Crazy Aaron's - Liquid Glass Thinking Putty.

The only Liquid Glass that doesn't begin around 1400°C.

Crazy Aaron's - Liquid Glass Thinking Putty.

Toy review by Mary Brower 

Crazy Aaron’s Liquid Glass Thinking Putty is perfect for developing hand strength, concentration skills, and helping children as well as adults stay focused. Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty never dries out and is Made in the U.S.A. Liquid Glass is absolutely clear when first opened.  As soon as the putty is played with, it becomes foggy like ice. The putty is perfect for making your own ice sculptures, tearing it, stretching it, and even bouncing it! The putty comes in a tin that makes it easy to carry with you around everywhere! After playing with the putty, put it back in the tin for 30-40 minutes and watch it go back to clear. Stop by JAKE’s Toy Box to pick up your tin of liquid glass, and check out our entire selection of Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty. Also try pairing this product with Laser Fingers to shine at the putty, making your Liquid Glass LED light show! 

Pink and Dolls - A misplaced gender bias?

Circa 1800, Men's Suit

"We think of pink as such a girlish color, but it's really a post-World War II phenomenon." Michelle Finamore, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, interviewed by Susan Samberg, NPR about an exhibition from 2014 entitled Think Pink. 

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Near closing time one night a couple years ago, a family came to visit us after having dinner next door.  I specifically remember what seemed the grandfather almost taunting his grandson by repeatedly presenting him with what many people would identify as a toy meant for a girl.  I did my best to re-direct, but the old man seemed almost to enjoy the game.  The young boy was at not all amused and visibly became more upset with each successive toy the grandfather brought to him. The family was in from out of town and after purchasing a couple toys, they headed back to wherever.

Our founder loved the color pink.  One of his favorite things to do upon entering a Toys - R- Us was to make a beeline for the back of the store where they kept the motorized cars.  His personal favorite, the Barbie Pink Escalade of course.  The word PINK was one of his earliest sight words too. 

Ryans Room - Out of Production.

Another misunderstood gender bias is in dolls/play figures.  Both boys and girls gain valuable social skills from role-playing their home lives and more.  Some of the most humbling and positive feedback to our work as parents was in overhearing Jake play independently with his little fire department and more specifically the characters within it. Using that limitless toddler imagination, one became mommy, daddy, and, of course, Jake.  The 4th pictured is our good friend Gerald.  I recall also him saying kiss, kiss, hug, goodnight, good-morning, I love you, and more while he played independently with the figures.  

In this article from KQED entitled "Why it's Imperative to Teach Empathy to Boys" you'll find a thought provoking read how playing with dolls can be of tremendous importance later in life.  Both from observations as a parent and even some at our store, I have found that children seem to role play what they are around the most.  You should not be too surprised to hear exact copies of your most frequently used expressions or words.

Again, our son of four absolutely loved the color pink and he literally never once seemed to notice differences in skin color.  Everyone was "friend".  Jake reinforced in my mind that holding a bias about colors or dolls is a completely adult construct.  It also goes both ways in the branding we see associated with some toys and dolls/action figures "for boys".  

   

"Thanks to marketing, Disney princesses and profits, the color pink has spread like measles."  Susan Stamberg NPR.

As a child of the 70'/80's, it would go without saying that David Bowie's "Pretty In Pink" comes to mind as bumper music for this blog however, please take a listen to this 1955 Hit, Perez Prado  Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White.  Try it with a pink lemonade before summer's end too.  

So what has changed since that grandfather's visit? When a father's son picked out the Beanie Boo pictured right and he mentioned his perplexity in that, out of everything in the store his son of four chose something pink, purple, white...  I was able to share with him that pink has some interesting history behind it and it is after all only a color.  

If you enjoyed the read, please feel free to comment on my grammar and thanks for the feedback on the Links.  

STOP and put some brakes on the balancing. 

Many parents may disagree with our choice but, it was ours to make.  You see for me it was more important for my son to learn how to stop his bicycle, than it was for him to ride one without training wheels.  So, I purchased a bike with training wheels and not a balance bike.  

Jake had global developmental delays, thus just pedaling took maybe more work than others however, between three and a half and four and a half, he became quite talented at leaving skid or what he referred to as "squish" marks.  I was thrilled because he knew that if things became dicey, all he needed to do was slow down if not outright stop.  

Fast-forward another five plus years and, we now own a toy store that carries balance bikes and much more.  Balance bikes, Strider in particular, have been fantastic teaching tools for balance and shown to be helpful with kiddos, both with and without special needs.

Many of you are already aware of our BERG Track and pedal karts.  BERG Pedal karts are another ideal toy for targeted developmental needs and just like many a bike or balance bike, plain old fun. 

After having the track setup, pictured above, at almost a dozen events with audiences from 1,500 to 60,000, we can't help but notice that kiddos are consistently putting their feet down to stop when they get into difficult situations.  This even after instructions about the kart, not to put your feet down, safety, blah, blah, blah. 

Resulting from informal polling of the parents nearby, I believe I have found a reason to be suspect of kiddos learning on balance bikes that have no breaks. I am wondering about learning balance without addressing control, specifically how to stop.  Could it possibly be reinforcing kiddos to put their feet down to stop in other areas too.   This could/will become problematic later in life, I promise.  Do you recall or did you ever experience first hand one of the more common/non life threatening injuries associated with the now banned motorized three wheelers?  This was long before balance bikes too. During our polling we also found parents claiming their child knew how to or, "could stop their own bike back at home without putting their feet down", yet the kiddos would continue to put their feet down to stop.   

My father's criteria for my obtaining a driver's license was making a skydive, as he was heavily involved with the sport.  His rational was to have me experience intense fear, keep my wits' about me and thus be able to pull my own ripcord.  Now, I don't expect anyone to follow that logic or teaching methodology however, it did help me to understand that when the proverbial poo poo goes down, you can react, you can overcome fear and react in the moment.  Something as simple as hitting the breaks, steering to avoid the head on collision, pulling a ripcord, even hitting the accelerator, can all be viable solutions to escape a serious injury. 

What's the review in all this or where is he going?  Don't stop short in teaching your kiddos not just balance, but almost more importantly, how to be in control of their ride.  How to stop.  I believe it will help in facilitating a self awareness for them, which in turn can be key in reacting effectively in a dicey/split second situation.  Strider bikes, along with others can be ordered with simple brake systems or purchased directly from JAKE's.         

Our neighbor has three boys with the eldest just under four.  They have a couple ride on's and a balance bike.  After explaining my theory to his parents, and leaving a buddy for them to play with, Levi (oldest) was quickly able to operate the brakes on the Buddy.  "He was so excited that after very little instruction, he figured it out and wanted to tell you" expressed Brian his enthused father. 

Be it a balance bike, trike, regular bike, Berg kart or whatever, teach your kiddos to be in control of their ride because, not all of us want to be strapped into a Flitz?"  Imagine trying to walk that up a hill when it's 32 Celsius outside.   

  My 5 year old was born with developmental dyspraxia and struggles with balance and coordination. Even though he can ride a "big wheels" like bike and use the pedals, he could not use the pedals on a bike with training wheels and make it go. Since the STRIDER 16 is made for a bigger child, he can still have practice with handling a big boy bike without the hassle of the pedals and not lose heart that he can't ride and make his bike go--so now we can put the focus on balance and coordination where he really needs the most important practice. It is motivating for him to have this big boy bike compared to a 3 wheeled bike because it resembles a big bike like his mother (myself) has and because he can maneuver it and make it go, when he could not do that with the bike with training wheels. It may take him a while to "get" the coordination and balance due to developmental reasons, but the beautiful thing is that he is motivated to do so with this bike.      - Proud Strider Mom

 Quote courtesy of Strider Bikes website 07 14 15  http://www.striderbikes.com/special-needs-testimonials

Cauldron Quest - Game Review

TOY:  Cauldron Quest, a cooperative game by Peaceable Kingdom.

DESCRIPTION:  A cooperative game where players face a Wizard and obstacles instead of one another.  The object is to get the correct ingredients into the cauldron before the paths are blocked.  The quest is to find the ingredients.  The game is good for the age requirement of six plus, but younger children can play it as well. 

This game aids development in that it helps to teach strategy, communication, cooperation and problem solving.  This game can be beneficial to those with targeted developmental needs throughout the spectrum.

Why kids love this item:

Cauldron Quest a game where everyone plays together, no one is left out, and everyone has fun! Traditional games tend to have one winner and one (or many) losers! In a cooperative game, the players work as a team against a common obstacle, not against each other.                            Peaceable Kingdom website 7/2/15

Game Review by, Brie D and Jake's Blogger.

Beginning a useful blog.

Hello fans of JAKE's Toy Box and welcome to our first Blog!  Long overdue however, in flattery of others in the business, we did not want to start blogging until we found quality content to blog about.

Our goal in using the forum is; to provide you with some helpful Toy reviews based upon the criteria of; Educational Toys for All Abilities.  We strive to be a resource, and not just for parents with kiddos at various development levels, we strive to give you a reason to come back and visit, spending fun times in the family friendly environment that is JAKE's Toy Box.    All ages, all abilities always welcome at;