Posts Tagged ‘Toys’

Any art student knows that the best way to learn about a painting is to try and replicate it. Only then will you appreciate the unique brush strokes, the colors, the shapes and how they fit together.

Kidzaw’s Master Kitz are kind of like paint-by-numbers sets for three masterworks: Gustav Klimt’s Tree of Life, Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, and Claude Monet’s Waterlilies. Each kit comes with a specially designed stencil that allows kids to paint in the work’s main shapes with the included properly-colored paints. But rather than using a brush, you use special tools to help mimic each artist’s style. For Van Gogh, it’s a textured roller, meant to slap paint on in bold, thick strokes; for the Monet kit it’s creamy pastels and a blending tool to soften the edges into a watercolor-like wash.

Also with each kit: a color brochure that explains the artwork, what it meant, why it was painted, how the artist did what he did. And then you get a sheet of stickers in the artist’s style, just for fun. Mom will probably covet those.

Master Kitz, $30

Oh, traditional alphabet blocks. Wooden. Letters. Pictures. I can stack them and make words, ho hum, this sure is boring. Yawn.

But wait! These aren’t traditional alphabet blocks! This set of 20 wooden blocks has the entire periodic table on its sides, painted brightly with each symbol and atomic number. Now, instead of having a kid who spells “cat,” you can have a kid who lines up californium, krypton and argon by atomic weight. Just don’t blame us when the kid becomes a nuclear scientist.

Periodic table building blocks, $40

Remember Slinkys, Pixie Sticks and Silly Putty? Chances are your kids don’t.

Reintroduce them to the classics — and some spirited newcomer — with the selection of super toys at Aunt Jean’s Toys & Treats. The Montclair, New Jersey shop opened an online outpost that carries a hand-selected assortment of playthings that appeal to any child. Opt for the Automoblox, doll houses, French wood blocks or plush sea turtles (toys are grouped by age, from infant to tween).

Inspire a little imagination.

Available at auntjeanstoys.com.

Some of the “charming” old-fashioned toys out there cost an arm and a leg — $250 for a pull-toy is not so sweet.

But the price is right with these “shaky” wooden blocks by Little Alouette. At $20, the four handcrafted maple square blocks are filled with dried beans to add a little sound to a wee one’s building process. Plus they are finished with organic seed oils, just in case one ends up in a certain tyke’s mouth.

How charming.

Available at sonnyboutique.com.

Whenever a truly great toy comes along — useful! colorful! affordable! — you breathe a sigh of relief.

Maybe they’ll actually want to get in the tub, thanks to these cute new bath toys from Boon. The trio of Splat (floating ring toss), Scrubble (toy scrub set) and Water Bugs (floating toys with net) will entice them to suds up and stay for awhile. Even better, nothing tops 10 bucks.

Too bad you’ll eventually have to pull the plug.

Available at booninc.com.

You often wonder, where does that bouncy ball or teething ring come from — and is it really OK that your toddler can’t keep it out of his mouth?

Before you hit the toy store, check out HealthyToys.org, a new site which lists a consumer guide to toxic chemicals in toys, as tested by nonprofit organization the Ecology Center. Researchers tested more than 1,500 popular playthings for harmful chemicals like lead, cadmium, arsenic and PVC.

A simple search function breaks items down by name, brand and type. For a safe birthday party gift, consult the winners of best toys — nearly 300 products with no detectable traces of harmful chemicals. Or nominate a toy (like that doll your kid won’t do without) to be tested by the Ecology Center staff.

This site’s got enough info to keep you clicking, but don’t obsess. Be vigilant, and take action.

Visit healthytoys.org.

We’ve all got frenemies. Yours is the sorority sister who always competed with you for guys (and still tries to). Your kid’s is the little crayon-stealer at playgroup.

Maybe she’ll relate to The Food Chain Friends, a set of plush pals that eat each other. Hailing from the planet Daro (small and green, much like Earth 200 million years ago), they live in a friendly but unorthodox ecosystem where unusual buddies thrive on a hierarchy of rabbits, snakes and a hopscotch-playing Herkin.

But let the kids figure out the dynamic — the toys’ complex relationships could be a good primer for preschool.

Available at fatbraintoys.com.

As your baby whizzes through developmental stages, discarded toys litter your place like shrapnel. A greener option is BabyPlays Toy Rental Program, which works much like Netflix: you pay a monthly fee ($36.99-64.99), you pick toys to put in your queue, and then the UPS guy starts visiting your house with much greater frequency. You can hang on to toys as long as you like with no late fees, or ship duds back right away to be exchanged for ones your child might prefer. If it turns out your kid really loves a particular toy, you can even purchase it at a delightfully discounted price.

Feeling squeamish about your kid getting pre-drooled-upon playthings? No need. BabyPlays sanitizes toys each time they return back home.

Find out more at BabyPlays.com.