Fun with Pop Beads

Granted, we have only had these pop beads since Easter, but they are a HUGE hit!  

 They were a gift to my four year old daughter from her grandparents.  Can you tell they make a great item for the bulldozer to doze?

In the picture below, you can see there are lots of different sizes, shapes, and even textures to go along with all the rings, bracelets, and necklaces that a child may create.

 My daughter LOVES to create!  Thankfully, she understands that the pop beads are intended for taking apart so that we can create new things all over again.

(Yes, my daughter likes to create a looong bracelet!)

If you are interested in these particular pop beads, they are B. Pop-Arty Beads.  I can see these being the only item played with when little (girl) friends come to play!  If we don't lose pieces to the bulldozer and a certain 2 year old throwing them, they will provide lots of entertainment for years to come.   These are certainly not the pop beads I had as a child!

Thanks, Grandma!

Toys My Kids Actually Play With

Two of our favorite toys for our 13 month old son, E, are Leap Frog's My Pal Scout and Fisher Price's Miracles & Milestones Musical Projector Soother. He sleeps with Scout. He pushes all the paws on his own. The music is truly soothing. It's programable to say his name. He loves it. The star music box (my name) has been used since M got it at age 2 months. She enjoyed it until E was born when she was two years old. It can play music for 5, 10, or 15 minutes. It puts colored pictures on the ceiling or wall. If E is having a particularly difficult night, I will even put it in his crib with him. My favorite is nature sounds so I don't have to listen to music, but really, the music settings are good too. So there are two toys that my son and I highly recommend of a 1 year old. (M did get Violet, the feminine version of Scout, for her birthday, but as a 3 year old, she isn't really interested. It does say to age 36 months, so that makes sense.) You can see others' toys at My Bilingual Boys.

Puzzle Book

M, age 3, loves puzzles. We have many wooden puzzles, but this Sesame Street: School Days Puzzle BOOK is my favorite (and maybe M's too). I think I've shared this before, but thought I would again. It's my favorite because it is a puzzle book. M likes it because it's Sesame Street.

Pros:

1. 5 puzzles in one book.

2. 16 pieces each.

3. There is a picture under the puzzle, but if your child doesn't need it, they can put it together without looking, too.

4. Easy storage...it's a book!

5. Each puzzle's backing has a different color, so if they are all out at once, it would be easy to sort the pieces.

Cons:

1. Abby Cadabby isn't in it. (Well, it was a disappointment for M.)

2. It might be hard to find. A Google search wasn't so productive, though I did find other Sesame Street puzzle books.

For other puzzle ideas/reviews you can check out Izzie, Mac, and Me's Christmas Reviews of Games and Puzzles.

Top Five Toys

Christy at Superheroes and Princesses suggested doing a top five favorite toys post today. I think it's great to share ideas sooner than later for Christmas gifts. M is about to turn three years old. In no particular order, some wonderful toys... Play-Doh- We have the duffel bag kit. It is the perfect starter kit with the "needed" accessories like the rolling pin, scissors, and spaghetti maker. We still Doodle Pro by Fisher Price- We have the dinosaur version, so it comes with a bone and dino foot print to use, too. Even our son (almost 1) loves to use this and draws daily with it. Blocks- We have Lego Duplos (the basic start up and a couple of additional sets),as well as, a nice set of wooden alphabet blocks. Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Musical Learning Chair- I got this at a yard sale two summers ago and gave it to M for her second birthday. It was a huge hit for many months. For E's safety, we put it in the basement for several months. Just recently it was brought back out and both children love it. Puzzles- We love any wooden puzzle, especially Melissa and Doug brand, but they are really hard to store. We have an Elmo puzzle book (not wooden) that we just love too. It has five puzzles inside and it's simple to store!

I highly recommend the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD for ages 2-4. It's not a toy, but still worthy to be included in my top five post. Though M does not sing along, she knows each letter's sound because of it. She'll sing the song with me, just not the video.

Visit Superheroes and Princesses for other toy recommendations.