Have you heard of a Perplexus Maze Ball? Hudson can not put this toy down lately. Every morning, if he’s the first to wake up, it’s the very first thing he does. He reaches for it constantly throughout the day. I was asking Aron whether he could think of anything else that’s held his interest quite like this has and we agreed we could not.
He first borrowed the Rookie edition of the ball from a friend, and we’ve since bought him his own, the original Perplexus (pictured). It’s basically a 3D marble run: you shift, flip, and twist the sphere to guide the marble on 22 feet worth of track with a series of barriers. It does make some noise as the ball rolls around, but it’s pretty unobtrusive.
I thought I’d better pass it along as a recommendation for anyone in need of gift ideas for first or second graders. It has been amazing for us!
What toys have been total slamdunks in your home? For what age?
Hope it’s a great day for everyone! Will you be celebrating? What are your plans? We got home late last night from a fun weekend at Disneyland, so we’re still recovering, but we’re going to try and make dinner last for two rounds—one with the kids, and one just for us. The kids will no doubt come home with a bag full of candy, so I suspect that will be dessert. I put some photos of Skyler handing out her valentines on IG stories, and can’t wait to hear about Hudson’s day.
I think I’m going to stretch this holiday right into the long weekend, so wishing you well the rest of the week!
P.S. I took this photo during a story on pairing cheese with chocolate. It has some good match-ups, if you’re interested for tonight!
by Alli Brydon, a children’s book editor and writer based in the New York City, who has generously agreed to help us expand our childrens’-book libraries.
While Valentine’s Day is supposedly made for sweethearts, I think it’s really made for kids.
What other section of our population so freely expresses love? Who else wears their hearts on their sleeves so readily? I regularly get little sticky notes and selfie videos from my kids declaring their love and devotion. And that’s year-round. So, my kids are super excited to celebrate the “official” day of love and share little cards, candy, and anything heart-shaped with classmates, teachers, friends, and family. Naturally, I looked to the local library for books with the themes of hugs, kisses, security, love, and…monsters?
Here are four books to enjoy together this Valentine’s Day…
