Top Green Gifts for Earth Day 2009 (continued)

First Grade: Kombino In the toy-making business, it's hard to get greener than bamboo. This attractive strategy game is chock full of the stuff. The set includes a bamboo mat of four columns and four rows, plus four different kinds of bamboo shape tiles painted in vivid water colors. Game play is similar to sudoku, with players laying their tiles in horizontal and vertical rows, without doubling up on any one shape or color. The game provides practice in core math skills, including patterning and shape recognition, and it can be played in groups, pairs, or alone. Best of all, you can play with a clear-conscience, knowing that this product is made of a safe and natural material that grows back in just three years. (Hape, $28) Where to buy

Let's Paint the Pond Musical Instruments Here's a toy that hits all the right notes: it combines art, music, ecology and global awareness. This kit includes a bevy of percussion instruments--a castanet-like butterfly, two wood blocks that look and sound like a cricket and a frog, and a wooden drum in the shape of a fish. All the pieces are hand-carved out of native Jackfruit wood by Fair Trade artisans in Vietnam, who design and fashion the instruments based on their own musical heritage. Fruit trees provide a renewable source of wood, as old trees on fruit farms are replaced by more productive young ones. And the play value is as sustainable as the materials: your child doesn't just get to play the sounds of the pond, she can also stretch her artistic side by painting her instruments using the the non-toxic, water-based paints included in the pack. This one is sure to be a hit! (Jamtown, $29.95) Where to buy

Grow Your Own Tree Teach your child to fight climate change... one seed at a time. Trees are the ultimate green gift: they prevent soil erosion and water pollution, they produce oxygen, and each mature tree absorbs enough carbon dioxide to support two people! Your child can create a shady picnic spot or build the base for that future tree fort, by starting with one of these baby varieties now. Whether you go for a city-tolerant pine, a fruit bearing apple, a simply gorgeous maple, a tropical palm, an elm or a ginkgo, there are plenty of choices here. Kits come with seeds, germination mix, a plant stake, and a biodegradable coconut coir pot that can be planted directly into the ground. Every tree is guaranteed to grow and a portion of all proceeds goes towards replenishing forests. So you'll be grooming a green thumb and a greener world, too. (DuneCraft, $5.90) Where to buy:

Spinning Top Set Want to take your child on a spin around the globe? This vibrant spinning top set comes with directions for bambaram--a game popular with children in India and Pakistan. To play, take turns spinning your tops and try to bump your opponent's top out of the playing circle. Sound easy? Give it a whirl and you'll find it harder then you think. The game promotes the hand-eye coordination and fine-motor skills needed for good pencil grip in first grade. Plus, the tops are made of plantation rubberwood, a highly renewable hardwood from trees no longer able to produce latex, and the box is made of forest-managed pine. Lead-free, water-based paint is used for the brightly-colored polka-dots and flower designs that make spinning the tops so much fun, and the manufacturer also strives for ethical labor practices. (ImagiPlay, $19.99) Where to buy

Yesterday's News Colored Pencils Pencil and paper have always gone together, but not quite like this! These colored pencils take innovative journalism to the next level. Made from pages of reclaimed Chinese newspapers, tightly wrapped in layers around the colored lead, these pencils are lighter and stronger than their number 2 predecessors. The set of twelve easy-to-sharpen colors comes in a handy pencil case, also wrapped in recycled newspaper. (Worldwide Co., $5.95) Where to buy