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We’ve gotten some strange things sent to our office, but one of the strangest has to be KI (a Native American word that means ''Earth Spirit''), Mother Nature’s Child from Chicago-based Equilibrium, Engery+Education. This plush toy arrived one day and we couldn’t decide what to do with it. The idea behind it is good—it’s actually six toys in one ...

Summer may seem like a long way off right now (this week it’s been hard to remember it’s actually spring), but even before the temperatures rise it’s important to protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun. Carrying around a bottle of sunscreen with you wherever you go isn’t exactly convenient, though. That’s what we love about the Shady ...

Whether you’re painting one room or your whole house, there’s usually not much you can do to dampen paint fumes—even with every window and door open and fans buzzing all around, your house will likely smell like paint for the rest of the day (if not more). On top of the smell, you have to worry about what your family is inhaling with all those ...

It’s never too early to introduce your little ones to the joys of nature and the weather doesn’t have to cooperate (i.e. the possibility of snow in April) to do so. Sassy Earth Brights are a series of toys made of wood and textured fabrics that include several toys inspired by plants and animals, from the Happy Caterpillar to the Spring Bouquet ...

In honor of Earth Day, we’re featuring two family-friendly green companies that we think will spark your interest. In the meantime, don’t forget to actually go out and enjoy nature today, whether you take a quick stroll around the block or go out and splash around with your kids in a puddle or two (that depends on whether the forecast of rain this ...

When organic cotton hits a store as big as Babies “R” Us, you know it has gone mainstream, which is good for parents looking for environmentally-friendly clothes for their kids. The growing popularity of organic cotton has paved the way for other “green” fabrics, including those made from bamboo. When I initially heard about Sprout, which makes ...

  Even though we’re all grown up, we’re suckers for cute toys in this office. That’s why when we got the Sand Play Set ($19.99) from Green Toys, we just fell in love (and desperately wanted the other adorable toys the company makes). The sand toys include a bucket, rake, shovel and sand castle mold and they’re all just cute as a button and ...

In an attempt to see how well my adult friends and I know planet Earth, we sat down one evening to play the Planet Earth DVD Board Game. We’ve all become quite smitten over the picturesque Planet Earth DVD, so we thought we’d have an easy time beating the game. In our best attempt at thinking like kids—it was adult game night after all—we ...

We’re focusing on locals today—one “green” and one not—and although they’re not related, they’re both definitely notable. Thirteen-year-old Cailey Baker needs your vote. The Plainfield resident is the Chicago area winner of the Diamonds in the Rough contest for her essay explaining how her assistant softball coach encouraged her to have more ...

Whether your house is comfortably cluttered or a pristine abode that would put Danny Tanner to shame, cleaning up the messes kids ultimately make tends to be a big part of being a parent. With time at a premium, it’s no wonder some people balk at changing their tried and true cleaning products to greener, more natural cleaners. I admit, I was ...