Wheelchair Accessible Playhouse from Little Tikes

What do you get when you combine a traditional playhouse with the concept of a wheelchair accessible design? The Endless Adventures® Patio Playhouse from Little Tikes, a truly unique and innovative playhouse that just about any child would be thrilled and able to play in! This large playhouse has one wall that is hinged and swings open to create a wide, flat entryway that provides room for a wheelchair to pass. The open wall also doubles the play area and creates an outdoor patio that is comfortable for both wheelchair-bound users and their friends. This playhouse has lots of interior features too, such as a pretend stove, sink and storage cabinet, which allow children of all abilities to enhance their exploratory and creative play.

For a limited time, you can purchase the Patio Playhouse from www.littletikeschildcare.com for just $299.99, a savings of $50.00!  But hurry, this price is only valid until May 21st, 2008!  Sorry, offer not valid on previous purchases. 

Click here to see all of our special offers.

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month

Health experts recommend that children get at least 60 minutes each day of physical activity.  They need to run, climb, jump and get up and move around, away from their desks, the television and computer games.  Today, about one in every four school-aged children are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight.  It is extremely important to encourage children to adopt good physical activity behaviors that promote a healthy lifestyle. Regular physical activity can have beneficial effects on the following aspects of health for children:

• Weight
• Muscular strength
• Cardiorespiratory (aerobic) fitness
• Bone mass (through weight-bearing physical activities)
• Blood pressure (for hypertensive youth)
• Anxiety and stress
• Self-esteem

Tips For Childcare Providers and Parents

As a caregiver for children, you have an important role in shaping a child’s physical activity attitudes and behaviors. Here are some tips to encourage the children in your care to be more physically active.

• Set a positive example by making physical activity part of your daily routine such as designating time for walks or playing active games together.
• Offer positive reinforcement for the physical activities in which children participate.
• Make physical activity fun. Fun activities can be anything the child enjoys, either structured or non-structured. They may range from team sports, individual sports, and/or recreational activities such as walking, running, skating, bicycling, swimming, playground activities, and free-time play.
• Ensure that the activity is age appropriate and, to ensure safety, provide protective equipment such as helmets, wrist pads, and knee pads.
• Limit the time children watch television or play video games. Instead, encourage children to find fun activities to do with friends or family members or on their own that simply involve more activity (walking, playing chase, dancing).

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Now that you have all of this knowledge surrounding children’s health and the role that physical activity plays in that, it’s time to find some tools to help get those children up out of their seats and running around! Who ever said that physical activity is all work and no play must not have had any Little Tikes toys! Below are our top 3 recommended toys for encouraging physical activity. But don’t worry if none of these 3 meet your needs, we have many more toys available online at www.littletikeschildcare.com to meet your physical fitness needs.

Sports Variety Pack

Children will jump out of their seats to get outside and play with these easy-to-use sports sets!  With this great sports variety pack you will encourage children to exercise and learn about sports through individual and group play!  And this package offers something for everyone; basketball, bowling, and soccer!  And even you can be a winner when you purchase this sports package because it features fun savings of $60.00!

Sports Variety Pack Includes two each:

• Adjust ‘n Jam™ Basketball Set
• TotSports™ Bowling Set
• Easy Score Soccer Set

 

• 

Slam ‘n Slide

Bring the fun of a water park to your very own play yard with this huge inflatable water playground!  Children will get lots of exercise as they climb up to the top of slide where they’ll be sprayed with water from overhead and then slide down the giant 12 foot slide into the splash pool at the bottom.  But the fun doesn’t stop there; children will also enjoy the basketball hoop in the large splash pool for added enjoyment. And the best part is that they will want to do this again and again and again! 

Ultimate Beach Ball™ Sprinkler

Nothing gets children moving like an Ultimate Beach Ball™ Sprinkler from Little Tikes!  This has been the top selling product for 3 years running!  With just a splash of cool water and a sprinkle of laughter, children will be running around this sprinkler for hours of wild water play!  This Ultimate Beach Ball™ Sprinkler inflates in minutes. All you have to do is hook it up to the hose and watch the fun begin. Water sprays out of 4 different places and there is a water pouch in the bottom of the sprinkler that you can fill up to make the sprinkler more stationary or leave it empty so children can kick the ball all over the playground!  Ultimate Beach Ball™ Sprinkler is 88″ in circumference.

 

Fun with Play Dough

Young children just love to play with play dough! It is not only fun to squeeze, squish, and mold, but it also helps in supporting children’s fine motor development, hand strength, and dexterity. This moldable dough can keep children occupied for hours while learning colors, shapes, patterns, and letters. According to Scholastic Parent & Child, recent research also shows that using your fingers and hands actually stimulates your brain and increases the number of neural connections it makes.

What you can do with dough:

• Changing colors- Mix different combinations of colored play dough to make new colors. Try primary colors first such as red and blue make purple; red and yellow make orange. Then go crazy and mix all different colors together and see what you can come up with. The children will love their crazy colored dough while learning what different colors make when mixed together.
• Make a Snake- Show the children in your care how to roll sections of dough on a table to make long “snakes”. Press two holes at one end for eyes and bend the snake into a squiggly shape. When they’re dry have the children paint them and give them as a gift. Try our Little Tikes Endless Adventures® Easy Store Table for a large surface area to make your squiggly snakes! And our table is plastic, so it’s easy to clean up, too!

• Shapes and Patterns- Use the play dough to make simple shapes such as circles, triangles, and squares and have the children in your care tell you the name of each. Then you can use the shapes to make patterns such as triangle, circle, square, triangle, circle, square and so on.
• Letters and Numbers- Incorporate Little Tikes into your play time with our Foam Letters & Numbers. Have the children in your care spell out their names with these foam letters and numbers then put them on a large rolled out section of colorful play dough. Let it dry, and then send it home with them as a nice decoration for their rooms.

• Bake a Cake- Think outside the box a little with this one and try using the Little Tikes Perfect Sweetheart™ Bake Set for heart shaped pieces of dough. The children will love using their imagination while “baking” a heart shaped cake to take home as a great Mother’s Day gift.

Now that you have all of these wonderful ideas of activities you can do with play dough, here is a simple “recipe” that you can use to make your own play dough. All you need is a few simple ingredients and you are on your way to a whole day packed with fun!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of plain flour
• 4 cups of hot water
• 2 cups salt
• 4 tbsp of cooking oil
• Food coloring (optional) or Kool-Aid (use different flavors for different colors and aromas)
• 1 tablespoon cream of tartar (optional) for each cup of flour (this stops the dough cracking and makes it stretchy)

Steps:

1.  Gather the necessary ingredients and mix the dry ingredients together. 
2.  Add food coloring or Kool-Aid to the water. This optional step will create colored play dough.
3. Consider adding other fun ingredients to change the texture or appearance of the dough (such as dried coconut, or cocoa powder). You can also use peppermint or other oils to give the dough a different smell. Be careful that these enticing smells don’t tempt the child to eat it, though.
4. Mix all of the ingredients in a large pan and heat it over medium heat.
5. Stir constantly until the dough feels like stiff, smooth, mashed potatoes. At this point, take it off the stove. Once it has cooled enough, knead it until it is blended smoothly.
6. Store the dough in an airtight container, like a Ziploc® bag.

 

Save $100 on the Super Splash Water Park from Little Tikes!

As the weather warms up, there are more and more opportunities for you to take the children outside and have a fun afternoon of playing in the water.  What better way to play in the water than with your very own water park from Little Tikes?  The 16′ x 16′ x 12′ Super Splash Water Park has something for everyone!  With a large slide that is over 6 feet high and over 13 feet long, children will enjoy a super splashy ride down to the play area pool at the bottom.  When they’re not enjoying a ride down the slide, they can bounce on the obstacle course and hop on the turtle trampoline which helps children get the exercise they need to stay active. 

Stakes are provided to anchor the bouncer firmly in place, while a heavy-duty blower provides continuous airflow to keep the bouncer inflated.  The Super Splash Water Park comes complete with a repair kit and storage bag.

And you won’t want to wait one minute longer to purchase the Super Splash Water Park because it is now available for just $499.99!  That’s $100.00 off the retail price!  But hurry, this price is only valid until April 23rd, 2008.  Not valid on previous purchases.  Price is only available on www.littletikeschildcare.com or by calling 1-866-416-4217.

Click here to see all of our current specials.

Advance Notice of A Little Tikes “Buy One Get One Free” Promotion!

As devoted readers of this blog, I am pleased to give you all advanced notice of a special “Buy One Get One Free” Promotion that Little Tikes will be running on the Little Tikes Childcare website beginning on Thursday, April 10th, 2008! 

For a limited time only, when you purchase the Little Tikes Classic Pick-Up Truck on our childcare website, you will receive a FREE Electronic Sounds Gas Pumper, a $24.99 value!  With the weather warming up and sunny days inviting us all to go outside, what better way to encourage outdoor, active play, than with one of our Classic Ride-Ons with a Free Gas Pumper, too!

Our roomy, one-passenger Pick-Up Truck is the perfect ride for hard-working kids. It features a large flatbed with a drop-down tailgate, rugged “off-road” wheels, an open and close gas cap, and a steering wheel with a working horn. It also includes a 10-piece accessory set with a play construction helmet, tool caddy, tools and hardware.

As mentioned above, for a limited time only, when you purchase the Classic Pick-Up Truck you will receive a free Electronic Sounds Gas Pumper, the perfect accessory for this Ride-On. With three fuel buttons that emit 6 different sounds, a hose with nozzle for pretend “pumping” and a special cut-out credit card for swiping payment for your gas, this Gas Pumper rounds out the make-believe experience for busy little commuters. 

Offer only valid from April 10th, 2008 - April 16th, 2008 on purchases made at www.littletikeschildcare.com, or while supplies last. Offer not valid on previous purchases. 

Click here to check out all of our on-line specials!