We discovered these amazing science kits through my friend Karen, who seems to always know about the best science toys. She also put us onto Snap Circuits, Jr. some time ago. I think we need to make her the official science kit guru for GIFT HERO.

Thames & Kosmos is a U.S. based company that develops truly educational, high quality kits that teach kids about basic science concepts through hands on modeling of real world devices and products.

At GIFT HERO, for ages 5-7 we offer Stepping into Science, which introduces kids to the basic principles of science through 25 unique experiments. For ages 8 and up, we offer Physics Discovery and CHEM 500. The products have won numerous awards, including the National Parenting Center Seal of Approval and Parents’ Choice Award.

We just got in three great games that make terrific birthday gifts for 8-10 year olds. My personal favorite is the Totally Gross! Science Game. Kids think it is silly and fun, but we parents love it because it is educational. Personally, my nearly 8 year old son Josh thinks the actual “jar of slime” is the best part. Yes, the slime plays a role in the game – the kids stretch the slime on the score card to track their progress – talk about an incentive to answer correctly!

Another wonderful game for this age group is Who? What? Where? Jr., which can be played with as few as 2 players but really  is better for 4 or more. It actually makes a great game for a sleepover.

Additionally, boys this age will love Sports Challenge for Kids – a game that lets them play tabletop versions of their favorite sports, all while learning sports trivia. It’s my son Josh’s dream in a box!

I’ve been waiting for TOMY Constructables to arrive at GIFT HERO.  It had been on backorder for months.  It was one of my “must carry” toys, for boys ages 3 and up, when Lisa and I were selecting inventory.  Benjamin received it as a gift at that age and both he and I thought it was so much fun.

Constructables is a motorized building playset.  Kids can build a race car, a train, a helicopter, a plane or any other vehicle they dream up.  The core component of any vehicle is the motorized powerpack (that takes just one AA battery – which is a common size most of us usually have around the house) and all the child needs to do it turn it on and watch it go!  The propellers will twirl, the wheels will turn and the smokestack will spin.  There are 18 pieces to work with so children can really make some complicated contraptions.

I gave this to several of Benjamin’s buddies when they turned 3.  I recently ran into one of the Moms…and unsolicited, she mentioned that her son still enjoys this toy and now her younger one (who I cannot believe is 3 1/2 already) loves it too.  She said the quality is great and it still works perfectly.  I told her it was coming very soon to GIFT HERO and I’m sure it will be on her giving list for her little guy’s buddies this birthday season!

August is my favorite food month of the year. I relish going to the Union Square Farmers Market and buying all of the locally grown produce. I especially look forward to the sweet Jersey corn and plump, ripe tomatoes. Plums and nectarines are my favorite summer fruits, and my kids can’t get enough strawberries.

Just in time for the peak summer harvests, GIFT HERO just got in the Garden Fruits & Veggies. This pretend play set is a perfect kids’ birthday gift for ages 3 and 4. Kids will love using the pretend knife to “cut and peel” these fruits and veggies. The pieces are held together with velcro to make it easy to take apart and put back together. Kids will enjoy shucking corn, shelling peas, peeling a banana, and even sectioning an orange. It all comes in an adorable storage tote for portable fun. Great for outdoor or indoor play. Fun even to tote along to the local farmers market!

When Benjamin was turning 4 years old, he was obsessed with Zingo from Thinkfun. We had given it to many of his friends that year and he kept telling me it was the birthday gift he “wanted the most in the whole world.” Thankfully, one of his buddies did give it to him. You should have seen the gleeful look on his face when he opened that gift!

Zingo is a terrific game for boys and girls ages 4 and up. Now that I have played it 100+ times, I understand why he so desperately wanted it. Thinkfun describes it as “bingo with zing” which really is an apt description. There are cards for up to 8 players and a nifty Zingo Zinger tile dispenser. As in bingo, the first player to fill his card wins. What’s also great is there are two levels of play and lots of way to adjust for younger players so everyone has a great time. It teaches image and vocabulary recognition, matching, memory, concentration, and social interaction.

Zingo is still a game that Benjamin and his friends will chose to play together on a playdate and now they can manage themselves without an adult in the mix. He also still sometimes wants to play it with us – we did a couple of cards worth this past rainy weekend and, I have to admit, it was fun…

All kids love bubbles. From the earliest age, they marvel as the bubbles emerge from a wand and giggle as they learn to pop them. It’s a rite of summer. We all have so many of those leaky bottles of soapy water with missing wands around our homes.

How to Make Monstrous, Huge, Unbelievable BIG BUBBLES from Klutz takes bubble blowing to a whole new level. This is an award winning kit that includes what Klutz calls the “Bubble Thing.” The Bubble Thing is a gizmo that makes bubbles that are seriously as big as a car! The book has directions for creating all sorts of bubble shapes and sizes, explains the science of bubbles and has amazing colorful photos.

This is a great gift for a summer birthday. It is also fabulous to bring as a housewarming gift when visiting family or friends. I keep one at my house for when we have kids over and they tell me they are “bored.” It’s guaranteed to keep kids busy and running around outside for hours. It’s recommended for boys and girls ages 8 and up but will also appeal to the child in everyone.

GIFT HERO officially grew up today by adding our 8-10 year old category to our site. My son Josh turns 8 later this year, and it was time we offered gifts just right for his friends (and yours)!

Since it is summer (almost), we have added lots of great outdoor toys that are perfect for this age group, including Boochie, pictured here. One of my personal favorites is Surfergirl Beach Beads. When I was a child, I loved collecting shells and making jewelry – this kit lets kids do that in a much more sophisticated way -using real shells! Another fave is the Make Monstrous Bubbles kit by Klutz. This kit really does make incredibly huge bubbles and kids think it is so cool to read about all of the different ways they can make huge bubbles.

We also offer plenty of indoor toys too – classic games like Rush Hour and Scrambled States of America, science kits, puzzles and art kits.

We just added this awesome product from Klutz. The great thing about Klutz kits is that they are designed so that the kids can actually play with what they make afterwards. My 5 year old daughter Maya LOVES this kit. I bought it for her a few months ago when we were visiting family and they had no toys at their house. So I needed something to keep her busy so she wouldn’t ask to watch TV all of the time! She played with this for days! It comes with four “purses” that tear out and then use all of the stickers, beads, etc. to decorate them in a unique style. The kit also comes with paper accessories to put in the purse like a phone, makeup, keys and sunglasses. She has had the purses for months now and she plays with them all of the time. The “paper” is actually very durable cardboard so it doesn’t rip even after hours of play. Paper Purses is an amazing birthday gift for a 4 or 5 year old girl.

We also sell two other great kits from Klutz for girls this age, including Mermaid’s Palace and the Fabulous Book of Paper Dolls. Both also have Maya’s stamp of approval!

This weekend I am going to plant flowers in my backyard. I will probably put them around 2 trees to add some color — maybe impatiens and begonias or something else that is sturdy and will spread (feel free to post any suggestions in comments).

Benjamin loves to help me garden. He brings out his tools and we get digging…the dirtier we get the more fun it is (for him at least). Gardening is a great activity to do with kids. There is something very satisfying about turning dirt, water, and seeds or seedlings into something alive and beautiful.

The Kid’s Garden Tote with Tools from ToySmith makes a wonderful gift for any child. The canvas tote has front and side pockets and comes with a hand rake, shovel and spade, plus plenty of room inside for lots of other stuff. Even if the child doesn’t have a backyard or access to outdoor space, all they need is a planter or pot, some dirt and seeds and, of course, the “right tools” to grow flowers, herbs, or even some vegetables.

One year we planted little hot red peppers in our apartment. They grew like crazy and added a little spice to our cooking all summer long.

Just in time for the holiday weekend, we got in this incredible OgoSport Copter Dart Set. It comes with a portable case and is perfect for the beach or backyard – even indoors! This is a great game the whole family can play, and makes a great hostess gift when you are visiting another family.

OgoSport is a pretty new company located in our own backyard here in Brooklyn, NY. They make really unique toys that can be used for indoor or outdoor play. I first encountered the copter darts at a birthday party Maya attended earlier this year. The kids were having a blast! We will be selling more OgoSport products, so check back on GIFT HERO soon!