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Kimochis, the toy with feelings inside

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Lubica Misevski

Please Note: Unfortunately Kimochis in the US has ceased distributing these plush toys to the international markets including Australia.

We do suggest the award-winning WorryWoos which are brilliant for developing emotional intelligence in Children. Please click here for the complete range of WorryWoos.

This is a toy that is close to our hearts. Simply because it is all about teaching children about their feelings and emotional intelligence. The Kimochis are one of the best toys we introduced to our store in 2013. Every single parent who has bought them from us, absolutely love them.

Kimochi means “feeling” in Japanese. They are plush toys, like a teddy bear with feelings inside. In the range of Kimochis there are seven little characters. Each one focused on helping your child learn about different feelings, and personality styles.

The seven Kimochis are:

Kimochis Bug the Caterpillar - Now Bug the caterpillar does not like it when things change. He will hide his wings in his back pocket when feeling unsure and cautious. Bug, of course, has other feelings that he likes to share, and also comes with Happy, Brave, and unfortunately left out :(.

Kimochis Cat - This little Cat as you might expect has some bossy tendencies :). This means she can spend some time healing hurt feelings. Kimochis the Cat also comes with a Happy, Curious, and Cranky nature.

Kimochis Cloud - This Cloud is a little moody at times, and can be very unpredictable. Sometimes he will just go from happy to sad. His feelings include Happy, Mad, Sad.

Kimochis Huggtopous - This little Huggtopous never runs out of cuddles, with so many arms he is happy to cuddle you for days. Although sometimes little Huggtopous can be over affectionate. Huggtopous also comes with the feelings of Happy, Silly, and Frustrated.

Kimochis Lovey Dove - Well with a name like Lovey Dove, she is just what you imagine nurturing and calm. Now and then though Lovey Dove will worry a little too much, as she comes with a little baby Turtle Dove. Her other feeling include Happy, Proud, and Hopeful. Which are wonderful qualities for any parent to have.

Kimochis Bella Rose - Bella Rose is sensitive and sweet, and a lovely little companion. Because Bella is sensitive she is not always confident, and comes with the feelings of Insecure, but also the feeling of Happy.

Kimochis Clover - Kimochis Clover comes with his lucky ladybug Howard. Clover has the feelings Happy, Disappointed, and Optimistic.

The goal of the Kimochis founder is an admirable one. Nina Rapport invented the Kimochis with the purpose of helping parents and children communicate about feelings.

She has achieved this by creating wonderful stories that come with each of the Kimochis. These loveable characters help build confidence and self-esteem through role playing. When the children are being understood, they become more confident expressing their feelings.

It is about your child understanding and being able to communicate their feelings to you or another individual. Kimochis are also about helping your child build the confidence to do so. Identifying what feelings they are having and why.

Each of the Kimochis dolls comes with three separate child safe feelings, and a how to feel guide with parent tips. The fun activities have also been authored by a communication artist.

You are also able to buy a mixed feeling pack, should you wish to buy one Kimochis, but have all of the 33 feelings.

The full range of feelings are Happy, Mad, Sad, Brave, Left Out, Curious, Cranky, Silly, Frustrated, Hopeful, Proud, Optimistic, Disappointed, Sensitive, Insecure, Jealous, Loved, Grateful, Scared, Shy, Kind, Hurt, Sorry, Uncomfortable, Friendly, Sleepy, Surprised, Embarrassed, Guilty, Excited, and there are 3 blank for you to make-your-own.

In terms of communicating feelings to a child, we feel they are the best toy we have to achieve this. We have sold them to teachers and parents alike. Not only is the educational aspect of the toy wonderful, you have to see the quality of each of the Kimochis to appreciate how beautifully they have been made.

You can just tell these feeling Kimochis have all been made with love, and that was the feeling. For the full range including teacher's kit, please click here.

Posted in award winning toys, developing confidence in kids, emotional development toy, emotional intelligence, emotional intelligence books, emotional intelligence toys, kimochi meaning, kimochis, Kimochis Australia, kimochis educators toolkit, kimochis mixed bag of feelings, preschooler toys, toys with feeling inside

The Magical Music of Hape Wooden Toys

Posted on October 09, 2014 by Lubica Misevski

If you love the feel and look of well built and beautifully crafted wooden toys. Then you are likely to love Hape Toys, who make all the toys from wood or bamboo.

The craftsmanship in these toys are amazing, and we wanted to share just a few designs with you today.

Our very fist purchase was the Hape Guitar; we bought this for our daughter, and we could not be happier with it. Oh Yes, she likes it too. It comes in either blue or red; we went with red, and it is gorgeous little guitar. Given the quality of this product it is also a great price at $36.99.

We like it so much we bought this Hape Rock and Rhythm band for our son. As you can see below the Rock and Rhythm band by Hape is one of the funkiest little drum, cymbal and rhythm makers around. This one is a Christmas present and as such we have not unpacked it yet. But we have peeped at it as you do, and we think he is going to love it. Dad will probably play with it too.

Now this one we have not seen as yet, but the picture tells the story well. It is Hape Grand Piano, now who didn’t want a piano as a kid? In fact for some reason I still think I can play the piano, and I have never had a lesson. It is a 30 key small but Grand Piano, built just right for those little fingers, but still making big sounds. Hang on perhaps we should not say that :) We are sure they will be beautiful sounds.

It is a great size at a Length: 19.69, Width: 20.47 and Height 23.62 inch’s. So you can have a music recital almost anywhere.

But for the little musician there is also a wonderful Hape Early Melodies Xylophone. It has a beautiful rainbow design and is made with love. It is great for starting the love of music from an early age and wonderful for your little ones early development.

Next in the Hape Musical Range is the Melodies Pound and Tap Bench. Little wooden hammer included! This gorgeous little toy is constructed from wood and metal and is a combination hammer bench and the musical xylophone. When you place the balls over the Xylophone and pound them, they roll onto the Xylophone and music ensues.

What a wonderful way to learn about music and cause and effect at the same time.

We love music, and we are pretty sure everyone does?? The wonderful aspect about teaching music to our kids, is that it develops them in so many ways whilst also being enjoyable.

These musical wooden toys develop dexterity, hand-eye co-ordination, logic, and matching. Also spatial relationships and critical thinking, as well as an understanding of cause and effect.

It is hard to believe something that is so enjoyable can also be so beneficial. Then again maybe it is not?

We have just spoken about the Hape Musical Toys today, but there full range is just a lovely, and you can see it by clicking here.

We feel music is a wonderful gift, and if you are thinking about a Christmas or Birthday present for that special little one. Well, we know you and they will love Hape.

Posted in baby toys, educational toys, fine motor skills, Hape toys, music and children, music toys, preschooler toys, toddler toys

Building Blocks that Build Kids

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Lubica Misevski

Do you remember having building blocks as a kid? I do. They were probably one of my most enjoyable activities when I was younger. I used to spend hours building them up only to knock them down again.

Well, they have come a long way since I was a kid. We now have Hape Blocks, Melissa & Doug Blocks, and Plan Toys Blocks. All these blocks are slightly different and offer girls or boys a variety of choice.

In the range we selected we have the Hape Fantasy Castle blocks, which as you would expect builds a fantasy castle. A lovely one at that.

Hape also make a maple block set, which offers a little less structure. It leave’s your child to create a castle, house, building or whatever they may choose or create.

The last line in the Hape range is the Undersea Blocks. Yes, that is correct the undersea blocks. You can make turtles; it has starfish, and an Octopus to create. It is certainly something I would have enjoyed as a kid.

Lastly in the Hape range we also have the classic ABC blocks, the Hape City Planner Blocks, and the Fantasia Stacking Block Train. As you would expect they are all beautifully made, and durable.

One of our favourite ranges is the Melissa and Doug range. We like this range because of the quality of the craftsmanship. The are made to perfection down to the very last detail.

We have included the alphabet nesting and stacking blocks, the 100 wood block set, the classic ABC block cart which is always a popular seller. As it is nice for your children to have a trolley, they can pack the blocks into and pull around the house. Just try not to step on the odd stray later :).

To finish this range off, we have also included a beautiful ABC/123 range.

Last but not least is the Plan Toys selection, which includes the traditional blocks in a group of 50 and the Creative Blocks.

But we hate to say this, one of our favourites in their range is the Castle and the Fairy Tale Blocks. The fairy tale set includes two horse with a carriage and two figures.

The castle theme is just as wonderful and will provide your children with hours of fun and play.

As you would expect toy blocks promote;

Fine motor skills
Hand-eye coordination
Spatial skills

They are also good for developing creative and lateral thinking skills. Will this go with that? Can I build this?

Additionally children are also learning cause and effect. If I build it too high, it might fall over. If the shapes do not match or logically belong together perhaps, I need to try another way?

They also learn patience and focus as they are engaged in the activity of building. This leads to enjoyment of them seeing what they have built. When our daughter or son stand there pointing to their structures, we are just as proud of them as they are proud of themselves.

We have selected a lovely range for you, and we know whatever you choose, you and your little one will have hours of fun.

Posted in educational toys, fine motor skills, preschooler toys, problem solving toys, social development toy, toddler toys, wooden building blocks

These Toys are like WOW!

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Lubica Misevski

WOW Toys....I think the name says it all? These toys are amazing in so many ways. Now like most products we sell we like to test them out. Of course, this is for your benefit and in no way should our enjoyment be seen as anything else but work related.

Our little man gives these the once over to make sure they are durable for the most adventurous little boys and girls.

WOW Toys were first introduced at the London toy fair in 1997. Although they were up against some stiff competition and some very big brands. Their strength and designs caught the idea of many influential UK retailers.

Since this point in time WOW has expanded dramatically and is in over 900 UK retailers, and over 40 countries around the world.

WOW prides themselves on creating super cute, and super tough toys for little ones. Our very own Dudley dump truck can launch off the dining table and land in one piece on the floor :).

They have a ten year satisfaction guarantee and do not build with PVC. There are no small parts, and they do not use any toxic materials in WOW Toys. Best of all NO batteries because it is frictionless, but they work like they have them.

Ernie the Fire engine even has a magic button, to lift the crane and make the fireman turn.

The Wow toys are great for role playing games as they have:

Ronnie Rocket

Flip 'n' Tip Fred

Dudley Dump truck

Mini Wow Ace the Race Car

Mini WOW Blaze the Fire Buggy

Penny’s Pooch 'n' Ride

Pippa's Princess Carriage

And Poppy’s Pony Adventure

So you can just imagine all the different ways you could role play and create games with the WOW Toys. What we also love is that they cater for girls. Normally lines that make tough knock about dump trucks like Dudley don’t have a WOW Dynamite Daisy. This is another reason we think this brand is cool.

They are also great for social development, fine motor skills, ideas and imagination and problem-solving.

The range is suitable for 18 months right up to 5 years. Even Dads and Mums can get some fun out with these.

We plan to take some action shots for Instagram and the Dudley Dump truck. So if you are not following us there have a look for Kidzinc8, and you will see our little friend in action soon enough.

Any questions let us know. You can view the full range here.

Posted in award winning toys, fine motor skills, imagination play, preschooler toys, problem solving toys, social development toys, toddler toys, toys for kids, WOW Toys

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KidzInc Pty Limited
ABN: 76 137 743 410

PO Box 555
Cammeray NSW 2062, Australia