Basically, We love these toys...

Toys, toys toys! I have to admit I get just as excited about new toys as my kids (sometimes more so… shhhh….) Bells and whistles can entice me sometimes, but what I really love are bright colors, remarkable workmanship and new things to imagine and play. I can look at play sets and dollhouses, fire trucks and baby toys for way too long online. Having a daughter and two sons just opens up the toy horizon even more. We pretty much drool over toys around here (and not just the baby!)

But, when it comes down to it, when you really analyze what my kids play with? The fancy toys don’t really add up to much playtime. And what they play with, oddly mirrors what I remember playing with when I was a kid.

I’m going back to the basics with this review – Blocks and play "silks."

Blocks from Palumba:

When I was a little girl I had a box of colorful wooden blocks. I used to love flipping over the box, and building a little apartment with my blocks. I would make a dining room table and chairs, a couch, a bed. I have my old blocks to this day, and my kids do love to play with them. However, when we get out the blocks, they gravitate towards the cubes and sticks they got from Palumba. (Well, from Santa a couple years ago, but I have it on good authority that Santa got in touch with the folks at Palumba.)

My kids absolutely adore their Cubes and Cherry Building Sticks. They build towers, and bury treasure, and create little houses for their little gnomes.

Both the cubes and sticks work well for loading up a truck:

As a teacher, I have to admit, that one thing I love is toys that teach through imaginative play. The last time we played with the cubes and sticks, we played around with balance, and counting.

My 4 year old is currently very interested in letters, and cubes and sticks really do make great letters!

Speaking of imaginative play, Those sticks make excellent microphones:

Also, if you need to look at something "Way far away," they are just the telescope you've been looking for!

I would love to show you more pictures of the awesome things my kids do with these blocks, but the baby kept knocking them over… then picking one up that is to his liking, and chewing on it for a bit. Sometimes he does change it up a bit by banging them together to make a beautiful song.

They are really the perfect little blocks, in my mind. They aren’t too heavy, but they aren’t too light. They are made from real wood, and are actually quite beautiful! We have the set of 40 sticks (they also come in sets of 20 or 80) and the set of 25 cubes (they also come in a set of 50). Each set comes in a little drawstring cotton bag, which I always intend to use… but somehow clean up time doesn’t work like that around here!

Etsy Play Silks:

Looking at the pictures, you may notice some play "silks." in the background. I have wanted play silks for my kids for awhile, but I didn't want to get real silk, since we try to stay on the vegan side of things around here. I have some cotton rainbow cloths, but was looking for something silkier, when I stumbled upon etsy seller, DreamSpunKids. Their chiffon play silks are light, flowing, and come in a great variety of colors. For the first set we bought (they come in sets of 6, 8 or 12), I picked a handful of bright spring colors, and most recently, I chose colors that reminded me of the fall:

Good thing. Otherwise, how would my children pretend they are autumn trees? Or volcanoes?
These play silks can really be anything. The kids dress up in them, tie them to chairs to make forts: whatever the kids can imagine. My favorite thing to do with them is to help the kids create play-scapes. Here is our lake under construction (See the spot of yellow and orange? That's the "burning hot sun!"):

Playsilks also make a fabulous back drop for plays, puppet shows, or concerts:

I may or may not have even convinced my husband to wear one as a cape at our son's Super Hero birthday party!

(I wore a blue one!)

We love having a bin of play silks in our playroom, and I highly recommend them as a must-have toy!

They aren't just toys though, my new absolute favorite use for them is as present wrapping:If you want to add some pretty special "basic" toys to your child's play room, I say give Palumba's cubes and sticks and the play silk from etsy seller: DreamSpunKids a try.
The imagination and creativity of your child will shine through.

Happy Playing!

And the Winner of the Fractiles Review Giveaway is...

Michelle T! Congratulations to Michelle who entered by posting a comment on the review. She won a $25 gift card to Toys and Games Online.

>Toys and Games Online is part of the CSN family of stores. The CSN stores sell everything from modern furniture to school supplies. They'll be sponsoring another review next month.

Congratulations, Michelle!

We Love Stubby Pencil Studio and a Holiday Coupon Code!!!

Not only has Stubby Pencil Studio donated an awesome arts and crafts gift bag for our auction on December 1-7, but they have a most amazing selection of eco-friendly school supplies and art supplies that are guaranteed to make even any little student feel a little better about going back to school after the holidays.

I don't know about your children's school, but Arielle's school had a very specific supply list and I was a little disappointed that I couldn't make everything as eco-friendly as I would have liked. But, I did what I could.

Arielle took KUM Correc-Brick Erasers ($2.50) and Wildlife Colored Pencils ($7.95) to school. I put a small recycled paper notebook in her backpack, so I could write her little notes to look at while she's at school.

Birds Aqua Notebook ($4.50)

Linnea doesn't need school supplies, but she loves the little mushroom erasers.

Mushroom Pot Erasers ($3.95)

She calls them "Mushroom Babies" and can spend hours taking care of them or carrying them around in a little purse ($6.00).

This year, Linnea is spending two mornings a week at a neighborhood preschool. The other three mornings, I give her "work" to do while I try to get my own work done. Sometimes her "work" is drawing and sometimes it is about learning. She learns a letter a week at school, so I always write out the letter and let her decorate it with something apropriate - apple chunks for "A", buttons for "B", next week we'll make a "C" out of tiny cookies. She also decorates a letter with stickers.

She also loves to string beads. The wooden beads at Stubby Pencil Studio are safely colored using child-safe, water-based paints or natural oils. And painting is always a favorite - the triangular paint brushes ($7.95) make it so easy for Linnea to get paint exactly where she wants it.

I thought it was funny, but the staff at preschool is really impressed with Linnea's ability to color, draw and use scissors.  We've always had art supplies available to her (I have tables set up for art in both the kitchen and in my office), and I think that makes a difference.  Art isn't just an activity, but a part of our lives.

Crayon Rocks ($6.95)

I'm totally bragging, but here is her picture of five monkeys jumping on her bed. I love it!

If you are ready to get creating in an eco-friendly way, check out the all-natural art supplies at Stubby Pencil Studio  There are plenty of great stocking stuffers and party favors.

Sara's Toy Box readers may discount code STBSAVE10 to save 10% on purchases through 12/31/10. Happy holiday shopping!!!

10% off at Carl & Me

Looking for wooden toys for the holidays? Carl and Me: Exceptional Toys For Boys (and girls!)offers a selection of safe, woden toys from the USA and Europe suitable for children from babies to teens.

NIC Wooden Toys - Creamobil Little Men 'Pico' ($12.00)

Small Stacking Man ($24.00)

Scalino Bell Tower Set ($78.00)

Carl & Me is especially great for unusual construction toys - the kind my older son Merlin loved when he was in elementary/middle school (and still occasionally plays with at almost 21!).  If you have the kind of child who loves to build and make things work, definitely check out Carl & Me.

Sara's Toy Box readers can take 10% off through the holidays with code "SARA".

Beautiful Toys, $5 off: Bella Luna Toys

Hi Readers,

I'd like to introduce you to a new favorite, Bella Luna Toys.  Bella Luna Toys is owned by a Waldorf teacher, Sarah Baldwin, who chooses each toy with care.

The small tree house ($89.95) is a fair trade toy made in Vietnam out of sustainably harvested wood.  But, mostly it's really cute.  I can picture little gnomes and fairies having a tea party .

If you need gnomes, Bella Luna has gnomes. Or, you can make your own using the Forest Gnome Family Kit ($19.95).  These would look so cute peeking out of a stocking.  I may need to make some for Arielle's stocking.

So many beautiful choices! Check out the lovely Waldorf toys and art supplies at Bella Luna and take $5.00 of your first order with the coupon code "Sara5".

Sara

Fractiles-7 Review and Giveaway from Toys and Games Online

When my friend Sara said she could use some extra help to write reviews for Sara's Toy Box, I jumped at the opportunity. I have been a huge fan of her blog for a few years now and my boys and I absolutely love toys. The boys are a bit less particular than I am, but that does not stop me from trying to find beautiful, useful, educational, and safe toys for them to play with.

For my family’s first review, I selected Fractiles-7 from Toys and Games Online.com. I actually selected the large Fractiles-7 set($39.95) and the Fridge Fractiles set (only an additional $10.95) since I have two little boys and I knew there would be some fighting over this toy once they figured out how cool it was.

Fractiles-7 is basically a magnetic puzzle. But it is also more than a puzzle. Fractiles consists of versatile flexible diamond shaped tiles that can be combined and recombined into an infinite number of designs. The large Fractiles set has 192 tiles and a 12”x12” textured black steel board to easily create your geometric designs. Fridge Fractiles has 48 magnetic tiles and does not come with an activity board as it is meant for your kitchen refrigerator. This is great for my family since my boys love spending time with me in the kitchen while I prepare dinner and I am always scrambling to find activities to keep them occupied so I have the time and space to properly prepare said dinner.

Toys and Games Online.com shipped my order very quickly, and I was very pleased when I found my package on the front porch. I loved the minimal packaging of my Fractiles sets. The large set is packaged in what is basically an old-fashioned album cover which makes clean-up and storage of the set very easy. There are tons of colorful examples of Fractiles designs as well as some information on symmetry and the basic geometry behind the diamond shapes that make them fit together into endless combinations.

I love the educational aspect of this information even though I feel the concept is a bit above where my boys currently are in their math comprehension. After all, one is only in kindergarten and the other is in his first year of pre-school. Even though I may not share the information with them explicitly, they really are learning the concepts by simply playing around, copying or making their own designs with this toy. I couldn’t wait to take a closer look at the new toy and decided to open it while the boys were still in school. I have to admit, once I opened it and discovered that the tiles were all stuck together in a large piece, I was a bit disappointed. I examined the pieces and it didn’t appear to me that they were pre-cut, so I pulled out the scissors and began cutting.

Luckily, it did not take me long to discover that the pieces actually do easily bend and pull apart and I was able to put away the scissors and decided to save even the taking apart of the tiles as a project to work on with the boys. Pulling the Fractiles tiles apart is a great work for developing fine motor activity in little hands and my boys happily helped me pull apart and sort the tiny magnetic tiles.

The boys were immediately engaged with the Fractiles sets. Both the large set and the fridge set come with a lot of images showing so many creations you can make with the tiles. This is a great way to build confidence in using the set for younger children who aren’t sure where to start with the Fractiles. I encouraged the boys to choose something they liked from the pictures on the sleeve and try to copy it. It wasn’t long before both my boys were trying out their own creations with the tiles and this is where the real fun began. My younger son will make something new and can’t wait to show me. Once I take a look, I get an explanation of what his creation represents and it almost always ends with the question, “Am I the coolest artist-invention ever?” (By the way, "artist-invention" was not a typo. This is his actual quote). I am especially enjoying Fridge Fractiles in this aspect. I come into the kitchen and frequently find a new design. It is fun trying to guess which of my little “artist-inventors” created the new masterpiece.

We are very happy with our newest toy! Both boys will sit and play with Fractiles with dedicated concentration for quite a while and feel a sense of pride when they have created something. I feel happy because they are subtly being education on patterns and symmetry which are two important concepts for geometry. Fractiles are also made in the U.S.A. and are lead and phthalate free. We love this toy so much, we are definitely planning on getting a few of the Travel Fractiles sets from Toys and Games Online ($24.95) to give as birthday gifts for classmates of my kindergartner.

Now, the really fun part! Sara's Toy Box is giving you an opportunity to win a $25 gift card (perfect for Travel Fractiles) from Toys and Games Online. Simply go to toysandgamesonline.com to view their great selection of educational toys and games. Then come back here to Sara's Toy Box and leave us a comment about which toy you would select along with your contact information. You can also enter by sending us the toy selection in an e-mail or a message on Facebook.

And the winner of the Kiddo Tags is....

ReggieMann!
She wins a pack of 30 Mini Kiddo Tags with a free *dwink* Box Holder in pink or blue. Congratulations!

So sorry for the delay. We have been the house of sickness and it's been hard to get anything done.

By the way, I finally ironed on our iron-on Kiddo Tags. It was easy once I got over my aversion to plugging in the iron. The round name labels fit perfectly on a tag and I don't have to worry about Linnea's gloves ending up in the lost-and-found.

Safe Nail Polish from Piggy Paint

For our second review at Sara's Toy Box I enlisted the help of my oldest daughter, Emma, she's 11 years old and in the 6th grade -- She and her sisters wanted to have a little 'make over' party today -- which for them is an excuse to paint nails, fix hair and wear lip gloss --

We got a couple of colors of wonderfully safe nail polish from Piggy Paint -- this would be great for smaller children who still put their hands in their mouths and for pre-teens who want to not smell like a nail salon and who would like to have safe nail polish for their little piggies ...

Emma started by painting her sister's toes ...

They're a nice mix of pink and yellow because they couldn't decide! I love those little toes.

Then Emma went on to paint their fingers in a similar mix of colors.

And naturally she had to paint her own nails as well ... she went with just pink -- you know, when you're nearly grown it's easier to decide ...

Piggy Paint has a new line of TWEEN nail polish that is colorful, safe and super fun -- they even have a new glow-in-the dark polish, "Radioactive" that would be so fun at a sleep over. You can use it over an existing color or alone -- just a few coats for maximum glow and you've made someone's day.

As hard as it is to find presents for tween girls -- this would make a wonderful gift for any young lady -- great in a stocking, and they can share it with their little sisters and friends without worry about toxins and nasty smells.

Piggy Paint is offering readers of Sara's Toy Box a 10% off coupon code AND free domestic shipping on orders over $35. The coupon code is TOYZ10L and it expires on December 15, 2010 - plenty of time for holiday shopping!

GIVEAWAY!!! -- One Sara's Toy Box reader will win a $15 gift certificate to Piggy Paint. Just go to Piggy Paint, shop around and post a comment here or send us an email saying what you would get for the sweet tween or little princess in your life or tell us your favorite color and you'll be entered in the contest. Make sure you give us some contact info so we can let you know if you win!

We'll announce the winner on Halloween.  Piggy Paints are also the perfect accessory for your little witch or goblin - green nails (a gorgeous color called Dragon Tears), you think?