Scholastic's smart squares are a very clever self-guided activity for young children. A plastic tray displays two sets of six images. The child matches each image from the top row to a corresponding image in the second row using color coded squares. For example, a child may match the images that contain the same number of objects. The child can then "check" his own answers by pulling the tray down to display whether the colors match, indicating correct choices.

The beauty of this toy is its versatility. The toy comes with 15 two-sided cards covering a range of developmentally appropriate skills including counting, colors, shapes and relative size. Once your child has mastered the pre-kindergarten set, you'll be looking for the kindergarten pack.