It is WAY too hot outside here in Florida to do much of anything - ice cream melts too fast to enjoy; the playground is blazing; even walking on the sand is a challenge. So it’s no surprise that our plants are suffering too, even with a daily passing storm. That doesn’t stop us from growing plants indoors, without creating a mess or sucking up space. Here are some great ideas for summertime seed growing, courtesy of the awesome website Brooklyn 5 and 10. They’re having huge sales on these little plant kits, so get some now before the weather turns again!

I grobot - I grobot will save the planet, one blade of grass at a time! Unpack this little ceramic robot, plant the peat and seeds, and watch it come to live - through it’s head! Great for boys who love robots (or dads who never grew out of that phase). The container can be replanted over and over again.

Eggling Herb Trio - This set of three ‘eggs’ look like they belong in your fridge - but need to hang out on your counter! With basil, mint, and thyme, these are an adorable way for kids to grow herbs (and cook and possibly eat them too?). The herbs can grow for five months in the porous ceramic egg, and then can be directly planted into soil.

Plantarium Garden Lab - These funky growing kits are encased in a colorful gel, so little ones can see the entire growing process, from germination to sprouting. Once the plants reach the top of the case, they can be removed and replanted into a larger post. This kit is great for older kids, since the instructions for growing are a bit more complicated. They can also be bought in single vial test tube kits, with seeds for marigold, pepper, tomato, and more.

Nyokki Pet Plant - Nyokki means “grow” in Japanese, and these cute critters will certain grow on your kids. The egg-shaped containers, complete with fabric legs and little faces painted on, will grow rye grass in about two weeks, and can be cut and styled again and again!

I’ve have two sick kids at home since Saturday - plenty of time to test out some board games my three year old received for her birthday. Our hands down favorite is Froggy Boogie, made by Blue Orange Games, a wonderful memory game both girls can play well and have not tired of after three days.  With Froggy Boogie, each child chooses a baby frog to hop on lilypads around the big frogs, eluding nap time.  But, the big frogs are watching their every move. With each roll of the colored dice, kids have to choose an eye from the big frog.  Children have to remember which eye is blank (allowing their baby to make a lilypad leap) or marked (freezing the babies in their tracks). It’s easier to play than it reads, but tougher than it looks, especially when the kids move the big frog heads around! The game rules say it takes about 10-15 minutes to play, but with a jumpy three-year-old, you might be there for a little longer.

Another beauty of Froggy Boogie is that it’s an all wood game with vibrant colors and high-quality game pieces, consistent with all Blue Orange games. Fun aside, Blue Orange has acknowledged that, to offset the trees used in the making of their games, they will plant two trees for each one cut down. This announcement has led to about 10,000 trees planted in 2007 alone! Blue Orange’s commitment to the environment has not gone unnoticed. Aside from their games receiving numerous quality toy awards, Blue Orange has received the first Dr. Toy “Green Toy Company Award”.  Check out their many different games, focusing on strategy, memory skills, puzzles, even party games - Blue Orange is sure to keep your kids busy!
Bought near me at Screamin’ Monkeys toy shop.

Thinking about Spring yet? I can’t say that we in Florida dream about ‘better’ weather much, but my family up North are counting the days. With Easter coming a bit earlier this year, and Passover right in the middle of April showers, it’s never too early to dream about warmer days and playing outside. These sweet, handmade little dolls designed by Denise Mollison (and her children!) just look and feel like springtime to me. Fashioned in the tradition of the Matryoshka (Russian nesting dolls), and crafted from cotton socks and Japanese kawaii fabric, these dolls are perfect accompaniments for spring babies cribs or older girls’ afternoon carriage strolls in the park. Can’t you just feel the cuddling?

You can find all of Denise Mollison’s adorable “stuffie toys” in her Etsy shop or Quiet Hours Toys.

This week is the annual Toy Fair at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. While I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend, I’ve been living vicariously through other bloggers, NPR coverage, and lots and lots of on-line research. I also found this interesting Q&A with the Toy Industry Association, who also organizes the Toy Fair, regarding the toy safety industry and what measures are being taken to keep toys (and kids!) safe. They use a lot of vague words like “rigorous testing” and “progress” that makes me hopeful in foggy sort of way that there will be strides in the way products enter the toy market. In fact, the TIA has announced a new “Toy Safety Assurance Program” that will be open for public review and comment for one month only - February 22 through March 22, 2008. I urge you to please check back HERE for the published report - read it and give feedback, pass it around, get involved! We don’t want another Thomas disaster like last summer!

As an aside, check out the winners of the Toy of The Year Awards. Notice there’s not a single wooden or natural toy in the bunch. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I do wonder if there will ever be a shift in sentiment about what makes a ‘great’ toy. I think this is the heart of why I started teensygreen. My girls love Moon Sand and Polly Pocket just as much as Kapla Blocks and soy crayons. I’m totally ok with that, and of course, there has been amazing progress with the natural toy industry - the choices and availability for ‘better’ toys has exploded. But, what do you think progress actually is? Obviously, there will always be recalls of some sort - it’s just the nature of products. Also obviously, last summer’s lead recall onslaught was incredibly eye-opening and scary, and led to many changes in the minds of toy consumers. Do you think the mainstream toy industry will ever catch up, standards-wise, to what parents are demanding for the toy industry? Or, do you think toys like Aqua Dots will forever sneak their way onto the market?

We all know how difficult it can be to choose the perfect gift for the kids in our lives. You want something they’ll grow with and enjoy endlessly - for a while. Every child loves getting presents for the holidays, but nothing is better than getting a present for no apparent reason. eBeanstalk - one of the most comprehensive shopping sites I’ve found recently, with super high-quality learning toys for newborns through age five - has taken gift giving to new heights (pun intended) with their innovative Gift Series. What a wonderful concept - either choose one of eBeanstalks pre-picked four toy Gift Series, based on themes such as travel, a Premium level, or for those of us living in an apartment, the compact series. Every three months for one year, a new toy in the series arrives - hooray! - in plain white box packaging, for added arts & crafts! You can also buy single gifts, and there’s a registry as well. It’s like a toy club, handpicked for your child!

Search for toys by age, category, or skills, such as language and emotion. Each toy (over 10,000!) have been tested by parents, educators, child specialists, and the “Mother Board,” over 700 moms who test and rate products to ensure quality and maximum fun. And, as an added bonus, eBeanstalk’s packaging are plain white boxes - perfect for added arts and crafts!

For the holidays, save 15% on all Gift Series - enter the code GIFTSERIES at checkout. And, on orders over $75, enter FREESHIP at checkout for free shipping. Now, to all my friends having babies, forget you read this so I can send a Gift Series to you…

Since I took the Handmade Pledge this week, I’ve been scouring the web for eco-craftiness. Thankfully, I just received an update from Jennifer Strunge, creator of these amazing Cotton Monsters. Jennifer handmakes these monstery yet totally cuddly personalities from recycled linens and fabric. Her background as an artist and puppet maker in her native city of Baltimore, Maryland, really gives life to these creatures - from Sea Monsters to jellies, and little and BIG monsters, no two monsters are alike, and any one of them will make a great addition in your kid’s playroom. Or, as Jennifer finds, makes a great addition to the family! Check out the photo album to see how Cotton Monster has invaded all over the country…

Forty (40) brand new Cotton Monsters will be available tomorrow, November 17th, and they sell out notoriously fast. Keep checking the Cotton Monster shop for the release of the beasts, and get one quick! Jennifer will also have monsters at two Baltimore craft shows - the Charm City Craft Mafia “Holiday Heap” on Saturday, December 1st and Squidfire’s “Holiday Art Mart” on Sunday, December 9th.

Monday Edition!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Nina and Tom Family Fashion! I know many of you, like me, are big fans of their vibrant, organic shirts. To celebrate, they’ve taken 22% off EVERYTHING in their shop through November 22nd, including the many crafty items they’ve added recently. No coupon codes are needed, so shop away without a math-care in the world!

Craftsbury Kids just launched their 2007 Gift Guide, with free shipping for orders over $40 through December 12th! Just enter the code HOLFS at checkout. These Tree Blocks, made from ‘retired’ hazelnut trees, are a safe and welcome addition to any home!

To celebrate their feature in Mothering Magazine, Natural Pod, a comprehensive natural toys shop from birth and up (including an impressive array of natural dolls), is offering 10% off the entire shop now through November 14th! Enter code NPMPOT071 at checkout.

Sign up with IdealBite’s weekday emails and tell a friend about them too by November 30th…you’ll be entered to win one of five $200 gift certificates from Wolavers, a Vermont-based organic ales company, perfect for the beer aficionado in your house!

In Panama, we have already received no less than FOUR holiday toy catalogs, each one filled with more plastic playthings than the next. It’s disheartening. But I fear not. I have to give the moms behind Cool Mom Picks credit - they are tireless researchers, product testers, and all-around amazing at looking out for the well-being of your kids through their just released “Cool Mom Picks Safer Toy Guide 2007″. I am on this thing every day, plotting holiday gifts, baby gifts (my friend Alison is having Halloween twin boys, HANG IN THERE!), and just coveting toys, dolls, pretend food, anything I think either of my kids might love forever. Or play with once. Whatever the case, this resource is a keeper not just for your gift shopping, but for the rest of your kiddie-shopping existence. They break it down from babies to toddlers, cuddling to music, building to knocking down. Guaranteed you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for, whether it’s organic, fair trade, or just overall high quality and long-lasting - without worry of a lead recall or small plastic part keeping you up at night.

When I was a kid, Halloween meant dressing up from clothing and items we used daily. There were no special Halloween costume purchases - and I never got how kids could wear those plastic masks with tiny slits for eyes and breathing holes anyway! When I was too small to choose a costume, I was a gypsy with my mom’s bandanas and chunky jewelry. When I was Madonna, I wore my blackest shirt and skirt, and many many many rubber bracelets (this was the “Lucky Star” era, people).

What bothers me a lot about Halloween is how much money people spend on outfits that are uncomfortable, and can really only be worn once. That’s why I love these play silks and silk capes from Magic Cabin. We have some of the seasonal play silks, and they’re just an amazing addition to our home. At 36″, they’re big enough to be worn by both kids both big and small (and moms and dads, too)! We also use them for doll dress-up, doll bedding, puppets…we use them a lot. Try them for this Halloween and many more to come! Magic Cabin also has many more themed silk and cotton costumes and other Halloween related items, so check them out before the big day!

I’m always on the lookout for funky, open-ended play toys and games for my girls, but I’ve been in a bit of a rut lately.  We’ve been heavy on art supplies, and the toys I shipped from the States don’t seem to cut it.  Lucky me when my friend told me about Kapla Blocks. 

“Kapla” is short for the phrase “Kabouter Plankjes,” which means “pixie planks” in Dutch, and that’s exactly what you get with each set of Kapla Blocks.  Made from renewable forests in France, Kapla Blocks are non-toxic, free of magnets, with no little screws or tiny extra pieces to worry you.  They come in seven different colors, and include directions and lesson plans based on a child’s building abilities.  You can also download different projects as your kids get more advanced (or, as you get more and more hooked!)

What other toys or games are your kids hooked on these days?  I’m getting a suitcase ready to bring back to Panama with us, and I’d love your ideas!