Blocks And 3d Puzzles

When you visit your parents or grandparents do they give you a “tech-to-do” list? Are you living in the “dark ages” just as I am?

My first experience with a type-writer (A writing machine that produces characters similar to typeset print by means of a manually operated keyboard that actuates a set of raised types, which strike the paper through an inked ribbon) was a Smith-Corona.  This manual typewriter was my mother’s (we won’t go into the century) and I remember it having a cloth ribbon with black on the top and red on the bottom.

During my working years I typed on something called a Selectric typewriter.  Goodness me, I just did a Google search and they are still selling them; read the ad I found:

“IBM Typewriters play an integral role in the business world. The superior quality of work, and the increased speed with which this work is performed, have increased efficiency in offices everywhere. IBM Wheelwriters & Selectric Typewriters offer the widest choice of options for electronic typewriters. The original manufacturer’s warranty is included, plus available extended protection option plans. We will buy, or use as trade, your old IBM Typewriter.”

I don ‘t know about you but when I wander into the electronics section of Wal Mart or Best Buy I am not able to identify 98 per cent of the products on the shelves!  Several months ago when I needed to purchase a new VCR I had to ask the sales person to help me, as I could not find them.

Back to the year 2011 and the common situation occurring all over the world; adults are not smarter than a fifth grader, or even a third grader maybe, when it comes to computer usage. If we adults have a computer and no children we are up a creek!

The solution; either rent or borrow a child or visit a website I just heard about called “TeachParents Tech.org.” http://www.teachparentstech.org/.  This is a website created by Google and it offers more than 50 two-minute videos with step-by-step instructions on everything from how to cut and paste copy to creating a blog.

Luckily, the site is set up so “kids” can e-mail a tech support “care package” to their parents or anyone needing help.  When you go to the website you can click on the topic you need help with and a video will be e-mailed to the desired recipient.

Since the inception of this website it is said to have received over 1 million views and I can only guess that you and I may be bookmarking this link!

Counting Bunnies 3D Wooden Puzzle

Now, with Christmas coming up and quickly, I might add, let’s think about simple toys.  These toys do not come with an instructional manual and you can easily play with them with  your toddlers! Educational in nature, 3d wooden puzzles and giant cardboard building blocks are still popular with toddlers.  You can visit our website All I Can Imagine and browse around all our children’s wooden toys including wood blocks and other unique toddler learning toys.

Spaceship

You and your children will have the time of your lives designing and building with a Quadro™ toy. You will always know where your kids are if you are the proud owner of one of Phunzone’s large scale construction kits.

These construction kits are available right here in the USA and are tough modular construction systems so you can create a wide range of compact, tough, durable, colorful, safe and fun play structures.

Quadro™ playsets for children offer the ultimate opportunity for safe, developmentally appropriate play in a colorful and fun environment, at very affordable prices.  This toy is appropriate for kids with special needs and allows them an avenue for safe play along with other children.

Picture the wooden Tinker Toys that were popular in years gone by and all the structures you could build.  Using one’s imagination in building and tearing down and rebuilding a new structure never grows old and the Quadro™ Construction Kits offer the same creative fun time for kids nowadays.

When you build a Quadro™ play structure you will love their impact absorbing modular tubes, panels and connectors and the bright primary colors that kids love. And as your kids grow your adventure playset can grow with them.  As you add to your Quadro play structure kit you can build many more different structures for added open-ended fun.

Designs for around 35 different structures come with each kit; as an example the Junior Kit includes directions for:

• Fort
• Pirate ship
• Desk
• Theatre
• Parallel Bars
• Goals
• Shop
• Juice Bar

No matter what ages your children are for any age group Quadro™ creations always provide “new” things to play with. Every day they can make a new, exciting structure either from the directions or their imaginations.

Providing an excellent way for kids to develop fine and gross motor skills Quadro™  adventure playsets are great play sets for kids with special needs. Our indoor/outdoor toy playsets are an extremely safe child’s toy, non-toxic, no splinters, no sharp edges etc.

When you build with a Quadro™ play structure you will be assured that their impact absorbing modular tubes, panels and connectors and the bright primary colors that kids love will provide children a safe play toy.

And as your kids grow your adventure playset can grow with them. As you add to your Quadro™  play structure kit you can build many more different structures for added open-ended fun. Strong and durable kids have been known to take them to college and build a bed or a desk.

Whether you set up the structures indoors or outdoors these play sets for children are just plain fun.  Kids can play in a group and develop their social and communication skills and are using both their mental and physical muscles.  These construction kits grow with your children.

Parents prefer Quadro™ kids toys for several reasons such as:

• it is a lifetime product starting with infants up through pre-teen
• many families who grew up with Quadro™ adventure playsets have passed it on to the next generation
• can be designed and constructed to meet many different play activities
• easy to add more kits or components to “grow” your Quadro™ over time
• simple play sets to decorate for parties or special themes;
• extremely durable child’s toy, rugged and strong – lasts for years and years
• excellent way for kids to develop fine and gross motor skills
• great playset for kids with special needs
• extremely safe child’s toy, non-toxic, no splinters, no sharp edges etc.
• impact absorbing modular tubes, panels and connectors
• high quality UV stabilized thermoplastic makes these play sets ideal for indoor or outdoor play
• great for apartments, basements, playrooms, kids bedrooms, backyards, pools
• excellent way for parents to get more involved with their children

Visit All I Can Imagine to view all available kits.  A complete parts comparison list is available by writing webmaster@blocksand3dpuzzles.com

Phonics – How Important is This Method in Teaching Kids to Read?

It has been said that learning to read is not a natural process. As Mitford Mathews said, “Words are not like tadpoles or flowers or horses. Words are man-made…”   Many numbers of changes have been made throughout the years regarding the systems for teaching reading in an attempt to make learning to read easier.

In the one room school era spelling was considered very important and spelling bees were quite popular.  When I was in grade school in the early 1950’s I remember participating in spelling bees; and I was quite good too.

Blocks help kids learn 100 basic sight words

Make a website - sell products online

There have been many tough years behind us and too many people are jobless, looking for a new job, or maybe, even have given up job hunting.  Not everyone has the opportunity to go to college because they have to work where ever they can find employment, even if it is only for a few hours a day.

I have been encouraging everyone I meet to look into how to build a web site and selling products online. I believe it will be the only way some of us will be able to pay our bills and begin a new career without spending a lot of money.

If you are looking for a way to make money online then you may already know some of the difficulties that are actually involved with such a business. You probably see offer after offer telling you about the latest product that will assist in building an online business for you. Perhaps you have even purchased one of these products in the past. Chances are it did not work for you. With so many pretend products out there, how does anyone know what they can actually count on to show them the ropes of online business success?

The Chris Douthit System is the difference maker.  After all Chris stamped his name on this one, if you put your name on anything, especially the title, you better make sure it delivers. This is why I have decided to promote this product for him and hopefully open up a new and exciting career path for many men and women who need a new avenue of income.

First I love how Chris  is going to offer up some free videos on his website so new possible customers can see the kind of quality which will be delivered before they purchase.  I also love the fact that people won’t have to learn from an ebook, only high quality video tutorials that don’t skip a beat. Video’s allow the trainee to actually see the work and visual aids help many remember better.

Chris also lays out very clearly exactly what his membership site is going to be doing for each person considering if  the time is right to purchase such a product. I hate those sites that tell you they have some new secret method to making money, but do not explain what that is until after your purchase. Don’t believe the hype, chances are, if it’s a secret, it’s a secret because it does not work.

Let the training begin, wow, if you want training you just found the right place to get some . Chris offers up complete courses on making mini sites that profit and then how to market those sites to success on a very tight budget. Search engine traffic, article marketing, email marketing, buying media ads, and using pay per click search engines is just the start. Expect to soon be a traffic master.

Chris implements a no man gets left behind mentality. Where other courses will skip the beginner material, Chris has no problem taking the extra time to include this information for those who need it . If that wasn’t enough, you also get a private members forum where Chris Douthit himself answers your questions and helps you along if for any reason you get stuck. Brilliant!

Now here is where the real value comes in. Chris has personally been a member at other coaching sites and every one of them tells you to go buy other products to run your business. And this is fair, you have many needed tools that assist in creating a profitable business.  But this is where the Chris Douthit System differs. Chris is going to include many of those needed tool for his members.  And the few tool he does not provide he shows you how to get for very very cheap. 80% off of what everyone else pays in some cases.

Do the other coaching courses just not have this info or are just trying to persuade their members to sign up under an affiliate link so the coach can generate additional commissions?  You will see nothing like that from the Chris Douthit System. When Chris says he can show you how to set up a business for lower costs verses any other success coach he isn’t kidding.

In addition members of Chris Douthit System will receive free hosting, free membership site software, and transaction fees paid for by Chris.  Talk about going above and beyond any other coaching program out there.

Similar coaching website are charging almost a hundred dollars and delivering far less training, far fewer products and overall value to their members. Chris might be crazy, or crazy smart, but he is letting anyone review the whole website for only $2.95 start up fee.

In my opinion the Chris Douthit System has the most information, support, and over all products and benefits to its members. It does not matter if you are a complete newbie or a part time expert. Chris will make sure you get to where you need to be and you will soon be on your way to an Internet business success.

We will be putting up a new website with further information on the exciting product launch.  It will also include more about Chris himself and his past product launches. For those who wish to sign up for future updates on the October 17th product launch you will be able to sign up for our e-mail list and receive a free e-book to help you get started on your new career course.

Watch this BLOG for our new website address!  Get ready to sore on a new career path and make money online selling products!

Wooden Pond Lacing Toy

Do you remember having lacing cards as a child? I do. And I remember enjoying them quite a lot. They may have had something to do with my acquired love to sew later on in high school and into my adult life.

However, our line of wooden kids toys created by ImagiPLAY has gone two steps further than the lacing cards we had as children. Not only are these two sets, OceanScapes and PondScapes made of wood they are even packaged in their own wood storage box. Our lacing toys are children’s wooden toys that are a unique and creative take on the standard lacing cards on the market today.  Our Pond has an 8″ X 10″ colorful
background that kids will love.

Preschoolers develop fine motor and problem solving skills making this toy a wonderful toddler learning toy for ages 3 and up. Your kids will be involved in creative, fun play time while designing their own pondscape.

This wooden toy pond includes 15 critters to lace to the wood background and comes with cotton laces. Each of the critters therefore, becomes its own separate toy (for ages 3 and up). The critters may be played with along with other activities or laced onto the colorful background.

For parents who home school these two toddler learning toys will help in your lesson plans and then you could allow quiet play time with the set afterwards.

What is a pond?

A pond is a small area of still, fresh water. It is different from a river or a stream because it does not have moving water and it differs from a lake because it has a small area and is no more than around 1.8m deep. Some ponds are formed naturally, filled either by an underwater spring, or by rainwater – sometimes known as ‘dewponds’; other ponds are man-made.

Pond Animals

More than 1,000 species of animals live in ponds – although you are unlikely to find all of them in any single pond. Almost every group of living creatures is represented, except starfish which live only in the sea. In a large pond you may find mammals such as water voles and water shrews – and birds like ducks, herons and kingfishers.

Even the smallest pond will have a population of amphibians (frogs, toads and newts), small fish e.g. sticklebacks, and a huge variety of invertebrates (minibeasts). Some of these are herbivores such as water fleas and snails, whereas others are aggressive carnivores, hunting down their prey, the unfortunate herbivores! One of the largest invertebrate predators in a pond is the great diving beetle – no tadpole is safe when one of these hunters is around!

There is more interesting facts about ponds on this website (where I found the above information): http://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/ponds/84

Both our PondScapes and OceanScapes lacing cards are normally priced at $19.99 and are now on sale for $18.00. These wooden kids toys will make a very nice Christmas gift!

Visit our website at http://www.blocksand3dpuzzles.com to see all our toddler toys.

You may have read part one of this two part series on our September 21^st post where we talked about four homework help tips; timing, space, music and helping.

This week we will spend time considering:

1. Rapid Review
2. Tarry and Toil
3. Paying Attention to Patterns
4. Relegating Responsibility

Rapid review – it is beneficial to refresh your child’s memory, especially in subjects such as math where one concept builds upon another.  Before she begins a day’s homework have her look back at yesterdays work and the remarks her teacher may had made regarding her homework.  Have your child explain those lessons’ concepts so that she can go on to her next assignment.  But, do not spend too much time on review so as to keep her fresh for her new assignments.

Secondly, if you notice your child is working for an extended time period on one assignment take notice if she appears tired or unfocused.  Is she doodling?  Maybe she does not understand her assignment. However, if she has been diligent and has still not finished in a reasonable amount of time it may be time to have her stop.  Let her teacher know how long she did work to accomplish the problems that she did complete.

Paying attention to patterns your child exhibits is important.  Homework is not supposed to be overly difficult and if your child frequently says she does not understand the work it may be a clue she needs extra support at school or even a tutor.  Likewise, if your child whips through her work she may not be challenged enough and could get bored.  Your child should have to put some time and thought into each assignment and if she finishes up too soon you may want to speak with her teacher for some suggestions.

And, fourthly, relegate responsibility. Your child, when old enough to do this, could have a check off list to take her own responsibility of her starting and finishing times.  When longer assignments are due help her map out her work with a calendar. This will help teach time-management and organizational skills. Break down larger assignments into doable smaller sized projects.  Check often to make sure she is not procrastinating and is staying pretty much on an acceptable time schedule in order to finish the whole assignment on time.

 In conclusion, when you have a child in school it is important to constantly communicate with her teacher.  As soon as the school year begins ask the teacher when and how the best time to communicate with her is.  Small issues can escalate quickly if not addressed right away and even if things seem to be progressing without incident it is a good idea to talk to your child’s teacher on a timely basis.  You want to make sure both you and your child’s teacher are pleased with the progress your child is making so there will be no unexpected surprises.

 Have a minute? Explore our educational toys on our website, All I Can Imagine.

Our preschool learning toys for children will enhance your child’s creative skills.  Pictured here is our penguins number puzzle. Ten interlocking, numbered pieces.

You will unlock endless hours of creative, safe play with kids toy blocks called ImagiBRICKS™.  These toys for toddlers will be the focus of this week’s Friday Feature.

ImagiBRICKS™ are kids building blocks and are educational kids toys designed to stimulate your children’s minds as they provide opportunities for creative, open-ended play.

MADE IN THE USA!

These giant cardboard building blocks are made right here in America. They are produced in Wisconsin where there is a large paper industry. Smart Monkey’s warehouse is near the plant where the blocks are produced. By keeping everything close, they are cutting down on the fuel needed to transport materials and providing much-needed jobs to American workers. The paper industry in our country has been struggling with many companies buying their cardboard from China. China has to import their raw materials from the U.S. or Canada to make their cardboard.

CHILDREN WHO HAVE A PHYSICAL DISABILITIES CAN PLAY WITH THESE CARDBOARD BLOCKS

The size and shape of these kids building blocks enables a caregiver to provide hand over hand assistance to a child without obstructing the child’s view.  The light weight of these cardboard blocks is beneficial to children with muscle weaknesses.  You may play catch with the toy blocks as they will not be harmed by tossing them and/or dropping them.  They are easier than a ball to catch and have no rough edges to hurt any child.  If your child can sit at a table he will still be able to do some stacking and/or sorting exercises/games.   He, too, will be able to develop eye-hand coordination and cooperative hand movements depending on his abilities.  And as with any young child he will delight in all the bright colors of this set of cardboard blocks!

These kid’s building blocks are geared for children 18 months and up and will provide open-ended play for both boys and girls.  The cardboard building blocks are available online and come in sets of 16, 24, 40 and bulk quantities.  Except for the 16 piece set which contains all large red, 12 x 6 x 3 inch building blocks all sets have three sized blocks in yellow, blue and red.

Another popular toy block sets are the Rainbow blocks which are the same size as the red blocks.  These Rainbow block sets include the red along with green, purple and orange.

Build Tall Towers with Rainbow Blocks

The 24 piece set of Rainbow blocks in on sale.

You can maxim your child’s academic success by staying informed and involved with your child’s homework and assigned projects.  You can effectively show your child the importance of sticking to a problem until the correct answer is achieved and praise her for her completion.

Homework is an important part of your child’s learning experiences and if they do not come home with homework on a regular basis it would be worth your time to speak to her teacher. Families may make the most of homework time with these four useful homework tips.

1. The Right Timing
2. Private Space
3. Music or Not
4. How Much Help

Timing is very important and each child’s personality and temperament must be considered. When some children get home from school they may need a break while others will lose steam if they do not sit right down and get into their books.  You can learn what is best for each child by trial and error then you will be ready to create a consistent routine based what works best for each child; of course, your own schedule will also need to be part of the decision.

Space.  A desk-like area is best for concentrating and doing their best homework.  It needs to be in an area where there are little or no distractions.  Therefore, a bedroom may not be the ideal space because all their toys are tempting them. A second location that may not be ideal is your kitchen table when there are other family members going in and out or through. Finding a consistent area away from distractions may be challenging but it is an important decision to make. 

Off or on – music or not. Parents need to consider their child’s learning style and the type of music if your child enjoys listening to music while studying.  Although a small percentage of children do do better with soft music in the background, the majority of children require a quite atmosphere.  It is best to refrain from having TV noise or familiar tunes playing that might distract your children’s concentration.  Instead, choose unfamiliar songs without words such as soothing classical music.  This may, in fact, help the entire family and help make for a more relaxed meal time atmosphere.

And finally, to bring this article of part one of homework tips to an end parents need to be aware of how much help they want to offer.  Each subject may require a different amount.  You can be busy with your own work but still keep an ear out for a child’s question or to notice their body language when they might be stuck.  You can always read together and help with directions.  Go through the first few questions to make sure you child understands the concepts and then let her do her own work on an independent basis.

It is a good idea to check in now and again and if you notice several mistakes encourage corrections.  But, remember, teachers need to and prefer seeing work with wrong answers so they can know where more teaching is needed.  If your child can have a homework buddy she can be in some contact with this may also help encourage her to try harder, especially if she is struggling on one particular concept.

When you child’s homework is finished they may need some active outdoor play time or maybe she can help with meal preparation.  Some children may just want to read or play quietly with a jigsaw puzzle.

You can see our line of Veggie Tales kids jigsaw puzzles and 3d wooden puzzles on our website All I Can Imagine

Part 2 of this article will be posted on Wednesday, Sept. 28^th.

Veggie Tales Jigsaw Puzzle

Either you love them or leave them.  Some people can spend all their spare time working any number of simple jigsaw puzzles to complex 3D jigsaw puzzles. Which category do you fall in?

Children, on the other hand, most always enjoy putting the colorful pieces together. And, if your children have an interest in a certain category such as flowers, trucks, dolls, cowboys, pirates, and safari animals you will find it easy to search online and find kids jigsaw puzzles that will keep your kids busy for hours of quiet fun.

There was a “golden age” of jigsaw puzzles.  This was around 1920 – 1930’s when the great depression was in progress.  Putting together jigsaw puzzles, they say, helped to relieve stress.  Puzzles during this era were inexpensive and with the ability to be reused over and over helped make them popular in the depression era.

Educational Children’s Toys: Privileged children, back in 1066, would be found playing with pictures of British kings and queens made into jigsaw puzzles. This was one way they were taught history. This would be a great idea to bring back; find pictures of our presidents and other famous people and paste them onto cardboard.  Draw lines with a black marker and cut out the pieces. Presto, you have made a new puzzle for your kids and an educational toy as well.

Learning geography can be made fun and interesting (and easier to learn) if you purchase a large map of the world, or the USA, for example.  Cut it up into a puzzle. Homeschoolers will love this project, you can teach your kids where grandma lives, or an uncle or aunt. When they see something in the news about an event they can go get their puzzle map and find the location.

When a child is not feeling well, or perhaps the weather is too hot, too cold, or too wet outside an great indoor activity would be to bring out the jigsaw puzzles. Older kids can help the toddlers while you fix lunch. Working puzzles, whether jigsaw or 3d is always a calm, quite, relaxing activity.

Often, in break rooms, day care centers (for children and adults) there are several tables set up with an array of jigsaw puzzles being worked on.  Even in Alzheimer’s centers, senior citizen centers and play rooms in homes children and adults alike are likely to be spending time either alone or in a group trying to piece together a pretty picture.

Group activities putting together puzzles provide needed socialization for adults and children alike. For children puzzle play is a great way for them to develop basic hand-eye coordination skills. For young toddlers you will want to provide many puzzles with large colorful pieces so they can easily grip the pieces and gain self confidence as they successfully assemble each puzzle.

Need an idea for a birthday party?  How about utilizing children’s jigsaw puzzles? After you have selected your theme you might consider having a group game of completing a large jigsaw puzzle as your main party activity. You could begin by having the children make the jigsaw puzzle as suggested above.  There will be plenty of great photo opportunities during this party!

There are jigsaw and 3d wooden puzzles available online to spark the interest of all ages of children and adults.  There is a very unique set of Safari blocks that could be considered a 3d wood puzzle – take a look at this Stacking Safari 3d wooden Puzzle.

Another popular theme you might like to consider (and don’t see in stores all the time) is the Veggie Tales children’s jigsaw puzzles.  Such puzzles include these 100 piece puzzles for kids age 5 and up:

Veggie Tales Two Sided Pirates Jigsaw Puzzle

Veggie Tales Campfire Sing Along

Veggie Tales Caribbean Bob

Veggie Tales Sweetpea Beauty (pictured above)

Veggie Tales Larry Boy and Fib From Outer Space.

The below link might also help give you other good activity ideas.

Play Jigsaw Safari – Piece Together 50 Puzzles!

Go on a safari of jigsaw fun with amazing pictures of exotic animals & amazing African scenery. A delightful challenge for puzzle lovers, each of the 50 vibrant images features elephants, lions, bison, penguins, and more in their natural habitats.

Need even more puzzles to play.  You can do these online:  http://origin.www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/bonusjigsaws.jsp

This concludes week number two of Friday Features. We hope you enjoyed reading about jigsaw puzzles and found some new and interesting party ideas.  Read our Press Release if you are not sure what Friday Features are all about.

Today, you are sure to think back to this day, ten years ago.  Many of you will experience pain, tears, and sorrow. I am sorry for your losses and continue to pray for you.

There are really no words to express all the feelings bombarding our spirits on the anniversary of the two planes flying into the two towers in New York as well as the other planes crashing into buildings.

I have a large colored picture on my office wall; it shows a large American flag waving in the background of the New York skyline (including the two towers).  In front of the skyline is the New York harbor with the Statue of Liberty standing tall and proud.

Although I have never been to New York, this picture is a beautiful remembrance for me of what others who live or lived or visited New York over ten years ago have been able to experience for themselves. It also reminds me of how the world used to be; a safer place – and more innocent.

To all the Firefighters, police men and women, and volunteers who helped on 9/11 and to those of you who lost friends, family and co-workers and to all Americans – this image is for you!

Keep praying for our brave men and women who have left home to serve our country and keep us safe! And, keep their families here at home in your prayers; they are experiencing their own sacrifices!