boys to learn.

I believe that boys are falling behind at school because they are exposed to formalised education at too early an age. This is because early exposure to formalised education runs counter to the way that boys learn. Boys require more of play based approach to learning and teaching at primary school.
The power of play.

This is more recent article from The Times written in March 2009 about boys' learning in the classroom. The Times: All work and no play is bad for boys.

This video (28 mins) from Teachers TV on why boys underachieve, how their methods of learning differ from girls and, most importantly, what schools can do to close the gender gap for good. Teachers TV: The Trouble with Boys.

This article from the Telegraph si from 2007 and discusses the problems and evaluate some solutions.  Read more

This article is very relevant today even though it is almost 4 years old.This article from Newsweek is from 2006 and takes an American perspective on the issue. Newsweek: The trouble with Boys.