While Fraze was working on designing a prototype from Bridge’s idea for a Zorp Rocket, a lightweight rocket kids can launch by blowing into a plastic tube, he received a telephone call that would change his life and the course of Bill & Bud Toys. As their reputation for designing exceptional special needs toys grew, Fraze and Lopez were approached by a therapist who asked them to create a doll that would stimulate and appeal to children with special needs. As the company began embracing their niche in the “special needs” market, Fraze realized their toys weren’t just appealing to children with low vision and special needs. Bill & Bud Toys has expanded to offer more “traditional” infant toys, and they continue to offer Bill’s original “action” toys such as the Zorp Rocket, but against all the business experts’ advice they’ve built their success mainly on toys designed for children with special needs. read more

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Hosted by the super silly Safe Side Superchick , the DVD shows kids how to identify — and avoid — potential dangers. The main lesson of the DVD centers around the difference between a Safe Side Adult , a Don’t Know , and a Kind of Know . A Don’t Know is someone the child doesn’t know at all, and a Kind of Know is someone the child is familiar with — maybe a neighbor, friend of a friend, or the checker at the grocery store — but who isn’t on the list of Safe Side Adults you’ve agreed upon. Like Stranger Safety , Internet Safety uses humorous, engaging vignettes to hold kids’ attention while delivering important safety messages about keeping personal information private and never agreeing to meet with anyone you’ve “met” on the web. read more

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Australian mom Priscilla Dunstan developed the Dunstan Baby Langauge after noticing distinct patterns in the cries of her infant son. Through hundreds of hours of research with over 1,000 babies, Dunstan classified the common sounds of newborns’ cries and confirmed those sounds’ meanings. Introduced on The Oprah Winfrey Show in November 2006, the Dunstan Baby Language quickly gained popularity with new parents around the globe, regardless of geographic boundaries or language differences. With her unique talent for sound recognition, Priscilla Dunstan realized that newborn babies use specific sounds to express basic needs such as hunger, sleepiness, gas and discomfort. Each sound is based on a reflex related to the specific need a sucking reflex for hunger creates a certain sound, for example, while a yawn-like reflex for sleepiness creates another. read more

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The material used in the current line of Green Toys — which includes a Sand Play Set , Tea Set , Indoor Gardening Kit , and Cookware and Dining Set — is generated from 100 percent post consumer recycled milk jugs. According to calculations by the Environmental Protection Agency, every pound of recycled milk jugs used in the making of Green Toys saves enough electricity, on average, to power a TV set for 3 weeks or keep a laptop computer running for a month when compared to the energy required to create the same toys from non-recycled plastic. Green Toys are packaged in 100 percent recyclable cardboard with no twist ties, film or cellophane to throw away, they’re 100 percent recyclable, and any scraps left over from manufacturing can be reused in future production runs. The initial line of Green Toys — the Sand Play Set , Tea Set , Indoor Gardening Kit , and Cookware and Dining Set — attract many parents because they promote wholesome, back-to-basics play. read more

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Fine motor skills are practiced, enhanced and mastered as signs become more involved and letters are put together to form words, and or words together to create sentences. Gaining the skills of an additional language through in depth and clear instructions that address learning through a variety of styles and approaches. Games and DVD provide immediate and clear instruction so that self correction can be done with ease. The product covers a variety of games, but can also be expanded upon and allows for creativity in the formation of new games or variations onexisting games. Using several styles of learning (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) simultaneously helps reinforce comprehension and memory. The games also provide “players/learners” with the opportunity to problem solve if their sign does not resemble the picture or DVD presentation. read more

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Children’s programming — including television, videos, and movies — can be an excellent educational tool, and as parents, it’s our job to make sure we use it as such. A 2001 study showed that “children who watch carefully constructed educational programs that are aimed at their age level (such as Sesame Street), do better on pre-reading skills (at age 5) than children who watched infrequently or not at all. While it’s not a bad idea to limit your child’s “screen time” (which includes television, movies, videos, computers and video games), much of today’s programming for children is remarkably educational. Christine Pollock further suggests parents preview videos and television shows before watching with young children, although she acknowledges that’s not always feasible. Watching television and videos with your children is a great way to initiate important conversations and encourage educational follow-up activities, too. When it comes to children’s television and videos — like so many things in life — balance is key. read more

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That’s not to say that phonics instruction alone will create successful readers, only that phonics is an integral element in effective early reading programs. Research has shown that phonemic awareness the awareness of specific sounds in words is a key predictor in reading success, and that struggling readers tend to have difficulty with basic phonemic skills such as identifying, blending and separating sounds in words. While phonics relates directly to reading, phonemic awareness is an oral and auditory skill that parents can begin nurturing early. Even basic phonics can be introduced in preschool as children learn their letters, helping them develop a solid foundation for lifelong reading success. In fact, studies have shown that teaching children phonemic awareness is most effective in improving reading and spelling when children are taught to use the letters of the alphabet in phonemic activities. While you can teach your child the relationships between letters and sounds using a variety of methods and materials, a comprehensive, research-based phonics program will lead to the greatest potential reading success. read more

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Pretend play, says Angeline Lillard, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia who’s done extensive research on the topic, gives young children the unique opportunity to be in control. As their play becomes more advanced — where they take on different personas — they begin to see things from the perspective of others, to understand that other people have thoughts and feelings and emotions that drive their behaviors. Additionally, when children begin to use objects symbolically — pretending a block is a telephone, for example — they begin to develop an understanding of symbolic representation. As their plot lines become more elaborate, children develop storytelling skills that can strengthen reading comprehension, and a well-developed imagination is useful for visualizing concepts — whether historical, geographic, or literary — when they hear or read about something new and unfamiliar. This is also the stage when children typically begin to take on the roles of characters they create and to participate in pretend play with peers, although children with older siblings, and those whose parents play along, often enter this phase earlier. You can choose from Pretend & Play Snack Shop , School , Office , Animal Hospital , World Traveler , and Gym Bag , as well as Ocean Animals , Jumbo Farm Animals and Jumbo Pets for years of fantastic fantasy fun! read more

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Through play, children develop the foundations they’ll need to succeed in life, from problem solving and social skills to basic literacy, math and science. Problem solving skills are essential for social and academic success, and children develop most of their early problem solving abilities through play. More “open-ended” objects like empty boxes, bowls, and stacking cups provide opportunities for young children to explore size and volume and to manipulate objects in different ways. Problem solving is also crucial for healthy social development, and children can only learn positive social skills by playing with others. Talking with your children, singing with your children, and playing games involving rhyming words and silly sounds all lead to a love of language and a clear understanding of what language is. read more

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After all, this is precisely what sisters Rachel de Azevedo Coleman and Emilie de Azevedo Brown spent much of their time doing with their young children. Rachel was astonished to see that within six months, Leah’s sign language vocabulary far surpassed the vocabulary of hearing children her same age. Emilie and her husband Derek also started teaching sign language to their infant son Alex, so that he would one day be able to communicate with his cousin Leah. The research, as well as the first-hand experience of many parents like Emilie and Rachel, demonstrates that signing children generally have higher IQ scores, are better adjusted, and read at an earlier age. After years of musical silence, Rachel recently picked up that guitar again, writing and performing all of the songs for Signing Time! read more

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