Wonderful Book of Wondrous Jobs
(Mudpuppy $9.99) Lizzie Cooper has come up with a zany concept that celebrates jobs you never thought of before. Kids are always being asked what they want to be when they grow up and this offers some highly fanciful possibilities...such as firefly electrician or lost sock detective. Done in a board book format, this is a concept that will amuse parents of preschoolers, but older brothers and sisters of 5 and 6 will get the humor and maybe come up with some very original job
Educational Insights Design & Drill Kits: Rescue Helicopter, Police Motorcycle, and Firetruck
(Educational Insights $19.99 and up) We’ve told you about Design and Drill building toys that come with a totally safe working drill that preschoolers operate with ease. Design and Drill kits come with bolts that kids drill into place to hold vehicles together or to take it apart and build it again; that’s what kids like, building, unbuilding and then building again. A good choice for developing fine motor skills as well as the language of dramatic play after the challenge of
eeBoo 1000-piece Puzzles: Astrology, Songbird Tree, and Angela
(eeBoo $23.99 each) A perfect birthday gift; this striking Astrology 1000-piece puzzle with the names of the constellations, creatures and gemstones that match Astrological sign some believe affect their lives. Want a gift for a bird lover? eeBoo’s Songbird Tree will be a winner! With a mound of brilliant flowers at the base a tree with brilliantly colored birds perch on the leafy branches. With 1000 pieces, this may take longer than spotting a cardinal in the garden. Be read
Crayola Paint and Create Easel Case
(Crayola $25.99) A nice activity set for Grandma to pull out when grandkids come visiting. It's a case that sets up with a two-sided easel on any tabletop. It has two strips of watercolor paints, 12 little paint pots with washable paint, four brushes in two shapes, mixing trays for the paint, 2 white crayons (for magical wax painting), 8 watercolor pencils, color with them and then use water to turn the drawing to a watercolor painting; a sticker sheet, and 18 watercolor shee
Workman Kid’s Awesome Activity Calendar 2022
(Workman $15.99) Kids don’t need to wait until January to start using this fun activity calendar! The front page includes September. October, November and December 2021 with major holidays pre-marked. Included with the calendar are 300 stickers that they can use through the year to decorate important personal, family and world events. Designed for decorative fun, using a calendar is a way of introducing kids to a basic tool for planning ahead as well as sense of time. Monthly
Big G Creative Cluckle
(Big G Creative $9.99) Cluckle is an egg-citing word game for beginners. Instead of scrabble letter tiles it comes with letters on little egg shaped playing pieces. Players begin with seven letters plus a wild card that looks like a sunny side up egg. Game play begins when the first player squeezes Cluckle over the multifaceted die. Lift the bird and squeeze again till the die drops. Now players race to be the one to spell a word of 2, 3, 4, or 5 letters, depending on the nu
Workman, A Book About Mom with Words and Pictures by Me & A Book About Dad with Words and Pictures
(Workman $9.95 each) You’ll want to keep this book for years to come after your son or daughter add their words and pictures. It’s an activity book that will give you a picture of yourself through your child’s eyes. It’s a fill-in-the-blanks book that kids “write” with what they know of the things you like and dislike and how you make them feel. Some of the ideas are whimsical, like-- if you were an ice cream, what flavor you would be? Others are more reality based—three thin
eeBoo Bioluminescent 100-piece Puzzle
(eeBoo $18.99) Underwater images will glow in the dark when kids assemble the 100-piece puzzle. Its’ a dramatic image of the creatures in the deep dark sea, creatures few of us will ever get to see unless we become divers or travel down, down, down into the bioluminescent world below. A challenging puzzle with a STEM theme. Marked 5 and up. We’re betting the content and 100 pieces will appeal more to 7s and 8s. Ages: Older Early School Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award
Mindware Make Your Own Wind Chime Kit
(Mindware $19.95) We can hear the soft musical sound of the chimes in the breeze, the end product we worked on for a few days with our six-year-old tester. First there was a lot of painting to do. The disks need two coats and need to dry on one side before the rim and second side can be done. Drying is not instant so this can take a few days with long waits in between. We suggest you start on a plastic sheet that will not be disturbed. Once the paint is dry this becomes a par
Stack the Scoops
(ViBuGo $19.99) Being an ice cream lover, I'd call this a sweet little card game that's all about making sets. Each set must include a scoop (or more) of ice cream, a topping, and a base, like a cone or cup. One more thing, the card backgrounds must be the same color. To start you put out four cards and the game begins as players take turns putting out one card to make a set. When a player adds the third card with all three attributes, they take the set and put out another ca
