30 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

GIFT GUIDE

T

erry Landa was disappointed to miss
her first invitation to a Discovery
Toys home party in October 1985,
but the scheduled date was right after her
family’s move from Colorado to Detroit for
her husband Ken’s new automotive industry
job.
Discovery Toys, a brand for more than
40 years, has a notable reputation for “spe-
cializing in premium quality, kid-powered
learning products for children.
” The toys
are targeted at the developmental needs of
newborns through school-aged children,
including those having autism and special
needs.
Though Landa couldn’t come to the
Colorado party, she ordered Marbleworks
Grand Prix anyway for their 4-year-old son.
“We played Marbleworks with Jeremy,
who loved it,
” said Landa, noting that
Jeremy plays Castle Marbleworks with his
boys today.
The Landas’ daughter, Elise, was born
in March 1986 in Michigan. That’s where
Discovery Toys caught up with Terry again.
Attending a home-based party in October
1986, she learned that hostesses earn free
toys based on sales. Landa booked her
own event for the following month. The
play adviser demonstrating Discovery Toys
asked if she’
d be interested in starting her
own business.
The answer was yes. Working part-time
as an independent contractor dovetailed
perfectly with Landa’s desire to remain
a stay-at-home wife and mother in
Huntington Woods. She put in more time
as her children grew older. Currently, for
two-thirds of the year, she works a flexible
schedule of about 15 hours a week. Her
hours increase during the holiday gift-buy-
ing season of October-December.

Children don’t grow out of Discovery
Toys; the toys grow up with them, accord-
ing to Landa. “You invest in something
today and your children will be playing
with the toy years later,
” unlike other toys
they might get bored with.
“
A toy should be challenging and not
frustrating,
” she continued. “It should make
kids think and find new ways to play.
”
The native New Yorker brings a bache-
lor’s degree in elementary education to her
endeavors. She graduated from Brooklyn
College, part of City University of New
York, and is certified to teach art to grades
K-8. Landa also earned a master’s in food
and nutrition at University of Northern
Colorado in Greeley. She has worked as a
nutritionist in a retirement community.
Besides leading home parties, Landa
brings Discovery Toys to educational con-
ferences and boutiques sponsored by orga-
nizations. They included Chanukah bazaars
at the former Workmen’s Circle Educational
Center in Oak Park, where her children
attended Sunday school, and currently at
Congregation Beth Shalom’s Chanu-Con.
With success, she has donated baskets

of toys and books for clients of Common
Ground and Jewish Family Service and
contributed to Toys for Tots and local hos-
pitals.
Since the COVID pandemic, Landa’s
conducted sales by phone with custom-
ers located all over the country. She posts
online video demonstrations of her toys
and uses Zoom for personal shopping
appointments and chatting at virtual home
parties. She maintains a VIP group to
apprise customers of special pricing on her
toys. In October, she returned to hosting an
in-person Discovery Toys demonstration.
Landa has become “a leader within the
company and a trainer of the people I help
get involved with Discovery Toys.
“I thought I would do this until Elise
started elementary school,
” she said, “but
here I am, 34 years later, and I still love sell-
ing the toys. I get to share these wonderful
products with others who want to teach
through play.
”

Call Terry Landa at (248) 259-5205, visit

terrysbiz.com or follow her on social media at

Facebook pages for Terry Landa and

Terry Landa - Discovery Toys.

COURTESY OF TERRY LANDA

Kids can learn through play with
Discovery Toys.

Toys
that Teach

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Landa’s grandson Oscar Landa,
then 2, plays with Discovery Toys’
Giant Pegboard.

Discovery Toys’ best-sellers
The company introduces 20-30 new toys each year and retires roughly the
same number, though some might come back. Here are a few of Landa’s
suggestions from the current collection:

Birth-6 months: Try-Angle
12 months-2 years: Measure Up! Cups
19 months-2 years: Giant Pegboard
3-4 years: Busy Bugs
3-7 years+: Hydro Launch
5-8 years+: Marbleworks Grand Prix, Think It Through Learning Tiles
8 years-adult: Mosaic Mysteries, Tricky Fingers and Jishaku games

Terry Landa leads a pre-COVID
Discovery Toy party.