Five Things Every Smart House Needs

From the pages of "Family Fun" magazine November 2006, pg 58

1. A world map. Name a country and see who can find it first. Study the map and design a quick geography quiz: Which US states border Mexico? What's the skinniest country in South America? See any of our beautiful world atlases (page 102)

2. A good dictionary. Need the meaning of mentation or the spelling of moonquake? Look it up. Then play the dictionary game: choose an unusual word and challenge each family member to come up with a definition; vote for the one that sounds most convincing. See First Dictionary (page 80)

3. A jigsaw puzzle table. Puzzles, says education neuroscience consultantMarilee Sprenger, build visualization skills, as well as memory and pattern recognition. See all the fantastic Luxury Jigsaw Books (page 61)

4. A brain-boosting library. Stock it with books of crossword puzzles, mazes, brainteasers, and Sudoku. Check out the wide selection of puzzle and game books (pages 64-67)

5. A domino set. Play the classic version to reinforce number skills, then create knock 'em down courses to enhance creative thinking. See Farmyard Tales Dominoes (page 62)