The Germans know how to build high quality, natural toys. The Selecta Pontino wooden baby gym is the best toy for your young child. Baby's love to lie under the wooden arch and kick their legs or reach their arms for the dangling bird, bells, and rings. As your baby grows, the sturdy base allows the child to pull themselves to standing without toppling the Pontino baby gym over. This wooden baby gym is more expensive than the commonly sold cloth versions, however this toy grows with your ... continue reading...
Wooden Bulldozers, Trucks, Backhoes, etc.
Boys and girls alike love to play with heavy equipment toys. When I was a child, these toys were made mostly of metal, and you still see them around today rusting in second hand stores. Today, these same companies make bulldozers, backhoes, etc. out of plastic. Once again, I went in search of quality, wooden versions of these toys for my children and preschool classroom. Plan toys makes a nice version of a wooden bulldozer that comes with a wooden worker doll complete with a hard hat. The ... continue reading...
Attention online shoppers
Click on the title of this posting or copy and paste into your browser www.givebackamerica.org. An old friend of mine told me about this great site, in which charities earn a percentage of your purchases. Click on your state and see what charities and merchants are available. This site even tells you what percentage of the purchase each merchant gives to the charity. ... continue reading...
Discovering Math with an Abacus
Many theories on early childhood education promote children's natural curiousity to discover mathematical concepts. Given manipulatives, children naturally experiment, hypothesize, and build their own theories. An abacus is a great toy for building such knowledge, and Melissa and Doug make an affordable wooden one of high quality. Many other kinds of manipulatives, like marbles, get lost around the house. I like that the counters are securely attached to the abacus making clean up an ease. On an ... continue reading...
The search for a natural baby doll
While I was pregnant with my second child, my mother wanted to buy my daughter her own baby doll. I spent countless hours searching the internet for the perfect, natural baby doll. I wanted a doll that was about the size of a newborn baby, in order that it could share clothes with the real baby in our family. Eventually, we ordered a doll from a local dollmaker. The doll was very expensive. When it arrived, we were sorely disappointed. The doll was only about eight inches long and looked like it ... continue reading...