It's a Scientific World!

Science can, and should be fun! The act of exploration and discovering new things is enough to excite any scientist, no matter what age. There is so much out there to learn about; it’s best to start now!

One of the most fun and educational ways to learn about and discover new things is playing with a Microscope! Everything looks different when it’s magnified to 300x, 600x, or even 1200x. Your children will have a blast looking at different household objects through their Microscope. You can even make a game out of it! Put items underneath the Microscope and see if they can guess what they are.

If you run out of things to examine at home, consider the Microscope and Slides Set. It includes slides that are pre-made, as well as blank slides for kids to create their own! Your kids will be building a laboratory in no time!

It's Garden Season!

Who doesn't love garden season? The sun is shining, and the birds are chirping, and we all get to go to our own outdoor sanctuary to harvest and grow our own fruits, veggies, and herbs. This year, perhaps you should consider getting your children involved with you!

The benefits of youth gardening are vast. It teaches kids the importance of taking care of the environment; it promotes healthy eating (we all know how hard it is to get our kids to eat their vegetables…that is until they grow their own); it is incredibly educational; and of course, you get to spend quality time with your children! And let’s face it…your kids are probably going to play in the dirt anyways…they might as well do something productive while they’re at it!

It can be good for the kids to share mom and dad’s garden, but they will enjoy one of their own much more. The Culinary Herb Garden comes with everything your kid needs to start their very first REAL garden, and they get to work on it right next to yours! With your help and the Culinary HerbGarden, they will be growing cilantro, parsley, and other herbs in no time.

Time For An Exciting Scavenger Hunt!

Do you live with a little explorer? Is your little boy or girl constantly going on little “treasure hunts”? Why not make a game out of it! Here is a fun idea for a two-part “distance” scavenger hunt to do with our Big Tape Measure that can be exciting AND educational!

First, hide little “prizes” or “awards” around your house and yard. After your child finds the items, they have to use their Big Tape Measure to record how long it is.

Second, have your kid use their tape measure to go find items that are a certain length that you specify. After they successfully do all that, have one grand prize they get for completing the hunt!

It can sometimes be difficult to help your kids learn, but in the right scenarios and with the right tools, learning can be easy and fun!

Healthy Snacks that Kids Love

Are you on a quest to discover new ways to get your kids to love their fruits and veggies?  Look no further, here are some very PIN-teresting ideas that will have your children asking, “Can I have more please?”

Check out all of our favorites on our newest Pinterest Board: Healthy Snacks that Kids Love!

 

First Real Gardening Set (CPX-529L)

Gardening with Kids

 Now that April Showers have brought forth the beginning of May flowers, what better time than now to get your kids outdoors! Here are some great ways to get your kids involved with this wonderful outdoor activity.

• Safety - Gardening with your children is a great way to introduce them to an outdoor education activity that will peak their curiosity. If your child encounters a small creature they are unfamiliar with, this is a wonderful opportunity to answer his/her excitement with a talk about creatures and the environment.

• Learning - Another great aspect of gardening is that it enables your child to learn vital life-long skills including the ability to prepare a garden, making decisions on what to grow, learning how to plant and tend the crops, observing and harvesting, and most importantly, being able to reap the rewards of working on a long-term task. Giving your child exposure to gardening may not only connect them with nature, but also allows them to do something real, with tangible results!

• Ownership - Giving your child the chance to care for plants and the environment is also beneficial to their moral development. No matter how your child contributes to the garden, they have the ability to take pride in their work and feel like they belong to something meaningful! This simple activity paves the way for your child to understand the importance of other tasks like chores and schoolwork.

• Food - An integral part of gardening is giving your child the ability to learn about food they can grow. Observing a garden provides your child with lessons on topics as diverse as life cycles, the concept of change, or practice in measurement. Gardening can also encourage your child to learn the importance of harvesting and producing their very own vegetables! In the long-run, this promotes healthy eating as your child learns more about how fun it is to grow!

It’s time to Pretend

We can remember pretending as children and how exhilarating it was to use our imagination to transport us to other places while transforming us into pirates, princesses and dragons.  As parents we know for our children pretend play provides a multitude of rich experiences that impact their moral, language, cognitive and physical developments.  Hard to imagine one type of play could benefit them so much. 

When our children engage in pretend play, they are actively experimenting with the social and emotional roles of life. Through this cooperative play, they learn how to take turns, share responsibility, and creatively problem-solve.

Typically pretend play is viewed as indoor, quiet fun.  Spring provides us with such wonderful surroundings.  The trees are in bloom, the grass is plush and the flowers are blossoming.  This is the perfect landscape for your children to enjoy some quiet fun outside amongst nature’s beauty.  With this in mind, we are featuring two of our exclusive pretend play educational toys with an outdoor influence to enjoy both indoors and out.  For your little girls who love taking their Today’sGirl Doll everywhere they go, we have the adorable scooter set.  Allow your 18-inch doll (Today’s Girl) to wheel around on her scooter with her friends.  It’s the perfect way to provide pretend play with the great outdoors.  For the rough and tumble boys who love to be so active our Everglade Patrol allows them to slow down just enough to fly overhead with the rugged seaplane and capture alligators from their swamp boat.  The fresh air and sunshine will awaken their minds and they will pretend to be different characters; "walking in someone else's shoes," which provides the important moral development skill of empathy.  And don’t forget pretend play helps your child understand the power of language.  By pretend playing with others, they learn words give them the means to reenact a story or organize play. This process helps your child to make the connection between spoken and written language — a skill that will later help them learn to read.  So think outside of the box and take some of your “inside” toys outside and discover how your children can learn and grow using their toys in a different way.

Spring has Sprung

Get Those Bodies Moving!

Spring has sprung and summer is fast approaching! So outdoor toys are front and center! It is time to pull out the goals, balls and games for some fun in the sun. As moms we are always looking for educational toys for children that are fun and exciting. We also need them to be practical, cost effective, and most importantly hold their attention for more than 2 minutes! We are so proud at CP Toys because our educational toys challenge children’s bodies while learning about themselves and the world around them all while having fun. They also provide them the opportunity to experience rule following, teamwork, and sharing. Who says a soccer ball has to be regulation size? Our Portable Soccer Goal with Giant Inflatable Soccer Ball as well as our Giant Inflatable Basketball and Giant Bowling Set will give you just the right amount of silly and a whole lot of exercise and fun. Even better news; they are each currently on sale! Hurry fast so you can make your first days of summer vacation…GIANT FUN!

Get those bodies moving! Active play is so critical to children’s health, growth and development. Children’s brain development is directly related to moving their bodies. Studies show exercise in children improves memory and spatial navigation. The ideal physical play incorporates play with social interactions and problem solving. As these connections develop, a child's fine and gross motor skills, socialization, personal awareness, language, creativity and problem solving are improved.