Top Ten Green Toys for Earth Day

It's Earth Day this week: the perfect time to green up your kids’ toy chest! We've combed the stacks for the most-environmentally conscious toys and games around for kids preschool through high school, and selected 10 winners to receive our seal of approval, the Education.com A+ Award. To make the grade, toys had to be kid-friendly, environmentally conscious, educational, and of course, fun! Whether they're produced by artisan cooperatives around the world, constructed out of sustainable or recycled materials, or locally-made to reduce the carbon footprint, each of these products is safe for your child and your world. Celebrate Earth Day right this year, by playing green! Here are 10 toys to get you started: A New Use for That Old Chevy: Forget long speeches about the importance of recycling—give your kid a front row seat to the argument, with a boost onto this reindeer swing. Sculpted from previously used truck and car tires and made entirely by hand in the U.S. and Europe, this Blixen-for-the-backyard looks like a living breathing beast, thanks to the elasticity of the tire material. Non-toxic and cleaned so the black won’t rub off on clothes and hands, we can’t think of a better use for all those semi-truck treads. The swing comes completely assembled and ready to hang on your favorite tree without need of an engineering degree. Plus, the rope can hold up to 200 pounds. Not that you’re buying this beauty for yourself, but, well, we’re just saying… (Wildlife Creations, $79.95 plus shipping). Where to buy A Toy that Stacks Up: These are not your grandpa's blocks. The Water Set, with its sealed windows filled with colored water, can be overlaid to show how colors mix. The Twisted Blocks transform triangles into parallelograms, allowing kids to turn angles upside-down with a quick turn of the wrist. Made from recycled rubberwood, shots of color come from nontoxic soy ink and all glue is of the non-formaldehyde variety. (Plan BuildImagination Blocks, various sets priced from $20- 40, Twisted Blocks Set $29.95, Water Blocks $29.95, Creative Blocks Set $29.95). Where to buy A Super Green Game: Goodbye, Monopoly. See you later, Candyland. Introducing Word Chase, a game alternative that's good for the earth and your child's grey matter. In this literacy scavenger hunt of sorts, kids lap the board looking for words. In the process, they practice the top 25 building blocks of the English language. Normally, bright colors mean bad news for Mother Earth. But this super colorful board is made with soy-based ink, which is much easier on the environment when the presses are cleaned. Plus, everything in the box is made of 100 percent recycled paper. (Beyond Learning, $19.95).  Where to buy Rock and Roll: Marble runs have been a kid classic for years and it's no wonder-- they provide hours of whizzy fun, in addition to a shot of fine-motor practice and pre-engineering skills. This one's a real looker, but it's made of environmentally friendly rubberwood. The colorful set of curved rails and building blocks are painted with non-toxic German water-based paints, an eco-conscious alternative to the petroleum-based variety found in many other versions. A sustainable toy in more ways than one: the cool combination of funnels, tracks, drop zones, and blocks make for creative possibilities that will sustain children's interest for years to come. (Hape, $99.99). Where to buy Neat Beats: Sometimes, a child's sense of world geography can be slightly hazy, to say the least. This Rebana (ruh-BAH-nah) frame drum is a great excuse to pull out the atlas and start talking about other cultures. Made in Java from mango trees that are too old to produce fruit, and goatskins taken as a byproduct of meat, this drum is batiked with natural dyes and has no varnish, making it low in toxins and kinder on the planet. But, not only is this product environmentally conscious, it's also socially conscious. Instead of buying from a big box store, you're buying through a Fair Trade cooperative of 2,000 artisan craftsmen.(Jamtown, $19.95). Where to buy Sew Fun: This kit harkens back to a time when little kids learned to sew magical things out of modest means, long before the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle" came to be. With a remarkable concern for reducing the product's carbon footprint, it's made almost entirely of Chicago-based material. The yarn, the patterns, and almost everything inside come direct from the Windy City, all within miles of where the product itself is produced. Complete with yarn for hair, dress and pants patterns, a muslin figure, and a sack of sewing accoutrements like seam rippers, thimbles, pin cushions, and more, it will have your child "playing local" while learning an essential skill of generations past.(Design-a-Doll, Ticche and Bea, $59.99). Where to buy Puzzle Me Green: Almost nothing on Earth is as fine as a big, green tree. This 3-D handcrafted wooden puzzle makes a wonderful tribute. Made from rubberwood, one of the most environmentally sustainable hardwoods on the planet, a portion of the product's profits goes towards planting more trees in the developing nations where they're produced. The manufacturer has made ethical labor part of its mission--developing partnerships with small, family-run factories that pay workers a fair living wage. The wood is preservative free and the paint is non-toxic. Leafy good! (ImagiPLAY, $14.99). Where to buy

Down to Earth: In your rush to find the perfect green gift, don’t forget to look for things that actually make the world greener. This Apple-Tree-To-Be kit contains clear directions for growing a tree from seed to fruit. The materials are organic across the board—from rice-hull planting pots, to bark made of coconut husks. And its apple offspring are an heirloom variety called Ralls Janets, mom to the ever-popular Fuji. (Potting Shed Creations, $22.50). Where to buy Sustainable Strategy: At first glance, this colorful wooden set looks more like a coffee table conversation piece than a board game. But despite its eye-catching aesthetic, Paradice is a complex and multifaceted strategy game that demands focus and creative visuo-spatial reasoning. Paradice takes place in a world of humans, forest spirits, and trees (each represented by a vibrant wooden gamepiece), and explores the complicated relationships that play out in a land of environmental resources. It's a cross between Chess and Parcheesi, set to the backdrop of a fantasy storyline which serves as a metaphor for todays' environmental challenges. Not only is the game green in color and concept, but it's sustainably manufactured. Those vibrant colors are produced using non-toxic dyes, not paint. Plus, it's crafted out of farmed pagoda birch, and not old-growth forests. So get some strategy in your teen's life, and make him a player in the game of protecting the planet. (See Through Games, $69.00). Where to buy Earth Wise: In this game of geography smarts, players compete to complete a world map puzzle by correctly answering world trivia questions. But this ain't your grandmama's quiz game: in a word, these questions are hard. Try “What color is the Greek wine Retsina?” Or “Which Australian State's residents are referred to as 'Croweaters'?” Get the picture? Not only is Atlas Adventures a high-level brain game, it's also good for the soul. With a board and pieces made of 100% post-consumer recycled materials, it takes global consciousness to a whole new level! (Green Board Game Co., $19.95). Where to buy Want to take these gift ideas with you? It's easy: hover your mouse and click the "copy me" button on the widget below, and you'll get a code to add it to your blog or web site. You can also add the widget to your Facebook, Myspace, and iGoogle pages, or any place you'd like to have people access these cool gift ideas. Size 300*400:

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