What's New at PlayFair Toys in Boulder, CO, March 11 2008

We continue to restock your favorite toys, games, books, etc. Here's what's come in the door since my last update on February 15:

Lots of Arts and Crafts kits and art supplies including:

• Make Your Own Pinata Kits, which are featured in our Spring Flyer (hitting Boulder mailboxes any day now)
• New Wire Art kits that are both thematic and large and general including horses, bracelets, sculpture, creatures, and more
• Make a Plates are back in and make a great project for Easter
• Old favorites are back including Monster Trucks Custom Shop, Ancient Egypt Mummies, Make Your Own Fleece Pillow
• Wee Enchanted Fairy Garden is a great choice for Spring! Other good spring projects include the EZ Build Birdhouse and EZ Build Biplane

If you're getting ready for Spring Break, the little Dover Activity Books for only $1.50 are great to bring along. Get a handful of them so there's always something new when you need it. We also have Audio Books that are great for travel.

Legos are back in! We are so happy to see those shelves full again. There are new sets for 2008 a well as old favorites in the area of Lego City, Star Wars, and racers, our customer's favorites. We also have many new and returning Gears! Gears! Gears! sets by Learning Resources.

Magz toys and Magna-Tiles, plus Quadrilla is back.

New and old dolls by Corolle, and finally your favorite Ryan's Room dollhouse furniture!

There is a new spring Calico Critters playset - Spotty and Stella's Swimming Adventure. (And a sneak warning - there will be a new Calico Critters Manor House available in 4th quarter 2008 only - preorders will be taken until we have no more stock)

New Groovy Girls are in, including the bubblegum princesses, and some new supersize Groovy Girls dolls.

At your request, we have a small but nice selection of Polly Pockets.
Only Hearts Club dolls, horses, and stables are in with many new pieces, outfits, and now pets!

Woodkins are in- all styles.

Your favorite Zoobies are in. New styles are coming before summer.

Puppets puppets puppets puppets! Folkmanis has just introduced new Gift Box puppets, a kitten and puppy for that special occasion. Also they have expanded their line of Stage Puppets following their popularity last year. While the standard Folkmanis puppets are more like stuffed animals, the stage puppets are just a head and are perfect for putting on a show.

And how convenient that Puppet Theaters are also in!

For puzzlers, be sure to ask about Puzzibits, a way to make 3-dimensional creations from hexagonal plastic pieces - hard to describe but plenty of fun.

As always, we have new puzzles daily, everything from wooden peg puzzles to 5000 piece jigsaws for the most avid adult puzzle lovers.

Plasmacars! Also every single Kettler tricycle and bicycle is now in stock, fabulous springtime gifts. The face of your preschooler or toddler on a tricycle is a memory you will cherish forever. We also have Kettler scooters in both a beginning and more advanced style.


One of my personal favorites, the Schleich Animal Nursery, is back in, along with all the accessories to create a realistic African Kraal playspace. These play sets are not only unusual but also incredibly authentic and detailed. They would be great for a classroom activity on Africa, but they are designed as toys and have loads of play value.

WOW - Science Kits, Science Models - so much to see! Brand new Heart and Brain models by Learning Resources - incredibly detailed models help simulate dissection of a human brain and heart. Also we now have the Visible Woman and Visible Man models that you have been asking for. Our science kits have been restocked with kits from Scientific Explorer, most under $20 and perfect especially for young kids (they go as young as 4), Young Scientists Club (perfect for homeschoolers, the entire series is back in stock).
You asked for them - you got them - Lab Coats for kids! Coming soon, imprinted with Professor PlayFair, just like our staff wears!

The weather is changing fast, and we have plenty to do outdoors. Kites, jump ropes, juggling sticks, hopscotch, frisbee golf, and more.

New in our gift area are Anamalz, handcrafted wooden animal figurines, each one unique. Must be seen and touched to be appreciated.

Many continuing and new Train Sets from Learning Curve, as well as the popular and well-priced train and activity table by Melissa and Doug.

Darda Car Sets - basics are in, plus new Glow in the Dark and super looping sets.

Keep checking back here to see what's new. Call the Boulder store at 303-444-7502 or visit the PlayFair Toys website. Not everything mentioned here is immediately available for sale through the website. And don't forget to keep up with that crazy Professor PlayFair - she's always got suggestions for science, play, and just plenty to think about!

Thank you for making us a part of your lives for the 26th straight year!

Nov 10: Schleich Animal Nursery in spot 44

Schleich Animal Figurines now have their very own nursery. You can play Wild Kingdom right in your living room.

See the Schleich Animal Nursery at PlayFair Toys

Nov 9: Bananagrams anagram madness!

Bananagram ma'am! I love the name, I love the cute banana packaging, but mostly I love the game. Take a bunch of letters from the bunch. Start laying them out to make words. Rearrange as you wish. When you have no letters left, grab another from the pile ("peel"), forcing everyone else to also take another. Sounds like Scrabble but it's not. Bananagrams is much faster-paced and can get a bit wild (you could get together with a group of friends to play and call yourselves "The Wild Bunch"). Trust me - it's great fun.

Buy Bananagrams at PlayFair Toys

Nov 8: Keva Planks named to spot #46 in PlayFair Top Toys of 2007

Simple, yet with astounding possibilities. Keva Planks are about 1/4 inch thick, 3/4 inch wide and 4 1/2 inches long.

You stack them. That's it.

That's it?! Well, if you think that the ability to build a 51+' tower is ordinary, then you won't like this amazing toy. Keva Planks are made of maple, and they make astoundingly stable structures. A rare toy that appeals literally to every age, from about 4 years old up.

Buy Keva Planks now at PlayFair Toys

High IQ Kids, Free Spirit Publishing, October 2007

High IQ Kids Collected Insights, Information, and Personal Stories from the Experts Edited by Kiesa Kay, Deborah Robson, and Judy Fort Brenneman

Profoundly gifted kids often get the least help in school. It’s assumed they’re smart enough to succeed on their own, plus teachers (and parents) feel out of their depth with these unique kids. A blend of personal stories and practical strategies, scholarly articles and entertaining essays from a community of voices—parents, educators, authors, researchers, and other experts—this book addresses the joys and challenges of raising and teaching, living with and understanding exceptionally gifted kids of all ages. Recommended for any adult who wants to know more (and may be desperate to know more) about high-IQ kids and how to support them, advocate for them, and meet their social, emotional, and learning needs. Contributors include Karen Rogers, Ph.D., Carolyn Kottmeyer, Sally Reis, Ph.D., Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Ed.D., Miraca U. M. Gross, Ph.D., and many more.
384 pages, softcover, 7" x 9", for parents, teachers, gifted coordinators, and guidance counselors, ISBN 1-57542-261-1, $19.95

Authors of High IQ Kids, Free Spirit Publishing, to sign at PlayFair Toys

Contact: Marilyn Walker FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tel: 303-440-7229Email: boulder@playfairtoys.com

PLAYFAIR TOYS HOSTS AUTHOR SIGNING OF HIGH IQ KIDS
It’s Smart to Have Fun – It’s Fun to be Smart Event

Boulder, CO – 15 Nov 2007 – Deborah Robson and Judy Fort Brenneman, co-authors (along with Kiesa Kaye) of High IQ Kids (Free Spirit Publishing, Oct 2007) will be reading from and signing copies of the book at PlayFair Toys, on November 23, 2007, from 5-6:30 PM. Both Ms. Robson and Ms. Brenneman are parents of the profoundly gifted children described within the books pages. Dr. Marilyn Walker, owner of PlayFair Toys, also contributed a chapter to the book. Other contributing authors include Dr. Linda Silverman, director of Denver’s Gifted Development Center and the nation’s leading expert on gifted children.

According to the publisher, “Profoundly gifted kids often get the least help in school. It’s assumed they’re smart enough to succeed on their own, plus teachers (and parents) feel out of their depth with these unique kids. A blend of personal stories and practical strategies, scholarly articles and entertaining essays from a community of voices—parents, educators, authors, researchers, and other experts—this book addresses the joys and challenges of raising and teaching, living with and understanding exceptionally gifted kids of all ages. Recommended for any adult who wants to know more (and may be desperate to know more) about high-IQ kids and how to support them, advocate for them, and meet their social, emotional, and learning needs.”

PlayFair has always been a different sort of toy and book store. It was started as a social experiment on gender bias in toys, and it was the nation’s first toy store that focused exclusively on gender-neutral, nonviolent toys. “We have always focused on customers looking for particular help with their toy buying – whether it was for special needs children, smart children, homeschool families, or just those wanting ‘something different’. This book signing kicks off our “It’s Smart to Have Fun – It’s Fun to Be Smart!” event. This event will focus on the educational and developmental benefits of play for all kids,” says Marilyn Walker, PlayFair Toys’ owner. “We are introducing our new mascot, Professor PlayFair, who’s a smart person who loves to have fun.”

The Front Range region of Colorado has been one of the nation’s focal points for the support of gifted kids for decades now. Having so many of the authors and contributors from this region highlights this. Ms. Robson and Ms. Brenneman will be available to answer questions from parents about the book and about their own experiences working with and raising gifted children. Copies of the book will be available for sale before, during, and after the event.

###
For more information about this book signing, or to schedule an interview with Marilyn Walker, please call her at 720-261-5793, or email her boulder@playfairtoys.com.

Only 16 more days to save big on holiday shopping

PlayFair Toys' 2007 Early Buy Coupon expires at the end of November. Save a full 10% on all orders over $100 now through the end of November. Visit www.playfairtoys.com and enter code EB10 at checkout.