creative conducting: b.toys symphony in b

 The Playful Walnut
Feb 202012
 

Helping kids develop an ear for music is one of the great joys of parenting. Ever since my girls could utter their first words, we’ve been introducing them to the different sounds and singers whose music delights our listening ears. My 7-year-old knew her Billy Joel from her Frank Sinatra even as a preschooler, while my 3-year-old is just beginning to identify a saxophone vs. a trumpet. We’re not surprised then that Symphony in B., a new musical toy that we saw at Toy Fair last week, has taken center stage. Following a shape sorter concept, mini maestros can place any combination of up to six miniature musical instruments (from a total of 13) in their corresponding slots, select the type of music they’d like to hear and let the serenading begin! Mix and matching everything from a clarinet to a sitar makes for unique composing. If you’re looking to playtime more educational, this toy is the perfect excuse to turn music-making into a learning experience. As each instrument sounds, it lights up to help kids pinpoint woodwinds from brass, percussion from strings. Before long, your kids will know their “Piano Man” from their “Ol’ Man River,” too.

In a Nutshell: Ready to move past pots and pans? Help your kids graduate from the School of Rock to something a bit more sophisticated will be like music to your ears.

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ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog: b.toys woofer

 The Playful Walnut
Feb 152012
 

The lucky mom that I am, I am treated to a musical serenade by my 3-year-old every afternoon. She pounds…er, plays on her kitty keyboard like there’s no tomorrow. It’s quite possible you have seen the offending musical instrument that I’m talking about: an orange-hued Cheshire cat that grins from ear to ear with a row of piano key teeth. My preschooler can’t get enough of this thing, and our ears (and forever-hiding family cat) are proof of her “music-making.” As much as I jest and sometimes cringe each time I hear her striking up the band, I secretly delight in her unabashed merriment in playing and singing along off-key. Her 7-year-old sister also partaking in the joy? Not so much… Maybe it’s because she feels a bit left out of this one-woman band and that the band leader isn’t partial to sharing (not yet, anyway). Imagine then when, earlier this week at Toy Fair,  we feasted our eyes on B.toys follow-up to the ever-popular Meowsic: Woofer, the hound dog-shaped guitar. We sampled the Woofer for ourselves at this week’s Toy Fair and man, can this pooch rock! You can strum along to 20 sing-along favorites, as well as 9 original Peppy Puppy songs, in one of three guitar styles: electric, acoustic or, our personal favorite, hound dog. Creative artists can also plunk out their own riffs as loud as they choose (there’s also a volume-control for more sensitive ears). Hotdog indeed! So, from the looks (and sounds) of things, our band just acquired a new member. Let’s just hope our cat will show her face again one of these days…

In a Nutshell: Got a Joan Jett wannabee on your hands? Hand her a Woofer and let ‘er rip!

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berry sweet music

 The Playful Walnut
Sep 152011
 

When I was about 7 or 8, Strawberry Shortcake was one of my best playmates. Yes, there was a time when Barbie was pushed aside in favor of this sweet-smelling lass. My younger cousin and I asked Santa for her one Christmas and oddly enough, she received 2 dolls and I none. Clearly, Santa was having a senior moment, so my cousin graciously passed one doll on to me. And what a good mommy I was to Miss Shortcake:  I combed her hair, changed her clothes and took her on all sorts of adventures, from bike-riding to playing out in the backyard. (She could never truly be herself in that cramped-up strawberry, anyhow…) One of the things I never got around to doing with my best dolly, though, was something that I do  with my own daughters, and that’s have a music party. How utterly delightful that today, the Strawberry Shortcake Easy Recorder Songbook lets me take a walk down memory lane while my kids test out their own music-making skills. The book and recorder sets contains basic instructions for first-time players, and features a medley of songs (including “A Berry Happy Birthday”) with large print music notes. My 7-year-old reminds me that next year, she’ll be learning the recorder in music class. By then, with the help of Miss Strawberry herself, I expect no less than a virtuoso.

In a Nutshell: Moms who remember the beloved scented doll from the 80s will be tickled pink over this latest Strawberry Shortcake incarnation.

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