Z is obsessed with Hexbug Nano robots. We have bought our share of Nano tracks and considered buying more when we discovered the new Battle Arena. But I balked at the price when I checked the set out at our local Target. It's a great idea, and she loves using the tracks she has now. But for $50+, it (like so many things I see this year) just doesn't seem like much toy for the price tag. So I was pleased as punch to discover how easy it was, using Legos, to make our own custom-built habitats.

Our first is a racetrack featuring a starting gate for three contenders, a "push-through" gate to test robot strength, doorways that must be discovered and passed through, and a maze section just before the finish line.


The one challenge has turned out to be that these robots' storebought habitats are hexagonal for more reasons than one: They don't do well with square corners. A bit of Nano modding (a lightweight nose attachment) might solve that problem.



Z highly recommends Hexbug Nano robots. I'm very into the idea of making our own (we have been junk roboticists since Z was a toddler) but without a simple lightweight on-off option they aren't quite convenient enough for the way she uses these things.

Z has been pretty interested in Jenni's knitting lately, and we've had several experiences of adult crafts being very challenging for her and quickly abandoned. But Z picked up finger knitting in about half an hour, and has been knitting little scarves madly ever since - on the couch in the evenings, in the car while we drive her around, and so on. Finger knitting is commonly taught in Waldorf education, and is great for hand-eye coordination, finger dexterity, and fine motor development, and is a great first craft - it has made Z very proud of something she can sit and make herself.

Here's Z explaining the process she uses. Specific steps vary, and this is pretty much as simple as it gets.


So far she has made doll scarves and is working on one for a human being who shall not be named at this time.

Here's another demo video that just might be enough to get you and your child started, if Z's explanation wasn't enough for you:


Have fun!

It's only natural that a person who could not help but make a fantastically bubble-blowing BubbleTruck



would need a second act.




The BubbleBus could be yours for a mere $50,000 on eBay. If I was a kajillionaire, I'd ship it to India and donate it to Arvind Gupta for a mobile science/craft/toy lab.

Memo to Sonny: I'd bet quite a few tinkerers would pay $5 for a PDF of instructions for those various bubble-blowing devices, especially if we could build them for stand-alone use...

Z and I adapted instructions from the craft blog Skip to My Lou and made homemade "moon sand" the other day. It was easy to make, and given Z's enthusiastic use of it for the hour or so after we made it, this stuff could give our homemade play dough a serious run for its money.

Most "play sand" is made of pulverized quartz rock. The problem with this form of sand is that it contains crystallized silica, which is a known carcinogen that is nasty for little lungs to breathe in during play sessions. That's why most play sand has a Prop 65 warning on it, required for it to be sold in California. Some play sand also contains a fibrous form of tremolite similar in structure to asbestos that some consumer groups argue is potentially as harmful.

More than you probably wanted to know about sand. One easy alternative is Safe Sand, which is made of feldspathic rock and does not contain crystallized silica. We bought a sample pack of variously colored sand and decided to try it out for our moon sand project.


To make a small batch of moon sand, mix one cup of sand with 1/3 cup cornstarch. Add a quarter cup of water, stir, and add a tiny bit more to get the right consistency, so it can be packed together like sand you'd like to make a sand castle out of. I've never used brand-name Moon Sand before, but that's what I assume it's like.


Z chose to use her sand to make little sand castles. Kinderville cups make great sand castle molds.



You can buy ready-made Moon Sand from Fat Brain Toys or Amazon.com, Safe Sand at Safe Sand's website, and cornstarch at your local grocery store.

While we're on the topic of designed-to-order custom plush dolls (see our reviews of services offered by Xoddo and CurlyQ Cuties): If you happen to possess an unusual combination of high computer literacy and high sewing ability, and don't mind using beta software that will crash your PC a lot, you should check out Plushie, which fills an entirely different niche in custom-designed sewn objects. The rest of us can just gawk at this video and wait for the future to come knocking in a more user-friendly format:

Not long after reviewing Xoddo's design-your-own plush doll creation service, another startup in the custom plush field, CurlyQ Cuties, contacted us with an offer to try out their stuffed monster creation service. We checked out their business online and were surprised to see how different their offering was, so we agreed to give it a try. Since Z had already adopted her Xoddo doll, we all agreed beforehand that this time we'd be creating a doll not for her but for her cousin, G., and that Z would have the pleasure of designing it for him.


CurlyQ's design interface works smoothly, and was a bit easier for Z to master than Xoddo's. This is in part because the two companies offer very different design models; unlike Xoddos, which print a virtually unlimited number of graphic layers onto a constructed "blank," CurlyQ Cuties are made of colored pieces of fabric that are sewn together. Although this means there are fewer options overall for your softie's design, the big win here is in body shapes - in addition to ten types of eyes, belly designs, mouths, eye colors, belly colors, and body colors, there are ten different body styles, which vary pretty dramatically once you've accepted the basic pudgy teardrop body type. You can see all of CurlyQ Cutie's body styles here.

The only pressure we exerted during the design process was to refuse to let her make the body pink, a decision she returned to several times throughout the design process. We did this in part because we honestly suspected her five-year-old male cousin would be less enthusiastic about a pink doll, but also because the doll would be shipped to us for review prior to sending it on to its recipient, and we wanted that process to go smoothly.


This makes Cuties with different eyes (from one to three) or belly shapes (heart, circle, star, etc.) feel dramatically different, as one might have a pair of antennae while another sports flamelike hair. The resulting variety feels more comparable with Ugly Dolls, in fact, than with any other custom-made doll we've seen.


Although we read up on the site and product before ordering one, it was honestly hard for us to appreciate just how handmade this little guy would feel. The doll is made of fleece with felt accents serged on and a stitched mouth (some styles are hand-stitched). The only thing we could have asked for was a little stronger mouth line (it is a thin piece of black thread that blends in with the body and has some gaps).

The dolls are about 12" tall, which is a few inches taller than Xoddo dolls, and a couple inches shorter than a standard Ugly Doll.


CurlyQ Cuties cost $25, and can be personalized with an embroidered name for another $5. For a product that is entirely made in the USA (both CurlyQ and Xoddo deserve praise for that) and the level of customization, this is the right price. Standard shipping is $5, and for another $1 you can request a handwritten note for the doll's recipient. They guarantee your doll will ship within 10 business days or you'll get a 10% discount, and indeed ours arrived within a week or so; it was held at the post office for a signature, and we actually received an email from the company reminding us of this, which may have been automated but was still pretty amazing. They also make "Fairy-Tooth" dolls which are shaped like big teeth, have many of the same feature options plus a pocket in back for the proverbial tooth-cash swap, and start at $15.

You can play with CurlyQ Cuties' monster maker, and order the plush monster of your dreams, at CurlyQCuties.com.