SensoryEdge Blog Featuring Kids Furniture and Educational Toy Reviews

Keep Those Kids A Movin!

2008-07-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

Go play outside! This is all we ever heard from our mothers mouths. We hated it then, but boy, we wish we would have listened more, huh? With those 9-5 jobs, it sure would be nice to go play outside, especially when the sun is shinning right in our office windows, mocking us. While your children our home for the summer, keep them going outside to play. With child obesity on the rise, lets keep those children moving and active, lets keep them healthy! Send them outside with the EzyRoller Kid Powered Ride On Toy. This toy has the concept of a bike and a scooter combined. There are no chains, and there are no pedals. Your child sits in the seat and using back and forth motion of their feet, propel themselves forward.

If your child is not quite ready for a bike, or even if they become bored easily, the EzyRoller will give them the exercise they need and will love every second of it. The stronger their legs get, the quicker they'll propel themselves.

Next on the list is the Marky Sparky Skoooch Scooter Bike. This neat outdoor toy is a mix of a skateboard and a bike. Your child stands on it like a scooter while holding the handlebars like a bike. Using their feet, they scooch their way along. Everyone in the SensoryEdge family has one and they are so well made and fun. We're going to post video on our site in the near future as we roll down the road!
Keep those kiddies moving; keep them active. They need to stay healthy and fit.

Please remember to always put helmets and pads to prevent injury. Sometimes the shortest fall can cause cuts and bruises.

Personalized Toy Box

2008-07-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have children know that toys come in abundance. They are anywhere and everywhere you could possibly imagine! It is hard to find ways to organize your childrens toys so that they are still within reach for your children and out of your way. This Wooden Toy Box is perfect for that very thing. It is simplistic in style, however, neat and clean looking enough to sit anywhere in the house.

The dimensions are 40in Lx 21in Wx 20in H. It is roomy and spacious enough to fit your childs toys and keep them out of the way when playtime is over for the day. Yet, when it starts all over again the next day, your child will be able to easily reach in to the chest and grab whatever item they wish. The double lid supports make it safe for your child to lift the lid and you will not have to worry about it slamming shut on their poor little fingers.

The best feature about this toy box is that it can be personalized for your child. You have the option of having their name with a fancy design or if you need one box for multiple children, have the box designed with the alphabet.

Keep their toys in one easily accessible spot and out of your way to keep your house clean and tidy!

10% off Levels of Discovery Kids Furniture

2008-06-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

Now through July 11th 08, we're offering an additional 10% off all Levels of Discovery items in our store. Use coupon code lodsummer08 and our shopping cart will do the rest.

Go Outside!

2008-06-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

Remember what your parents preached to you oh, so long ago? Your mom would be standing in the kitchen, hands on her hips telling you to pick one: inside or out. But what that really meant was you were going outside because you didnt choose quick enough. Nowadays, children love their video games, the television, and the newest technology. But we are lacking in the go-outside-and-play department. What happened to taking a stick and a garden hose and turning them in to a world of pirates and sea creatures? Or if you are one to continuously push your children to playing outside, take note of this spiffy device: the Kids Outdoor Table with Umbrella by KidKraft.

Once your kiddies get a look at this awesome picnic table, they will want to have their lunches outside. While they are outside munching on their meal, bring out a few crafts to get their hands on. It will keep them outside in the nice warm sun and so what if you had to bribe them in a way? They are outside, right? Enjoy the weather and once you are done, hang their artwork on the refrigerator so they can be proud of the work they have done.

Plan Toys

2008-06-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Some parents often wonder what toys are right for their children and how they can incorporate colors and shapes together to teach them while they are having fun. New parents might find themselves to be growing frustrated while trying to understand how they need to go about teaching their children. Plan Toys can help answer these probing questions.

Plan Toys includes color variations and systems in their toys that help improve childrens skill levels. The Click Clack Developmental Toy is a perfect example. This colorful track allows for children to watch the ball roll down the tracks, in and out of holes to eventually hit the bell at the bottom. This developmental toy helps to educate a child on cause and effect skills and visual tracking skills.

Another toy with excellent educational value would be the Wooden Shape Sorter. Child fit the appropriate shape with the cut out in the board. Also colorful, this toy helps improve identification skills as well as hand-eye coordination, and color recognition.

Being the parent of a toddler, the chaos can be stressful enough. Preoccupy them with these toys that not only stimulate their learning process, but provide entertainment for them as well.

Flipping for Phonics

2008-06-23T11:47:00.001-07:00

Reading unlocks new worlds to children. They're able to learn on their own and discover the wonders of the written word. Some kids need an extra boost when it comes to reading. Phonics is an instructional method for teaching children to read in English. They learn to connect sounds with letters or groups of letters and then blend the sounds together to produce approximate pronunciations of unknown words.

We recently came across a phonics course that looked really fun and interactive for kids that might shy away from reading. The Hands on Phonics Method Flipping For Phonics has been an instant success and is recommended by educators as the MUST HAVE educational tool. Nova Southeastern University Parent resource centers recommends these products for early readers. This patented flip book is the only one of its kind on the market with 6 columns of letters allowing children to make up to 6 letter words. Flipping For Phonics is self contained easy to use, and child friendly.

Carefully chosen real life pictures represent pure phonetic sounds. This educational tool is used in public, charter and private schools, as well as at home use.
Two other products offered at www.flippingforphonics are a story book featuring 6 delightful word family stories and a musical CD. Recommended for children ages 2 - 7 however really like the fact that Flipping for Phonics can also be used for children with special needs, older children who didn't get a proper reading foundation, or adults who have a reading disability. The kinetic hands-on approach reinforces learning and makes learning to read fun and easy. Flipping for Phonics makes learning FUN and EASY.

In this example we built words with 'ending sounds' by flipping to the letters 'at' and changing the first letter only to make the words: 'bat', 'cat', 'mat' etc. You can just as easily build words with 'beginning sounds' instead and just change the last letter like: 'ba' - bad, bag, bam, ban. You could also keep the same first letter and last letter changing only the vowel like: 'bad', 'bed', 'bid', 'bud'.

The wonderful thing about Flipping for Phonics® is that it can be adapted to be used with whatever reading program you are currently using! In other words, you can:

The Perfect Book Display

2008-06-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

Books are wonderful items, especially for the growing minds of our children. Reading provides a pleasurable experience in to the childs imagination, but more importantly its a great learning tool every time a word is read. This Single Sided Canvas Book Display will hold your little dears treasured books in a wonderfully organized fashion. I personally love my books, and want to keep them near and easily accessible all the time, and this book display is perfect for that very thing.

Keep the world of stories available to your children, and let them pick up a book on their own. I love the idea of children reading and growing and learning. It is a precious gift that you should openly provide for them.

Stretch Their Thinking

2008-06-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

My mother is absolutely fascinated by puzzles. She always has at least two 1,000-piece puzzles going at any given time. She will sit there for hours methodically working the parts of the picture in to place and have it finished that day. Whereas I can sit there for hours and put two pieces together to create a blob of an indecipherable image. Go figure. I was always more focused on playing and being rambunctious and could not contain my eager excitement for adventure long enough to focus on a puzzle where all the pieces looked the same to me. Yet, I wonder what would have happened had my mother found a way to make me more interested in them.

Imagination and creativity are prevailing tools for a childs growth. Puzzles are an excellent facet to showing your child how to tap in to their inventiveness. While they are learning to be ambitious and empathetic in other ways, they can learn problem solving, and how to strategize. Marlene Barron, head of West Side Montessori School in New York, did a study on children and the influence of puzzles. She found that when small children were given 100-300 piece puzzles, they were able to share strategies and finish the puzzles. They were inventive in discovering their strategies and were surprisingly concentrated on the task.

Playing with puzzles will help your child learn concentration and focus. It adds to the very round world of creativity. Equip your child with abilities. Arm them with the knowledge they are so very capable of acquiring.

Just Imagine

2008-06-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

As a child, my imagination ran with the wind. While my grandmother was using all her might to pry my brother's fingers from the television remote and send him outside to play, I was begging her to let me stay out and play longer. Having a bicycle and a swing set at my disposal, I stretched the idea of make-believe and pretend to its limits. One minute I was a princess in her castle ordering her servants around, then next I was using my bike, neighboring driveways, and sidewalks to pretend I was a bus driver dropping off kids and picking them up to take them to school. Your imagination is quite the nifty instrument, but one in which only you can access.

Imagination and creativity enhances the simple, yet powerful, skills you have. Problem solving, empathy, and ambition are the most important tools a person could acquire. At a Harvard commencement last week, JK Rowling received an honorary degree. When she gave her speech, she spoke of the importance and influence of the imagination. "Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation," Rowling said. "In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity; it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared." Think about how the world would be and what special items of technology we would be without had someone not been creative enough to consider the possibility.

I am sure that you have heard that showing your child how to be creative is important. But have you really considered the impact of other peoples creativity? The whole wheel idea was pretty sweet, dont you think? Your child has all the potential in the world to tap in to those crevices and invent something great. Yet, even if that doesnt happen for them, it is no loss at all. Your child still benefits by being ambitious and having drive. So when you are sitting in the doctors office, be thankful that the doctors and nurses, who are taking care of you, know how to empathize and problem solve.

Lakers vs Celtics: Kids Furniture Does Battle NBA Style

2008-06-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

Do you root for the Green and White or the Forum Blue and Gold? Bean Town lover or Tinsel Town Fanatic? Wilt or Russell, Kareem or Walton, Larry or Magic? The past is the past, so you can throw all that stuff into the memory banks. NBA fans the world wide have been waiting for Kobe and Pau vs. the Celtics Big Three of Pierce, Allen, and Garnett.

Get your child excited about basketball with their own pieces of kids basketball furniture from Guidecraft. The line includes table and chair sets, step stools, directors chairs, toy boxes and table lamps. These items are officially licensed by the NBA with real team colors and logos. Solid construction and great designs, your little b baller will be as happy as Dwayne Wade sinking 3's!

Sleepovers

2008-06-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Sleepovers were so exciting when we were children? Staying up until the wee hours of the morning, or at least until the parents got mad and told you to go to bed. Giggling and playing games, watching movies, keeping each other entertained; ahh, the good ol' days. Take a trip down Memory Lane and remember what it felt like to be a kid and carefree. Give that same great feeling of joy and comfort to your children. Make sure that they get the best times out of their childhood, they only get one. So for those little darlings, add to their sleepovers with one of our fun and colorful selection of Sleeping Bags. A wide variety of colors and designs, themes, and prices are available. Choose the best one for your child from over 100 models. From trains and plains to stars and flowers, there is one for every child.

So pick one out for your child and invite their little buddies over, pop in a movie, feed them some popcorn and enjoy their excitement!

Wall Doodles!

2008-06-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

Oh, dont we all appreciate our children when they draw beautiful, yet indecipherable, images on the wall? Our little dears definitely need to engage their creative side, however, we would much rather it be designated to something other than our nice, clean wall. Our Hands on Wall Toys will help do just that! Hang it on the wall and let them go to town! This mess free item is heat-sensitive and cleans away with disinfectant spray. They get their fill in of doodling on the wall, while you can relax knowing that they wont spill the paint on your carpet or make a Picasso-worthy drawing in crayon.

For your little girls, try the Playsa Face Girl Wall Panel Toy. This toy has the outline of a little girl so she can draw faces on it or whatever else she can create! We didnt forget the boys! Check out the Playsa Face Boy Wall Panel for him. They will both appreciate your generosity, and you can appreciate their clean works of art!

Waiting Room Activities

2008-05-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

When it is time to make a trip to the doctor, the wait can seem like ages to children. They tend to get antsy and restless. Any parent knows how aggravating it can be to keep a child preoccupied when they are waiting for their appointment. Investing in an activity cube or a wall mounted toy would help keep their minds set on something rather than running around like little mad-people.

Waiting room play tables and wall mounted toys can help keep kids occupied while providing education. Giggle mirrors make their reflection distorted and are quite humorous. Another wall mounted toy featuring Tic-Tac-Toe can teach strategy and the funny people panel toy also provides a good amount of chuckles. Keep them absorbed in a little fun adventure while you're counting the seconds on the clock with bead mazes or giant play cubes. These toys are fun, have no loose parts and keep kids out of mischief while you wait or speak to a health care provider.

Sand and Water Outdoor Fun!

2008-05-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

What could be more fun than a sandbox? A sand AND water box! The Activity Sand and Water table has the best of both worlds for your kids to explore and enjoy.

And you're not limited to just sand and water, you can fill the "water" bin with not only water but pinto beans, marbles or just use good old H2O and you can vary the sensory input the kids get.

The size of this table allows four to six children to play at once and it encourages group play. For easy clean up and storage, the lid snaps on and keeps the items in the sand table - inside. The table stands 24-inches and has 4 caster wheels. There is a handy drain valve on the water side of the sand table that lets the water drain out easily.

This is a great toy for kids 3-years old and up to enjoy outdoor play along with different sensations. Your kids can spend hours creating different play scenarios and this is a wonderful toy to encourage not only group cooperation, but also pretend play.

Teach Your Kids About Nature the Fun Way

2008-05-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

Want to teach your kids to appreciate nature? Growing their own garden is a great way and you can do this one even if you reside in a little apartment in the middle of the concrete jungle.

Gardening is easy and most children take to it like ducks to water. What's not to like? There's dirt, learning and fun to be had!

The Indoor Gardening Set by Green Toys is a great way to let your kids learn the value of patience. This indoor gardening kit is not only fun and educational but also very environmentally friendly as it is made in the United States by recycling plastic milk containers. This is a safe plastic that you can feel good about using.

The set includes a planter tray to hold your pots that is shaped like a peapod, 3 planting pots, 1 hand trowel, enough soil for your project, 3 packages of organic seeds and very easy to follow instructions for setting up your indoor garden. Even if your own thumb is brown, you'll learn right along with your kids about the right wayt to water, let the light hit your plants and watch them grow!

After you get your feet wet with this project, try planting green beans and let your kids pick them, wash them and "snap" them - you'd be amazed at how much your kids will finally enjoy their vegetables.

From Crib to Big Kid Bed!

2008-04-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

When you toddler goes from a crib to a "big kid bed" it's a big deal. Let your child have a little say in the bed she'll be sleeping in and you might find the transition from crib to toddler bed is a whole lot easier.

A crib has sides and this gives many children security. Moving to a toddler bed with small rails to keep them from failing out, still works well but it may not offer the mental security that a crib did. Letting your child look at different beds and choose the one that she'd like to have her nighty-night in and you will find that the step from crib to toddler bed will be pretty seamless for most kids.

If your little guy likes firetrucks, why not go for a toddler bed shaped like a fire truck? If you have a little princess that loves all things pink, let her rest her pretty head in a bed fit just for a pink princess. There are also beds shaped like boats and for the child that likes it plain and simple, well he can have that too.

Another great idea is to establish a bedtime routine. Boundaries and routines make children feel secure and a nightly ritual of a bedtime at a specific time, along with getting ready for bed that can include a bath or shower or just washing up and brushing teeth, putting on pajamas and maybe a bedtime story or a quiet talk time and doing that every night will let your child settle into a relaxation mode for bedtime quickly.

An Indoor Sandbox?

2008-04-24T18:28:00.001-07:00

Yep, you read that one right. An indoor sandbox will be a great toy to keep your kids entertained on those days it's just too yucky to go outside and play. This is also a fun toy for waiting rooms or if you own a child care facility - all of these are great reasons to incorporate this fun toy.

The Happy Trails Sand Table is made by Educo and the design of this fun sandbox has been extremely well thought out. The sandbox is entirely sealed inside of a solid wooden table and there is a clear acrylic top that the kids can look down and see the sand with both vehicles and creatures inside. The vehicles and creatures are magnetic and using the magnetic hand pieces that are attached to the bottom of the sandbox, they can move the vehicles and creates all over the place inside the enclosed area of the sandbox.

Kids can have races, make designs and even arrange the pieces in shapes and forms. One to four children can play with this interesting toy at once and for added stability, the table has steel legs that can be bolts to the floor. No worrying about the magnetic pieces getting lost or being a hazard, they are firmly enclosed within the box.

This is a fun and safe toy that will deliver hours of fun for kids. If you have a group of kids that you keep as a day care or you have a waiting room where kids need to be kept busy, this is a fabulous way to do it!

Building Self Confidence in Your Child

2008-04-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Do you have a child that doesn't want to play with other kids or participate in activities? It may not be that your child is a wallflower, she may just lack self confidence.

Building self confidence in a child is paramount to helping her be a successful and well adjusted adult. Children with self confidence are a lot less likely to be pressured into less than positive activities by other kids once they reach their teenage years.

How to build self confidence in your child is another matter. No one has to tell you that all kids are a different. Many parents comment how their own children can be different as night and day. However, any child can benefit from a self esteem boost. Finding something the child does well and can feel that they excel at will help build confidence. When you get toys for your kids, make sure they are age appropriate as giving a child a toy that is too advanced for her learning level can lead to frustration and a loss of self esteem for not being able to "work" the toy or use it.

Art is a wonderful way for many children to develop self esteem. Show your child pictures of the works of various great artists from the past. Your child may be frustrated that her artworks don't look like photographs, and you can show her through the work of Monet or Picasso that art doesn't have to look like a photo - it's about the story the artist wants to tell.

Try various avenues such as chalk, pastels, markers, crayons and it's even better if you have an art desk that its their size. Post his or her displays her works in the place arond the house and watch the giant smiles. This will create a sense of pride and build confidence that mommy and daddy think the product is good enough to display for guests.

Rock It! with a Cool Rocking Toy

2008-04-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when you're looking for a great gift or addition to your little one's toy collection; it's a good idea to think simple and forget the toys and play gadgets with all the lights, buttons, sounds, and other additions. Instead think back to some of the more simple pleasures and let your child enjoy some of the toys you loved as a child.

A rocking horse is a great example of this type of toy. The simple rocking motion is something most child find soothing and what is a simple riding toy can turn into a whole lot more as your child grows older. Think back to your own rocking horse, did you pretend you were a cowboy, messenger, warrior or other character as you "rode" your horse? The pretend play value a rocking horse can bring is endless.

Also you're not just limited to a horse design for a rocking horse. If you're looking for a toy to have available at your house when the grandkids visit and you want to make your political stance perfectly known, there is a fun elephant or donkey and the animal wears a bib that reads, "Republican in training" (elephant) or "Democrat in training"(donkey).

Other classic designs that will literally become heirlooms to be passed down from generation to generation are the classic designs in rocking toys from Guidecraft and one of their wooden retro rocker designs in a train, boat or classic old-fashioned airplane style rocker. They are crafted with the utmost in safety in mind and look fabulous! Your child will have hours of fun rocking in one of these retro beauties.

Use these tips and give your child a fun toy that will let them expand his or her imagination instead of a yet another toy that is so advanced it does everything but play for the child. Give your child the gift of a toy that can literally do anything your child imagines it can - and give them the fun of a rocker!

Levels of Discovery Spring Sale 10% off at SensoryEdge

2008-04-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

Our friends at Levels of Discovery asked us to run a 10% off sale on all LOD items until April 25th. Levels of Discovery offers a very unique line of painted kids furniture including table and chair sets, step stools, toy boxes, vanities, and more.

About Levels of Discovery:

After spending most of his adult life in the development of emotion-based products for Hallmark, The Franklin Mint and Enesco, Jeff Hutsell decided that he wanted to bring fun and innovative children's products to the marketplace that are truly something special. Thinking back over the years with his own three children, he realized that there is nothing so wonderful as to see the look of sheer delight on a child's face when they've discovered something new and unexpected! The name of our company comes from a lesson Jeff learned about creating products that will touch people's lives. Anyone can produce a product that is exactly what it appears to be. He wanted to take that a step further and create products that allow children to discover the "unexpected"!

An example from the Rock A Buddies product line shows what he means. The award-winning Schoolhouse Rocker has a fun "school" theme with primary colors, apple finials and movable abacus beads to help little ones learn counting and colors. Take another look and you'll find a flip-up desk (great for reading and writing) and an armrest pencil box with a sliding lid. Pull the chalk on the seat and the music box plays the "ABC Song!". Look again, and you'll find an understamp beneath the seat that can be "personalized" with the child's name, the name of the gift-giver and the special occasion when the chair was received.

We invite you to spend some time with us and discover all the little "extras" you'll find at Levels of Discovery! Thanks again for visiting our site and come back often!

The Weekly WOW! at SensoryEdge

2008-04-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Weekly WOW! is your opportunity to get a great deal on a piece of kids furniture or a cool toy. We've gone to our manufacturers and asked them to give us great deals in order to showcase their product line. Sometimes the Weekly WOW! will be one item, other times it'll be a setor all the products in a particular line. The Weekly WOW! will run from Monday through Sunday.

This weeks Weekly WOW! is the "Go Man Go" and "Poodles in Paris" line by LC Creations. We pestered our friend Chris over at LC Creations until he caved in and allowed us to go low low low on two of his newest lines.

LC Creations is a designer and manufacturer of high quality children’s furniture and accessories specializing in beautifully hand-crafted pieces to decorate and inspire the imagination of both children and parents.

April is Autism Awareness Month

2008-04-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

As a parent of a child with special needs I understand the desire to have as much information as possible on my son’s disability. This educational process never ends. Research changes and as he gets older he changes too. As new issues arise with him I find new questions to ask and I start the research process all over again. If you have a child that has been diagnosed with Autism you know how this need for information can lead you to spend hours online looking for answers.

We hope that Autism World Awareness Day will make people unaffected by Autism take the time to understand that the child flapping his arms, repeating phrases over and over, or a number of the other actions that children with Autism have is not weird, but the way their body helps regulate and cope with the surrounding world. As more people learn about Autism we hope that it will lead to a greater understanding in the community. If you are not touched by this disability directly it is hard to understand. We hope that Autism World Awareness Day will lead you to take a closer look at Autism and what it means to the people afflicted with this disorder and their families.

If you want to learn more about Autism here are some links to organizations that can give you the information you need. If you have a child struggling with Autism, or you susect that a child in your family might be Autistic, you should contact your local school district. They will be able to direct you to the agencies in charge of intervention in your area. This intervention is often available at no charge.

Autism Society of America

Autism research Institute

Autism Speaks / Cure Autism Now

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Wrightslaw

Great Learning and Play Toys Special Needs Children

2008-04-11T06:39:00.000-07:00

No two special needs children are alike but they do all have one thing in common, they love to play. How your favorite special needs child plays may differ from other children, but it's important that you get him games and toys that peak his interest and match his age and functionality so playtime is fun and learning time and not a frustrating experience.

A great toy that has endless learning possibilities is found in tactile discs. Often used by both teachers and therapists, the disks help the child learn to tell the difference between various types of textures. The discs are made from rubber that feels good on the fingers and there are five different textures to feel. Each disc is a separate color and one of the keys of these discs is to help children describe sense impressions verbally.

A great way to play is to ask questions and help the child learn to describe the various textures. Ask, "Does this feel bumpy?" or "Does this disc feel smooth?". Encourage your child to repeat the words while holding the disc, the connection will be made to what he is feeling as well as the word to describe it. It's a good way to start encouraging verbal descriptions of the things he feels with his hands. Each of the tactile structures is on a large disc with a smaller disc that the child may be held in the child's hands.

You can create numerous games with your child. Use the discs to teach simple textures and help your child verbalize. Move on to colors and even simple counting games if he's ready. Once he's comfortable with the discs, you can also play blindfolded games and let him "guess" the disc and it's a good way to teach him to further verbalize what he's feeling.

Kids love to say its mine!

2008-04-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

Every child has his or her own personality. Probably the phrase heard by parents the most is... Its MINE! Parents then hear screaming, sometimes crying, and then the sound of feet running until they get to you and telling why their brother or sister took away a favorite item. It happens in our house and we're guessing yours also. So we've come up with a couple of ideas to help alleviate the "Mines."

Art work is always a great way to allow children the ability to express themselves. Let them make a hand painted sign they can hang on their door. The sign can be made of a wood block, a piece of cardboard, or water bottles. Something as simple as "Dillons Room" decorated with crayons, glitter glue and stickers.Another great idea is to get some Thank You cards at your local card shop, then order them their own address labels. Kids loving getting mail with their name on it. Imagine the smiles on their face when they see their own name of the labels. This is the perfect way for them to send a Thank You for the educational toy grandma and grandpa sent them for their birthday.

There are lots of ideas. Just be creative and most of all have fun! Do you have any "Mine" ideas? Please let us know.

Worried About Plastic Toy Safety?

2008-04-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

Again and again in the news you keep reading about the ingredients in some plastic children's toys that contain lead and other hazards, one way to be sure that the toys you give your kids to play with are to do a little research yourself before you buy for either your own children or as a gift.

Green Toys is a company that has made their name selling environmentally friendly and safe-for-kids toys by using safe, recycled materials. A great example that will provide hours upon hours of fun play is their simple Sand Toys.

It consists of a bucket, a sand mold, a rake and a shovel. Getting your kids outdoors when the weather is nice is paramount and a sandbox is a great way to do it. Even better, if you live locally to a body of water, take a day trip to your lakeside or oceanside beach for the day and let your kids play the day away safely.

The Sand Toys set is made from recycled milk containers as the major ingredient and this set is made in the USA. Additionally, the set comes packed in an earth friendly container of corrugated boxes and there are no plastics, cellophane or even those annoying (and not very earth friendly) twistie-ties.

Take note of how "green" the toys your kids play with and if you don't already have some of the more simple, yet very green toys that instigate fun pretend play, indulge and get your kids into the fun of simple sand toys!