Olas Books are a fantastic find.  They are geared towards the ever popular surfing and skateboarding sports.  They use bright colorful graphics and fun rhyming words to teach your kids about safety.  As fun as these sports are, it’s important that we teach our kids right from the start about being cautious. No one is a fan of the emergency room.

When we teach our kids to surf, it is incredibly important that they respect the ocean, because the ocean can be a powerful and unpredictable place.  Before they put their toes to the nose, they need to stop and watch the ocean for at least 10 minutes.  Once the swells are assessed, and rip tides ruled out, it’s safe for the kiddos to attempt to catch a wave. Skateboarding can be just as dangerous if you do not take the right precautions.  Always, always wear a helmet and pads, no matter what anyone says.  Peer pressure can be tough for kids to handle!  These books are wonderful tools for parents, a bookshelf staple.

“We want kids to have fun, but most of all to be safe,” says auther, Diaz. “As a surfer and a parent, these are my biggest concerns.  I want my son to surf and to be safe.”

The books also teach our kids to protect our Earth by keeping our beaches, oceans, and parks litter free.  Proving their dedication, the books are printed on recycled paper using soy-based inks.

Portions of all proceeds  go to the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit, environmental organization that works to protect our oceans, waves, and beaches.

Purchase your own Olas Books here

Thanks to Olas Books for providing samples for review.

I’m so excited to be able to contribute to the Family Game Night postings here at ITKM for the fifth installment. Haba‘s “Keep it steady!” is a game similar to the old “Pick Up Sticks” game from when we were little. You bunch all the colored sticks together and place the wooden ring around them to stand them up. You get it all steady and then it’s time to play! With 2 – 4 people, you simple roll the dice and whatever color you roll is the color stick you have to remove from the ring. Be careful though! The sticks will be wobbly and you’ll have to choose wisely in order to not send the entire bunch tumbling over.

We brought the game up to my parents place in northern Arizona, so it was fun to be in a different home and keep the TV off! We all sat around the kitchen table and our three year old was absolutely LOVING this game. Although, I swear she cheated a few times and said she rolled a yellow stick (the skinniest of all the sticks) when I thought I saw blue come up (the thickest). It was so much fun and she loved to play head-to-head with my hubby and I. Winner would get to play the person who sat out the game before. It never seemed to get old and the pieces are made of thick, durable wood. This game is guaranteed to last a lifetime. It’s the perfect game to leave in the game room for generations to come. You can purchase your own “Keep it steady!” game by Haba here.

Rolling her dice……..carefully concentrating while picking her stick…..OH NO, it fell!!!

Special thanks to Haba for providing a sample game for review.

Time for family game night again!  Today I am bringing you my 4th installment… Arranging Game Corner to Corner from Haba.  This brightly colored wooden game is quite a bit like Tetris in shape forms.  This game is all about imagination; what can you build?  My daughter is quite into building things right now with blocks, mostly castles since we’re in princess land.  I thought this game would be perfect for her and her age group.  Haba recommends this game to ages 3 and up.  The parts are quite small, so I’d keep an eye out on the little ones.  The game includes 62 wooden pieces of two shapes of wood, an “I” and a “L”… getting Nintendo flashbacks?

First, my daughter just did some free playing, sorting the pieces by shape and color.  Then lining them up, stacking them, and making small “castles”.  She got a little frustrated when pieces started falling so I helped her make the flat house.  Haba gives you several ideas of what to make from animals to windmills.  It was fun to do it together, helping each other.  This game would be great for kids who have issues with “winning and losing”… or for only children.  As usual, Haba brings us another safe, quality game, made in Germany.  You can purchase your own “Eck an Eck” or Corner to Corner game here.

Special thanks to Haba for providing a sample game for review.

For our third installment of family game night, we have a Haba game called Animal Upon Animal or Tier Auf Tier.  This wobbly stacking game is super cute and perfect for kids ages 4 and up.  The parts are quite small so keep them away from little ones who like to shove foreign objects in their mouths.  It requires some delicate hand-eye coordination and problem solving thinking.  First you place the crocodile on a flat surface, as it is the first animal of the pyramid.  Each player (up to 4) selects 7 different animals for their stock pile.  The game begins with a human balance test.  The child who can balance on one foot the longest, like a flamingo, gets first turn.  They roll the die. You will either roll a dot, two dots, a crocodile, hand, or question mark.  The marking on the die determines how many animals you (or another player) must stack on top of the existing pyramid.  The person who stacks their animals first wins.  If a couple animals tumble off before a winner is announced, those animals are sent back to their owner.

This is a simple and straight forward game that requires fine motor skills, and a little skill.  I’m a big fan of balance games as my toddler grows more and more agile.  Forcing her to take the time to lightly place an animal in an appropriate spot gives me great pleasure.  This is a quick game anyone can play, taking only 15-20 minutes to play. This wooden game is crafted in Germany.  Purchase your own game here.

Here is how our game went:  The stacking started out pretty well, building higher and higher.  My daughter chose to make a lot of high-risk  moves, sometimes leading to a tumbling animal tower.  But all in all, it was a lot of fun.  She was reminded of one of her favorite songs from Yo Gabba Gabba, and started singing, “keep trying, keep trying, don’t give up, never give up…”

Thank you to Haba for providing a sample for review.

And it’s time to hear my second choice for the ultimate game night with younger kids.  The Honey Bee Tree, which has a similar feel to Jenga but is suuuper cute and fun for all ages.  First you push the leaves through the holes on the hive to the other side of holes, creating a layer for the bees to rest on.  After dumping the bees in, each person takes a turn pulling out a leaf, careful to not let a bee drop.  The person who drops the most bees LOSES.  My daughter likes the method where her fallen bees go back in the top… ahhh three year olds. She had so much fun playing with her best friend this week.  It was tricky to get her to take a single turn.  Instead she much preferred taking leaves out as fast as possible.  Despite their eagerness/cheating, the girls had so much fun, and once all the leaves had been pulled out, they demanded the tree be built again.  This game is ideal for 2-4 players, ages 3 and up.  The bees are small and can be considered a choking hazard for kids under 3 (or 4). I recommend adult supervision and participation!  Be sure to add this game to your game night arsenal.

To get your own Honey Bee Tree, head to International Playthings to purchase.

Thank you to International Playthings for providing a sample for review.

Finding time to play with your kids and spend quality time together is so important.  A great way to get everyone involved can be game night.  We played a lot of games in my house growing up, whether at home or on vacation.  I treasured those times, and I hope my daughter will too.  Finding games for older kids can be easy, but what about our smaller children in the 3-6 year old range?  I went on a hunt for games that even my 3 1/2 year old could grasp and enjoy.

My first game find I’m bringing to you is Monkeying Around by iPlay.  This game is a fun twist on an old game.  I know you all remember the barrel of monkeys.  I used to love those guys!  This game (ages 4 and up) follows the same rules: make a chain of monkeys.  The game is easily assembled and disassembled and the rules are easy to follow.  My 3 year old had no problem mastering this one.  You simply spin the dial to see how many monkeys you must hang from the palm tree.  The green branches are attached by a magnet in the center, making this a balancing game.  Your kid must think about where the best place to hang their monkeys is, in relation to the monkeys already on the tree.  The first person to hang all of their monkeys wins.  If the tree comes crashing down, the player with the least amount of monkeys wins.  We had a blast going back and forth with this game.  It takes strategy and complex thinking on your small child’s part to win this one, but believe me, they can do it!  Check out the determination on this girl’s face! And then, OOPS! it all came crashing down. It was a sad moment.  But we just hung the tree up again and played some more!

Purchase your own Monkeying Around at iPlay from International Playthings.

Thank you to International Playthings for providing samples to review.

Can you guess what his Kimochi is:)

Being a mom to a three year old is, to sum it all up, an adventure! Sometimes, I’m sure that the terrible two’s has got to be hyphenated, “two-three’s” and we all just missed the memo. They are just learning how to sort out and communicate their preferences and opinions with us and their peers. When I think about it, it has got to be insanely difficult to be so small and so limited. Don’t you wish there was some way to intervene in the middle of those dramatic temper tantrums? With the help of Kimochis, take the opportunity to make it a teaching moment that is both fun and positive.

Plushy Feely Corp., home of Kimochis Toys with Feelings Inside is a company founded by Moms who are dedicated to promoting social and emotional wellness in children and families. Their vision is to provide families with fun, playful and engaging products and educational resources to help develop emotional intelligence and strengthen parent child connections. Feel good inside and out!

Kimochi(key-mo-chee) means “feeling” in Japanese. And Kimochis are what come inside each character! Kimochis are small pillows with a feeling (happy, sad, silly, brave…) printed on one side, and a corresponding facial expression on the other. Each character has a special pocket where kids can store their “Kimochis”- or feelings. Using the characters and their Kimochis, kids can get in touch with their emotions in a fun and comfortable way through puppetry and play. When kids are comfortable talking about their feelings, they build self esteem and confidence.

Tiny Tester:

I love so many things about these little plushies. Kade is my visual, kinesthetic, and tactile learner. Being able to see, feel and act out how his emotions are and should be in a fun and creative way has been amazing! He is now less inclined to enter the downward spiral that is the temper tantrum. My sweet, sometimes emotional, boy can be so much more in tune with his feelings and initiate the conversation about them all on his own! The Kimochis website has teaching tools and guidelines to help you best utilize your new helper. Each plushie has their own personality, challenges and cute little quirks. We chose Huggtopus, who is cute and cuddly, but sometimes overbearing and doesn’t realize her own strength. From the moment Huggtopus was in Kade arms, he has been obsessed with showing me how he feels. And, how adorable are the “KI-motions”?! Not to mention, it’s ridiculously cute to hear him say,”KEE-MOW-CHEE”:)

Sorting his feelings

Then, his brother discovered them. That did not make Kade too happy.

And he got right to telling me how it made him feel:(

GIVEAWAY: For your chance to win a Kimochi and two sets of Mixed Feelings, leave a comment below telling us which personality best fits your little one.

To read about each character and their story, click here.

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Contest ends March 20,2010 at Midnight PST. Winner will be chosen by Random.org and emailed. If they do not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.

Special thanks to Kimochis for providing samples.

Mamas Mood Lifters cards are heaven sent.  This deck of cards is for those times in your life when you just wish you could run away from the situation.  You know those situations, you’re at a restaurant with your family enjoying a nice meal and then your toddler decides to flip out because they are bored.  Or when you are at the grocery store and your young one feels like using the aisles as their own personal playground.  When these moments arrive, and they inevitably will,  just whip these cards out!

Each card contains an inspirational quote to read, so that you can reflect and take a deep breath.  Underneath the wise and calming quote is an activity you can do with your child in that very moment, right in the store or at the restaurant.  The idea is to distract them, if one card doesn’t work simply choose another or better yet, allow your child to pick one out so they feel as though they have some control over the situation.  I know that when I am out and about running errands with my young children I am out to conquer those lines at the bank or the store and I am absolutely not in the mindset for play.  These cards do the work for me, while we are out shopping and my girls are screaming at me from the cart I just grab Mamas Mood Lifters from my bag and read the card that says “Cheers! Pour a pretend or real drink for your child.  Make toasts.  Toast to all things that make you happy.  Here’s to the birds in the trees!  Hurray for peanut butter!  Celebrate recent accomplishments.”   This diffuses the situation as me and my girls toast to fruit snacks and sleeping through the night!  If I am terribly frazzled the inspirational quote at the top helps ease my frantic state “When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky. -Buddha”

These cards come in a deck of 32 and are printed on recycled paper.  They come in a white cotton pouch so you can easily keep them in your bag.  Please visit Mamas Mood Lifters and pick up your deck today!

Special thanks to Marlene at Mamas Mood Lifters for providing a sample deck.

Thank you to Staccabees for a wonderful and unique giveaway!  If you were not chosen, please head on over  to Staccabees to purchase your own set.  The Giveaway winners are:

• Mickelle
• Sarah C

Congratulations!  Winners have been emailed.  Enjoy your Staccabees and report back to us with your own thoughts on the game in the forum!

Staccabees is a wonderful dreidel game that is fun for all families, Jewish or not.  While Staccabees is based on a dreidel, which is a traditional Hanukkah game, there are many other variations of the dreidel top from many different cultures.  In fact, the Greek have their own version of the Dreidel game, called Parta Ola.  It is a spinning top game played during the Christmas and New Years Holidays, even Easter.  No matter your religion or culture, Staccabees is a fun game for any family.  The all natural wooden game pieces and overall simplicity make this game special.  Taking away the plastic, the batteries, and the noise, we can truly see what a family game night is about.  It’s about FAMILY TIME and this game is a great one to add in to your collection.

A stack of cubes, compare to the traditional “pot”, grows and shrinks as the players take their turns.  On the Dreidel is: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (Hei), ש (Shin), which are Hebrew letters.  Together these letters form a mnemonic for the rules of the game.  In Yiddish, they translate to “nothing”, “all”, “half”, and “put”.  The object of the game is to be the first player to balance all of your cubes on the group’s shared stack.

The game comes in a super convenient cotton bag, great for travel and easy to store.  The game is for 2-6 players, age 6 and up.  It’s a quick game that takes about 20-30 min to play, perfect for busy families.  We all know how long a game of Monopoly can take!  Now you have no excuse for game night once a week.

To purchase this game now, click to the site and enter iknow to receive a 10% discount.

Staccabees is also offering a giveaway to two lucky winners. To enter this amazing giveaway, comment below on what your favorite aspect of Staccabees is.  To see the games full description and FAQ, click.

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GIVEAWAY ENDS January 13, 2010 at midnight PST

When I walked into the Whole Foods in LA to search for earth friendly Christmas gifts for my daughter, I was practically met at the door by an eager salesman.  He giddily showed me his favorite thing in the store, Green Pieces Puzzles.  These puzzles are so awesome.  Not only is a puzzle perfect for family game night, but when you’re done, just throw the pieces in the yard.  Well, plant them in the yard, because the puzzle pieces BLOOM over 16 species of wildflowers.  The puzzles are produced by TDC games and are 500 pieces.  All are themed with ecologically aware scenes, like a bald eagle made from aluminum cans.  3,500 cans to be exact, the same amount of cans discarded in the USA every second.

Erin: Puzzles are fun family activities. I used to love when my mom would spread a puzzle out on the kitchen table and we’d all sit down and try to complete it together. Not many puzzles are ever taken out for a second time. What a wonderful twist to a fun tradition. The family pieces together the puzzle and then you take it out into the yard and plant it for gorgeous wild flowers during the warmer months. If only all our kids toys turned into beautiful garden treasures! 

The pieces are backed with recycled paper that has wildflower seeds imbedded in them.  Simply soak the pieces overnight in water and then plant them in soil.  Water them daily.  Buy your puzzle today!