Fun assignment: Goddard School students test toys

Four-year-old Brooklyn Youngren concentrated as she surveyed a game board covered in small wooden toadstools Thursday, trying to remember which colors were on the bottom of each one.

It was all fun and games — literally — for Brooklyn and her friends during a raucous play session at The Goddard School in Vancouver, but the classroom’s 4- and 5-year-olds actually were hard at work, performing every child’s dream job: toy tester.

Each year across the country, students at Goddard Schools, a preschool chain, spend a week playing with new educational and interactive toys, according to a news release. Students from each grade level pick their favorites. Teachers watch to see which toys resonate best with the students based on interactivity, whether they help students develop skills and meet other criteria.

The Goddard School headquarters will compile the data from 50 different campuses across the country to determine the top 10 favorite toys among preschoolers — a feather in the cap of toy manufacturers going into the busy holiday seasons. The Goddard School company goes on to donate 100 copies of the winning toy to Toys for Tots.

“It gives them a chance to explore new toys,” said Hillary McKinstry, co-owner of Vancouver’s Goddard School on 192nd Avenue. “All have an educational basis.”

An excitable Finnegan McCrary bounced from station to station, trying one toy after another. On a toy called Sensory Stepperz, reminiscent of hopscotch, Finnegan and his friends hopped between four brightly colored pads.

“I like playing this hopscotch every time,” he said before scampering off to another station.

Brooklyn was playing a game called Hexenkuche but said she tried other toys, as well, including a math game called Puppy Up and building toys called Brackitz.

“That’s exciting because I love it,” Brooklyn said when asked about getting to test toys for a day.