Sunday, November 9, 2008

What's In The Toy Box?






Well, not really the toy box, cuz that is filled to the brim with Polly Pockets, Barbies, Webkinz and much more! But as I am always interested in and seeking toys & books that explore adoption and offer exposure to multi-cultural themes, I thought some of you might enjoy a glimpse at some of our tried & true faves....
In the top picture I have included an amazing matching/memory game called, I Never Forget a Face!. In addition to sharpening recognition and memory skills, this beautiful game features 24 pairs of children from around the world. There are no pairs from Kazakhstan or Taiwan, but there are children included from: China, Vietnam, Mali, Russia, Scotland, Brazil, Mexico, Hawaii, Haiti, Myanmar and many more! The game is listed for ages 5 & up on the box, but the cards are extremely sturdy laminate boards, fully drool proof and easy for chubby little fingers to grasp! ( Way too big to be a choking hazard either. ) Lauren & I adore this game that was given to us by our sweet & generous friend "T" ( actually a lot of these incredible things were given to us by "T" ) and it has prompted many requests from her to research these countries to learn more about these cultures, climates, etc.....she also thinks several of the boys are, " really cute, Mom". Ummm......I'm so not ready for that!! LOL
** This game is an Eboo.com product but you can find it for much less at this site: http://www.dollslikeme.com/ (under games & puzzles) ** This is a great site too for more multicultural toys/activities! Target also carries Eboo products.
Also in the top picture is a unique set of blocks by the Habba company. We received these blocks at one of our baby showers and have been using them since Lauren could stack blocks! This is the Russian set, and though Lauren has no documented Russian ancestry, Kazakhstans' culture has been heavily influenced by Russian traditions/architecture, etc. so this has been fun for us all! The blocks are surprisingly sophisticated and even older kiddos visiting our home have loved this set. Habba makes other country specific block sets too and their products can be found at: http://www.haba.de/
Yikes....still at the top.....Of course we have Big Bird in China and while Lauren is well beyond the Sesame Street gang, it has been fun to watch and I know her baby brother will probably love it down the road. This one can be hard to find, but I did find it listed as "on sale" at: http://www.chinasprout.com/
Also at top is Lauren's look-a-like Bitty Baby doll. This was also a gift and tailored to match her coloring & heritage. Bitty is an American Girl doll and is absolutely cherished by Lauren & I both.
Again, (at the top) is a Sagwa DVD, ( Cat Tales & Celebrations) which features a spunky Chinese Siamese cat and is based on a book written by Amy Tan. We love this one because it highlights several holidays/traditions celebrated in both China and Taiwan. I was tickled to see mention of Stinky Tofu, moon cakes and Chinese New Year. This is a PBS Kids product.
Finally at the top ( and thanks for still reading!) is the amazing See 'n Say: Kids Around the World. This was a gift from (yes, the amazing) "T" for our baby boy, but Lauren has checked it out thoroughly and gave it a huge "thumbs-up". It is two sided and features the countries of: Italy, Germany, Russia, Kenya, India, Australia, Japan, China, Canada, USA ,Mexico, Brazil, Spain, England, France and Land & Sea. Once activated it has a musical selection from each country, facts, words, counting in each language and a seek & find game. It is fantastic and Lauren can count, sing and say 'hello' in so many languages now! I could not find a website for this toy, but a random google should bring it right up! This is a great one for many ages!
The middle picture shows Lauren reading in her room with some of our favorite books that have adoption themes. I won't type all the titles as I hope they are readable above, but I will say that these have become such keepsakes for our family and they are so kid friendly and explore adoption in a very whimsical and kid appropriate way. Lauren is holding her favorite, A Mother for Choco, which is especially brilliant for multi-racial adoptions and also is a nice one to master for an independent reader like Lauren. Our other favorites are the Little Miss Spider books. In Little Miss Spiders Christmas Wish, she prays for a sibling and her Christmas miracle brings a little brother home to her family! How appropriate for us this year as we wait for our baby boy!! (Praying he can be home for Christmas, but fearful we will be sending him kisses from afar....). These books are short & sweet and also wonderful for trans racial adoptions and single parent adoptions. These were some of the first books Lauren read all by herself last year and that's a plus too for older siblings or as your child grows! Lauren can't wait to read these books to her baby brother!!( Us too!!) All the books can be found ( I believe ) at most major book stores.
Phew....are you still with me? Wow! Okay, yes, the final picture is blogger prerogative and we included Lexi with her look-a-like cuz Lauren was worried she would feel left out if we didn't add it! How sweet is that!?!
Final Thought: Please let me know if you have any great toys/books/games related to adoption or culture that your family loves!!
P.S. Updates should be coming soon! Yay!! We miss our boy so much and want him home!!!





14 comments:

Michelle said...

Hey THANKS for the ideas! I love the Dolls Like Me website! :)

Also...do you mind if I put your website on my blog? Thanks!

Lisa said...

Hi Michelle!
Thanks for the sweet comment; absolutely add us to your blog roll. May I add your's to mine too? :)
Lisa C.

QingLu Mama said...

Great gift ideas! We do have some of the books, but I've never seen the Sunnypatch ones, Simone would love them. The blocks look very cool and again, right up my little one's alley...
I sure hope you get to bring the little guy home before the Holidays, too. And Lexi, too cute!
As you'll see on my blog, my latest entry was inspired by your words on adoption, thanks for that!
Jennifer

Sarah k said...

Very cool hon!! When we went to Taiwan, they had something I just had to bring back that was too cool. I am a HUGE Disney fan and they had chocolate colored FAT HEAD Mickeys! LOL.... They are sooooo cute! Look for them at the Shih Lin market!!!

Sarah k
Taiwankiddo2.blogspot.com

Michelle said...

Lisa, you can absolutely add my blog. :)

Floyd said...

hey great looking educational toys.
some really nice ideas here.
do you have any info on where one might get international instruments.
i would like to celebrate my children's heritage through music as well.
~~thanks

Kerry said...

Great post, Lisa. We too have lots of fun items. Including a wonderful Children around the world wooden floor puzzle put out by Parents Magazine toys. Love the Corelle dolls, and Ryan's Roon has a cute Asian doll set.

I'll post some too!

QingLu Mama said...

Lisa,
Thank you, as always, for the kind words. You really know how to lift spirits and you always write from the heart! I truly do appreciate your comments on my blog, and am glad we've "met".
Jennifer

Yvonne Crawford said...

They that game sounds cool - especially since my bio kids are 1/4 Burmese, it would be cool for them to see it. And I love the smile in the 1st picture - absolutely gorgeous!

Tish said...

oh, thank you for these recommendations...the baby is up now, so i will come back and re-read the details. that never foregt a face game sounds wonderful!

Michele M said...

Hey Lisa,

Thanks for sharing your favorites! I like the never forget a face memory cards. I have some of the same books; they are good one. Can't go without saying how much I love Lexi...I'll always be soft when it comes to those sweet Maltese.

QingLu Mama said...

Lisa, just had to share...I showed Simone your blog last night, thought she might like seeing Lauren. And I was correct, she really liked the pictures of her. She also really likes the block set, so I know something that will be in her holiday goodies. And she noticed Lexi on the back of the couch in the 1st pic, and got such a kick out of that! So now you have another "follower" - Simone!
Have a great weekend.
Jennifer

Journey to our baby said...

This list is great. I am going to copy and paste it because I want everything that you mentioned! We have some of the books already, but I really like the games and you have given us more ideas. Thank-you so much for sharing.

Anne Marie said...

This is AWESOME, Lisa! I really appreciate this post and I am going to have to come back and print it out. I am going to look into the Sagwa DVD right away, and we just read A Mother for Choco for the first time this week - what a great book!