Tegu Blocks, named after the place they’re made (Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras) are the wicked coolest wooden blocks on the planet, I’m pretty darn sure. Not only are they un-plastic, but they’re made of wood that’s sustainable sourced & FSC certified, and their production and each sale helps the Honduran people on their journey toward long term solutions to their poverty & hunger. The wood is coated in a safe, water-based laquer.

Now that people are hip to the wood, there are lots of wooden blocks available around the interweb, but there’s something else that makes Tegu blocks the coolest of cool – magnets placed inside each block (read: fully functional but completely inaccessible to little people!) encourage dimensional building in all directions while children learn about positive & negative polarity, attraction and repulsion, gravity and more.

While we’ve only used them as toys because we have children who love them, they would also make a great executive desk toy or designer gift for anyone. The “Discovery Set” includes 26 magnetic wooden blocks in three shapes: 12 Cubes, 10 Long Planks, and 4 Short Planks. The toys come in a natural finish. The magnetic connections between the blocks make for innovative play that defies gravity and increases a child’s creative freedom. Who knew toddlers & preschoolers could learn so much about science from one simple but brilliant toy?

These aren’t your Grandpa’s blocks, but they very well could be your great grandchildren’s. An “educational toy” that encourages open-ended and unscripted play, is heirloom quality, helps the earth and it’s people, and is so much fun even the adults in our home play with them after the kids go to bed…what more could you ask in a toy?

You can see the blocks in action on YouTube.

And because they’re so wicked cool? We’re offering them for sale in our OpenSky Shop!

That’s not something we take lightly here at TOP – nothing’s for sale that we haven’t tried ourselves and loved more than ice cream.

Buy Now (without even leaving our site!)

Also available in mahogany” and in the BIG original set and a mahogany original set.

Win it! Tegu is giving away TWO discovery kits! To enter, comment on this post before noon mst on Sept. 30, 2010.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNERS EMAILED.

ETA: Apparently the one item we were so excited to open with is out of stock! Dang! Will update when someone tells us it’s back. Grrrr…

Two years ago, I reviewed a magnetic calendar for preschoolers & school aged kids my family is still using to this day and just love. For that reason, I’ve made it the first item for sale in our new OpenSky Shop!

Now, with two preschool aged children, the magnetic weekly calendar from 2fishkids is even more a part of our day. It’s such a great visual organizer for little people, and a sanity saver for this mama. It’s well organized, colourful and personalized to my children and their incredibly busy weeks. It teaches about the days of the week, seasons, weather and more.

The fully magnetic calendar measures 13 1/8” x 8 1/8” and comes with 58 activity, season and weather magnets, a dry erase marker and a storage bag. Because of the smallish magnets, it’s recommended for ages 3+. This indispensable preschool tool retails for just $20 and you can now buy it right from us without leaving our site!

Our OpenSky shop is small – one item only at this time – because of our promise to test out each and every item we sell and only sell things that we love. From each sale, we will make a small amount (~$1-$3) but you pay no more than you would if you had to do all of the shopping around on your own and purchased the same item from their own or any other third-party site. We do all of the work for you, and hope you love shopping with your trusted friends at T.O.P!

Starting August 10th, we’re opening an OpenSky shop!

See that countdown clock over there to the right?

Yes, that one! Once my shop opens, the clock will switch to a link to the shop.

Here’s how it works: When we feature items we love, we’ll check to see if OpenSky has a relationship with the company. If they do, we’ll be able to put a “Buy Now” button within the review post so you can buy the item directly from us without being directed to a third party website. It’s like shopping with a friend! You can also, once it’s open, just browse the shop as you can any other online store, but the only things you’ll see there are things that the TOP review team have personally used and approved! OpenSky is simply a platform. An amazing platform, but just a platform. The shop will be ours and under our full control so you’ll only see items we truly love & believe in!

I’ve shopped from OpenSky shops in the past & loved it, which is what prompted me to check in to offering something similar at TOP. We’ll make a small dividend from each sale, as will OpenSky, but the markup will be very small. Currently they only ship within the USA but they’re working on adding Canada. OpenSky is a new company (just a one year old baby!) so they’re still growing. If you are a small business owner, contact OpenSky to start your relationship and let people like us help get your product out there!

We’ll actually be on holidays on opening day, but once we’re back and the shop is rockin’ & rollin’ I’ll let you know!