Our great new Gears! Gears! Gears! robot construction kit Illuma Bot was featured in the Independent this weekend.
Click here to buy Illuma Bot in the UK.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Illuma Bot is here!
Our great new Gears! Gears! Gears! robot construction kit Illuma Bot was featured in the Independent this weekend.
Click here to buy Illuma Bot in the UK.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Cooking up fun with Bella Bistro
Role play is a great way for children to learn about the world in which they live, and kitchen play has always been a childrens favourite.
We are delighted to have the new Bella Bistro range for you to add a stylish touch to your childs play.
The Bella Bistro Cookie Baking Set comes with a baking tray, cooling rack, wooden rolling pin, spatula and 3 cookie cutters plus recipes.
The Bella Bistro Delux Chefs Set includes tea towel, hot pad, oven mitt and apron plus a wooden spoon and rolling pin.
The Bella Bistro Non-Stick Bakeware Set has four recipes and is suitable for real baking - it is also diswasher safe!
Click here to buy Bella Bistro in the UK.
Click here to buy Roleplay toys in the UK.
We are delighted to have the new Bella Bistro range for you to add a stylish touch to your childs play.
The Bella Bistro Cookie Baking Set comes with a baking tray, cooling rack, wooden rolling pin, spatula and 3 cookie cutters plus recipes.
The Bella Bistro Delux Chefs Set includes tea towel, hot pad, oven mitt and apron plus a wooden spoon and rolling pin.
The Bella Bistro Non-Stick Bakeware Set has four recipes and is suitable for real baking - it is also diswasher safe!
Click here to buy Bella Bistro in the UK.
Click here to buy Roleplay toys in the UK.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
National Geographic Kits
Spring is sprung and we all want to get the children outside as soon as possible. We are encouraging them with the new National Geographic kits.
We have the National Geographic Explorer Set which comes with binoculars, compass, torch and magnifying glass.
For treasure hunters we have the National Geographic Metal Detector.
Budding entymologists will really love the National Geographic Bug Barn.
Night owls will appreciate the National Geographic Night Vision Goggles.
The National Geographic Walkie Talkies are bound to be a hit with all trainee spies!
Click here to buy National Geographic kits in the UK.
Click here to buy Outdoor Toys in the UK.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
The benefits of educational toys
The BBC has an article on the lasting effect of educational toys on the brain.
The research was based on spectacle wearing owls of all things and shows that skills learnt in childhood are retained and used in later life! It appears that experiences and problem solving in early years lead to a more 'plastic' brain that is more adaptable later in life.
The article can be found here.
The research was based on spectacle wearing owls of all things and shows that skills learnt in childhood are retained and used in later life! It appears that experiences and problem solving in early years lead to a more 'plastic' brain that is more adaptable later in life.
The article can be found here.
Bridging The Gender Gap Through Early Years Play
Women in the UK earn between 18% and 40% less than their male colleagues for equivalent work according to the Women and Work Group. Bad career advice at school is thought to be among the causes, but do we need to look earlier in life than this? Do we need to examine early years play?
Many of the toys aimed at preschoolers and beyond are strongly gender stereotyped. Lots of creative play items themed around the home are pink in colour - earmarking ironing, cooking and caring for children as roles for girls. Similarly most construction kits are for cars or other vehicles and come in strong primary colours, the message is 'making things is for boys'.
We need to counterbalance this stereotyping to encourage girls to explore areas of play they traditionally feel less comfortable with or excluded from. At kidEstore.co.uk we have tried hard to present a range of toys in which many appeal equally to girls and boys.
Producing typically boy oriented toys in girly colours can create interest in a different type of toy. Geomag have pioneered this approach with a best selling Pastelle versions of their award winning magnetic construction toy which has the same pieces as other Geomag sets in a selection of pastel shades. They are taking this a step further with their Just Pinks range which comes in a single colour - shocking pink! Other manufacturers are now following suit - K'Nex have brought out a range of Pink Kid K'Nex Princesses and Pixies.
An alternative is to choose a toy which has been designed to avoid stereotyping. Taking away the hard edges to give a softer feel, using a more neutral colour scheme and giving less macho examples for use are all ways to achieve this. Zoob is one example - a great construction toy with an organic feel in a range of bright colours. It comes with instructions for a range of models from dinosaurs and UFOs to crowns and handbags, and all of the completed models are moveable to encourage creative play. Another example is Automoblox, a wooden car construction set, the lines are soft and organic, the colours for the polycarbonate screens and tyres include purples and yellows and the focus on the passengers and open ended play again encourages girls to take more of an interest.
It is possible to look for a an introduction to an area that can be built upon to overcome gender differences. Kidzlabs produce a great line of Science Museum endorsed kits. The Volcano making kit and the Night Sky kits are perhaps a better first step for a girl than the Cosmic Rocket or Intruder Alarm.
kidEstore.co.uk is an on-line educational toy store which selects great fun toys that have educational benefits. Our main aim is to allow children to enjoy playing with their toys whilst also learning or developing key skills. You can visit the store at http://www.kidEstore.co.uk/ and all of the toys mentioned in the article can be found there.
See a BBC News article on the topic here.
For more information on any of the toys in the article see the following URLs:
For K'Nex see http://www.kidestore.co.uk/construction-knex-c-1_3.html
For Geomag see http://www.kidestore.co.uk/construction-geomag-c-1_4.html
For Zoob see http://www.kidestore.co.uk/construction-zoob-c-1_2.html
For Automoblox see http://www.kidestore.co.uk/construction-automoblox-c-1_5.html
For Kidzlabs see http://www.kidestore.co.uk/science-c-25.html
Many of the toys aimed at preschoolers and beyond are strongly gender stereotyped. Lots of creative play items themed around the home are pink in colour - earmarking ironing, cooking and caring for children as roles for girls. Similarly most construction kits are for cars or other vehicles and come in strong primary colours, the message is 'making things is for boys'.
We need to counterbalance this stereotyping to encourage girls to explore areas of play they traditionally feel less comfortable with or excluded from. At kidEstore.co.uk we have tried hard to present a range of toys in which many appeal equally to girls and boys.
Producing typically boy oriented toys in girly colours can create interest in a different type of toy. Geomag have pioneered this approach with a best selling Pastelle versions of their award winning magnetic construction toy which has the same pieces as other Geomag sets in a selection of pastel shades. They are taking this a step further with their Just Pinks range which comes in a single colour - shocking pink! Other manufacturers are now following suit - K'Nex have brought out a range of Pink Kid K'Nex Princesses and Pixies.
An alternative is to choose a toy which has been designed to avoid stereotyping. Taking away the hard edges to give a softer feel, using a more neutral colour scheme and giving less macho examples for use are all ways to achieve this. Zoob is one example - a great construction toy with an organic feel in a range of bright colours. It comes with instructions for a range of models from dinosaurs and UFOs to crowns and handbags, and all of the completed models are moveable to encourage creative play. Another example is Automoblox, a wooden car construction set, the lines are soft and organic, the colours for the polycarbonate screens and tyres include purples and yellows and the focus on the passengers and open ended play again encourages girls to take more of an interest.
It is possible to look for a an introduction to an area that can be built upon to overcome gender differences. Kidzlabs produce a great line of Science Museum endorsed kits. The Volcano making kit and the Night Sky kits are perhaps a better first step for a girl than the Cosmic Rocket or Intruder Alarm.
kidEstore.co.uk is an on-line educational toy store which selects great fun toys that have educational benefits. Our main aim is to allow children to enjoy playing with their toys whilst also learning or developing key skills. You can visit the store at http://www.kidEstore.co.uk/ and all of the toys mentioned in the article can be found there.
See a BBC News article on the topic here.
For more information on any of the toys in the article see the following URLs:
For K'Nex see http://www.kidestore.co.uk/construction-knex-c-1_3.html
For Geomag see http://www.kidestore.co.uk/construction-geomag-c-1_4.html
For Zoob see http://www.kidestore.co.uk/construction-zoob-c-1_2.html
For Automoblox see http://www.kidestore.co.uk/construction-automoblox-c-1_5.html
For Kidzlabs see http://www.kidestore.co.uk/science-c-25.html
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
More great K'Nex
We know you can't get enough of K'Nex - so we have taken yet more new lines from them.
We have several new Flex K'Nex construction kits. The Flex K'Nex Ripcord Racer and the Flex K'Nex Flywheel Flier are the newest Pullstring Racers.
K'Nex Trends is a great new range and we have the K'Nex Trends Street Mods GT Tuner SpecA and K'Nex Trends Street Mods GT Tuner SpecB. Two great custom cars for you to build.
We have the smaller 14 model set of K'Nex Magnet.
The first of our new Kid K'Nex lines is in, the Kid K'Nex Rockin Robot are great fun for younger builders.
We are sure these new sets will appeal to new buyers and those looking to extend their collections.
Click here to buy K'Nex in the UK.
Click here to buy Kid K'Nex in the UK.
Click here to buy K'Nex Flex in the UK.
Click here to buy K'Nex Trends in the UK.
We have several new Flex K'Nex construction kits. The Flex K'Nex Ripcord Racer and the Flex K'Nex Flywheel Flier are the newest Pullstring Racers.
K'Nex Trends is a great new range and we have the K'Nex Trends Street Mods GT Tuner SpecA and K'Nex Trends Street Mods GT Tuner SpecB. Two great custom cars for you to build.
We have the smaller 14 model set of K'Nex Magnet.
The first of our new Kid K'Nex lines is in, the Kid K'Nex Rockin Robot are great fun for younger builders.
We are sure these new sets will appeal to new buyers and those looking to extend their collections.
Click here to buy K'Nex in the UK.
Click here to buy Kid K'Nex in the UK.
Click here to buy K'Nex Flex in the UK.
Click here to buy K'Nex Trends in the UK.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Crazy Gear Construction Sets
We have more stock of the great Oogly Googly, mGears and Wacky Wigglers back in stock.
We have also expanded the range to include Moving Monkeys, and the new motorised Illuma Bot and Floppy Jalopy.
Click here to buy these gear construction sets in the UK.
We have also expanded the range to include Moving Monkeys, and the new motorised Illuma Bot and Floppy Jalopy.
Click here to buy these gear construction sets in the UK.
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