Monday, June 25, 2012

Our Material List

Today's post will be short and sweet as I just wanted to give some information about our handcrafted wooden blocks and games.
Our wooden building blocks comes in 80 piece set with 3 sizes of logs.

We use untreated wood from the USA.

All paints used for our blocks and games are Made in the USA and are water-based and non-toxic. All paints conform to ASTM D-4236 and are stamped ACMI.

We do not make toys with pieces smaller than an inch so they are not a choking hazard.

All our blocks and games are made to help educate children through building with their hands and playing memory and spelling games. We also make our blocks and games to help foster children's imagination by providing parents with fun and safe toys and games.

We hope you enjoy our handcrafted wooden building blocks and games. We are working on an outlet to purchase our blocks and games, so if you are interested in ordering our blocks and games please contact us through our Facebook Page. Have a sunny day!

Monday, June 18, 2012

The Basics Of Learning

We want to encourage parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles to take babies, toddlers, and older children back to the basics of learning. Back to the basics of babies learning how to use their little hands to pick up an object to toddlers learning how to spell D-O-G and C-A-T and older children to build what they envision in their minds. We want to take parents back to a simpler time when you didn't have television or computers to teach and entertain children.


My husband and I were born in the mid-1970's and compared to today growing up in the late 70's and the 80's it was a simpler time. We didn't grow up with cell phones, Internet, big flat screen TVs, iPods, or Facebook. We were a generation of kids that grew up outdoors riding bikes and climbing trees, building forts and snowmen, and playing tag with all the kids on the block. It is sad to drive down neighborhoods now and not see groups of children doing any of these things. When we were playing indoors on a rainy day we didn't have a Playstation, Wii, or X-Box, DVDs, or Internet to entertain us. Children back then read a book,  played a board game, colored or drew pictures, built houses with wooden blocks or Legos, played house or dress up, or played with action figures and dolls.


Now don't get me wrong, I don't think children playing video games, watching a movie, or playing  games on the computer is wrong or bad, I am just saying there is a whole world to explore and learn from other than a computer or video game. How can a child learn what a caterpillar feels like or see what a bird's nest looks like if they don't explore their little world in their yard or neighborhood? How can a child learn to draw or paint on a computer? How can they communicate or develop real friendships with other children if all they learn is texting and Facebook updates. How can a child build things with their hands from a video game or computer? I  encourage you to get back to the basics of learning by eliminating some of your child's time spent on video games, Internet, and cell phones and instead start exploring their small world (e.g. your back yard or local park) with your children to teach them, learn with them, and to grow with them.


So you're probably wondering how do our toys fit The Basics of Learning? Simple. Our wooden stacker blocks are basic toys that help develop babies gross motor skills such as picking up an object, stacking an object, and even throwing. For toddlers our wooden memory game and building blocks are excellent toys to help develop their fine motor skills. Our hangman game is awesome for older toddlers and older children to develop their spelling and reading skills. These are toys that you as a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle will enjoy playing and building with the children in your lives.


Our handcrafted wooden toys are non-toxic and 100% Made in the U.S.A. At this we do not have a website to purchase directly from but feel free to contact us through our Facebook Page about ordering our handcrafted wooden blocks and games. I promise to have something soon where you can order directly. Have a sunny day!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Imagination ~ Pass It On

Imagination ~ 1. The act, process, or power of forming a mental picture of something not present and especially of something one has not known or experienced
                       2.  Creative ability
                       3.  A creation of the mind

I remember as a child saying to my mum "I'm bored" or "There's nothing to do" and she would say to me "Use your imagination".  Using my imagination was always fun because in my imagination I became a magician, cowgirl, construction worker, astronaut, trapeze artist, princess, doctor, and a rock star.

Stacker Blocks
When I was about nine years old I  put on a magic show in the living room. My stage was a sheet tacked on the archway between the living room and dining room. I did not have a magician costume so one had to be improvised for my performance, a winter stocking cap for a magician hat, a sheet for a cape, and rolled up foil shaped into a wand. The "magic" tricks I did were not that great like pulling my mum's scarves out of my sleeve, pulling a stuffed animal out of my magician hat, a card trick, and making myself disappear which was achieved by turning off a light. The audience loved my show not because my magic tricks were awesome, but they loved them because I was being myself using my imagination.

I remember becoming a cowgirl when I would play with my toy horses. When I would ride my bike and I'd be flying down a hill at top speed I would become an astronaut on my way to the moon or climbing a tree and hanging upside down from the branches I would pretend I was in the circus.  Friends and I would become princesses when we played dress up. Sometimes I was a construction worker building towers or houses with my wood logs or Legos. I also became a rock star when I sang songs like Bette Davis Eyes, Mickey, I Love Rock and Roll, and my all time favorite Soul Man by the Blues Brothers.

Though I did not grow up to be any of these I learned how to use my imagination and sometimes turn what I imagine into reality. Imagination is what my husband and I want to pass on to children through our handcrafted building blocks and games. We encourage parents to foster their child's imagination rather than hinder it. When children build what they see in their mind they have accomplished something wonderful and that something wonderful is turning an idea into reality.

Imagination ~ Pass It On

Building Blocks
At this time we do not have a website, if you would like information on purchasing our Handcrafted Wooden Building Blocks and Games  please contact us through our Facebook Page or email us at leahstoybox@ymail.com. If emailing us for information please type Purchase Info in the subject line.

We hope you and your children enjoy our blocks and games! Have a Sunny Day!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Leah's Toy Box ~ Our Beginning

Building Blocks
My husband Andy and I (Carrie) started making wooden building blocks and games because we became concerned about the safety of toys available for sale in stores and we did not want to buy toys we felt were unsafe for our niece (for whom we named our business for) and nephew.  Our safety concern is the dyes, paints and plastics of foreign countries to make the toys.  So we decided to make wood toys made of materials from the USA.

Andy and I decided to make toys that are not only safe, but that are also fun and educational for children of all ages. Our goal with our wood toys is to encourage children to use their imagination when building with the blocks, to help promote reading and spelling skills by using the alphabet blocks to spell words with the alphabet stacker blocks and playing the wooden hangman game, and strengthen memory skills by playing the wooden memory card games.

 We wanted to make a toy that boys and girls of all ages could use their imaginations when playing, that is when we decided to make wooden building blocks. The first wood toy we created was our 80 piece Building Block Set.  They are made out of a soft wood that is safer for children. The building block set come with 3 different sizes for building and have notches to connect. The building blocks are natural wood but can be painted with two colors (non-toxic) of your choice.

Alphabet and Number Stacker Blocks
After creating our building block we wanted to make stacker blocks for smaller children. We wanted a safe and fun toy that would help develop their motor and reading skills. They are also made of a soft wood. We have two different types of stacker blocks. One is a set of 24 blocks that are 4 different colors (non-toxic) of your choice. The other set is a 36 piece Alphabet and Number set that are 4 different colors (non-toxic) of your choice.  


Example of 2 cards from Wooden Memory Card Game
One day we ventured into making wood games. I thought back to my early childhood and remembered I loved playing memory and voila the first game we made is a Wooden Memory Card Game.  Memory is a wonderful game to strengthen children's memory.  At this time we have 3 different sets available: Farm Animals, Shapes, and Butterflies and Flowers. 

Another game we both grew up playing was Hangman. It was always fun trying to guess the letters and trying to figure out the word or sentence before the hangman beat you. Not only is Hangman a fun game to play it helps promote children's reading and spelling skills.  Our Hangman version is a 2-in-1 game of  Wooden Alphabet Memory Card Game and Hangman. The 2-in-1 Set comes with 52 Wooden Alphabet Cards, 6 Wooden Cards with Hangman, and Chalkboard.

Also as  children we both enjoyed playing Tic-Tac-Toe and trying to figure out a strategy to beat our opponent, so we made our version of a wooden Tic-Tac-Toe game. This game set comes 10 Wooden Cards with X and O and a Wooden Grid to play Tic-Tac-Toe. Tic-Tac-Toe is an excellent game to help children learn strategy.

At this time we do not have a website, so for information on purchasing our toys and games please visit our Facebook page or Email us at leahstoybox@ymail.com  and leave a message. If emailing please type Purchase Info in the subject line.


We hope you and your children enjoy our toys and games. Have a sunny day!!