Abstract:
Disclosed are manipulator devices for use in learning games, and kits utilizing the same. The manipulator devices may be a substantially elongated and flat body formed of flexible material and at least partially stuffed to resemble a bean bag. The body is adapted to be capable of manipulation between an unfolded position and a folded position, where the folded position conceals an identifiable attribute of the device selected from the group consisting of a number or a symbol. The kits may include three or more manipulator devices each having at least two attributes identifiable by children and allowing them to associate the plurality of devices into subsets according to shared types of these attributes.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of priority of prior U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/386,310 filed Sep. 24, 2010, the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to early learning tools and kits that may be used for organized play, such as by a group of children or similar ages. More particularly, the inventions disclosed herein relate to the use of bags, containers, or other manipulator devices in learning kits where those devices may be handled by children and have certain attributes that can be identified by children and used to associate with or differentiate those devices from other like devices in the kit in prescribed manners to promote learning. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Educational research has increasingly identified the importance of early childhood education, and, in particular, pre-kindergarten (“pre-K”) education, in facilitating the likelihood that children will get the most out of a conventional primary education. It is important, however, for children to be presented with developmentally-appropriate learning activities. For example, young children learn best by doing, and, in particular, by participating actively in physical and sensory experiences. Their attention spans are short, so lessons must be quick. They think and communicate in a direct fashion and this is what they understand. Thus, lessons likewise should be straightforward. Further, social interaction engages them emotionally and helps them retain their learning. Thus, engaging group activities, often in the form of games, are a way favored by educators to encourage Pre-K children to learn effectively in enjoyable, stress-free ways. 
     Often times, the “three Ms” of music, math, and movement, are key components in creating this joyful learning atmosphere. Activities communicated in rhyme and/or to music give children experience with an essential literacy skill, while maintaining a math subject focus. Rhymes and songs are predictable, and quickly become familiar and memorable for children and teachers alike. 
     It has also become apparent that early learning should focus upon developing certain foundation skills that are helpful to condition children for learning more difficult concepts later in life and, in particular, in a common classroom environment. A first such foundation skill is fine motor skills. Physical play and tasks provide children with fine motor challenges that not only build muscle strength and control, but which also are believed to be crucial for developing neurological pathways for future learning. The development of social skills is also a focus of current early learning. Pre-K group learning oftentimes provides a child&#39;s first experience in a larger group of children. Therefore, pre-K group learning activities also can serve as a valuable training ground for acceptable and/or desirable group and classroom behavior, such as turn-taking, volume control, cooperation, sharing and manners in general. 
     Another foundation skill includes the conditioning of children to understand to concept of symbols. Schools rely heavily upon symbols and representation of concepts, while children learn naturally in the real world by direct experience with people, places and things. Early learning can be used to condition children to adapt quickly to a conventional school environment, a world of symbols that includes letters, numbers, reading, writing and arithmetic. Pre-K is successful when it continues active real world learning while easing children into the world of symbols. 
     Pre-K children are also in a stage of development where they are learning to organize. Pre-K children absorb ideas and skills quickly, but, without understanding how to group and organize, what they know and learn may be random, with little organizational structure. They need opportunities to learn the relationships among things, to sort, categorize, compare, order, and describe, other important foundation skills. They can accomplish these tasks through play situations, structured or unstructured, and engaging teacher-directed activities. By doing this, children make sense of their world. 
     A great deal of current research also points to the importance of the development of math and spatial skills during early learning. The National Research Council (2009) recommends that early childhood math experiences concentrate on (1) numbers (which includes whole number, operations, and relations) and (2) geometry, spatial relations, and measurements with a greater concentration of time focused on numbers. 
     The demand for pre-K children to meet learning goals is greater than ever before, and it is one aim of one or more inventions disclosed herein to provide learning kits tools that allow engaging activities that create an atmosphere of discovery, keeping children&#39;s attention and allowing them to learn essential concepts without stress. 
     Further, it is another aim of one or more inventions disclosed herein to provide learning kits and tools that encourage peer interaction and positive teacher/child interaction, helping children to develop critical social/emotional skills such as self-regulation and respect for others. 
     Additionally, it is an aim of one or more of the inventions disclosed herein to provide learning kits and tools that develop key foundation skills in pre-K children, including fine motor skills and early math skills that will be used in future learning of broader math concepts. 
     Also, it is an aim of one or more of the inventions disclosed herein to provide learning kits and tools that enable children, singly or in group settings, to engaging in a plurality of different learning activities that utilize manipulator devices that teach the children foundational math concepts, such as counting, grouping, and ordering objects, in enjoyable ways. 
     Furthermore, it is an aim of one or more of the inventions disclosed herein to provide learning kits and tools that teach and promote the exploration of numbers and developmentally appropriate math concepts in essential math domains, such as geometry, spatial relations, and measurement, with engaging activities while also promoting fine motor skill development and social development. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To achieve the above-described and other aims, the learning kits according to the present invention include a plurality of devices that are designed to be manually manipulated by a child (“manipulator devices”) and an activity booklet explaining a plurality of learning activities designed for children to utilize the manipulator devices and thereby develop skills and/or learn concepts. The activity booklet is targeted toward an adult activity leader (such as a teacher) and describes how to utilize the manipulator devices in each of the learning activities. Preferably the learning activities would be organized in developmental sequence in the activity booklet, allowing the activity leader to build on skills in a prescribed manner by progressing through the book with the children over time. 
     The manipulator devices each generally are able to be held by a child and be manipulated in some fashion (e.g., opened, folded, changed from one configuration to another, etc.), and each have a plurality of attributes that are identifiable by the children (e.g., a color, a printed number, a texture, a material, a design, a manipulation mechanism, etc.) and which allow the children to group, associate, and/or order certain manipulator devices with others in the kit in the course of the learning activities. For example, one preferred kit may have 25 total manipulator devices that are similar in basic construction, but which vary in some fashion such that each is distinguishable from the other 24. For this kit of 5 devices, for example, five each can be red, five blue, five green, five yellow, and five purple, while the five devices within such a color group each can be identified by a different number (e.g., 1-5). Further, each of the 25 may also have another attribute type (e.g., a symbol) that allows manipulator devices to be ordered and/or associated with other manipulator devices across a variety of attribute types (e.g., three of the red devices have squares and two circles, while the blue devices have one each of a square, a rectangle, a triangle, a circle, and a star). In this manner, for example, during a learning activity children may be asked to collect all the manipulator devices that have a number less than 3 printed on them, to collect all the red manipulator devices that bear a certain symbol, or to place the purple manipulator devices in numerical order. 
     In preferred embodiments of the invention, the manipulator devices each have at least two attributes, including one of a plurality of colors and one of a plurality of numbers. A number may be represented by a numeral or symbol (e.g., dots like in dice), or, most preferably, both. Even more preferably, the devices each have at least three attributes, including one of a plurality of colors, one of a plurality of numbers, and one of a plurality of manipulation mechanisms. The manipulative mechanism may include, for example, a mechanism for securing a flap or other closure, such as a snap, a button, a hook and loop, a zipper, and the like. 
     In certain embodiments of the invention, an attribute of one or more of the manipulator devices is only identifiable if the manipulator device is in some way manipulated. For example, if the manipulator device comprises a flap, lid, or other closable or moveable item which has an open and closed position, such flap, lid, or such item could conceal an attribute (e.g., a symbol) in the closed position while exposing it to view only once the child manipulates it into the open position. 
     In other preferred embodiments of the invention, the manipulator devices have a pocket or other enclosure for holding a card or other item that is configured to be used in certain ones of the learning activities, thus providing another “hidden” attribute to each manipulator device that may be revealed during the course of a particular learning activity and only if the child successfully manipulates the manipulator device in some fashion. For example, the hidden item can be a card that depicts a number, word, picture, or other symbol, or can be a slip of paper upon which the leader has written the name of one of the children in the group. 
     In most preferred embodiments of the invention, the manipulator devices comprise bean bag-like devices that unfold and have a pocket for holding a card or other item, which devices are hereafter referred to as a “Tag Bag.” Each Tag Bag has one of a plurality of different manipulation mechanisms that holds the bean bag device in a closed position, and is adapted such that the child can work the mechanism (e.g., undo a button) to allow the particular bag to unfold into an open position that allows the child to view an attribute (e.g., see a numeral printed on the inside) and/or have access to the pocket. 
     In the various embodiments of the invention, essential math vocabulary may be featured in songs and rhymes (e.g., comparative language such as “greater” and positional words such as “first”) used in certain of the learning activities, with the lyrics to the songs and rhymes being set forth in the activity booklet along with the “tune” to which the song is sung. For example, a song may have math-related lyrics adapted to the tune of a well-known children&#39;s song, such as “The People on the Bus.” Optionally, the kit may further include an audio cassette or compact disc providing a recording of the songs which may be played during an activity. The various activities may also incorporate movement of many types, such as whole body motions, fine motor manipulation of the manipulator devices, moving the manipulator devices into various positions, and having children physically form groups and/or migrate between groups based upon characteristics of the manipulator devices. 
     In this regard, a first aspect of the invention includes a manipulator device for use in learning games. The manipulator device includes a substantially elongated and flat body formed of flexible material and at least partially stuffed to resemble a bean bag. The body is adapted to be capable of manipulation between an unfolded position and a folded position, where the folded position conceals an identifiable attribute of the device selected from the group consisting of a number or a symbol. 
     A second aspect of the invention includes a kit for use in learning activities. The kit includes three or more manipulator devices each having at least two attributes identifiable by children and allowing them to associate the plurality of devices into subsets according to shared types of these attributes. One of the attributes is a manipulator attribute such that each one of the devices may be manipulated from one state to another state, and at least a first one of the devices is adapted to be manipulated in an identifiably different manner from at least a second one of the devices such that the first one can be distinguished from the second one based upon the manipulator attribute. 
     The various aspects and embodiments of the inventions herein having been thus described and summarize, preferred embodiments thereof will now be described in detail with reference to various drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a table showing how three different attributes can be allocated among plurality of manipulator devices in one preferred embodiment of a learning activity kit of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  through  FIG. 15  are illustrations of pages  1  through  14 , respectively, of a learning activity booklet provided in a kit according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The detailed description provided hereafter, which references the attached drawings, describes one preferred embodiment of the invention which comprises a learning activity kit containing a plurality of Tag Bags, bean bag-like devices that have a folded, substantially square-shaped configuration and an unfolded, substantially rectangular-shaped configuration such that each Tag Bag can unfold to reveal hidden symbols and provide access to an interior pocket for holding a card or other item. The description that follows is not in any way limiting of the claims, but is rather intended to illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, including the making and using of the same. 
     As seen depicted in  FIG. 3 , the Tag Bags  10  operate in similar fashion to a tri-fold wallet whereby its outer edges can be folded inward twice and assume a folded position  20  or unfolded into an open position  30 . The learning kits according to this preferred embodiment include approximately twenty or more Tag Bags and an activity booklet explaining a plurality of learning activities designed for children to utilize the Tag Bags to develop skills and/or learn concepts. 
     The activity booklet is targeted toward an adult activity leader (such as a teacher) and describes how to utilize the manipulator devices in each of the learning activities. It is often preferred in early learning to employ the concept of scaffolded instruction wherein children learn concepts gradually and carefully. Concepts are introduced by teacher modeling before children participate. They participate along with the teacher and other classmates before they are expected to perform tasks independently. The learning sequence will first involve exposure to concepts, next experience with the concepts, before any expectations for independent performance of the tasks. Monitoring of children&#39;s progress is critical to ensure concepts and skills are developed correctly. To this end, the activity booklet is preferably designed so as to assist the leader in providing scaffolded instruction, such as by, for example, providing instructions for the leader to introduce the learning activity in a manner that eases the children into the activity and introduces concepts in a sequence that promotes building of desired skills. As such, the learning activities are preferably organized in developmental sequence in the activity booklet, allowing the activity leader to build on skills in a prescribed manner by progressing through the book with the children over time. Each activity (preferably ten or more in a booklet), is designed to be quick (completed in approximately 10-15 minutes), and easy to learn and enjoyable for the targeted age group of children. 
     One particularly preferred kit comprises the activity booklet, thirty Tag Bags, and thirty color tag cards that are each adapted to fit within a pocket of a Tag Bag. Optionally, an audio cassette or compact disc containing music associated with the activity booklet can be included. In this particular preferred embodiment, each Tag Bag is sized to be easily held by a child, such as having dimensions, when in its folded position, of approximately a 3½ by 3½ inch square having a thickness of approximately 1½ inches. The Tag Bags generally have a right flap and left flap that are designed to fold over a center portion and be secured in place with a fastener. The center portion also has a pocket sized to hold one or more of the color tag cards or some other object. 
     The covering of these Tag Bags is formed by sewing a soft, yet durable and washable material, such as denim, into a covering having the desired bean bag-like shape and at least partially stuffing it with a suitable material such that the Bag is suitably filled to have substance but still easily movable between a fully folded position  20  and fully open position  30 . Each Tag Bag covering is formed primarily from a material having one of the six colors of red, yellow, blue, orange, green, purple such that the Tag Bags can be said to have a color attribute (i.e., subsets of the Tag Bags can be sorted and/or associated according to one of these six colors). Further, each Tag Bag has a fastener to keep it in the folded position, and the fasteners can be one of the five different fastener types of Velcro  41 , snap  42 , hook  43 , button  44 , and loop  45  such that the Tag Bags can be said to have a fastener attribute. 
     These preferred Tag Bags also have a number attribute represented by both an Arabic numeral  50  and a pattern of dots  60  (e.g., like on throwing dice) representing on each Tag Bag one of the numbers “1” through “5.” As shown in  FIG. 3 , the number attribute can be hidden within the inside of each Tag Bag such that it can only be seen once the Tag Bag is unfolded, with the numeral and dot pattern being visible side by side upon unfolding. In this regard, for example a child could see that a Tag Bag is green and has a button fastener, but cannot see that this particular Tag Bag it is the “number 3” green Tag Bag until the button is unfastened and the Tag Bag unfolded. In the example represented in the figures, the dots are on the left flap of each Tag Bag while the numeral is placed in the center of each Tag Bag. Optionally, the dots can be placed in different patterns, such as in corners for primary color bags (red, yellow, blue), but in rows for secondary color bags (orange, green, purple). 
       FIG. 1  is a table showing how the color attribute, number attribute and fastener attribute can be allocated among thirty Tag Bags in a most preferred embodiment. As depicted, the are five Tag Bags formed from material in each of the six colors (i.e., five blue Tag Bags, five red Tag Bags, etc.), and, within each color group, the Tag Bags contain both dots and numerals for one of the numbers one through five. No numbers are repeated within a given color group.  FIG. 1  also shows that all of the red Tag Bags have a Velcro fastener and all of the purple Tag Bags have a loop fastener, but the yellow, blue, orange, and green Tag Bag groups have Tag Bags having different fasteners (e.g., the orange Tag Bags having three with hook fasteners and two with button fasteners). This mixing and matching of different attributes permits the learning activities to teach mathematical concepts such as grouping, subsets, and addition, as will be understood further by one skilled in the art after reviewing the example activity book depicted in  FIGS. 2-15 . 
     The tags (not depicted) in the kit according to this particularly preferred embodiment are cards that are sized and shaped to fit easily within the pocket  70  (see the paper  71  bearing a child&#39;s name being withdrawn from pocket  70  in  FIG. 13 ) of each Tag Bag (i.e., approximately 2½ by 2½ inches square, each, with rounded corners), and formed from heavy, coated card stock. The kit contains thirty different tags such that each Tag Bag can have a tag placed within it. The tags are provided, in this preferred embodiment, in the same six different colors as the Tag Bags, namely, red, yellow, blue, orange, green, purple, (i.e., so they can be matched with like-colored Tag Bags) and has print on at least one side, and most preferably both sides, of the card. This print can be symbols, letters, shapes, words, pictures, etc., that will be used in one or more of the activities. 
     The activity booklet included in this particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention is depicted in  FIG. 2  through  FIG. 15 . The activity booklet contains a product description (see  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 ), a glossary (see  FIG. 14 ), a summary of instructional scope (see  FIG. 15 ), and leader instructions for various activities, organized in developmental sequence (see, in order,  FIG. 4  through  FIG. 13 ). 
     The activities (shown each on their own page in the activity booklet per  FIG. 4  through  FIG. 13 ) all teach concepts focused in math domains via learning activities that use the Tag Bags (and optionally color tag cards) in easy to learn and enjoyable “games.” As can be seen from referencing the various different learning activity instruction pages depicted in  FIG. 4  through  FIG. 13 , the activities generally comprise a rhyme, chant, or song that is first modeled for the children by the leader, and then the children participate when repeated. Each instruction page not only contains instructions for the leader and song or chant lyrics, but also a list of accomplishments such that the leader can easily identify what early learning skills are being taught and/or reinforced. 
     For example, looking specifically at the page of the activity booklet depicted by  FIG. 5 , we see the second learning activity in the activity booklet. The activity “Let&#39;s Count Blue Bags” starts with all of the Tag Bags (in folded position) placed in a mixed-up pile. While the leader sings the lyrics (sung to the tune of the well-known children&#39;s song “Frère Jacques”), he pulls blue colored bags from the pile, lines them up, and then counts them. This action then can be repeated with other colors with the children participating. The bottom of the page shows the accomplishments for the activity, namely that the children will be learning, among other things, counting, sorting and classifying objects by color, and vocabulary. 
     The preferred embodiments having thus been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications and variations can be made to the above described preferred embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention thus will only be limited to the claims as ultimately granted.