Life & Family | Toys

Just because kids are back to the books, doesn’t mean they can’t have fun. Geography lessons go hi-tech with an intelligent globe, preschoolers gear up for their first day with all the essentials and a classic board game is updated for a new generation of players.

The SmartGlobe Elite ($350, http://www.OregonScientific.com) isn’t your father’s globe. This savvy sphere teaches kids tons of international facts, from currency calculations to the actual flight time from Tulsa to Tokyo. Staying on top of the world—and current events—is simple since the SmartGlobe’s data bank is updated weekly via Wi-Fi. And if you have more than one scholar in your household, you can customize your globe for different age groups: 5-8, 9-14 and 15+.

Start her first learning experience off right with the Ready, Set, School! kit ($29.99, http://www.alextoys.com) Preschoolers will keep busy with 15 pages of activities, including drawing, coloring and stenciling. They can practice their cutting skills with scissors or try their hand at lacing with a shoe that’s fit to be tied. Kindergarten, here they come.

Do you remember which American Idol contestant won an Academy Award? Find out once and for all who’s the brightest in your family with Go to the Head of the Class ($17, http://www.winning-moves.com). The classic board game includes lots of new quiz questions that let you move up the ranks and graduate with flying colors. (The answer, by the way, is Jennifer Hudson…but you knew that already, didn’t you?)

Pamela Brill, a freelance writer based in Northport, also blogs about new kids’ and baby products at http://www.talkingwalnut.com.