droolicious : educational

You Must Remember These 12 Penguins?

Cathy Hale — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Pengoloo is supposed to be one of the coolest memory games around. It comes with 12 wooden penguins, 12 colored eggs, four iceberg scoring cards and two dice. You try to find the matching eggs under the penguins - match them up and win! Thanks to Blue Orange Game for keeping playtime original. Retails for $25 at Genuis Babies. For ages 4+. Great B-Day gift idea for preschoolers!

Pint-Sized Puzzle Pets

Cathy Hale — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Coloful. Wooden. Fuzzy. Cute animals. What else can I say? Melissa & Doug bring your baby the perfect pet that he or she can actually pet. No litter boxes, leashes or feeding required. Pets "Touch & Feel" Puzzle is available at Gummy Lump.

Classical Baby is Endearing & Enchanting

Cathy Hale — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Whether you have a huge library of DVDs or just a few special ones, the Classical Baby 3-Pack is a wonderful addition to your collection. We've all heard babies love classical music. Well, even if they don't they will fall in love with this incredible show and so will you! Brought to you by HBO Family, Classical Baby features stunning animation with the most adorable characters you've ever seen, plus famous musical pieces, revered artwork and lots of dancing.

This DVD set includes "The Music Show," "The Art Show," and "The Dance Show." Each one is beautifully choreographed and incredibly enjoyable. Bach, Mozart, Bartok, Degas, Van Gogh, Pilobolus...how can you go wrong? Shop Classical Baby 3-Pack DVD at Amazon.

Get Into Gear with Intelligent Toys

Cathy Hale — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:30:00 GMT

If you and your preschooler haven't discovered gears yet, you're in for a treat. The Georello Jungle is an award-winning toy that entertains while teaching simple mechanics. The colorful pieces come together to build a sarafi park or zoo - your child's imagination can run wild. Using the connectors you attach the gears to create a chain reaction. It makes a great gift if you're looking to skip the bells & whistles of batteries. This toy is not recommended for children under three. Buy it at Wonder Brains.

Learn to Dress a Monkey

Cathy Hale — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:00:00 GMT

If you can dress a monkey, you can probably dress a wiggly toddler. If your toddler can dress a monkey, he'll do the job himself. Meet Little Hands Learn to Dress Monkey, a plush animal pal. He may be stuck in 80s (I think I had a similar outfit in 1982!), but your toddler will love all of his colorful buttons, zippers, snaps, buckles and laces. He is wearing real socks, shoes, a shirt and overalls - all can be removed. Your youngster won't even notice that all of this monkeying around is actually educational. Gotta love Alex Toys!

Letter, Symbol & Number Ice Trays

AmandaHill — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:32:00 GMT

The Silicon Trays seen above are great for creative displays and can even function as a learning tool for your child. The Silicon that the trays are made from is FDA approved; so it works in the freezer, the oven and the fridge. All you have to do is decide what you want to put in them. You can make funky ice, jello molds and even put butter in them. As you can see above, you can even purchase a symbol tray. I would probably put ice cream in them and make letter-shaped ice cream.

You can get the letter set, which comes in 3 trays, for $19.95. The number set is a single tray for $9.95. If you want to get both sets, you can combine them for $29.90. The symbol tray is availabe for $12.50. Find them all at The Spoon Sisters.

Eight-Legged Learning

Lisa Mulcahy — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:18:00 GMT

Anything that combines colors, numbers and animals keeps my two-year old occupied for hours (well, maybe a few precious minutes that seem like hours).

Now that he’s has mastered basic puzzles he’s moved on to more complex ones like Imagiplay’s Count Octopus Puzzle, $19.95. The challenge keeps him interested and I’m always amazed by how he counts, names the colors and assembles the octopus all at once.

Fisher-Price Smart Bounce and Spin Pony

elizabeth leach — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:30:00 GMT

I bought my daughter the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn: Learning Home and it was such a huge success that when it was time to purchase another big ticket item I immediately thought of another Laugh and Learn toy. We are animal lovers so I chose the Smart Bounce & Spin Pony. There's a whole lot of toy in this pony!

Your child can ride the pony with just the sound and music portion (which is what my 14 month old likes to do) and you'll hear galloping, woa, music, etc. The wireless TV portion of this toy is a little advanced for my daughter, at the moment, but I am expecting her to love that portion when she better understands cause and effect.

The TV portion has different levels of learning and different locations to visit. The locations are farm, home, zoo, playground and the shore. As my daughter gets older she’ll understand that when she bounces on the pony, wonderful things happen: new animals, objects, letters and numbers appear on the screen and music plays.

For now, she's happy watching the TV portion while standing next to the pony, stroking him! She is mesmorized by the cartoon animals on the TV and I bounce the pony to make things happen. This toy is full of suprises and I'm looking foward to watching my daughter discover them. Buy the Smart Bounce and Spin Pony here for $69.99.

Prepare Them for a Life of Crime

elizabeth leach — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:00:00 GMT

This is an amusing Montessori toy. Teach your child to be the future Houdini. Or teach him how to break open a door? Pick locks? Hide things from her parents? Transport diamonds?

Made of solid wood and brass plated hardware. ($89.99) Buy The Little Lock Box (or steal it) here.

C is for Cookie Cutter and That's Good Enough for Me

elizabeth leach — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:00:00 GMT

What could be a better way to teach your toddler his ABC’s than with sugar? I can think of many good uses for these cookie cutters. Spell out "Daddy" on Father's Day, spell out "Santa" on Christmas, or spell out "Fun" any day.

According to The Living Playground, cookie cutters promote cognitive, sensory, social, gross, and fine motor skills. According to me, cookies in any shape are yummy. Cookie cutters are made of tin and are approximately 3 inches. ($22.99)

Toy Fair '08: Roylco's X-Ray X-travaganza

Sarah Verdone — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:11:00 GMT

The Canadian company Roylco started out in the sixties making educational supplies like chalkboard erasers, but now they cook up some of the best stuff for kids -- or adults -- anywhere. The eye-catcher at this year’s Toy Fair booth was the set of human skeleton X-rays (the broken bone was a close runner-up). So put on your white lab coats and hold these up to a window or light-box for a closer examination. Comes with a teacher guide on artwork and radiography. No medical degree required. $26.95 at amazon.

And On the 7th Day... Wedgit!

Sarah Verdone — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:28:00 GMT

Not only do I like Wedgits, I like cleaning them up. No, really. I start tidying and I can't help trying some new configuration. In fact, I dare you not to play with these things. I first saw them at my daughter's preschool, so I knew they had all the right moves "learning toys" have. But even my twelve year old and her friends fool around with them.

Most sets are primary colors, but the translucent deluxe set (above) lets you build double wide and crystal clear ($35.99). There are also shades of pinks or purples (a ploy to make building stuff appeal more feminine?) for $19.99. Plus, they've got softer, squeezy sets for babies and all kinds of expansion sets and challenge cards for older kids. Why build it when you can Wedgit?

Gettin' Goosie With It: Custom Flash Cards

Mir — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:01:00 GMT

There's nothing quite so great as a visually interesting set of flash cards; kids love 'em because they're fun, parents love 'em because they're educational. And now you can custom-design your own! Head on over to Goosie Cards to be guided through the process of designating both text and pictures (your own, or from their gallery) to make a personalized set of oversized cards for baby. Sets start at $28 (for 10 cards).

Think of what a cool gift it would be to make your set of pictures at a baby shower (maybe a set of emotions card, with guests modeling happy, sad, surprised, etc.) and later present the parents with the cards!

PBS Classic, The Electric Company, is STILL Outta-sighteous!

Sarah Verdone — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:19:00 GMT

If you didn’t catch the Emmy award-winning show, The Electric Company, as a kid in the late 70s/early 80s, it’s not too late to tune in and turn on. Your kids can learn reading funk-damentals, while grooving with a fly, young Morgan Freeman as DJ Mel Mounds (“Outtasighteous!”). Other cast members include Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno, and a pre-Fame, Irene Carra, with voices by Joan Rivers and Mel Brooks. It's educational, hilarious and graphically mind-blowing. Although the show was developed to help ages 6 and up learn to read, it's fab viewing for younger kids, too. And you're guaranteed to learn a few new dance moves.

The Best of The Electric Company 4 DVD pack is $49.98 (and worth every penny) from Shop PBS.

Big Deal: Lead-Free, Educational Toys!

Karen — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:33:00 GMT

What more could you ask for? Readers of Karly's Wiping Up Snot blog will be happy to know they can shop at eBeanstalk, using the code SNOT (what?) in order to save 10% off their orders AND free shipping! eBeanstalk tests all their toys and proved it to Karly in a document she posted on her site.

I like the site because it lists the toys in age categories, like this Super Shapes Dump Truck for $37, listed under the 1 Year-Old's section. Baby learns cause and effect, and not the kind where if you chew your toys, you'll get very sick.

Go Postal

Karen — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:05:00 GMT

The other day I suggested to my 3 year old that we mail some hand-drawn pictures to my grandparents. He enthusiastically replied, "We can pretend to be mail carriers and put them in envelopes and lick them and seal them and walk to the post office and stamp them and mail them and then we will walk there to Grannys' and she will LOVE THAT, MOM!" Take a breath, kid.

So when I spotted this hand painted set, complete with faux mail for sorting, I thought about snagging it for a future gift. Imagine. The. Excitement.

On sale now for $25.49 at Monkey Bean Toys.

Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home

Karen — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 12:01:00 GMT

Well this one beats an ant farm as far as damage control in the event of a containment breach. At least ladybugs are cute, though I would still insist on my sons' ladies living on the back deck.

Nuture your budding scientist for $16.99 at Sillyasstoys.com.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Turtle?

Karen — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 15:02:00 GMT

Twilight Turtle turns your kid's room into a night sky, but this isn't just any night sky: this plush buddy displays 8 actual constellations so you and your little one can identify them, using the handy guide.

I know I'd rather be doing that than pouring a glass of wine after a long day of "Mommy! Mommy" but that's just me.

Available at Pokkadots for $35.

Bring Some Balance Into Your Life

Karen — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:03:00 GMT

Add to your little one's play kitchen with education on weights and measures with this Haba Balance toy. Made of wood and metal trays, it's easy to clean.

It might not balance the budget, but it is good for a growing brain.

$41.99 at Oompa Toys.