Learning Expressions

Blog: Raising Active Boys

 Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds

According to Dr. Anthony Rao, author of The Way of Boys, the behavior of healthy, active boys is misdiagnosed at an alarming rate. All too often, boys who are simply acting out due to pent up energy are medicated for behavioral disorders.

There are many alternative measures, which include encouraging an active imagination and allowing plenty of time for open-ended play, which is where Learning Express comes into the picture. The latter is especially important. Recent studies have shown that younger kids (under 7) aren’t ready for organized team sports. (That was very surprising to me since most local sports programs start earlier than that.) In fact, restrictive rule-based activities like this can inhibit developmental growth. Instead, boys should have a safe space indoors and outdoors where they can play freely and interact with children outside their age group. Parents should join in too!

Active bodies can sometimes free up emotional frustration as well. Instead of formal sit-down discussions, experts recommend talking over a game of catch. It’s often easier for boys to articulate what they’re feeling if some of their energy is focused on a physical activity.

Whenever possible, ditch the videogames and other sedentary activities. Opt for toys and games that get kids off the couch and moving. Here are just a few products that can really make a difference! (Availability may vary by store.)

Preview these products in our Photo Album: Toys for Active Boys!

Dodge Tag Game
A non-violent version of the classic game. Comes with soft dodge balls that stick to the Velcro vests.

EzyRoller
The control of a bike with the fun of a scooter. Best feature is that it can be adjusted for all ages. Anyone from 3'3" to 5'5" fits comfortably. I would quite happily ride around on this for hours.

Rush Hour Game
A wonderful sliding-block brainteaser with bumper-to-bumper fun for puzzlers of all ages. A great challenge of concentration and focus for a rainy day.

Froggy Catch
An adorable way to stay active. This is the kind of toy that no kid wants to give up, even when they outgrow it.

Bilibo™
This is one of the best products I’ve ever seen for encouraging open-ended play. There are hundreds of ways to use it. Great for the kid who typically likes the box better than the toy.

Find a Learning Express store near you.

Toy Review: Calico Critters at Learning Express

What happens when you combine the classic doll house concept with adorable anthropomorphic animals and a remarkable attention to detail? The Calico Critters of Cloverleaf Corners, that’s what.

“Calico” is a category unto itself in the specialty toy business. Most of our Learning Express stores dedicate at least 4 feet of shelf space (floor to ceiling) to the whimsical creatures and their accessories, as well as a play table that allows kids to discover the world of imaginative play that has made Calico a bestselling brand. (Find a Learning Express store near you.)

Sometimes you come across a bestseller that is completely baffling—(“Why would anyone buy this?!”)—but this, I get completely. Here’s a little history of how the Calico Critters came into being, and how the brand measures up in the 3F’s of toy quality.

History

In 1985, a company called Epoch launched a new line of toys called “Sylvanian Families.” It featured families of fuzzy characters, each with their own story. (Apparently the word “sylvan” means “of the forest,” which ties into the woodland theme.) The whimsical Sylvanian critters won the British Association of Toy Retailers “Toy of the Year” award three years running. In 1993 the distributor lost the rights to the brand name (ahem, poor planning?) and the Calico Critters were born.

International Playthings, the current North American distributor, recently launched an interactive website. www.calicocritters.com If you’ve got kids that like to sit in your lap at the computer, this is very family friendly and entertaining.

Form

The Calico Critters packaging is very attractive, and the quality of the product manufacturing is top notch. The characters are all posed inside their box, looking out the window and just begging to be taken home. The only drawback is that they have to be twist-tied into place, so the unwrapping process is rather laborious. With the exception of the babies, which come in sets of twins, the characters are about 3 inches tall, and come dressed in handmade clothing. The homes and environments, like the luxury townhome, the country tree house (see video below), Cloverleaf manor, or the (obviously very important) toy store are anywhere from 10 to 18 inches tall—big enough to make a statement, but not so unwieldy that storage would be a problem.

Additional outfits, furniture, and accessories round out the line. (The furniture typically comes in a set with a room’s worth of coordinated decorating, unlike my house where absolutely everything is mismatched.) The attention to detail I mentioned can be seen in things like the Kitchen Set, where the tubs of ice cream (because every good freezer just isn’t complete without a pint or two) come with tiny individual label stickers. This same set comes with 7 pieces of furniture, all with working drawers and cupboards, and over 40 accessories. It’s disgustingly adorable.

The Calico creativity extends beyond the physical objects to the characters and their narratives as well. They’ve really gone out of their way to make Cloverleaf Corner a magical little world. For example, one of the Calico families is the Wilder Panda Bear Family, which includes mom Penelope (a nurse at the Calico Critter’s Children’s Hospital), dad Percival (owns his own bamboo fencing business), son Phillip (a tap dancer in training), and sister Priscilla (who loves to act and sing). Even the names are cozy.

Function

While Britney Bunny is not quite as flexible as she appears here in her dance recital video, all the Calico characters are poseable. As I mentioned before, the furniture and environments all feature working doors, windows, drawers, etc. Breakages are few and far between. Due to the small parts, Calico Critters are only appropriate for ages 3+ so we always recommend caution if you’ve got younger kids in the house.

Fun

What can I say? This is pretend play at its very best. Between setting up the rooms (is there some kind of “nesting” instinct involved there?) and building storylines between the characters, these critters really inspire the imagination. And it’s not something that kids will tire of easily. Calico works for a whole range of ages, and also crosses the gender divide. The line is definitely marketed towards girls because of the strong ties to the doll house concept, but boys will be just as mesmerized by the little animals. I would be shocked if younger brothers don’t take an interest and want to take the Fisher Cat Twins for a ride on a remote control car or something. All fun. All the time.

To shop for Calico Critters, find a Learning Express store near you.

In the meantime, I hope you have a critterful day!

- Toy Talker

Blog: Teach Your Kids to GO GREEN

Raising socially conscious kids who care about the Earth and its resources can be a daunting challenge. After all, we’re all pretty much making this up as we go along. We are the first generation of people that has looked to the future and actually taken responsibility for it. It’s both a burden and a wonderful opportunity.

So how do we pass along the values of sustainability and conservation? Leading by example is essential, but here are a few other ideas to help your family GO GREEN:

· Foster Curiosity. Plant a vegetable garden, install a bird feeder, explain the circle of life, and celebrate nature at every opportunity.

· Get Outdoors. Walk whenever possible, go camping, have picnics, visit a local farm, and take a trip to a National Park.

· Holistic Helpers. Get kids involved in recycling, compost, picking up litter, turning off lights, and other eco-friendly habits.

· Conserve with Creativity. Do you know how many things you can make out of cardboard? Save materials, which you would normally trash or recycle, for craft time.

· Grow Green Together. Whether you’re reading a green book or playing with a green toy, going green should bring you closer together as a family. It’s only natural, isn’t it?

Eco-Friendly Fun

Learning Express offers many products that can make going green and whole lot of fun—items made from recycled or sustainable materials and science kits that foster curiosity about conservation, just to name a few. Look for our green toy icon in our catalogs (shown above) and check out the suggestions below. (NOTE: Availability may vary by store.)

Tea Set
by Green Toys, Inc.

60-Piece Unit Block Set
by Melissa & Doug

Tin Can Robot Kit
by Toysmith

Smencils
(made from recycled newspaper)
by International Arrivals

Eco-Kids Drinking Bottle
by Crocodile Creek

Find a Learning Express store near you!

Raising a Generation of Smart, Healthy Kids

I’ve been very intrigued by First Lady Michelle Obama’s recently announced cause of choice—childhood obesity. This is an issue that was first raised three decades ago, but, like most things, it’s only when the consequences are in full swing that we start paying attention. For several years, Learning Express has addressed the topic with a program called the Bunny Buffet™, which is a healthy alternative to the typical Easter basket. Regardless of whether you’re the First Lady, a franchise of educational toy stores, a medical professional, or a neighborhood parent, I think this is a battle we can all fight.

Some Facts

Childhood obesity or excess weight threatens the healthy future of one third of American children, hence why it has been called an “epidemic.”

We spend $150 billion every year to treat obesity-related conditions, and that number is growing.

 Obesity rates tripled in the past 30 years, a trend that means, for the first time in our history, American children may face a shorter expected lifespan than their parents.

The average teen eats fast food twice a week.

Only 3 out of 10 high school seniors report eating green vegetables “nearly every day or more.”

In a study of 200 neighborhoods, there were three times as many supermarkets in wealthy neighborhood as in poor neighborhoods, leaving fast food restaurants as the most convenient meal option for many low income families.

Almost one in four children does not participate in any free-time physical activity. (YIKES!)

92% of elementary schools don’t have daily physical education classes year-round. Less than a quarter of high school students take daily physical education classes.

A typical American youth spends approximately four to five hours a day watching TV, using the computer, or playing video games.

Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign

I think the most positive part of this campaign is that it brings media attention to an issue that is (clearly) in desperate need of it. While the program has now officially launched, it is still in the developmental phase. At the moment, the supporting literature says that Let’s Move plans to give parents the support they need, provide healthier food in schools, help our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of our country.

The website is already up and running and has some useful resources for parents available. The “Healthy Choices” section in particular includes how to make a healthy start when feeding your infant, how to create a healthy family home, healthy eating for different age levels (there’s a chart with estimated calories requirements by gender, age, and physical activity level, see link below), healthy cooking and shopping made easy, and facts about healthy weight and BMI.

For more information visit www.letsmove.gov.

Calorie Chart: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/downloads/calreqtips.pdf

The Bunny Buffet™

So where does Learning Express fit into all of this? Well, we certainly think that learning should be fun (that’s the smarts part), but we also believe that the healthy part should be fun too. There’s no question that Easter is a sugar-dominated holiday, and that’s why so many of our stores offer the Bunny Buffet™ as a one-stop shopping alternative. We like to “think outside the basket” as it were.

Basically it’s a three step program. You go into the store and choose from the selection of colorful buckets. Second, you fill the bucket with $25 worth of gifts from the “buffet” of educational toys and gifts. Finally, once everything is rung up, you receive the bucket for FREE, and the Learning Express staff will personalize it with the child’s name. Voila! A meaningful gift that will last much longer than a sugar high.

Find a Learning Express store near you.

In Conclusion

I really hope that the First Lady is able to keep childhood obesity in the limelight as the Let’s Move campaign moves forward. I for one would love to see an entire generation of smart, healthy kids. Wouldn’t you?

- Toy Talker