This educational toy resembles a miniature suitcase and opens up to reveal colorful number and mathematical symbol (+, -, and =) tiles and a set of sturdy worksheet cards. The set's 15 numbered cards feature math exercises that begin with basic counting, gradually work up to addition and subtraction, and end with a final page featuring multiplication by two.
The worksheets are playfully illustrated with cartoon animals as well as objects — like ice cream scoops, frowning spiders, and pink bow ties — to count, add, and subtract. Children fit the appropriate plastic tiles into the answer squares on the worksheets. The exercises are cleverly self-correcting as the tiles sport tiny pegs, each with an individual code. Only the tile with the correct answer will fit properly into the coded holes on the card! Once kids understand that the number of pegs on each tile has nothing to do with the numeral on its face, they can focus on numeral identification and the exercises at hand.
The tiles fit neatly into labelled slots in the storage area of the case, and younger children who are not ready for the product's more advanced math exercises can consider this an activity in and of itself. Preschoolers will have fun matching the number tiles with the number labels and sorting the tiles into the tray, as well as working with the first few counting cards of the set. However, the math exercises are probably most appropriate for children at the K-1 grade level, as children work with numbers beyond 10 as well as the concepts of addition and subtraction.
When children are finished playing with the toy, everything stores and folds up neatly — something parents will appreciate. Sum Time comes with more than enough number tiles so that misplacing a few of them won't end the life of the set. As well, the toy's portability means little mathematicians can bring it with them to show off their new skills on a visit to Grandma's house. Best yet, it is perfectly sized to fit comfortably in a child's lap, making it easy for kids to keep themselves occupied playing and learning during long car trips.
Sum Time is well designed, solid, and so colorful it practically begs to be played. The only downside is the fact that there are only 15 exercise cards, and these won't have a whole lot of value after children have worked through them a few times.
A similar product, Spell Time, is also available from Cadaco, and offers self-correcting spelling exercises.
