Bucket of Beads

Little hands will snap and unsnap 20 large beads in bold, bright colors with many textures. The beads have a vanilla bean scent to stimulate the sense of smell, too. At first, baby will dump the beads and pull strings of them apart. As muscles coordination improves, baby will learn to snap the beads together and even sort them by color and shape. The beads pack up in a clear reusable plastic storage bucket with a convenient carry handle. "Vanilla scent helps stimulate another sense. The set has two large pieces with three attachment points to allow more building variety and fun," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant at Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 2009.