puzzles – The Next Kid Thing

Whole Wide World Toys Village Playsets Introduce Diversity and Culture

June 15, 2015 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Unearthing new and innovative toys is our favorite thing to do around here. When it comes to checking out new toys that help my kids grasp different cultures and diversity, I get down-right giddy.

As a multicultural family living in not-so-diverse town, playing with toys that allow us to have healthy conversations about race, culture and to examine what makes us different is rather important. Whole Wide World Toys sent us some a set of their new World Village Playsets—China, and we’ve been enjoying learning about China and a culture that isn’t very familiar to us.

The World Village Playset is multi-faceted; it comes with a fabric playmat, a chunky wood puzzle with 13 pieces, a My China Travel Journal and 14 story cards. The set encourages culture with creative play, and that’s exactly what I found my kids to do upon opening the set.

My youngest was immediately drawn to the playmat and wooden puzzle pieces, whereas my older son was intrigued by the cards and journal. The playmat and wooden puzzle pieces quickly turned into a scene where they made up a story and were able to interact with one another. We learned English translation of each item from the puzzle pieces and enjoyed the story, which gave us more insight.

I appreciate that this set encourages curiosity about different cultures and serves as a wealth of conversation starters. The amount of open-ended play that the set allows is great for younger kids, as well as older grade schoolers. I especially found this set to be a wonderful way to engage in speech and language with my younger son who has a speech disability.

I totally visualize that this beautiful set could be used within a classroom setting to complement a lesson about China or at home for kids who are genuinely curious about culture. I can also see this Whole Wide World Toys to be a great resource for multiracial families like ours, or in a blended family where a child is adopted from a China or another country.

Overall, this well-made playset is an excellent tool that encourages culture, creativity and conversation about the world around us. You can find Whole World Wide Village Playsets on Amazon or at specialty retailers.

Sale alert: Hape Toys at Mini Social

September 1, 2010September 1, 2010 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

I’ve pledged my affinity for a variety of sustainable toys, among them, of course, are the fun and educational toys from Hape. Hape has a fantastic selection of toys that’s appropriate from babies to school-aged kids, but I personally covet their educational playsets and wooden puzzles.

Speaking of puzzles, today on The Mini Social, one of my favorite flash sale sites, is featuring Hape’s bendable Anamalz, Sporty E-racers and educational puzzles. It looks like some of the toys are half off for a few days, making them great for stocking stuffers and Christmas gifts. You do have to sign up, but the sales on The Mini Social are well worth it.

Gift idea: Wooden Jewish Holiday Puzzles

December 4, 2009December 4, 2009 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Undoubtedly, there’s a lot of excitement in the air for the holidays, but there’s another important celebration–the Celebration of Lights– that starts next week.

In 2009, Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 11th. For those that don’t know, according to the interwebs, Jews have given Hanukkah gelt to friends and family since the 17th century, but the custom of giving more elaborate gifts has only been around since the 19th century.

Gift-giving goes hand-in-hand with fabulous kid gifts, of course. One of my lovely Jewish friends mentioned this site, and I was hooked. They had me at Jonathan Adler!

Over in the kid gift ideas, I spotted the Jewish Holiday Puzzles. Not only does it include a Hanukkah-themed puzzle, but this set includes Shabbat, Passover and Rosh Hashanah Puzzle as well. By Kid Kraft, the puzzles feature diverse shapes and comes with a puzzle rack for convenient storage. And thank goodness, all paints used are lead free and non-toxic.

Wooden puzzles are definitely a favorite for us, and for many other families. The fact that four puzzles come in the Jewish Holiday Puzzles set, combined with its entertainment, educational and cultural value make these puzzles an ideal Hanukkah gift! These puzzles are in the $30 price point (not bad for 4 wooden puzzles!) and can be found on sites like Modern Tribe.