TDmonthly's ToyFair 2006 Preview--Kits Product Category

My Choice Chart™ by MY LIFE TIES

The mom-invented magnetic chart helps children make good behavioral choices, develop important life skills and highlight family values. The kit includes over 100 positive choice words and 50 celebration activity ideas. Children and parents choose – together – six positive character traits and a celebration activity to post on the magnetic chart. Children add stars to the night sky area on the chart each time they display any of the posted character traits. My Choice Chart is not a rewards-based system; it is an interactive teaching tool that supports ongoing character development and family togetherness.This product is an iParenting Media Award winner. Launch date: June 2007. ( Watch Video) 2/25/2008 (Price: $24.95)

My First Painting – Music by ALEX BRANDS

The painting set features four preprinted 6” x 6” canvases. The set includes eight 0.4 fl. oz. tubes of acrylic paint, four brushes, a mixing palette and a painting guide. Launch date: 2008. 2/14/2008 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Shrinky Dinks® Circus Jubilee Party Pack by JOOBLI STUDIO

Ladies and gentlemen! Children of all ages! Step right up and behold the most sensational "big top party in a box." Wow your friends with P.T. Shrink's spectacular invitations and incredible shrinking plastic. Circus art transforms into fabulous party favors right before your eyes. You're the ringmaster of this circus celebration, so let the fun begin! 2/11/2008 (Price: $17.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Wood Model Train Kit by BROOKLYN PEDDLER

Kids can build their own model steam train with this all-inclusive kit. Simply assemble, paint and then play. The fun and educational kit will help children increase their dexterity, patience and sense of accomplishment. 1/29/2008 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Li'l Engineer Kits by BROOKLYN PEDDLER

This U.S.-made kit contains everything a young or old “engineer” needs — it even comes with a hat and a bandana. The kit is bagged and headed, ready for any pegboard display or shelf. 1/29/2008 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

The Little Cook Silicone Bakeware Kit by SASSAFRAS ENTERPRISES INC.

The silicone baking set includes ten baking utensils in a variety of colors and shapes: a Bundt mold, heart-shaped cupcake and muffin cups, a loaf pan, a gelatin mold, a mini-muffin pan, a pastry scraper and a basting brush. The silicone material allows food to cook evenly and young cooks can easily bend their treats out of the molds, which continue to retain their shape. The set is dishwasher, microwave and freezer safe. 1/29/2008 (Price: $20.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Create-a-Course Building System by DARDA INC USA

This 150-piece game set allows kids to construct their own racing system. It includes instructions for 30 raceways as well as track, connectors, loops and two cars in a reusable storage bin with handles and a top that locks.
— Products by DARDA, including this set, are best sellers at Kazoodles in Vancouver, Wash., Co-owner Mary Sisson told TDmonthly in early 2008.
— Racing sets were best sellers at Twirl Toystore & Playspace in Taos, N.M., in early 2009, according to Owner Molly McMullin. “They are a great example of how having a demo out to be played with makes all the difference in selling,” she told TDmonthly. “Our salespeople all love showing people how to get the most effective run out of the pull-back cars.” ( Watch Video) 1/28/2008 (Price: $109.95)

Dr. Seuss Sticker Activity Tote by PEACEABLE KINGDOM

The kit consists of 90 reusable stickers that can be arranged and rearranged on three backgrounds: “The Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs and Ham” and “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.” The tote makes the entire kit convenient for on-the-go fun anywhere. Launch date: December 2007.
— Pamela Byers, owner of The Ark Toy Company in San Francisco, Calif., told TDmonthly that her store sells “about 60” Peaceable Kingdom sticker totes per month.
— Over 20 different sticker-activity tote themes are available in Peaceable Kingdom Press’s Sticker Activity Tote line, including The Little Farm, Knights & Dragons, At the Ballet and Fire Station.
— Five percent of retailers told TDmonthly that sticker kits are their best-selling arts-and-crafts item. 1/16/2008 (Price: $9.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

DeLuxe Snap Rover SCROV-10 by ELENCO

The DeLuxe Snap Rover kit comes with a remote control and features over 20 projects and has 30 parts. This exciting DeLuxe Snap Rover go forward and backward, turns right and left, and has side lights ,headlight and horn. With added features as a Disk Shooter, Digital Voice Recorder and Music sounds. All parts snap together with ease and no soldering is required. A full colored manual is included. 1/16/2008 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

SnapTricity SCBE-75 by ELENCO

The Snaptricity kit provides over 40 parts including a meter, electromagnet, motor, lamps, switches, a fan and a compass. It provides knowledge about magnetic fields, how switches control the lights in homes and how series and parallel circuits affect electricity. A color-coded manual is included in this kit that demonstrates the 75 projects. 1/16/2008 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Jacquard Products - Hoop Painting Fun Bag (JAC9610) by JACQUARD PRODUCTS

The kit includes everything needed to create beautiful translucent silk paintings on pre-stretched silk hoops. Adult supervision is recommended for young children. 1/11/2008 (Price: $13.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

MINDS-i Construction System by MINDS-I

This kit allows kids and adults alike to build creations strong enough for use and abuse in the most extreme conditions. After running the creations on a racecourse or a robot battlefield, simply dissemble the creation and build a new one using the same pieces. “The unique, patent-pending, ‘lock-together’ connection system is the key to MINDS-i,” Christy Marzetta, of MINDS-i’s operations department, told TDmonthly. Launch date: Spring 2008. 1/8/2008 (Price: $100.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Puzzibits Prehistoric Predators by MANHATTAN TOY

Kids can create an alligator, a shark or a T-Rex in 3D puppet form with this 450-piece set. Each set offers three different design projects from simple to complex. The puzzle pieces are flexible, hexagonal and interlocking, allowing kids to be as creative as possible. A completion guide is also included for kids who wish to create the pre-determined projects. Launch date: January 2008.
— This construction toy has been a best seller for a year at The Parent-Teacher Store & Toys Too in Louisville, Ky., Owner Kimberly Kopatz reported in fall 2009. 1/8/2008 (Price: $19.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Rewarding Kids Responsibility Kit by CREATIVE CHANGES INC.

This kit will help children build self esteem and a sense of responsibility. The reusable charts will help turn attitudes into productivity with new and valuable lifetime habits, helping kids accomplish personal and household tasks cheerfully. The charts will magnetize right to the refrigerator door as convenient and frequent reminders for the entire family. Each kit includes a workbook, job cards, system cards, checklists, incentives and rewards, ideas for organizing bedrooms, static cling stickers and more.
— “[It] will really help children want to repeat the efforts over and over again,” Merrill Dastrup of Creative Changes Inc. told TDmonthly. 1/2/2008 (Price: $24.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Pop Up Pen Pal Cards - All Occasion by PLAY ODYSSEY INC.

This all-occasion greeting card kit is a fun way for young children to practice their printing skills. The kit includes materials for 16 pop up cards. These cards are uniquely designed as self mailers with trace over greetings on the inside, and manuscript printing guidelines for address information on the outside. Additional guidelines are also provided at the bottom of the card to encourage children to write a short message. Trace over greetings include: Happy Birthday, Thinking of You and Thank You. Launch date: December 2007.
— Alexander (8) and Jessica (6) Richardson, like the other kid reviewers in TDmonthly's Grade-School Roundtable, were excited about this product. "Wow! Let's make some cards!" they said. Overall, the six moms and their children were impressed with the design and simplicity of the pop-up cards, rating them with 4.5 out of 5 TD stars. 1/2/2008 (Price: $13.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Playful Play Date by PLAYFUL LIFE

The kit provides parents with an interactive and fun way to teach young children social skills. Each kit includes 11 pages of parental instruction, 33 ready-to-go kid activities, games, art projects, discussion lists, two tear-out play-sheets for each activity and a CD-ROM of kid activities. Launch date: January 2008. 12/28/2007 (Price: $18.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Playful Party Planner by PLAYFUL LIFE

This clever party planner helps kids learn how to be creative, organized and socially skilled. It is designed for parents to use with younger children, or for older children to use on their own. The kit includes five tear-out, party-planning lists and a CD-ROM of party activities. Launch date: January 2008.
— The kit “includes a CD-ROM of party lists so kids and parents can use them over and over again,” Playful Life CEO and Founder Lisa Ligon told TDmonthly. 12/28/2007 (Price: $18.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Happy Bag of Smiles by SHOWBAGS USA

The 18” plastic reusable sack is jammed with 14 items, including toys, games, crafts, crayons and an activity book. Launch date: January 1, 2008. 12/28/2007 (Price: $15.00)

Antlantis by TOYOPS INC.

The ecosystem set allows one to create a personal oasis, learn and have fun taking care of plants, nurture a sustainable habitat and watch ants move from one habitat to another. Viewers will witness ants in a real environment, moving food, digging tunnels, raising baby ants and protecting the colony.
— The kits “are designed to have great play value while exploring important scientific concepts and skills,” Dennis Callaghan of Toyops Inc. told TDmonthly. Additionally, the product “is eco-friendly and part of a connectable world.” 12/28/2007 (Price: $29.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

The Potty DVD, Book and Doll Package for Girls (Hannah Edition) by BARRON'S EDUCATIONAL SERIES

This kit includes a storybook of one toddler, Hannah, learning to use the potty, a plush Hannah doll, a small, stuffed teddy bear and an animated DVD. The DVD includes a live-action segment of toddlers dancing to the song, "Bye-Bye Diapers" and an informative segment from a pediatrician. A "Henry" version of the kit for boys is also available. Launch date: September 2007. ( Watch Video) 12/14/2007 (Price: $24.99)

Night Night by FAMILYSTORIES

This set includes a 48-page book with bedtime stories, wisdom, sleep facts and snacks recommendations for getting a good night's sleep. It also comes with a lavender-filled snuggle star, a CD of sleepy time music and a special keepsake box. Launch date: November 1, 2007. 12/7/2007 (Price: $17.95)

Tooth Fairy Time by FAMILYSTORIES

This kit comes with a 48-page book with information on tooth care, tooth loss and the tooth fairy, as well as a satin tooth fairy pillow with a magic pouch, 15 tooth fairy note cards, four tooth charts with envelopes and a special keepsake box. “These products make a huge statement in a smaller retail environment, where their many-layered attributes (great quality, high fun factor, quick humor, rich in resources) are more readily discerned,” Lisa Hamm of FamilyStories told TDmonthly. Launch date: November 1, 2007. 12/7/2007 (Price: $17.95)

Making Spirits Bright by FAMILYSTORIES

This set features a 48-page book that includes recipes, cards, gift ideas and inspiration for creating lasting memories, as well as four wooden Christmas ornaments and decorative materials: paint, glitter, metallic thread, brushes and Advent stickers. “Hard cover books charge up energy and interest in family fun, activity and communication. Then, high-quality materials are right at hand to let families get started making moments that matter,” Lisa Hamm of FamilyStories told TDmonthly. Launch date: November 1, 2007. 12/7/2007 (Price: $17.95)

My Two Homes by FAMILYSTORIES

This set contains a 48-page book with practical advice from families about divorce and separation, as well as a special box and a create-your-own home-to-home binder that includes organizers, printed paper, a keychain and a clear zip pouch. Launch date: November 1, 2007. 12/7/2007 (Price: $17.95)

TickleMe Plant Growing Kit by TICKLEME PLANT COMPANY INC.

This plant grows within days of being planted, folds up to sleep at night and moves quickly when tickled. The complete growing kit includes a 5” x 4” x 2-1/2” Jiffy Mini-Greenhouse, six peat pellets, one TickleMe Plant seed packet (10 to 20 Mimosa pudica seeds) and easy-to-follow instructions. Launch date: 2003. 12/5/2007 (Price: $9.99)