June 2012 New Specialty Toys — Eco-Friendly

The eco-friendly, handcrafted SIXKID ROCKING HORSE is a modern and natural version of the traditional children’s piece, appealing to any generation. It's design is based on classic forms with a unique, modern twist. With no loose pieces and ergonomically shaped saddle it makes riding safe and enjoyable for little ones.  Made of sustainable European beech with a walnut saddle, the rocking horse is finished with oils and waxes and are not treated with paint, chemicals, or lead. The fine joinery requires only four screws for assembly. Two sizes are available: one for 18 months and older and one for 3 years and older. They meet all US safety standards. Imported and distributed by Beck To Nature. Made in Hungary, EU. Launch date: November 2011.

A gentle alternative to rough-and-tumble playtime with fun-loving creatures that are not only specially designed, but also destined to "bounce back". Plush Cover, Machine Washable & Interchangeable. Charitable Donation to Wildlife Alliance. Stands 36" Tall When Inflated. Biodegradable, Free from BPA, Made in USA. Launch date: June 2012.

PlayMais is a biodegradable crafting material made from corn and colored with food coloring. It is manufactured in Germany, 100% safe, and biodegradable. PlayMais stimulates children's imagination and creativity, trains fine-motor skills, and develops social group skills. PlayMais can be shaped, squeezed, and cut — and all it takes is a little bit water to create unlimited fun. Children can build in 2 or 3 dimensions, or wherever their imagination takes them. The PlayMais M-Box contains 150 pieces, a sponge, and an instruction booklet. It is a perfect starter box.

PlayMais is a biodegradable crafting material made from corn and colored with food coloring. It is manufactured in Germany, 100% safe, and biodegradable. PlayMais stimulates children's imagination and creativity, trains fine motor skills, and develops social group skills. PlayMais can be shaped, squeezed, cut and all it takes is a little bit water to create unlimited fun. Children can build in 2 or 3 dimensions, or wherever their imagination takes them. The PlayMais XM-Box contains 250 pieces, a sponge, a biodegradable plastic knife, and an instruction booklet. It is a perfect starter box if you want to build more and bigger creations.

PlayMais is a biodegradable crafting material made from corn and colored with food coloring. It is manufactured in Germany, 100% safe, and biodegradable. PlayMais stimulates children's imagination and creativity, trains fine motor skills, and develops social group skills. PlayMais can be shaped, squeezed, cut and all it takes is a little bit water to create unlimited fun. Children can build in 2 or 3 dimensions, or wherever their imagination takes them.

Two complete place settings for pretend meals. Includes 2 plates, 2 bowls, 2 cups, 2 sets of utensils. Made of sustainable PlanWood, a durable new material made from the sawdust leftover from rubberwood products.

A beautiful garden of flowers contains eight circles of the same size and shape for mix-and-match play. Each piece is a different color with a matching color as well. Made from 98% post consumer recycled materials and printed with eco-friendly inks.

Plan Toy Sort and Count stacking toy can move preschoolers to the next level of basic math skills through play. It is designed to challenge children's sorting and counting skills. The natural wood frame has collapsible rods for safety and the large bead-like rings fit nicely into small hands. Kids sort the beads by color, counting as they stack the beads. Children will make basic math discoveries as they experiment and see that two yellow beads and one blue bead goes as high as three green beads.

Go green with a new and innovative approach to building. Don’t toss out newspapers: recycle them to build incredible geometric sculptures. Tape the included tubes to both ends of a sheet of newspaper. Roll up the newspaper and secure with tape to make a connecting paper rod. Includes durable plastic connectors that fit into the rods. Follow the step-by-step instructions in the guide to make a triangular pyramid, a square anti-prism or design kids can design their own creations in the classroom, gymnasium or playground. Includes guide. 36 connectors, 200 rod-tubes.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval

Polar Eclipse is an educational board game created to raise awareness about climate change and lifestyle choices. Published in 2011 by turn 4 turn llc. based in Park City, Utah, the game is created for global citizens 8 years and older. Designed, tested and re-tested with students who attend a Utah K-8 charter school, the game offers players the opportunity to add their ideas to the discussion and move toward their survival by doing so. The game board is a warm to cool, and past to future grid; a game about time and temperature. The object of the game is, as one of five species, to make it into the future and get cooler, to survive. If you hit 100 your species becomes extinct and you are out of the game. The motivation to create this game comes from the inventors background as an elementary teacher and the concern for the natural world. By playing the game, it is hoped that the mix of experience that sparks awareness, concern and stewardship to protect the natural world will expand. Knowledge is power. The game includes a die to set your place in time, 184 event cards to experience cause and effect, 64 arctic cards to offer open-ended and multiple choice questions, five players/species, the game board and a rules and reference booklet. Playing time ranges from twenty to forty-five minutes depending on the set of cards you play and number of players. Eight blank event cards are included to create your own events to add to the game. A secondary activity is to sort the event cards into sets of eight cards, by a symbol on the card, and assemble puzzles that make up the photographs on the cover and sides of the game box.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy Best Green Toys

Hatch is a member of the Compact Line of Tegu Mobility. Deconstruct Hatch and click the wheels on and off to create any number of mobile creations. Magnetic connections make racing and crashing as fun as building. Hatch integrates seamlessly with the existing line of Tegu blocks. Made with beautiful Honduran hardwoods and safe water-based finishes.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy Best Green Toys

Made from the new collection of PlanWood materials, the classic Dancing Alligator has been remade using this new sustainable wood to delight children. When pulled along, the alligator moves his head and tail up and down making a click-clack sound. Created to maximize the usage of the reclaimed rubber trees, PlanWood uniquely provides an even safer, higher quality and more affordable product, while maintaining the eco-minded excellence and unforgettable design consumers have come to expect from the PlanToys brand. PlanWood is made from the sawdust and wood chips left over from regular PlanToys production. By adding some organic pigments for color, mixing it with less than 1% of their non-formaldehyde E-zero glue and pressure molding the mix, a new safe and non-toxic material was born. Launch date: 2012.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy Best Green Toys

Find & Make has added a new project kit that directs children to make their own original creations using Makedo connectors and packaging commonly found in the home. This product invites child to be resourceful by sourcing boxes and packaging from around the house and using them as the ‘building blocks’ . Once built, the Shop becomes the source of endless role-play fun. Through this experience, the child changes their perception of a box as something they would throw away. Instead it becomes an object of value. The child has learned about reuse and upcycling in a fun and playful way. Each Makedo Find & Make kit includes a safe-saw for cutting and punching through materials safely; re-clips and lock-hinges for connecting, themed decorative stickers, beautifully illustrated step-by-step instructions and a gorgeous inspiration poster. The material contents and packaging has been kept to a minimum. The reusable nature of Makedo’s connectors means that the child is able to pull apart and reconstruct their shop over and over for new building and role-play experiences. Construction with Makedo also minimizes the use of virgin materials by directing the child to make their own toy rather than going out to buy something completely new.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval, 2012 Dr. Toy Best Green Toys

This 65-piece set features five game ideas that introduce and teach shapes and objects with unique tactile game play. Little pirates will be ready for games like "The Sneaky Seeker", "The Blindfold Grab", matching games, and more. For a traditional favorite, flip the game board over and play a classic game of Checkers. Clean up is easy as the 18"x18" game board has a Velcro pocket for storage and play. The gameboard is also a great map for role play adventures. BeginAgain uses plant-based and recycled materials whenever possible. The treasure map game board is made from natural (unbleached, unprocessed) cotton and the 20 game cards and 20 matching game pieces are made from recycled paperboard and colored with water-based inks. The 24 treasure coins are made from natural rubber (from rubber tree).
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy Best Green Toys

2 Birdie Banks™ is a new activity kit in the ALEX Eco Crafts series. Kids can save their money and at the same time help to save the planet! This all-in-one environmentally-friendly craft kit lets kids create 2 bird-shaped banks out of recycled paper molds. It comes with 2 makeshift banks (fashioned from recycled paper) that kids can outfit with coin slots and lids before decorating them with colorful squares. Using the included sponge brush, kids can easily affix the paper tape with glaze and wait a while for their creation to dry. Launch date: 2012.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy Best Green Toys, 2012 Dr.Toy Best 20 for $20

Made from PlanToys new collection of PlanWood materials, the Pull-Along Snail is made using this new sustainable wood to delight children ages 1 and up. Encourage those beginning stages of walking with this adorable pull-toy. Pull the snail along and the snail body inches forward in a rolling motion. Created to maximize the usage of reclaimed rubber trees, PlanWood uniquely provides an even safer, higher quality and more affordable product, while maintaining the eco-minded excellence and unforgettable design consumers have come to expect from the PlanToys brand. "The product is beyond green, made from the sawdust of the reclaimed rubberwood trees we use for all PlanToys products," Ashley Cao, Marketing & Sales rep for PlanToys, told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 2012.

The Yoga Motion Bundle contains a Yoga Motion DVD, a Shining Star stainless steel water bottle, and an apple green child-sized yoga mat. Yoga Motion engages children in active play, while they exercise their bodies and expand their imaginations. The DVD contains 10 chapters, each is a complete 3-4 minute yoga routine. Children can play Yoga Motion from beginning to end as a long yoga workout, or mix-and-match chapters for a unique yoga experience. Product designs are clean and modern. Launch date: October 2011.
Awards: 2012 Parents Choice Award

This Horton is special, and he's made with care. He helps save the planet from too much wear and tear. Our Horton's made from cotton, one of nature's great joys, and he's sure to become your child's favorite toy! This Horton is made from cotton that is untreated, unprocessed, and unbleached, and colored with miYim's all-natural PureWaterWashTM process, giving this classic character a new twist and making him a safe, non-toxic alternative.  Horton's gone green.

The Salt Water Fuel Cell Giant Arachnoid Kit gives children a chance to learn about new forms of clean energy, while building and powering their very own toy: Feed it saltwater and watch it scurry away...After activating the fuel cell module with a saltwater mixture, the magnesium metal sheet (3 sheets included) can operate the Spider for about 5-7 hours continuously. Because of these life-like similarities, the user may want to stop this insectoid. It is easy, simply take out the fuel cell module and rinse with tap water and dry.

The Salt Water Fuel Cell Monster Truck Kit is equipped with four-wheel drive mechanical construction. It easily handles different types of terrain by its twisted car body design. It has two transformable engine blocks: V engine or flat engine. The transparent case design allows children to see the rhythm of the piston in vertical or horizontal position. Each monster wheel can change its angle individually and the truck can change its height and shape. Forward and reverse...no problem; simply switch the "positive and negative" connectors. The Salt Water Fuel Cell Monster Truck gives children a chance to learn about new forms of clean energy, while building and powering their very own kit: Just add saltwater. After activating the fuel cell module with a saltwater mixture, the magnesium metal sheet (3 sheets included) can operate the car for about 5-7 hours continuously. To park the vehicle, simply take out the fuel cell module and rinse with tap water and dry.

A complete art kit for families on the go. This natural cotton carry case with built in crayon holster, pencil holders and pockets is fully equipped with a 6"x9" recycled paper notepad, 10 soy crayons, 5 drawing stencils including a 6" ruler (metric and inches), 2 wood pencils, and plenty of storage! Perfect  for restaurants when waiting for your food, airports, and road trips. This 8"x10"carry case fits in a baby bag and has built in handles for the little ones to carry proudly. Made from Plants - primarily natural cotton, soy, paper.

These cute pretend fruits are made of polar fleece, and come in a sturdy pine box. Includes a tomato, banana, grapes, strawberry, orange, and a lemon. Anatina paint is NON TOXIC, the wood is FSC CERTIFIED, and the fabric is RECYCLED.

Brand new in the Green Start series, made from 98% post consumer recycled materials and printed with eco friendly inks, this extension brings earth-friendly messages and all natural materials to the joy of creating beautiful floor puzzles. Packaged in a reusable totebox, each of these floor puzzles reveals a unique, endearing scene that kids will love to build. A bright and bold shape parade contains seven basic shape pieces with fun patterned designs. Pieces are self-correcting and can fit only into one spot. Names of shapes are printed under each piece. Launch date: April 2012.

Brand new Earth-friendly green start chunky wooden puzzles are made with wood from sustainable forests and packaged in a reusable carry-along storage case. Created with the help of child-development experts, these puzzles have chunky, raised pieces to support basic grasping skills, combined with slight gradations of cognitive challenge. A fun double-decker bus contains six square windows of the same size and shape that can fit into any of the spots but need to be rotated so the animals face right side up. Border of each piece matches color inside well. Launch date: April 2012.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval
— In a February 2013 survey, two out of 11 retailers told TDmonthly that puzzles were their best selling wooden toy.