Articles and Blog Posts

How can creative toys build confidence in girls

Building toys, such as blocks, LEGO, and other construction sets, can indeed help build confidence in girls. Here's how:

1. Develops problem-solving skills: Building toys require children to use their critical thinking and problem-solving skills to create something from scratch. Girls who play with these toys learn to break down complex problems into smaller, manageable pieces, which builds their confidence in their ability to solve problems.

2. Encourages creativity: Building toys also encourage creativity and imagination. Girls who play with these toys can experiment with different designs and create something unique, which can help boost their confidence in their creative abilities.

3. Teaches persistence and perseverance: Building toys require patience and persistence. Girls who engage in these activities learn that they need to keep trying and that they can overcome obstacles with hard work and perseverance, which can help them feel more confident in their ability to achieve their goals.

4. Provides a sense of accomplishment: Completing a building toy project can be a source of great pride and accomplishment for girls. By finishing a project, they can feel proud of their work and gain confidence in their ability to accomplish something challenging.

5. Offers a safe and supportive environment: Building toys can provide a safe and supportive environment for girls to explore and experiment without fear of failure. Girls can try different things and make mistakes without worrying about being judged or criticized, which can help build their confidence in themselves and their abilities.

In conclusion, building toys can be an excellent tool for building confidence in girls. By developing problem-solving skills, encouraging creativity, teaching persistence and perseverance, providing a sense of accomplishment, and offering a safe and supportive environment, girls can learn to feel more confident in themselves and their abilities.

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How creative toys can help autistic kids?

Creative toys can be very beneficial for children with autism in several ways:

1. Promoting social skills: Some creative toys, such as building sets, allow for children with autism to work together with others and improve their social skills through cooperative play.

2. Enhancing imaginative play: Imaginative play can help children with autism express their emotions and experiences in a safe and controlled environment.

3. Improving fine motor skills: Art supplies, such as painting and sculpting, can help children with autism improve their fine motor skills, which can be a challenge for some kids on the spectrum.

4. Encouraging independent play: Many creative toys, such as coloring books, can be used independently, which can help children with autism develop a sense of independence and self-esteem.

5. Stimulating sensory experience: Creative toys like play dough, kinetic sand, and modeling clay can provide a fun and engaging sensory experience for children with autism.

6. Reducing anxiety: Creative activities can provide a calming and distracting activity for children with autism, helping them manage stress and anxiety.

It's important to keep in mind that every child with autism is different and has unique interests and needs. When selecting creative toys for a child with autism, consider their individual preferences and abilities. Consult with their therapist or teacher for recommendations.

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Why should you get a child a personalized toy?

There are several benefits of personalized toys for children, including:

1. Boosting self-esteem: Personalized toys with the child's name or a special message can help boost their self-esteem and make them feel special.

2. Encouraging imaginative play: Personalized toys can spark a child's imagination and creativity, leading to more engaging and enjoyable play.

3. Promoting a sense of ownership: Children develop a sense of ownership over their belongings, and having a toy that is uniquely theirs can be particularly important for this.

4. Enhancing emotional connection: Personalized toys can help children form an emotional connection with their toys, leading to a stronger attachment and longer-lasting play value.

5. Making it a unique gift: Personalized toys make great gifts, especially for special occasions such as birthdays or holidays, as they are unique and tailored specifically for the child.

Overall, personalized toys can provide children with a positive and memorable experience, fostering a sense of individuality, creativity, and emotional connection

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Building toys offer numerous benefits for children of all ages!

These toys can help improve fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, and cognitive development.

1. Improving fine motor skills: Building toys require the use of small muscles in the hands, fingers, and wrist, helping to develop fine motor skills and dexterity.

2. Hand-eye coordination: As children build, they need to coordinate their hands and eyes to ensure the blocks or pieces fit together properly, improving hand-eye coordination.

3. Problem-solving skills: Building toys often require children to figure out how to fit pieces together in a certain way, encouraging problem-solving skills. This type of play also helps develop spatial awareness and reasoning abilities.

4. Cognitive development: Building toys can help children understand concepts like cause and effect, as they learn how their actions result in a structure being built or falling apart. This type of play also supports math skills as children learn about shapes, measurements, and patterns.

5. Creativity and imagination: Building toys provide an open-ended activity that allows children to use their imaginations and creativity. They can build whatever they can dream up, encouraging creativity and imagination.

6. Social skills: Building toys can be a fun, interactive activity for children to engage in with friends or family members. This type of play can encourage cooperation, communication, and teamwork, helping to develop social skills.

7. Confidence and self-esteem: Children who successfully complete a building project can feel proud of their accomplishment and boost their confidence and self-esteem.

8. Stress relief: Building toys can also be a way for children to relieve stress and anxiety. The focus required for building and the satisfaction of creating something can help children feel calm and relaxed.

Building toys are an excellent investment for children of all ages, providing numerous benefits and opportunities for growth and development. These toys encourage creativity, problem-solving, and hand-eye coordination, while also helping to develop fine motor skills, social skills, and cognitive abilities. Additionally, building toys can serve as a fun, stress-relieving activity for children.

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Benefits of playing with traditional toys

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Western Digital EX2 Cloud NAS

 https://shop.westerndigital.com/c/nas-and-cloud-storage

The nice thing about the unit was how easy it is to setup and get up an running. This is definitely not a high workload system but much more geared towards the end home/home office user. In addition to the normal local access you can have at home you are also able to setup to look at your files at the MyCloud.com website or you can download the "My Cloud" mobile app. 

As for Specs The unit comes with a Marvell ARMADA 385 1.3GHz dual-core cpu, which is great for performance streaming. It also comes with 1GB of DDR3 memory. The downloadable Plex Media Server keeps all your photos, videos and music beautifully organized and prepared for streaming to your PC, mobile device, ect.

Can do multiple RAID setups and setup the backup however you would like but I setup mine in RAID 1 for more robust redundancy but you have a ton of flexible options. Check out a short video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ8OoShyeck

The software is pretty easy to use and is user friendly. and I'll link the user manual here: (MANUAL) 

If you ever need to replace or upgrade the drives it is a tool less bay less swap and super easy to do. 

I was able to get direct from WD with a discount code that doesn't seem to work anymore bit it was less than $450 in August 2021

Thanks for stopping buy and be sure to check these and other links out and see what sales they may have going on at WD.com https://shop.westerndigital.com/c/weekly-sale

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Fulament Fula-Flex 2.0 Review

So I recently have been looking for a way to get my prints off the printer in a cleaner way. I have been traying the typical hair spray / glue stick on the glass bed and that has done me well so far but I was really looking for something a bit easier to use. I recently came across a flexible bed made by Fulament. Now I have seen these flexible beds before but they always seemed to be cheap thin little parts that I was worried would never stay flat. This bed is however is great, for just $50 (a bit more if you want the textured version) is very thick. On top of that the magnet comes with a very sticky adhesive 3M backing and stuck solid to the aluminum platform. Installation process was simple

1. Take off the glass

2. Clean the surface with the supplied alcohol pads

3. Attached the magnet and snap on the plate.

4. re-level the print bed

That's it!

Print performance has been great, I have done a dozen prints or so and they come of clean and I don't have to wash off the glue stick or scrape the glass surface back smooth. The print bed has no issue staying put even at 70-90° temps for more exotic filaments. I actually just finished up a 4x4 print with a flat bottom that I would have stuck in the fridge to get off before. It snapped right off and the base was flat and smooth. I really have liked this base plate so far and I would recommend getting one if you are looking to simplify getting parts off your printer. You can find them on Amazon between $40-$60 depending on the size you need 

Click here for Amazon link : https://amzn.to/3aIRLmO

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