Christmas Gifts: Hit or Miss

Holy Cow...this gift right here would have been a prized possession had I gotten this as a child. Wait, I do believe I did get one as a child and I LOVED it!

I found a microscope set that has a ton of accessories with it and most of those accessories look like weapons to be used. This is a little "old" for Lawyer to get - mainly because of the accessories - since it is for ages 8 and up. But I have a question for you, who would even allow their 8 year old to play with a scalpel? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller? Anybody?

So most of the items will be confiscated and brought out only on VERY special occasions (namely when I feel up to dissecting bugs, worms, slugs, etc) but the microscope is beautiful. I think it's made of aluminum, which I was really thinking that it would be made of plastic, so it exceeded my expectations when I opened the package.

It came with a few slides but I bought additional slides of insect parts for Lawyer and I to view. Plus you can prepare your own slides which I think will be the most fun. Anyone up for cutting apart a inch-worm to look at? Anyone?

We'll see how well the light/magnification works on this, since that's truly the working part of the microscope but overall, I think this will be a huge hit. If you would like to buy your own microscope set, you can buy it here.

Also, if you would like to buy a more "age-appropriate" microscope for those under the age of 8, you can buy a nice-looking set here. This is way more expensive than what I have bought but I'm sure the quality of this one will be better than I got also.

Christmas Gifts: Hit or Miss

I bought the two separate sets below knowing that I would like them but I need to revise that...I LOVE them! Lawyer is going to flip out when he sees these two animal sets, he loves to play what he calls "animal rescuer".


Here is the first animal set. I love the detailing on the animals and I love the variety. It's not often that you can just go to the store and buy animal figures of porcupines and squirrels. The tree is this big rubbery plastic forest tree...I will admit the one I got is a little wicky-jawed but I'm sure this detail will be overlooked by Lawyer (although, he is pretty anal about things being perfect). I love that the owl and eagle have their wings spread. This set also came with a log and some boulders that you can place wherever you like...I nice touch for a child that likes to create their own scenes.


And this is the second set. The mountain is going to be a HIT with Lawyer, I can tell you right now! The only thing that I can see will be frustrating about the mountain specifically is that the ledges are completely flat (as they aren't in real-life either) and when I was setting up the animals they would fall off if they weren't positioned just right. The good news is that Lawyer attends a Montessori school and they are all about trial-and-error for self-correction so I see this mountain as a challenge that Lawyer will just need to overcome (although I'm sure the first few times the animals might be thrown against the wall and some "special" words of Lawyer's might come out!) and he will. Oh and the best part is that most of these animals have babies and Lawyer will get a kick out of that.

So I definitely give these two sets two thumbs up! If you want to purchase these sets, you can get it here and here.

Oh and Lawyer is OBSESSED with volcanoes....I mean the kid gets crazy when he sees lava flowing on TV or if he sees something even related to a volcano. So, since Lawyer loves to set up all kinds of sets for his figures to play in, I'm going to be making him a paper-maiche volcano that will be complete with a hollow center to actually put in the correct household items to let it erupt! Lawyer has a science experiment kit and the "erupting volcano" that we make is his absolute favorite.

Anyhow, I'll probably be posting a step-by-step of making the volcano should you have a yearning to make one for the special 4-year-old-obsessed-with-volcanoes boy!

Christmas Gifts: Hit or Miss

I'll try to keep my ramblings short for this "toy" post, which is apparently a great challenge for myself.

Here is a gift that I really thought I was going to absolutely love. A map of the United States puzzle that "speaks" out the state's name, capitol, and nickname when you put the state in its correct place.

While I love the concept, even though I'm not a "talking" toy kind of gal, there are some things that are VERY wrong with this gift.

Check out New England. What in the hell were the toy manufacturers/developers thinking when they created this item? The tiny states, such as Delaware, Connecticut, New Hampshire, etc, have been clumped together to make one puzzle piece that is a horrible representation of the individual states and, even worse, when you put the multi-state puzzle piece in the correct area, it blurts out ALL the states that have been thrown together, along with their capitals and nicknames. I hate this about this gift. It makes me want to return it but I think it's overall ability to give state recognition (for the most part), is an okay idea. I definitely don't plan on having this electronic, sorry-excuse-for-a-map-of-the-US be the sole educator of the US map for my child. I'm already planning on making state cards (they are called 3-Part cards in Montessori education) that will show the shape of the state and then the state's name typed out below the state.

Anyhow, I'm border-line on this gift...not certain whether to embrace it or be embarrassed for it. We'll see what Lawyer thinks about it when he receives it.

If you would prefer to purchase this "iffy" puzzle map, you can buy it here.

Had I really done my research for a US map puzzle, visit here to see what I should have bought instead. I LOVE this map since the pieces can be used for a tracing activity.

Christmas Gifts: Hit or Miss

Christmas is in full swing and we are full of holiday cheer in my house. From decorating a tree just for Lawyer upstairs to Lawyer break-dancing to Frank Sinatra Christmas classics, the fun keeps going on and on. I thought it would be fun to show how and why I choose the items (I truly dislike the word "toys" - or at least today's toy-makers perversion of the word) I do for Lawyer, the 4-year-old boy in our household.

Lawyer definitely doesn't NEED anything and I'm not a toy person, per se, so I put plenty of thought into what I would declare as old-fashioned, classic or multi-sensory for Lawyer. I love the classic toys that Lawyer does have since they allow for an imagination, thought-provocation, hands-on manipulation and fun of all kinds. One such "classic" are Lincoln Logs. Oh, how I love this construction toy. Did you know that the son of Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect of both the Arts and Crafts period and in our American history, created the logs after being inspired by a building in Tokyo? They have been around for almost 100 years and there is something to be said about a toy that can last a century in the fickle world of toy-making and toy-selling.

Anyhow, my point is this: I like sensorial, imaginative, battery-less, educational "toys" for Lawyer to both play with and learn from. I plan on doing posts on the different items I purchased for him and explaining the analytical reasoning for the purchase. Wait, did that even make any sense? Never mind, don't listen to me, I know not what I say.

This bug discovery kit has real bugs encased in clear, acrylic blocks. I think it will be a real winner with Lawyer, especially since you can look at both the tops, bottoms, sides, heads, rears, etc. of each and every bug. The few things I'm not fond of are the cheap, plastic magnifying glass (I plan on purchasing a real one for Lawyer's stocking) and the ridiculous storage container the bug blocks came in (a plastic bag, or better yet, a reusable canvas bag would have sufficed for me). I'm sure most of my money for this item went to pay for the container and the colorful packaging but seeing as I have yet to catch bugs in my yard, put them to their death in a gas chamber of bits of cardboard doused with rubbing alcohol (that's how I used to kill bugs for my biology bug projects anyway) and then put them in a plastic-y, see-through grave of acrylic, I doled out my money for this item.

You can see the detail of the bugs here a bit better but my picture is a tad on the dark side so you can't get the full-effect of seeing the hairs on the wasp's thorax. What? Don't know what a thorax is? Look it up and be enlightened by the wonderful world of entomology. Huh? You don't know what entomology is? Good grief people, get a set of encyclopedias and look it up...and I don't want to hear the excuse that nobody even owns physical sets of encyclopedias anymore. Although, Santa Claus did bring me a fabulous set for my 6th Christmas (it was at the top of my Christmas list) and they were a beautiful shade of 80's maroon tinged with gold. Anyhow, I digress.

These blocks could be used for bug identification (Montessori is very big into this), a matching game or even to learn about the different parts of an insect.

Kids LOVE "real" things to play with, thus the reason I'm purchasing a real magnifying glass for him to use and the real bug blocks. And seeing as I'm originally from Arkansas, I know that "my people" LOVE to have the real deal stuffed and placed oh-so-carefully on their mantle to display the one that "didn't get away". This particular item is right up my Arkansas-roots alley. Plus I'm a science nerd - that probably explains more than enough about me.

If you are interested in this bug discovery kit, you can purchase it here.

Ooh, and if you REALLY are into science, this online store is AWESOME! I can't wait to buy a few experiments from there for Lawyer.

Shock and Awe

All was NOT right with the universe in a certain child's playroom yesterday...

There are no words to explain the following...you'll just have to see it for yourself. This is what Lawyer's playroom looked like when I walked into it yesterday afternoon...

If you felt overwhelmed, scared, hyperventalative...you were not alone. But seek peace, relaxation and the calming powers of a clean room below.


I'm not certain I ever showed Lawyer's Playroom closet before I ended up buying a custom closet system from The Container Store. This is the best organizational idea ever...you send in your closet dimensions (or room dimensions), you let them know what your needs are and then a Container Store Rep will make a custom plan, complete with a list of what you need to buy, for you to follow when you install the closet system. Anyhow, here are before and after pictures of Lawyer's playroom closet:

Cool Toy Sites for the Cool Kid

I am so excited to announce that I am DONE, and I mean DONE, buying junk toys for my son. After perusing other blogs and clicking here and there, I think I have found some GREAT resources of toys/creative items that won't disappoint.

After carefully looking at my new found websites, I have selected the following companies to buy Lawyer's birthday presents from. Not one toy that I bought last night online has a battery or "only one way to play" use. Almost all of them have open-ended uses so that these products will stay relevant in his life for years to come. While I bought less and spent a little more than I would have at Target or Walmart, I do believe that the quality and longevity of these products are going to last a lifetime, and that, my friends, is worth the extra money. So without further ado, please meet my new favorite toy/play sites for children.

Let's Explore: Creative Fun for Kids

I think I bought at least half of what this store had to offer. I got everything from Crayon Rocks (a soy-based crayon that is supposed to "rock" your coloring world) to Rubbing Plates (remember these? I think my favorite were the Barbie Fashion Rubbing Plates where you could be your own designer - with huge shoulder-padded jackets, ultra mini skirts, tapered pleated-front polyester pants...name that era!). I'm very excited for all the creative products this company provides and can't wait to get my box of goodies! Oh and check out owner Amy's blog...she has small children and her blog is devoted to showing fun projects for kids!


Nova Natural Toys & Crafts

If ever there was a fun site that had a lot of traditional toys/play things, this would be it. I want to call it my "hippie toy store" since everything is about being organic and non-conforming. I bought the coolest blocks (called the Four-Elements Blocks, go figure) and they are "organic" shapes of earth, wind, fire, water, etc. Oh and I bought a toy sailboat (think Victorian times of boys in their knickers having sailing races on the pond while their bustled mothers wave their parasols) that was so fun-looking. Pool season isn't over after all!


For Small Hands - A Resource for Families

This is a Montessori-based resource for children that focuses on child-size, real-life items like child-size mops and brooms or a small cutting board with a wood cutting knife to prepare snacks. Montessori builds independence, character, self-esteem, responsibility, respect, imagination, discovery (I could go on and on since Lawyer has been going to a Montessori school for almost a year now) so it makes sense to have some items at home that have a Montessori-feel about them. I know Lawyer will jump right into these products/works like he would at Montessori. I got him this super cool Hammering Activity that I have to show a picture of...he's going to LOVE this!

The wooden shapes have small pre-drilled holes and then you get a hammer with real 1/2" nails. The child works on his fine motor skills (putting the nail in the hole on the wooden shape and then hammering onto the provided cork board) and it comes with pattern cards (sequencing is important!) so Lawyer can find the appropriate shapes and put them together or he can make his own patterns. I also got him this cool wooden bead activity that can be used as a lacing project (something he loves at school right now, threading beads onto string, again this builds fine motor skills that are essential for writing) or as a pattern project.


Back-to-Basics Toys: Games and Hobbies

I love this company's slogan of "They do make them like they used to!". This is a great toy store since it provides a lot of traditional and classic toys. Remember Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs and Color Forms? They got them! Remember the Fisher Price TV (you turned the knob and it played, what I remember, "Row Row Row Your Boat" while the screen "moved" to look like there was action going on), the Chatter Telephone (with his eyes that moved when you pulled him along by his string) or the Corn Popper Push Along? They got them! Lawyer's been asking for a trumpet since "he doesn't have one of those (his words)" so I found one on this site. They also have Shrinky Dinks that I think would be cool but Lawyer isn't that patient with "waiting without action" since they have to bake in the oven.

I hope this has been a good useful tool for everyone that reads this. If you don't have small children, these are great resources if you are looking to buy a special present for a grandchild, a friend's child, niece or nephew, etc. I can definitely say that Lawyer will be getting presents from his parents that are unlike anything else that other children his age would be getting. But it's not about that, it's the fact that when I spend my dollar for a toy, I want to know that it's going to be played with for year's to come without falling apart (you can't believe how many toys Lawyer gets ahold of and it falls apart the first time he plays with it...money down the drain!), that it's going to hold interest and be able to morph into other activities the older Lawyer gets and I want to know that I'm giving my money to small business (quality and customer service) rather than to "big box" retailers (low prices and quantity over quality; oh and customer service is either non-existent or it plain sucks).

Come on, you knew I had to throw a little politics in at the end at least! Lower taxes for small businesses means you get to shop at these fine establishments (otherwise, they are forced to close since it doesn't pay to have a business when you continue to give most of your money to the government!). Vote McCain/Palin if you support small businesses!!