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By Mom Unplugged, October 29, 2007 5:45 pm

I recently found these sturdy cardboard puzzles at Cosco and they are really great!

Each puzzle represents a continent. At the moment the manufacturer, A Broader View, only makes four (North America, South America, Africa, and Europe) but I believe that more may be in the works. Cosco had them bundled in packs of two, so we ended up buying all four and I am so glad we did!

One of my pet peeves with some geographic puzzles is that often the pieces are cut out in such a way as to bear no relationship to the actual shape of a state or a country. Why? Wouldn’t it be much more useful and educational to follow the natural boundaries?

These puzzle pieces do follow the natural shape of each country or state (except in the case of very small countries and states). This makes total sense to me!

Capitals are labeled, as are other major cities, large bodies of water and even lat / long.

It would be nicer if these were made of wood rather than cardboard, but at least the cardboard is quite sturdy, and feels like it will last a long time. One word of advice though: the first time it is unwrapped, an adult should remove the pieces since they are stuck in there pretty hard.

If you can’t get to Cosco (or they don’t have them any more), then you can get North and South America from Amazon (links below). It seems that as of right now, Europe and Africa are out of stock. Hopefully they will return eventually.

You also can find all of them, plus some interesting-sounding global puzzles (a future post!) at the manufacturer’s store: Geography Zone. Otherwise, search online to check for other stores and pricing. It seems to vary between $7.00 and $10.00.

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By Mom Unplugged, October 18, 2007 7:53 pm

Open doors, close doors, open doors, close doors, etc. etc. etc. Toddler heaven!

These doors hide farm themed magnets that your little one can move around from door to door. I found this to be a great travel toy. There are magnets that could get lost, however they are not overly small and there are not many of them to keep track of.

The best age for this seems to be 2 to 3 (recommended for over 3 due to possibility of choking, so be careful). Ours has been on several plane and car trips and is still going strong. By the way, this is from Melissa and Doug Toys, so it is sturdy, wooden, and wonderful!

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By Mom Unplugged, October 12, 2007 10:37 am

I have always thought that those little Magnetix were a fun toy, but unfortunately they can cause a fatal intestinal injury should the magnets be swallowed.

My friend Wishy (thanks again Wishy!) told me about these Guidecraft toys. They are giant magnetic rods and balls. Kids can make cool structures without danger of choking on or swallowing little rods and balls like those found in the sets for older kids.

This seems like a great construction toy for younger children, or for households with a baby who constantly seeks out tiny objects.

There sets with different numbers of pieces to fit different budgets. I have shown here the set for ages 3 and up. But there is also a toddler set, and a slightly smaller-sized set (but not choking-sized small) for older children, ages 4 and up.

For more variety, you can even get curvy Magneatos and glow-in-the-dark sets too!

A 2006 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winner.

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By Mom Unplugged, October 3, 2007 7:16 pm

While searching for a new unplugged toy to feature this week, I stumbled upon the Filino Pull Toy by German toy manufacturer Selecta. I have already written about our much loved wooden stacking mouse pull toy by French manufacturer Boikido, but this one looks just as cute.

Selecta makes wonderful, high quality wooden toys that are very durable. We have a few of their toys and they have lasted through three children and are still going strong. Plus, all Selecta’s toys are actually made in Germany and conform to European toy safety standards, so no lead paint. I am so sorry that this has had to become a consideration for parents nowadays.

This toy is fun because it is really several toys in one. Not only can children pull the cute dog and mouse around, but they can disassemble and stack the pieces too. I found that my little one first enjoyed taking our mouse toy apart, but couldn’t stack or pull. Now, at twenty months she loves giving the mouse family a ride, but still can’t stack it well.

If you want a multipurpose baby toy that can accommodate your child as she grows and develops, then I recommend the durable, heirloom-quality Filino Pull Toy.

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By Mom Unplugged, September 26, 2007 8:42 pm

This is such a cool game! You can just feel your brain cells expanding as you play. Since no reading is required and play involves pattern recognition, even younger children (maybe age 6 and up) can learn to play and beat the grownups!

Check out the Set Game website for more info on how to play. The website also has a great online tutorial as well as a puzzle challenge which changes daily.

If you play the online daily game, you might get lucky and win one of the other “Set People’s” card games. They draw a winner randomly every week from amongst all the players. Let me know if you win, since I never have!