Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Best Black Friday Toy Picks from Parent Gurus

    By Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Tue, Nov 22, 2011
    This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.
    Do you have a story to tell? Become a Yahoo! contributor

    With Black Friday this week, parenting gurus are exploring toys and creating shopping recommendations. It has asked kids to test and evaluate various toys. Parents look not just for low prices but also lots of educational bang for their toy-buying buck. Here are the top picks.

    * My Keepon: A voice-activated, motion-sensitive interactive doll that looks like a baby chicken, it's also squishy-soft. This toy is popular with sixth graders of both genders.

    * LaLaLoopsy: This rag doll with bendable hair and accessories is made for children 4 and older.

    * Tonka XT Ricochet Trickster: Second graders liked this remote-controlled toy car that flips over and "chases" them.

    * Sing-a-ma-Jigs: Winner of the Toy of the Year award, these soft, fabric animal dolls play a song when hugged.

    * Fastrack: A combination of marbles and Tiddly-Winks, fourth graders voted this board game of ricocheting disks as "funnest."

    * LeapPad Explorer: This hand-held educational tablet has a camera, video recorder and microphone, plus downloadable learning games.

    * Angry Birds Knock on Wood: This board game version of the Google Chrome and iPhone application is rated for kids 5 and older.

    * Jewelry Boutique Beads: Third grade girls gave this craft project toy a thumbs-up. Kids make their own beads from air-dried modeling clay. Beads can be strung into jewelry. Parents' Choice gave this toy props for creativity.

    * FryFlyz Boy Fourth graders approved these spinning hoops that create a pattern of light.

    * Happy Feet Two Freezing Frenzy: Based on the popular movie, this game is recommended for those 5 and older.

    * Goggle Eyes: In this family game, kids do challenges while wearing vision-altering glasses. Lenses are interchangeable, too.

    * PlaSmart Perplexus Maze Puzzle game: This game won the TOTY award, as well as Disney Family Fun parenting magazine's Top Toy Award.

    Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about parenting from 23 years raising four kids and 25 years teaching K-8, special needs, home-school and adult education.

     

    There are no comments yet

    [ [ [['Dekraai', 10]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/mourners-remember-seal-beach-shooting-victims-1318620627-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/2c/32c8e92d889f42edb719cb5257afdf4e.jpeg', '461', ' ', 'Reuters/Lori Shepler', ], [ [['iPhone 4SXXXXXXX', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/thousands-line-up-for-apple-s-iphone-4s-1318602841-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/f/4f/f4f15e8f6f323f5386dc9fdf9e15dca8.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth', ] ]
    [ [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    News For You

    Loading...

    US News »

    • Goodyear recalls 41,000 Wrangler Silent Armor tires

      (Reuters) - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co said Saturday it would recall about 41,000 of its Wrangler Silent Armor tires produced in 2009 over concerns that a small number could tear, leading to crashes. Two people died in one 2011 rollover crash in Texas involving a vehicle equipped with the tires, Goodyear spokesman Scott …

    • Minnesota's controversial deadly force bill advances David Bailey

      MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - A Minnesota bill that could be sent to the governor next week would sharply expand the circumstances under which people can use deadly force when they feel threatened, a measure that law enforcement groups call a recipe for getting away with murder. Democratic Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has not …

    • U.S. oil shale boom puts big squeeze on small towns Laura Zuckerman and Lori Grannis

      (Reuters) - The suspected kidnapping and murder of a Montana teacher by two men said to be seeking work in the oilfields of North Dakota underscores the darker side of a regional energy boom that has pumped jobs and money as well as newcomers and crime into rural towns. ...

    • Sainthood campaign planned for Boys Town founder

      OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - The Omaha Archdiocese is launching a campaign for sainthood for Father Edward J. Flanagan, the Catholic priest who founded Boys Town and whose story was immortalized by an Academy Award-winning movie. Flanagan dedicated much of his life to ministering to orphans and troubled youth, and is best …

    • 2nd New York state judge upholds fracking ban in towns Dan Wiessner

      ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - A New York state judge on Friday upheld an upstate community's ban on gas drilling, marking the second victory this week for opponents of the drilling method known as fracking. The authority vested in towns and cities in New York to regulate use of their land extends to prohibitions on drilling, …