Children's Toys

Chilren's toys, silly toys, unusual toys, unique toys and toys you won't find at wal-mart or toys-r-us.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Butterfly Garden Review: Reviews of the Butterfly Garden

Butterfly Garden - a butterfly habitat Raise 5 Painted Lady butterflies in the Butterfly Garden while learning all about metamorphosis with this Oppenheim Best Toy Award-winning butterfly raising kit! Watch them grow then let them go! See each caterpillar's transition as it matures, changes into a chrysalis, and finally emerges as a Painted Lady butterfly! After observing your butterflies, experience the joy of releasing them into your backyard! Absolutely safe to release into the environment. Includes colorful pop-up habitat suitable for hanging or free-standing on a countertop, pre-paid certificate for 5 butterfly larvae with special food, feeding kit and complete instructions. Please Note: This kit doesn't contain any live insects; it includes a mail-in certificate for the live critters. Three butterflies are guaranteed to be perfect specimens. Please allow approximately 3 weeks for your larvae to develop. During extremely hot or cold weather, delivery of live larvae may be delayed. Available only in the Continental U.S. and Alaska. Butterfly Garden is recommended for kids ages 4 and up. butterfly Garden Review #1 i gave this kit to two of my friends' children (two different families) for christmas and both girls (5 year olds) absolutely loved it! each of them took it to school so that their classes could enjoy it too, and the girls couldn't wait to call me when the butterflies finally came out of the cocoons. one of their teachers even ordered a kit herself so that the class could see the entire developmental process. one thing that i would suggest though... if you get this as a gift and you are organized enough to get it ahead of time, go ahead and send in the catepiller coupon for the child. that way, they only wait a few days for their catepillers, rather than two weeks.


Butterfly Garden Review #2 As a child, I caught caterpillars, fed them milkweed and watched as they turned into Monarch butterflies. I wanted my child to experience the same magic, however, it has been difficult to find caterpillars. I found three Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars, only to find they had been eaten by a praying matis a few days later. At first, I had a hard time spending $20.00 for "a few bugs", however, this turned into more than 2 weeks of entertainment for the entire family and a few neighbors - pretty cost-effective, and educational, too! The kit gives you everything you need. Fool-proof if you follow the simple directions. You can plan the timing of the caterpillar's arrival, so your butterflies won't need to be released in a blizzard. The caterpillars are well-contained - not to worry if anybody is squeemish. The butterflies in the kit are found in so many locations around the world, you don't need to worry about un-balancing your ecosystem. We are planning to give a butterfly garden to every birthday child for the coming year!
Butterfly Garden Review #3 My son received the butterfly garden as a birthday gift. We were going out of town, so asked to have the caterpillars delivered at a later date. They came on the exact date requested! The caterpillars were very small the first day, but grew so quickly that I wondered if we could actually watch them grow before our eyes (it certainly seemed that way)! It took only one week for the chrysalides to form, and only one more week for the butterflies to hatch. There is no feeding required for the caterpillars (they arrive in a container with their entire food supply)--all the kids need to do is watch them! My son and daughter both woke up each morning and would come running to tell me how big the caterpillars were. Then they watched them form into chrysalides, and still watched them each day until they hatched. The day we released the butterflies, my son looked at me and said "I sure am going to miss my beautiful butterflies!...Mom, can we get some more?" You can buy your butterfly garden at http://www.sillyasstoys.com

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Giant Microbe Review

Giant Stuffed Microbe Reviews I currently have most of the set, and thoroughly recommend them. There was also approval from our infection control nurse at the hospital where I work, who suggested that "mono and the common cold should mate and have cute little babies....." (mono has luxurious eyelashes with lilac fur and the common cold is a beautiful shade of blue) She liked the idea of using them as visual tools in infection control lectures. My workmates thought it odd to spend £45 on fuzzy toys from the US though....... Sarah Jacotine === This idea is great. Not only would children adore the hands-on experience, but each and every biology teacher should have a set. Perfect for hypochrondriacs! Laura Lelievre === The coolest thing about these Giant Microbes is the double meaning they can have. Of course they work well as gag gifts and educational toys as well. No home should be with a Giant Microbe. Leslie Rollins Here is a list of the Giant Microbes avaialable: * E. Coli(Escherichia coli) Everyone's welcome at a barbecue. Or are they? * Head Lice(Pediculus capitis) Having a lousy day? We've got a solution. Scratch your head, and try guess what it is! * Sleeping Sickness(Trypanosoma brucei) Are you tired? Working too hard? Feeling a bit cranky? Do you think you might have sleeping sickness? This little fellow will sing you a lullaby you'll never forget. * Acne/Pimple (Propionibacterium acnes) Got a blemish? Give our little fellow a big squeeze, and you're sure to feel better! * The Pox/Syphillis (Treponema pallidum) Don't let a pox end up on your house -- or anyone else's house. The more you know, the better for everyone's real estate. * The Clap/Gonorrhea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae) One of the most common venereal diseases, Gonorrhea can be easily cured -- or avoided. Know the risks. * Flesh Eating Disease (Steptococcus pyogenes) Caused by the same microbe responsible for strep-throats, Flesh Eating can put you on a diet -- fast. * Bad Breath - Halitosis (Porphorymonas gingivalis) Oral malodor is no laughing matter. But don't give spicy foods all the credit. Microbes deserve their share of the glory, too. Make someone smile (as long as they've brushed first.) * Common Cold Giant Microbe (Rhinovirus) Billions of people a year catch the cold. Now you can get one too -- without getting sick! Learn all about the Common Cold with this cuddly companion. * Flu (Orthomyoxvirus) This guy may not look too tough, but don't let his cute looks fool you! Once he and his friends show up you're in for a pretty lousy time. Learn about his weaknesses so you can avoid unwanted encounters. * H.I.V.(Human Immunodeficiency Virus) Not cute in any sense, This plush microbe seeks to educate those about the deadly virus that destroys CD4 or T-helper cells. * Mono - Kissing Disease (Epstein-Barr Virus) A kiss is just a kiss -- unless she's around! 95% of the population has encountered this sweetie pie. Just think of all the fun you can have giving Mono to somebody without all the medical complications! * Sore Throat (Streptococcus) No one likes having a sore throat, unless it's a Giantmicrobe! Find out what makes Streptococcus bacteria more than just your average sore throat virus. * Stomach Ache(Shigella) Having a stomach ache can be loads of fun ... if it's a Giantmicrobe, of course! (And this one will tell you how to keep his friends away.) * Ulcer(Helicobater pylori) Guess what? Stress doesn't cause ulcers -- microbes do! But we guarantee that this little guy will give your most stressed out pal a laugh. * Beer Yeast(Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Come and get it! This microbe is a baker, and a brewer -- and a scientist to boot. Pretty amazing! Learn about the secrets to its success. * Ebola (Ebola Virus) Since its discovery in 1976, Ebola has become the T. Rex of microbes. Share the love! * BookWorm(Anobium punctatum) Do you have a favorite bookworm? We do! And our book-lover is sure to interest just about any bibliophile. * Martian Microbe(ALH 84001) Are we alone? Maybe not! Mars Rock ALH 84001 produced rampant speculation after bacteria-like shapes were discovered inside. And if life does exist on other planets in the solar system, it probably looks like this! Each 5-7 inch plush microbe comes with a instructional card that includes an actual picture of the microbe along with information about the microbe in its natural environment.