Ever watch WordWorld on PBS? If so, this word magnet set makes perfect sense. If you have never seen the show, the best way I can describe it is that is a cartoon.  The characters in the this cartoon look like what they are like a bee.  However, their body spells what they are.  You can see what I mean by looking at the image on the right.  This is for kids three and up.  However, I found that my 18 month old loves it too (I just need to keep an eye on him, so he doesn’t try to eat the pieces)!  You get 7 3D word magnets, 5 flat magnets, and a 2 sided fold and go play mat.  The kids love the magnet aspect of it.  I love that this doesn’t require batteries.  It requires my kids to use their imaginations and make up stories.  I also love that it has its own carrying case, and that the magnets have their own spot in the play map.  This has been a hit in my house, and I can definitely see it being a hit in yours.

I recently came across another item that falls along the lines of “why didn’t I think of that?”. The mom who came up with the Parking Pal, in my opinion, is a genius.  The Parking Pal is a circular magnet with a child size hand print in the center.  When you put it on your car/van/vehicle, you child puts they hand on their, and it keeps them safe while you load or unload your vehicle.  Being that I don’t have a driveway and we park on the street a lot with the minivan, I love that this keeps Madison safe.  I’ll be honest, when we first used it, I was completely surprised by something.  Madison knew what I wanted her to do without telling her.  She knew that I wanted her to stand there with her hand on the magnet while I was loading the car.  I love that this is intuitive enough that she just knew what was expected.  This has also been a hit with other moms.  They all wanted to know where I got this from, and all thought it was a great idea.  Now, the Parking Pal does come in several designs to pick from — everything from soccer balls, to fish, to flowers.  There is definitely something for your kids that you can get on there.  The Parking Pal will run you about $7.99.  However, $8 is well worth insuring my daughter’s safety.