Dozy Dolphin is an interactive plush toy that plays fun sounds when your children want to play, and plays soothing sounds when they are ready to sleep. Made from hypoallergenic, eco-friendly bamboo fabric, Dozy Dolphin is the perfect bedtime companion for children of all ages.

[Cloud B Dozy Dolphin]

These space-age blocks grow with your baby’s motor skills. Wee ones can shake, rattle, and crinkle them, while keeping busy by building (and knocking down) their cool creations. They connect together too!

[Skip Hop Outer Space Attach-N-View Building Blocks]

When Carrie and Neil Wesseler became foster parents, they not only took care of their own foster child, but decided to start helping children all over the area.  At the training session for foster parents, the instructor told them to imagine a child watching TV when someone comes in and hands them a garbage bag, telling them to throw all their stuff in and get ready to go to foster care.

A foster child is already scared and alone, and throwing their stuff into a garbage bag was too much for Carrie.  The instructor told her they had no choice, that garbage bags were all they had to use.  Most of the children didn’t have many possessions anyway.

Carrie decided to do something about the bags, and started asking for donations for duffle bags.  She donated them so that at least some children would have something better to use.  Once she began the donations, she decided to set up a booth at a festival to try to get more.  To draw people to the booth, Carrie melted down crayons and poured them into molds, making fun shaped crayons which she sold for 25 cents.

The response was overwhelming, and the crayons sold out quickly.  Carrie made more.  And more.  Now she raises enough money from her crayons that she can get duffle bags in bulk for the foster children.  She started out donating to one county in Indiana where she lives.  Now she is supplying bags to counties all over Indiana.

Carrie also has started making up school bags for foster children, since she found out many of them start out with nothing.  She fills backpacks with school supplies and gives them out to the needy kids.

Not only has Carrie brought happiness to foster children around Indiana, but she has brought joy to the kids who get to use her fun crayons.  She is using a cute and creative idea to benefit others, and that is something that we need more of every day.  It’s simple things like this that change people’s lives.  No one ever thinks about those garbage bags, but these children will be affected by what she did for them forever.  When they look back on the day they were taken to their foster home, maybe they felt a little more at home right from the start because of Carrie’s work.

Carrie calls her work “Project T3,” which stands for “Totes for Tots and Teens.”  For more information on the project, go to the website at projectT3.org.  There you can also find out about the donations she needs for her duffle bags and bookbags and other ways you can help out with the project.

With his good-natured look and robust physical presence, Kay Bojesen’s elephant evokes immediate trust and becomes a true companion, all the way from the playpen to the next generation.

[Kay Bojesen for Rosendahl Elephant]

This Modern Play Shed is amazing. The playshed comes ready to paint or stain on the exterior, and finish on the interior with eithier the Coroplast Panels or the wall panel options they offer.

[Modern Play Shed]

Presidents’ Day, originally known as Washington’s Birthday, falls on the third Monday of February. This year Presidents’ Day falls on February 16, 2009. If you are looking for some amazing Kaboose has a great write up with kids activities, coloring pages, crafts, and historical facts.

[Presidents Day 2009 Kids Activities]

The KINDA Sutra, a hybrid doc short, explores the eternal question: Where do babies come from? A diverse collection of people, from kids to seniors, reveal  misconceptions about conception. Kama Sutra inspired animation brings these theories to life, highlighting the universal confusion about sex and what it actually takes to make one of us. The 8-minute film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

[Watch]
[The Kinda Sutra: Where Do Babies Come From?]

Preschool Prep Company was formed to research and develop tools that would help educate children in their early years. One two-month study and thousands of hours of research and development later, Preschool Prep Company brings to the market a line of products that help young children master letters, numbers, shapes and colors before they are even able to speak. You can view sample videos here.

[Preschool Prep Company]

Children’s first step in learning to tie their little shoe are made fun and easy with this brightly colored shoe. What a neat idea!

[Tie-Up Shoe by Plan Toys]