There are two more toy companies that I want to let you know about.  The first is Willow Toys.

Willow Toys sells hand made, high quality wood toys.  All of the kitchen sets, castles, dollhouses and play stands are hand made in the USA.  The only items that are not US made are the accessories that can be purchased separately.

They even offer free shipping on every order.

The second company is Story Time Felts.  I am actually a representative for this company.  We offer high quality felt toys and flannel board stories.  Our most popular are the felt “paper” dolls.

You can purchase these wonderful felt toys right from my Educational Toy Factory site.  Check out all of the Educational Felt Toys.

Wool Felt Mail Box
I absolutely love the idea of this toy.  This is a felt mail box with letters and postcards.  My kids always loved playing mail.  It looks like a well thought out toy.

 ImagiPLAY
These toys are colorful, wooden play sets that are made in the USA.  They are recommended for ages 3 and up.  Here are just a couple of the sets that are available.  There are also a moon, zoo, castle kingdom and arctic expedition sets available.

Last weekend we had some neighbors over with their kids to just hang out, watch a football game and have some dinner.  These neighbors nicely brought over some toys that they noticed my kids enjoy playing with while at their house, it was a large Geo Trax set.

We all had a nice time and when they left the neighbors left the Geo Trax set for my kids to play with.  How nice was that!?!  My kids have been playing with this set almost nonstop.  They have been working together and fighting very little.  When I return the train set I think I will bring over our extensive set of Little People for her boys.

If all goes well, I think I may start up a little toy swap in my neighborhood.  I know that my kids get bored of their toys and swapping them with a neighbor looks like a great way make a change without any expense.

In talking with other parents I have heard concerns about the safety of the toys on today’s market.  Babies are the most vulnerable to the dangers of lead paint that has been found on toys recently because they just put absolutely everything in their mouths.

I have been scouring the internet to find manufacturers of baby toys that are made in the USA.  It has been more difficult than I thought it would be.  There seem to be many more American made toys for children once they hit the toddler stage.

I have put everything that I have found for babies all in one spot.  I hope that it helps you in your search for safe toys for the babies in your life.
American Made Baby Toys

I will be putting together similar lists for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged children and will give you the update when they are ready

Corstarch and water goop, also known as oobleck, is a very interesting mixture for kids to investigate.  Check out this video.  At the end little boy even explains why the mixture acts the way it does.

There is another video on this page:  http://www.squidoo.com/preschoolscience/  This one takes you pretty up close and personal with the goop.

Laurie Toys makes educational toys for young children.  They include lacing sets which help develop a child’s fine motor skills, shape and color sorter, an alphabet phonics center and many more items for young immaginative play.  These are the toys that are often found in the preschool classroom.

Taurus Toys has two really cool types of building toys.  One is Block N Roll and works with Mega Blocks and Duplo blocks.  They also make a toy called No Ends.  These come in two different building sizes.  They look like a lot of fun and I know my kids would love the No Ends building set. 

Our Green House is a great little store that has a selection of classic toys that are made in the USA.  There are wooden cars, stuffed animals, baby rattles and, my favorite, a colonial loom.

Many of the Little Tikes toys  are still made in the USA including the Cozy Coupe II.  There many ride on toys, outdoor toys and kids’ furniture, which includes the Thomas the Tank Engine bed.  Honestly, I had no clue that Little Tikes still made so many things here in the US.