Review Melissa and Doug Toys

Melissa and Doug Toys have been in business for the past twenty years. Their line of wooden toys has been expanding every year until they are one of the top makers of wooden puzzles. ALL of their toys either meet or exceed the US governments standards for safety in toys.

I love these toys! Many of them bring me back to my own childhood and that of my children. The wooden puzzles are fantastic. Besides the usual ABC and 124, wooden puzzles, they offer animals, cars, trucks, and shape puzzles. Many of the wooden puzzles have sounds to help your children learn their shapes, numbers or alphabet.

The shape sorter selection is great. Solid wooden boxes with cutouts for standard shapes and even one for the shapes of animals, will delight your younger children. They also offer the cutest assortment of push clacker" toys I've ever seen on one place. There is a duck clacker, an elephant clacker even an alligator!

If your children are budding artists, they will love the assortment of arts and crafts available. A particular favorite of mine is the wooden treasure chest that your child can decorate themselves. Everything needed to make an imaginative and original item is included. Their easels are solid and sturdy and either come alone or with paint, chalk and crayon accessories.

Dollhouses?? Oh yes! beautiful wooden dollhouses, some furnished and if they aren't, their are room packages available. Wonderfully detailed and not just doll houses! There is a barn and a stable for all the horse lovers; a castle for your knight in shining armor or your little princess.

Doll furniture like cribs, beds and even a high chair are made to take years of loving abuse!
A particular favorite of mine is the Tree House. It has a pulley systems, working trap door, porch swing, hammock and retractable stairs. It's about 20" high and is sure to please even the most discerning youngster.

Plush Animals are a favorite of the younger children and Melissa and Doug Toys have not left them out. There are wonderful white tigers, bears, dogs of all breeds and even a huge giraffe. These plush animals will delight your toddlers and offer that extra ounce of comfort when needed.

Things Parents Can Do to Develop Kids' Motor Skills

As the parent of a young child you may be wondering what you can do to help foster the development of motor skills. Motor skills are extremely important building blocks for a number of academic skills that your child will need when entering school. There are a lot of activities that parents can do with their child to help enhance their fine and gross motor skills. Many people don't realize how these skills can affect a child. The development of motor skills allows them to perform better in other, more academic and physical ways. Basically motor skills are divided into two groups: fine and gross.

Fine motor skills are those skills which involve the manipulation of the hands and fingers in conjunction with vision (also known as hand-eye coordination). Gross motor skills are those that involve the use of any large muscle group. In the early years of childhood development having the right activities for your child can help them develop and hone their motor skills. Here are some things parents can do to help promote the development of motor skills.

- Fine motor skills - These are the skills that allow you to develop the ability to do such things as write and manipulate small objects. Try these simple activities to help your children along the way.

1. Coloring is perhaps one of the easiest ways to help your child develop their fine motor skills. Coloring books have a variety of levels from the simplest shapes to far more complicated pictures. You can have your child use crayons, markers, colored pencils or even chalk. For some freehand coloring try putting up paper on a small easel, on the wall or even on a door to give your child a new perspective.

2. Painting. Try alternating between large, stubby brushes and smaller, finer brushes. The smaller the brush is, the more control the child will need over their hands. Also try getting your kids to do some painting with cotton swabs. This affords some really fine work and allows them to develop their pincer grip which is needed for learning how to write. Have your kids try finger-painting, stamping and even sidewalk painting for some added variety.

3. Puzzles-For younger children; it may work best to start them off with large peg puzzles. These are puzzles that have a little knob sticking out of each puzzle piece. This allows them to gain more control over their finger movement. For starter puzzles you can buy them with very large knobs that require a full fisted grip then you can move onto the puzzles that require a thumb and forefinger grip (pincer grip).

- Gross Motor Skills - These are the big motor skills; i.e. running, jumping and hopping etc. They require balance and coordination. To help develop these try some of these activities-

1. Running. Create a game that requires moving quickly. This is great for encouraging the development of gross motor coordination.

2. Climbing. Take them to the park and let them climb all over the jungle gyms. Climbing seems to be an innate characteristic of children. You may have noticed it when they started climbing onto the coffee table as a toddler! Each time they try, they will get a little better because they are developing those important gross motor muscles.

3. Hopping. Set up a game of hopscotch. All that hopping about is really about developing some balance.

4. Encourage ball play. Kicking, rolling and throwing are some great ways to encourage gross motor development and you will not need anything more that a ball and a little bit of room. Smaller balls require a little finer control but you should aim to get a ball that can be easily picked up. A very large ball for a younger child can be difficult to manipulate and get very frustrating, very fast.

The Origin of the Barbie and Ken Dolls

There are many children who have a favorite type of toy. This can be teddy bears, Cabbage Patch dolls, Care Bears, soft dogs and cats. They can even be the world famous Barbie and Ken dolls. These two dolls are well known by many people and not just children. While these two dolls are mainly used as toys by little girls, collectors will not hesitate to buy either of these should they come across one.

The Barbie and Ken dolls are made so that they resemble adults. The many different careers and styles of the years have an impact on the lives of these dolls. Today you will find that the world of Barbie has many accessories and items that can be used with either of these two dolls. There are also companion dolls that are of different ethnic backgrounds.

The original Barbie doll was based on a German doll called Bild Lilli. Once Mattel made Barbie and acquired the rights to the German doll, Lilli was soon discontinued. Barbie was then officially given the name Barbara Millicent Roberts. Ken was named Ken Carson. The names for the Barbie and Ken dolls were taken from the names of Ruth Handler, who was the original designer of Barbie.

While Barbie made her debut into the toy market during 1959 at the International Toy Fair in New York, Ken made his appearance during 1961. From 1961 Barbie and Ken have been considered as a couple. Their relationship was a on and off relationship. After a 43 year relationship, the Mattel Company decided that it was time for the two dolls relationship to end.

This separation lasted for about 2 years. In 2006 Barbie and Ken were made into a couple again. While the reason for the separation of the famous couple is probably due to a decline in sales, the reason they are a couple is that probably Barbie doesn't sound complete without Ken.

While the popularity of both Barbie and Ken is attributed to the clothes and accessories you can buy, the look of the dolls may also play an important role. For many young girls Barbies looks are in keeping with the careers that she keeps getting. This fashion conscious doll has gone from being merely a fashion doll to a pilot, doctor, airline stewardess, astronaut, rock star to even being a fairy tale princess or mermaid.

Now while Barbie and Ken are just toys they are iconic figures. The looks and careers you see these dolls appearing in are an indication of how toy fashions can change. The one constant perhaps is the imagination and the endless hours of fun that a girl can derive from just playing with her Barbie and Ken dolls.