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At 12:53 AM 11/19/2003, you wrote:
> In lugnet.general, Eric Sophie wrote:
> > In lugnet.general, Richard Marchetti wrote:
> >
> > Ohh Potty Mouth Alert!
>
> I swoop down from yonder mountain top on my Mecha to dispense justice for all.
>
> Jon Palmer and Richard Marchetti are hearby banished to .duplo and .primo
> respectively for the period of no less than 24 hours as is custom here on
> LUGNET. They may not post elsewhere with the exception of their forsaid
> posting
> grounds.
>
> Until then the Phantom Zone is nice this time of year:
>
> <<http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/sortafast/misc/phantom.jpg>>
"Profanity is the parlance of the fool. Why curse when we have such a
magnificent language with which to discourse?" -Theodore Roosevelt, United
States of America's 26th President
I've left other forums on cause of profanity and vulgarity. I'm considering
the same here.
> The Legomaster has spoken.
"And it was so."
(though I would have said 48 or 72 hours)
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In lugnet.general, Eric Sophie wrote:
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In lugnet.general, Richard Marchetti wrote:
Ohh Potty Mouth Alert!
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I swoop down from yonder mountain top on my Mecha to dispense justice for all.
Jon Palmer and Richard Marchetti are hearby banished to .duplo and .primo
respectively for the period of no less than 24 hours as is custom here on
LUGNET. They may not post elsewhere with the exception of their forsaid posting
grounds.
Until then the Phantom Zone is nice this time of year:
Play on.
The Legomaster has spoken.
e
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The pictures are all I can read here:
http://a9a.jp/lego/lego-primo.html
Most interesting to me are the 5451 Musical Sea Mobile, and the 5450
Discovery Bird.
Has anyone seen these in the US, or anywhere else?
Thanks
John
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In lugnet.lego, Ed Andrews writes:
> Looking over some old product catalogues from the seventies, Duplo products
> used to be listed as ages 1 to 3 and the classic creator sets started at 3.
> Now I see Duplo / Explorer sets starting at anywhere from 1.5 to 3 years old
> as the minimum age, with creator sets starting at 5. I thought that part of
> the reason behind the original Duplo line was due to product safety's
> testing using the windpipe test. Doesnt a 2 x 2 Duplo brick pass this test?
Decide for yourself. One Step Ahead (and I'm sure other vendors) makes a
simple choking hazard tester that's great for evaluating small toys. There
are lots of Primo/Baby stacking toys available. Also, check out the new
Explorer musical toys.
> I know that no one at LEGO will endorse having an eight month old play with
> Duplos, but aside from the bath tug boat, Primos are no long holding my
> son's interest. Obviously supervision is required with all products, but
> couldnt a Primo be chipped or broken and pose a choking hazard?
I doubt a small child could chip a Primo or Duplo brick. As for size, the
1x2x2 Duplo bricks (mostly printed) are the ones I'd take a close look at
and weed out. The biggest issue I have with Duplo vs. Primo with small
kids, is how much they get rolled on. Primos are little more forgiving
since they have rounded edges.
-Rob.
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The available range is much more extensive today, but still not quite
complete. The menus have been fixed up. Still no intelli-trains even
though the Trains submenu has a "NEW!" tag affixed.
Random things of interest in the new Explore sets:
There is a trans-blue "dolphin" in the Beach House set (3609), which looks
like it has been done off the baby killer whale mold.
There is a forklift in the Cargo Trucks (Intelli-Train) set 3326.
3619 Traffic Town has a lift.
3615 Theatre Stories has all sorts of interesting little bits, including a
crown, a shield and other costumes, and I think it has a frog which might be
a shroud like the ghosts (I'm not sure on this, need to see a clearer
complete picture of the set)
Explore is definitely not the demise of Duplo, it seems to be the best new
range for several years!
Deidre
drb@tasmail.com
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A whole stack of Explore sets are now listed at Shop At Home. There are some
extra sets not listed on the info pages and some of those on the info pages
are not yet up at SAH. There are differences from country to country eg USA
has all 5 of the new Bob the Builder sets, Germany has 2 of them, Australia
none (yet).
It looks like it is still a work in progress, only a few sets can be found
by navigating through the Baby & Preschool menus, the What's New menu is
much more useful.
I'm intrigued by the fact that several Primo/Baby sets have received new set
numbers even though they are identical in content to the older sets, the
only difference as far as I can tell is the new Explore packaging.
Deidre
drb@tasmail.com
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A stupid thought: Could the blocks with bees printed on them drive kids to
shake real bees to see if they rattle?
End stupid thought.
NICK
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Republication of official LEGO Company press release of May 16, 2000:
http://www.lego.com/info/pressspecific.asp?PressReleaseId=104&Year=2000
---------------------------
Infant stimulation maximises future opportunities
LEGO Company encourages putting more focus on stimulating children age 0-5. New
extensive research shows that by stimulating 0-5 year-olds with just the right
level of meaningful challenge, children are more apt to realising their full
potential as adults.
The issue of early stimulation is more relevant now than ever before. Research
clearly indicates that early childhood is the single most important learning
period in our lives. For that reason all good efforts should be released to
create fun and learning rich environments for our children. Thus, it is crucial
for children to have good toys to play with, and for more than 50 years LEGO
Company has offered just that - inspiring the active and creatively learning
child.
This is strongly concordant with advice springing from recent brain research and
studies on childrens optimal development. In a large-scale study involving more
than 200.000 respondents Professor of Psychology David G. Myers of Hope College
has shown how happy people, of all ages, report a number of common traits
including learning new things on a daily basis, controlling their own time,
being in control of time, and enjoying the little everyday things as they add up
to higher meaning. These people thrive, stay curious and retain self-initiative
and drive to break new boundaries.
'Humane Creativity,' an international research study initiated by Howard Gardner
of Harvard University, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi of Chicago University and William
Damon of Stanford University shows that not only enjoyment and happiness, but
also learning and creativity should be actively nurtured throughout life.
Gardner says: The brain learns best and retains most when the organism is
actively involved in exploring physical sites and materials and asking questions
to which it actually craves an answer. Merely passive experiences tend to
attenuate and have little lasting impact.
Leading the Nordic branch of Humane Creativity, Ass. Professor Hans Henrik Knoop
of the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies elaborates: I am convinced
that the origins of humane creativity rest on a clear understanding of how
important it is that children are challenged appropriately, and that we
understand that most children are born with a very strong ability to challenge
themselves just right. Children protest anxiously if they are over-challenged
and they become bored and uneasy if they are under-challenged. Children know by
instinct that if they are not having challenging fun, they do not develop
appropriately. Children are born with the essential survival kit, and their main
objective is to be able to use it.
[Image]
Hans Henrik Knoop, Associate Professor, Royal Danish School of Educational
Studies, Denmark - and Howard Gardner, professor of Cognition and education at
Harward University, United States. Photo by Susie Fitzhugh.
Csikszentmihalyi, Gardner and Knoop all stress the importance of stimulating
self-initiative and curiosity in children during the early years, and point to
the threat of poorly structured learning environments. If children experience
much anxiety and boredom while learning this tends to lead them to avoid
learning later in their life. For many this happens when they encounter school,
because self-initiative and curiosity is replaced with teacher-initiative and
curricular demands. The model below illustrates how some people manage to
maintain their self-initiative and curiosity throughout life while many seem to
loose these drives.
[Image]
Knoop continues: Our early experiences very much form basic learning patterns
that run through to adulthood. If parents manage to create learning rich
environments for their children they are providing resources for them to use the
rest of their lives. And if small childrens natural ability to learn can be
continued and elaborated in formal school and in later life we will be able to
advance our learning culture significantly.
Tools for creativity
With these research conclusions in mind how, then, can parents create an optimal
environment for their children? Child development experts state that parents
should always commend their children for imitating culturally established
behaviour. However, children should also be encouraged and motivated to take
initiative to create something new.
[Image][Image]
Some of the best tools for pushing children to be creative encompass everyday
objects. President of The British Association for Early Childhood Education and
a Government Advisor, Jean Ensing says: It makes a tremendous difference how
children are stimulated. In everyday life even basic objects like an apple, a
stick, a metal pan or a cardboard box can be optimal tools for early learning.
They simply trigger childrens imagination and become a part of their play. A
common joke is that, at X-mas, children are more interested in the box
containing the toy than the toy itself.
Triggering childrens imagination in the same natural way as these everyday
objects LEGO products are also tools for stimulating childrens creativity at
this early age. The difference is that LEGO products are specifically developed
with quality and safety in mind. Jean Ensing gives an example: Sometime ago I
watched a group of 4 year-olds who had the Grimm-story of the three goats read
to them. Afterwards they were provided with piles of LEGO DUPLO blocks and soon
the blocks were goats and they managed to build a bridge. The toy allowed the
children to be stimulated and to create something on their own. When the ability
to create something new is constantly stimulated it will extend into adult
life.
In other words, a key to creative stimulation is to provide children with play
materials that allow them to experiment and explore their own ways of doing
things. Parents should observe, engage and assist when necessary, making sure
that the childs exploration is frequently rewarded with positive experiences.
Getting response from its playful efforts is crucial for motivating the child
into taking yet another step.
LEGO offers parents a tailored toolbox for infant stimulation
In the quest for devoting more attention to childrens early learning LEGO
Company aims at supplying parents of 0-5 year-olds with products that provide
uniquely fun and engaging experiences; products that fill children with
enthusiasm and enhance their abilities to tackle everyday challenges in life.
Tailored for each step of the childs development the LEGO infant and pre-school
product range is divided into three categories: LEGO BABY (0-2 yrs.), LEGO DUPLO
(2-4 yrs.) and LEGO ActionWheelers (3-5 yrs.). In a safe way LEGO BABY
stimulates the basic senses, motor skills and curiosity curiosity being the
first step towards creativity. LEGO DUPLO takes childrens imagination to the
next level by stimulating creativity and learning through fun building and play.
Taking into account childrens increasingly sophisticated needs and learning
capacity as they grow older, LEGO ActionWheelers products invite children to
create their own stories. At the same time they develop childrens social
ability when interacting with other children through action oriented play.
LEGO BABY designer Valentina Ziliani explains: Naturally a 2 year-olds
learning capacity is very different from that of a 5 year-old. As parents it is
good to have the exact tools that match this learning capacity when stimulating
our children. But children undergo a magnificent development during their early
years, and this sets high demands for developing products specifically tailored
for children every step of the way.
Valentina Ziliani continues, When developing LEGO products for children between
0-5 we have to secure that the child does not become bored because of too much
structure. On the other hand, too much openness can make the child fail and give
up. At each age level we want to strike the right balance in order to enhance
childrens ability to learn.
All products within the three 0-5 categories have multiple functions and keep
revealing possibilities for new ways of playing. In this way they continue to
match the childs development throughout each age category (0-2, 2-4 and 3-5).
Cleverly designed to strike a right balance between structure and open
possibilities LEGO products contribute positively the childs creative and
adaptive abilities in later life abilities which apply to all situations both
socially and professionally.
For further information:
------------------------
LEGO Company
Eva Lykkegaard, Global Company Communication +45 79 50 60 70
© 2000 LEGO Company TM and ® indicate trademarks of the LEGO Company
Page updated May 16th, 2000
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I found these the other day in Walmart. The 15oz. Johnson's Baby
Shampoo came bundled with two LEGO Baby blocks: the ladybug that
rattles and the yellow square with the LEGO logo on the side. The 15oz.
Johnson's Baby Bath came with the bumblebee that rattles and the yellow
block with the logo. Each package contains a $2.00 LEGO Baby coupon
inside. And if you use these products, the price is pretty good: $2.50
each.
Maggie C.
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In lugnet.primo, Suzanne D. Rich wrote:
>
> I just opened up and played with the 2514 LEGO® BABY Activity
> Friends rings set. (No, I don't have children) And I am so amazed.
> LEGO has done it again! They've invented a new twist on an existing
> system that makes all the older elements super cool again.
>
> These rings can be linked together, or gripped as handles that
> rattle, or function as holders. The smaller size ring-holes are LEGO
> PRIMO stud sized (exactly) and the larger diameter is a perfect fit
> for putting round rattle animals in. It's hard to explain, but
> extremely fun to handle.
>
> The whole chain can be strung over a crib, but each element is
> itself a great toy. It's brilliant.
>
> Thank you LEGO.
Based on your glowing recommendation, I gave this set (wrapped) to an
expectant father yesterday. The baby is due on Sunday. Today he
reported that his wife and their niece opened it and played with it and
really enjoyed it. Poor little baby-to-be; his cousin is playing with
his toys before he even gets a chance to complain about it!
I have another friend who is expecting in July; the father thinks the
baby needs a Mindstorms, but I think a Primo AKA Baby set is more
appropriate.
--
Susan Hoover
Houston, TX
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