Where's the Poop?

I unknowingly gave my 11 month old daughter some double fiber bread this morning from my own breakfast.  She was very happy to get it and made a big deal of eating it after getting it good and slobbery.  After I finished my breakfast I realized what I had done and started to wonder if I made a mistake (probably).  We are probably still a year away from actual potty training, but like most activities involving children, it is usually good to give them lots of warning ahead of time.  In fact, just about everything around here is preceded by a countdown, it's like NASA or something: "Five minutes before we leave for school!"  and "You've got fifteen seconds to put that diaper back on your sister or else!" are good representative samples.  There's no reason that potty training shouldn't also be foreshadowed as well.

Where's the Poop? is a great little book for a 1-2 year old before you start potty training that helps them understand not only that everyone poops (the title of another popular poop book) but that there is a place for everyone's poop to go.  You get to look at various animals and see where they poop (Tigers in the jungle, Kangaroos in the outback, etc...) by lifting a little flap to see the "prize".  The last page of the book is a little boy telling his mommy that he pooped and beneath the flap is a potty.  A great idea for a book, not only are you teaching your kid that it is normal to poop, but that there is a specific place that it is supposed to go, as opposed to whenever and wherever he feels like it.  No longer will you have to wonder if that double fiber bread was a bad idea.  Eligible for free shipping at Amazon.com

 

Where's the Poop? at Amazon.com

Video review of Speedracer toys

Stinkhead at nontoxicreviews.com has a pretty good video review of some of the Speedracer toys out there.  I think the automated track looks awesome, although I don't care too much for the 3 3/4 scale toys.  I also like the fact that he was not afraid to put the blooper of him shooting himself in the face with a toy missile in the video.

link

note: I will be working on my first video review this weekend, so watch for it Sunday or Monday at the latest!

Bedtime With The Beatles

My wife came home from a scrapbook marathon weekend (yes 48 hours of scrapbooking - they do this voluntarily) and told me how lots of the women were raving about Jason Falkner's Bedtime with the Beatles. He has put together a full album of instrumental versions of 11 classic songs meant be soothe your little one to sleep. Included are some of my own favorites like Blackbird, In My Life, and The Long and Winding road. Amazon has samples of all of them, give them a listen. The album is also eligible for free shipping.

Bedtime With the Beatles (Blue Cover) at Amazon.com

related posts:
Pop Muzik
Rockabye Baby

Learning Resources Money Bags, a Coin Value Game

Money Bags sounds like a simple game, you move along the path on the board and earn money as you go along. Whoever has the most money at the end is the winner. The educational part of the game comes from the spinner, which tells you which coin denomination you are NOT allowed to use to make change, this encourages familiarity with money and quick addition/subtraction. The age range is pretty small for this game (7-9 years is recommended) although advanced youngsters can probably handle it with a little help. The fact that you earn money for doing actions qualifies this game for the "Teaching Kids About Money" group of games that I have come across.

Learning Resources Money Bags A Coin Value Game at Amazon.com


related posts:
Teaching your kids about money part 4
Teaching your kids about money part 3
Teaching your kids about money part 2
Teaching your kids about money part 1

The Politics of Preschool

This.Is.Funny.

Manbabies

ManBabies.com has an interesting collection of pictures of kids and dads that have been slightly photoshopped. I know what project I'll be working on tonight.

(via Neatorama.com)

The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments

It turns out that someone got tired of complaining about the sorry selection of home chemistry sets out there (like me) and decided to do something aout it. Robert Bruce Thompson wrote the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments to replace some of the old home chemistry books from mid-century (you have to go back that far to get a good one). The book was just released today and is available at Amazon.

"From the 1930s through the 1970s, chemistry sets were among the most popular Christmas gifts, selling in the millions. But two decades ago, real chemistry sets began to disappear as manufacturers and retailers became concerned about liability. The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments steps up to the plate with lessons on how to equip your home chemistry lab, master laboratory skills, and work safely in your lab. The bulk of this book consists of 17 hands-on chapters that include multiple laboratory sessions..."

"With plenty of full-color illustrations and photos, Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments offers introductory level sessions suitable for a middle school or first-year high school chemistry laboratory course, and more advanced sessions suitable for students who intend to take the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry exam. A student who completes all of the laboratories in this book will have done the equivalent of two full years of high school chemistry lab work or a first-year college general chemistry laboratory course."

Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture (Illustrated Guide) at Amazon.com

(via BoingBoing.net)

Eyeclops Activity Kit

It is no secret that I am a big fan of the Jakks EyeClops Bionic Eye. Now Jakks has added an activity kit with eight "microprinted" posters. They are full of tiny stuff that you have to find with the Eyeclops. The kit is not very expensive and is eligible for free super-saver shipping at Amazon.

Cole loves seek and find books, I have no doubt that he will have a blast looking across a much larger canvas for tiny clues and items. I am also interested in encouraging him to be meticulous when as he searches. I think that attention to detail and being methodical are good traits to have in adulthood (if not carried to an extreme).

EyeClops Activity Kit at Amazon.com


Related Posts: here and here.

Little Hands Playing Card Holder

I have been reluctant to recommend many card games, at least for little kids since they have so much trouble holding the cards. We play most of our card games with cards face up in front of us, which adds a level of strategy to some games (my wife always plays dirty when we play Uno by playing the color/number that she knows I don't have) but there are many games where this takes away from the fun if you play this way. I wondered why no one had ever come up with a handy device targetted for little kids to help with this problem. Well it turns out they have and I just didn't know it. The Little Hands Playing Card Holder holds as many cards as you can fit into it, has a convenient handle for holding upright, and it is inexpensive to boot. Look out for more card games to be coming soon...

Original Little Hands Playing Card Holder at Amazon.com

Iron Monger

Cole and I went to see Iron Man last Friday, and except for a couple of bumpy scenes, I have to say that it rocked. Cole already had an Iron Man Mark III action figure, now we are trying to get our hands on an Iron Monger action figure. This is the suit that the bad guy in the movie makes, so it is only natural to have this one also so Iron Man and Iron Monger can "fight". It turns out that I'm not the first one to have this idea, and they are a little hard to find. Amazon has one new one left as of right now, so I'd suggest starting there, possibly buying it from one of Amazon's alternative sources (listed on the right hand side at the amazon link) and then checking on ebay if you don't have any luck.

Iron Man Movie Toy Series 1 Action Figure Iron Monger at Amazon.com
Iron Man Movie Toy Series 1 Action Figure Iron Monger at ebay.com

Vacation Is Over Already?

Hopefully no one noticed, but the last week I was on vacation with my family. Guest posts were made by my friend Ronnie all week, thanks Ronnie! We went to South Florida for a little sun, fun, and beach time, although we spent more time at the pool than the beach. Anyway, I'm back now, not too badly sunburned, and will be posting in person again. Thanks to everyone for all of the responses to the "9 bizarre toys" post, and a special thanks to Neatorama and the other sites that picked up that post (mostly gamespy.com and ueba.net) I'm working on a new one like it that I hope to have ready soon. In the meantime, enjoy the toys and posts, and if you go to Florida don't forget your sunscreen.

John