i want one

Do they make these Mom-sized? Although, it is kind of creepy for little kids to be riding around in a killing machine. They should make a TARDIS-mobile version.

christmas joys & christmas toys

Just a mere 13 weeks until Christmas! This is when we really need to hunker down as a family and make an purposeful decision to NOT make this Holy Day a toy grab for our kids. However, there is an aspect of the celebration that as parents, we do believe, warrants a celebration of gift-giving. So. What to give?

The girls have been asking for a dollhouse. Have you priced nice, wooden dollhouses (not made in China) lately? Maybe this will be a combined gift for the girls, with a few little furniture pieces for each of them. I love the Plan Toys modern "chalet" dollhouse, but I don't think the girls would dig it. They aren't modern like their Mama. But isn't it cool!? It actually comes in two pieces, and the staircase is movable, too, so both girls could play with their own part.

I'm sure they would love this one, too, and it's a bit more traditional. However, I'm sure what THEY want is pink, flowery, princess-inhabited and plastic. They don't know this, but we really don't want to buy any more plastic junk, and no more battery-operated anything. (I'm not the only Mama who thinks along these lines, either. What prompted this post, was a visit to a fellow Well-Trained Mind Mama's blog about this very topic.)

product placement = active people toys

I can always tell when my brain is dried up...fresh out of blogging ideas. I start thinking about the stuff that I really like. Stuff that has worked for our family. (Stuff -- what a word -- it's all gonna burn someday, huh? Yep. I think I have an idea for a blog post....)

Anyway, I was doing a search on "Bilibo" (one of Ingrid and Ilsa's favorite toys -- they have a yellow one) and found the website for the Swiss manufacturer, active people toys. They have come up with a bunch of brand new, open-ended, creativity exploding toys. I particularly like the Bilibo/Pixel gamebox combo, as well as the Sakol wooden blocks with velcro attached.

The toys look innocuous -- like nothing in particular. But add kids to the mix and be amazed to see what they come up with. This youtube video is basically an advertisement, but shows what cool stuff the kids came up with on their own:

when dad does legos with the girls....

...this is what they make. By the way, the girls call these "shoot guns". The flowers were from a friend, and only seemed an appropriate background for the girlie-colored "shoot gun" on the right. Note how the bow matches Daddy's. Isn't that nice? Oh, see the appropriate props in the bottom left hand corner? I'm not taking any credit for this display or project. This is ALLLLLLL him.

By the way, we're sick again. Please pray.

product placement = bambinoLUK & miniLUK

Found these cool educational toys from Germany recently. The system has been around for about 30 years and is widely-used worldwide. I can't begin to explain how it works, but it is worth going to their website and checking out the demo. To describe it poorly, the child uses tiles to match and you flip the "controller" (the plastic board doo-hickey) and it reveals clearly to your child whether or not they did it correctly by showing a picture that is obviously either correct or messed up.

I'm still weighing whether I'm going to get the bambinoLUK (the 3 - 5 year old version) for the girlies...I'm still in the "I must follow The Well Trained Mind exactly as written" stage of homeschool research and preparation, and I don't think these fit into the grammar stage model of learning. I bet I'll soften on this soon enough.

Click here to visit the manufacturer's website: beyond123.

The best prices I found were at Timberdoodle. They aren't expensive, but not dirt cheap. There is a more-advanced controller system (miniLUK) with more tiles that can be used from age 5 through probably high school. Some of those puzzles are really, really tough.

catching up

Since Ingrid got glasses, it has become quite apparent that we have some catching up to do. I just feel AWFUL that she has been fighting her eyesight for this long.

She really doesn't know her alphabet by sight...she can write letters okay, but just doesn't recognize those letters if pointed out to her. Strange thing is, she knew her letters when she was two. Hmmm. I wonder when her eyesight went south...


Anywayzzzzz, I have been reading "The Well Trained Mind" to prepare for this homeschooling adventure we are about to embark upon. One simple suggestion the author has is to purchase sets of magnetic uppercase and lower letters. I couldn't find them here in Almost Mexico (honestly, I didn't look that hard), but it did serve as an "excuse" to peruse the web; I found them on a great children's products website, http://www.gatortots.com/ (I get it... "tater tots, gator tots"; the letters were harder to find that you would think). They have great customer service, provide extremely quick shipping and have some super things I haven't seen anyplace else (like these ladybug lacing puzzles -- lots of skill-learning with these little cuties...click the picture to buy 'em), and those of you who know me well know that I know where to find cool kids' stuff (know too well...)

I digress...back to Ingrid and her alphabet: we sat by the stainless steel kickplate that is located under our counter/bar and started from the beginning...A B C... I think things will start cookin' now. Hey, what beginning phonics programs have you homeschool families used? What were your impressions? Strengths? Challenges? I'm considering Phonics Pathways and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

consumer products safety improvement act -- AACKK!

One of my favorite toy manufacturers, Selecta will no longer be selling in the US due to the high cost of doing business under the upcoming changes to the CPSIA (Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act). It's a honkin' big shame, too.

http://www.playthings.com/article/CA6620437.html

http://www.unplugyourkids.com/2008/12/09/auf-wiedersehen-selecta/#comment-5261

We're throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I'll post pictures of the Selecta toys we have soon.

wagon train 2

The train has grown to include an engine, a passenger car, a boxcar and a caboose. It took a little bit of assistance to turn the thing around.

Ingrid said goodbye to her best friend here in Tucson, Faith. Her family is moving this week. The part of military life we just don't love: saying goodbyes too often.

I took Ingrid and Ilsa to The Mall aka, the Temple of Doom, yesterday after church for Santa pictures. We're not a Santa family per se, but we have done this every year since Ingrid was a baby. The pictures are often humorous and do create a sense of continuity for the girls. This year, Ilsa decided, "NO!" She ran away crying. I think she has the right idea. To paraphrase Linus, "That's not what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

Finally, a new Ingridism: Hippobottomus - a big bottom. Maybe she has seen me eating too many Christmas cookies.

if anyone cares...toy decision

Surprising, but true. I craftily showed the picture of the castle dollhouse to the girls. Neither of them were thrilled. So goodbye dollhouse, hello....LEGOS! We decided to do individual gifts after all. Ingrid saw some LEGOs at the store and went nutso. I even found a set that had pictures of duckies on the front (bottom right, just from the center). That sealed it. The box is in Chad's trunk until I can wrap it.

shopping local

Shopping locally is all the rage for "socially conscious" shoppers this year, but economics has to play a role, too. For example, there is a local independent toy store here that I just love. They have stuff there you can't find anyplace else. The shop keepers sprinkle pixie dust on the children and blow bubbles (they're not weirdos, just a lot of fun). There isn't a licensed cartoon or movie character in sight. Stuff is built to last. And unfortunately, the prices will break your bank account, too.

See the poll to the right about Christmas gifting? I would love to get the girls this princess dollhouse/castle from Melissa & Doug. Amazon.com is selling it for $57 with free shipping and no tax. The sweet, independent toy store is selling it for $125 plus tax. I would consider it for $57 (as a gift to both girls). I can't and won't consider it for $125. I've looked for used ones on eBay and Craig's List, but they must be awfully popular -- only new ones are available, and Amazon's price was the best by far.

Online retailers seem to have the edge over "brick and mortar" much of the time. But I have found independent online stores with great prices, too, and I try to patronize them as much as I can. They're local to someone, I guess. So what do you do? Shop local or go for best price no matter what? Oh and by the way, I found it at my local We Be Toys (TRU) for $99...so they're not always the best price, either.

product placement = toys

Look at these cool toys I found looooong after my bedtime...

Rickshaw

All-terrain trike

Modern dollhouse

I found all of them at Sparkability.net.

Coolest lunchboxes ever!

Ingrid starts preschool in two weeks (arghhh!!!) and she needed a lunchbox. I needed something insulated because of the heat here in Almost Mexico. After googling "modern insulated lunchbox" I found these little pieces of awesomeness. They completely unzip to create a placemat, too! And they hold up to 10 pounds of lunch...10 pounds???!!! Oh, and they cost less than the cheapo Barbie lunchbox at Target for $12.99. Check them out at the Built NY website: http://www.builtny.com/showPage.php?pageID=1611.(but they only take Amex...I don't have one of those...). I did find a site (Mamas and Munchkins) that shipped two for standard shipping for $2.95, though: http://www.mamasandmunchkins.com/built-ny-m-68.html. I got Ingrid the pink panda, and Ilsa the green bunny.