Stuff Kids Love: Storytelling

In our new series, Stuff Kids Love we explore simple joys of children. This week we’re focusing on storytelling — because everyone loves a good story!

Children have great imaginations and their ability to think creatively is a skill that should be encouraged through purposeful play. Kids love storytelling, whether being read to, retelling things they’ve experienced or making up things off the top of their head. With stories, kids travel to distant lands, meet bizarre creatures, develop empathy towards others and learn important life lessons. Stories are fundamental in the healthy development and socialization of all children.

You don’t always need books to tell a good story; puppets, costumes and other pretend-play toys are great catalysts for a good tale as well. Melissa & Doug makes a brilliant puppet theater and puppets that allow for endless storytelling fun.

Or, if you like to create things from the very beginning, try one of ALEX toys’ paper bag puppet or marionette kits. These are great crafts that you can use even after you’ve completed the project.

Stories are also great for expanding vocabulary, creating complex narratives, learning how to articulate ideas and explore relationships and feelings. Writing a journal is a healthy way for kids to express themselves as well as practice spelling and penmanship; skills that are often neglected these days with spellcheck and the prevalence of computers.

It’s fun to make your own journals and books from scratch. Ellen and Julia Lupton have a great section in their book D.I.Y. Kids that teaches you simple binding techniques. If you’re really ambitious you could even make a book using your own recycled paper.

ALEX’s Paper Factory teaches you everything you need to know about hand-making your paper. It makes a great ‘indoorsy’ project especially during the colder or more rainy months of the year. After you’ve made a few books of your own, you could even have your own pretend-play library!

The rest of the week we'll be focusing on great story-related fun for everyone. So check back often and don't forget to tell your friends...

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Top Stocking Stuffers for Under $10

While Santa has been making his list and checking it twice - we have been too. Here is our list of Top Stocking Stuffers for under 10 dollars. Hope it helps!

1. Rory's Story Cubes

Roll the story cubes for infinite inspiration! Simply roll the 9 story cubes and begin with the image that catches your eye first. Start each tale with, "once upon a time..." and then let your imagination run wild. Great for solitary play or to use with others! 

2. Shrinky Dinks

Shrinky Dinks have been and always will be awesome. Just color the special Shrinky Dink paper and stick it in the oven or microwave. Watch them shrink into much smaller, thick, plastic charms that you can use as jewelery, attach to magnets or just to keep around because they're cool. 

3. Hexbug Nano

Kids love bugs; parents don't. Hexbug Nanos are the best of both worlds. They're bugs, but they're not disgusting! Kids love to watch them scurry around, just like real bugs. Watch them run into walls, change direction, and flip themselves over if they get stuck on their backs.

4. Ugly Doll Clips

Ugly Doll clips add gobs of character to anything you clip them to. Hang them from your belt loops, your back pack, your keys - or anything else for that matter! They make great collections because each Ugly comes complete with their own stories explaining their quirky, unique personalities.

5. Holiday Smencils

Made from recycled newpapers and stored in biodegradable Eco-corn tubes, Smencils are a huge hit with school kids and adults alike. Memory is closely linked with the olfactory sensory system, so they'll be sure to remember the warmth of the holidays when they take a whiff while writing.

6. Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's Ladder is the classic optical illusion toy that's been around for ages. Hold the top block and flip it over to watch the other blocks click and clack and appear to cascade downward. It's been delighting children and adults for centuries!

7. Tangle

This awesome sensory toy is great for twisting, snapping and tangling together. Tangles come in different colors, sizes and textures, which are sure to keep any fidgety hands busy.

8. ALEX Undercover Rearview Spy Glasses

Every good spy needs to be able to see what's going on behind them. Help your kid be a good spy by putting these in their stocking. They're a guaranteed win.

9. Yomega Yo-Yo

Tricks are great. Yomega yo-yos are great for learning all kinds of tricks. Many of them have metal bearings, which allow for maximum spinning speed.

10. Splashimals

We LOVE splashimals. They are floating playing cards that double as stickers for bathtub walls. Play them as a matching game, create your own weird animal combos or use them as a learning tool for animal and word recognition. They also make for great fun at the beach or in the pool!

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Top Toys for Under $25

This week we will provide you with lists.  Lists for our top picks of the season and top picks under $25.  Why?  Well, we want to make things easier for you, our loyal customers. 

The holidays are just around the corner and every year we get asked the same questions. Now that we have the blog, we figured we’d answer them for you sooner than later.

Whether you are shopping for gifts for your own kids, or buying for neighbors or family we want to give you the tools and information to buy the right gift for each little (or big) one on your list. 

1. Anomia

MADE IN THE USA. Think! Shout! laugh! Anomia will have everyone laughing out loud while they try to beat each other to the punch.

2. Spot It! by Blue Orange Games

There is always one and only one, matching symbol between ANY 2 cards in this game.  Spot it and you win! 2-8 players

3. Little Labs

Thames & Kosmos makes some of the most comprehensive science kits on the market. Little Labs are a great introduction to simple concepts in science.

4. Zingo Number Bingo 1-2-3

Slide the Zingo Zinger to reveal a number tile, make a match and fill your card to win.  The fast-paced game play and zany Zinger will keep kid’s counting for hours! 2-6 players

5. Pigz Up

Pigz Up by Blue Orange Games is a super fun motorskill refinement game. Be the first one to stack the piggies and get rid of your cards to win the game.

6. Green Toys Blocks

MADE IN THE USA.  This 18-piece block set is made from recycled milk jugs. Over-sized and safe they are easy to stack and unstack, which makes them perfect for any little builder.

7. My Friendship Bracelet Maker Clipboard

My Friendship Bracelet Maker Clipboard simplifies bracelet weaving for any crafty kid. Just clip your thread onto the board and separate the strings. This way you never lose track of which string gets knotted next.

8. ALEX Sticker Factory

Every kid loves stickers, so naturally ALEX's Sticker Factory is one of our favorites. Kids can make their own stickers to decorate their school text books or to add another personalized crafty element to their art projects.

9. Fliptomania Flip Book Kits

Fliptomania Flip Book Kits teach kids the basics of animation. Each set comes with four flip books - two to color, cut and clip together and two that are blank for their own creative storylines.

10. Lego Head Lamp

Every child likes to explore. This little elastic band head lamp is sure to inspire more missions!

11. Hartia Paper Mobiles

MADE IN CANADA. These unique cut and fold paper mobiles are designed by a Canadian graphic design firm. They're a playful and beautiful addition to any space - not to mention super fun to make!

12. Uncle Goose Blocks

MADE IN THE USA. Uncle Goose's beautiful wooden blocks are great for counting and stacking. Each side features a different theme: numbers, trains, buildings and rocket ships are just a few!

13. Quercetti Fantacolor Daisy

MADE IN ITALY. Fantacolor Daisy is creative pattern building at its finest. Use the multi-colored pegs to create beautiful images on the daisy-shaped design board.  

14. Green Toys Fire Truck

MADE IN THE USA. Introduced this past September, this wonderfully designed little truck is made in the USA from recycled milk jugs. It is great for kids ages 1+.

15. Melissa & Doug Cupcake Set

Who doesn’t love cupcakes?  With this little set kids can pretend to run their own cupcake business from home!  They'll make good use of their imagination to decorate and serve these sweet treats.

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Toys With Benefits

My son, Hunter, just turned two but is still not much of a talker. After taking him for several tests, we were pleased to find that he is just a late bloomer and does not have any developmental problems. We have started speech therapy with an in-home speech pathologist once a week. She is wonderful and has a bag full of toys to help Hunter express himself better through simple commands verbally and with hand gestures. After two months of weekly visits, we hadn't gotten as far as I'd like. Hunter didn't really gravitate towards her discount store items. I had noticed his intense concentration, though, while playing with several toys from aMuse that I had gotten him. I asked the therapist to use these toys instead, and we have seen immediate improvement in his expressive skills.

Among the toys we have used are Quercetti's FantaColor Junior. The colorful disks are set aside in play. He must ask for "more" pieces and put them "in" their places. The wide selection of play foods help us to imitate "munch munch" and learn the words "eat" and "drink." Hunter's first real word, ball, came from playing and shaping modeling clay into balls. Alex's craft boxes provide great opportunities to ask for "more," learn colors, and ask for "help"...one of Hunter's weaknesses he probably inherited from me. The Melissa and Doug wooden puzzles have also helped us with the basic commands for "help," "more" and "all done."

While I bought these toys initially for the wonderful skills they build, we have found another priceless benefit to owning such unique and creative tools: keeping our active two-year-old busy mentally and physically.