Built of Blocks: Roundup!

I can partially blame Freida's building infatuation on the fact that her daddy is an architect, but either way this girl is obsessed with stacking/building & demolishing. She's really not bad at it either. She does get frustrated when she discovers one of her designs is not really spatially possible...  then she just goes all "king-kong" on the entire operation! : ) Here's a roundup of some of my favorite ways to enhance this classic,timeless, and important manipulative.

1. Kido Colored Cubes $40.00

Perfect shades of color, for heaps of good looking construction!

2. Step2 Timber Blocks

We love these blocks! I can't find them available at the moment, you'll have to track 'em down...

3. Green Toys Blocks $24.99

These lego-style building blocks are super for underage architects! Easy to grasp, easy to stack.

4. Muji City in a Bag Wooden Blocks $14.00

Awesome geography extras, to use alone as a play-city or to accessorize their man-made structures.

5. Tree Branch Blocks from Romp $40.00

Warm and earthy, these twig-like builders just may be the ticket to get your little tree hugger focused on a very tactile fine-motor-skill activity.

6. City Blocks by artist, Seth Clark $85.00

These detailed city blocks are sure to up the anti on the creativity-turned-playtime factor. Pricey enough to attempt a DIY, which makes a great painting activity along the way...

7. Handmade (with heaps of love!) ModPodged blocks ($-not yet established.)

I made a fabulous set of wooden blocks while I was pregnant with Freida. I'm thinking about making them to custom order... featuring a huge selection of beautiful paper for each of the 6 sides. Just thought I'd give you all the heads-up. They make wonderful baby gifts (for the child's name etc.)...

(possibly in aleph-beis options as well.) Coming Soon! : )

My Space: Redefined

I'm so digging this foldable playspace for kids - the My Space. Pop it up and pack it up - it's playtime sans the spacial anxiety. Created by Liya Mairson, a designer who recently graduated from the Shenkar Institute for Engineering and Design. These phtotos of her cardboard playspace have been all over the web this week, so I hit her site and checked out the rest of her portfolio - she is one talented young lady ! (Have a look at her espresso+milk set. Awesome.)

Remotely Helpful

Freida's still a little young to be channel-surfing (though I'm sure my husband would love that!), but I can't say I don't see this as practical. I remember being a kid and trying to memorize which channels were what number etc. - tough stuff! Never mind the fact that most parents don't exactly willingly condone their little ones flipping through the tube... Landed upon this techy-tot solution: the iMote. This funky and colorful gadget comes with 100+ illustrated stickers (TV networks) for you to choose from, making this nifty clicker completely customizable to your preschooler.

iMote Kids Remote Control $24.49

Playing with Dough

Every once in a while I chuck out our playdough supply (it gets grimy and dirty pretty quickly when used often), and whip up a new batch. (Get the recipe here.) We've been working on Freida's colors (for now she knows blue, yellow, purple, and black... not bad!), so I veered from my usual "neon" coloring and broke out the primaries. And while I did end up staining my favorite board a bit, we had heaps of colorful fun!!!

Wanting to up the anti on this classic activity, I decided to add in another sensory factor; I gave the orange and yellow doughs a nice dash of orange/lemon extract (I though this may probe her to eat it, but she gave up on that months ago). This fun little addition made the simple playtime basic not just a terrific tactile experience, but a fun olfactory exploration as well!

Then we just played around... made some fun little creatures out of all those great colors + a handful of pocket trinkets.

She was really perturbed by the fact that the catterpillar had a penny in his mouth (I should have thought of that one while assembling them with her!)...

When we finally tired out, we retired the dough to their own little disposable Glad® containers for easy long-term storage.

Play with your Food: Roundup!

Freida's first play kitchen should arrive any day now... I've got some high hopes for the entertainment-factor this kitchen will bring her, and I'm so looking forward to the long hours she'll spend playing mom/chef (whishful thinking, right??). Now that my little bugger is joining the jr. culinary world, all my play-food browsing/testing is bound to come in handy... gotta fill those little cupboards with plenty of nutritional basics & goodies! Here's a little roundup of my current play food favorites (not that you need more grocery shopping...)! Haba Biofino: (Almost) eatible food for the little dude - Haba has an incredible line of realistic looking and versatile play food options. By far, my favorite kid-kitchen collection.

Yellow Label: Whimsical and charming - hand-knit play food with rattles inside makes for a great toy from birth onward. Plus, they look super cute! I posted more about them here.

Mellisa & Dough: Can't go wrong with this classic! Beautifully painted wooden toys + the added bonus of fine motor skills development through their fun "cutting" factor. I also love their "food group" sets - wonderful for teaching early nutrition basics.

Ikea Duktig: Fresh food is on the market! New to Ikea, this line of felted play food seems wonderfully practical as well as totally affordable!