Use your noggin’

The school year may be coming to a close, but don’t give the little ones a free pass to turn off those noggins! Keep them thinking outside the box and still enjoying themselves with some of these cool educational toys.

Summer in Texas can really be a scorcher! Toddlers can cool off with the Splash Table, an interactive water table that features scooping, straining, sailing and squirting activities. With silly sounds and bright colors, they’ll be entertained for hours (just make this one an outdoor activity!). $69.99 at Learning Express Toys in Dallas.

If you’ve got your fingers crossed that you’re raising a little bibliophile or poet, breathe easy with Blurt! Kiddos ages 7 and up can begin building a valiant vocab with this energetic game of rapid recall challenges, during which they’ll try to match the right word to a given definition. Try not to get tongue-tied! $29.99 at Learning Express (Flower Mound and Dallas).