I first saw these particular trucks in my local toy store, and I fell in love with them immediately.  In addition to being attractive and appearing durable, they have an interesting origin: They’re made from recycled plastic milk jugs, and they’re made in the U.S., in California.

The manufacturer, Green Toys, has this to say about these toys on its website:

All Green Toys products are 100% made in the USA. To be more specific, they are produced in California, a state known for strict toy safety and environmental laws. It’s cool to buy USA, but also think about this: transportation is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gasses. We all know driving less is good for mother nature, but did you ever think about how many miles a toy logs before it ends up in your local store?

Our toys are truly local creations. Every step in the process, from milk container recycling to toy production to final assembly, occurs in California. Our raw materials and toys aren’t shipped from overseas, which saves a lot of energy and reduces greenhouse gasses.

When you give the gift of one of these toys, then, you’re supporting not only the environment but also an American manufacturer that cares about the environment.

The company also makes tools—a simple home tools set and a gardening kit—out of the same recycled plastics.  All the toys are free of phthalates, bisphenol-A, and lead paint, as confirmed by an independent laboratory.

Check them out by clicking on any of the photos in this post.

Don’t freak out, however, if the children in your life weren’t babbling in two languages before they could walk.  There are developmental changes in the brain around puberty that may make learning language a bit more difficult, but that doesn’t mean children and adults of all languages can’t become proficient in one more more foreign languages. Bilingualism hasn’t been shown to cause any long-term delay in the development of English-language skills, even for students enrolled in language immersion programs at school.

Remember, too, that bilingualism has benefits beyond the second language.  Children who are learning a second language, or acquiring two languages simultaneously, may also exhibit earlier reading, better problem-solving skills, and higher scores on both the verbal and mathematical sections of the SAT than monolingual students.  Bilingualism also opens the doors to a broader spectrum of careers.

Why this gift matters

As you can see from the benefits discussed above, children benefit tremendously—in both the short and long term—from learning a second language.  By setting a child on the path to bilingualism, or encouraging a child who is already on that path, you are enabling the development of crucial intellectual and social skills.

Here, then, are some gifts that assist, in a variety of ways and at different life stages, in the acquisition of a second language.  I’m focusing on Spanish here, since it’s one of the most popular second languages in the United States, but of course you should consider the child’s heritage, geographical region, and aspirations before selecting a gift.

At the time I’m writing this post, these books cost less than $8 each in paperback, so a gift of two or more books may be well within your reach—and how delightfully these books work in dialogue with one another!

Bilingual poetry

According to Francisco Alarcón, a poet and professor at the University of California, Davis, who also conducts poetry workshops for children, poetry can be an incredibly useful tool in introducing children to other cultures and in helping them to develop language skills:

Poetry is an effective tool in teaching a language to children because with very few words it conveys a great deal of meaning. Alarcón says poetry is direct, easy to understand and open to multiple interpretations, which makes children active participants. Through his own teaching at children’s poetry workshops, Alarcón says he sees youngsters feel comfortable in interpreting poetry and expressing feelings that the poetry provokes.

Here’s a terrific interview with Alarcón about bilingualism and his work:

Here is a series of Alarcón’s books of bilingual poetry for children, each book based on a season of the year.  Each poem appears in Spanish and English.

Laughing Tomatoes

Alarcon’s books of poetry are fabulous for kindergarteners through fifth graders, as they’re enjoyable as works of literature and folk art (the illustrations are vibrant) and because they are terrific tools for exploring how to express the same ideas in different languages.  The poems are simple but meaningful and fun.  They also can—and will—inspire children to write poems and illustrate them.

From the Bellybutton of the Moon

Alarcón continues his series on the seasons with this playful book.  The School Library Journal declared that in this book, “Alarcon exhibits a tremendous talent for imbuing quotidian objects and concepts with dignity and jubilation. For example, in ‘Island,’ he writes that ‘every island / dreams / of being / a continent,’ and in ‘Ode to My Shoes,’ he describes a little boy’s sneakers that ‘…fall asleep / and dream / of walking….’”  Again Alarcon and illustrator Mara Christina Gonzalez have produced a terrific book for children age 5 through 10—though I’ll definitely be sharing this one with my 4-year-old as well!

Angels Ride Bikes

In the U.S., when we think of autumn, many of us summon images of rural rolling hills and valleys emblazoned with orange and yellow leaves.  Alarcón offers a different, but similarly compelling, vision of an urban autumn in Los Angeles, the City of Angels.  For example, consider these lines about the city, seen from the sky on a clear fall night: “it looks like / a constellation / of stars / fallen / to the ground.”  Whimsical and wonderful for the kindergarten through fifth-grade set.

Iguanas in the Snow

This book’s title came about because, as one poem illustrates, children frolicking in the snow reminded Alarcón of iguanas playing in Mexico.  Again readers are treated to playful poetry and images that leap from map collages to lizards to redwood seedlings.  Children and adults will enjoy the playfulness of the lyrics and illustrations.

Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet in Spanish and English by Alma Flor Ada

Gathering the Sun is a beautifully illustrated book of exceptionally strong poetry that, through poems in Spanish and English, teaches children about the experiences of Latino agricultural workers.  The book works through the alphabet (A is for Arboles, B is for betabel, C is for César Chávez) examining trees, plants, fruits, vegetables, people, and feelings.  The poems were originally written in Spanish, and the English translations feel a bit rigid to adults, but this book’s intended audience—preschoolers through fifth graders—likely will not notice this stiffness.  Highly recommended, in part because these illustrations are not to be missed!

What are your favorite books of poetry for children?

Quiz!

You must take–and encourage others to take–this eye-opening quiz from EdChange. To get a sense of it, check out the first three questions:

1. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, what is the percentage of U.S. schools with no teachers of color on staff?

2. Compared with White women, how likely are African American women in the U.S. to die during childbirth due to a lack of access to prenatal care, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality?

3. According to a study by the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights, what percentage of physicians report witnessing a colleague giving reduced care or refusing care to lesbian, gay, or bisexual patients?

If the answers don’t get you energized to work toward social justice and a better world for your children or students, I don’t know what will.

Photos!

If you’re into Barbie dolls or multicultural dolls, you definitely want to visit Sage’s photos of her multicultural Barbie doll collection.

I’m not usually a huge Barbie fan, but I must say I’m quite taken with distinctive face and hair of the Incan Barbie:

Event!

The National Association for Multicultural Education is promoting a week of awareness of the discrimination underlying, and the harm caused by, name-calling.  No Name-Calling Week runs from January 25-29, 2010.  On a personal note, I was the kid in my elementary and junior high school classes who bore the brunt of many assumptions, catty remarks, and flat-out name calling, and I can attest to the long-term psychic damage of such taunts.

Social justice!

There’s a terrific story circulating through the media this week about Arkansas fifth-grader Will Phillips, who is refusing to say, or even stand up for, the Pledge of Allegiance until that part about “liberty and justice for all” is actually, you know, true.  Specifically, Will is advocating for civil rights for gays and lesbians, and as you can imagine, he’s taking a lot of flak from his fellow students.  From an article in the Arkansas Times:

Though many of his friends at school have told him they support his decision, those who don’t have been unkind, and louder.

“They [the kids who don't support him] are much more crazy, and out of control and vocal about it than supporters are.”

Given that his protest is over the rights of gays and lesbians, the taunts have taken a predictable bent. “In the lunchroom and in the hallway, they’ve been making comments and doing pranks, and calling me gay,” he said. “It’s always the same people, walking up and calling me a gaywad.”

Even so, Will said that he can’t foresee anything in the near future that will make him stand for the pledge. To help him deal with the peer pressure, his parents have printed off posts in his support on blogs and websites. “We’ve told him that people here might not support you, but we’ve shown him there are people all over that support you,” Phillips said. “It’s really frustrating to him that people are being so immature.”

Check out this fabulous and very funny video about Will’s stance from The Daily Show:

What were your favorite things this week? Share them in the comments!

By the way, if you do a ton of shopping at Amazon, I can’t recommend highly enough the Amazon Prime service. Currently, for about $6 per month (you get 13 months for the price of 12, since the first month is free), you get unlimited free 2-day shipping, and you can share the service with up to four people in your household. There’s no minimum order size, and you can upgrade any item to overnight shipping for only $3.99. Go check it out!

African Textile Paper

Combine this textile paper with the human paper shapes kit to give kids the opportunity to really express themselves as they create beautiful clothing for the paper figures.  These papers reproduce a rich variety of African traditional fabrics, and each 32-sheet package comes with a project idea guide.

Global Designs Textile Papers

This 128-sheet pack expands on the African textile paper described above.  These paper reproductions of beautiful textiles are based on Asian, African, Native American, and Hispanic cultural motifs from around the world. The package comes with a project idea guide.

Patterned Paper Classpack

This giant package of 248 sheets of paper reproduce patterns from animals, plants, and sea life.  It includes as well sheets of skin tone, skin tone, African textile, Native American, Hispanic, autumn, spring, holiday, and Valentine paper.  A real deal–and one with endless possibilities.

Southwestern Sand Painting Craft Kit

Cultures from around the world—including Southwestern Native Americans, Tibetans, and indigenous Australians—practice different forms of sand painting.  This kit provides kids with templates for images inspired by sand paintings in the southwestern United States.  Kids can follow these templates s or use the colored sand to create their own designs. The kit includes designs printed on 50 sheets of heavy tag stock, colored sand, and glue.  Once kids learn the techniques from the kit, they can collect sand from their region and create art that represents a local palette and texture.

Ancient Culture Design Posters Craft Kit

As with the sand painting templates, this craft kit offers children the opportunity to consider designs and patterns from ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece, Africa, Mexico, and China.  The kit comes with designs printed on 25 sheets of heavy index stock, these large (11″ x 14″) posters are educational, versatile, and fun. The package includes 5 each of 5 different designs, non-toxic fine-line markers, and instructions.

Mexican Banderas Craft Kit

Thes cut paper banners (papel picado) have been a Mexican tradition since Aztec times.  Children can make their own festive banners by coloring these traditional designs with a variety of artistic media—markers, paints, or watercolors.  The kit includes six 1-oz. Color Splash! Liquid Watercolors; 12 eye droppers; and 72 precut, 11-1/2″ x 14″ tissue sheets in 3 designs.

Mexican Bark Painting Group Pack

In Mexico, the Otomí people use bark cutouts in religious ceremonies designed to bring forth good health or a bumper crop of corn.  The Nahua people of southern Mexico also use this paper as a canvas for intricate paintings of flora, fauna, and village life.  This kit doesn’t actually use authentic Amate paper made from bark—that material is incredibly labor-intensive to craft and it’s too delicate for young children to work with.  Instead, in this kit easy-to-manipulate brown kraft paper mimics the original canvas.  This package of 24 10″ x 12″ sheets includes several printed designs, cardboard frames, non-toxic acylic paint, brushes, tape, and instructions.  Includes assorted printed designs, card board frames, non-toxic acrylic paint, brushes, tape, and instructions.

3-D Temari Balls Craft Kit (Makes 24)

Temari is an ancient Japanese art of creating decorative balls wound with thread.  This kit contains the blank balls, non-toxic acrylic paint, floss, and glitter pins—enough to great 24 1″ balls.  The kit comes with instructions on this traditional craft.

African Crafts: Fun Things to Make and Do from West Africa

This book, targeted at third through sixth graders, is a combination travel memoir and craft manual.  The author includes beautiful color photos, many of which were taken by the author during a visit to Ghana.  The book provides a brief history of West Africa and particularly Ghana, then goes on to teach children about Adinkra cloth painting, shows how they can make their own patterns using a potato stamp, and provides instructions on how to wear the cloth and on what occasions.  Additional projects include mask-making, building musical instruments, weaving kente strips, and making coil pots.Other projects include pot coiling, making masks, and weaving kente strips. The book includes additional material on crafts, stories, and myths as well as references to Web sites and museums.

World Art: Multicultural Art Projects from around the Globe

This book contains crafts inspired by cultures from around the world, including those in Egypt, Australia, India, Japan, Ancient Greece, Native America, and Mexico.  It instructs readers on how to make a dozen projects from simple materials like clay, markers, paint, and scratch boards.

Why this gift matters

Kids can learn pretty early on–by picking up on explicit and implicit signals from adults–how to view a society that is becoming increasingly diverse.  It’s important to both be direct with your children about living in a multicultural society by working the topic into your everyday conversations and to model good behavior as a citizen of a diverse society.  Arts and crafts are an excellent opportunity to have these kinds of discussions, as kids are relatively focused on a single task.  Providing children with craft supplies designed with multiculturalism in mind makes it even easier to start these conversations–and lets you encourage your children to imagine the possibility of a vibrant world packed with interesting people from whose lives and experiences they might learn.

Here, then, are some recommendations for arts and crafts supplies that will let your children draw, paint, and craft people who better represent what they see in the world.

The Colors of Us

This isn’t a particularly deep book; it doesn’t consider, for example, the diversity of human experience.  But what it does very, very well—especially for younger children, say preschool through grade 2—is highlight and celebrate the broad, beautiful spectrum of human skin colors.  The children learn to think beyond black, brown, and white to colors reminiscent of honey, peanut butter, pizza crust, ginger, peaches, and chocolate.  The message may be a bit heavy-handed for older kids, but the young ones will delight in the bright, lively illustrations and the comparisons of skin tones with familiar foods.

It is, in short, a terrific book to pull out right before digging into some multicultural craft projects.  And for those projects, I recommend you get your hands on some. . .

Multicultural World Construction Paper

How cool is this?  These 50-sheet packs of paper come in ten creative shades that reflect the rich variety of skin color found in the world community.  Awesome!

Human Paper Shapes Kit

Although I’ve seen this product recommended for four year-olds and up, I must admit that it would delight many a three year-old.  After all, most three year-olds can’t yet draw a human form, but many of them can draw faces, buttons, and other features.  Older kids would enjoy pairing these with African textile paper, global designs textile papers,  or the vibrant patterned paper pack. The human paper shapes kit includes 40 full bodies, 50 faces, and 35 each of hands and feet in a variety of skin tones.

Crayola Crayons in Multicultural Skin Tones

This set of crayons is excellent for helping kids explore, in a very hands-on manner, ideas about self, family, and community.  Because they are Crayola crayons, and not the cheaper waxy kind, you’re getting truer colors, smoother laydown, durability, and easy blending.  The colors are mahogany, apricot, burnt sienna, tan, peach, sepia, plus black and white for blending.  This set of crayons meets the artistic needs of today’s culturally diverse families, neighborhood circles, and classrooms.

Crayola Multicultural Washable Markers

Again, I can’t speak highly enough of Crayola’s products–their markers have stood up exceptionally well under the strain of my four year-old’s play, and their ink lasts far longer than any other brand I’ve used.  This set of markers in eight skin tones is, unfortunately, difficult to find in stores–but it’s important, even critical, for students to have a full spectrum from which to choose when asked to draw themselves and their families.

Crayola Multicultural Pencils

Like the crayons and markers discussed above, these colored pencils provide opportunities for children to explore identity and diversity as they draw themselves, their friends, and their families.  The pencils come pre-sharpened with thick, soft 3.3 mm leaders that don’t break too easily under pressure.

Crayola Multicultural Washable Paint Pack, Assorted Colors, Eight Ounces, Eight/Pack

How terrific is this set of paints?  As children in the primary and elementary grades are fond of depicting people, why not provide them with eight tints and shades that they can mix until they find just the right skin color to represent themselves and the people they know?  Each bottle is eight ounces, so you’re getting 64 ounces of washable, matte-finish paint.

Now that I’ve provided you with an ample sampling of artistic media for portraying people in all their diversity, let’s take a look at some multicultural crafts that focus more on folk arts from different cultures.

Using Puppets to Improve Children’s Communications Skills

Puppetry in Education

Object Exploration and Play

Why this gift matters

At a moment—an era, really—of global environmental and social crises, the elephant provides an interdisciplinary crossroads from which to consider any number of issues.  Too often, the environmental messages we send our young people are oversimplified—to use but one example (from Susan Davis’s excellent book Spectacular Nature: Corporate Culture and the Sea World Experience), young visitors to edutainment venues like Sea World are told that they can hep save the whales if they don’t litter.  In reality, conservation is far more complicated—it would be better to get kids on board with using less plastic, or with lobbying governments to punish corporate polluters, for example—and thus it makes sense to help kids understand both the nature and culture of conservation.  This African elephant-themed education kit approaches elephants and elephant conservation from multiple disciplines and learning styles–kinesthetic and tactile learning through play (with a puppet), visual and scientific learning (through photographs and books), and narrative and aural learning (through folktales).

For the budding conservationist or zoologist on your gift list, I recommend the following selection of items.  Purchase one, or bundle the gifts together for a unique gift package.  The prices of each item are current as of the day this post is published; to see the absolutely current price at Amazon, scroll to the bottom of this post. If you prefer shopping at an independent bookseller, you’ll find links to the items available from Powells.com at the bottom of the post.

Please note: When you click the links below and make a purchase from Powells.com within 90 days, or Amazon.com within 24 hours, you’re supporting the quality posts and multicultural educational resources made available through The Multicultural Toybox, as a portion of every sale supports this site.  Thanks!

Folkmanis Elephant Puppet — Currently on Amazon for $22 — a terrific deal, as I’ve seen this puppet priced more than $50!

Puppets encourage powerful imaginative play, and the Folkmanis puppets never fail to delight children and adults.  This one features 17 inches of plush pachyderm fun, including a manipulable mouth and trunk and ultrasoft microfiber fabric.  Recommended for ages 3 and up.

Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales book and DVD

In 2004, South African leader Nelson Mandela edited this collection of African folktales.  In 2009, a number of well-known actors—including Gillian Anderson, Benjamin Bratt, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Whoopi Goldberg, Sean Hayes, Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Debra Messing, Helen Mirren, Parminder Nagra, Sophie Okonedo, CCH Pounder, Alan Rickman, Jurnee Smollett, Charlize Theron, Blair Underwood, Forest Whitaker, and Alfre Woodard—recorded the stories on DVD.  It’s a wonderful compilation, whether you have it in book or audio form—but they work best together, of course.  You can learn more about the DVD—and hear clips of famous actors reading from Mandela’s book—from NPR.

Elephants: A Book for Children

This book features photographs of both African and Indian elephants by the outstanding wildlife photographer Steve Bloom. Bloom photographed elephants in the wild, at work, and at play—the photos of elephants swimming are sure to be among your child’s favorites.  The book conveys some really interesting and surprising facts about elephants.  For example, did you know that elephants are right-tusked or left-tusked, much as humans are right-handed or left-handed?  I recommend this book for preK through third-grade children.

Older kids (and adults!) might better enjoy Bloom’s beautiful hardcover book Elephant.  The book represents 12 years of Bloom’s fabulous work.

Endangered Elephants (Earth’s Endangered Animals)

This book, written for children ages 6 to 12, but ideal for grades 3 to 5, offers a wealth of information about elephants.  It explains what it means for an animal to be endangered and offers a glossary of vocabulary terms for word-hungry young minds.

These items, when combined into a package, will provide many opportunities for children to learn through play, listening, and reading. I hope you found these ideas useful, and that you make a child—or a classroom teacher—very happy with them! Here again are the links to the individual items, from Amazon and, where available, from independent bookseller Powells.com:

Favorite African Folktales by Nelson Mandela	Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales by Various	Elephants: A Book for Children by Steve Bloom
Elephant by Steve Bloom	Endangered Elephants (Earth’s Endangered Animals) by Bobbie Kalman

Why this gift matters

Food is a huge issue around the world, whether it be because of hunger, increasing costs to grow and transport food, a push to grow food locally, or discussions about the safety of genetically modified foods. These gifts can open the door to conversations and learning about a number of food issues. In addition, they also offer opportunities to discuss, and in some cases taste the cuisine of, cultures from around the world. Whether children are tactile, kinesthetic, visual, olfactory, or gustatory learners, these gifts are sure to delight.

Please note: When you click the links below and make a purchase from Powells.com within 90 days, or Amazon.com within 24 hours, you’re supporting the quality posts and multicultural educational resources made available through The Multicultural Toybox, as a portion of every sale supports this site. Thanks!

What parent wouldn’t appreciate their child receiving a book of easy-to-prepare recipes that kids love? The recipes in Deanna Cook’s terrific book The Kids Multicultural Cookbook are inspired by conversations Cook had with children from around the world. Representing 41 countries, the tasty dishes in this book are fun and easy to make (for kids as well as adults), and the ingredients have been adapted so that in most cases you can find the ingredients at your local grocery store.

The Healthy Hedonist Holidays: A Year of Multi-Cultural, Vegetarian-Friendly Holiday Feasts is a delightful book. Kids will love cooking these dishes with their parents–and the parents will love that they have a handbook of healthy holiday meals and treats. Holidays represented include Chinese New Year, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Thanksgiving, Eid al Fitr, Passover, Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and the 4th of July. This is a great opportunity for children to learn about—and more importantly taste!—cuisines from around the world, including foods from Greek, Ethiopian, Italian, Turkish, Moroccan, and Chinese traditions. Recipes feature fish, poultry, and vegetarian entrées.

This multicultural foods play set offers opportunities for tactile and visual learners to “prepare” and discuss food from around the world. By talking about these foods with your children, you’ll increase their vocabulary and cultural knowledge while they enjoy imaginary play.

This play cookware set, especially when combined with the multicultural foods set or this matching set of fruits and vegetables, will spark young children’s imaginations. Talk to them about the taste of each food–and offer samplings of the real thing–and talk as well about food preparation and recipes from around the world. Ask them where their food came from and how it grows. The learning opportunities are nearly endless.

Prefer to shop at Amazon? Here are the product links not already included above:

Buy The Kids’ Multicultural Cookbook (Kids Can!) at Amazon.com

Buy The Healthy Hedonist Holidays: A Year of Multi-Cultural, Vegetarian-Friendly Holiday Feasts at Amazon.com

Each post will provide a cluster of gift ideas on a theme.  You can pick and choose from among the items highlighted or splurge on the entire package for your favorite young friend or relative.

Many of these gifts would also make excellent gifts for teachers, many of whom would much rather have books, toys, or games for their classrooms than another candle or bottle of lotion.