Heads up for our Pennsylvania pals, the Philadelphia Zoo has just opened a new exhibit called ”Creatures of Habitat: A Gazillion-Piece Animal Adventure,” featuring 34  Lego sculptures of endangered animals created by world-renowned Lego artist Sean Kenney.

“A combination of birds and beasts, each intricately fashioned from thousands of LEGO® bricks, this experience will surely remind us how our world fits together and how we connect with it. Here you will discover the different creatures featured at the Philadelphia Zoo and the Cast of Conservationists that have traveled the world to help save wildlife.”

For additional info on attending the exhibit, or for us out-of-towers, see pictures and find activities for the kids here. [via Treehugger]

ASB Kinder.- and Jugendhilfe GmbH, Berlin, Germany

The kindergarten I attended was housed in a single-story, fifties style, blond brick building punctuated with big windows, lots of light and what seemed like miles of linoleum. I went on to sit in classrooms much older and others much more modern…but none quite as unusual or innovative as the schools pictured in here.

Today, it’s a quick pictorial tour of elementary school architecture around the world.

Three Elepants Kindergarten, Caesarea, Israel

‘bubbletecture M’ - Maihara Kindergarten, Shiga, Japan

Kindergarten, Sighartstein, Austria

Kindergarten, Tromso, Norway

Kindergarten Barbapapà, Comune de Vignola, MO, Italy

Kindergarten, Murcia, Spain

Kindergarten, Trondheim, Norway

Kindergarten, Buchen, Germany

Daycare Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

Jarun Kindergarten and Nursery, Zagreb, Croatia

In a recent national survey, 8 out 10 elementary school students agree…after recess, their “mostest favorite” time of the school day is lunch.

Discovered something wonderful not listed below, by all means, please share your findings in a post comment!

Heart Cards & Envelopes
Perfect for little lunch box notes encouraging Junior to share, play nice and eat those carrot sticks.

The Vegan Lunch Box
An inspired blog and resulting cook book - a wealth of healthy lunch ideas.

Melamine Bento Boxes
I secretly want one of these for myself!

PB Kids Travel Containers

Cooking for Monkeys
A mom-authored blog featuring some of the most fantastic themed bento box lunches.

Do It Yourself Oilcloth Lunch Bags

I can think of many other painful tasks that might be preferable to taking a 1st-grader clothes shopping. It’s a necessary evil, but one that you may find slightly less excruciating when you realize that the following collection of simply rad apparel can be purchased online. May I introduce the hand tailored children’s clothing of the Dandy Social Club

Now, I realize that the idea of ‘hand tailored children’s clothing’ may conjure thoughts of costly intimidation and excess, but designer and mother Denise Love is out to disprove those notions. Her clothing line is at once friendly, practical and accessible. Catering to both boys and girls, Denise has done a remarkable job of creating clothes that reference familiar vintage classics while catching you off guard with unexpected fabric combinations and design details (like her fantastic embroidered illustrations). Honestly, there isn’t a piece in the collection that I don’t love.

You can view Dandy Social Club’s entire fall 2008 line, the ‘Playdate Collection’, here and swatches of the new fabric selection here. And then shop online at the Dandy Social Club on Etsy, where you can contact Denise to custom order Junior’s back to school wardrobe.

The almighty backpack - an ultimate symbol of your 6 year old’s ‘big kid’ status. Here are a few options that may cause Junior to reconsider his pleas for Dora and Elmo.

As a reminder, this Back to School series counts towards your Education Merit Badge and will hopefully inspire your elementary school preparations. Also make note of the great do-it-yourself (DIY) option at the bottom of the post.

Discovered something wonderful not listed below, by all means, please share your findings in a post comment!

Marimekko Back Packs

Dante Beatrix Little Kid Backpacks
Hands down, these get my vote for the cutest of the season.

Small Paul Backpacks

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Skelanimals Backpacks
If you think these might be a little ‘dark’ for your kindergartner, your teenager is bound to love them.

Four Peas Backpacks
There are also corresponding handled lunch bags for each design.

Do-It-Yourself Kids Backpacks
The same pattern can make any number of characters. Shown are a bumblebee, turtle and ladybug.

Back to school means the return of early (early!) morning rituals. Contrary to popular belief, many children are not morning people and attempting to wake them is often akin to raising the dead. Help them look forward to 6:00 a.m. with the aid of a clever alarm clock! Also note the fun DIY option at the bottom of the post.

Discovered something wonderful not listed below? By all means, please share your findings in a post comment!

Talking Animal Alarm Clocks
Pictured are the frog and cat, but many other options are available.

Clocky
This alarm clock allows one chance to get up, but if Junior stays in bed it will jump off his nightstand, alarm sounding and wheel around the room looking for a place to hide.

Sunrise Clock
Not the cutest kid on the block, but this alarm clock “gently” wakes your child with a globe light that simulates the sunrise.

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Your Voice Alarm Clock
Save yourself the trouble of screaming up the steps in the morning, record your greeting and this alarm clock will do it for you.

MP3 Alarm Clock & Docking Station

Retro 1970s Alarm Clock
Simple, basic, standard clock face.

Do-It-Yourself Clock Creature

Parents rejoice! It’s back to school time once again which means the return of a few hours in the day for frivolous self-indulgent activities like breathing, paying bills, catching up on laundry and grocery shopping without the joy of having Junior underfoot.

This Back to School series will count towards your Education Merit Badge and hopefully inspire your elementary school preparations. I’ve had a great time doing a little of the research and footwork for you to find fun and unexpected school supplies. Each post in the series will also be accompanied by a do-it-yourself (DIY) option for the craftily and perhaps frugally inclined.

Discovered something wonderful not listed below? By all means, please share your findings in a post comment!

Where to keep those pesky pencils, pens, crayons and markers? A practical question with some very cute answers. Below please find a small selection of options for home and school.

The Corsario Pencil Case

Felt Pencil Roll

Fred & Francis Pencil Cups

The Shuttle Pencil Case

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Hannari Tofu Pencil Cases

Kitty Cat Pencil Holder

Make Your Own Pencil Cases

Make Your Own Roll Up Pencil Kit

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.