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.

