For years I didn't think about going to the NOT, after all I'm not a teacher. I like fairs in general, but it never really occurred to me. Until my girlfriend, a primary school teacher, and I were brainstorming about something fun to do last year. That's when we went to the NOT for the first time. That first time was overwhelming. 😊
But this year I had a party! And what networking I did! Wonderful! I'll take you along.

Play game

“You are never too old to play” is really a motto of mine. There is nothing better than getting an invitation at a booth: “Would you like to play for a while?” Yes indeed! A letter game. At first it looked like Scrabble, but the game developer soon explained to us how versatile and age- (or rather: language and level-) independent this game is. The manual lists even more playing options, but we were allowed to try out three:

• Round 1: Draw 12 letters and make a word of 6 letters. (Here you can already vary. If you play with a child, the child may make a word of 4 letters, and you one of 6 or more.) The special thing about the playing stones: there is a letter on both sides, and you always know what is on the other side. This is stated in small letters. This round went to my friend, the primary school teacher. I also immediately notice my foreign language background.
• Round 2: Another 12 letters, but this time all the letters have to be used in a kind of crossword puzzle. That's more fun than I thought! I quickly put together some words, but there's one letter left and I've built in a German word :)... My girlfriend wins again.
• Round 3: We get to choose letters ourselves, get a screen (so the other person can't see what we're doing), and can put down a word of our own choice. Then we shuffle the letters (don't turn them over) and give them to the other person. Now my girlfriend has to guess which word I wrote, and vice versa. We both solved this quickly! Wonderful!

Conclusion: My girlfriend was immediately sold. She is in front of a class with children who speak another language and saw so many possibilities. But unfortunately she had not received a budget from school and was not allowed to buy anything. Very unfortunate.
I could have played a few more games myself. This game is not really suitable for home use with our dyslexics. But is it something for the webshop? I always hesitate with games that require little motor skills, especially because there are already so many cognitive games on the market. What do you think, will you leave a comment? But it is definitely recommended!

Brain stimuli

Next stop: Brain Stimuli. We have been working together for two or three years (I will ask Hanneke and Sanne how long exactly), but have never met. The meeting was so warm! I enjoyed the energy that radiated from their stand. I was allowed to contribute to their goodie bag, so we are still enjoying that together.
Brain stimuli is a movement program that integrates motor development and reflex integration in a playful way into the daily school routine. This way, children feel better in their bodies and can also learn better. I want that for every child!

Compliment game

I have been selling Daphne's Compliment Game for years, but had never met her. Now I have! This was also a sparkling meeting full of energy. In addition to the compliment cards, which are a party in themselves, I finally found the "Top to Toe" game (which was unavailable for a while). She also showed me new cards about finding peace before falling asleep. So cute and valuable! These cards will definitely be an addition to the compliment cards in the webshop.

Writing friend

What a wonderful stand Gerda and her team have set up. We have met before, when she only sold webshop markers and had a starting writing method. Now it has grown into a full-fledged writing method, based on her expertise. I immediately jumped on the large sandbox where “The Route Game” was.
Motor skills! This makes me so excited. Beautiful, sturdy squares with letters: to feel, to mold, to roll with a marble, … in short: to experience and learn with your body. With letter material I often run into the problem that letters are written slightly differently in other countries. But with “Het Routespel” everything is right: shape and writing direction. I am sold and impressed!

Snack

“Hey, do you want to hit the hammer?” And yes, I do! The first attempt was a bit cautious, but on the second attempt I hit the bell. Almost a shame, otherwise I would have been allowed to try a third time.

Technology

With a friend who thinks they don't do enough with technology at school, and two technology boys at home who also didn't get much technology at primary school, we strolled past all the stands. Robots caught our attention. One robot was particularly sweet: as soon as I picked up a flyer, he walked on. Unique!

Curly head – or more like haha ​​- Handy hands

Dorine has also been working on it for years. 😊 We have the same mission, but we approach it differently. She develops play materials and I search and collect them. To be honest: I once wanted to develop toys myself. But after one conversation with the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority I thought: “There is already enough on the market. I am going to collect what others develop.”
With great respect I admire her beautiful motor skills material of Schrijfritmiek. We had been in contact before, but it had not yet worked out to work together. Maybe now!

Snack

A little tired and with a well-filled goodiebag I come across another mirror. Always a party!

Conclusion

What a wonderful day! So many people who see the added value of motor development. Little offer for playful learning, but of course it is also a missed opportunity that I was not there myself with a huge colorful and well-filled stand.