Monthly Archives: January 2008

Tieramid Circle Set: $25.99+

January 17, 2008Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Games, Wooden ToysAlicia

I love wooden toys. They are timeless and bring back memories of the wooden blocks I played with for years. It’s so great to see my kids playing with wooden blocks.

Tieramid blocks are non-toxic, colorful, circular nesting blocks. Tieramid blocks are great for young children learning colors and the concept of inside and outside, and small and large. The blocks fit together flat to make designs or be stacked to build a colorful towers.

The large set comes with 52 design/pattern cards to get your child started designing and building. Sebastian builds ‘mountains’, funny characters, and comes up with really cool patters and Madelyn loves to destroy whatever he’s built.

You will be impressed with the things your child can make with Tieramid blocks like birds, flowers, and silly faces and your child will be so proud of him/herself for creating such beautiful pieces of art!

Tieramid will bring out the artist in your kids, without the mess of paints and markers.

Click here to learn more about or buy Tieramid blocks.

Spider-Man and TMNT card games: $6.99+

January 17, 2008Age 5-7, GamesAlicia

Briarpatch’s Spider-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle card games are great games to give your kids when you need them to be occupied for a few minutes without getting sucked into a serious game like Monopoly.

The card games are fairly simple and are great for 2-4 players ages 6+.

The Spider-Man 3 Battle Within card game is a little more complex but still good for ages 6+. The point is to capture as many villains as you can
with help from your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! With the flip of
a card, you can capture one and all or liberate your opponents’ bad
guys!

Help Spider-Man battle a
host of vengeful enemies as he confronts his past, dueling with revenge
and evil! Capture as many villains as you can before Venom, the Sandman
and others destroy Spider-Man. Includes game mat, 50 collectible cards
and rules.

Briarpatch card games can be purchased at the Briarpatch website or at Amazon.

MichaelsMind Children’s Books: $15.95

January 17, 2008Age 1-3, Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Books, Educational ToysAlicia

Sebastian and I read every night. Sometimes I like the book he chooses and sometimes I don’t. When he picks one of Steve Tiller’s books I am relieved because I know I am going enjoy our reading time just as much as he does that night.

The colorful, fairytale like illustrations and fun writing style keep Sebastian’s attention on the book. Steve’s books are written and illustrated superbly with each story delivering a message in such a way so that the child understands the message. Steve is a great children’s book author. He knows how to capture a child’s attention and keep it. Steve’s books cover topics including self confidence (Just Be Yourself), faith (Boat & Wind), childhood fantasy (Tangle Fairies), and individuality (Inside Outside Who We Are).

Michaelsmindbooks2 When we read one of Steve’s books Sebastian enjoys talking about it afterward. Sebastian usually doesn’t want to talk about the meaning of a book, the characters or illustrations but he gets so into the characters and the stories that he sometimes continues the story with his own ‘next chapter’.

Most of the books have a free curriculum that parents can download from the website. The curriculum includes group discussions, recipes, activities and drawing.

You will also find a beautiful selection of posters on the website such as the one to the left.

Visit the MichaelsMind Books website to learn more about Steve’s books and to place an order.

Mommy Tip: kitchen water play

January 17, 2008New postsAlicia

I’m sure you know the scenario.. you are trying to clean the dishes or organize the kitchen cabinets and your toddler wants nothing more than to help you. Madelyn is a pro at trying to help me but it never fails that I don’t even finish the job when she ‘helps’. We end up in a different room doing something totally unrelated to what I wanted to do. I decided that I had to come up with something for Madelyn to do on her own while I was cleaning.

During the warmer months we had a wide, short storage bin full of play sand on our front deck that Madelyn loved to play in. While I was cleaning the kitchen a few days ago it occurred to me that she might be able to entertain herself for longer than two minutes if I put some warm water in the bin. Knowing that there was a huge potential for water making its way out of the bin, I put an old bath mat on the floor first and a towel around the perimeter of the bin. Needless to say, by the time all was said and done there was about a 3 foot area of water around the bin, she had painted the refrigerator with water, and she had generously ‘shared’ some water with her doll that isn’t supposed to get wet. Oh well, I finished the kitchen and Madelyn had a good time playing by herself for a few minutes.

Signature_name

Lands’ End Baby: $12.99 and up

January 16, 2008Age 0-1 year, Age 1-3, Age 3-5, Baby & Kids Clothing, ShoesAlicia

Lands’ End is known for making durable, comfortable clothes and they didn’t leave the little one’s out. Little did I know, they have a large line of girls and boys baby clothes and accessories to fit ages 0-24 months. The pictures to the left are just a small sampling of the Lands’ End baby line. Offering everything from ‘footy pajamas’ to knit sweaters their pieces are sure to give your baby a classic, timeless look all the while keeping them comfortable and cozy in the soft materials.

Pieces like the Woven Jumper Madelyn is wearing to the left can be worn alone for a casual look or with co-ordinating onesies, tights, and shoes for a more dressy look.

Machine washable, this Woven Dress quickly became one of my favorite pieces in Madelyn’s wardrobe. The Mary Janes are crafted with genuine suede leather uppers, breathable leather linings and soft suede outsoles and Madelyn is happy wearing them for hours. I was bummed when the shoes got dirty while we were at a park recently but low and behold, a little wiping got the dirt right off. Priced at just $14.50, Lands’ End’s Mary Janes are a steal.

Click here to visit Lands’ End baby and browse their selection of baby, toddler, and kids clothing.