How Educational Toys Can Stop You From Killing Your Child's Imagination

The concept of learning can bore kids when they associate it with strict rules and requirements, which is what a lot of parents and schools impose. Adults tend to kill kids' imagination and love for learning when they obscure knowledge and package it into something that has to be earned. Equating knowledge with authority and power is alienating to kids, and can cause them to shy away from what they deem to be an adult domain. Making learning accessible to children through educational toys will nurture their love for knowledge, helping them to understand the world and their selves better.

Minding your kids' toys

0-10 years is the crucial age of formation. At this stage, kids absorb information like a sponge. Whatever you teach them could make a lasting impression that will stay with them for a long time, even for the rest of their lives. Keeping your kids simply entertained with mind-numbing television, video games, action figures, and Barbie dolls is no way to develop their imagination and maximize their intelligence. As a parent, you have to help fuel and sustain their interest in learning new things; you have to be very mindful when choosing toys for them. Don't just go for the latest trends, the fanciest dolls, or the most hi-tech toys or you might risk ruining your kids' sense of awe and wonder, dulling their minds and causing them to be easily bored with saturation.

Honing their love for science, art, and music

Kids are naturally inquisitive and impressionable, wondering all the time where things come from and how the world works. For them, everything is a spectacle and a phenomenon; everything is exciting and new. To sustain your kids' curiosity and excitement, you have to make learning fun. From an early age, your kids should associate learning new things with exciting journeys and possible adventures. Educational toys are one of the best ways to nurture your kids' innate love for learning, stimulate their minds, and hone their interest in science, art, and music.

Creating an imaginary world

Creating an imaginary world and playing pretend are some of the games kids of all ages love to do. Buy your kids educational toys in the form of science lab kits, mini robotics, musical instruments, and even mock DNA testing kits. All these are beneficial for their brain development and can possibly help them to become the future physicist, scientist, doctor, painter, or brilliant musician you envision them to be. These will also help them realize that knowledge is not the exclusive realm of the adult world, but is a world that they can discover on their own.

Beyond knowledge and learning

Toys that teach physics, chemistry, biology, anatomy, astronomy, timing, rhythm, beat, melody, colors, perspective, balance, and symmetry, help develop and balance your children's left and right brain functioning and make it easier for them to transition from one thought process to another. Most of all, learning to love science, art, and music will not only hone their intelligence and creativity, it will also nurture their humanity and spirit.

For more tips and information about educational toys, check out http://www.thekidstoystore.com/science-kits.html.

Hot Toys for Christmas 2010

Welcome another Christmas season with your arms open as holiday is filled with joy, anticipation, and fun for everyone. This is that time of the year, when every child has a long list to define their toy requirement. However it gets pretty stressful time for parents, as they have to struggle to find perfect toys for their kids. Every child anxiously waits for what they will get this Christmas and every kid wants the best of all. Freaking out in market and searching for best toy for Christmas is a big hassle. Just walk into any major retailer today and you will be definitely swamped with great looking toys in shiny packages.

This season, hi-tech toys are back with a bang and kids will love to have one. While searching gifts for kids, take care that toy should be innovative, interesting, fun-filled, exciting and lots more than this, your child should love playing with it. So read on, and let your stress melt away with some Hottest Tech Gifts for kids -

1) Microsoft Kinect:

Every year an entirely new crop of kids toys are introduced in market with hope that soon they will rise but there's no exception this year as there are few on top of the list. One of hottest tech gift this season is Microsoft Kinect which simply needs to be attached to your XBOX for motion gaming. Featured with 3D camera and microphone as it wholly run on voice instructions, no separate controls are required. It is voice-activated and will response to voice instructions only.

2) VTech Kiddizoom Video Camera:

This latest incarnation features both still photo camera and video camera. Kids will love to have it as it explores creativity and innovation in them. It will let your child create their mini cinematic masterpieces. Also many frames and games are also induced.

3) Jet pack Buzz Lightyear:

Jet Pack Buzz Lightyear is the top-selling toy this festive season. It features an awesome rocket pack, with afterburner jet lights, laser arm lights, retractable helmet and authentic movie sound effects and phrases. Jetpack Buzz Lightyear is the ultimate space ranger toy.

4) Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Disc Ultimatrix:

Be prepared to welcome another load of cartoon monsters with arrival of all new Ben 10 ultimate Alien series. It features alien sound and light effects. A mini disc slogs inside flat, and alien then pops out 3D and extraordinary sounds. This is very popular among kids as all of them just love omnitrix.

5) Spy Net Video Watch:

This will be your kid's very own secret mission video watch. It's perfect for upcoming secret mission, is wearable and moreover your little spy can record up to 30 minutes of video, 4 hours audio recording and over 2000 still pictures. These videos can also be uploaded to Internet.

Apart from these toys, there are many more Christmas gifts waiting your kids' way. You can choose from this vast range as per your kids choice for toys. They will definitely stealing away heart of your child and they will just love playing with them. You can buy these toys at Toys R Us and Target online and in-stores. Catch one for your kid's favorite, before it gets out of stock and also to avoid last-minute rush this Christmas. Make your kid feel that he is special of all!

Merry Christmas and Happy Shopping!

Tony is an associated author with website CouponAlbum.com, where you can find great online coupons and coupon code of many online stores.

Brik-A-Blok: Hi-Tech Playhouse for Kids With Imagination

Have you heard about the new modular mazes that turn into playhouses called Brik-A-Blok? If not, you will soon be hearing about from every kid you know because the holidays are approaching!

Brik-A-Blok is a new, North American toy that is causing a stir among children and adults alike. This system is a set of modular, easy to put together polymer panels that allow children to safely build forts, playhouses, castles and mazes.

It is an educational toy system that is built for kids ages 6 to 12 years old. The pieces are brightly colored and easy to assemble. You can purchase 26 panel or 46 panel sets.

As many parents know, there are plenty of flimsy tents and playhouses that you can fold up and put away. There are also many already assembled playhouses that are a pain to take down.

Brik-A-Blok allows children to easily snap together the pieces and create whatever their imagination desires. It helps them to develop social, interactive and imaginative skills.

This system was created over a span of two years and has been carefully designed to give children a fun, educational and safe place to play. Safety was the primary focus when creating this product.

In fact, this product has the Safety Certified seal on the packaging approved by NSF International. The assembly joints have also been designed to prevent any accidents.

Brik-A-Blok also comes with a reusable storage bag that fits into a closet or trunk easily. As children grow, their imaginations can build any number of things. It is only limited by their imagination!

If your kids have imagination, you owe it to them to check out this brand new toy! To see a picture of it, take a look right here: Brik-A-Blok. Your kids will spend all day playing in their newly created imaginary world instead of watching TV or playing video games!

Kayla Garland is a mom with a love of educational toys for kids!

Sweet Music to Our Ears - When PEZ Went Hi-Tech

Who doesn't love PEZ? The cute little dispensers with the interchangeable heads that flip back to give us our sweets on demand are a hit with kids and collectors, alike. What could be more low-tech than a design that's been around since the 1950's? What could be more low-tech than a plastic rectangular tube topped with a colorful plastic head? My personal favorite is a Yoda I got back in middle school about 20 years ago. There is nothing absolutely whatsoever hi-tech about PEZ. But, as they say, all good things come to those who wait. It took a clever guy with a creative streak and an idea whose time had come to take PEZ into the realm of gadgetry.

Once upon a time, the makers of Altoids candies held a contest. They asked people to come up with original ideas to recycle their candy tins after the candy was gone. The winner was the individual who stuffed the iPod speaker inside the empty Altoid tin. Great, you say, but this is supposed to be about PEZ going hi-tech. What does Altoids and Ipods got to do with anything? Everything, as you'll see in a moment.

In Missouri, a stay-at-home dad and gadget designer Patrick Misterovich followed that contest and saw that iPod Altoid tin. As a clever and creative guy, he became inspired to see what else could be done with empty candy containers. He had a vision, a creative bent and a little bit of luck, as all good inventors are want to possess. "I saw that (Altoid iPod speaker) and I thought, that's pretty neat, taking something that you wouldn't think of as electronics and turning it into a device," Misterovich said. "When I started thinking about how I could do that, the Pez idea came to me, and I figured it was something that was pretty cool that could appeal to a lot of people."

Patrick didn't start with the idea of a PEZ mp3 player right out of the gate, though. He made a list of possible candy-tach combinations. How about a LifeSaver laser pointer? Or a USB drive in a gum pack? And then, he saw it - PEZ on the candy side of the list and mp3 player on the gadget side. Like two lost soul mates on opposite sides of the stream, they simply needed Patrick to bridge the gap between them. Patrick didn't just sit there staring at the two of them. He took action. In less than 5 minutes, He had emailed the PEZ company. He was going to need permission to license his product using their product. He got the number of the PEZ candy company and called. Now, I don't know who you call at a candy company when you want to do something completely un-candy-like with their product, or how you go about presenting the idea, but somehow Patrick either knew or figured it out along the way. He's a clever guy, you know? After about two hours, he had licensing permission from the PEZ people to run with his "crazy" idea, and that's exactly what he did.

That weekend, he spent a few bucks on a Google ad and ran a test market to see if anyone would want to even buy the thing. The response was a bit overwhelming. Everyone from teens to toy collectors were apparent PEZ fanatics who would, indeed, buy a PEZ mp3 player if he would make and sell one.

Patrick's PEZ mp3 player had the capacity to hold 512 MB of music and the ability to switch out its rather generic looking head with any other PEZ dispenser head. Yay! Yoda could hold my tunes! It seems the only complaint critics had when the device hit the market was that it DIDN'T have the capability to hold actual PEZ candies. Oh well, not every invention is perfect, I suppose.

Patrick made some press announcements to introduce his PEZ mp3 player to a hi-tech hungry world. He started a website and was soon the topic of every candy, gadget, business and music blog in cyberspace. In the Spring of 2005, Patrick was king of the cool kids' table!

His company, Lincoln West Studio, sold the PEZ mp3 players for $99. His first production of 1500 units sold out rather quickly. PEZ granted permission for a second production run. That's when the trouble started, apparently. Because his device was electronic, it had to pass certification by the Underwriters' Laboratories to ensure compliance with safety standards. Once again, Patrick contacted the right folks and in no time, had the UL certification and the symbol to match. He once again issued statements to the press and the blogosphere that everything was a go on the PEZ pop tune provider. The next run of PEZ mp3 players would be due out in the Spring of 2007. And that's the last anyone has heard of him.

There's been no word from Patrick since. His website is defunct, his domain up for sale. Did big business put the little guy out of business? Did the dad working form his basement give up on his dream? Or did he just move on to something else? The world may never know. The few PEZ mp3 players available online are for the serious collector with serious money.

Once upon a time, a man had a dream and a PEZ dispenser was, for a short time, more than a candy dispenser. Gives a new meaning to the phrase `"sweet music`" doesn't it?

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Athletes Look To High-tech Gadgets To Measure Their Progress

Similar to a mile tracker for conscientious walkers, this new capacitive sensorsgadget utilizes an acceleration sensor to measure an athlete’s performance.
Created for the athlete in mind, instead of watching one’s performance monitored on an elliptical machine or treadmill at the gym, the miCoach is made up of a couple different components that one wears on their body as a complete set.

A Cell Phone, An MP3 Player and a Website- Heart Monitor in One
The set includes a heart rate belt, a stride sensor that attaches to an athlete’s shoe and a mobile phone with a web based training tool. Together, each component helps to accurately calculate an athlete’s performance, monitor your speed and success and helps you organize upcoming workouts. The inner workings include capacitive sensors that work in part of a 3-axis accelerometer that is able to measure acceleration, motion and inclination. The phone is attached to an armband, but communicates via a headphone to update the user on the progress. The miCoach will tell the user if they need to speed up or slow down depending on the information that was programmed into the system. The website included in the workout tool comes with more that 220 training programs, and fitness plans for weight loss, marathons and target speeds.

The added bonus of the new miCoach is that the phone part of the system is a quality phone with a camera, Bluetooth and obviously web and MP3 capabilities.
For the busy person who always takes their phone with them while they workout anyways, it’s a match made in heaven. Sleek, thin and lightweight- the phone/miCoach system was built for the workout in mind. This idea is the first of its kind, but it does have competition going up against Nike and Apple ipod.

Now athletes can run to the top of the hill while listening to their favorite song, take a picture when they get to the top and call their mother all while tracking their personal best.
About the author: Melissa Peterman is a web content specialist for Innuity. For more information about capacitive sensors go to Cirque

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