After your child has mastered stacking, the next group of toys that are perfect for further developing cognitive, fine motor and hand-eye co-ordination are balancing games.

Balancing builds on the same skills needed to be able to stack, but adds in advanced problem solving skills and a steady hand.

Many of the toys we have found are wonderful for developing creative play as they provide children with the ability to choose how they want to play for themselves.

1. Sevi Balancing Ark – There isn’t any room left in the ark so all of the animals need to be piled on top! But this may not be as easy as it seems, especially as the Ark doesn’t have a flat bottom. This game comes with the colorful Ark and 10 animals to balance. Sevi toys come with a lifetime warranty against defects in workmanship and materials. Colored with safe, vegetable-based dyes.$35
2. Cactus By Plan Toys – This colorful cactus was designed for kids 3+. The object of the game is to try to add or remove cactus stems from the tree without making it fall over. Each player gets a turn to help build the Cactus tree, but beware if you make the cactus fall over first you loose! Comes with the tree base with 5 holes and 18 different colored branches. Made of earth-friendly and replenishable rubber wood. $25
3. Haba Animal Upon Animal – This wobbly stacking animals game designed for 2 – 4 players requires kids to show how capable they are at making a tall pyramid! Who will position the penguin on top of the crocodile, the sheep on top of the penguin, the serpent on the sheep, the toucan … Comes with 4 of each animal to be stacked on top of the alligator. $20
4. Balancing Coral from Plan Toys – This eco-friendly game can be played 3 different ways: horizontally, vertically and diagonally for the more advanced players. It includes a wooden egg-shaped base with 4 holes, 14 various colored pieces and is made of earth-friendly and replenishable rubber wood. $40
5. Balancing Bamboo Pandabo by Hape – With this game you want to be the last to finish. Players take turns adding sticks on top of Panda. The more sticks added the more difficult to maintain balance. Be careful if they fall on you turn, otherwise you are out of the game. Comes with 1 Bamboo Panda, 24 sticks in three shapes and 1 dice. Made with 100% natural bamboo. $15
6. Cagola Balancing ship by Hape – With this game kids roll the shape-based die and take turns loading bamboo shapes onto the boat’s deck – but watch out for rough waters: Choose your position carefully or you’ll end up overboard and out of the game. Made from bamboo. Neatly packaged in sturdy storage tube with a bamboo handle that is ready for gifting. $15
7. Chickyboom from Blue Orange – As the chickens hang out on their colorful perch, your child must collect as many chickens, hay bales and wagon wheels as you can before the rocking roost topples. A game of balance, laughs and fun where the roost goes Chickyboom! Comes with 6 wooden chickens (3 big, 3 small) , 7 wooden hay bales, 7 wooden wagon wheels, 1 wooden rocking perch (1 platform, 1 base). Ages 5 and up. $25
8. Bone by Sina – This seemingly simple game comes with eight multicolored bone-shaped wooden blocks that can be balanced in all sorts of gravity defying formations. $48

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Now, an Environmental group says many items for sale have high levels of lead, arsenic and other chemicals.

In a report that was released yesterday, the group find that one in three toys tested was found to contain toxic chemicals such as lead, flame retardants and arsenic.

Researchers for the Michigan-based Ecology Center tested more than 1,500 popular toys for lead, cadmium, arsenic, PVC and other harmful chemicals. They said they found that one-third of the toys contain “medium” or “high” levels of chemicals of concern.

Also according to the study, children’s jewelry is 5 times more likely to contain lead above the toxic 600 ppm-level than other toys. In particular, the report mentioned that several Hannah Montana brand jewelry items tested high for lead.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children’s toys have less than 40 parts-per-million of lead. The levels of lead detected in “many” of the toys was “significantly” above those guidelines, according to the release.

Here are some things they found:

• 21% of toys from China and 16% of toys from all other countries had detectable levels of lead.
• Of the 17 toys made in the United States that were tested, 35% had detectable levels of lead. A U.S.-made Halloween pumpkin pin had 190,943 ppm of lead.
• 62% of the tested products – or 954 items – contain low levels of chemical concern.
• 21% of the products tested – or 324 items – contained no toxic chemicals to be worried about.

To see how the toys were rated please visit www.healthytoys.org

Some of the companies that do well are many that we have covered on this site.

Plan Toys, Melissa and Doug, Alex Toys, iPlay, Haba, Lego, Corolle and Baby K’tan are listed as some of the best.

 SOURCE

The story of Noah’s Ark is a great story for kids of all ages because of it’s simplicity.

Many toy companies have created their versions of the centuries old tale, giving parents the perfect opportunity to teach their children new skills and lessons.

Some of these lessons include:

• learning the various types of animals in Noah’s Ark and their characteristics through stories using these animals as characters.
• telling the history relating to Noah’s Ark to teach children kindness, virtue and morality through play.
• learning that Noah and his family traveled by ark using the water way and also the other various transportation method available today such as air, road, railroad and ship.

We have found 9 great ways to play with Noah’s Ark. Some of these toys encourage important developmental skills like co-ordination, stacking, sorting and creative play.

*Additional information for each toy is available by clicking on the ‘notes’ link under the picture*

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1. Pommella Activity Toy – Open up the magnetic apple and inside there is a cute little rattling caterpillar. Apple comes with rustling foil. ($14)

2. Ballino is a colorful rattling ball made out of wooden discs. Great toy to have for first grabbing. ($12)

3. Stacking Ball Colori – The 5 part stacking ball rattles, squeaks and rustles.($17)

4. Peely Grasping Ball – Change Peely’s colors from red and yellow to blue by folding the sides up or down. Little ones will love the rattling sound and bright colors.($9)

5. Fabric Miniland Ball – Great for grasping and rolling. Comes with little bell.($20)

6. Fiori Fabric Ball – This simple, yet vibrantly colorful ball is covered in soft, ruby red fabric, with delicate pink and green flowers sewn all over it. This ball has a rattle inside, which gently tinkles when the ball is shaken, or rolled along the floor.($12)

7. Discovery Ball with Squeaker – This colourful ball’s sounds and optical effects trigger the curiosity of any child, stimulating them to fumble and clutch. ($5)

8. Allegro Stacking Ball – The ball is separated into four squishy pieces which slide together on a soft, fabric rod. Some pieces are lined with rustling foil or contain a rattle for a bit of noisy interest; all are luxuriously soft and fuzzy.($12)

*All of Haba’s wooden toys are made of beech wood, with ecological, water-based, non-toxic lacquers.*

All of Haba’s toys are available at oompa.com

Habermaass Corp.(HABA) has received 15 reports of incidents involving the recalled puzzles, rattles, and pacifier holders including pieces of the rattles detaching and being mouthed by young children.

The puzzles, rattle toys, pacifier holders, and stroller toys are wooden and are described in the chart below. “HABA” is printed on them.

Parents are being asked to immediately take the recalled puzzles, rattles, pacifier holders and stroller toys away from children and contact Habermaass at (800) 468-6873 ext. 107 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.HABAusa.com/safety to receive a free replacement product or a full refund.

For a full list of the recalled toys please

Because we are currently in the market for a bedroom set for our son, I have been looking everywhere for something different.

I was pretty excited when I found this set, until I realized that my three-year-old wouldn’t get any sleep with this cool Pirate’s ship attached to his wall.

To see all of the pieces, please visit Haba’s site.

Sorting toys are a great way to encourage motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Here are a few of the ones that I have found that stand out.

The shape sorting Caterpiller – This multi-colored caterpiller encourages stacking, sorting and creativity. The brightly colored discs helps toddlers to recognize shapes and patterns.

$16.00

Wooden Shape Sort Cube – This wooden cube features unconventional shapes on 3 sides of the box. When your toddler puts the colored shapes through the right holes they receive a satisfying “clunk.”

$24.00

Stacking Clown from Plan Toys- While this toy is primarily a stacking toy, it also features a neat shape sorting feature. In order to be able to stack it properly, your toddler must be able to match the right shapes first. We will eventually have this clown in our house, he is just a tad intermediate for my guy yet.

PlanToys are made from natural, chemical free rubber wood and finished with non-toxic and child friendly colors.

$19.99

Shape-O® Toy by Tupperware - This classic toy is a must have in any toybox. Toddlers can use the 10 pieces to match the shapes on the toy, allowing them to identify shapes and develop coordination and dexterity. Each piece also has a number on one side with the corresponding number of dots on the other to teach preschoolers number recognition and counting.

On sale right now at Tupperware for $17.50

Haba Shape Sorting Board – Haba is famous for their solid beech wood toys that are made with completely non-toxic paints. This shape sorting peg board will teach colors, shapes and different sizes. Set comes with 20 large wooden blocks and one base.

$48.95

Geometric Sorting Board by Plan Toys - I love this sorting toy because it teaches so much. Your toddler will learn sorting, colors, numbers and shapes with this toy. lanToys are made from natural, chemical free rubber wood and finished with non-toxic and child friendly colors.

$11.99

Battat Shape Sorter House – This house helps kids to develop hand-eye coordination and teaches them colors, matching and sorting skills. It comes with 6 doors with locks, 6 geometric shapes that fit into doors, 6 different shapes fit into the chimneys and a key ring with 6 keys for the door.

$17.99

Fisher-Price Laugh& Learn Cookie Shape Surprise – This smiling-face cookie jar features a magical opening that senses baby’s hand, or the cookie shapes, and plays music and sounds and says phrases. It has a shape mode and a number mode. Includes 5 cookie shapes, magical cookie jar and lid

$14.99

The cool part is that they don’t need to make them glow and beep. All of their products are powered by one thing – imagination.

The new collection of play food will make any tea party a success. For this Springs collection Haba introduces fabric petit fours, donuts, ice cream cones, and a cake that comes apart for each guest to have a piece.

They are so nicely done, I had to take a second look to make sure that real treats weren’t on display as well.

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