I Love Giving Baby Bug, the Grandchildren Love Getting it.

Since my grandchildren were 1.5 years old, the magazine, Baby Bug has arrived in each of their mail boxes nine months out of the year, a gift from David and I.  Every one of the grandchildren (independent of their parents) LOVES BABY BUG.  The parents love it too but the fact that the children love it is what is most impressive.  You can look through a past copy of this incredible product from Carus Publishing here.

One note, the two March babies are being switched up to Lady Bug, the Carus magazine for 3 to 6 year old children come January 1st.  You can look though a past copy of Lady Bug here.  One of the lovely benefits Carus offers is the ability to switch up to the next magazine when the child is ready without anyone having to purchase a new subscription.

Carus Publishing also publishes Cricket, Cobblestone and many other amazing magazines for children between 6 months and 15 years old.   I'll do a post about Carus Publishing after Christmas because every parent and grandparent should know about them; but while you're visiting to look at Baby Bug or Lady Bug, take a look around their site.

"Tis the (Catalog) Season

They are coming in at a furious pace now.  I discovered five in my mailbox in as many days.  I probably should have thrown them all out immediately, but I'm a doting grandmother and I've always been an easy mark for "dream book" catalogs.

I was three years old when I first noticed The Sears and Roebuck Christmas catalog that arrived at our country home in Monclova, Ohio around Thanksgiving,  I'd go through the toy section of that book day after day, straight through Advent.

Still a sucker for a colorful toy catalog I disguise my inner three year old (who is still revelling in magical catalog pages)  by doing the "grown-up" work of sifting them carefully in order to inform other over sized three year olds which ones are the most useful, and to figure out which toys I would consider "testing" for play and teaching value.

My baseline considerations for catalog inclusion:
A. products allow the child to bring his own wit and creativity to the activity,
B. products intrigue the child without adults having to nag and
C. products don't attempt to teach the child more than one new concept at a time.
These are also three of my top considerations for toys that I choose to test.

I managed to reduce the pile to four magazines.  Three have items I want to order for testing.  The third is a Montessori supplier. (I want all their stuff!) There is a lot of duplication in the best of these magazines because they all carry some of the most respected producers of children's toys; but each of the following catalogs includes several interesting products unique to it alone. I've identified some things below that look like likely candidates for testing and that are examples of the kinds of choices available in that particular catalog. My hierarchy follows.

1. Montessori Services A catalog of hard to find materials that support children's Montessori work.  The following example, created for a child's pouring work, is a blue, Depression style glass pouring set created for small hands.  The Pitcher is 2" base x 3 1/4" high and holds 3 oz.; glasses are 1"base x 2" high.

2. Blueberry Forest  One long time favorite catalog is only online.  It provides some of the most beautiful toys available, many of them designed specifically for Waldorf families but which are available and appealing to anyone who loves aesthetically stunning concept and workmanship.

This mobile is just one excellent example of the exquisit workmanship to be found amidst the Blueberry Forest.










3. MindWare One of the most exciting general catalogs I've encountered for children between 6 and 12.  The emphasis in this one is on science and math.  I Just have to remember that the baseline considerations still apply here.  This catalog is enormously tempting.

Development of deductive reasoning skills is not a frequent consideration when parents and grandparents select gifts and materials for children.  It's too bad.  Deductive reasoning is  a critically important skill and   and the source of lots of fun.  Happily, Mindware has a wonderful collection of activities that integrate well though MindWare doesn't really overtly mention the fact.  I'm going to test this collection of items

Math Perplexers - These are simply deductive reasoning exercises.  Look around, you may find other less expensive exercises of this kind.  I will purchase the set for testing but I have a collection I actually like better in my library.  It is unfortunately currently out of print.

Forensic Science Kit - This kit gives children fun, hands on materials to carry out investigations

LineUp  While not exercising deductive reasoning, this memorization game will be a lot of fun integrated with the other materials and fun is good.









4.  Hearthsong  Hearthsong does a superb job of making sure they have well designed items that appeal to both quiet and rambunctious kids.  It was here that I found Flingshot Monkeys, a terrifically creative turn on slingshots. I'm not sure how much educational value Flingshot Monkeys will provide, but screaming monkey races???  Who could resist?

The Joy and Beauty of Music and Musical Instruments

This summer at camp we discovered how much joy older infants and toddlers experience when they can join the family sings with drums, maracas, rattles, bells, claves, etc. The smiles and grins on their faces were crazy wonderful as they banged away to "She'll Be Comin Round the Mountain When She Comes", and "Jimmy Crack Corn".  Most of these items frequently sit on the toy shelf unless other members of the family are involved in the music making.  The children seem to get a good deal of the pleasure of making music from the community spirit of the effort.  Break out in song and toddlers fly to the instruments to join in.


The Grandma's Treehouse children's corner now has a full complement of noisy wonderful instruments.  The best place I've found for buying beautiful instruments is 10,000 Villages.  10,000 Villages sells handmade items created by the artists and artisans of various world cultures and the profit goes to the indigenous people who actually create the products such as you see below.  When you visit the website, you can read about the artists and artisans.  10,000 Villages sells much much more than musical instruments.  I think you'll enjoy the visit. And, what a delightful and appropriately concrete way to begin teaching children about other cultures! 


                          

Thunder Tube

Make a thunderous noise by whirling this bright Thunder Tube. Fun for all ages - hand-painted instrument mimics the sound of thunder. Made from cardboard tube with one end covered by leather. Wire coil pokes through the leather. A Ten Thousand Villages exclusive.

• Cardboard, leather, metal
• 3Dx11.5H inches
• Made in Indonesia

Weight: 2.25 lbs. Product Code: #6901830

Currently $14.00
                         

Frog Percussion Instrument

Hollow wooden frog has bumps running down its back. Slide the stick up and down them to produce a frog’s mating or distress call. The stick can be placed through holes in the frog’s cheeks for storage. Made from local jempinis wood, harvested sustainably.

• Painted jempinis wood
• 3Wx4Lx3H inches
• Made in Indonesia

Weight: 0.54 lbs. Product Code: #6911330

Currently $12.00

Geckos Rainstick

Add the rattle of the rain to your percussion repertoire. Natural rainstick features three painted geckos. Chilean artisans clean the bark and interior from a section of cactus, then insert crisscross cactus spines and lava pebbles that produce the rain sound as they fall from end to end.

· Cactus section, cactus spines, lava pebbles
· 1.5Dx12L inches
· Made in Chile

Weight: 0.23 lbs. Product Code: #8700400

Currently $18.00

Rhythm of Life Drum

Tradition, beauty and rhythm. Make African rhythm a part of your life with this cone-shaped Kenyan drum, traditionally called a bongo. Natural goat skin drum head and sides on a metal frame. In Kenya this drum is used for special ceremonies, weddings and ritual dances.

• Goat skin drum head and sides
• Metal frame
• Looped handle
• 17H inches
• Made in Kenya

Weight: 3.81 lbs. Product Code: #4101070

Currently $64.00

When you go visit the 10,000 Village Website, type "musical instruments" into the search feature to find even more wonderful choices.

Childproofing: Safety or Paranoia

It appears that there is a battle royal going on about the value and message of childproofing a home. I just spent a couple of hours reading thoroughly depressing online comments of mothers and fathers who were in full fury at grandparents, neighbors, and members of the general public who didn't or wouldn't childproof their homes. According to this particular set of mothers and fathers, the main task of parents is to protect children from any and all harm. The sites where I found these defensive rants against a hostile world, were selling childproofing products. Paranoia encouraged by marketing!

I believe in childproofing. Yes, indeed I do. Put the sharp implements out of the way. Until you are ready to oversee use of the stairs, put safety gates up. Lock up the chemicals and the meds. Get the breakables out of harms way until you are ready teach the child(ren) what they may and may not touch. (Note all the “until[s]”) And last, know your children and grandchildren well enough to add the extra things necessary for the special needs of a particular child.

Having said all that, I believe first and foremost, in Montessori's practice of making it possible for the child to manage and navigate her environment safely and successfully.

I've selected two excellent examples of safety products which help accomplish that goal  The first company has designs for two different kinds of hand rails.  

This is KidCo again. The PeaPod travel bed I wrote about earlier is a KidCo. product.  This company has someone at the helm of the product design department with good sense and good taste. You can get both of these designs at Amazon for a reasonable price.

There were several other good products shown at KidCo. Rather than describe them all, I'm putting in a link so you can look for yourself. Be sure to check out their products for stoves and their various cupboard and door locks. I don't think you need many but you may want locks for the cleaning supplies and the tool cupboard etc. The two products that they sell which I think are absolutely pointless are the bedrails which only get in the way of kids trying to get to the toilet in the middle of the night, and toilet locks. Honestly!

Here's the other big winner. Instead of shutting your grandchild out of the kitchen, the Learning Tower gives a child a safe way to work with Grandma and Grandpa at counter level. Note that floor of the tower can be changed as your grandchild grows or when s/he stands at a counter of a different height. This, plus some terrific Montessori kitchen equipment, has all the necessary ingredients for a fascinating toddler/preschooler investigation. This product has other interesting uses as well.

Little Partners is the company that makes the Learning Tower. I haven't purchased this yet, but it's on my Christmas list and if it doesn't show up, I'll buy it myself. The oldest grandbabies are getting to the age (3) when they can begin participating in cooking projects.

Other Sensible products.

For 2^nd story decks, we bought flexible netting from a hardware store to go around the deck rail and put a sturdy old stair gate in front of the the spiral stairs. The stair gate will stay up until the children's legs are long enough to safely get from stair to stair and their arms are long enough to comfortably reach the rail. The netting will stay up until we have no more 1 month to 24 month old babies. If the deck were at the first floor level, we likely would not have gone to all the trouble. By time Tav was 2 years old, he was successfully jumping from first floor decks and porches to the ground.

I did run into a bathroom emergency door lock release that would have been handy in a different life time for hauling drunks out of the bathroom at parties. I'm not sure it's a necessity for child safety but it's definitely worth a thought for gatherings where Uncle Jake drinks more than is discrete.

This is a good point to start a discussion about how to help young children and babies stay safe without limiting their need to explore and experiment .  If you've found other products that help provide safety while allowing an infant/toddler/pre-schooler to better control her environment, please jump in and tell on.

More Freedom for Parents. More Toddler Time With Grandparents

The PeaPod

I love having the babies "sleep over" at our apartment; but we don't have extra bedrooms and, within a certain age range, the babies need to sleep in a very familiar environment. A couple of weeks ago our 14 month old Montreal grandbaby, came to stay with the grandparents in Troy, NY for the first time.

She arrived  with her own mini-bedroom for the road, the PeaPod™ baby travel tent made by Kidco. 

Before her parents brought her, they wisely had their daughter spend nights in it at home until it was a familiar, comfortable sleep environment. Our house was strange to her but the PeaPod™ and Mr. Rabbit were familiar and provided  a comforting and safe retreat when our unfamiliar house and relatively strange faces overwhelmed her.  By the end of her stay, the need for daytime retreats to the PeaPod and for Mr. Rabbit were much reduced.  Having a place to go, that she knew well, definitely made the transition much easier and shorter.

KidCo's PeaPod™ includes an inflatable air mattress that provides protection from cold, damp floors while providing a comforting place to sleep. The airmattress support goes under the floor of the tent so a baby doesn't sleep directly on the plastic.  Zippered panel allows quick and easy access to a baby from literally any angle. The easy to fold design makes it convenient to store and use anytime.   There is enough space inside the tent for baby sit up and crawl around. If you need, for some reason, to contain your baby, the tent flap can be shut down though we kept it open the whole time. 


$57.00 dollars seems to be about the right price at either Amazon or on Ebay.  Used, it can be had for as low as $21.00.  I've seen a plethora of products that attempt to accomplish what the PeaPod™ actually accomplishes and this is the only one that impressed me so far.
There was a good question about the PeaPod's stability.  Montreal Baby is no delicate child.  She is very forceful and very active.  The PeaPod never flipped over or malfunctioned in any way.  I ovserved that to be true, not only in my own house, but also at our week-long family camp.

Top Rated Toys

card table hideout

In truth, the best toys are those children make for themselves.  A shaky old card table with the cat's blanket over it becomes a hide out or a castle.




 A box becomes a dandy pirate ship.

shipping box pirate ship

A couple of refrigerator boxes and some paint make a first rate playhouse

Card Board Box Play House

My Adrian and Mariah spent months with Gwyneth, the little girl across the street, creating "dog traps" out of neighborhood cast offs.  I've never received a particularly understandable definition of a "dog trap" but Mariah, Adrian, and Gwyneth apparently were quite clear about it and were able, as well, to create variations on the basic design.  When I would ask about it, they would just look at me like I was asking them to explain the obvious.  That is some serious play.