Reviews for $0-20
Think It Ink It creative writing kits for kids are like mini creative writing courses, with tools and templates to help your grandchild get the juices flowing, while gaining a sense of completion and satisfaction as they literally publish their own storybook. Choose from four professionally illustrated wordless picture books — with illustrations that are playful and colorful, and that invoke a sense of wonder. The kit includes a sticky-note pad and pencil for the budding author to write a rough draft of the copy to accompany the illustrations and complete their storybook. There are also plenty of helpful tips for the child authors, as well as for adults who may be helping them. The first two pages of each book are instructions that can be read by your grandchildren or can be read aloud to them. They mainly consist of questions to assist with the creative process. For example, in Phase I, or the “Think It” phase, they may want to ask themselves: Who are the characters in the story? What are their names? What happens in the story? How does the story end? In Phase II, or the “Ink It” phase, they can begin writing or dictating their story onto their sticky notes, which then get placed on the appropriate pages with corresponding illustrations. There are similar questions they should ask themselves to guide them in the writing process, such as: What is happening in this picture? Then what happened? And, so on. Finally, in Phase III, or the “Publish It” phase, there are two options for publishing the storybook. One way is for your grandchild (or a helpful adult) to write, or “ink” the story directly into the template book, where the book’s title and author’s name can be written on the front cover. That is how it works if you purchase one of the Think It Ink It kits for $9.95. Or, for a more professional look, and for $29.95, their story can be written online via the company’s website, and then published into a custom hardcover book that includes the author’s photo and bio on the back cover. Either option makes a wonderful gift and a definite keepsake to mark another step in your grandchild’s understanding of the creative process and the power of words.
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Do you find yourself constantly pulling your grandkid’s pants up? If so, there’s a belt that can help with the droops, while also promoting independence and boosting self-esteem. Myself Belts (for both girls and boys), enables young kids to fasten the belt themselves and keep their pants up — and make a fun fashion statement to boot! Once the belt is secured, young boys and girls will need only one hand to fasten and unfasten their Myself Belt, making trips to the potty a breeze. Myself Belt also works well for kids who are still in diapers, since parents, grandparents and caregivers don’t have to wrestle with traditional buckles during diaper changes. Here’s how this patented belt works: Secure the Myself Belt by snapping the end of it around the front belt loop on the child’s left, keeping the velcro facing out. Then slide the rest of the belt through the remaining loops. Then join the ends together and secure the belt using the velcro patches. All your grandchild will need to do is manipulate the velcro, which should be a snap… or a peel, since we’re dealing with velcro! Myself Belt’s signature product is intended for kids ages 2-8 (see size chart) and comes in many designs to suit the pickiest and most fashion-conscious boys and girls. Our daughter loves her pink corduroy belt, shown here. This small gift could make a big difference in a little kid’s wardrobe!
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What if you could buy a great gift for your grandchild (something you’ve found on Grandkids Gift Guide, of course!) — make that gift even more special by personalizing it and wrapping it in adventure — and, better, yet — make that special experience last 1 to 2 weeks, and forever in their memories? A new “adventure by mail” service called Giftventure will make that happen for you! All you need to do is go to their website and order a giftventure by choosing an adventure and answering a few short questions about your grandchild to personalize it. Choose a treasure map adventure for kids 4-8, a maze adventure for kids 8-12, or choose from several seasonal/holiday adventures. Their characters include: Captain Percy the Pirate, Fay the Fairy Princess, Gunther the Dragon, and holiday favorites — Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and Cupid. A giftventure includes 3-4 mailers to your granchild sent every three days from the character you choose. The mailers include colorful letters and posters, as well as puzzles and clues leading them to the location of your gift. Simply provide Giftventure with your grandchild’s name and address, location where your gift will be hidden, as well as a favorite toy/game and landmark to be incorporated in their special story. Giftventure will do the rest! If you know you want to give your grandchild a giftventure but don’t know exactly when — or you’re waiting for a special occasion to occur (a birthday, the holidays — or a special visit at your house or theirs!), Giftventure provides two simple options. One option is to have the giftventure mailed to you or your grandchild’s parents as a package, where everything is included, and the letters, etc. can be distributed (by grown-ups) at the most appropriate times. Or you can purchase a Giftventure gift certificate, which can be redeemed by you or your grandchild’s parents at a later date. Once you decide to give a giftventure, all you need is the gift — and you’re only a few clicks away from that! So… let the adventure and the memory-making begin!
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We’ve found that parents and grandparents tend to love Thinkfun’s brain teaser games just as much as their children and grandchildren. Top This!, one of Thinkfun’s newest additions for ages 8 and up, is no exception. The object of the game is to create the same overall shape using orange pieces of varying shapes stacked on top of blue pieces of varying shapes, or vice versa. Top This! borrows some basic concepts from classic tangrams, yet it has a wonderfully complex personality all its own. 40 game cards ranging from beginner level, to intermediate, to advanced, to expert level, show you the pieces of each color that you will need to complete each puzzle. Beginner puzzles/cards start with just 2 shape pieces of each color, and the remaining puzzles all require 3 pieces of each color. Most older children and adults should be able to get through the beginner and intermediate level puzzles without too much difficulty or with a bit of help. It is at the advanced and expert levels that the head scratching begins, and where you might find yourself obsessed with completing a particular card. Like many Thinkfun games, Top This! is beautifully packaged, with all of its 20 shape pieces, 40 puzzle cards (with solutions), and clever card holder, fitting into a nylon travel pouch. Top This! is hard to top!
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The King of Skittledeedoo (personally signed copy)$15 at Power for Kids |
Award-winning television and film writer Patricia Rust shares with us her passion for children’s literacy in her delightful book, The King of Skittledeedoo. Written for preschoolers to be read to or for early readers (up to age eight) to read to themselves, The King of Skittledeedoo is written entirely in rhyming verse, which is a great way to get children to pay attention to the letter sounds that make up words. The book also introduces children to words they may not recognize yet, such as, “preening,” “amuck,” “girth,” and “beseech,” to name a few. This combination of rhyming verse and new vocabulary words makes The King of Skittledeedoo a perfect book to read aloud to your grandchild, placing emphasis on the rhymes and explaining the definitions of the new words. The King of Skittledeedoo tells the story of a stately king who loses all of his supposed stateliness — his crown, clothes, jewels, etc. — when a tragic fire burns throughout the kingdom. Left with only a towel, he tries to calm his kingdom’s people down by letting them know he is in control, but without his usual garb, his people don’t recognize him. So they put him to the test and ask him to prove he is their king by adding simple numbers and spelling words such as “potatoes,” “mother,” and even, “Skittledeedoo.” When he fails miserably, two children decide to bring him to school, believing that whether or not he is their king, he, like everyone, should know the “three R’s.” The tale ends happily, of course, but we’ll leave it up to you to discover the ending for yourself. The literacy message is clear, yet isn’t preachy. Along with writing for TV and film, Patricia Rust is a contributing writer to the Kids Page of the Los Angeles Times, and is the founder of Power for Kids, a nonprofit organization that helps spread the word about the importance of children’s literacy. You may also recognize the whimsical, cartoon-like illustrations of San Wei Chan, an award-winning animator and illustrator for Warner Brothers Studios, where he worked on beloved shows, such as Looney Tunes. The King of Skittledeedoo, a full-color, hardcover children’s book, makes a nice gift, and when you order from her website (see “Click Here” link below), Patricia Rust is happy to personally inscribe your copy!
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Peg Loom -- Weaving for Beginners$20 at Amazon.com |
We love Harrisville Designs’ fiber arts kits that teach children how to use their hands to make something functional and beautiful. This Peg Loom kit for beginners (ages 5 and up) is just one of several weaving kits Harrisville sells, in addition to kits for making potholders, knitting, felt making, and more. It includes a child-size handheld hardwood loom with slanted pegs to hold yarn in place, as well as a plastic needle, cotton warp string, and enough yarn to complete a project. This weaving method is easy and satisfying for younger children to use — threading the needle over and under the warp string until they produce their own fabric. And, with a little help from you, they can transform that fabric into their own textile product! Peg Loom and other fiber arts projects help your grandchild to develop fine motor, basic math and concentration skills. And, as an added bonus, they have great intergenerational appeal — it’s easy to envision a grandparent or parent sitting with a child to guide them through a weaving project. While they go about their business of producing high quality knitting yarns and handweaving equipment for both children and adults (check out their website to see their full-size looms and other products), Harrisville Designs is helping to preserve the textile heritage of its town, Harrisville, New Hampshire, where yarn has been spun since 1794. In an age where so many children’s toy and product manufacturers struggle to design something new, it’s refreshing to promote a line of products that keeps an ancient art current, making it available to an appreciative new generation, as well as their parents and grandparents.
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Once in a while a book comes around that can change the direction of a child’s life. Three Cups, a new children’s book based on a true story, has the potential to do just that. Mark St. Germain retells the story of the present a boy received from his parents for his fifth birthday… a present, his parents explained, that would “take him on many adventures.” As he proceeds to unwrap 3 old coffee cups from his family’s kitchen cabinet, he is at first disappointed and confused. But then his parents give him the second part of his gift — his first weekly allowance — and the adventure begins! His parents help him divide his allowance into 3 cups — one for saving, one for spending, and one to use towards a charity of his choice. As the weeks go on, the cups fill and it’s time to put the money from each cup to use. The money in the saving cup gets deposited in the bank “to keep it safe” and “make it grow.” The money in the spending cup eventually pays for a new baseball glove and a present for his little sister. At first, he has a hard time figuring out what to do with the money collected in the charity cup, because, he thought, “there were so many people who needed help,” and his charity cup was “so small.” But his parents assured him there were “a hundred things,” and even “a hundred times a hundred things,” that he could do with the money. He settled on buying eight cans of soup for his school’s food drive, and helped his teacher make deliveries to needy families. As the boy grows, so does the amount of his allowance, and the money placed in each cup. And, then, when he’s old enough to work, he continues the tradition, helping to pay for his own college and helping many more people through charity. The lessons in Three Cups are simple and classic and do not read as preachy. Instead, they make up an engaging story that will encourage children and families to easily put the principles into practice. The gorgeous illustrations by April Willy perfectly suit the book. She has a way of accurately capturing the feelings the boy has throughout the entire Three Cups learning process — disappointment, inquisitiveness, excitement and pride. Of course, Three Cups is a perfect gift for your grandchildren — for you to read with them and to help instill the principles it so eloquently suggests. Three Cheers for Three Cups!
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Strategy games don’t tend to invoke fits of laughter. Head scratching, huffing and puffing, or contemplative silence — perhaps. But laughter? Not usually. That’s why a new game called Jishaku, the Japanese word for “magnet,” is so much fun. The game features finely polished hematite magnets as playing pieces that get placed in available spaces on a foam game base. The strategy is to use the magnets’ force (their North & South poles) to repel the magnets closest to them on the base without forcing them to connect with other magnets. There are three variations of the game but the most popular (and simplest) is “I’m Out,” where the goal is to get rid of all of your magnets. As described above, when other magnets connect with yours during your turn you must take all of the magnets back with you. The first couple of turns are easier because there is plenty of space to spread the magnets out. But the fun starts once things get more crowded. You and your grandchildren will be constantly surprised when the magnets instantly snap together without warning. And then the laughter starts. It’s so much fun that you almost don’t mind losing! Although Jishaku is intended for players age 8 and up, it’s possible to play with slightly younger grandchildren depending on the child (the magnets must not go anywhere near a child’s mouth!). Older grandchildren and adults will enjoy the challenge of mastering the power of magnetic force. Jishaku is thoughtful, yet surprising and fun!
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Lacing cards have been around for eons and the simple yet satisfying concept still make them a popular gift idea today. Just thread the shoelace-like string under and over the holes that surround the colorful image painted on the card. Grandchildren ages three to about five or so will appreciate this quiet-time play that encourages them to focus and exercise their fine-motor skills. And, perhaps, you’ll enjoy the memory of doing this same activity as a child! Sturdy non-bendable cardboard sets of 5 cards measuring 8 x 9 1/2 come in 12 varieties, including Friendly Pets (shown here), Things that Go, Under the Sea, and Barn Animal Musicians. Like all of Eeboo’s products, their lacing cards feature original art from well-known children’s book illustrators, which adds to their nostalgic appeal. So lace up, and take a stroll down memory lane with your grandchildren!
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We’re convinced that the best way to learn new concepts is to make games out of them. Whizizzle Phonics Games are a fun and effective way for children ages 4 and older to learn to read — and a wonderful way for you to be involved in the process. Each card deck (decks 1-3 and 4-6 are sold as 2 separate sets) teaches different sounds. For instance, Game 1 teaches short vowel sounds in consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words — “leg,” “sad,” “cup,” etc. The game-playing rules are similar to other card deck games. Each player is dealt 7 cards that include “word” cards and “action” cards — such as “Leap Frog,” which means the next player’s turn is skipped, or “Turn Around,” which reverses the direction of play. There is a draw pile and a discard pile. The person whose turn it is must choose a card from his or her own hand to match the vowel or consonant sounds on the card face-up on the discard pile. For instance, if the card on the discard pile features the word “red,” your grandchild can choose to match it with a card that features the words, “rag” (the beginning sound), “pen” (the middle sound), or “dad” (the ending sound). The word and the sound they’re matching (vs. the letter) must be uttered to complete the turn. An “action” card can also be played if there is no matching “word” card, or to simply make things more interesting. It’s fun, portable, and one more way to help your grandchild learn to read. Play it and watch what happens!
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