A Synthesizer for Kids – the Gift of Music
Posted on | January 5, 2012 | Leave a Comment
I still fondly recall the synthesizer I had as a kid. With very little musical talent, I could still produce the most entertaining audio pieces. At least, entertaining to me! I used to spend hours creating what sounded to me like little tunes. Enhanced with built-in rhythms and tones they were, literally, music to my ears!
I can only imagine what more talented children can do with this wondrous instrument. It provides such a wonderful introduction to the world of music, making it into child’s play, for real. The only “problem” with this is competition from siblings and even parents – everyone will want to have a go at playing Mozart.
If you’re looking for a fun educational gift for a kid of any age, the Casio SA-76, the most popular mini synthesizer on Amazon, is now available at a 30% discount. And as always, you can easily sign up for their free s&s program. It’s very popular for a reason. Well, many reasons, actually. Starting with a 100 tones, 50 rhythms and 10 integrated songs provide variety and all with Casio’s seal of quality. Check it out here.
The Crystal Garden
Posted on | December 22, 2011 | Comments Off
I’m about to remove our little Crystal Garden from the kitchen counter, where various forms of exotic-looking crystals have been growing and flourishing over the past two weeks. Before I do, I wanted to take a minute to recommend this as an absolute gift for kids!
In fact, this kit was a gift to my own son for his eighth birthday, and what a huge success it turned out to be. The kit included several viles and plastic cups, small bottles of liquids and bags of various powders. Assembling the “garden” took about ten enjoyable minutes, where we all got together to play chemists. Then we waited.
The next morning, we woke up to a festive colorful little tree of crystals. The kids were absolutely overjoyed, and pretty much everyone who saw it was impressed. Over the following week, crystals sprouted from the other containers, in more impressive shows of color and structure. Fractals, was just one topic we covered studying together at home, triggered by our Crystal Garden.
So, not for the holidays, by now, but a great gift for winter time, or any time of the year, I can wholeheartedly recommend a Crystal Garden kit.
This kit is great and fairly inexpensive – get it for a colorful garden of nice furry crystals:
And if you want something a bit more elaborate, try this one -
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The World’s Wackiest Lego Creations!
Posted on | November 30, 2011 | Comments Off
Lego has been fuelling the imaginative and creative skills of children (and adults) since 1949. Since then Lego estimates that over 300,000,000 children have built something with Lego bricks – including some of the weird and wacky creations listed here! If you’re keen to attempt a record-breaking Lego construction of your own you’ll find the best deals on Lego and Lego Star Wars sets over at the Dooyoo.co.uk site.
The World’s Tallest Lego Tower (So Far…)
Competition between Lego tower enthusiasts is fierce, with several record-breaking attempts made almost every month. Records have been set all over the world, from Germany, to Chile, Denmark, Japan, Russia and Israel. The current record holders hail from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Their record was set in April 2011 with over 6000 participants of all ages working together to build a huge 31.16 m tower using 500,000 Lego pieces.
The World’s Longest Lego Train Track
This new record was set in October 2011 at the Model Building Fair in Ried, Austria. With a train track spanning a phenomenal 1190.88 m, it took the train 44 minutes to complete a full circuit of the track!
Han Solo in Carbonite
The Lego Star Wars range is the most popular Lego range in America, and inspired ingenious Lego artist Nathan Sawaya to create a full-scale replica of Han Solo trapped in carbonite, a famous scene from the original Star Wars movie. Taking more than 3 months to complete, Nathan used over 10,000 Lego pieces to create his astonishing masterpiece.
Lego Harpsichord
This incredible feat of ingenuity and design was constructed entirely from (over 100,000) Lego parts, including the keyboard, plectra, soundboard, bridge, hitch pins, tuning pins, wrest plank, nut, case, legs, lid and music stand. A fully functioning harpsichord, the only parts not created from Lego are the wire harpsichord strings. It took designer Henry Lim more than two years of puzzling, theorising, building and rebuilding to create a Lego masterpiece that weighs in at 150 lb and has a range of 61 notes. Want to hear the Lego harpsichord at work? You can listen to a sample here http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om21250.html.
Full Size Lego House
One of the most impressive Lego constructions in history, this remarkable shiny, stripy, two-storey full size home was constructed by a team of over 1200 volunteers. Using a staggering 3.3 million Lego pieces, and not one single drop of glue, the house in Surrey, England was completed in just over a month. Featuring a working toilet, shower and sink, and complete with Lego furniture, Lego kitchen appliances, a Lego stained glass window and even a Lego cat, the house was created for James May’s Toy Stories TV series in 2009.
Image: pauliepaul / Flickr
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Five Reasons Why Reading Rabbit is the Perfect Gift for Kids Right Now
Posted on | May 9, 2010 | Comments Off
There’s a reason why this classic computer game/teaching software is a best seller on Amazon right now. Actually, I can think of five good reasons!
- Kids love it and will play with it for hours on end.
- Parents love it even more knowing their kid is actually learning how to read or do math.
- It comes in several levels, so kids can work with the same familiar interface, from per-schoolers to 2nd and 3rd grades.
- It works right on your computer. No need for any specific gaming box – just use your PC!
- It’s affordable! At the cost of a couple happy meals at McDonald’s you get hours of fun AND learning!
Is it any wonder this is the #1 reading software on the market? oh, and math too…
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Awesome Lawn Water Slides under $50
Posted on | April 27, 2010 | Comments Off
Summer is here. Well, in some places it is, and in others it is fast approaching.
Let me tell you, the absolutely best gift you can give kids for those hot summer days is definitely a lawn-based water slide. It will provide them with hours of fun and exercise, and will be a huge attraction for their friends too (so expect social summer days with those).
You don’t have to take a new mortgage in order to have your own water slide either. Granted, some fancy models like this one cost hundreds of dollars, but kids can have lots of fun with these simple and very popular models:
Wham-O Slip ‘N Slide Double Wave Rider
Hook it up to a garden hose and two kids can race on its slippery slides within minutes. It’s simple, effective, double the fun and right now costs only $30.86 at Amazon.
Another great opion by Slip’nSlide. Technically, this one isn’t a slide. It’s wet and slippery though, so I think it would make a cool addition for any summer lawn. It’s a “car wash” for kids – let them drive through on their little (non-electrical) vehicles, or just take an outdoors shower in the lawn.
This one is a winner and is available at only $32.99 on Amazon right now.
Intex Recreation Slide’N Fun Play Center
This one may not be very extreme, but it has the benefit of allowing for social play with two separate pools and a slide in between. Kids are bound to enjoy bumping around this one and parents can join in for some fun too. This fairly large unit is currently available at only $44.99.
Banzai 3-In-1 Climb N Slide Falls
My favorite is this large bumpy wet water slide by Banzai. It can used in a swimming pool or as a standalone on your lawn. Either way, it holds the promise of hours of cool wet fun during summer time. Banzai also have larger slides, but this one is available at a small price: only $49.99 for this top-quality water slide on Amazon.
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Island of Gorm Playsets
Posted on | April 7, 2010 | Comments Off
Didn’t you hear? Bakugan is out. Long live Gormiti – the new rulers of nature and of our kids.
It sounds Italian and indeed this show was created in Italy. However, the formula of ordinary kids turned into rulers of forces of nature works its magic across the globe. The kids are hooked.
The added bonus is the commitment towards caring for the environment. At least they have a positive goal.
So, what do you buy a young Gormiti fan?
You could get away with a miniature Gormiti action figure. In fact they’re so small and relatively inexpensive, they always come in packs of four. Like this one, containing, ummmm…. two sea gormitis and two forest ones. And I didn’t even read the product description, I’m just a very good Mom 
Click here for more packs of Gormiti Action Figures.
However, if you really want to shine through, I highly recommend getting the young environmentalist a good quality Gormiti playset. The world of Gormiti is on the Island of Gorm, an island made of several zones: sea, air, forest, lava etc.
Gormiti playsets can be hard to get a hold of. Fortunately, Amazon now has three of them, so you can choose between the Forest, Fire Mountain and the Volcano (don’t ask… but if you insist, a fire mountain in Gorm is not the same as a volcano, and the magma tribe is different from the lava tribe).
I recommend the pop-up Forest Gormiti set. It has good customer reviews, and well, doncha know forest gormiti rock?
Click to Buy the Gormiti Forest Playset
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Iron Man is Back!
Posted on | March 9, 2010 | Comments Off
Iron Man is back with a second movie in the series! Ok, so personally, I find it difficult to relate to this guy. Something about this mask seems, well, impersonal, I guess. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the guy looks evil. Still, my kids do know better and they’re big fans of Iron Man.
At their tender ages of six and eight, we don’t allow watching the Iron Man cinematic productions, but they are well versed in the animated version. If you know a kid who feels the same about this metallic hero, now’s a great time to get them a special gift, as there’s a variety of new Iron Man Toys
Take the Iron Man helmet shown above, for example. It’s not just a mask. This is a super gadget by Hasbro that can light up, talk and execute various “battle sounds”. Pretty cool stuff. It’s new on the shelves, so not something that every other kid in school already has, and there’s even a discount in Amazon right now for this product.
Check out the other new Iron Man 2 toys available – cool and brand new!
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UGG Boots for Kids
Posted on | February 26, 2010 | 1 Comment
I admit, the first time I ever saw a pair of UGG boots I thought they were kinda ugly. A big soft boot like that, made me think of some kind of a huge slipper. Something best restricted to home use.
Like crocs though, these comfortable designs grow on you. They become popular and once you see them around, they become more attractive. I’m not even sure if it’s because you see them in various dress combinations or a matter of some underlying force of social conformity.
Either way, I now think the UGG boots are cool, and obviously, I’m not the only one. Similarly to the crocs, they managed to create footwear that is just the height of comfort.
They now have kid versions for their most popular models, such as this one – the classic tall UGG boot for kids.
Click here for full details and customers reviews.
My only concern with UGG’s is that they’re made of sheepskin. While it may contribute to the overall warmth and comfort, I’d be happier if they could come up with a synthetic version that does not involve animal products.
For the classic tall UGG boots for kids click here. If you’re looking for other models,click here for the Amazon page showing the most popular UGG models for kids.
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- A Synthesizer for Kids – the Gift of Music
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- The World’s Wackiest Lego Creations!
- Five Reasons Why Reading Rabbit is the Perfect Gift for Kids Right Now
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- Island of Gorm Playsets
- Iron Man is Back!
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