My First Desk
ALEX
Whether it's in school or at your first job, each desk that
you can call your own signifies a rite of passage. My First Desk is designed to
fit the bill as the first in a long line of workplaces that your child will be
able to call their own. Perfectly designed in both size and functionality this
is a desk your child will be proud of and anxious to get to work at. Solidly
constructed, the brightly colored unit is inviting and the storage compartments
under, behind and on the desk are perfect for keeping everything neat and tidy.
Our little testers were eager and delighted to pull out paper and crayon and get
busy.
Suggested Age: 3 and up Retail Price: $70.00
5 pack Magic Color Change BLOpens
P & M Products USA, Inc.
What makes BLOpens such a favorite is their ease of use, and the great results your children can get when they use them. Now add a Magic Color changing BLOpen to the mix and you've got a real crowd pleaser, to say the least. The color changing pen works almost like a magic wand and the effect was not lost on our testers. We burned through so much paper we couldn't believe it, but once the kids got started there was no stopping them!
Color Workshop Scrapbooking Kit
P & M Products USA, Inc.
Making scrapbooks has become a huge business, with people eagerly designing keepsakes for photos, report cards and the like. The craze has not missed our nation's youth as we saw in our testing centers. Excited to try out their own scrapbooking skills our testers dove right in with zeal. The results impressed both the children and their parents. The spiral bound design allows for the book to be laid flat making pages easy to work with. This is a very good introduction to scrapbooking. The BLOpens that are included in the kit help to give each page a truly colorful and personalized look.
Crayola Spy Kit
Binney & Smith
This starter spy kit doesn't feature much more than a secret writing pad and pens for passing ultra secret messages, but it was enough to kick-start the imaginations of our testers. Sneaking around and passing notes under the radar of unsuspecting parents is one of the great thrills of childhood. We know this isn't breaking news to anyone but our testers wanted to make sure we knew. As for the unsuspecting parents, they thought $10 was a good price for encouraging juvenile espionage.
Hershey's Chocolate Magic
Spin Master Toys
Just say the word "chocolate" and you'll see eyes light up. We certainly did, once our testers saw this new toy from Spin Master. The cool design of the unit is just a part of the story, because the real magic is in the results. You provide the chocolate chips, drop them in the chocolate maker and in short order the chocolate is ready to pour into the molds which are provided. (Have we mentioned that there is chocolate involved here?) Understand that this is a gooey, messy project, but of course you can lick your fingers while you clean up! The process is very straightforward and easy, the hardest part is waiting for your chocolate to harden in the freezer.
Dazzling Daisy Magazine Rack
ALEX
While the avenues for creative expression are limited to
six pockets on the front of this magazine rack, it was a hit with our testers.
The reasons were its design and use of their favorite colors. The pockets can
be filled with personally decorated flowers that come included with the kit or
just about anything else including pictures of friends, family etc. The rack is
sturdy enough to hold quite a few periodicals and small enough to squeeze into
tight spots. As a storage receptacle for magazine constantly left lying around,
parents thought it was just right.
My Ultra Secret Pen-Pal Stuff
Swingset Press
When you set out to design a product for kids labeled by Madison Avenue as "tweens", you've got to deliver a significant amount of cool. Swingset Press has delivered cool in a neatly wrapped package that our testers went wild for. Swingset gives kids the ability to mail secret messages to a special friend with a pen that can only be read by black light. Kids are encouraged to select a special friend who they will mail a matching set of equipment to. Included in the kit is a mailing envelope (they even tell you the weight of the package so you can calculate postage!). Encouraging writing and communication skills, parents loved the concept here, even though they were often on the outside looking in.
Suggested Age: 7 and Up Retail Price: $19.95
Design Studio
Pamela Drake, Inc.
When you give your children the tools to design, create and let their imaginations run free, more often than not they will surprise you. Design Studio is a craft kit that gives your child the freedom to easily dress up a model using an assortment of included fabrics and textures. But the fun really starts when the light goes off above your child's head and they begin searching for just the right piece of cloth or other item to bring their vision to life. The Design Studio system is so cleverly easy to use that in no time you and your child will be imagining and designing bold new fashion statements.
Crayola Crayon Maker
Binney & Smith
Who else but Crayola could make such a terrific art kit, one where you make your own art supplies! The great design of the Crayon Maker impressed our testers, but not as much as how easy and fun it was to use. By using the included crayons, or old ones that you probably have lying around the house, (talk about a great recycling lesson!), simply fill up the mold with whatever combination of colors you want. Turn on the unit, which works with a 60 watt bulb, and enjoy the show as the wax melts and then is poured into molds. The whole process takes about twenty minutes, and the results are dazzlingly cool. Kids can put their own paper wrap around their crayon and give their colorful creation the perfect name.
Crayola Radical Room
Binney & Smith
The concept behind Radical Room is simple, but kids really had fun designing accessories for their room. The black paper included in the set can be decorated with the included Day-Glo gel pens. They sat and worked on them for long periods and were thrilled with their results. Each finished design was different and very personal. Some children chose to express themselves with art, while others chose to express themselves with poetry and other writings that had special meaning to them.
Suggested
Age: 8 and Up Retail Price: $10.00
My Fabulous Life in Pictures
Klutz
Your child's life will jump from the pages of this whimsically designed scrapbook that your child will be proud to show off. Pages are filled with lighthearted frames to hold photo memories of people and places that are important in the life of your child. Klutz has taken care of giving your child many of the templates a new scrapbooker might need. Compiling a book like this requires patience diligence as these types of projects do not go together by themselves, so consider the child before giving it. For those who do take the plunge, the experience is very fulfilling. One of our favorite elements was the time capsule envelope which is intended to remain sealed for twenty years.
This ladybug night light, which is designed for your child to decorate, offers a nice assortment of beads and baubles to add a touch of their own personality. Very easy to use and complete, children liked that they could plug in their night lights the same evening that they started making them. The colors of the kit were certainly a plus in the eyes of our female testers. The price and size of the kit made it attractive to parents who mentioned that they thought it would make a great birthday party present.
LEGO Spybotics
The LEGO Company
Load up the CD-ROM, gather your gear together and get ready for an exciting new adventure in Lego set building. This programmable toy/kit/vehicle puts the player in the role of top secret spy master. The wonderful designers of the software have created a superb environment to set the mood. Step by step building instructions unfold on screen as you complete any number of designs. The unit with its remote controller is then programmed through a cable that runs directly from your computer to your Spybot. You are in control and, according to our testers both young and old, the feeling is incredible. We really can't begin to list the various things you can accomplish, but rest assured, you will be busily engaged for many hours.
For more information about The Seal of Approval or The National
Parenting Center
call: 1-800-753-6667