I cant’ understand a thing on this site but I am excited about the idea of wooden LEGO blocks.
(via the awesomer)
Petting Zoo
While visiting NYC last week, Christoph Niemann stopped by Studiomates and I got to see his brand new kids iPhone/iPad app called Petting Zoo. At the time he had just submitted it to the App Store, but it is live now! YES!
Interacting with Petting Zoo made me laugh, squeal and giggle. Yes, it’s *that* much fun to play with. Trust me, download it, and laugh away with your little ones (or alone). I can’t wait to show this to Tilo tonight!
eco-glue
One of the best things about attending a gift fair is to meet the founders behind products I like. Take Eco Kids for example. I already liked their products but meeting the founders, Kip and Cammie sealed the deal. My loyalty to a product or service grows exponentially when I share the same passion and outlook on life with the founders. Their products are all made in the US, eco-friendly and non-toxic.
Check out their online store. I personally love their eco-glue (pictured above) and the eco-dough.
Kerntype
Kerntype is a online game showing you the importance of proper letter spacing. Your mission is simple: achieve pleasant and readable text by distributing the space between letters. Typographers call this activity kerning. Your solution will be compared to a typographer’s solution, and you will be given a score depending on how close you nailed it.
(via Chris)
Crazy Face Magneticbook
Magneticbook opens to reveal a blank face which can be customized with magnetic features. My kids would *love* this.
How to make LEGO bendy:
My Sugru obsession just reached a new high after seeing this video. Sugru + LEGO = world domination!
Toca Hair Salon 2
If there is one kids’ game I find myself playing a lot, it’s the Toca Boca Hair Salon. I admit I giggled in anticipation when I learned that they just came out with a new version today with more hairstyling fun. My favorite new feature? The curling iron!
If you want to buy iPhone and iPad apps for kids, have a close look at the Toca Boca universe. These guys are doing it right!
Balloon Rocket
This weekend, I will be making Balloon Rockets with my kids. You can find more projects like this over on Toys from Trash by Arvin Gupta.
Modern Ride-On-Toy
Hey handy parents, this is a post for you. How seriously adorable is this modern looking ride on toy that I spotted over on Made My Joel!? Totally going to ask G to build one for little Tilo.
Romotive
Please meet Romo, a charming smartphone robot by Romotive.
If you’re into robots, and always dreamed of having one, Romo is for you. Romo uses your smartphone for his brain, is affordable, extensible, and a super fast learner.
You can let Romo wander about your home and dance to music or you can stream Romo’s video to a controller and control him across Wifi.
Romo communicates with your phone via the universal audio jack, allowing Romo to be compatible with any smartphone.
I can not wait to introduce one of these little fellows to my kids. Totally wishlisted!
(Thank you Steve)
Cardboard Houses by Kidsonroof
My kids adore our Casa Cabana House, which has magically survived 5 years of play. The Kidsonroof Rocket would definitely get my son’s immagination going. Here’s your ticket to being superaunt or superuncle!
Seasaw Bench
Dirk Ploos van Amstel has created a seesaw for children that converts to a bench. YES!
DIY.org
DIY.org is a new project by Zach Klein that is trying to create a safe place on the web to foster kids’ creativity. As a mother of two, and creativity being a huge part of my work life, I couldn’t be more excited.
Here’s how it works: Let your kid sign up and create an account where they can safely publish what they make. They can upload videos and pictures of their projects using the DIY website or iphone/iPod Touch app. Kids’ projects are online for everone to see, and parents can add stickers to show support. Parents also have their own control panel to follow their activity and also to make sure they’re not sharing anything that should be private.
Consider it a tool that lets kids collect everything they make as they grow up. I love this idea!
diagram.ly
Diagram.ly is a new favorite. Ideal for quickly sketching an idea or just to spending time playing with shapes. My 6 year old approves.
(via @papermuse)
Spherovelo
The Spherovelo is a futuristic looking new bike for 1-2 year olds. Consider it a pre-cursor to a balance bike. Spherovelo has me smile from ear to ear and wonder: Can I have a grown up version, please?
Watch a video of a kid scooting around on it.
Lille Huset
Chicago based designer Alyson Beaton is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to launch a kids product line called Lille Huset. It’s a series of modular doll houses, made out of eco friendly materials. What makes me especially happy is that all manufacturing will be done in the USA.
Totally backing this. My daughter will be psyched.
(Thank you Gary)
A Typographic Dating Game
Aura Seltzer pointed me her newly launched typographic dating game called TypeConnection that helps you how to pair typefaces.
Origami Flapping Bird
Ready to fold some origami? Here’s a tutorial by Tavin15 that will teach you the flapping bird. There’s plenty more.
(via the kid should see this)
Brooklyn Robot Foundry
Brooklyn Robot Foundry is a group of educators and technologists dedicated to helping Brooklyn children optimize their hands-on, technology-based learning experience. In other words: They’ll teach your kids how to build a robot. It doesn’t get much cooler than that.
(thank you Josh)
Buff Baby
This Rattle Dumbbell made me laugh.
Puzzlus Puzzle
Puzzlus Puzzle is a perfect gift for the color loving puzzle enthusiast!
InstaMatch
InstaMatch turns your Instagram photos into a virtual Memory game on your iPhone and iPad. Fun idea, will give it a try when I get home tonight! (You don’t need an Instagram account to play InstaMatch, you can use other public Instagram photos as well)
Playgroundology
A Google Alert has pointed me to a blog called Playgroundology, and I am fascinated. A blog entirely dedicated to the world of playgrounds? Yes, please! Being a parent of small children I spend an awful lot of time on them and often wonder how they could be improved. Whenever I am traveling to other countries I am amazed at the differences in playground planning and thinking.
The Woodland Discovery Playground looks like quite a magical place.
Swings that create music?
And I couldn’t help but laugh while watching the above clip of a an adventure playground scene in the British documentary Seven Up. I would have thought it’s more of a construction site, compared to sterile-cookie-cutter-über-safe NYC playgrounds.
And then of course, there’s the Playground Papa classic. Made me laugh:
So, if you are like me, interested in all things Playgrounds, make sure to check out Playgroundology.