Beyond Do-Re-Mi: Early Music Learning Sets Children Up for Lifelong Success

Do any of you baby boomers remember the childhood song “Sarasponda?” I easily recall the melody and nonsensical words to this very day. "Ret-set-set!" the boys would shout. At my Catholic grade school I clearly remember Sister Mary Somebody teaching it as a round to our class. The names of the nuns aren't so clear anymore, but the notes in my brain are as sharp as an F major chord!

Music lessons during grade school made a big impression on my young life. At home, neither of my parents was remotely musical. However, my dad wanted a piano in the house. At some level I think he sensed that music was important and I started piano lessons at a young age. Most every kid in my neighborhood took lessons in some type of band instrument. I really did want to play the flute, but the piano stood in the living room beckoning me to play it.

Music lessons are about much more than just sending a child off to a lesson with an instrument.

Flashback Fun: Classic Toys Remain Popular This Holiday Season

Tinker Toys is turning 100 years old!

Earlier this year when I attended Toy Fair 2013, classic toys garnered a lot of attention. Predictions were that traditional toys would be hot this holiday season. This seems to be holding true for Fundamentally Toys. Our focus is on specialty, educational toys offering interactive, hands-on fun that never grows old.

Many classic toys are certainly growing older, but their appeal is enduring and timeless. Tinkertoys is turning 100 years old soon! Lincoln Logs is 98. LEGO was born in 1949 and is now officially a senior, along with Scrabble. Barbie is getting ready to go through menopause. There's Silly Putty, Slinky, Play-doh, Crayola Crayons, Spirograph, Etch-A-Sketch, Erector Sets and many more classic toys that are still going strong. They have passed through my hands as a child, through my daughter's hands, and will likely go on through many more generations. Unlike me, they will get facelifts along the way to maintain their youthful appeal.

A Thanksgiving & Hanukkah Convergence Zone

As 2013 comes to a close, it brings us to the interesting phenomena of the first day of Hanukkah coinciding with Thanksgiving Day. I just want to stop for a minute, ponder within this convergence zone and appreciate this very rare event.

Thanksgiving Day can fall anywhere between November 22-28. About every seven years it falls on November 28 - the latest possible day it can be in November - which is the case this year. As most of us know, Hanukkah moves around from year to year on the Jewish calendar. It's a complicated calculation on a different calendar. As a result, Hanukkah has a wide latitude to fall anywhere from November 28 to December 27 in any given year.

To cut to the chase, the convergence of Thanksgiving Day with the first day of Hanukkah is, indeed, a very rare occurrence. I've read that this coincidence may never occur again or could possibly occur in 70,000 years. By then, I know for sure that I will be long retired from the toy business. Or I could keep returning as a toy store owner.

But until then, I continue to enjoy the ways we play for the holidays. I say "play", because the gift-giving emphasis of the month of December is most certainly focused on children. And children are most definitely focused on toys! But I say "we" because all ages enjoy toys in their many forms. 

Whether you're giving Hanukkah or Christmas gifts, or just prefer to celebrate in a secular way, think about choosing toys for children (or even adults) that educate, develop skill or inspire creativity. Let Fundamentally Toys help you this holiday season!

If you are giving Hanukkah gifts this year, the eight days of Hanukkah are celebrated from November 27 to December 6. Some parents give eight little gifts to their children; others give one big gift on the last day. Gelt (Yiddish for money) is traditionally given. A friend of mine gives chocolate gold coins to friends during Hanukkah as a fun and yummy way to celebrate this Jewish holiday.

St. Nicholas Day (December 6) is a fun little Catholic feast day that's a mini warm-up to Christmas for Christians. St. Nicholas was a fourth-century bishop who was particularly generous to children. My mom gave me and my sister St. Nicholas Day gifts when we were young. It was usually something small and useful, like a box of crayons or colored pencils, but I was always thrilled nonetheless.

After St. Nicholas Day, I would spend the rest of the month either thinking about what I so badly wanted for Christmas or trying to guess where my mom was hiding the presents. Ah! It was agony waiting for the ecstasy of Christmas morning -  only to be mitigated by helping my mom make holiday cookies.

As you head into this late November/early December holiday time of celebration, I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with gratitude and that your Hanukkah feels golden!

Good Times with Dick & Jane!

See Jane go. Run, Dick, run! Familiar words to any of you baby boomers? I clearly remember sitting in groups on little reading chairs in the front of my classroom, each student taking a turn to read from Dick and Jane primers. When my turn came, I aced the words and sped through expertly, eager to show my teacher how well I could read. Some kids stumbled haltingly as they read. I remember feeling impatient. Easy stuff, I thought!

It's only in looking back that I realize how lucky I was that I could read well at a young age. I have empathy now for kids who struggled back then. I remember thinking at the time that they should be able to do better. Slowness or learning disabilities back in my primary years were not addressed, let alone even recognized. Kids who read poorly would just get a low grade and probably felt bad about it. It took a toll.

I saw as the years progressed that poor reading skills for many of my classmates translated into poor performance in other subjects as well. That's because reading is the cornerstone of learning. If you can't read, you can't learn. Period. Everything in life hinges on being able to read and comprehend.

Because I caught on to reading at a very early age, I developed a love of going to the library and bringing home stacks of books to read - especially during the summer months. My lifelong love of books remains. Reading is still heaven to me.

With that childhood slice of heaven in mind, I opened Fundamentally Toys with a strong commitment to stocking a great selection of children's books. It is one of the store's biggest draws for customers. We even created a cozy section with a big comfy chair and quiet space to browse.

During the week of November 11 - 15, 2013, Fundamentally Toys will be celebrating National Young Readers Week. This annual event  was founded in 1989 by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Many schools and bookstores host events with local celebrities who come and read favorite children's books. These events help kids realize it's cool to read!

Fundamentally Toys will be hosting daily story readings during National Young Readers Week, culminating on Friday, November 15, with a special appearance by Houston Texan left guard Wade Smith. The popular Pro-Bowler has a passion for instilling a love of reading and encouraging youth to make the most of learning.

Smith will be on hand for a reception, reading and fundraiser for The Wade Smith Foundation. The foundation's mission is "to facilitate the growth of today’s youth by providing them with the necessary tools to improve their overall development as young adults."

In support of The Wade Smith Foundation, Fundamentally Toys will donate 25 percent of all book sales during the weekend of November 15 - 17. It's a perfect time to put books on your holiday shopping list and it will be good to know that a portion of your purchase is contributing to a very worthy nonprofit that serves Houston children in an important way.

Fun at Hand: The Art and Magic of Puppets

Since ancient times, puppets have been used for theater, storytelling, celebrations and entertainment around the world. Monarchies and churches of long ago often used puppets to communicate to illiterate villagers and teach morals or lessons. Puppetry is not only a long-surviving form of artistic expression and entertainment, but it also continues to thrive in the theater, on television and in everyday play.

If you're an early baby boomer, you'll recall Howdy Doody, a marionette puppet that worked with Buffalo Bob on TV. Or you'll remember Sheri Lewis and Lambchops, a cute, cuddly hand puppet on The Ed Sullivan Show during the 1960s. Many people naturally think of Jim Henson and the Muppets who appeared in Sesame Street in 1969 with the comedic antics of Ernie, Bert, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. On a bigger scale, the hit musical The Lion King brought astonishingly giant puppets to the Broadway stage in a truly spectacular way.

Watching a puppet show certainly is fun for children, but making a puppet from scratch or playing with a ready-made one offers more than just entertainment value. Working with puppets is an important form of pretend play that is imaginative and open-ended. Children are free to create, speak and learn many important skills. Playing with puppets and putting on puppet shows helps children:

• Express themselves with character and personality
• Create and tell stories or act out plays
• Develop speaking skills and confidence
• Improve vocabularies
• Listen and respond logically
• Collaborate and interact as a group

I vividly remember making a puppet from scratch in kindergarten. We crafted a plaster of paris head and set it aside for a day. I thought it would never dry! I painted a face on it and glued some material inside the head to cover my hand. It was a fun childhood memory I have always treasured.

Today, there are many easier ways to make your own hand puppet and a larger variety of materials available. And there are plenty of great ideas to be found online. Look around the house for simple materials such as an old sock, fabric, paper bags and cardboard. Make a run to a fabric store or thrift shop for felt and decorations. Right before your eyes, you'll see a character take shape in your hand. Before long, the kids will be ready to hide behind the couch with some magic at hand and create a puppet show!

Or stop by Fundamentally Toys during our Anniversary Celebration and purchase a ready-made puppet at 18% off. We have cute, cuddly creatures and characters - and fun finger puppets too! RSVP for our marionette puppet show on Friday, October 18, 2013, at 7:00 p.m.(CT). Houston master puppeteer Jean Kuecher presents Rumpelstiltskin with beautifully handcrafted marionettes, lights, scenery and music.

Go Mad With Science: Mix Up Some Kitchen Science Magic

Go Mad With Science: Mix Up Some Kitchen Science Fun

When I was about eight years old, I found a science article in a newspaper describing how to grow coal crystals. The picture looked so fascinating to me. I remember becoming completely obsessed with growing my own crystals. I needed salt, ammonia, laundry bluing and a piece of coal. I knew my mom had salt and food coloring in the cupboard and ammonia under the kitchen sink. I had no idea what bluing was, but I pestered her relentlessly to buy some for me. It felt like an eternity before she was able to go to the store, but one day she finally got it.

Once I had the bluing, I was set to go. I had already found a piece of "coal" in the street. It really was just a black rock, but at the time I was sure it was coal. I eagerly mixed up the magic crystal potion, poured the solution into one of my dad's ashtrays (sad, but true) and placed the piece of coal in the middle of it.Then I waited and waited rather impatiently. It took a couple of days, but I finally began to see amazing, icy white mountains forming on the rock.They grew bigger quickly and I topped them off with dots of food coloring. They looked magically beautiful. How did that happen? It seemed like a miracle to me at that tender young age.

Growing coal crystals was one of the many kitchen science experiments I performed as a child. And as you can probably tell, it certainly was one of my most memorable ones. As my daughter grew up, I watched her face glow with the same fascination and wonder that I experienced as she did some of the same experiments at home with me and her dad.

I believe these kinds of kitchen experiments with simple, safe ingredients from the cupboard (and adult supervision, of course) are essential to learning and development. While kids have fun watching concoctions grow, bubble or change shape, there are solid chemistry rules and scientific principles being taught and demonstrated at the same time.

Hands-on science experiments at home with kids go beyond just presenting facts to them in a class. Kids can interactively witness outcomes firsthand. They come to understand how science is part of daily life. It's good, educational family fun, too. And these experiences may spark curiosity and interest in a science career.

So throw open the kitchen cupboards. Get out the measuring cups, spoons and bowls. Choose your ingredients. Expect a mess at times. And watch with wonder every time.

Want some cool recipes for home science fun with your kids? Check out Buzzfeed.com's "24 Kids' Science Experiments That Adults Can Enjoy, Too!" Their crystal geodes look pretty neat. I might have to try making them myself. And join us at Fundamentally Toys on Friday, September 20, 2013, 7:00 p.m (CT) for Mad Science with Magnificent Meg's fun and interactive show,"Fire & Ice." Watch Meg in this video on KUOW Houston.

Smart Fun: Toys That Teach

Having fun is one of the smartest things we'll ever do in our lives. Play paves the way for kids to learn, build, create and imagine – skills we'll use throughout all of our adult years. As a parent, it's important to not only make time in our children's schedules for play, but to take time as well to share games and toys with them. Make it a family affair!

Toys promote physical, emotional, social, creative and intellectual development. Playing with toys helps kids make sense of the world, understand how things work and communicate and interact with other people.

From the first shake of a rattle to a complex chess move, toys and games are important at every age and stage of childhood development. Every toy is fun and holds the possibility of teaching something big or small. However, it is important to choose toys that maximize learning while having fun. Consider your child's interests and abilities and pick toys that will encourage and bring out different aspects of his or her development.

Here are popular categories of games and toys and just some of their many benefits:

Board and card games in a variety of levels teach cooperation, social interaction and logical thinking. They also develop memory, attention to detail, reasoning and problem-solving skills.

Art materials offer open-ended, creative play with things such as paints, crayons, clay, paper, colored pencils, beads and many everyday household items.

Construction and building toys contribute to understanding shapes, space, dimensions and cause and effect. And they aid with development of fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Puzzles and puzzle games stretch the mind with abstract thinking, color and shape matching, problem solving and sequencing.  A finished or solved puzzle provides a sense of accomplishment.

Physical play toys such as balls, scooters, bikes, balance boards and flying disks improve gross motor skills, balance, coordination and strength.

Pretend play sparks the imagination and develops storytelling and acting skills with puppets, dolls, figures, vehicles, stuffed animals and dress-up clothes.

Children's books foster a love of reading and shape language, vocabulary and comprehension skills. Reading with or to a child is a time for quiet and bonding with parents.

I could go on and on, of course, about toys and their benefits. But see for yourself. Visit FUNdamentally Toys and peruse our large selection of specialty and educational toys. It's one of the smartest things you can do for yourself and your child!