Early childhood education is a keen interest of mine. I’m forever reading books on the subject; Charlotte Mason, Montessori, etc. But what caught my eye on this occasion wasn’t a book…
It was an ‘I Spy Bag‘ made right here in New Zealand by Anna Starr of Starkids NZ.
So, what exactly is it?
Starkids NZ ‘I Spy Bags‘ are square fabric bags filled with dry rice and twenty five small objects. Bags measure approximately 15 x 15cm (or 6″ x 6″). On the front of the bag there is a 10 x 10cm transparent viewing window. Each bag comes with an attached tag. One side of the tag shows a photo of each object in the bag. On the other side you have a list of prompts to help the parent/teacher aid the child’s learning.
How is it used?
The Prompt card gives several great suggestions on how to utilize the full potential of the ‘I Spy Bags‘. Suggestions include:
- Can you find the (name of object)?
- Can you find all the (colour) objects?
- Can you find all the objects starting with (letter name or sound e.g. b in bottom)?
- Can you find all the objects with (1, 2 or 3) syllables? Clap them to work it out.
- Can you find an object that has the sound (e.g. th in feather) at the (beginning/middle/end) of the word?
My Thoughts
The Quality of Anna’s I Spy Bags are excellent. They are made from sturdy materials and double stitched for strength and durability. It is obvious that Anna takes great pride in her work and is dedicated to delivering top quality educational children’s equipment.
The only improvement I would like to see is in relation to the attached tags. I would hazard a guess and say they are made from two sheets of paper run through a laminator. The problem with this is that the pieces of paper are able to move freely of one another and as a result the tag becomes wrinkled. I suspect this issue could be remedied by adding some glue in between the sheets of paper before the lamination process. Alternatively, a single piece of cardstock printed on both sides could be used.
The second alteration I would recommend is to punch a larger hole in the paper tag before laminating. Then when the hole is punched in the laminated tag, for the ring, the lamination will still be secured to itself, thus increasing its durability.
All that said, I love, love, love these ‘I Spy Bags‘. They are an excellent product. Great for schools, daycare centers, playgroups, preschoolers, your home library corner, nannies, babysitters, Ages 1-10 years (in fact, all ages), even in the car, I could go on and on.
Do you own one of Anna’s I Spy Bags or a similar product? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
I own 2 of these I spy bags and Annas Story sacks. My class love all of these. They are fantastic products.
Thanks for sharing Barb. I’ll need to take a look at Anna’s story sacks you mentioned, they sound very interesting.