Tookie’s Toys is launching Links of Hope, a month-long fundraising event for Ella’s Miracle benefiting Ella Newmiller. Ella is a five year old Raleigh, North Carolina girl who is battling an inoperable brain tumor.

During this event, Tookie’s Toys will be constructing a paper chain made of links purchased by donors. Names, messages, thoughts and prayer can be written on the links. The chains from both Tookie’s Toys locations will be combined at the end of the event and presented to Ella as a visible reminder of the community’s support. Links will be sold for $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00 and will be available throughout October. All funds raised from the project will benefit the Ella Newmiller Fund.

Not in Raleigh? No worries, you can still pick up a chain or three here…

About Ella’s Miracle

Ella’s Miracle is a support network for Ella Newmiller and her family as they battle Ella’s inoperable brain tumor. For additional information about Ella and her family, visit www.ellasmiracle.com.

About Tookie’s Toys

Tookie’s Toys is a Raleigh, NC based family owned and operated specialty to company with stores in Cameron Village and Falls Village. For more information, visit www.tookiestoys.com or contact Katherine Hodges at 919-828-5574.

Today’s kids know the drill.� When the lazy days of summer give way to the new school year, daily routines change.� It’s wake up now, eat a good breakfast, and get to school on time.� It’s buckle down and pay attention to the serious business of learning.� And it’s good-bye to leisurely indoor or outdoor play time.

What happens to play time when kids head back to school?� For one thing, more and more children cannot count on getting a play break—otherwise known as recess—at school.� According to the American Association for the Child’s Right to Play, approximately 40% of elementary schools do not include recess in the school day.� � Many factors have contributed to the decline of recess, including the increased focus on academic outcomes as measured by standardized testing; parents’ and school administrators’ concerns about safety on the playground; and the difficulty of supervising children who are not experienced in working out play conflicts on their own.

As we see play time at school decline, it’s more and more important for parents and caregivers to find ways to help kids get a healthy dose of regular play at home.

Here are ways parents can provide a “balanced diet” of play—much in the same way you offer a range of healthy food choices—and include all these types of play in the home routine:

• Physical play that uses the body’s large muscles.� More than ever, kids need active indoor and outdoor play.� Not only does it help build strong muscles and develop coordination, it is central to fighting childhood obesity.
• Play that uses the hands.� The hands are central to many forms of creative and functional expression:� art, music, writing, typing, and more.� Make time and space for messy or loud play—using paints, crayons, clay, homemade musical instruments and any other safe “toys” that encourage use of the hands and creativity.
• Play that promotes thinking and problem solving.� Cooking projects, art and music, family story telling, regular parent-child reading sessions—this type of play is fun and has direct connection to the academic skills we want our kids to master because it helps children master language and arithmetic concepts and encourages them to figure things out.
• Play that uses the senses. Tasting, smelling, touching, hearing, seeing—play that uses the senses overlaps with most other forms of play.� Not only is sensory play loads of fun, it also encourages kids to explore their world at the most basic level—with their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin.
• Play that requires a healthy imagination.� Who doesn’t have fond childhood memories of pretend play with friends or siblings, or even alone with imaginary pals?� Making things up is a rich source of learning, creativity and problem solving.� Imaginative play can be done anywhere, alone or with others, and doesn’t necessarily require toys or props.
• Play with friends.� If a child doesn’t play, how can he learn the social skills he needs to be successful in school?� How can she develop the skills she needs to take turns, work out problems, be patient, and share?� This type of play is central to establishing the social and emotional capacity to navigate through a school day.

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Parents can incorporate healthy play at home, but if it is so important for learning, why aren’t kids playing more at school?� Certainly we’re sensitive to the challenges schools face as they struggle to meet all that is required from them.� At the same time, we encourage anyone who cares about good outcomes for children to ask schools to commit to daily recess. � It’s good for kids and it makes school more fun.� Who wouldn’t want that?

For more information about the importance of recess during the school day and how to promote it, check out these resources:

• The Value of School Recess and Outdoor Play, a position statement by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.� Available at www.naeyc.org/resources/eyly/1998/08.pdf.
• Recess and the Importance of Play:� A Position Statement on Young Children and Recess by the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education.� Available at http://naecs.crc.uiuc.edu/position.html.
• Suggestions for Promoting Recess, by the American Association for the Child’s Right to Play.� Available at http://ipausa.org/promotingrecess.html.

About Tookie’s Toys – Tookie’s Toys is a family owned and operated specialty toy company with retail locations in Raleigh, NC and our online store. Our mission is to provide high-quality educational toys that nurture the imagination and encourage children to think, create and dream!� Katherine “Tookie” Hodges has over twenty years of experience in helping match toys and playthings to the developmental needs of children. Katherine and her husband John are assisted by their chief toy tester and son, Taylor. For more information or to shop, visit www.tookiestoys.com!

Choosing Toys that Keep Kids Interested and Engaged

If your family includes gift giving in your celebration of the holidays, you are probably familiar with the wildly enthusiastic reaction kids have when they see piles of brightly wrapped packages waiting to be opened. Those moments of hyper-charged anticipation when excited children can barely contain themselves add to the holiday magic for many families.

Yet many of those same families experience a let-down after all the gifts are unwrapped and all the must-have toys are assembled and filled with the required number of size AA batteries. The same child who asked over and over for that heavily advertised ultra-popular toy plays with it for a while, and then quickly loses interest.

Is there any antidote to this pattern? How can we keep children from desperately wanting particular toys, only to get bored by them within hours or days of unwrapping them?

Fortunately, there are ways to avoid what I call ‘toy overload’. The solution starts with changing the focus when you are selecting toys for a child. It’s not about what advertising has convinced the child he or she must have. It’s about thoughtfully selecting a product that fits the child’s developmental level and true interests. If the toy is a good fit with strong play value, it won’t end up in the play-with-it-once pile at the bottom of the toy box.

Playing for Keeps, a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting healthy play, offers several suggestions for choosing toys that can hold a child’s attention.

• Focus on the play, not the toy. Rather than evaluating the features of the toy, think about the features of the play that the toy will encourage. Said another way, good play — and the likelihood that a child will maintain interest in a toy — is about what the child can do with the toy, not what the toy can do.
• Find products that let kids make up the story. Look for toys that leave room for the child to use her imagination. Though it may seem to adults that electronic gadgetry in a toy or connection with a television character makes it more fun, often the opposite is true. Toys with minimal “bells and whistles” engage a child more fully because she gets to make things up—the story, the play routine, the sounds, the movement and more. What child doesn’t like that?
• Give gifts that foster different types of play. When you are shopping for holiday gifts, think about assembling a group of toys that offer a “balanced diet of play” that will encourage a child to use and explore all parts of himself: his developing muscles—both the large running around ones and climbing ones and the smaller, more refined hand muscles; his brain; his growing speech and language skills; and his ability to play well with others, to be compassionate, and to solve problems.
• Consider limiting television, especially around the holidays. Time for free play is a wonderful and healthy alternative to television and by avoiding its constant barrage of advertising, parents can help control the holiday “gimme’s.” Many communities have an array of fun family-oriented activities around the holidays that can also divert children from focusing on the toy of the moment—and keep them more open to more engaging play materials that fit their developmental levels.

Be sensible about how you manage toys that come into your home. If kids have too many toys, of course they won’t play with all of them. For starters, they won’t have time. So consider giving them fewer this season…and perhaps diverting some of those dollars to buying toys for disadvantaged children.

Another strategy is to put some of the holiday gifts away so kids can focus on fewer toys at a time. Pick out two or three toys to leave out, and stash the rest in storage. Based on your child’s interest level, rotate the toys so that you put one or two away and bring out one or two fresh ones every couple of weeks. It extends the play value of the toys…and you can make the holiday joy last for several months.

Tookie’s Toys is a family owned and operated toy reseller with stores in Raleigh, NC and online at www.tookiestoys.com. Owner Katherine “Tookie” Hodges has over twenty years experience matching toys and playthings with the developmental needs of children. She and her husband John get assistance testing toys from their almost three year old son, Taylor. To get Katherine and her staff’s help learning more about play, visit their website www.tookiestoys.com for contact information.

As the summer days grow shorter and begin to fill up with school shopping, school physicals, and getting the family organized for the fall, your preschooler or kindergarten child may be showing signs of anxiety about making that BIG transition to being a BIG kid who goes to school. What can parents and grandparents do to help?

“One of the best ways to get young kids prepared for a school environment is to promote healthy, constructive play,” says Susan J. Oliver, Executive Director of the national not-for-profit organization Playing for Keeps. “To be ready for school means a child has developed in a more or less balanced way—she is physically competent for her age; able to form relationships and play cooperatively with others; is curious and open to learning; and can listen and speak in a manner appropriate for her age. If a child has spent his early years engaged in good, old fashioned play—which is the way kids learn those skills—chances are he will be more than ready for school.”

If moms and dads and others want to help ease their child’s fears about school—or perhaps their own!—play can be an effective way to get everyone in the family to relax and look forward to what’s coming.

As an owner of a toy store that specializes in personalized service and offers a staff highly knowledgeable about the developmental benefits of play, I look forward to the weeks before school starts. Even though it’s a bit scary for some, it’s such a special time for our young customers as they look ahead to becoming a school kid. For many, it’s the first big transition they will remember for the rest of their lives. It’s a good time for parents to come by and talk with us about ways to play during the last few weeks that can have a big payoff in relieving their child’s stress.

Five activities I think are great for preparing for school and easing those August school jitters:

• Play school at home. This can be one of the best ways to demystify what is going to happen when school starts. Essentially, you are rehearsing in the emotionally safe environment of your own home. You can keep it simple with lots of pretend props, or you can create a rough replica of the classroom somewhere in your home that can be a center of play. The Pretend and Play School Set by Learning Resources (featured) includes everything you need for the ultimate pretend calssroom. Using toys you already have (or fill in with some new ones), create a library corner, a place to do art projects, a block corner, a pretend kitchen, and a pretend house corner. Play with some of the typical rituals (like signing in upon arrival), but let your child direct the play as much as possible. If there is an older sibling who already goes to school, he or she will likely embrace the role of teacher.
  

• Encourage lots of play with blocks, floating objects, and simple art materials. These are some of the core activities in high quality early childhood classrooms. One of the great things about blocks and other toys that encourage open-ended play and experimentation is that kids can do so many different things with them—and feel successful every time. Whatever your child chooses to make or try, you can reassure her that this is a lot like what she will do in school. This can go a long way in alleviating fears—and perhaps even transform them into excitement about going to school.
  

• Get together with other families with same-age kids and play. One of the biggest predictors of school success is a child’s social skills. The more experience they have playing with other kids, the more likely they are to manage comfortably the cooperative play environment of the classroom. Use some of those last weeks and days before school to increase the amount of play with peers—and remind your little one that playing with friends is “just like school.”
  

• Talk a lot during play. When you talk to your child and listen to his responses, it helps build his vocabulary and models the appropriate use of language. Both help kids become stronger readers down the road, but the important thing for now is that your child knows many common words that she will use in school—for example, colors, shapes, sizes, and names of objects. When you hear her use the words in her own conversation, make her feel good and build her confidence about what she knows. “Boy, you know so many words, it’s like you are a school kid already!”
  

• Help kids turn a favorite toy into a trusted confidante. Kids will often tell their favorite stuffed animal things that they don’t tell mom and dad—even when mom and day are right there. This can be a great way to get kids to talk about their worries so parents can address them. Parents or grandparents can take the role of the stuffed animal friend and ask questions to get the child to talk. Remind your child that their stuffed toy is ready to listen any time—even in the car or on the walk home from school.

We encourage parents to relax about the start of school so their kids will be more likely to relax, too. For three, four, and five year olds, a good curriculum is going to include lots of play, and their kids already know how to do that. So both kids and parents can have confidence that everything will turn out okay.

Visit Tookiestoys.com for educational toys, games and other fun stuff!

• Tookie’s: Holiday Shoppers Want to Know – What Holiday Toys Won’t Cool Off?
• Magneatos: Jumbo Size Magnetic Construction for the Toddler Set
• Sculpting material that never dries out: Play Foam
• Rock, spin, hide under, peek through, fill with water, wear as a shell or as a hat. Bilibo
• Dado Cubes: A New Twist on Classic Building Blocks
• Smithsonian Chemistry Set — On Sale!
• Li’l DaVinci Art Frames: Children’s Artwork Storage & Display in a Beautiful Frame
• Help your preschooler learn and have fun at the same time. My True Learning

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Kids want the “hot” new toys for holiday, but parents worry: What happens when those holiday fads fade? Now there’s a list of exceptional toys that children will love to play with long after the holidays. Tookie’s Toys shares its “Top 20 Toys” list for Holiday 2006, compiled by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA). This one-of-a-kind list is based on input from stores such as Tookie’s Toys around the country, the “toy professionals” who spend every day of the year working with consumers and kids. This daily interaction gives these
retailers unmatched, firsthand knowledge of toys that are truly compelling to both kids and parents.

“Every year, parents tell us how some of the latest, trendy toys and gadgets end up at the bottom of the toy box soon after the holidays,” said Katherine Hodges, owner of Tookie’s Toys. “But a toy from Tookie’s Toys will ignite the imagination and provide a different play experience every time the child picks it up. These unique, fun toys inspire creativity, making them favorites the children turn to again and again all year round.”

These toys also earn high approval ratings from parents and educators by helping children build developmental skills, reinforcing classroom lessons, teaching sharing and caring, and even getting kids off the couch. And, at Tookie’s Toys, parents enjoy an atmosphere that encourages creativity and play, combined with personal service and expert advice for a toy shopping experience unlike anywhere else.

Here are Tookie’s Toys’ and ASTRA’s top picks for toys this holiday season:

1. Knot a Quilt by Alex. Knot a Quilt requires no needles, no stitching, no stuffing. Just knot the fringed squares together into a colorful pattern. Make a giant 36″ x 48″ quilt in just a few hours – less if your friends give you a hand. Kit comes with 48 9″ squares of fleece in 6 bold colors. $20.

2. Bilibo Rock, spin, hide under, peek through, fill with water, wear as a shell or as a hat. These are just some of the many things kids have invented to do with a Bilibo. $30.

3. Calico Critters Baby Park and Playhouse by International Playthings. The new Calico Critters Baby Play House is custom built for the bittiest critters and comes with two completely furnished floors. Take your babies on a balloon ride from kitchen to bedroom and then send them down on the slide. For ages 3-10 Years. $59.

4. Chunky Puzzles by Melissa & Doug. New Chunky Puzzles are 2-in-1. Put the fat chunky pieces in place on the board, matching by picture and shape. Or stand them up, move them about, and play pretend. For ages 2-5 years. $12.

5. Ghost Phantom Pirate Ship by Papo from Hotaling Imports. A frightening sight to behold, this two-mast wood galleon appears sprung from the deep, full of cobwebs and cages ready to gobble up any little mariner it sees. Outfitted with an onboard prison, opening stern, and working anchor, this phantom ship of legend is sure to complete any little pirate fantasy. Figures sold separately, for ages 4-11 years. $89.

6. I Never Forget a Face by Eeboo. I Never Forget a Face Memory and Matching Game is a beautiful and challenging game for children. Made of extra sturdy laminated board. A guide to the children’s countries of origin shown on the box bottom. Illustrations by Lizzie Rockwell. For ages 3+. $20.

7. Little Builder Whimsy Block Set by Beka. This 30 piece set combines Traditional Unit Blocks, Little builder shapes, and two Whimsical Wheels. For ages 3+. $72.

8. Magna-Tiles by ValtechGo from flat to 3-D in the snap of a magnet! Magna-Tiles are amazingly simple: plastic shapes, magnetically engineered so that they attract on all sides, even when flipped around. So simple, a young child can easily create designs on a flat surface or build upright structures. For ages 3-8. $50 – $65.

9. Magneatos by Guidecraft. Now younger children can experience the fun and mystery of magnetic construction! Similar concept to popular sets made for older kids, Magneatos jumbo-sized pieces are designed for small hands. Starts at $25.

10. Micro TREK by Thames & Kosmos. High-quality microscope features 9″ die-cast metal body, 100-400-900 power objective lenses, glass zoom ocular lens, filter/aperture wheel, battery and mirror illuminated stage, and projector attachment. Kit includes prepared and blank slides, tools, and logbook. $90.

11. Mighty World by International Playthings. Mightyworld playsets foster the creativity and imagination of children by encouraging them to create, experience, and explore their own world of pretend play. Playsets provide a safe and entertaining environment for kids to explore the individual traits, relationships and roles of the characters in Mighty World, as well as the many available and possible play environments with which to build their World at Play. For ages 3+. $10-$50.

12. My First Dolls: Calins & Tidoos by Corolle. Pellet-filled so able to assume most any pose, Calin and Tidoo dolls have realistic open-close eyes, a 12″ pellet-filled light body just right for a toddler to cradle, and flexible vinyl limbs for easy dressing. Tidoo floats in the bathtub and is designed to dry quickly. Corolle dolls are completely machine washable and comes with a sweet vanilla scent. For ages 18 mos-3yrs. $27-35.

13. My First Science Kit by Scientific Explorer. The perfect science introduction for younger kids. Set up a color mixing lab, perform 10 science experiments, grow gobs of crystals in 24 different hues, and capture a rainbow in a tube. For ages 4+. $20.

14. Peacock Puppet by Folkmanis. The new Folkmanis Peacock Puppet is a full 18″ from the top of his bright blue head down to the tip of his emerald green tail feathers. Proud as a peacock, put your hand in and stretch your fingers! Wow! What a show! For ages 10 months and up. $45.

15. Play Foam by Educational Insights.Squish it, shape it, save it – then start all over again. PlayFoam is a new miracle sculpting material that never dries out. It’s lightweight, won’t crumble, and doesn’t stick to skin or surfaces. 6 PlayFoam bricks in 6 vibrant colors and an idea sheet. For ages 5-10 years. $10.

16. Sticker Factory by Alex. Sticker Factory is an amazing laminating machine that transforms plain paper pictures into smooth shiny stickers. Cut out a picture, use the stencil, or draw one of your own. Then roll it through, and voila! Factory includes 10′ rolls of sticker paper and film. By Alex for ages 5-11 years. $20.

17. RC Demolition Derby by Kid Galaxy. Drive ‘em, crash ‘em, bash ‘em and restore ‘em! Real demolition derby action. Set included two remote controlled cars. For age 7+. $32.

18. Ringgz by Blue Orange Games. Don’t be deceived by its artful appearance. Ringgz takes real skill and cunning to win. In this fast-paced strategy game, players challenge each other to win the most territories using colorful wooden rings. It’s all about finding the right balance between gaining majorities and controlling the opponents to capture victory. From the makers of Gobblet. For ages 8 to adult. $30.

19. Musical Treasure Boxes by Enchantments. Discover Your World is an enchanting musical treasure box with a twirling white horse and 4 hidden drawers, tucked into the corners. For ages 5-12 years. $35.

20. UglyDolls by Prettyugly LLC. UglyDolls are bunch of bizarre, colorful characters that have taken the U.S. by storm. Soft and huggable, each UglyDoll is about a foot high. Endearing companions for all ages, choose one to suit your own personality. For all ages. $10-$20.

This list reflects Tookie’s Toys’ and ASTRA’s commitment to the best interests of children, their healthy development and their futures, as well as their need for wholesome fun.

In addition to offering these products, Tookie’s Toys is actively involved in a multi-themed, in-store program emphasizing the healthy benefits of play and the many forms play can take. Participating stores offer games, entertainment, product promotions and informational literature for parents on such subjects as “Active Play” and “Learning Play.” This year’s holiday theme is “Caring & Sharing Play,” encouraging kids to find creative ways through toys and games to foster kindness and friendship. In addition to these materials, Tookie’s Toys co-owner, John Hodges, is available to conduct Play Seminars for groups who are interested in learning about the impat play has on the development of children. Many of the toys on ASTRA’s “Top 20” list for holiday represent these ideals.

Growing up, Katherine Hodges favorite thing was to play “store” using her toy cash register. Her first job was working for a family owned specialty toy store when she was 15 years old. Katherine liked the store and the work so much she continued to work there through college and beyond. And in 2001, Katherine and her husband, John, bought the toy store and renamed it Tookie’s Toys after a nickname given to Katherine from her nephews. Clever Parents caught up with Katherine to learn more about how she selects the toys she sells, customer service and tips for non-parents who want to buy a toy for a child.

Clever Parents: How do you select the toys that you sell?

Katherine Hodges: The primary criteria I use in selecting toys are Quality and Play Value. Quality is pretty easy – is this a well made toy from a manufacturer that will stand behind their product?

Play Value is a little harder to measure – is the toy a good fit as a developmental tool for the child? We search for toys that encourage different types of play. These can be categorized by at least one of the following: active play, cooperative play, creative play, dramatic play, manipulative play and quiet play.

People often come into our store and ask for an “educational toy”. We believe all toys are educational! Every child learns through play. We know that play provides the foundation for basic life skills such as building relationships, cooperation, negotiation and compromise as well as providing opportunities for children to find out who they are and what they enjoy doing. Play offers an emotional outlet, develops the imagination and creativity, and cultivates problem-solving skills. And of course and above all, we pick toys that are FUN!

Clever Parents: Do you think parents ever waste money on toys? How can that be avoided?

Katherine Hodges: We often see customers who are seeking out the products with the most “bells and whistles” or the products they have seen on television and in magazines. Sometimes these products are good toys but other times – these products are simply the ones with the largest advertising budget or toys that have paid for an award or endorsement. However, when parents are making an investment in a toy that they will use to help their child develop important life skills, a bit of research and a trusted resource that knows and understands play can help make wise spending choices.

At Tookie’s Toys, we know and understand play and its importance in the development of children. We are here to help make those investments pay off for families. Many people shy away from specialty toy stores because they perceive them to be too expensive. In reality, when you factor in the quality of the products, their usefulness as a tool in the development of the child, and the resources available to help make the best selections, the toys sold at stores like ours are often better investments. On top of that, you get a level of customer service that you just can’t get in the big stores!

Clever Parents: What tips do you have for non-parents who are purchasing toys for children?

Katherine Hodges: Ask for help. Many non-parents (and parents) don’t realize that there are people who can help them select toys for the children in their lives. Also, the more information they know about the child – age, likes/dislikes, etc – the better we can help them.

Clever Parents: What tips do you have for grandparents when picking out toys for their grandchildren?

Katherine Hodges: Again, ask for help and know basic information about the children. Talk to the parents about types of things the children enjoy and any things that are off-limits (such as characters seen in television and videos, etc.) in their households. It is not uncommon for us to get the parents on the phone while the grandparents are shopping to get additional information and to make sure our selections will fit with their plans.

Visit Tookie’s Toys online at www.tookiestoys.com