6 Eco-Friendly Must-Haves for a Day at the Beach or Pool

If you're headed to the beach or spending a day at a pool this holiday weekend -- or any day -- be sure to take our six must-have green products for fun in the sun. You can stay green whether on land, at sea, or in the pool with reusable swim diapers, beach towels, hats, beach bags, and swim shirts. And of course, don't forget safe, chemical-free sunscreens.

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Alicucio Transforms Waste Wood into Toys

Sicilian artist Arcangelo Favata, the artist behind Alicucio, takes rubbish seriously – so seriously that for him the concept of rubbish is non-existent. He scours the streets of Torino, Italy finding obsolete materials, which he crafts into creative toys and furnishings. From pieces of discarded timber, rise sturdy Trojan like horses complete with a hidden storage compartment within its belly – perfect for stowing kids’ craft kits or to hide …

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Anatomy of Type Children’s Book by Naomie Ross Teaches Kids ABCs and Typography

Graphic designer Naomie Ross created a unique way for tots to learn their ABCs. Her Anatomy of Type Children’s Book is filled with bold colors and comparisons of letters to real life objects that make learning the alphabet fun for tots. The book, only in prototype stage was Ross’ redesign of a typography anatomy diagram, but this time it’s geared toward children.

+ Anatomy of Type Children’s Book

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7 Colorful Eco-friendly Building Block Sets for Green Kids

Parents today will try anything to boost baby brain power. From baby flash cards to classical music to educational DVDs and iPhone apps; parents want their child to have a developmental jump start. You don't have to try so hard! Turns out, babies and toddlers who play with good old fashioned building blocks score better on cognitive development tests than kids who don't get to stack blocks. Blocks help with hand eye coordination, and they stimulate imaginative play and encourage kids to work together. Not to mention, plain old blocks are much safer than electronic learning toys and unlike flash cards, your kid won't chew blocks to bits. With this in mind, here are seven excellent eco-friendly and colorful building block set choices for your little builder.

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anaPad: A Safer Mobile Device for Kids?

If you’ve put your kid on a mobile device diet since the World Health Organization declared that cell phones are linked to cancer last month, perhaps it’s time to try a low tech tablet. The anaPad, created by Etsy design shop Twig Creative, is the perfect no-fi handheld to keep your kid occupied at home or on the go. This iPad knockoff is nothing more than a magnetic white board housed in a plywood frame, paired with app …

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HOW TO: Summer Leaf Prints with Glob Natural Paints

My son and I were super excited to receive a set of Glob Natural Paints to review. Glob is a natural art supply company with a focus on sustainability, using vibrant pigments that have been used throughout the ages by many different cultures. Glob's pigments are all natural, biodegradable and come in a beautiful collection of colors; Lemon Verbena (yellow), Blueberry (blue), Pomegranate (red), and Basil (green). We couldn't wait to get our hands dirty, and after taking a nature walk around our neighborhood, we headed home with a small collection of leaves and the perfect project idea. Since Glob paints are made using flowers, vegetables, fruit and spices, with natural food grade ingredients and organic extracts, we decided that leaf prints would be the perfect nature inspired project to try with our Glob paints. Read on to learn how we used this fantastic new art medium to create a nature inspired art gallery for the wall.

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‘The Grizzly’ Handmade, Wooden Bike from taiKa

‘Handmade’ is a term that rarely applies to bikes, but Australian design company taiKa lovingly crafts their wooden ride-on toys, which frankly, could double as artful decor, without the help of machinery or a production line. Road tested for durability by an active two-year old, ‘The Grizzly‘ stands the test of time and toddler trials, whether ridden across a hardwood floor or down a neighborhood street. Designer and father Daniel Rollston founded taiKa to give his son the gift of handmade wooden toys that he enjoyed growing up — and he wants consumers to know that ‘The Grizzly’ may boast love marks due to its human craftsmanship advising, “Don’t worry if you give it a few love marks too. It adds character, which is never out of place.”

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Upcycled Dinosaur Toys Become Prehistoric Planters

Looking for a creative, kid-friendly way to green your tot’s space with plants? Our pals from the Mesozoic Era are brilliantly modernized with these prehistoric planters. Plastic dinosaur toys are kept out of the landfill, and are instead primed, hand painted, sealed and drilled for drainage holes. A vibrant succulent is then strategically planted into each dino’s back, and may grow wild or boast a trim tailored to your tot’s liking. Allosaurus, Velociraptor, Tyrannosaurus, and more — these creatures are making a roaring comeback.

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Minimii’s Dollhouse Replicates Arne Jacobsen’s Charlottenlund Villa on a Smaller, Yet Grand Scale

Fantasy and reality beautifully collide in Minimii’s 1:16 scale dollhouse reproduction of designer Arne Jacobsen’s 1928 villa in Charlottenlund, Denmark. Designed by Linda Stenberg and Claus Hojer Hansen, the Danish creative directors of Minimii, the dollhouse features a roof and four walls that may be mounted and dismounted, allowing more children to play at once, a small collection of designer furniture (Egg and Swan chairs courtesy of Fritz Hansen) as well as tiny commissioned modern art pieces, wallpaper and rugs with patterns from Jacobsens aquarelle drawings and many more chic amenities which stay in place via magnets!

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Blafre Vintage Inspired Stainless Steel Lunchboxes

We love fantastic vintage inspired stainless steel lunchboxes and right now we’re swooning over the super cute selection from Blafre. The Norway-based husband and wife company creates colorful graphic lunchboxes that can be used for much more than just lunch. What a perfect eco-friendly way to store …

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Link Roundup: Lego Cake and a DIY Toy Chest

Bloesem Kids crafts a playful toy chest.

Modern Parents Messy Kids offers ideas for DIY scavenger hunts and I Spy games.

Ohdeedoh finds a mom who baked a Lego cake complete with natural ingredients, including natural food colorings!

Petit Eco Kids shares favorite birthday buys from Green Planet Parties.

Poppytalk finds eco must-haves for kids going away to camp.

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Art Study: Babies Prefer Picasso to Monet

Is your baby an art critic? A recent study from the University of Zurich revealed that nine-month old babies preferred the bold Cubism of Pablo Picasso over the Impressionistic strokes of Claude Monet. Twenty-four babies agree – the study showed that the infants set their gaze on Picasso over Monet every time. So why do babies seem to all have the same eye for art?

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HOW TO: Make Homemade Organic Fruit Roll-Ups

Does your kid love fruit snacks of the roll-up variety? The problem with most of these type of snacks is that they're full of artificial colors and flavors, and loaded with sugar and preservatives - not to mention they are prepackaged in non-recyclable packaging. Instead, you can make your kids organic fruit roll-ups at home with the freshest, whole ingredients and without the added sugar. Read on to learn how to make these fun summertime snacks in just a few short steps.

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BPA and 7 More Everyday Chemicals Linked to Breastfeeding Problems

Chemicals lurking in products we use everyday like sippy cups and non-stick pans, may affect a woman’s ability to breastfeed, according to a research review published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The findings were the result of a workshop with a panel of toxicologists, epidemiologists  and public health advocates who met to review existing research about endocrine disruptors and their effect on breast cancer and a breastfeeding. Read on for a list of the eight chemicals in question.

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DIY Polaroid Magnets Let Kids Get Up Close and Personal with Memorable Snapshots

Who knows why kids are so drawn to magnets, but several minutes (in a row!) may be wiled away at the refrigerator if you’ve got the right set for small hands to arrange and re-arrange. And we all know that tots have an inherent appreciation for photographs — especially when they or their loved ones are the featured subject. Which is why …

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Best Green Gardening Books for Kids

For most kids, simply saying the words “Let’s play in the dirt” will be enough of an invitation into the world of gardening. And of course, Inhabitots has recently brought you posts on starting a vegetable garden, building a raised garden bed, and getting your kids excited about the growing process. For those tots that still seem a little hesitant about discovering their green thumb, we have gathered some books that will get the whole family excited about the great green world of gardening. We're happy to report that most of the books are either made from recycled paper or using eco-friendly inks (and some are both).

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