The theme this month is Organic Baby Toys. Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!

In This Issue:

• Organic Baby Business of the Month: Pastel Toys
  
  
• Product Review: Plan Toys
  
  
• Bonus Review: Two Toy Shopping Resources
  
  
• Exclusive Coupon for Your Holiday Toy Shopping
  
  
• Organic Baby Contest Corner

Organic Baby Business of The Month

I searched the net for toy companies that give a generous amount of their proceeds to charity and couldn't find many that were more intertwined with good causes than Pastel Toys, a line of classic wooden toys that helps to sustain, Kishorit, the non-profit, non-denominational community for developmentally disabled adults in Galilee, Israel.

Kishorit: A Community of Special People

Kishorit, founded in 1994, is home to approximately 120 developmentally disabled adults who live and work in a village designed to reduce their financial dependence on their parents and the government while enhancing their social and personal lives.

As it turns out, Kishorit sustains it self financially by giving it's residents work on several profitable projects such as an organic vegetable garden, a goat shed, a dog kennel, a therapeutic horse ranch, organic free range eggs, a media department and making Patel Toys.

If that sounds like a lot of work to you, it's by design. Kishorit's philosophy is that work can heal us, free our brains from burdensome pain, give us a feeling of belonging, make us feel needed and useful and among other things give us a sense of purpose.

Kishorit explains the need for variety in the projects by saying, "In order to facilitate all these [outcomes] for the special needs population, we need to offer the residents choices from a broad variety of diverse centers of employment and offer the possibility of shifting from one to another with the members’ changing needs."

To fulfill this need, 10% of the residents actually leave the facility each day for employment.

Kishorit aims to prove that people with special needs can also work in a complex and difficult domain. They boast that their residents produce quality work that exceeds the expectations and limits placed on them by "regular" society.

Wooden Toys Created with Excellence

Kishorit says "the end result is a toy that exists as childhood scenery and as part of the developmental process amongst children 1-6 years of age around the world."

Nature is also top of mind when choosing the toy's materials. The calming pastel colors on the toys are made with lead-free, water-based paints. Also all of the toys meet the quality and safety standards of the Israeli Standard Institute.

Pastel toys can be found at many online retailers including organic baby boutique, Wild Dill.

To learn more about Kishorit and Pastel Toys visit their website.

Product Review of the Month: Plan Toys

The author of this month's organic baby product review is Ellen T from Orlando, Florida. She and her baby love the train set made by Plan Toys.

Plan is a manufacturer of wooden toys made from natural rubberwood. The dyes are water-based and made with non-formaldehyde glue. Read Ellen's review and my Plan Toys profile to learn more about these eco-friendly toys.

Did you know you can submit your own review to be featured in the newsletter and on the Organic Baby Resource website? Your reviews also make you eligible for some great prizes each month.

Bonus Review: Two Toy Shopping Resources

My favorites were my first kitchen set, Memory, Legos and the Light Brite machine. Since millions of pieces and high electric wattage don't go with a one-year old, I've had to turn to some other resources online to help with my toy search. Below is my review of two toy shopping resources, Ebeanstalk and Oompa.

Ebeanstalk.com (Rating: 4 out of 5 stars)

Ebeanstalk is a toy site that specializes in learning and educational toys for babies and children. Their teams of experts, made up of child development experts and parents, recommends toys for each developmental stage from newborn up to 7 years old.

Likes:

• This site, recognizes that children change every three months. As a result, they put each toy in a recommended gift series. For example if you like one toy that is ideal for a 12 month old, the site automatically recommends gifts that would be appropriate and build upon those same skill sets for a 15, 18 and 24 month old. They will even ship the gifts quarterly. Or you can of course get them all at once.

• Most of the toys on this site are unique and appear to encourage learning in a fun way.

• There are lots of options for babies under three.

Dislikes:

• If there is one thing this site is lacking it's detailed information about the safety and/or toxicity involved in creating the toys. In fact, there are not a lot of organic toys on this site, but if you take your knowledge of non-toxic toy brands, gained from Organic Baby Resource, then you can find sort by brand to find some unique gifts for each age and stage.

• Last Christmas, I shopped using this site and my advice is to keep the toy choices simple. I found myself trying to get a toy for every type of developmental skill for my then 6 month old. Not only did she have too many choices, but one year later, she is just now grasping the concepts of some of the toys. In some cases, it's because the toys are open-ended and will grow with her, but in other cases, the toys were just too advanced for her age.

• This leads me to my final point, don't try to buy too far ahead. If your child is 18 months, he or she may get more out of the toys recommended for a one year old, then the toys for a two year old. In other words, keep it simple in terms of quantity and complexity.

Toys that May Peak Your Interest:

• Shapes Walker by Plan Toys

• Natural Rocking Horse by Guidecraft

• Shape Sorting Cube by Melissa and Doug

• Wooden Cash Register by Haba

• My First Painting Set by Alex

Oompa (Rating:5 out of 5 stars)

Oompa has one of the largest selections of non-toxic, organic and European toys that I've found online. This site specializes in safe toys for children of all ages.

Likes:

• The presentation is bright and beautiful.

• The selection is wide ranging.

• They feature reviews to read before purchasing.

• The site is transparent about the materials of the toy and where it was manufactured.

• When applicable they feature video footage of the toys so that you can see how they sound or were manufactured.

• The description lists the developmental skills associated with each toy.

• They also have a loyalty rewards program that allows you to accumulate points towards savings.

• I haven't found anything I don't like about this site yet. It has just enough options to not be overwhelming to the health and eco-conscious parent.

• Drum by Plan Toys

• Pyramis Building Blocks by Haba

• Natural Friends Organic Ball by Sigikid

• Sea Squirties (for bathing) by Elegant Baby

• Joobles (knit companions) by Fair Indigo

10% off Organic Baby Merchandise

Jennifer, the owner, has created a special coupon code just for Organic Baby News subscribers. Simply enter the coupon code organic baby when you check out for 10% off your order. You can use it this month and/or save it for later, because the code does not expire. Enjoy your savings!

Contest Corner

Congratulations to Kathleen from Kutztown, PA. She is the winner of November's Giveaway, the $250 prize package from HappyBaby.

"I honestly love Happy Baby's products and my son eats the cereals everyday. I can't tell you how happy I am to have won this. It will really help us out, since we are on a tight budget now that I am not working and staying home with our son. You've really made my evening and my week!"

She was also excited enough to write about us on her blog, Katydid and Kid.

December's Giveaway

This month it may be your turn to win. We've partnered with Boon Inc. to offer a "Dine In Style" giveaway to one lucky baby.

Coming next month...

We are planning a Name the Newsletter Contest. Yes, Organic Baby Resource, wants to jazz up the name of this newsletter and would love to have your input. So get your ideas ready, the details will be coming soon.

If you received this from a friend and want to subscribe, please visit this page.

Finally, let me know what you'd like to read about in this newsletter. I'm happy to answer some of your burning questions and share some of the tips I receive from you.

Until the next time,

Erika
Organic Mom and Publisher
http://www.organic-baby-resource.com