For parents knee-deep in holiday shopping, respected speech-language pathologist Sherry Artemenko has unveiled her Top 10 PAL (Play Advances Language) Picks of 2015, including two offerings from educational board game developer SimplyFun LLC.
Each year, Artemenko publishes the PAL Awards on her popular speech therapy blog, playonwords.com. The Top 10 lists, categorized by age and product type, highlight exceptional toys, games and books that build language through play, along with Artemenko’s reviews and tips for parents.
This year’s picks include SimplyFun’s Bid-A-Letter and Pass the Rooby Roo!, both named Top 10 Games for school-aged children. According to the company’s website, Bid-A-Letter is an alphabet game focused on building words and problem solving, while Pass the Rooby Roo! hones word association and quick thinking.
Artemenko has spent 35 years helping children develop speech and language skills, both in the public and private school systems and through her private practice, Playonwords LLC. Her work has appeared in outlets such as the San Francisco Chronicle, parenting.com and Parents magazine. Currently, she is an advisor to children’s authors and startups for children’s toys and media.