Active People Toys for Preschoolers include the Babal and Bilibo that I blogged about seperately. Here are there other preschool toys. If the toys are not available at letkidsplay, I have listed other toy stores where you can find them. I have not personally used these websites, so you will want to check them out.

Bilibo Pixel is a set of 36 chips in six colors and an elastic cube where they can be inserted to create a custom color dice.Influence the odds by including as many chips of your color as possible or hide small treasures or messages in the cavities behind the chips. Make the chips jump like tiddlywinks or flick them with your finger and aim for a Bilibo Mini as target. Use them as game pieces, play currency or even add different faces with a marker. Bilibo Pixel encourages the discovery and invention of new games. Combined with Bilibo Mini it will inspire countless ideas and creative fun for the whole family. Some play ideas are included. This is available at letkidsplay website for less than $10.

SAKOL – Discover the expressive power of 5 wooden Velcro blocks!Sakol’s potential is far greater than that of just a building toy or construction set, especially if children have the stimulating guidance of adults when they first begin to play. Simple and surprising tasks get the creative process rolling. Velcro offers new, organic ways of constructing, and nuanced possibilities for expression. Touch the models: with your eyes open, with your eyes closed; with the left hand, with the right hand, with both hands. Sakol stimulates the senses, engages the imagination. You can find these at http://www.sparkability.net/sakol.html. 20 piece set for $27

In addition to Bilibo we discussed there is also Mini Bilibo. A racing beetle, a spinning top, a boat in the floods of the bath tub, a treasure trove, a game piece, an exotic shell, a designer's seat for Barbie, a cup for snow balls... The junior version of the award-winning Bilibo easily matches its big sibling's versatility. In the hands of children the colorful shells turn into anything and everything. The open-ended toy stimulates the imagination and becomes an indispensable accessory for countless new games. Available at Letkidsplay.

We are done with Active Toy products, so stay tuned for what great toy will be described tomorrow.

Mara

This blog is a little harder to write than some of the other ones. I would purchase everyone of the toys I talked about before, but not these. Not because they aren't great--they are!! I just don't like insects or moving things. I was lucky in that my child agreed with me. The picture above is the life stages of a butterfly, which you can watch with a Live Butterfly Garden from Insect Lore.

If your child loves bugs, go no further, you have found the perfect gift. You can buy caterpillars that turn into butterflies, you can buy larvae that turn into ladybugs, or you can buy tadpoles that turn into frogs (frogs that can live for 30 years). If your child, would love to watch these animals grow, Insect Lore has the best products. I found it very helpful to read the parent reviews on these products. As usual, the parents had very wise things to say about when you should buy them and the process of making it all work.

Insect lore has books and posters about insects and their life stages. They also have life size puzzles of bugs.

So for all those bug lovers out there--go right to the Insect Lore (November 21) category on my website. You will have tons of choices to make any bug lover happy all year!!

More toys tomorrow.

Mara