Summer's Coming!

Despite a little rain here and there we are well on our way to summer - school gets out very soon and then it will be nothing but fun in the sun for the next three months! We got in all of our summer inventory early this year, when the first warm spell happened. One of our favorite items for summer fun is the sand and water tables. This year we have the new model from ELC, and it comes with tons of great accessories to help teach kids the basics about some fundamental physics like energy transfer and fluid dynamics (Its never too early to start!), as well as basic cause and effect, and the fine art of making sand castles (or mud pies for the little ones).

One of the most common questions we get from parents about the sand and water tables is where to get the sand, as it is not included in the box. We recommend that you go to any lawn and garden center as they usually carry bags of sterile sand for potting plants and decorative purposes. A small bag is all you need and they are very inexpensive. People also ask if it is okay to use just water or just sand in the table and it is fine. If you are looking for a way for kids to get as much out of the tables as possible but with a little less mud you can just use one or the other.

While the sand and water tables are great fun for the backyard or patio we also have lots of other sand toys in our stores for those who like to get down to the beach or sandbox as much as possible. Buckets, shovels, sand wheels, sieves, funnels, and more are all in stock now along with our usual assortment of great outdoor toys. Bubble buckets or machines, Foxtails, Frizbees, and Stomp Rockets are all great to keep the kids happy outdoors. Ask any store employee about these if you aren't familiar with them, you won't be disappointed!

Cupcakes Galore!

We have a new neighborhood bakery in the Marina near our San Francisco location! SusieCakes is located at 2109 Chestnut street and we are thrilled to have them near us because we always get people asking us where a good place is to get birthday cakes for their kids and now we have a place to send them. Their pre-made cakes and cupcakes are the old fashioned kind that everyone loves, but they can also do custom cakes to suit any birthday theme. They also have delicious cookies and can make any shape or theme you want for those as well. They even make mini cupcakes when you just need a little fix to quell your cupcake craving.

Their cakes are buttery and dense and their flavorful frostings are piled high and topped with delicious sprinkles. Want to try one? Then come into our San Francisco store to receive a voucher for a free treat of your choice, including cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, 7-layer bars, snickerdoodle cookies, or iced molasses cookies! They are good until the end of the month, one per person, while supplies last.

Balloon Animal Fridays!

Every Friday at our San Francisco Location is now Balloon Animal Day! Come in any time during the day and get free balloon animals for the kids (and for you too)! We can make dogs (including French poodles and dachshunds), giraffes, mice, flying mice, dinosaurs, bunnies, flowers, and many more!

Insect Lore Update...

Remember the Insect Lore products we talked about in this post? Well, on Thursday we will have one of the live butterfly kits on display in our San Francisco Store, complete with caterpillars just ready to turn into butterflies! Come in and see them transform through the weekend, and maybe take some home for the kids!

Aquaplay!

We just got in this amazing new toy called the Aquaplay water canal system. In the past, we have carried a variety of sand and water tables that are great for teaching children about cause and effect, as well as simple physics like gravity, surface tension, and early fluid dynamics. But this new set has just blown us away with what the kids can do. They are able to explore the movements of realistic waterways in a small scale environment. The sets come in varying sizes and include tons of different ways to interact with the water, such as levies, wave makers, and pumps, as well as plenty of boats and accessories. But it gets better: the Aquaplay is also a customizable building toy. Much in the fashion of classic wooden railway sets like Thomas trains, kids can start with a small set and add pieces to construct one-of-a-kind waterways. Check out this great video to see the Aquaplay in action, and come by our stores to check them out!

If you need something fun to do...

If ever there is a day when you're not sure what to do with the kids, why not take them to a local museum? There is such a rich history in the bay area and there are tons of free museums to visit, and a lot of the major ones have free days on a weekly or monthly basis. Some kid-friendly ones that are free all the time are:

The San Francisco Cable Car Museum

http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/

The San Francisco Fire Department Museum

http://guardiansofthecity.org/sffd/

The Marin County History Museum

http://www.marinhistory.org/

In addition, the SF MOMA (http://www.sfmoma.org) is free every first Tuesday of the month, as are the DeYoung Museum (http://www.famsf.org) and the Cartoon Art Museum (http://www.cartoonart.org).

On the first Wednesday both the Exploratorium (http://www.exploratorium.edu) and the Bay Area Discovery Museum (http://www.baykidsmuseum.org) are free!

So get out and have some fun while learning at the same time, without having to spend a dime!

It is Kite Season!

The March winds have started to blow and we are fully prepared! We carry a wide range of kites for all ages and all budgets, and now is the perfect time to plan a day to fly. We get a lot of questions about which kites are the best kind, and truth be told they are all awesome, it just depends on the flyer's skill level and the speed of wind you will be flying in.

For the littlest kite fliers, we recommend mini kites such as pocket parafoils. They are small enough to fit in a pocket or purse, easy enough for even the littlest kids to fly, and they will not get lost in the wind if the string happens to slip from their grasp. They do not require much wind either, and we find that the little ones love to run with them to get them in the air.

The next step up is for young kids who can hold on to a kite string with confidence and who can get and keep it in the air with some help from mom and dad. For this group we recommend either an "easy flier" or a small to mid size diamond kite. Their simple shapes and single string make them easy to maneuver and easy to fly in relatively low winds.

For kids who can launch and fly a kite all by themselves, there is an endless range of shapes and designs, like delta kites, box kites, and beautifully shaped birds, butterflies, planes, dragons, and pirate ships. Most of these kinds of kites require a little practice to do any fancy maneuvering, and because of their larger sizes they also require a bit more wind.

And lastly, for the big kids (aka mom and dad), we carry some advanced two-string sport kites, also called stunt kites. their shapes are similar to delta kites, but the double strings make them nimble in the air, and they are able to bob, weave, dive, and do loops. These kites are usually for kids 12+ because they require a good degree of control and respect for bystanders, as well as substantial winds.

If you have any kite questions feel free to ask any of our employees or leave us a comment or e-mail!

Images courtesy of one of our favorite kite suppliers, Skydog Kites. They also have some great instructional videos on how to build and fly kites, here.

Insect Lore

Every spring we carry a fantastic bunch of products by a company called Insect Lore. They make educational habitats for all kinds of critters. All off our stores have Butterfly Gardens, Ladybug Lands, Earthworm Nurseries, and Ant Hills, as well as a variety of little bug houses for observing the habits of wild-caught bugs. When you buy the kits, they come with a free mail-in voucher to get your little inhabitants shipped directly to your door. These kits are great for teaching children about the life cycles, habitats, and diets of the bugs and animals they get to take care of. It is also a great way to build responsibility awareness, because even though they are just taking care of bugs, they still need to feed them and make sure they have what they need.

These kits also give you the opportunity to teach your children about ecology and the environmental impacts that we would see if we ceased to have these little critters in our world. It is such a great tool to help children understand how wonderful they are - how earthworms filter the soil and feed the plants, how ladybugs and butterflies are not only beautiful but eat harmful bugs too, and how if there were no more earthworms plants could not grow. Let them know how important these tiny creatures are and that preserving our water and land will preserve the delicate balance of nature. Kids tend to relate to these tiny bugs and their big impact with relative ease, and it helps them to have confidence that even though they are small, they can change the world too.

Easter is Fast Approaching

Spring has sprung and Easter will be here before we know it! We have a ton of adorable gifts to fill up Easter baskets right now at all of our stores. Some of our favorite items are these adorable plush bunnies from Jellycat:

They are hands-down the sweetest, softest little bunnies ever! And I love the sweet little faces and chubby design - just try to resist cuddling them! (I couldn't resist taking one home!)

Another little basket-stuffer that the kids love plying with in the store are these adorable bunny and chick wind-up toys. They hop around all over the place in our store this time of year, and I cannot think of a kid who would not be delighted to et one in their easter basket. We also have tons of egg-shaped bouncy balls and sparkly putty, little tiny plush bunnies with knit sweaters, and Peter Rabbit and Pat the Bunny plush, toys, and books, with even more Easter goodies on the way!

We have some great Easter day activities for kids too, like the Alex's Giant Paper Flower kits. It's for ages five and up, and it comes with enough pipe cleaners and tissue with pre-cut edges in beautiful colors to make over 30 big paper flowers. You could also make them into garlands to decorate for a spring-themed party. It's a fantastic no-mess, no-stress activity for the kids. We have made some extra-huge versions for our stores, so come and check them out!

Stop by any of our stores and let us help you build the perfect easter basket for your little one!

Teething Bling

We just started carrying these amazing necklaces from SmartMom:

Totally stylish, these pendants are actually teethers for baby! We all know how much the little ones love to try and eat any jewelry mom happens to have on, and it usually results in moms having to forgo their accessories. But these little beauties are safe, semi-soft plastic that is perfectly safe for babies to chew on. They come in a variety of colors and patterns too! What a fantastic idea.