Toy Review: Hullabaloo by Cranium
The kids received Cranium’s Hullabaloo for Christmas this year. They are having a blast with it! The music starts, and the kids listen to the instructions to swim/hop/jump/fly from one little colored shape to another. While it’s listed for ages 4 and up, our 3 year old can follow along enough to get the gist of the game. That is, if he’s staying focused long enough to actually hear the instructions and not just run around laughing (which is fun, too!). I also like that the game is easy to travel with so that we can bring it along to Grandma or a friends’ house.
And check out this fun web page from at Cranium’s site! There are links to a couple of blogs, fun ideas for families, a chance to try out their new game, Pop 5 (warning: sound), and more fun stuff. Man, I love Cranium games! And so fantastic that they do the games for kids as well as the ones for adults. Too fun!
Do you have a favorite Cranium game?
Tags: children, Cranium, games, hullabaloH, kids, play, toysRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Board Games and Other Games For Kids, Children's Toys
4 opinions for Toy Review: Hullabaloo by Cranium
Devon
Jan 1, 2007 at 11:02 am
Hi Kerri,
I’m in the states right now for vacation and will heading back to Tokyo in a few days where I teach English to children from 2-12 years old. I was looking at this game the other day but couldn’t decide if would be good for young EFL students. Any thoughts? It seems like the language involved is pretty simple.
Kerri Aldrich
Jan 2, 2007 at 11:15 am
Devon: Hi! Thanks so much for your comment. As far as using it in an EFL class, I think it could be helpful. There are basic shapes and colors that can be taught using the game. Some of the directions include: sit on, stomp on, move over to, move sideways to, crawl to, gallop to, etc. The pads that they move to during the game are described by color, shape, or by category of the picture on the pad. The voice on the speaker is pretty clear, and the pads that the kids move to seem pretty durable. Most of the kids I know love the game!
Hope that was helpful. Let me know if you have any more questions about it. Best to you, your students and all of your teaching!
Devon
Jan 7, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Thanks Kerri,
I ended up with game overload (some bingo games, Zingo!, Boggle Jr. and Zimbbos!) so I’ll have to get Hullabaloo the next time around. But it’s a definite on my list now. Thanks!
Kerri Aldrich
Jan 8, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Devon: You’re welcome. :D Sounds like you and your students are going to have a blast with all the games. Do you have a post with a list of the best toys/games for helping to teach English as a second language? I’d love to link to it if you do!
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