Cooperative Games: Returning to the Essence of Play
by Anne Mijke van Harten, contributor to DrToy.com In cooperative games people play together instead of against each other. This results naturally in a win/win situation for all players. In less then no time, the focus has shifted from each one for themselves and trying to be the best, to working together to attain [...]
Cooperative Play from Bag-O-Loot
Has this ever happened to you? You finally get the family around the table for game night and you are faced with two choices. You can play a game that is made for kids, but you would never play on your own; or you can play a game that you like but the kids [...]
Eco-Friendly Toys: How to Go Green
From Gifts & Decorative Accessories Toy industry recognizing, responding to sustainability issues Stevanne Auerbach Maple Landmark Blocks The world we live in is going through dramatic ecological and environmental changes. The toy industry is growing more aware of the issues and is becoming more responsive to the changes in a wide variety of ways. There [...]
A Whole New Environment in the Toy Industry
How to Survive and Prosper by Rachel Murray Meyer In the summer of 2007 there were millions of toys recalled. Consumers Union labeled 2007 “The Year of the Recall.” The majority of these recalls were for design related issues such as small hazardous magnets and small parts in toys for children under three years [...]
Montgomery Schoolhouse ABC Blocks
Maple Landmark Montgomery Schoolhouse ABC Blocks A set of 28 blocks with a proportion assortment of letters and numbers for creating words and making arithmetic combinations. Each block is printed with letters, numbers and simple pictures such as a chair, tree, hat, duck, or telephone for word and object recognition practice. The 1 3/4″ cubes [...]
JigsawBlocks Fantasy Land
HABA JigsawBlocks Fantasy Land Fantasy Land jigsaw blocks made of beech wood feature a different shape, color, picture, pattern or sound. There is a kaleidoscope block, mirror and also a little bell. Little hands will have fun manipulating building blocks. Arrange bear, mouse, lion and other animals into a jigsaw puzzle picture or pile them [...]
So you want to make (or sell, or market) toys.
Now what?
by David E. Fitzgibbons, CPC Executive Search Group Hello everybody. Before I tell you what to do, I think it’s important to tell you what not to do. To begin with, don’t ever pay an individual to get you a job! I think this is a serious waste of your money and, ethically, I have [...]
Dr. Toy Advocates More Play Time
Reprinted from San Francisco Chronicle March 1, 2010 She calls herself “Dr. Toy.” An educator and advocate for toys as tools for learning, Stevanne Auerbach has written 15 books, including “The Toy Chest: A Sourcebook of Toys for Children” (Lyle Stuart, 1986) and “Toys for a Lifetime: Enhancing Childhood Through Play” (Universe, 1999). Auerbach, 71, [...]
Dr. Toy’s Interview: Cleveland Plain Dealer
Trendy toys like Zhu Zhu Pets come and go, but classics like Play-Doh give us lasting funFrom the Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 20, 2010 This year, the Zhu Zhu Pets hamsters are all the rage. The little furry robots caught on like the Cabbage Patch dolls of yesteryear. The American International Toy Fair took place [...]
Walt Disney’s Pinocchio: The real life Gepetto
reprinted from Sunday Mercury News Feb 20, 2009 A toymaker from Warwickshire has become a real life Geppetto after being filmed for Disney’s re-mastered version of Pinocchio in Hollywood. Cyril Hobbins, from Kenilworth, has been making wooden toys for 20 years and Disney approached him to feature on the new DVD. Mr Hobbins said: “We [...]
Alabama Babies: The Alabama Indestructible Doll Story
Virginia Davis, Doll Reader Dolls leave an indestructible memory. If one crosses the Georgia line into Alabama one can lose an hour in time as the Eastern Time zone changes to Central time. However, as one enters the sleepy little town of Roanoke, Alabama time becomes irrelevant: big churches, family owned businesses, and lots of [...]
Cabbage Patch Kids: The Fantasy Continues
Virginia Davis, Doll Reader People dream of magic, and they tell stories of magical things, and every child believes in magic. But in Georgia, just over Yonah Mountain, there lies a valley that really is a magical place. Here the Koosas climb the trees, and the Bunny Bees sip nectar from magical plants, and the [...]
Bicycle Safety Tips
by Allan Goldscher, U-Bike Inventor, Bikes 'r' Us Bicycling is a fun and healthy exercise. Before allowing your child to ride his or her bicycle on roadways, take the time to teach them the important safety rules. Many bicyclists are seriously injured in accidents because they are less protected than drivers of automobiles and/or they [...]
Dr. Toy Joins EcoLogo Team’s Advisory Committee
PHILADELPHIA Jan. 25, 2010 – What do Dr. Toy, Edward Schmults, former CEO of FAO Schwarz, and a large toy retailer have in common? These industry experts are all interested in making “greener” toys available for children. The EcoLogo Team’s Advisory Committee is pleased to report that progress on the Program’s first standard for Toys [...]
Bonnie Braids
Virginia Davis, Doll Reader This month the New York Times ran an article on people buying less for their children. It said until recently the average child was receiving over seventy new toys a year and many were receiving as many as two new toys a week. Parents are now focusing more on quality playthings [...]
What Makes a Great Game?
by Connie Gee University Games As University Games approaches its 20th Anniversary and reflects on the more than 150 games introduced, there seems to be several common characteristics of a University Games’ game. Most importantly, University Games strive to mix learning and fun. Below is a nice checklist of the characteristics of a great playing [...]
Bay Area Women Toy Designers
Ten Bay Area Women Toy Designers, Companies, and Products. 1. Roly Poly Mirror Cone (Baby Ville/Manhattan), Del Greger: www.manhattantoy.com 2. Pack Rat Puppet (Folkmanis), Judy Folkmanis: www.folkmanis.com 3. Ecosaucer™ (Green Toys), Laurie Hyman: www.greentoys.com 4. Madi Doll (Itty Bitty Toy Co), Stephanie Blythe: www.madidoll.com 5. Spin and Go Board Games (Peaceable Kingdom), Donna Jaffe, www.pkpress.com [...]
Bone Up On American History with Games
American History – David Niecikowski Contributing author, DrToy.com Bone up on some games that will help you bone up on American history. Download | PDF (opens in Acrobat) ♦ David Niecikowski is an expert on the use of board and card games to increase academic and social achievement. He is certified in Elementary Education and [...]
On Music For Young Children: The Lollipop Music Theory
by Bobby Susser We have all heard songs that grabbed our attention and wanted to hear them again and again. It could have been a catchy repetitive lyrical phrase, musical line, unusual rhythm, or perhaps an entire section of the song like the chorus. As adults, we often refer to songs that hook us this [...]
1920s Toy Theatre Newsreel
A newsreel from the early 1920s about a Toy Theatre maker. It shows a printmaker making up toy theatre sheets, preparing them for a show, and a bit of a show as well.
Quadro Phunzone
Quadro/Phunzone My First Quadro Kit Unique large-scale modular construction toy on which children can actually climb, crawl, slide and play in and out of doors. You can easily assemble the colorful, precision engineered thermoplastic components into different desired configurations. Larger designs can be created simply by adding more components or accessories like slides or wheels. [...]
WonderMaze
Museum Tour Catalog WonderMaze Construction toy helps sharpen navigational skills while teaching children valuable lessons in teamwork and physics. WonderMaze’s magnetic backing holds gravity slides, angled slopes, spinners and pegs that become active as balls enter the maze. includes six feature pieces, elbow ramps, two tunnels, six balls and one catch box. www.museumtour.com
Froebel Gifts
Froebel Gifts The Gifts are designed to stimulate all five senses, build language skills, and help children perceive the unity in all things. They learn about art, math, and nature. The materials in Froebel’s class included wood, shapes, clay, origami, painting, weaving, paper, drawing, and other activities. What Froebel knew 150 years has been proven [...]
Quadrilla Twist and Rail Set
Hape International Quadrilla Twist and Rail Set The Quadrilla marble run is a truly “open-ended” toy that can help a child assemble structures that will demonstrate some fundamental – but fascinating – principles of construction. A child may not know it, but Quadrilla can help her or him experience the process of design as they [...]
