Check out the pic of this lovely Cardboard Palace sent in to us over the weekend by Ruby and Rosa. The girls opted for a very appropriate shade of pink which we agree looks very smart and should attract any lonesome Prince Charmings in the neighbourhood to come a-knocking.
Guaranteed to provide hours of creative play, the Cardboard Palace is currently available for £11.99 and for the boys check out the rather menacing looking Pirate Fortress for some swashbuckling adventures.
Over the past few weeks we’ve introduced a great new range of cardboard toys to the kids section. Ranging in price from just £2.99 up to £49.99 there’s something to cater for all budgets and occasions.
We’re really charmed by these new additions as cardboard is such a fantastic material for childrens toys. It’s light and flexible yet very strong and durable. A lot of the models also come as blank canvases so kids can put their own stamp on them and let their artistic imaginations take over when decorating them.
Best of all though is the recyclability of cardboard. As we all know, at some stage everyone grows out of their favourite playtime accessory and when that happens, unlike plastic which usually ends up in landfill, cardboard is easily and fully recyclable.
Visitors to our kids section may be familiar with the Paint Your Own T-Shirt and Make Hats activity packs which we added to the site towards the end of last year. These arts and crafts projects have been designed by an old friend of ECOutlet’s, Kerri Sellens.
Kerri went to art college with Marco, my co-founder so we’ve all been friends for a long time now and last week we were delighted to hear from Kerri that one of the packs in her range, the Rainy Day Box had been awarded the overall winner in the Practical Pre-School Awards 2008 Toys and Games Category.
This is an amazing result considering it’s less than a year since Kerri took the plunge with her own business and shows how with some creative thinking and hard work good things can happen.
The Rainy Day box is now available to purchase from our kids section where you can find more details on the contents. We love Creative Charlie’s range not just because our clever friend makes them but because they stimulate engagement, co-operation and creativity in young children and have been designed with the environment in mind containing wherever possible recycled and reusable materials.
Don’t just take our word for it though, here’s what the testers at the Practical Pre-School Awards had to say about the Rainy Day Box:
The children loved following the work sheets and began to implement ideas of their own into their creations. Its value as a creative resource is immense and it incorporates flexible and enjoyable activities, as well as helping to teach children about the environment.
Everything in the box was great. The Rainy Day Box had a charming sense of simplicity and my five-year-old was able to use it independently as well as being encouraged to play co-operatively and share. It has fantastic educational value and appealed to children throughout the trial. Adaptable, original and a lot of fun!
Making your own Christmas decorations is just one of the ways you can help reduce your yuletide carbon footprint this year. For some top tips take a look at the sweet little video on the top right where friend of ECOutlet, Charlie, shows us how to make paper chains from some old magazines. You might recognise Charlie as he’s the brains behind Creative Charlies Make Your Own T-Shirt and Make Hats activity packs. If anyone is still stuck for some last minute pressies for the kids these come highly recommended.
This year instead of sending the normal type of Christmas card why not send an e-card. These electronic cards are getting better all the time, our current favourite is Elfyourself which lets you superimpose a pic of yourself or anyone else onto a dancing elf! Be patient it takes a little while to load up and dont go for the talking version. For a demonstration you can see ECOutlet’s Paul giving us his own little festive dance here.
For a few ideas on how to keep the kids busy during the summer holidays take a look at EcoFriendlyKids. The site is packed full of tips for parents and kids and shows how everyone has a part to play in helping the environment. Some of the activities include an energy and recycling quiz, lessons on how to make your own paper and instructions for making a weather observation chart. There’s also tonnes of articles on green living topics including growing your own fruit and veg, reusable nappies and a section dedicated to incorporating eco practises into schools.
Another good resource is the website Eco Kids. It’s US based and contains lots of games, activities and information about wildlife, science and nature and environmental issues. There’s a great interactive storytelling section where you choose your own story path and a downloadable eco-calendar highlighting important environmental dates, quotes and ideas for seasonal activities.
