Every now and then I come across an idea so smart it makes me go “Doh!” (think Homer Simpson) “I wish I had thought of that!” Such is the case with Thing of the Month, a site packed with subscription based clubs in an excellent (and ever growing) selection of interest areas. Take for example the 12 month Flying Objects Club - once a month for an entire year a package arrives at your doorstep containing some freekin’ fantastic flying toy, be it a bird glider, a frisbee, a kite, a rocket, an airplane - all of which can take to the air and fly. Most of the clubs are kid-focused, although I tell you there are several I would love to subscribe to. Whether your passion is crafting, science, board games, robots, paper automata models or great toys for your toddlers there is a club for you. Come on, what kid (big or little) wouldn’t love receiving mail like this every month!

Depending on the interests of the recipient and the size of your pocketbook, you can select from 4, 6 and 12 month clubs or buy the items individually. OR if you’re a little impatient and want, say, all of the kits in the 6 month Origami Club right now - there’s an express option just for you. Below is just a partial sampling of the available clubs:

While a fan of mermaids and anchors and hearts that say ‘Mom,’ an elementary school teacher and a graphic designer (both moms themselves) have reworked traditional tattoo flash for the shorter set. Tattoos for Tots are safe, non-toxic and temporary and better still they’re a fun way for Junior to begin associating simple words and correlating images that he’ll recognize. Great for everyday fun, teachers in the classroom, school fairs and birthday parties. Plenty of themes/images available. Each package contains two 3″ x 4″ sheets for $3.99.

Avid birder and National Audubon Society member since the age of eight, Roberta “Bobolink” Beyer has recently launched a beautiful online shop call The Fat Finch. As I understand it, Roberta created her web store as a companion to her brick and mortar store Bobolink (a type of bird and her nickname since childhood) to reach a wider audience of birding enthusiasts. But quite honestly you don’t need to be a ‘wake up before dawn and sit in a thicket with your binoculars’ type to enjoy the offerings of The Fat Finch.

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Wrapping paper resembling vintage paint-by-number birds. $2.95 per sheet.

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Birding lends itself to all variety of involvement, the simplest of which may be simply setting up a birdhouse, bird feeder or bird bath with your kids. I’m awful partial to the Barnhouse Birdhouse below, and it’s functioning doors allow you to either leave them open with birdseed inside or keep them closed during nesting and then open them for easy cleaning in the off season. $64.95

Tangent that leads somewhere, I promise: When I was a kid, probably eight or nine, I decided I absolutely and irrationally needed a multi-tiered, pagoda-like bamboo birdhouse that I found in a shop or catalogue. Immediately began the Christmas campaigning, and apparently my pleading worked as I later found out my poor father was up till all hours Christmas eve assembling the crazy, complicated thing. It sounds horrible when I say it, but in retrospect the idea of having a pet bird was really secondary to owning that cage. I did select a green parakeet and named him Pistachio who was a poor housekeeper and continually generated a two foot circle of feathers and seed shells around his cage. And I confess to completely panicking when he was let out of his pagoda and flitted insanely around my room. Admittedly not the most successful pairing of pet and kid. All of this to say that the adorable motion-sensor chirping birdies might be a good test run if you’re thinking about a caged bird of your own. $14.95 each.

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There is also a small but fine selection of avian themed books, from classics like Owl Moon to more contemporary stories. Various prices.

Always wanting to tout the achievements of Junior Society members, I’ve been remiss in not sooner posting a project illustrated by my pal S.Britt. Chronicle Books has created School Years, A Family Keepsake of School Memories. “Families will love this cute and clever keepsake album for recording precious milestones and accomplishments. Both parent and child can fill each expandable pocket—there’s one for every year from kindergarten to 12th grade—with photos, report cards, art projects, and other mementos. In keeping track of favorite subjects, hobbies, and friends, families create an ongoing memory book to cherish for years to come.” $16.95

Ants in space? It’s true! In preparation for the May 2000 space shuttle mission scientists at NASA tackled the question of how to conduct studies on the development of animal life (specifically ants) in zero gravity. The technology that resulted was a gel that replaced soil in standard ant habitats with special properties ensuring it did not compress and crush the ants by the immense g forces during take off. The amazing nontoxic gel is both a home and food for ants and its transparency makes it easy to watch the ants digging their network of tunnels. These advanced versions of the classic ‘ant farm’ were dubbed antiquariums and traveled with the astronauts as they circumnavigated the earth. (Thanks to Jana Bouc for the ant farm illustration.)

You can find four configurations of the Antiquarium at the Science Toy Store, priced from $14.99 to $24.99. (Thanks to deur_h for the image below.)

The educational site AntColonies.net is stocked more ant info than you can imagine, exploring everything from how ants communicate to how they war with one another. They also have an ‘Antcam‘ allowing you to watch an Antiquarium colony of ants in real time!

The clear gel has allowed people to take great photos of their Antiquarium ants in action, like the one by Stephanie Lamphere below. Search ‘ant farm’ on Flickr and check out all of the ant activity!

2007 marks the 80th Scripps National Spelling Bee and at the end of this month 286 boys and girls will descend upon Washington D.C. to vie for the position of Spelling Champ. I’ve always had an affinity for big words and while weary of onesies with witty sayings the whoppers on these SATees brought a smile to my face.

1. gregarious / gre·gar·i·ous, adjective, fond of the company of others; sociable.
2. loquacious / lo·qua·cious, adjective, talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling.
3. blithesome / blithe·some, adjective, lighthearted; merry; cheerful.
4. dilatory / dil·a·to·ry, adjective, tending to cause delay.
5. puerile / pu·er·ile, adjective, childishly foolish; immature.
6. taciturn / tac·i·turn, adjective, inclined to silence; reserved in speech.
7. indefatigable / in·de·fat·i·ga·ble, adjective, incapable of being tired out; not yielding to fatigue; untiring.
8. pulchritudinous / adjective, pul·chri·tu·di·nous, physically beautiful; comely.

Feeling astute? Ready for more? Exercise your smarts with these family-friendly ‘bee movies’: Akeelah and the Bee and Spellbound.