My daughter, like most little girls, loves jewelry. I often sit with her while she is making bracelets and necklaces using her beads. I was looking for something new to do with her. This Artterro Collage Jewelry Kit was the perfect activity! She was still able to make jewelry and I was able to introduce new crafting techniques like decoupage.

My two preschool-age girls love to dress -up. With My 1^st Career Gear by Aeromax their imaginations soared beyond the princess dresses and crowns that litter the floor of our house every day. When they tried on the career gear, each instantly became a doctor and a chef, switched outfits, and started all over again.

Somehow, magically, this summer my son has gained an incredible interest in puzzles and mastered every one of our chunky puzzles and most of the ones at the library with the little peg-type handles. The larger jigsaw type were way too challenging. We needed something in-between and this Ready, Set, Go! Wooden Puzzle from Green Start is a perfect fit.

What does your family look like? How about the family down the block?

Guidecraft makes beautiful wooden multicultural family figurines that reflect the diversity around us.

Both my preschooler and toddler, as well as visiting kindergartners and school-aged children engage in creative, pro-social play with these chunky blocks for hours on end…

I’m a zealous convert to the play power of dolls. As a kid I was not as excited about dolls but for my daughter it was love at first sight.

Since my little boy looks up to his big sister, it was only a matter of time before he wanted to play with all of her toys, including the dolls. So we got him a Corolle doll to call his own: the charming Blue Suce-Pouce in soft blue footie koala pajamas.

He loves giving kisses to his “baby”, just like his Daddy cares for him…

My son got a special treat for his birthday in April: the Shuttle Imagination from KidsCraft Playhouses.  That’s him in the photo right after he first spotted his new “spaceship.”

Since then, we’ve had lots of fun decorating his spaceship with stickers and crayons, and it has held up for many hours of
“make believe” play. My son enjoys peeking out from the shuttle windows and opening and closing the doors.  Since he loves the Toy Story movie and books about space travel, we’ve had many happy hours playing astronauts or Buzz Lightyear.

My toddler son has convinced me that a love of things with wheels is genetic for some babies. Every time he sees a car he shouts, “Vroom, vroom” and claps his hands in delight.

Until very recently, though, he had a habit of mouthing everything. So, I had to make sure all his toys were baby-safe–with non-toxic dyes and no small parts.

Plan Toys has a charming new wooden baby car in a rainbow of bright colors that is a perfect, developmentally appropriate, first push car…

Watching your children play with dolls can be like looking through a mirror at your own parenting. Not the part where they grab them by the ankle and drag them up the stairs, of course (thunk, thunk, thunk). Rather, pay close attention to how they cuddle and care for their little pretend babies and you will get a heart-warming affirmation of your nurturing.

Children use dolls to role play and process their day. And they mimic what you do with them and their siblings.

That’s why I love the Corolle Doll Sling.

In honor of Earth Day, we are making recycled crafts this month.

What can you do with a plastic Tropicana Orange Juice Jug?

Well, you can make a bird feeder, watering can, a cool ball and scoop game (encourages outdoor play), a whale bath or water table toy, or a doll house or car garage. You can even save a rainforest…