Even though they don’t have a camera-man following them around everyday, these dolphins sure get good press! But do they deserve it?
When we think about dolphins we think of kind, gentle, smiling creatures. We also might think of the many stories of how a dolphin has saved a person from drowning, or even the songs and stories that have been written about their tremendous feats. Who could forget the tv series ‘Flipper’? I mean, they even named a torch after dolphins, with their adverts claiming that it ‘saves lives’.
Dolphins may look like they’re smiling, but that’s just the way their mouths are shaped….I think though, that they may be laughing at us as behind those kind eyes lurks a darker side.
Dolphins are wild animals, and can be very rough and aggressive…after all, they really do ‘swim with the sharks’!
Marine mammal biologist, Trevor Spradlin, says “People have been seriously injured while trying to interact with wild dolphins, and dolphins have been known to bite, ram, and pull people under the water’s surface”.
You can find more fun Dolphin facts for kids at the website where I found this information: http://www.planetpatrol.info/dolpr.html
We have a puzzle play set for kids 3 and up with a sea life theme. Each puzzle piece is a separate wooden kids toy and is a great learning tool for preschoolers. These puzzle playsets are also available in a Rainforest theme and a Dinosaur theme. 
Great white bears are not left-pawed. Scientists observing the animals haven’t noticed a preference. In fact, polar bears seem to use their right and left paws equally.
Use of tools. Polar bears do not use tools, including blocks of ice, to kill their prey. Scientist Ian Stirling believes that this idea may have come about because, after failing to catch a seal, a frustrated and angry polar bear may kick the snow, slap the ground—or hurl chunks of ice.
Hollow hair conducts UV light. A polar bear’s hollow hairs do not conduct ultraviolet light to its black skin. This theory was tested—and disproved—by physicist Daniel Koon.
Covering its nose. Contrary to a legend among native hunters, polar bears do not cover their black noses while lying in wait for seals. Canadian biologist Ian Stirling, who has spent several thousand hours watching polar bears hunt, has never seen this behavior. Nor have other scientists.
Bi-polar bears? Polar bears live only in Arctic areas that surround the North Pole—not in Antarctica, which surrounds the South Pole. School children often see illustrations of penguins and polar bears together, but this could never happen. In fact, the word arctic comes from the Greek word for bear, and Antarctic comes from the Greek meaning the opposite, without bear.
The above was gathered from: http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/polar-bears/bear-essentials-polar-style/myths-and-misconceptions
Remember to visit our website All I Can Imagine for your wooden kids toys. We have beautiful wood playsets for indoor play. See our Arctic Expedition that includes a tote-able Velcro-closure Igloo tote and 9 chunky wooden figures – for ages 3 up.
This farm animal can see almost 360 degrees and can see colors too! And, the cow can smell up to 5 miles away.
Cows can live up to 25 years. Cows have four stomachs, and no two cows have the same pattern or spots. An adult male cow is called a bull and an adult female is called a cow. Cows eat corn, hay, barley, beet pulp, grass and wheat.
You can read about other farm animals and find neat craft ideas at this website: http://kiddyhouse.com/Farm/
See a neat set of wood blocks, manufactured by ImagiPLAY. These wood blocks are fun kids toys to help teach about six farm animals. These blocks are called 
Buddy Blocks and are a safe Color Matching and Puzzle Toy.
Colorful animals make our wooden kids toys a great puzzle for boys and girls age 18 months and up. Kids learn to match colors and animals.
Each four piece block set forms six different puzzles featuring colorful animals. When choosing our Farm Buddy Blocks set two of the animals you will get are a pink pig and a brown and white cow. (We also have sets of backyard animals and jungle animals.)
According to what I have read children generate knowledge and meaning from their own experiences (child developmental experts at GeniusBabies.com). They suggest that “educational toys for younger children are based on constructivism, a psychological theory”.
Therefore, it is necessary to allow children to create their own knowledge by allowing them to be active in their own learning process. This process applies to infants, toddlers as well as preschoolers.
However, it is also suggested that most toys can be educational through play for all developmental stages of childhood. Parents and educators shopping for their children’s toys are encouraged to read the boxes of all toys they are considering purchasing to ensure they are getting an age appropriate toy.
Remember, though, that it is a good idea to choose toys that are appropriate for your own child’s stage of development – regardless of his/her age.
If you have children age 1-1/2 they will enjoy playing with Backyard Buddy Blocks manufactured by ImagiPLAY. These blocks are safe toddler learning toys which provide puzzle fun play as well as block play.
Whether you purchase Backyard Buddy Blocks, Jungle blocks or Farm blocks, these wooden kid’s toys will provide your child hours of fun matching up the animals. Each block set is also a color matching puzzle. There are 6 different puzzles in each set, featuring colorful animals your kids will love.
Read more at Suite101: Best Gifts for Children: Educational Games and Toys That Teach and Promote Physical Fitness http://kids-games.suite101.com/article.cfm/best_gifts_for_children#ixzz0k3gw1YXG
The development of gross motor skills for your toddlers is very important! Providing your kid’s playsets with chunky pieces that they easily can grasp and play with will help their muscles develop.
Besides providing your children playsets, giant toy blocks and a variety of other wooden kids toys, Theraputty is another great idea to give your children. Theraputty is a strong silly-putty-like material that comes in a tub. It comes in various “strengths” so there is more or less resistance when squeezed.
Working on a variety of hand skills, it is easy to play with anytime and anywhere – it’s fun and kids love it. Here is a website where you can purchase some Cando Theraputty. http://www.allegromedical.com/exercise-fitness-c523/cando-theraputty-p555170.html
Each Cando Theraputty is color-coded and has a different consistency ranging from XX-Soft for strengthening the weakest grasp to X-Firm for developing a stronger grip. Available in convenient easy-open plastic containers. Store you putty in this container when play is done and seal the lid tightly so it does not dry out.
You might want to try a couple of different strengths when you first buy this product. It is good for kids, teens, adults and seniors. It’s just good, fun exercise for your hands.
Remember to see our puzzle playsets at All I Can Imagine. There are three themes of floor puzzles; Rainforest, Dinosaur and Sealife and each of our playsets have chunky pieces that children age 3 up can play with to help them strengthen and develop fine motor skills.
Wooden Toys bring back the feeling of nostalgia. Babies and toddlers love wooden toys too.
The simplicity and effectiveness of wooden kid’s toys will make them sure winners with your baby and will last longer than other toys.
When you purchase your child’s wood toy please remember to check that they are finished with nontoxic paints and varnishes.
One popular toy is a push pull toy. These toys are appropriate for homes, daycare centers as will as doctor’s waiting rooms and other play areas in hair salons, tennis clubs, etc.
When your push pull toy is made of wood it is easy to keep clean and will last for years of tough play making it an economical toy in the long run. From infancy to childhood children learn while they play.
Quality toys are important during your child’s developmental years.It would be better to spend more for your children’s wooden toys and have fewer toys.
When your children reach the age of two you will notice they like to stand on tip toes, throw balls and kick them forward.
A two year old walks, runs, climbs and walks up and down stairs alone. And they love to dig. Growing up I loved to dig in the mud and make mud pies; I probably ate some too!
A toddler will love to take things apart and put them back together and it is a good idea to have several age appropriate children’s wooden toys available to give them safe things to take apart.
Your toddler will try to assert themselves by often saying “No” - providing open-ended games and wooden kids toys will help keep them busy and provide more playtime where they won’t need to say “no”.
A two year old will begin to play simple pretend games and they will want to imitate you while you are in the kitchen preparing a meal. Here I would like to suggest a children’s wooden toy such as play food cutting set.
While you are getting out your food and pots and pans they can get their wooden box (included in the toy) and take out their own vegetables and wooden knife. While you are cutting up your own vegetables your toddler will have several of his own vegetables to cut up.
You will have a great time preparing your families’ meal and your toddler will be learning new skills as you work and talk together.
Both you and your toddler will have fun playing together. Play releases your toddler’s energy in a positive manner and may help your stress level decrease when you play open ended games and don’t have to say “no”.
One idea is to do some simple Yoga exercises. If you know any yoga poses, you will find that toddlers can catch on quickly. Toddlers enjoy imitating anything. Do the simple animal poses, such as monkey, elephant or down dog. Then make up your own silly poses.
These games will also offer you teaching opportunities about the animals and their habits. And if you have more time have a simple animal theme craft handy.
The elephant is a highly intelligent mammal. The African elephant is the largest land animal. During these activities children can learn some basic facts about this amazing mammal. http://www.first-school.ws/activities/shapes/animals/elephantshapes.htm
Your toddler will love playing with a Safari Stacking Blocks set which includes many animals (including a large elephant) and your child will love imitating and learning more about all of the safari animals. These wooden kids toys are excellent toddler learning toys for kids two and up. Available online at All I Can Imagine.
To fulfill the needs of all the animals, Noah carefully built the Ark to Gods specifications. The Ark did indeed have room for all the animals that God brought to Noah before the Flood.
Noah did not have to go out and find the correct animals – God brought each one to him and this probably included a young pair of each main type of dinosaur. God may have just brought Noah the basic types of dinosaurs He first created.
Young dinosaurs would be smaller than full grown adult dinosaurs and easier to care for. You probably already figured out that the younger dinosaurs would also eat less food and would require a much smaller room.
It is said that dinosaurs lived for a few centuries, at least, after the Flood, but probably not in the great numbers that there once had been before the Flood. It is not exactly known when dinosaurs finally died out, according to the article I read.
To help teach kids about many different dinosaurs they will enjoy playing with wooden kids toys and playsets that include brightly colored, chunky pieces. Our Dinosaur puzzle play set is a safe children’s wooden toy that doubles as a 3d wooden puzzle. Each puzzle piece is a unique dinosaur and makes a separate toy by itself.
Did you know many of the animals on Noah’s Ark may have slept most of the time?
A child’s brain is likened to a sponge and absorbs enormous amounts of a variety of information. Because the brain continues to expand as it grows it is important to expose your children to a variety of open-ended wooden kids toys.
Not only are children exposed to a variety of toddler learning toys at home, there are wooden toys in their daycare, Sunday school and waiting rooms. Where ever your children are becomes an opportunity for teaching opportunities.
You can help your children learn colors, for example, while sitting in the doctor’s office. If you put down your magazine and observe the toddler toys available you could point out to your child a chair and say to him “this is a chair. The color of the chair is blue”.
Quality education is most important to the mental health and growth of all young children and it is because of this that you will find it beneficial to surround your children with playsets, wood puzzles and other toys that have a variety of shapes and colors to keep your children interested in play and learning.
Your child may love playing with a Sealife puzzle playset pictured above. Each chunky puzzle piece is it’s own creature including a sea horse, crab and turtle. Made from splinter-proof wood this is one of our toddler learning toys is for ages 3 up.
