The Story Behind Think-ets

Some people have asked how our game Think-ets came about. Here's the full story...

I came up with the idea for Think-ets after realizing how much my 8 year old daughter Meryl loved playing the game “What’s Missing?” when we went hiking in the mountains of Colorado. I loved to hike and she loved to play. So we used to play this wonderful, old fashioned game called “What’s Missing?” at rest stops along the way. 

We would use twigs, rocks, moss, etc. as our items to test our memories. The game made hiking fun and interesting for us. She no longer thought of hiking as a chore or a bore—instead, she welcomed the outings because she wanted to play "What's Missing?"! And since she LOVED this game, I thought to myself, "Why not make this into a game that others could buy as it worked so well with my daughter?" 

So, I put a handful of miniature objects in a little mesh pouch and with some friends came up with the name Think-ets. I added some more games to play so kids wouldn't get bored and soon Think-a-lot Toys was born. That was in the fall of 2007.

All of our “tiny treasures” have been painstakingly sourced from around the world. They come from Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, India, China, Peru, and the U.S.A. among others. We seek to avoid cheap plastic items that contribute to our world’s trash heap. We don’t believe in games that are bought one day and tossed the next. Some of the tiny trinkets are made in large factories and some of them are painstakingly made by hand by rural artisans.

For example, our little straw hats are made by some older men in a rural village in Mexico. My supplier says it's hard to say how long these will be made because the younger generation doesn't seem to be as interested in taking the time to make them. The little soccer player in our Sports Think-ets is hand painted by mostly women in rural India. The miniature animals are carefully made by Safari Ltd. in China by workers who hand paint each item. The little crown, coffee cup, copper chalice and jet airplane are made in a pewter factory in Rhode Island. I could go on but you get the idea. It's simply amazing to think about the craftsmanship behind some of these little trinkets.

And, we're happy to say that our game Think-ets is assembled at a facility that employs people with developmental disabilities located in Lakewood, Colorado. We like supporting our community in this way and many customers love knowing we do.

One other interesting story: Our company logo is the face of Meryl's best friend and next door neighbor growing up. Her friend's dad took the picture, morphed it a little, put some trinkets above her head to show think-ets imagination…and voila, a logo was born!

We now have 13 different versions of Think-ets (the same number of stripes on the American flag) and have also created other storytelling card sets and games. To date, we've sold more than 75,000 Think-ets here in the United States and in a few countries around the world. Our goal is to make "toys and games that make you think—and use your imagination." It's really true. Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Want to Get Your Kids Into College? Let Them Play

Really? Play gets kids into college? What could be better?

At Think-a-lot Toys, we've long advocated that play is an important factor in education. Play gets kids to have fun while learning new things. It teaches them how to interact socially and emotionally in healthy ways. So when I came across an article by a Harvard professor and an early childhood teacher who serve as "Masters" of a residential house at Harvard, I felt it was worth passing on because it shatters some of our beliefs that we have about how to create smart kids.

Their article says that while most parents think that while play-based education is good for a kid's childhood, skills-based education is what will get them into Harvard. After working with Harvard students for many years, they both came to the conclusion that in fact, this belief is wrong and should be switched. A play-based curriculum is better at getting kids into Harvard than a skills-based one.

Why? Because a play-based curriculum teaches kids how to play well with others. It teaches them how to listen to the feelings and ideas of others. It teaches them how to disagree, problem solve, be flexible and live with disappointment. And it teaches them how to control their impulses, which research says is the best predictor of school success.

How does this relate to getting into college?

Well, these authors write, "As admissions officers at selective colleges like to say, an entire freshman class could be filled with students with perfect grades and test scores. But academic achievement in college requires readiness skills that transcend mere book learning. It requires the ability to engage actively with people and ideas. In short, it requires a deep connection with the world." And play seems to be one of the best ways to get kids to engage with others and connect with the world in a constructive way. As they said, "They all know how to work, but some of them haven't learned how to play."

So, it appears that a play-based education really does get kids into college. As parents, we can make sure our kids have enough play in their life and we can advocate for having enough play at school and even in the classroom. Having games like Think-ets, StoryPlay Cards and Story Speller in the classroom may help get them into a great college.

To read the full article, visit http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/12/29/christakis.play.children.learning/index.html

Stories, Not Data at Heart of Human Motivation

Recently, the Vancouver Sun ran a story under this title describing how stories are really at the heart of human motivation, much more than data. Stories have the essential quality of being able tap into the emotional "root system" that drives all of us. At Think-a-lot Toys, this is music to our ears.

As the author of the article points out, "The work of the great mythologist Joseph Campbell demonstrated that human beings the world over are wired to respond to storytelling. This is because we are emotional, meaning-making creatures first, and what stir us are efforts and opportunities that capture our imagination." Stories, it seems, drive us and have driven us for centuries. And the better we get at telling stories--and listening to the wisdom of others' stories--the better we become at motivating not only ourselves but others.

In fact, the former CEO of Sony Pictures, Peter Guber, has just come out with a new book titled "Tell to Win"and in it he shares that a lifetime of refining his own storytelling ability has accounted for the lion's share of his success. He shares how he motivated people first through their heart or gut and then followed up with the reasons to act. And, framing his vision through stories were key to his success.

What this tells me is that storytelling is an important art that we need to nurture throughout life. Whether we are regaling others with our humorous or heartbreaking stories of daily life or we are sharing the deeper stories of our own hero's journey, it is important to remember that storytelling is more important than data, just as imagination is more important than knowledge.

Albert Einstein captured this well when he said that "not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts."

For the full version of this story by Juma Wood, visit http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Stories+data+heart+human+motivation/4804320/story.html

The Importance of Encouraging Free Play

A leading colleague in the field of toys and games wrote this letter to Mrs. Obama that I thought was so good it was worth sharing in its entirety. It's a wonderful ode to the importance of open-ended play--something all of us here at Think-a-lot Toys believe in wholeheartedly...

Dear Mrs. Obama,

I was very pleased to read about your efforts in getting America's children active through your “Let's Move America” program.

For those who may still be unaware of your initiative, it has set as its goal “…solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation.” One way that the initiative seeks to get some of that weight off is through getting kids to get out from in front of their computer screens and go outside and play.

I applaud your desire to see children to play outside and be active. I firmly believe, however, that there is an even bigger reason for children to play outside than improving their physical health and losing weight. They need to do it so that we and they can continue to maintain a civil society and a robust democracy.

Does that sound like an oversized statement? Hear me out: Outdoor play teaches children to be good citizens of a democracy; it teaches them to be leaders; it teaches them to be entrepreneurs; and it teaches them to get along with their neighbors. Here's why: Unlike indoor games, outdoor games typically don't have strict rules. Buy a board game and you will get a precise set of regulations. Play outdoors and you will usually have to establish the rules yourself.

When we were children, we had lots of free time, particularly in the summer when school was out. If we decided, for example, to play Wiffleball, we and not our parents decided which bush or tree was a base and whether hitting the ball out of the yard into the street was a home run. In addition, we chose our own captains, the captains chose their own teams and everyone had to decide (with no parent or umpire present) if someone was out. In short, we made the law, we obeyed the law and we enforced the law.

Don't get me wrong, indoor games are vitally important to a society as well; they teach us how to regulate our lives within a legal structure, and if there is a disagreement on the interpretation of the rules, we learn how to parse them and make a “legal” decision. Outdoor games, however, give us something more. They don't just teach us how to obey and interpret the law, they teach us how to make and enforce it as well.

And that's not all: You don't have to have lots of money to play outdoor games. In fact, you don't have to have any. All you need is a ball, a jump rope, jacks, a piece of chalk or a stick. If you want to play hide and seek or tag, you don't need anything but raw energy and imagination. Outdoor play is the peoples' play.

So why don't kids go out and play today?

They simply don't have the time. There are too many soccer league practices, too many music lessons, too many adult-organized play groups and too many hours spent riding in the back seat of a car. When they get home, they need to do their homework. It's no wonder we hear so much about the amount of hours kids spend in front of TV and computer screens.

Children haven't just lost the time devoted to free play; they have lost the spontaneity that comes from having no adults in their way. Remember how much fun it was to play with no adults around? In fact, 'grown-up' was almost a bad word in those days. Who needed them? As long as we stayed on the block and no one got hurt, cried, fought or yelled too loudly, we got to do pretty much whatever we wanted. Mostly, at least to our parents, we were seen and unseen. Like little wills of the wisp, we scurried down alleys, climbed over fences and crawled under porches. We were out there, our parents keeping half an ear and an eye out in the hope that they might spot us. Children today, however, are overly guarded and guided. Adults hover over them, choosing teams, establishing rules and setting boundaries. Children simply do not have any freedom. They are in a perpetual lock down.

So, here is an idea, Mrs. Obama, ask America's parents to give their kids back their free time and their freedom. Let them employ their imaginations, their backyards and their friends to choose what they want to do as well as when, how and with whom they want to do it. We will all be better off for it.

Respectfully,

Richard Gottlieb

(Richard Gottlieb is president of Richard Gottlieb & Associates LLC, a provider of business development services. He has 35 years experience in the toy industry in sales and sales management. He can be reached at richard@usatoyexpert.com)