Embracing Screen Time with Osmo: A Balancing Act for Positive Learning

In today's digital age, the topic of screen time for children has been a subject of much debate among parents and educators. Concerns over excessive exposure to screens leading to potential negative impacts on development are valid, but what if we told you that screen time can be harnessed positively as a powerful educational tool?

Osmo - a cutting-edge learning device that seamlessly blends the digital world with hands-on play. By exploring the benefits of using Osmo as a learning device, we shed light on the notion that screen time is not entirely detrimental if utilized responsibly and with a purposeful approach.

Content:

| Osmo: The Bridge Between Physical and Digital Learning

| Benefits of playing with Osmo

| How to find the balance

| Conclusion

Osmo: The Bridge Between Physical and Digital Learning

Osmo takes a unique approach to learning by creating a bridge between the physical and digital worlds. The platform employs a base that attaches to a tablet's camera and reflects real-world objects onto the screen. This enables children to interact with the digital apps through tangible objects such as letter tiles, drawing tools, and number blocks. The combination of hands-on activities and digital interactivity enhances engagement, creativity, and critical thinking in a way that traditional screen time alone cannot achieve.

Benefits of Playing with Osmo

The Power of Purposeful Play

Educational experts have long stressed the importance of play-based learning in a child's development. Osmo's carefully curated apps embrace this philosophy by offering a wide range of interactive games and activities that target various educational domains. From fostering early math skills to promoting language development and problem-solving abilities, Osmo's purposeful play keeps children entertained while cultivating essential skills.

Learning with Parental Engagement

One of the remarkable aspects of Osmo is its potential to promote parent-child engagement in the learning process. Many Osmo activities encourage collaborative play, allowing parents to actively participate alongside their children. This not only strengthens the bond between parents and their young learners but also provides valuable opportunities for parents to guide, motivate, and support their children's learning journey.

Personalized Learning Experience

Every child is unique, and Osmo acknowledges this fact by offering a diverse range of apps suitable for various age groups and skill levels. The customizable nature of Osmo's learning experiences ensures that children can progress at their own pace, fostering a sense of accomplishment and boosting their confidence along the way.

Cultivating 21st-Century Skills

As we prepare our children for an increasingly digital world, it is essential to equip them with the skills required to thrive in the 21st century. Osmo's interactive platform promotes the development of skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and digital literacy - competencies that are highly valued in today's rapidly evolving society.

Finding the Balance

While Osmo offers a remarkable opportunity to leverage screen time for positive learning experiences, finding the right balance remains key. As with any form of technology, moderation is essential. It is crucial for parents and educators to set reasonable time limits for screen use, ensuring that children have ample opportunities for physical activity, social interactions, and imaginative play offline.

Conclusion

Osmo stands as a testament to the potential benefits of embracing screen time as a learning device. By seamlessly blending digital interactivity with hands-on play, Osmo provides children with a holistic and engaging educational experience. When used purposefully and in moderation, Osmo can undoubtedly play a transformative role in children's development, preparing them to thrive in an ever-evolving digital landscape while preserving the essence of creativity, exploration, and joy that comes with childhood learning.

What is STEM.org certification? Why do I need a STEM certification?

We are very honored to share with you the news that our subsidiary, Toy Brain has been around for about a year and a half since the establishment date. In the fourth quarter of 2020, we finally passed the international organization STEM.org certification, becoming the first and only one who get STEM education system certification in Taiwan, and the world's first professional platform dedicated for promoting STEM education, we are truly honored! After that, we will be able to do our best in STEM education for young children.

Toy Brain becomes Taiwan's first and only one who passed STEM.org education system certification

We believe that STEM education has a very important role on future children, that’s why we decided to promote STEM education in a more comprehensively. In addition to obtaining the STEM cross-disciplinary scientific certification of domestic successful universities through examinations, we should apply for STEM at an international official institution. Certification, on the one hand, challenge yourself to see that your hard work has paid off, and on the other hand, passing the international certification will make you more confident and proud that you are being responsible to consumers.

After two oral exams in full English and a long series of test papers to test our founder acknowledge about STEM, future business models, and the management level skills - no pain no gain, they said - Toy Brain finally get the honor of STEM.org certification. It means that Toy Brain is the first platform who is able to pass the international STEM certification in Taiwan. It is such a thrilling news for our BabyLux big family!

What is STEM.ORG certification?

STEM.org is a Detroit-based company founded by Andrew B. Raupp. Since 2001, STEM education has been promoted to the whole United States and then to the world. It has been more than 20 years and has been recognized by the U.S. Senate, mentoring and cooperating with more than 2,000 schools and with more than 100,000 students, it has strong credibility in the industry.

In order to strengthen and promote the credibility of STEM even more, STEM.org has carried out a badge certification campaign for People, Product and Program, and in 2022 they added Publishers as certification category. This certification cannot be purchased through payment to maintain and ensure the credibility of the certification.

This time, Toy Brain applied for the "Program" category with the platform content. After multiple layers of auditing standards, it was finally affirmed by the reviewers and certified by STEM.org. It is worth mentioning that, in order to ensure unchangeable, absolute fairness, the STEM.org certification data will even be synchronized to the blockchain, which means that for those who have officially obtained STEM.org certification, the qualification will exist forever within the time limit. become an established fact.

Let’s take a look at the STEM.org certification differences. There are three certifications in total: green, orange, and red, which are certified for different target groups.

Green is for people, the world’s original, digital STEM credential for people.

The first educator in Taiwan, Wang Xiangyu, to be awarded the STEM.org People category, is currently the founding chairman of the Asia Pacific STEM Education Association.

Mr. Leung Sicong, the director of Education and Exhibits Department of Macau Science Museum, he is the first person in Macau to obtain STEM.org Macau certification.

Orange is for products, our Newmero from Denmark has the orange trustmark.

Taiwan’s Eagle Lab also has the orange trustmark.

The red ones are STEM.org's trustmark for Programs, which accredits the entire education system, principles, and methods.

STEM.org Certification Standards

In order to get the eligible mark as in the picture above, the content of the website, the products, the quality of team members, and even the company's future vision, social responsibility, goals, and management direction and methods must meet the organization standards. Here are some general guidelines for reference:

1. Themes

STEM.org has multiple committee members evaluating whether the platform's content themes are closely related to the core value of STEM or not, including science, engineering, technology and math.

2. Bringing new literacy for the 21st century

Evaluating whether the content of the platform can help develop new literacy in the 21st century, such as creativity, independent thinking, and solving problems encountered in life.

3. Educational

Evaluating whether the assessment content helps parents and children understand STEM better, whether it provides practical teaching methods or practices, and many more.

4. Diversity

Evaluating whether the content of has diversity and can provide rich teaching resources.

5. STEM allign products

Evaluate whether the products recommended and sold on the website are different from other ordinary toys, and evaluating they are not only a toys but also a teaching tools with STEM educational values.

Why applying STEM.org certification?

After Toy Brain team has gotten in touch with many parents and kindergartens educators, we found that many of them has already know about educational toys or teaching toys from their daily life or work. But they didn’t have a deep understanding of STEM, they didn’t understand how to use them as teaching tools, and there is no way to know the safety of goods, or whether it has the value of STEM education.

Some even blindly listened to the sales, who did not guide the understanding of the STEM core values. They believed that buying a material package to assemble, buying a robot, and playing programming represented the complete STEM. For this reason, we established and launched a the system to pre-school, to reduce the problems that teachers and parents are facing, and of course we want to establish the correct way to promote STEM.

Why should you only trust a platform with certification?

1. Toy Brain has improved the review standards of all products on the shelves, we will help you check the toys with STEM value and even certification at the beginning, so that you can easily choose good toys that allow children to learn things on our platform.

2. We have passed the STEM.org international organization certification, to ensure that we are reliable and accurate while we speaking of the STEM value.

3. Toy Brain also expects ourselves to have the ability and responsibility to influence the big environment, from developing a small theme to influence our next generation, so that they are able to play openly, play correctly, learn while playing, and cultivate their abilities to solve problems in life.

At this stage, there are many people who want to take the trend of STEM. The original intention of creating the platform of Toy Brain was to give everyone a thorough and correct understanding about STEM. STEM education might give you an ‘unsure’ feeling, it seems that no one can see and explain what is STEM clearly, but in fact it is only because the lack of understanding. In order to solve this problem, we invited scholars with professional experience, or members of the Taiwan Toy Education Association, as well as many first-line kindergarten teachers with practical experience, who want to promote STEM education but feel that there is no suitable place to promote. We are here, ready to work with you together to complete this difficult task and build this STEM education ecosystem together.

After all, the road to promote STEM education is not easy, and it is even more difficult under the Asian style education system. Now our efforts are starting to be seen, and the most important thing is to rely on the support of parents and educators. STEM in Asia! Let us create together possibilities for new education method and new parent-child bonding time activities!

What is an open ended toys? 10 Types of open ended toys that best for children

There are many open ended toys on Instagram especially in Western countries. I heard that open ended toys are good for children, but I don’t really know what the benefits are. To put it simply, open ended play is to follow the children's intuition to make what they want, learn from mistakes, accumulate a sense of accomplishment, and develop into a more flexible future person.

As parents, what is even more worrying than guiding my children to play with open ended toys? Don't be afraid, in this article I will introduce to you what open ended toys are. What are the benefits of playing with open ended toys?

Content:

｜Opening

｜What is open ended play

｜Benefits of open ended toys

｜Open ended toys that best for children

If you come to an environment where there is no right or wrong and no standard, no one will correct you, no matter what you do or say. Would you be happy and feeling released? Or do you feel anxiously overwhelmed?

I think most adults will immediately question “Does it even exist?" More people tend to be overwhelmed, but it doesn't matter. This is the common feature of our growing up in a standard environment.

But do you know? Now children are still in a relatively standardized education environment, accepting guidance that does not meet the needs of the times, and only after they enter the society, they discover that the world is not what they imagined.

How to let the next generation have strong adaptability and professionalism is the most important topic for us, parents.

What is an open ended toys? 10 Types of open ended toys that best for children

What is an open ended toys?

If you want to understand open ended toy, you must first understand what is "a not open ended toy”? Let's call it standard toy. For example, in the Gundam parts set bought from the toy store, the child assembles the model by hand. In this process, do you think it is open or standard?

The view of early childhood educators is that it is good to do it by hand, but assembling with parts designed by others, this is a standard gameplay, which lacks integrated thinking and creativity.

Open game is a form of game with 90% children and 10% toys. In the process, children are the dominant players, toys are auxiliary materials, and the purpose of the game is ‘the process’.

Open play emphasizes the process. For example, we should focus on the process of building a simulated zoo, not just whether he builds a correct zoo.

The core spirit of open games coincides is STEM education.

To put it simply, open play is to follow the children's intuition to make what they want, learn from their mistakes, accumulate a sense of accomplishment, and develop into a more flexible future person.

The benefits of open ended play and toys

The characteristics of low structure and high construction of open toys give children opportunities to explore and grow. Therefore, foreign countries will also use "Invitation to Play" to describe it, which means "invite" children to take the initiative to play.

1. The opportunity to become a leader

Open ended game is a game without rules or at least children are the one who creating the rules. During the process, children have the opportunity to decide for themselves how to accomplish the goal. For example, if you want to build a castle, you have to think about what shape of material to use, what color to choose, and so on.

This is a good opportunity to cultivate children's independent judgment, so that they can deal with difficult problems more skillfully and make independent decisions when they grow up.

2. Opportunities to solve the problem

Take the above-mentioned castle as an example. What if the castle collapses in half? If you can't find a suitable part, what can be used instead? Or make one yourself?

3. Unlimited opportunities for creativity

What will the castle looks like is entirely up to the child to imagine, decide, and then create. Adults can guide him in the process, but he does not tell him "what the castle should look like", "the tree must be green" or "the roof must have an attic." First follow the child's expectations and intuition, although in the end he builds a hot air balloon, it is also the best result!

Types of open ended toys

What is an open ended toys?

Simply say, all toys that can be used for multiple times and multiple games can be called open toys.

Seeing this, you might still be confused. Let's start with the toys we can usually see!

1. Build blocks

Simple, good-textured wooden toys are classics of open ended toys. It is suitable for children to play alone or with others. Because it is simple enough and has no rules, it is very suitable for creativity.

Apart from geometric shapes, building blocks have no redundant design. Children can stack and piece together a block at will. This process is an open ended gameplay!

Read more: What is STEM.org certification? Why do I need a STEM certification?

2. Dolls/Puppets

Huh? Is there an open ended way to play dolls too? We generally think that dolls are "designed" toys, and there should be no room for flexible extension, but did you know? Dolls are also an indispensable element in open gameplay!

These dolls are the representatives of a villain in the hands of children. They can take them to play in the castle they built, or they can let the villain slide down from the pillows. The whole home is an amusement park!

When we tell stories, we use dolls or puppets as characters, which is more vivid. In the same way, when children develop games or extend their imagination, they will also need puppets to assist them!

3. Anything with neutral color

There are many kitchen utensils, tool boxes, doctor toys, etc. in the house, right? These don’t look like open gameplay, but they are not! Open ended toys do not lie in the toy itself, but pay more attention to how you play with it.

For example, children can let the dolls float on the water on the bowls or plates then start a little adventure, allowing the children to experience life and discover themselves without restriction, which is also one of the benefits of open ended play. Pay attention to not being restricted by gender when providing materials. It is best to choose neutral color, which reduces the chance of children's creativity being dominated by the meaning of color.

4. Pretend play and dress up

Dress up, props and costumes should be children’s essential toys. Girls may like princesses and mermaids, while boys like racers and Spider-Man. If your children like that, you can prepare more of these props and costumes at home. When the children's friends come over, they can also play together. They negotiate and plan on their own. Maybe a self-directed and self-acted stage play will be produced.

The colorful silk scarves like the ones you have seen are hot-selling children's products in the United States! Because silk scarves are soft and changeable, in addition to being used as clothing, children can be used as wings, tents, flags, etc., so foreign countries even create unique ways to play silk scarves. Isn’t it interesting?

5. Brushes, paints and cardboard

Art creation allows children to inspire creativity and beauty, and help children prepare art supplies. They can use recycled materials such as cartons, clay, and bottles to create.

Read more: Recommended bath toys

6. Toys that can generate rhythm and music

Music is another broad and imaginative world. We need to give children some small objects that allow them to enter and start exploring the world. Some are very simple or even self-made. For example, a pot and a spoon are good "metronomes". They can play more complicated ones when they grow up. Small drum kits, electronic organs, etc. are all very good toys.

7. Sports toys

Ball, skipping rope, frisbee, etc., which is also very beneficial. Not only can they exercise, but these simple sports toys are good items that inspire children to come up with a variety of ways to play.

You can also find that some kindergartens have large-scale wood, cement, old tires, etc. in the outdoor spaces. These items are used to inspire children to use their bodies to play a set of their own games!

8. Animal shape toys

The usage of animal shape toys is very similar to dolls. Whether it is farm animals, zoo animals or dinosaurs, children can enter a world full of imagination. A group of animals is a small society, and children will spend a lot of time studying the relationship, dialogue and struggle between them.

The animal shape toys itself has no redundant design, it is easy to combine with the building blocks or loose materials in the home, so it is also fun to make things together!

9. Construction toys

The most common construction toy is LEGO. This kind of toy is more difficult than wooden building blocks. There are different shapes of blocks and the combination of different blocks is also different. Children need to keep trying, designing, and even knocking out and restarting. Train the small muscles and mind.

10. Teaching tools and board games

Board games have fixed rules of the game, but children must think deeply about various strategies while observing the rules, so as to exercise their problem-solving skills.

Read more: Playing with Dena toys

Many parents worry that they don’t have time to play with, or don’t know how to guide their children. This is all normal! How to start an open ended game, it is recommended to start with preparing materials. The easiest way is to buy building blocks, buy some dolls or animal shape toys, and show them directly to the children. When the child is older, he can choose to construct toys, follow the instructions at first, and then slowly learn to make the shape he wants.

The main concept is to find materials at your home, use recycle waste, such as cartons, bottles, or even flowers, grass, buttons, and many more. Let your children play freely!

This building blocks can be played together with Lego! BAKOBA floating blocks, designs for endless play

Have you ever imagined a kind of building blocks that can strengthen a child's concept of construction, without making any noise, but also can be played in the water, or play it with other big building blocks brand?

BAKOBA floating blocks, designs for endless play!

It is all begin when two designer from Denmark came up with this design idea. He was part-time in the kindergarten, he saw the way children playing with their toys or games. Of course, after many years of research and improvement finally we are able to have today's design.

The name of BAKOBA floating blocks comes from a small white flower called Bacopa. Bacopa has a very amphibious growth, it can not only grow in the soil buBakobat also float on the water, hence the name. So the designer drew inspiration from it and had this amphibious idea. This unique design also allowed BAKOBA to win the 2012 German Red Dot Design Award! The design originated from Denmark, but if you look closely it is Made in Taiwan.

Read also: Unboxing BAKOBA - Floating block toys

In 2012, when BAKOBA first came out, the design size was 20 times larger than it is now! I know, it is huge! You may can only see that kind of toy in the museum, it is too big to have it at home.

Fortunately, the designer later reduced it to a size that is more suitable for ordinary families. Don't think these building blocks look so small, but in fact they are still big! But it's very easy to hold and safe! So now many kindergartens in Europe use BAKOBA as teaching tools.

Each block has a square joint, which can be joined horizontally or three-dimensionally, making the creativity become infinite; there are also many holes like screw holes, which can be combined with various shapes using strip connectors.

Children can quickly get started with the combination of various edged. Children who are have a slower development can start building a simpler designs, the important things is these inconspicuous little moves and works are good to develop hand-eye coordination and to train their small muscle.

As for these strip connectors, as long as you don't put them in your mouth, there is no danger.

You can hide the connector in the building block with just the right size, and the shape will look even better; but I prefer to expose the connector so that children can see how the structure is connected. With proper guidance, I am confident that every child can gradually create many large-scale works from small works.

BAKOBA's connectors are designed to be very stable. I really feel that children under the age of six need to put an extra energy to build independently. After playing for a month, those joints and connector have not been loosened at all. This quality is so good!

If there are young children at home, it is recommended to give them in stages. First, give them blocks, and you can let them create without worrying about the strip connectors. Don’t let them play with the strip connectors until they grow bigger.

Read also: Newmero - A fun way to let your children falling in love with math

Isn’t it amazing? Although some people think the color is monotonous.

But when I think of BAKOBA, it makes me think of the Viking, with all the red, gray, and white vibes. Plus, it can be embellished with Lego, which is not monotonous at all. Simple base color matching, even if the finished product is abstract, will produce all kinds of fun because of the good-looking color matching.

Because the EVA material is not only washable, it is lighter than the material; even larger pieces of building blocks can also be curved so easily.

Children are always be the first one who want to share works with their parents. Sometimes when they pick up the works and walk around, they lose their focus and drop their creation and all loose... But with Bakoba you can relax, it is not easily loosen and even if child falling they will not get hurt, because Bakoba is soft.

BAKOBA is equipped with a special square Lego connector or adaptor, which can connect Lego to it. If you don't have any special ideas, it is also nice to attach the connector to the transparent Lego as an embellishment. But my kids are not interested in decoration, so we rarely use these as accessories.

That day, because my daughter had not finished class yet, my son is facing the unfamiliar BAKOBA alone, he was very resistant at first. I asked him to pick out all the parts according to the instructions, and then accompany him to read the BAKOBA instructions and follow the steps.

Read also: 5 Recommended toys for children's logical development

After finishing the first work, a sailboat, I am so proud and offer to help him take picture together with the sailboat. This is my son first creation.

The fact that BAKOBA can go into the water also makes the children excited. It's really an unprecedented experience to have a bath with your proud work. The premise is that the temperature of the water should not exceed 40 degrees to prevent children from being cooked with toys, haha. The biggest worry is that the spacecraft is too big and takes up space in the bathtub, lol.

The most annoying aftermath it to tidy up and to clean! Although below picture is taken from BAKOBA’s official website, but you can really throw BAKOBA into washing machine! Because I am a mother who are in the lazy-mom category, means I don’t really disinfected my children’s toy, don't really care about bacterial breeding problems.

I found that as long as I took BAKOBA out from laundry bag and have them dry out, it actually dried pretty quickly in a ventilated place. No need to take a dry cloth to dry the BAKOBA that has been soaked in water one by one.

I like the moment when children focus on studying the manual in order to complete the work. Because reading the instructions can also cultivate children’s understanding and observation.

In order to find out the size of the circle, parents can teach them to use a ruler to measure and tell them how to see the diameter.

Focus on grouping various parts to place in the perfect positions.

The joy and the feeling proud of completing the work can only be experienced by children who have made their own creation.

From following all the instructions at the beginning until self-creation.

After gradually grasping the assembling foundation, they began to create a castle for their doll.

My boy can't help but make a steering wheel with the round shape BAKOBA.

BAKOBA floating blocks are suitable for multiple people to create together.

Whenever I see animal works, I will not resist asking the children to make one for me. Although there is no step-by-step manual, we just look at it, try it out, and guess how to execute it. In this process, children can learn the spirit of planning, cooperation, problem solving, and mutual help!

By following the step at building guide on the official website, he create a penguin! Proud mama.

The stegosaurus made by my son, also following the instruction from the website.

I even took out his favorite picture book to compare.

Ah, this elephant’s nose is too long, need to think how to make it not mopping the floor.

To summarize the Bakoba floating blocks is the execution is quiet and easy to create. You can play together with Lego, rich and changeable! It's similar to Lasy! From simple to complex, step by step, through Bakova's unique parts, the imagination and creativity of Mercedes-Benz are realized in the works!

If you are located in Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia and if you are interested in carrying Bakoba please drop us a message!

Credits: Kids + Icon大人小孩。玩具箱

What to play in autumn? 5 Awesome autumn-themed STEAM activities

Do you like autumn? In this season when the temperature is getting cooler, let's have an autumn-themed activity with our children!

This time we’ve selected 5 STEAM activities related to autumn, including how to use Oreo cookies to understand the moon phase, make pumpkin volcanoes, use building blocks to make pumpkins, and maple leaf dyeing science experiments!

Every kind of activity is really full of autumn feel. Are you looking forward to it?

Read also: The rising of toy industry during pandemic

What to play in autumn? 5 awesome autumn-themed STEAM activities

1. Mid-Autumn Festival Moon Viewing Science: Oreo Biscuit Moon Experiment

The most important festival in autumn is the Mid-Autumn Festival! I wonder if you have any fixed activities during the Mid-Autumn Festival? I love barbecue and grapefruit! (So not creative).

If you want to play something different with your kids during the Mid-Autumn Festival, you must try using Oreo cookies to learn the moon's ecstasy, just do it!

Read also: Bonding time! Do these 6 STEAM activities with your child

Things need to be prepared

• 8 Oreo cookies

• Learning chart (not necessary)

How to do the Oreo biscuit moon experiment?

1. Explain why the moon is cloudy and clear.

2. Use the cream filling of the biscuit to make moon phase changes.

3. Take the child to observe the moon phase changes.

You can also print out the following study sheet to play the moon cookie experiment to make it easier for children to understand!

Credit: Superstar Worksheets

2. Know the fruits of the season: DIY apple life cycle hat

Autumn is the season of apple. Apple is the healthy and a very good fruit. Take advantage of this season to do a little STEAM activities with your children and let them know the growth of apple!

Read also: Recommended toys to develop child's skills for the future!

Credit: The STEM Laboratory

Things need to be prepared

• Drawing paper

• Pencil, colored pen or watercolor

• Double-sided tape

How to make the apple lifecycle hat?

1. Draw a periodic pattern of "from seed to apple" on the drawing paper.

2. Cut out a long piece of paper, wrap it around and stick it as a hat.

3. Paste the drawn patterns on the edge of the hat, and you are done!

You can also search for "apple life circle" on the Internet, and there will be many apple growth patterns or study sheets.

Credit: The STEM Laboratory

Credit: The STEM Laboratory

Wearing such a cool cycle hat not only learns the plant growth cycle, but is also full of fun in the process. Isn’t it great?

3. Halloween pumpkin volcano

Autumn is also the season for Halloween. In addition to the Halloween costume parade, you might as well have a more weird "Pumpkin Volcano" science experiment with your children!

Things need to be prepared

• Dishwashing liquid

• Baking soda

• White vinegar

• Food coloring (orange, purple, green)

• Small pumpkin

• Others: knife, small spoon, small container

Read also: Baby essentials that is important for your children's development

How to make Halloween pumpkin volcano?

1. Cut the pumpkin head and clean the seeds.

2. Pour a teaspoon of baking soda in each pumpkin.

3. Add a little dishwashing liquid.

4. Add food paint.

5. Finally, pour 1/3 cup of white vinegar to complete.

Credit: Natural Beach Living

Credit: Natural Beach Living

Observe carefully, what will happen to the pumpkin?

Adding acid (such as acetic acid) to baking soda will cause a chemical reaction to produce carbon dioxide. At this time, many bubbles will be generated inside the pumpkin. As the carbon dioxide increases, the bubbles will be squeezed out, which looks like a volcanic eruption!

4. Maple leaf dyeing science experiment

This is a very simple scientific experiment that is very suitable for autumn. But first you have to take your children out to "collect maple leaves". Take the opportunity to take the children out for a walk!

Credit: A Little Pinch of Perfection

Things need to be prepared

• Maple leaves of different colors (red, yellow, green, brown)

• Alcohol

• Transparent test tube

Read also: BabyLux event: Get to know your toys with ToyBrain

Credit: A Little Pinch of Perfection

How to do the scientific experiment of maple leaf dyeing?

1. First, wash the picked up maple leaves and blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes.

2. Take the leaves out and place them on the tabletop to warm them up.

3. Pour alcohol into the transparent test tube container.

4. Put the maple leaf directly into the alcohol and let it stand overnight.

Get up the next day and you will see Maple Leaf stained with alcohol! It turns out that the cooked leaves have no cuticle protection. When they are soaked in alcohol, the chloroplasts of the leaves will be removed and dissolved in alcohol to form dyeing. It is beautiful, right?

Credit: A Little Pinch of Perfection

5. Use building blocks to create pumpkin

Seeing a foreign teacher using Lego bricks to teach children to make pumpkins, I think that Plus-Plus is more suitable! Because you can make an "arc shape" with Plus-Plus, and it can construct a very stunning shape whether it is flat or a 3D design!

See more creation ideas with Plus-Plus.

Welcoming you to be part of BabyLux family, planning to start own business by being baby products distributors but not sure where to start, drop us a message!

BabyLux event: Get to know your toys with ToyBrain

BabyLux’s subsidiary named ToyBrain has held our third toy gathering event last week. While BabyLux is focus on baby and toddler products that could be parents’ problem solver, ToyBrain is focused on STEAM toys. ToyBrain recommends world's latest and most interesting STEAM toys, board games, puzzles, building blocks, and various DIY games. In this article we would like to show the happiness that we’ve captured.

“ToyBrain, play out the smart brain.”

— Brain Daddy aka BraDy

Content:

| ToyBrain launch event

| The birthday party

| Get to know TOYI event

| Featured toy list

First event - ToyBrain launch event

▼ Seeing this poster makes us so proud of BabyLux, we grew so much. This is the very first poster that we’ve made for ToyBrain, the very first event that we held in Taiwan. So excited!!!

▼ The toys experimenting is begun!

▼ Can you see the sticker that our colleague about to give out? Yes, we gave it when children has accomplish the mission. They need to collect stickers from every section and then can take their favorite toy home. But… there is one more final mission, keep reading!

▼ How friendly we are.. Hahaha. Our colleague even let the boy sit on his lap.

▼ When classic building blocks meet modern digital play. Build and balance the magnetic blocks in real world to solve exciting engineering puzzles on the screen.

Read more: Learn STEAM with APP! 5 Recommended STEAM APP for children in 2020

▼ Expression can’t lie. See the children wow-face.

▼ Here is the final mission: by the end of the event, BraDy encourage kids to come front and share their feelings about our event. What they learn during event, what toy they like the most. Guess which toy has the most fans?

▼ Thank you everyone who join our very first gathering event!! Our first event, SUCCEED!

Second event - The birthday party!

Our second event held in a ToyBrain fan’s home, after participate our first event, she contacted us and request us to come to celebrate his son's birthday party.

▲ The DIY art section is the most crowded section by girls. Colored the animals body then take them for a bath.

▼ No one can resist the iPad, but as long as our kids can learn something while playing with the gadget, why not? See how they can be so concentrate while learning the basic method of linking the dots into 2D design.

▼ Everybody love Plus-Plus, even parents. Since this section is pretty easy to accomplished, we count the time, they need to finish the puzzle within 5 minutes. Therefore, kids need to stay focus!!

▼ Scientific section, let children learn the concept behind oil and water, why they always separate.

▼ Situation during BabyLux second event. As you can see, even parents are excited with our toys.

Third event - Get to know TOYI

Our third event was focused on TOYI. We invite 14 kids to play with TOYI. We also invited a STEAM toy expert that day.

▼ WOW kids, WOW! Where are your inspiration come from?

▼ Mask on, guys! Luckily we are in Taiwan, world’s safest place during pandemic. Otherwise we are surely will cancel our events.

▼ Our BraDy son has made a very cool toy using TOYI, he made a puppet. I swear no one teach or even tell him to do that. Super creative!

Featured toys

TOYI: learn more about TOYI

PLUGO: learn more about PLUGO

Dena: learn more about Dena

Trebuchet by Tikerer: learn more about Trebuchet

Read more: What can you play with Dena toys? You'll never think about it!

Plus-Plus: learn more about Plus-Plus

Scribble Scrubbie Peculiar Pets Playset by Crayola: learn more

Mental Blox 360 by Learning Resources: learn more

Emoji Marker Maker by Crayola: learn more

Welcoming you to be part of BabyLux family, planning to start own business by being baby products distributors but not sure where to start, drop us a message!

Unboxing BAKOBA - Floating block toys

Kids are easy to get bored with their toys, no matter how many you have, eventually they will get bored with it. If you don’t arrange activities or play together with them, they will end up sitting there playing gadgets… Are there any toys that ideal for both inside and outside use? That allows us to bring into the garden, the woods, to the playground and even on the beach.

BAKOBA is designed and developed by two Danish architects. Both architects have experience from working in Danish kindergartens and this is where they gained their interest in developing BAKOBA.

Why BAKOBA?

Soft, quiet and flexible

BAKOBA blocks are made from soft EVA foam, non-toxic and are lightweight, flexible, and durable beyond reason. The foam is soft but sturdy enough for kids to build with it. Although the foam can be turned and twisted, it will eventually fit back to its original shape. The surface is soft and the blocks make practically no noise when played with. Especially parents appreciate this feature!

Read more: Another quiet soft blocks, Moomu!

Creativity boost

BAKOBA stimulates creativity and urges kids to explore where their next creation will take them. A feature BAKOBA that makes BAKOBA unique from other building toys is that it can connect with other construction toys from leading toy brands, including those that most kids already own. There are no instructions, so kids can imagine up their creations right away and immediately start playing with the bricks, making everything from planes, cars, and ships; to airports and a castle. It suitable for kids between 3 and 9 years old

Inside BAKOBA 87 pieces

Water resistant and washable

Bring BAKOBA to the bath tub and let the kids experience with their construction's ability to float. BAKOBA is easy to keep clean, simply wash it in the washing machine. Wash at 40 degrees Celcius, gentle cycle. Use any detergents. After washing, the blocks dry quickly since they do not absorb the water.

Read more: What can you play with Dena toys? You'll never think about it!

Easy to combine with other toys

Build the Eiffel Tower, a space station, a house, or something never seen before. BAKOBA also have building base, which works as a soft and comfortable play mat for the kids to build on - while also being compatible with our building blocks. This allows the kids to use the base as foundation for their big constructions - towers, houses and entire cities. BAKOBA have unique "lego-brick connector", making it possible for older kids to connect BAKOBA with lego bricks, opening entire new ways of building.

Lego with BAKOBA - Robot

Lego with BAKOBA - Air Space

STEM Certified & Red Dot Design Award

BAKOBA has been tested by the US organization STEM.org and our products have been given the highest praise within the STEM field.

Read more: 5 Recommended STEAM APP for children in 2020

Perfect for schools and kindergartens

BAKOBA is the perfect toy for schools and kindergartens. The blocks are made from a safe, durable and noiseless foam, which secures a comfortable playing environment - for kids as well as for the adults.

It’s not that easy for all of us to play with no instructions. Sometimes we need a hand to get on the right track. With our build guides we’ll have you building in no time.

Read more: Newmero - A fun way to let your children falling in love with math

Welcoming you to be part of BabyLux family, planning to start own business by being baby products distributors but not sure where to start, drop us a message!

Recommended toys to develop child's skills for the future!

Did you know you can help your child succeed in the future by developing skills with playing toys at home? Far from taking time away from your child’s current curriculum, there are skills that can all be worked into other lessons — both in school and at home. Experts say all kids will need these skills to succeed, no matter what field they go into.

“Almost every employer, in every occupation, prefers workers who know how to problem-solve, be creative, work collaboratively, and communicate well”

Content:

| Problem-solving skill

| Collaborating and working in teams skill

|Thinking in 3D and design skill

Problem-Solving

To get ahead in a competitive world, our child will need to be able to think critically — to observe, analyze, and come up with smart solutions to complex dilemmas. It’s the quality kids need to write a persuasive ad campaign, say, or to fill out a new prescription for a senior on multiple medications.

Recommended toy: TOYI

If your child complains about being bored, point him toward the junk drawer. Suggest them to create their very own superhero from the stuff they finds, using TOYI to assemble it.

Read this article written by Primroses School.

Collaborating and working in teams

The most successful companies know how to hire the best people and get them to work toward a common goal. That’s one reason teachers love classroom projects — they teach kids the value of teamwork. Meanwhile, to raise a child who works well with others, sure you can do family activities.

Recommended toy: Dena toys

Cooking with siblings or playdate buddies not only sharpens math and reading skills but also boosts teamwork. After all, taking turns with the mixer (and sharing the beaters) is the first step toward learning cooperation. Cookies are always a hit. Dena toys is a perfect toys for cooking activities, it can be use as your cake mold.

Read more: Educate your child with these 6 Montessori activities!

Thinking in 3D and design skill

The ability to visualize objects — and the way they fit into a space — is what experts call spatial awareness. We use the skill every day when we merge our cars onto highways, for instance, or find our way around a new store.

Recommended toy: Hix by MOLUK

Hix Construction Cones are a perfect example of imaginary play. Consisting of four convertible cones made of elastic silicone rubber, these help tots with their visual-spacial ability, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills. Alex says ‘What makes them interesting are live hinges that let you fold each cone into four different shapes which can then be stacked and nested in countless different configurations.

Recommended toy: MOOMU soft blocks

Studies said that toy blocks can help children develop motor skills and hand-eye coordination, spatial reasoning, cognitive flexibility, language skills, a capacity for creative, divergent thinking, social competence, and engineering skills. No wonder why parents like to purchase toy blocks for their kids.

Read more: Vanilla Soft Blocks

“Toys can be anything; children can play all morning with a stone and a plastic bucket. It is about how imaginative conductive and how many applicative possibilities toys offer.”