Wooden You Know Closing

Sadly, we are closing our doors. December 1st (or a little after...depending on how much great stuff is left) will be our last day.

Thank you for all your support within the past 4 years. You will be truly missed. See you in the next adventure!

Matthew

New Lunch Boxes

New Lunch Boxes from Wooden You Know on Vimeo.

Parents breathing a sigh of relief over new toy safety law

MAPLEWOOD PARENTS CAN BREATHE SIGH OF RELIEF AT ADOPTION OF NEW NATIONAL TOY SAFETY STANDARDS AND
MONITORING SYSTEM

PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNS COMMON SENSE NEW TOY SAFETY LAW

Maplewood, NJ (August 18, 2008) New toy safety regulations will help Maplewood parents stop worrying about whether the toys they buy are safe, says Matthew Macdonald of Wooden You Know, Maplewood’s locally-owned neighborhood toy store. Last week President Bush signed into law a sweeping set of reliable new nation-wide toy safety standards designed to give shoppers the comfort of knowing that toys purchased anywhere in the United State are subject to rigorous safety requirements.

The new law puts teeth in the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s (CPSC) oversight of toy safety, giving the CPSC more authority over recalls, more funding, and more staff to monitor toy design and materials. It also mandates implementation of a certification program for manufacturing facilities (wherever in the world they are located) and increased mandatory testing of products for lead content and some other chemicals. Perhaps best of all for parents and others who buy toys, the stringent national standards will help avoid a confusing, inconsistent patchwork of state-by-state regulations that do little to reassure parents about gifts or toys in school that may come from states with low standards.

“As a local small business, we are committed to knowing what our customers care about, and certainly their children’s safety is at the very top of that list” says Matthew Macdonald, a member of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. Wooden You Know, which is owned and operated by Matthew Macdonald, specializes in high quality, developmentally appropriate toys that help children learn while playing and having fun.

“The great thing about the new law coming out of our nation's capitol,” continues Macdonald, “is that it takes a common sense, easy-to-understand approach: less lead, more testing, and better Consumer Products Safety Commission oversight. Simple. It aims to enforce the same high standards in all states, no matter where you buy the toy anywhere in the country. And that will go a long way in giving moms and dads and grandparents and other toy buyers what they need—toys they can trust.”

About Wooden You Know

Wooden You Know is a locally-owned and operated toy store that selects high quality merchandise with high play value and provides personalized customer service to help buyers find the toy that best fits a child’s interests and developmental level. For more information, visit Wooden You Know, 1881 Springfield Avenue, Maplewood website at www.woodenyouknowtoys.com.

About the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA)

With more than 1000 members, the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) is the largest association for companies in the toy and children’s products arenas. ASTRA and its member companies promote the growth of the toy industry by delivering products that serve children’s best interests. For more information, visit www.astratoy.org.

New Fairies by Papo

The new fairies came in the other day from Papo. As I was putting them out, they looked so menacing. I call this shot: Fairy Force

Starfish promo video

Stop Drop & Rock & Roll from Wooden You Know on Vimeo.

August 2008 Newsletter

All Work and No Play at School:
What Parents Can Do When Recess Disappears

Today’s kids know the drill. When the lazy days of summer give way to the new school year, daily routines change. It’s wake up now, eat a good breakfast, and get to school on time. It’s buckle down and pay attention to the serious business of learning. And it’s good-bye to leisurely indoor or outdoor play time.

What happens to play time when kids head back to school? For one thing, more and more children cannot count on getting a play break—otherwise known as recess—at school. According to the American Association for the Child’s Right to Play, approximately 40% of elementary schools do not include recess in the school day. Many factors have contributed to the decline of recess, including the increased focus on academic outcomes as measured by standardized testing; parents’ and school administrators’ concerns about safety on the playground; and the difficulty of supervising children who are not experienced in working out play conflicts on their own.

“As we see play time at school decline, it’s more and more important for parents and caregivers to find ways to help kids get a healthy dose of regular play at home,” says Matthew Macdonald, owner of Wooden You Know, a toy store in Maplewood, NJ that specializes in personalized service and offers a staff highly knowledgeable about the developmental benefits of play.

Macdonald recommends that parents provide a “balanced diet” of play—much in the same way they offer a range of healthy food choices—and include all these types of play in the home routine:

• Physical play that uses the body’s large muscles. More than ever, kids need active indoor and outdoor play. Not only does it help build strong muscles and develop coordination, it is central to fighting childhood obesity.
  

• Play that uses the hands. The hands are central to many forms of creative and functional expression: art, music, writing, typing, and more. Macdonald recommends that parents make time and space for messy or loud play—using paints, crayons, clay, homemade musical instruments and any other safe “toys” that encourage use of the hands and creativity.
  

• Play that promotes thinking and problem solving. Cooking projects, art and music, family story telling, regular parent-child reading sessions—this type of play is fun and has direct connection to the academic skills we want our kids to master, says Matthew Macdonald, because it helps children master language and arithmetic concepts and encourages them to figure things out.
  

• Play that uses the senses. Tasting, smelling, touching, hearing, seeing—play that uses the senses overlaps with most other forms of play. Not only is sensory play loads of fun, suggests Macdonald, it also encourages kids to explore their world at the most basic level—with their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin.
  

• Play that requires a healthy imagination. Who doesn’t have fond childhood memories of pretend play with friends or siblings, or even alone with imaginary pals? Making things up is a rich source of learning, creativity and problem solving, points out Macdonald. Imaginative play can be done anywhere, alone or with others, and doesn’t necessarily require toys or props.

• Play with friends. If a child doesn’t play, how can he learn the social skills he needs to be successful in school? How can she develop the skills she needs to take turns, work out problems, be patient, and share? This type of play is central to establishing the social and emotional capacity to navigate through a school day.

Parents can incorporate healthy play at home, but if it is so important for learning, why aren’t kids playing more at school? “Good question,” says Matthew Macdonald. “Certainly we’re sensitive to the challenges schools face as they struggle to meet all that is required from them. At the same time, we encourage anyone who cares about good outcomes for children to ask schools to commit to daily recess. It’s good for kids and it makes school more fun. Who wouldn’t want that?”

Mesmerizing Monkey Brain Trick

Magic Trick from Wooden You Know on Vimeo.