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by littleones.com, on November 15th, 2010       
WEEK #7:
DOLLS, DOLLHOUSES, DRESS UP & MORE!
Children love to pretend to be grown-ups! Having a little baby to care for or a life-like pet to love makes children feel important and responsible. Even dressing up in fancy clothes or playing with their very own dollhouse family can make them feel all grown-up. Role playing is an important part of child's play and develops imagination, self confidence as well as social interaction skills. These types of nurturing and adorable toys remain at the top of children's wish lists year after year! This selection of popular products is just a sample of the many toys available to delight your little ones. See Little Ones Recommended Toys & Gifts.
 Corolle Special Feature Baby Doll Lila – 17" Doll
Multiple awards winner! Precious interactive baby doll for ages 3+. Gently babbles, giggles, cries and sucks on bottle. Baby accessories included. Sure to become a favorite playmate!
 Madame Alexander My First Baby – Powder Blue, 12 Inch Adorable, super soft baby doll perfect for tiny hands ages 1-3. Made of washable, baby-safe materials. Award winning first choice for little mommies!
Corolle Classic Baby Doll Bebe Charmeur – 14" Doll This sweet, high quality, soft-bodied 14 inch baby doll resembles a real newborn. Great features such as the ability to sit up, turn her head and her soft vanilla scent make this doll easy to love. Includes outfit, bottle, bib, pacifier, hat & booties. Doll is machine washable. Ages 3-7.
Corolle Les Cheries Doll Chloé Ballerina – 13" Doll Award winning, absolutely beautiful and durable doll! Moving limbs, eyes and hair that can even be shampooed. Comes dressed in a gorgeous ballet outfit.
 Baby Alive Baby Go Bye Bye Cuddly baby doll makes realistic giggling & cooing sounds. Includes convertible baby carrier (feeding chair, rocking bassinett, front snugli pack & folding travel bag all in one) and bottle. Keeps little mommies busy! Ages 3+
Doll Umbrella Stroller Cute and durable umbrella stroller has folding canopy, storage basket, velcro safety belt, foot rest and cushioned handles. Fits dolls up to 18". Just the right size! Ages 3+
 Our Generation Alexis Doll Lovely 18" Fashion doll. One of several dolls in the "Our Generation" doll series. A reasonably priced alternative to the more expensive American Girl dolls. Ages 3+
 Our Generation Pet Shelter Volunteer Robyn Doll 18" Poseable Animal Volunteer doll set. Includes 2 stylish outfits and animal shelter accessories. A reasonably priced alternative to the more expensive American Girl dolls. Ages 3+
Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Folding Princess Castle Award winning, gorgeous solid wood Princess castle. Extra large castle folds for storage and is stunning with its pink and gold screened accents. This enchanting castle has turrets, balconies, buttress, flag and a working drawbridge. A perfect choice to delight all the princesses in your life! Quality & Exceptional Value! Ages 3-9. Also see castle dolls playset shown below.
 Melissa & Doug Deluxe Castle Dolls Playset Beautifully boxed set of 8 bendable castle play figures. Includes King, Queen, Jester, Noble, 2 Knights & 2 Horses. Great castle accessory! Ages 3-9.
Fisher-Price My First Dollhouse Adorable first dollhouse! Includes 5 rooms with balcony and patio; Mom, Dad & baby chunky figures and furniture. Perfect for Ages 2-5.
 Fisher Price Loving Family Grand Dollhouse Super Set Lovely 8 room dollhouse which folds for convenience. Includes Mom, Dad & twin babies plus a bonus set including 5 extra rooms of furniture and big sister doll. Hours of dollhouse fun!
 Fisher Price Loving Family Twin Time Doll House Special BonusQuality 8 room dollhouse which folds for convenience. Includes Mom, Dad & twin babies, 10 additional furniture pieces plus a bonus patio set. Worth every penny, providing years and years of enjoyment!
International Playthings My First Purse in PurpleAdorable soft purple purse with pink flower. Just the right safety size for 2-4 year olds! Chunky large accessories include cell phone, keys, wallet, pretend lipstick, unbreakable mirror and debit card. Entertaining and affordable gift!
 Disney Princess Play Shoes, 6 Pk. 6 stylish pairs of Disney Princess shoes. Includes Ariel/Cinderella/Snow White/Aurora/Belle/Jasmine shoes with storage box. Fancy dress up accessories that will be enjoyed over and over again. Ages 3+
Disney Princess 27 Piece Dress up Trunk Beautiful 27 piece Disney Princess dress up set includes storage trunk, 4 shirts, 3 skirts, 2 headbands, 1 tiara, 1 choker & 4 bracelets. Little princesses can dress up as Snow White, Cinderella, Little Mermaid or Sleeping Beauty. Dress sizes 4-6x. Ages 3+ A HUGE hit with little girls!!
For more holiday information, please see:
The Little Ones Holiday Gift Giving Guide and
Little Ones "Twelve Weeks Before Christmas" Holiday Toy Series: This holiday series is designed to help parents and grandparents make smart choices by featuring outstanding/award winning "toys that teach," accompanied by reviews which highlight and explain the educational benefits and specific skills children receive from these types of toys.
Visit www.littleones.com for our selection of Great/Award Winning Children's Books, Little Ones Recommended Toys & Gifts, and Children's Educational DVDs along with teacher tips, parenting articles, family fun and much more!
by littleones.com, on November 11th, 2010 Hey Veggie Tales fans, check out this amazing free offer. Amazon.com is offering a FREE MP3 download of the VeggieTales album, "The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree." The Veggies are looking for a "star" for the top of their singing Christmas tree. What follows is an outrageous Veggie Tales singing competition with a mix of some hilarious and a some traditional Christmas tunes. It's Christmas as only the Veggies can do it. Enjoy this free Christmas gift of music for your family. Just click "The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree" link below.
 Incredible Singing Christmas Tree
For more holiday information, please see:
The Little Ones Holiday Gift Giving Guide and
Little Ones "Twelve Weeks Before Christmas" Holiday Toy Series: This popular holiday series is designed to help parents and grandparents make smart choices by featuring outstanding/award winning "toys that teach," accompanied by reviews which highlight and explain the educational benefits and specific skills children receive from these types of toys.
 Visit www.littleones.com for our selection of Great/Award Winning Children's Books, Little Ones Recommended Toys & Gifts, Birthday Theme Parties and Baby Basics, along with teacher tips, parenting articles, family fun and much more!
If you haven’t done so already, Subscribe Now to receive our weekly Little Ones articles via E-mail.
by littleones.com, on November 10th, 2010 Taking the time to properly set up homework assignments is one homework habit that your child simply cannot do without. These simple homework paper guidelines can encourage the production of quality work, enable your child to easily find completed assignments, and reduce the frequency of careless errors in assignments. By using these simple techniques, your child can make a habit of more effective and efficient homework completion. Remember that the overall appearance of a homework assignment says a great deal about the care with which it was completed. Not only does sloppiness and lack of structure make assignments more difficult to read and locate, but is the culprit of many careless errors. Help children to take pride in their work by paying close attention to the presentation. It's worth the effort!!!
Proper Headings: Simply placing the following information at the top of each and every homework assignment sets the stage for a more organized and useful homework product.
-Child's Full Name- Let's face it, receiving credit for completing homework assignments is next to impossible if the teacher receives anonymous papers. Likewise, if homework papers accidentally fall out of looseleaf binders or folders as they sometimes do, they will more likely be returned to the proper owner or teacher if names are written on them.
-Date of Completion- Knowing when an assignment was completed is a useful piece of information for students especially when filing or retrieving assignments into or out of their looseleaf binders.
-Subject Area- Believe it or not, it can be a challenge for young students to classify and file away assignments according to subject. Writing down the subject area (i.e., Math, English, Social Studies, Science, etc.) as part of the assignment heading can help to insure that completed work does not get misplaced or filed behind the wrong binder tab or in the wrong folder. Finding Science homework can be tricky when it is placed in your Social Studies folder, and studying for a Math test can be difficult if examples are missing or misfiled under other areas. You may wish to double check that the correct subject areas are written down and filed properly until students get the hang of this important skill.
-Room Number- If your child has a homeroom or a room where lost papers, folders or binders can be returned, it would be wise to list it on each paper.
Page Numbers: If your child is answering questions or completing problems from a textbook, it is important to list the textbook page number(s) at the top of the looseleaf paper or in the margin. Remember to have them include the words "Page #" along with the number itself so that the number does not appear to be some unknown digit that is perhaps part of one of the homework problems. Frequently, teachers will refer to homework assignments by textbook page numbers especially when multiple assignments are due.
Problem Numbers: It is essential that problem numbers be clearly written directly next to answers, and that the problem number itself is circled to set it apart. If problem numbers are not circled they run the risk of becoming part of a mathematical calculation. For example Problem #1 is the calculation 2 + 3 = ? …. not, 12 + 3 =? Many careless errors occur when proper care is not taken. Just as important is your child's ability to locate his answer when called upon in class. Without problem numbers, it is difficult to check the accuracy of work and to participate with confidence.
Breathing Space: Work that is crammed into a small section of the looseleaf paper is more difficult to read and correct. Math problems are especially more likely to be incorrect if they are not given enough space for careful computation. It is best to skip spaces between problems and to concentrate on writing legibly and large enough to prevent careless errors. It is worth the investment of a few extra pages of looseleaf in order to improve homework appearance and accuracy.
Save All Work: Writing out the entire problem and saving all the work, especially when it comes to math calculations, may seem like a waste of time, but is extremely helpful when answers are discovered to be incorrect. If a mistake has been made along the way and only a number is listed for an answer, it is difficult to know where the student went wrong. The error could have been caused merely by a miscalculation or could be the result of a deeper error in the student's understanding or processing.
To see more suggestions, read the complete article, see Structuring Homework Papers or view the entire Homework Help! Series at www.littleones.com.
Visit www.littleones.com for our selection of Great/Award Winning Children's Books, Little Ones Recommended Toys & Gifts, Birthday Theme Parties and Baby Basics, along with teacher tips, parenting articles, family fun and much more!
If you haven’t done so already, Subscribe Now to receive our weekly Little Ones articles via E-mail.
by littleones.com, on November 9th, 2010  V.Reader Animated E-Book System by V-Tech
Also available:
 V.Reader Animated E-Book System by V-Tech – Pink
Multiple Awards Winner! Bring reading to life with the all new V.Reader Animated E-Book System by V-Tech. It's a perfect choice for pre-readers and early readers ages 3 to 7 years old. Young children can practice important core reading skills while having fun with this incredible and durable touch screen learning machine.
The V. Reader is an interactive story teller which plays fully animated children's stories. Children can have stories read to them while following along the highlighted text. They can pause the story and touch the screen to have words pronounced, or they can touch characters and objects to make them come to life. Each story features a story dictionary which provides simple definitions. Another great feature of the V. Reader is the 8 entertaining reading games (included with each story) designed to reinforce comprehension and practice reading skills. Similar to game machines or other learning systems, individual cartridges must be purchased separately. There is a wide variety of classic children's stories and popular children's characters available. Expansion is possible with downloads of additional stories and features from the V Tech website (USB required)
What is most appealing about the V. Reader is its multi-sensory approach to reading. Stories are presented using a combination of visual, auditory and tactile learning strategies. Children see the words and illustrations, hear the story recited, and interact with the story by touching the screen to learn and do more. The combination of these three approaches reinforces the learning process. as well as increases this product's success with different types of learners. It's educationally sound and truly combines both learning and fun!
Get children hooked on reading with the help of the V. Reader E-Book System. It's a great alternative for young children as opposed to the more grown-up oriented Kindle or other E-Readers. It's durable, stimulating and very kid friendly! A gift that is sure to please parents and children!
 See Little Ones Review of Kindle Fire for more information about children's color ebooks for young readers.
See additional Little Ones Toy Reviews at www.littleones.com.
For great gift ideas for children of all ages, please see:
For great gift ideas for children of all ages, please see:
Best/Award Winning Baby Toys (Birth -2 years)
Little Ones Recommended Toys & Gifts
The Little Ones Holiday Gift Giving Guide
Best Presents for Children's Birthday Parties
Little Ones "Twelve Weeks Before Christmas" Holiday Toy Series: This holiday series is designed to help parents and grandparents make smart choices by featuring outstanding/award winning "toys that teach," accompanied by reviews which highlight and explain the educational benefits and specific skills children receive from these types of toys.
Visit www.littleones.com for our selection of Great/Award Winning Children's Books, Little Ones Recommended Toys & Gifts, Birthday Theme Parties and Baby Basics, along with teacher tips, parenting articles, family fun and much more!
If you haven't done so already, Subscribe Now to receive our weekly Little Ones articles via E-mail.
by littleones.com, on November 8th, 2010       L
WEEK #6:
BOARD GAMES & CARD GAMES FOR OLDER CHILDREN
(AGES 7-ADULT)
Children love playing games! Whether on family night, a playdate or a rainy day, playing games is always a great choice. Luckily, board games and card games are relatively inexpensive, so having a wide selection of games in your home is feasible, and actually helps to incorporate various ages, interests and skill levels of family members and visitors. You'll find that many of the games that younger children play rely simply on "the luck of the dice." However, as children get older, they begin to enjoy games which require some thought, creativity or speed. These types of games can be both enjoyable and educational.
The educational games recommended below promote critical thinking skills, logic and strategy development for older children. And even though these children are more "seasoned" game players, they still get to practice those basic game playing behaviors such as following the rules, taking turns, teamwork and most importantly, winning and losing graciously (a behavior that is still developing throughout much of childhood!)
Enjoy this great selection of recommended games!
Bananagrams Multiple-award winning, fast paced, educational word game for ages 7-adult. Addicting scrabble-like game that has requires no board and allows for numerous players.
 Blokus Classics Game Winner of over 20+ awards! Exciting brightly colored strategy game perfect for the whole family. Encourages spatial thinking & problem solving skills using simple rules. Ages 5-adult
Qwirkle Award winning wooden tiles game develops logic and strategy skills. This challenging family game has simple instructions that require players to match tile shapes and colors to earn points. Ages 8-adult.
Buzzword The Lively, Addictive, and Challenging Game that Fuzzes your Memory and Buzzes your Brain! Multiple Award Winning Game! Great for family night or parties! Teams get 45 seconds to solve word clues and find the "Buzzword." Includes 400 sets of buzz word clues, score cards, timer and scoreboard. Ages 10+ Also available: Buzzword Junior
Loopz Game Crazy new musical game of skill & action. Players must correctly repeat the sequence of lights and music by waving their hands through the semi-circular motion sensors. Features 7 different games including solo or group play. Way cool! Ages 5-teens.
 Blurt The Webster's Game of Word Racing Classic, fast-paced family & party game. Be the first to "blurt" out the correct word based on its definition. Multiple award winning game that builds vocabulary! Includes 300 cars with 1800 clues at 2 playing levels. Ages 10+
Apples to Apples Party Box – The Game of Hilarious Comparisons Multiple award winning family & party game! Players pick cards that best describe the judge's card. Humorous comparisons of people, places and things. Includes over 1000 cards. Ages 12+. Also available Apples to Apples Junior – The Game of Crazy Comparisons!
 Uno Card Game This extremely popular color coded card game is easy to learn, unpredictable and fun for the whole family! Loads of excitement for ages 7-adult, (educational tool for 4+.)
 Blink Card Game Don't "blink" or you might just miss the game! Super fun, super fast card game requires players to match shapes, colors or number count on cards with lightening speed. First player to use up cards wins the game. Reasonably priced. Ages 7+.
 Monopoly THE classic, extremely popular board game you enjoyed as a child. Buy properties, build houses & hotels all with the roll of the dice. Ages 8+ Also available: Monopoly Junior Edition
 Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition Totally modernized and updated version of the classic Monopoly game. Use an electronic banking unit instead of cash to make transactions and purchase extremely high value properties. Ages 8+
 Clue An exciting game of strategy and deductive reasoning as players meet the suspects,find the clues and try to be the first to solve the murder-mystery. Ages 9+ Also available CLUE JR. Game
 Boggle Fast paced, educational word search game in which players shake lettered cubes and try to gain the best score by creating words with the highest point values. Ages 8+ Also available:Boggle Jr. Game
 Stratego Exciting game of battlefield strategy and unexpected events as players lead armies, attack opponents and try to capture the enemy's flag. Ages 8+.
 Scrabble Crossword Game An old favorite! Score points as you build crosswords from lettered tiles. Educational family fun. Ages 8+ Also available Scrabble: Junior Edition
 Milton Bradley Pictionary Board Game Race against the clock with this quick draw party game. Players draw simple sketches as teammates try to guess their secret word. Ages 12+ Also available:Pictionary Jr
 Taboo Challenging game in which players give creative clues to get teammates to shout out a secret work. Be careful to avoid any restricted or "taboo" words in your clues. Includes 504 word cards. Also available: Taboo Junior
 Connect Four Tic-Tac-Toe..FOUR in a row! This vertical strategy game requires players to get 4 checkers in a row-horizontally, vertically or diagonally while blocking their opponent. Ages 7-10.
 ALLOWANCE GAME Teach children the value of money with this enjoyable and educational board game. Players earn money by completing chores and collecting allowance. Players can then spend money and/or save money. Learn basic money skills along the way.
Jenga Loads of thrills and excitement with this delicate stacking game. Remove wooden blocks one by one without letting the tower fall. Great family fun for everyone. Ages 6+.
. Battleship The ultimate naval warfare strategy game. Sink all 5 of your opponent's ships before yours are found. Teaches coordinates, using grids and critical thinking skills. Ages 7+.
 Great States Race the clock and learn about the USA by answering over 400 questions using "facts, figures, find and fun " cards. Ages 7+. Also available: Great States Junior
For more information, please see:
Board Games For Younger Children (Toddler- Preschool)
For more holiday information, please see:
The Little Ones Holiday Gift Giving Guide and
Little Ones "Twelve Weeks Before Christmas" Holiday Toy Series: This holiday series is designed to help parents and grandparents make smart choices by featuring outstanding/award winning "toys that teach," accompanied by reviews which highlight and explain the educational benefits and specific skills children receive from these types of toys.
Visit www.littleones.com for our selection of Great/Award Winning Children's Books, Little Ones Recommended Toys & Gifts, and Children's Educational DVDs along with teacher tips, parenting articles, family fun and much more!
by littleones.com, on November 5th, 2010 Get ready for Thanksgiving with these timely articles especially for parents of young children. Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday filled with new foods, family and friends, visiting new places, family traditions, changes in daily routines and much more. All these exciting events can sometimes be a challenge for young children to process and handle gracefully. How can you prepare your little ones to cope with all the joys and mayhem of the upcoming holiday season?
The Little Ones Thanksgiving Special helps busy parents prepare their children for the holidays. Holiday preparations and festivities can sometimes be overwhelming for children. These helpful holiday hints will keep holiday hassles to a minimum. Remember these 4 easy strategies and watch your holidays become more meaningful, memorable and manageable!
The Little Ones Thanksgiving Special also includes a selection of wonderful children's Thanksgiving Books. Thanksgiving books introduce and educate children about Thanksgiving and its history. Give your little ones an appreciation for the true meaning behind this national holiday, and develop a spirit of thankfulness in your children with these great books!
 See the Little Ones Thanksgiving Special
For more holiday information, please see:
Little Ones "Twelve Weeks Before Christmas" Holiday Toy Series: This holiday series is designed to help parents and grandparents make smart choices by featuring outstanding/award winning "toys that teach," accompanied by reviews which highlight and explain the educational benefits and specific skills children receive from these types of toys.
Visit www.littleones.com for our selection of Great/Award Winning Children's Books, Little Ones Recommended Toys & Gifts, and Children's Educational DVDs along with teacher tips, parenting articles, family fun and much more!
by littleones.com, on November 4th, 2010 Parents are busy people! With the holidays approaching there will be even more tasks to tackle on top of an already hectic family schedule. Although many of us enjoy the last minute rush of holiday shopping, there are some very good reasons why starting your holiday shopping early makes sense. If you need to be convinced how shopping early can save time, money and your sanity, ponder these early bird shopping secrets!
See 7 Smart Reasons to Start Your Holiday Shopping Early at www.littleones.com.
For more holiday shopping tips, please see:
The Little Ones Holiday Gift Giving Guide and
Little Ones "Twelve Weeks Before Christmas" Holiday Toy Series: This holiday series is designed to help parents and grandparents make smart choices by featuring outstanding/award winning "toys that teach," accompanied by reviews which highlight and explain the educational benefits and specific skills children receive from these types of toys.
Visit www.littleones.com for our selection of Great/Award Winning Children's Books, Little Ones Recommended Toys & Gifts, and Children's Educational DVDs along with teacher tips, parenting articles, family fun and much more!
by littleones.com, on November 3rd, 2010 Whether children have their snack first, enjoy some playtime, wait until they return home from after school activities or work on homework after dinner, it is important that clear expectations be established about when and how homework is to be done. Taking the extra time and effort to structure and enforce a predictable homework routine sends the message that homework is important to both of you. Since individual children's learning styles and energy levels vary greatly, as do family schedules, you need to develop a routine that works best for you and your child.
In general, it is best not to leave homework until the end of the evening when children are tired and bedtimes have to be disrupted. Let's face it.. kids need a break when they get home from school, just like grown-ups, but just make sure that their break is reasonable and not excessive. Eating a healthy snack when they get home is a great way to unwind and boost energy levels for the tasks ahead. Asking children to produce quality work when they are either too tired or hungry is unrealistic and is bound to backfire. Likewise, leaving the most difficult or involved assignments to the very end of the night is not a good idea. Most children tend to procrastinate when it comes to more challenging work, and will complete easier tasks first. The truth is that they need to tackle harder assignments earlier in the day (or evening) when they are more alert and less tired. Most schools will schedule testing or academic subjects earlier in the day for this very reason. Encourage your child to complete subjects like Math first, and to complete all written assignments before moving on to non-written tasks or time consuming tasks such as studying for tests.
Try setting reasonable time limits for homework completion. When homework becomes an open-ended activity it can drag on into the late evening hours. Teach children to estimate how long it will take to complete their homework (a very valuable skill) and check on their pacing periodically. It will take time to develop s sense of how long it takes to complete certain tasks, but just getting kids to be aware of their pacing is a huge accomplishment. Do you have a bedtime curfew? Does homework need to be completed by a reasonable hour? Remember too that finishing assignments early can help children to get to bed earlier- a routine that can improve your child's performance in class the following day.
Naturally, it will take time to find a homework routine that is comfortable for both you and your child, but your efforts will eventually pay off. Be patient, and with the proper homework routine your child may even surprise you by automatically completing assigned work without you even having to ask.
View the entire Homework Help! Series at www.littleones.com.
Visit www.littleones.com for our selection of Great/Award Winning Children's Books, Little Ones Recommended Toys & Gifts, Birthday Theme Parties and Baby Basics, along with teacher tips, parenting articles, family fun and much more!
If you haven’t done so already, Subscribe Now to receive our weekly Little Ones articles via E-mail.
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