Perplexus
Perplexus is a most perplexing puzzle and game rolled into one, this transparent ball of endless maze-solving fun is the latest thing in old-school games!
Hands-on play involves holding the sphere while twisting, flipping, and tilting it to maneuver a miniscule marble up, down, around, and ultimately through the colorful three-dimensional maze of barriers.
Phonics Lab Demo
The GeoSafari Phonics Lab is a great way to learn the English language. Kids can work independently to learn the alphabet, sounds and 3 letter words.
Uberstix
We just love the Uberstix construction toys and their newest offering will be available soon. Checkout the Uberstix Monorail which will be available in November. First saw the prototype in NYC at Toy Fair this past winter and loved it. Now the kit will finally be here and you can construct your own monorail at home. Includes powered engine and car designed to go up to 30-degree grades.
Uberstix sets are great because you can combine a variety of recycled materials to build something new. If you have other construction sets such as Knex, Lego and Erector then with Uberstix you can put them all together.
Jishaku Strategy Game
Hematite is a fun magnetic form of iron oxide. Jishaku is a fun strategy game using a 3 x 5 grid of hematite stones. The goal is to place your stones in the grid without attracting other stones. Sounds easy, but it’s not! This great strategy game has won the National Parenting Seal of Approval, iParenting media award, Mr. Dad seal of approval and lots of great recognition. Jishaku makes a great travel game.
Top 5 Travel Toys
1. 
If you’re planning on making a road trip with the kids this summer, be sure to have enough fun things along so you don’t get tired of “wheeeen areeeee we going to beeeeeee there?” A great game is Lonpos. It’s small enough to fit in a purse, is simple enough that my 5 year old likes playing with it (she just copies the basic setups) and complex enough that my 8 year old will spend hours working on it. We’ve found that it’s best to have a small container to keep the loose pieces in while you’re working on it.
2. The Ball of Whacks is also a great suggestion. The Ball of Whacks comes in 3 choices of color and includes a book to inspire creativity. It looks deceptively simple, so once you get past that and begin to build your own ideas, you can create your own imaginary world. Once again, be careful not to loose the small pieces in the car.
3. 
Bonz by Curious Toys are fabulous small construction toys. They rotate and you can mix and match to create all kinds of strange creatures. Award-winning and durable, they will be sure to be a hit! Bonz originated in an animation studio and you can clearly see the possibilities with character creation. Different from mechanical contraptions, these characters can have identities and are designed for stories and plots. For smaller kids, there are also the large BugBonz sets available.
4. 
Travel Fractiles are also an award winning design game. Use the magnetic tiling pieces and the steel activity board to design starbursts, mandalas, flowers, space objects and more. Developed from fractal patterns found in nature and the beauty of geometry, this game will spark creativity and keep children occupied. There are no set solutions, so it is pure free art and creativity. Pattern recognition is an important skill to learn and working with Fractiles will train the brain to see patterns and develop. Fractiles are made in the USA.
5. Last but not least are Wikki Stix. Imagine strips of yarn coated with wax, this is the essence of Wikki Stix. Made in the USA, these are a great craft project for the car. Also another award winner, Wikki Stix are non-toxic and are a great tactile craft for ages 3 and up. Grab the Activity set and then add what else you might have on hand, paper, cans, lids, paper towel rolls and see what the kids can come up with!
However you choose to spend the summer, these are great projects to have on hand in the car to reduce whining and make travel time fun!
Star Wars Force Trainer
We are so excited about this new product. Should be available in the next couple months. It is really mind over matter! Move a ping-pong ball with your brain waves. This is the most incredible innovation we’ve seen for a while! It is not only fun, but also trains your brain and powers of concentration.
For a video of how this works, check out the demo and video from the Washington Post. They got a sample and tried it out. Preorder online at Star Wars Force Trainer
Earth Day
How do you celebrate Earth Day? Is is just another day of the week? Here are some ideas of some Earth Day activities you can do with your children:
- Eat 1 meal made from 100% locally grown products — check out your farmer’s market or local grocery.
- Plant some seeds (check out our great plant kits)
- Turn off the TV, go outside and look for bugs, new plants, flowers
Toy Safety
Periodically we’ll get an email from a customer asking about toy safety and why we sell toys made in China. There is a perception that toys made in China are inferior. It’s true that there have been several high-profile and scary toy recalls in the last few years, many from toys manufactured in China. However, toys sold in the USA have to meet USA safety requirements regardless of where they are manufactured. There are laws for manufacturers that require significant testing and disclosure.
Most toy-related injuries are caused by poor supervision and poor choices made by adults. The most common risks are choking and riding toys. See our complete article on toy safety. We have a choke test tube available that can help determine if an item is a choking hazard.
The most recent email inquiry we’ve received is this:
I am surprised a company such as yours would endanger the health of a child by allowing your products to be made outside of the United States or a western democracy.
Toys made outside the USA are not by definition unsafe. I’m glad people are paying attention to what they buy, but if you are going to the trouble of writing an email and having me respond, at least be informed about the issues! Chinese politics and American manufacturing aside, when you’re shopping for something for a child, the safety considerations should be the age of the child, adult supervision and environment where the toy is to be used. Think about those and the decision about what to buy will be easier.
Award Winning Family Games
Family game nights are a great way to bring the family together and create great memories and bonding moments. Check out our article with hints on how to successfully start a family game night tradition in your house. If you’re looking for some good ideas of games everyone will love, here are some suggestions:
- Qwirkle is a fabulous award winning game that everyone can learn. Imagine tic-tac-toe on steroids! Create rows and columns by matching patterns and colors. No reading required.
- Askew Suspension Game is a balancing puzzle to try and see who can balance the most
- Test your mind with Science games including bingo and various dinosaur and bug games
Whatever game you choose, plan the night and make it happen! You can never make up those lost moments with your children.
Our Family of Sites
check out the links on the right side of the blog for the complete list of all our websites. We scour magazines, trade shows and stores for just the best and latest educational products for kids. If you’re looking for science, art, baby products and more, we’ve got it. You won’t find mass market products, but specialty products.
