Science Kit

I really don't buy a lot of toys anymore. The boy has outgrown anything not electronic, and the girl, even though she asks for everything she sees on TV, is mostly content to play with what she already has. But she'd been saving her money for a while and was anxious to spend some of her $61. (That's a lot of saving when your main source of income is that skinflint the tooth fairy.) So earlier in the week Jay and I took her to MudPuddles, a super cute toy store not far from home.

After roaming around the store for a while and turning her nose up at all the dolls and other typical 'girl' toys, she ran and picked up a science kit. (I couldn't find it on the MudPuddles website, but it's this one by Scientific Explorer.) I was a little surprised and, I admit it, a bit scared because I thought this toy might involve a lot of work on my part, and to be honest, I'm more into letting the kids play independently these days. (Call me lazy if you like, but I truly believe that being able to entertain yourself is a wonderful skill to have.)

Anyway, when we got home I was glad to learn that all of the projects involve only very basic supervision and explanation from me, and they only take a few minutes. (The most exciting one in my opinion, was when we made our own soft crystals.)
Plus, I was even more thrilled to see that after the actual projects were complete, the girl was happy to sit and be a scientist for a bit, mixing colors and playing with her test tubes and pipettes. Now that I know the girl is into this kind of thing, I'm thinking ahead to the holiday season. Maybe a Mind Blowing Science Kit, or a Yuck! Science Kit. Who wouldn't want to make their own barf or snot?