Archive for November, 2009
At the far end of the world, there exists a strange and unusual chain of islands, resting above vast tectonic plates. This is the world of the Galápagos Archipelago, home to salt-spitting marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, and giant tortoises that can live to be more than 150 years of age.
It is also the birthplace of Darwinism, for here in 1835, a young Charles Darwin began to formulate a theory which would turn the world upside down. More than a century and a half later, these mysterious islands remain at the center of a controversy that has shaped the way modern men perceive science, religion, and life itself. The unique ingredients found on the Galápagos have led many of Darwin’s followers to describe it as Darwin’s Eden — a “laboratory of evolution.”
For educators and parents the subject of Darwin’s theory will eventually come up and children will be fascinated with marine and sea life creatures. At this point it will be necessary to have several educational children’s toys on hand to help with your lessons.
When Darwin was a young man he traveled around the world on the H.M.S. Beagle (1831-1836), a research vessel. His job was to make observations on the plants and animals found in the places the ship docked.
While on the trip, Darwin saw many strange and new plants and animals and began to wonder how they could have come to be. He was particularly struck by the animals of the Galapagos Islands, where he found that each island had a different kind of tortoise, a different kind of finch, and a different kind of marine iguana.
You can read more on this interesting website - http://www.terindell.com/asylum/jason/darwin.html and incorporate the information into your lessons. As you use your educational children’s toys your lessons will come alive and your children will come up with their own ideas and questions to make for a lively discussion.
Quadro is a very UNIQUE “large-scale” modular construction system to create and build an unlimited number of play structures. It is the ONLY system which can be built so that kids can safely use as a jungle gym, play loft, climber, vehicle, desk, fort, maze, obstacle course… etc.
* Quadro designs are only limited by the imagination!
*Kids stay busy and never get bored with Quadro.
*Great for all homes, schools, apartments, playrooms, kids bedrooms, decks, backyards
*Can also be used in Day Care, Kids Gyms, Pediatric Facilities, Health Clubs, etc. etc.
Quadro playsets can be safely and easily be adapted to use by kids with special needs. You can custom designs walkers, walking aids, rolling aids, and other play structures to meet the height and size requirements. Sight-impaired kids also find Quadro a good way to have fun and be creative.
On this fragrant, frosty Thanksgiving Day
The huge turkey browns beautifully
In our king-size oven.
The tender yams are evenly candied;
The corn soufflé is beginning to bubble;
The congealed salad is ready to unmold.
The homemade bread with its crunchy texture
Is wrapped in foil for reheating.
The ice cubes are bagged in plastic;
The relishes are artistically arranged
On a round crystal plate.
The pumpkin pies are still slightly warm.
Fresh yellow chrysanthemums
Grace the long, colorful table.
The house glistens and shines.
My makeup is evenly applied…
So, dear family
How about settling down
In our favorite chairs
For an hours of relaxation
Before our guests arrive!
Lord, I dream of this happening
Some ethereal Thanksgiving Day!
Quadro is a play system designed to “grow” with all children starting with infants. As the children get older, the way Quadro is used is simply adapted to meet the new demands for age-appropriate activity, learning or play activities.
Quadro kit components comprise impact absorbing, UV-stabilized plastic (thermoplastic) tubes, connectors and panels which are quickly and easily assembled in hundreds of possible ways and then safely secured with special locking screws. The more pieces you have, the larger the designs that can be created. Additional accessories include slides, wheels, fabric roofs, netting. Each kit comes with a model handbook with suggestions on how to create a wide range of designs.
Quadro is extremely strong and rugged, has no sharp corners, contains no toxic materials, has no protruding screws or bolts and can be safely used either indoors/outdoors & summer/winter.
Consumers are purchasing earth friendly products more and more and parents and teachers may be interested in knowing that ImagiBRICKS building blocks toys, the blocks our grandparents played with, now have a drool proof coating.
ImagiBRICKS are cardboard blocks that look like bricks and come in three sizes. These blocks are printed with a soy based ink to provide the colors that are seen on the blocks. In addition to the ink, an aqueous, water-based coating is applied to the cardboard building blocks.
This coating acts to keep the ink on the cardboard and not transfer off to children’s hands, clothes, carpet etc. This coating also acts as a barrier so that the blocks can be wiped and kept sanitary.
ImagiBRICKS are cardboard building blocks which are produced using safe environmentally friendly products and are 100% recyclable including the packaging and the instructions and are made in the USA.
The cute baby bear is a separate toy.
Every childhood expert agrees that having a strong emotional/social connection with your children is absolutely key to growing strong, healthy people. In order to really know your children, you must have an open line of communication; and the earlier you start the better.
Recent studies show that the toddler who feels heard and connected grows up to be a teen that is willing to open up and communicate more. Choose your timing. A preschooler who has been with 15 other children for several hours will probably feel over-stimulated and overwhelmed.
Don’t start interrogating him in the car on the way home! Let him decompress and relax back into the energy of his home. Maybe dinner time or bath time is a better choice.
Take out a wood puzzle and work on it together. When the focus is off the child he will open up and share his feelings and open ended questions won’t put him off.
Important lessons do not have to be learned only inside a traditional classroom. Teaching children while they play increases their knowledge and you can all have fun while doing it together.
You could use blocks or other toys and place them in various locations in the room and discuss opposite relationships such as near and far. Have children build tall and short towers and discuss how many more blocks it takes to make the taller tower.
Children like to slide so you can talk about up and down as they climb up and down the ladder of a slide. Or, have running races and discuss how slow and fast are opposites.
For wonderful teaching opportunities use educational children’s toys, such as adventure play sets that include many different figures. This is a perfect way to teach about different animals, what they eat, where they live and so forth.
Children love open-ended toys such as play sets and as they use their imaginations to play you will have many teaching opportunities.
Because all kids love to climb, supervised climbing activities are your best course of action. Whether you take your kids to a park or just to your back yard make sure there are enough safety observers to go around.
When you are alert to the possibility of a falling child it is not difficult to catch them. Taking a group of children to a playground and they will begin climbing steps, up poles and around climbing frames. Take kids to a picnic and they will climb trees, leave them in the back yard and in no time you may find them on the garage roof or jumping from piles of stacked items nearby.
Given the fact that you are not going to be able to stop kids from climbing it is a good idea to provide them safe structures to climb on. One such toy is modular tubes put together in various configurations depending on the age and amount of children. Check out a Quadro Playset; a basic design is pictured with this article.
Parents and educators alike know that one of the best kids learning toys are blocks. Toy blocks are also excellent for introducing math to young children.
Children love to stack and knock down their blocks and while they are doing so you have a perfect opportunity to suggest they count how many blocks are in their tower. Eventually you can use the blocks to experiment with addition and subtraction by having a child add more blocks to their structure and then take some blocks away and put them in a wagon.
If you have a set of cardboard blocks that have more than one color you could have one child move a certain amount of blue blocks to a new location and practice counting them as he does so. Another child could get the number of yellow blocks you have suggested and place them in a circle.
Math skills are developed through the process of grouping, adding, and subtracting. Make up more games as you go along and have fun interacting and playing with your kids.
Our 40 piece set of building blocks toys includes three colors and sizes of blocks. Clicking on the link in this blog post will take you to our page showing our available sets of blocks.
This Christmas give your children ImagiBRICKS building blocks toys. You will be guaranteed that these toy blocks will be one of your child’s favorite toys.
Cardboard building blocks are one of the most basic toys you can give children and remain as popular as they were when your grandparents were young. In reality, kids building blocks are a simple toy, but to a child they represent and open up a world of possibilities.
Children of several ages can play together without adult supervision. Smaller children will obtain hand strength from lifting, stacking and moving the building block toys from place to place. Toddlers will attempt to arrange and stack building blocks and will eventually learn to balance them.
As your children get a little older, the structures they plan and build together will become more advanced and other toys, such as dolls, cars, wagons and so forth, will be incorporated into their play time.