By NC

(NC)—During the holiday season, stores are packed with a variety of toys and games, making it hard for parents to know which types are appropriate matches for their children. By selecting toys that offer a combination of fun and education, parents can do more than just stimulate a child's enjoyment – they can enhance reading and math skills while nurturing problem solving and imagination.

Sylvan Learning Centre suggests parents give the gift of learning this holiday season, and offers the following top learning toy selections:

Top learning toy selections for Holiday 2003

All items are available at Zellers stores across Canada

1. Imagination – LEGO Bionicles™ let children ages seven and up play with collectible biomechancial characters in an evolving story of life in the fictional land of Mata Nui. Bionicles encourages storytelling and role-playing and stimulates imagination, logic and verbal skills. ($9.88)

2. Family fun – Classic board games Monopoly™, Scrabble JuniorTM, Life™ and Clue™ are back and so is family game night. Playing games together is a great way to encourage family time and learn about counting, managing money, spelling and strategy. For various ages. ($18.95-$35.45)

3. Measurements – The Easy Bake Oven™ is an ever-popular classic and still making the sweetest memories! Children ages eight and up learn how to measure ingredients and use addition and multiplication if baking for more people. ($24.86)

4. Shapes, colours and imagination – The Playdoh™ Creation Station gives children three and up the ultimate playdoh set with tools and molds to create all kinds of fun shapes. Children can use their imaginations to create almost anything! ($44.98)

5. Reading – The LeapPad™ Learning System marries learning with laptop technology. Children ages four and up can use their personal LeapPad console to run a variety of learning software that teaches reading, phonics and vocabulary. ($54.97)

6. Letters and sounds – Alphabet Pal™ features several ways to play and learn, teaching children three and up the alphabet song, colours, letters and letter sounds. ($34.88)

7. Math – The forever favourite Yahtzee™ lets children take turns rolling the dice to fill their scorecards with different combinations. While having fun, children improve math skills including addition, multiplication and probability. For children ages eight and up. ($9.98)

8. Motor skills – Little Tikes Goofy Giggles™ encourages little ones to follow him around as he helps them learn to crawl. Children will be moving around just in time for the holidays! For infants. ($29.97)

9. Hand-eye coordination – Sims Double Deluxe™ lets players create neighbourhoods of simulated people known as "Sims" and control their lives. Sims and other video games help children with hand-eye coordination, memory stimulation and complex problem solving. ($39.96 – $59.96)

10. Organization – Children learn how to stay organized, track homework assignments and activities and follow schedules just like mom and dad with personal organizers like the Palm Tungsten E™. For various ages, Palm organizers help children manage their workload and personal life. ($299.97)

Sylvan Learning Centre is the largest organization of its kind in the industry. Sylvan's trained and certified teachers provide personalized instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills and test-prep. For tips on helping your child develop stronger skills, visit Sylvan Learning Centre's "Tips for Parents and Students" page on the web at www.educate.com/tips. For more information about Sylvan Learning Centre, phone 1-800-31-SUCCESS.

- News Canada

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