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.

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…

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.

I spotted this beautiful and educational wooden leaf shape puzzle over at Just Hatched’s Etsy Shop…

What says Spring quite like flowery sundresses and brightly colored…hair? My preschool daughter, lover of all things pink, will create entire masterpieces in fuchsia. In her self-portraits, she is sometimes a vivid share of electric pink from head to toe. So, she adores her new punky-funky Corolle Les Dollies Pink Doll.

This little charmer has the sweetest little girl face with bright eyes, full, freckled cheeks, and a mischievous smirk. Her so-trendy cotton candy hair is rooted and brushable. Her trendy little sun dress with vivid butterflies…

As a mom and an educational consultant, I believe in the power of play. A few carefully chosen toys can boost creativity and problem solving–here are a few of our top picks this year. With the best educational toys, your children will not even realize how much they are learning!

This is one of my favorite categories of toy. My mom recently brought out an old pull toy of mine and it is a classic that just keeps on giving. Push and pull toys delight babies, amuse toddlers, and occupy preschoolers. Some, like the sophisticated and clever mix-and-match Automoblox, are collectibles suited for older children, teens, and even adults.

The selections from our Hottest Holiday Toys Awards are engaging, interactive, and made from high-quality and often eco-friendly materials.

Kids love tracing. My daughter will set there filling page after page, tracing numbers and letters. In an attempt to save a few trees, I got her a dry-erase book for copying her letters and numbers. Which works pretty well until she forgets to clean it or the pen dries out or her baby brother gets ahold of the marker and tries to eat it.

Even better? The LeapFrog Scribble & Write…

We’re fans of the Plan Toys philosophy of making quality play things that are healthy for kids, contribute to our communities, and are good for the planet.

Plan Toys has a knack for creating fresh twists on classic toys that promote children’s physical, emotional, and intellectual development. We love their simply delightful, clever, and stylish takes on wooden push and pull toys, like the new Plan Toys Push-a-Long Duck.