Hasbro will be one to watch

…quite literally, perhaps.

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discovery_logo_1It was reported last week that Hasbro and Discovery Communications are partnering up to launch a new tv network and website, built around toys that many of us—and now, our kids—have grown to love. New programming will be based on shows, toys and games such as Romper Room, Trivial Pursuit, Cranium, My little Pony, G.I. Joe, Transformers, among others.
Discovery Kids Channel, which currently touts shows such as Bindi the Jungle Girl and Hip Hop Harry will be replaced by the yet-to-be-named channel that is set to debut in 2010.

Moms and dads, what are your thoughts on this new format?

Go outdoors with Crayola

Crayola is challenging kids this summer with their nationwide campaign, The Outdoor Challenge. The challenge is quite easy and goes a little like this: after chores, homework and meals, step away from the computer and electronics and go outside to have fun! Easy enough, right?

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The Outdoor Challenge coincides with National Physical Fitness & Sports Month and encourages outdoor play for kids of all ages. Crayola even enlisted Olympic Gold Medalist Dan O’Brien to help kick off this campaign. O’Brien will attempt to break the current Guinness World Record for the fastest game of hopscotch, which is currently one minute and 23 seconds. The Decathlon champion and Hop Scotch champ hopeful was seen training yesterday at Chelsea Piers.  Stay tuned to find out if he accomplishes this latest endeavor!

Dan O'BrienCrayola is challenging families to achieve the national goal of one million hours of pledged outdoor play time through the end of the summer. Research by Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that kids ages 8-10 spend an average of six hours a day consumed with electronics and in front of computer and tv screens, increasingly overshadowing outdoor play.

From kickball to hopscotch, the options for colorful outdoor play are endless. But in case you need ideas, Crayola has added some new products to their lineup of creative tools for outdoor play.

Crayola takes sidewalk chalk to the next level with their new Sidewalk Crayons. With Sidewalk Crayons, kids can use the outdoors as their own personal coloring book. As opposed to the pastel palette of sidewalk chalk, the Sidewalk Crayons are bright and bold and have a smoother feel. After playtime, just like chalk, Sidewalk Crayons are easily washed off of driveways and sidewalks.

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Crayola has also introduced the Airbrush Painter, which pumps out washable sidewalk paint to create airbrushed designs. Designs can be created freehand or with the included stencils. As always Crayola thinks ahead: the airbrush only sprays when pointed downward, so young artists—or their siblings— won’t become their own canvas.

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We’re definitely taking this challenge. In fact, since the rain if finally letting up, we’re grabbing our bucket of chalk and heading to the park! Whatever your medium for colorful play might be, make sure you get outside as often as possible!

Step2 introduces new outdoor toys

Despite yet another gray day here, I’m loving all the exciting ideas and new toys for outdoor play. Step2, one of my favorite toy brands for durable outdoor gear, has rolled out some fun new outdoor toys including, the Sand & Water Transportation Station, the Nature Station Playhouse, Arctic Splash and Water Rush Quarry.

Arctic Splash

This is water table that features a mountain, complete with ice slide, tunnel and dumping bucket. It also includes some fun toys–a polar bear, walrus and penguin squirt toys.

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Sand & Water Transportation Station

This set combines toddlers’ favorites—the fun of a train table and water table. The table has two compartments for both sand and water and features funnels atop table legs that double as loading stations, and comes with a toy train and rake.

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Water Rush Quarry

This multi-level toy is an extreme sandbox that combines the fun of a construction site–it can even have water flow from top to bottom. It includes one crane, two bridges, a tunnel, a dam, a ramp, a bucket, a shovel and two construction vehicles.

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Nature Sation Playhouse

This nature-themed playhouse features a shelf for examining flowers, bugs or other outdoor treasures. Step2 helps kids become one with nature with the included shovel, bug collector, butterfly net, lantern, microscope with two slides, tweezers, bug trap shovel, binoculars and pivoting periscope.

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Hatley rain gear

They say April showers brings May flowers, but I think Mother Nature has a different agenda this year. We’ve seen a lot of rain in the past few weeks here in the Tri-State area, and I hear it’s pretty much the same in other parts of the East Coast.

Always on the prowl for practical, yet fun kid accessories, I came acrross Hatley’s great selection of rain gear.  I always complain that most retailers crowd the boys’ department racks with clothes splattered with choo-choo trains and puppy dogs. Well, not Hatley, they go beyond puppy dogs with cool designs on their rainboots like aliens, moose and camping gear!  I can take trains and puppies in moderation, so I appreciate Hatley’s adorable selection of rain gear.  The pirate rainboots are definitely my favorite.

Insert cutesey Arrrgh! or other pirate-y catchphrase here 😉

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The girls’ selection has accessories beyond pink for those in the pink rebellion!  Check out this adorable apple print umbrella–it’s so cute without being sticky sweet.

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Oscar the Pig app from iKids Play

387035_5Pigs have been getting a lot of bad publicity lately, but if the shows on cartoon networks are indicative of kids’ unflappable taste in characters, pigs have and will always be a favorite when it comes to books, shows and now, apps!
Oscar the Pig written by Megan Calhoun, the multi-faceted founder of Twittermoms, is a great book that talks about the transition of mom going back to work and the separation anxiety that often goes hand in hand with it.  This cute children’s book is now available as an educational app, thanks to iKids iPlay.

Oscar the Pig can be read with five interactive activities.  With the Oscar the Pig app, kids can rub the screen to reveal hidden pages; the book becomes a coloring book with the stroke of a little finger, which can later be sent to grandma via email; storytime can enjoyed with automatic page turns and beginning readers can read, record and replay as they grasp their new reading abilities.

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The Oscar the Pig app from iKids iPlay can be downloaded from iTunes for $2.99.  Be sure to check out the other cool children’s books they have available, too!  The book, Oscar the Pig, is available online.

Etsy Find: Full Moon Flower Prairie Dress

Despite those scorching days we had here on the east coast, summer isn’t exactly here yet.  But just because summer isn’t here yet, doesn’t mean we can’t bolster the kids’ closets with warm weather frocks.  Need some summer dresses?  How perfect is this adorable prairie dress from Earth Groovz?

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With its bold, contrasting patterns, this dress is light and versatile–perfect for spring and summer!  Not only is it cute, eco-friendly, too.  The prairie dress features organic adjustable knit straps that tie in the back, organic natural elastic and the sustainable cotton material, leaving no carbon footprint.  The dress is made to order and comes in sizes 6M, 12M, 2T, 3T, 4T.  Be sure to check out Earth Groovz’ shop on Etsy for even more cute, eco-friendly spring/summer dresses.

PeeWee PC debuts tablet laptop for kids

PeeWee PC has launched a new spill and drop-resistant tablet laptop for kids. The small, but rugged 3-pound laptop features a swiveling screen and can alternate between keyboard mode and a tablet mode. The PeeWee PC features kid-friendly, touch-optimized software that’s said to be suitable for 3-10 year olds. Security options allow Parents to limit usage and control how kids use their laptop. The laptop features an Intel Atom Processor, a Disney Windows XP Theme, and a 1.3 megapixel and rings in at about $600. You can heck out the PeeWee PC specs here.

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I definitely appreciate PeeWee PC’s rugged, kid-friendly approach; however, the pricetag for a kid purchase—an electronic investment, no less—definitely makes me think twice.  PeeWee PC also offers the Power Laptop, another kid-friendly laptop, but $100 cheaper and with different specs.  Kid friendly laptops aren’t a new concept.  The OLPC XO, tasked to change the lives of children in developing countries, is a lowcost kid-friendly computer, but on a much different scale.
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Global Green Pals

Perhaps one of my favorite toy concepts I’ve seen in a long time is Global Green Pals.  I came across the Global Green Pals while at the Go Green Expo and was immediately intrigued.  What first caught my eye about these dolls was the fact that they’re multicultural and very unique.  Growing up with not many multicultural dolls, it’s nice to see that toy companies are mirroring the diversity of the kids that love their toys.

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What’s great about the Global Green Pals is that each one has a story.  All unique, their stories involve environmentalism and a fervor to save the Earth.  Though not available until this summer, check out the Global Green Pals’ site and get to know Offset Chet, Clean Air Kate, Pani Rani, Pink Coral Laurel and Recycle Kyle!  Just as the dolls are poised to Save the Earth, with every Pal purchased, a portion of the sales will go to 1% for the Planet.

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I love the concept behind these dolls and can see them becoming a huge hit!  It’s toys like Global Green Pals that epitomize The Next Kid Thing!

I’ll be sure to share more information about them once they’re available!

Young Scientists Club

That Summer weather has simmered and now we’re back to the fun Spring weather that we all love.  What better way to welcome Spring “back” and get outside with a few nature-inspired kits.  Because Earth Day should be celebrated every day, I think these new eco-themed kits from The Young Scientists Club put a cool spin on the 3 Rs—Reduce, Reuse and Recycle—as well as embrace fun with good ol’ nature, making them a perfect environmentally-friendly gift idea or a great green addition to science classrooms.

Science on a Gardening Adventure
Through hands-on science experiments, kids can learn the ins and outs about gardening, underground habitats, explore plants, grow seeds and study bugs.  The kit for kids ages 4+ includes a handy dandy carry-all kit and kids can also create a terrarium and much more.

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Magic School Bus Going Green
Through experiments kids ages 5+ can go for a “ride” and learn even more about how to go green, specifically on how to recreate the water cycle, build a compost tube, shrink plastic, magically make packing peanuts disappear, decompose food with fungus, form pulp, create new paper, design recycled paper shapes, and much more.  The Going Green is a part of the award winning Magic School Bus series.

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Go Green Mini-Kit
With this kit, curious scientists can better understand what it really means to be green by learning more about acids and bases, use pH paper to test rain water, make Styrofoam magically disappear, create pulp from old newspapers, recycle paper, make new paper and recycle leaves in a peat pellet.  To better care for our ailing environment, it’s never too early to foster green-living for the next generation with a cool Save the Earth kit like this.

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The Young Scientists award-winning science kits were created by a Harvard-trained mom and can be found at various toy and parent/teacher shops.

Lego my…MP3 player

The world of Legos is getting all techy! Digital Blue and Lego are teaming up to launch a Lego-inspired line of electronic gear. This Lego branded line channels the classic toy’s bold colored building block in the form of fully functional digital cameras, MP3 players, walkie talkies and USB drives.
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The line is scheduled for release this summer at price points ranging from $19.99 to $59.99. The Lego MP3 Player mirrors the look of an actual Lego brick, and you can even mount the MP3 Player on other Legos on the top/bottom.  The camera, set for release this fall, will have kid-friendly functions, including an LCD Display, 3MP and 128MB internal memory.

I am so adding these to my wishlist!