I love a touch of whimsy with my kids’ toys. That’s why I adore these Topsy Turvy dolls from the North American Bear Company. Play with them one way and you have a perfectly adorable doll. But turn them upside down and you have something else again.
The dolls are made in beautiful tactile fabrics including felt, organza and taffeta for subliminal sensory play alongside the obvious imaginative stuff. There’s Dorothy with a flip-side Toto, Cinderella in her glad rags and her not-so-glad rags, Snow White and her nasty stepmother, Little Red Riding Hood with both the Big Bad Wolf and grandma in tow, Beauty with her Beast and his alter-ego Prince, Goldilocks with the three bears, and – so hot right now - the Good Witch and Bad Witch from Oz. Totally, umm, Wicked.
My favourites - Cinders and Little Red - have both won coveted Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal awards along with other industry gongs. I couldn’t pick between them so my little girl’s getting both this Christmas. You can get them too for only US$20 each from B Wares & Co, who I discovered will ship to Australia for an additional and very reasonable US$24.95.
Don’t you
love an inspirational quote? I often find
a choice sentence can justify most actions – such as purchasing an
extraordinarily expensive child’s toy while being reassured that I am indulging
in my little one’s educational and developmental needs.
The website for Swiss
manufacture Naef Toys – the master craftsmen behind the stunning hand-crafted Gloggomobil
musical instrument – has a page of quotations which embrace the importance of
play, such as “When you play, nothing is impossible” (apart from eating
perhaps, if you’ve blown the monthly budget on a super-duper glockenspiel-cum-xylophone-cum-barrel
organ).
But if you
have an inkling that your baby or toddler could be the next Mozart, and you’ve
already gone through the gamut of usual toy instruments (electronic keyboard,
annoying toy guitar, various shakers and tambourines, tiny violins and excrutiatingly
noisy trumpets, grand piano…) then perhaps this aesthetically pleasing,
sophisticated and educational music machine could be next on the list.
Designed
in 1983 by Herbert Bahli for Naef Toys the Gloggomobile uses the principle of
the barrel-organ – as studs on the barrel are struck, tunes are created and
carried through a simple mechanism to the metal keys of the glockenspiel. The
wooden xylophone can also be played directly with sticks.
It
is a stunning piece of craftsmanship in itself and I bet parents will have as
much fun playing, admiring and displaying this top-of-the-range toy, available online through
Fawn and Forest which ships internationally, which is entirely hand-made in
Switzerland and designed to last. And when your paying to the tune of US$900 a
pop, you would hope so.
Clementine Organic Playdoh comes in swanky packaging that really is a
parent-pleaser. For those
of us determined not to give in to those plastic yellow tubs, here is dough presented in stainless steel and clear
glass.
It's not just the packaging that sets this playdough apart from the
usual - each tub contains delicious smelling organic dough,
with scents of Lemon, Orange, Key Lime, Blueberry, Strawberry and
Grape. Included
in the set are some wooden tools for them to get to work with - two patterned
rollers, a hammer and a rolling cutter. I like the fact that
it can all be packed away neatly into its shiny metal box instead of
having a mass of loose things that don't have a home.
Blow the extra cash on this far from garden-variety playdough, and
their little hands will be smelling so sweet. Your home will be
free from predicatble plastic tubs - who would have thought playdough
would be displayable!
Available from Black Wagon for US$46 and they will ship
internationally.
These delightful
Crayon Rocks
will have your children clamouring to
colour, draw and write, even if they've been reluctant to use
conventionally-shaped writing tools. They're just so irresistably
pretty
in their shades of 16 different colours and shaped like neat little
rocks. The form helps your child attain the tripod grip which
is the most desirable pencil grip. Fatigue is lessened by putting just
the fingers to work instead of the entire forearm.
Created by a special needs teacher who recognised how essential to
handwriting it is to establish a tripod grip early in life, the
crayons are crafted from soy wax. They inspire children to be
adventurous with their art - an unconventional tool can bring out
untold talents at the same time as strengthening hand and finger
muscles and improving fine motor skills.
Crayon Rocks enable children of diverse abilities to escape the
confines of the usual and to step into art, drawing and writing that's
extraordinary!
Crayon Rocks can be purchased in sets of 16 (1 of each colour) for US$4.99 and 64 rocks (4 of each colour) for $17.99. Alternatively, get some people together and go for the classroom set of 24 boxes for $119.76. Nico & Zoe will ship these Internationally.
In April this year we let you know about these post and play sets from Let's Play Mail. They are now available in Australia from monkeytail & wellington for $55 plus postage.
A fun way to encourage young children about the delights of sending and receiving mail, self-expression and reading is through Lets Play Mail.
In
our high-tech world snail mail could easily become a thing of the past
– but who doesn’t love to get a personalised letter, postcard or parcel
in the post?
The US-designed set comes with a mailbox, a drawstring mail bag,
shipping box, three postcards, two envelopes, six stamps, six address
labels and six messages. Stamps and messages stick to mail envelops and
postcards with velcro. Soon the kids will be ready to send real mail!
There's also special delivery sets of letters To Santa, and another to
Grandma and Pa. as well as invitations to special parties, and
valentines for special friends. Recommended for ages three and up.
