Toy Log

Anzac Day

Administrator — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:18:08 +0000

Plenty of time to order your two-up set for ANZAC Day!

End of Financial Year * ONE DAY SALE *

Administrator — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:41:12 +0000

Announcing a *ONE DAY SALE* to close the financial year! FREE postage anywhere in Australia, for just one day! Get your orders in before midnight AEST.

Cheers, Kathy

Green Earth with Wooden Toys

Administrator — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:55:28 +0000

Hi everyone,

I was reading our local paper yesterday, and was not surprised to see the following …

"Green your kid’s toys. It might sound odd to suggest wooden toys, but wooden toys not only usually last longer than plastic, they are safer to chew because they don’t contain PVC (polyvinyl chloride). PVC is a dioxin producing powerhouse, releasing toxins into the environment its entire lifecycle from production to disposal"*.

There are other concerns with plastic toys too. Various soft plastic toys have been banned in the US for containing phalate, another toxin.

It confirms something I known all along. Wooden toys are fantastic! Cheers, Kathy.

*Beikoff, Katrina (2007) The Green Earth Guide, November 2007, p. 6. APN Australian Publishing

Perfect Gifts for Father’s Day

Administrator — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 03:11:51 +0000

If your father, or father figure, is as tricky to buy for as my Dad, here are some unique suggestions to help you. Just think how convenient it would be to order something from Just Wood Toys, and have it sent, ready wrapped and gift tagged, to your Dad’s door this September!

Three Stones Game, $59.95

This is a modern classic … it has won so many awards! It takes a moment to learn, but a lifetime to master. Draw a stone from the bag … it could be yours or your opponents! A beautiful gift with a solid wood base and glass stones.

Cage of Babylon, $16.20

The object of this teaser is to disassemble the "cage", release the ball, then reassemble the cage without the ball. This will keep Dad out of trouble for hours!

King Tut’s Pyramid, $29.75

The object is simple: disassemble, then reassemble! This is an 18cm sided pyramid, made from Australian hardwood.

Cathedral, reduced to $99.95 especially for Father’s Day
This is titled the "Game of the Mediaeval City". The object is to place all your buildings within the city walls, preventing your opponent from doing so. If you enclose a part of the city, it becomes your property; if you enclose an opponent’s piece, you may remove it. Moments to learn, years to master!

A game for two players. Dimensions: 25.5 x 25.5 x 6.5cm. Made in New Zealand by Brightway Products from New Zealand’s white Tawa wood.

Father’s Day

Administrator — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 02:59:44 +0000

Since Father’s Day is rapidly approaching, I thought it would be apt to have a lighthearted look at the origin of this day. If you want to add some witty repartee to your Father’s Day conversations, you’ll be set up with all the facts.

Father’s Day can be heaps of fun for young children … last year my daughter made some great gift wrap with just a big sheet of brown paper, some blue and yellow paint, and some glitter. It looked great! Most got used to individually wrap each of her wooden blocks as little presents for her Dad … a few hours, and a roll of sticky tape later, he had about twenty to open! But I guess this is what Father’s Day is all about!

I had always believed Father’s day was invented by greeting card manufacturers! If they didn’t invent it, they certainly jumped on the bandwagon with gusto. Did you know that in the US, there are 102 million Father’s Day cards sent annually, making it the fifth largest card-sending occasion.

I was surprised to find that Father’s Day is a fairly recent invention. Apparently the inspiration for Father’s Day came to Sonora Smart Dodd while she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Sonora lost her mother many years earlier, when her mother gave birth to her sixth child. Her father, a civil war veteran, went on to raise all six children, including the newborn, on a small farm in Spokane, Washington. That’s a great feat for any single parent!

Sonora must have had a gift for networking, as she approached her minister, and others in Spokane … and had soon organised for a service to be held in honour of fathers. She had originally planned for the day to be celebrated on June 5, her father’s birthday, but the minister thought she had cut it a bit fine, and asked for more time to prepare the service. It finally went ahead on July 15, a few weeks later.

So why don’t we celebrate Father’s Day in June or July? In America they do! It wasn’t long before the politicians got involved. In 1916, the US president Woodrow Wilson was lobbied by his own family to endorse Father’s Day as a national day, and in 1924, Calvin Coolidge recommended it as a national holiday. It wasn’t until 1966 that US president Lyndon Johnson declared Father’s Day to be the third Sunday in June.

In Australia, Father’s Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in September, however countries all over the world celebrate the day at completely different times.

References:

History of Father’s Day. http://www.twilightbridge.com/hobbies/festivals/father/history.html
LiveScience Staff, (2006), The Origin of Father’s Day, http://www.livescience.com/history/060617_fathers_day.html
Wikipedia (2007) Father’s Day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father’s_day. Last updated 20 August 2007.

Alphabet Blocks Reduced!

Administrator — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 02:53:25 +0000

Our incredibly popular Alphabet Blocks, are reduced to $49.90. Practical Parenting chose to feature these blocks in their April 2007 issue, in one of their unpaid editorials.

Weird

Administrator — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 02:47:57 +0000

Literacy is amazing! Don’t ignore this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the human mnid aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a word are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh?

Let’s Talk About Literacy

Administrator — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 02:37:11 +0000

Once again Lucy Vanheck, the C&K early childhood consultant for Rockhampton (to find out all about C&K, visit www.candk.asn.au) has contributed another interesting article for us — this month, some useful advice to parents about the development of Literacy.
This year has been a fascinating journey! Our daughter, Victoria is now 6 years old, and in Year 1. I have watched, enthralled , as Victoria and her little friends have moved from perhaps knowing some sounds of the alphabet, and writing their names … to knowing a whole swag of sight words, and phonics sounds. I watch in quiet amazement as they actually read! I see how they mouth the sounds as they sound-out a new word. I read the little “On the weekend … “ stories posted on the window of the school room, all written in their endearing awkward font.
I remember stressing out because Victoria couldn’t “read” before she started school. I had myself labeled as a failure because I had not read to her each and every night before bed! But now I realize, that it was not all about this … it was all the incidental day-to-day interactions, the street signs, toys, Victoria’s endless “scribble lists” and home-made cards, a house groaning under the weight of books, and my own love of reading, games, conversations … all these are the foundations of reading!

To my great relief, it DOES all finally come together in the end! I wish I hadn’t stressed out, and just enjoyed all the fleeting moments in time.

Article:

As promised, in last issue I have chosen to share with you regarding children’s literacy learning. So what does the word literacy mean?

The word literacy describes a range of abilities in reading, writing, spelling, listening, speaking and critical thinking.
Young children receive information in a number of ways, for example, watching television, talking with and listening to others, listening to stories and music, reading books and observing art. From birth children start to ‘read’ the symbols presented on television or in advertising messages, understand the spoken language of songs and stories that are told or read to them and try out their ideas about what they are learning in their play.

From the above description it is obvious that literacy is more than a kindergarten child being able to write their name, recite the alphabet and identify some letter sounds. It is not wrong to teach your child these skills however it is important to understand that children must have pre-requisite skills to truly understand these concepts. Because a child can recite this information does not mean they have a full understanding of its meaning. As parents it is important that we introduce these skills to a child when they are developmentally ready.

Please take the opportunity to talk with your child’s teacher. They will be able to explain to you what skills are developmentally appropriate to teach your child.

As per my last newsletter may I remind you that we as parents need to be resourceful with our time? We need to find opportunities within our daily routine to encourage our children’s literacy learning. Remember it is not about sitting for half an hour drilling letters and forcing our children to copy their names. Children will learn best when they are enjoying themselves and when they are developmentally ready.

The list below identifies some of the behaviours we as early childhood educators would encourage your children to develop and explore as early literacy learners.

enjoy listening to stories
copy adult reading behaviours, like holding books the right way up, turning pages appropriately and showing interest in print and pictures
be aware of environmental print through advertising and multi-media
experiment with a range of drawing materials as they copy adult writing
make up games that have rules

Our 2 and a bit year old is progressing just nicely along the literacy learning path. Some days we feel she is progressing too well as she is now able to negotiate, express her feelings (very clearly and often most embarrassingly in aisle 4 at Woolworths), she can explain differences between people (old nanny verses nanny Gwen who is 15 years younger), sings songs and recites rhymes, she clearly identifies McDonalds by the golden arches and announces ‘m’ for McDonalds. She talks continuously (even wakes us up at night as she talks in her sleep), recites numerous stories and reads to her dolls, makes us play games in the lounge room which she is copying from either day care or television programs she has watched.

Her latest trick which we find just fascinating and extremely humorous is when her 4 month old sister makes noises she asks, ‘What is Laine saying?’ We use to reply to her saying things like, ‘She’s asking for more milk’, ‘She wants a cuddle from her big sister’. Now Paige responds herself telling us things like, ‘Laine wants to go to bed’ (just on cue when Paige wants some mummy time alone) or ‘Laine thinks Paige needs a chocolate’. How creative is this? Here Paige is predicting, creating, imagining, and substituting text. Have you stopped to think that this is a pre-requisite skill to creating and writing stories? Story writing is a long time away but still a skill that can continue to be developed until the time comes that she is able to express herself in writing.

Stop for a moment and consider how your child is progressing along the literacy path and ways in which you can encourage development in this area.

All material in bold print is copyright to "Hand in Hand" - an early literacy and numeracy package for parents. An initiative of the Queensland School Curriculum Council.

Celebrate NAIDOC Week

Administrator — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 01:30:11 +0000

Just thought I’d let you know about some of the aboriginal puzzles we have at Just Wood Toys, since it’s NAIDOC week!

We have a set of six intricate hand laser cut MDF tray puzzle featuring the original artwork of Darren Seko, from the Bardi "Saltwater" people in the Kimberley. They range from 6 to 20 pieces.

The great thing is they come with Teachers Notes, that contain six A3 size reproductions of the artworks, stories, activity sheets, an artist’s biography and key words translated into Bardi.

All the puzzles have bee reduced to $19.95! Great savings.

Sunny Days

Administrator — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 02:36:01 +0000

Just Wood Toys has been pleased to help the Sunny Days Flood Relief Toy Drive.
Sunny Days are hosting a Family fun day, and toy giveaways for flood affected families of the Hunter and Central Coast.
For more information, see sunnydays.org.au