Etsy Love: kidbiz

With our first-ever family vacation looming, I knew I needed to start collecting activities to keep my boys, ages 18 months and 4, occupied on the 2.5 hour flight to Disneyland.  I was not about to be the mom with the crazy, crying kids disturbing everyone on the plane.  And I wasn't, thanks to a backpack full of fun distractions including this incredible invention from Etsy shop, Kidbiz2010:





"What is it?"  You ask.  It's a small, easy to pack in the carry-on, convenient, perfect-little-life-saver if you ask me.  If you ask my kids, it's an I Spy Bag.  And it's hours of fun!

Each I Spy Bag comes with a little plastic window that leads to a whole 'nother world.  The bag is filled with little white beads and about twenty tiny objects you have to find.  The object is to sort of "knead" the beads with your fingers until an object like a green dinosaur, or a penny, or a fuzzy purple ball appear in the window.  For the youngest children, it's fun just to manipulate the bag until a surprise appears in the window.  Slightly older kids will like to look at the attached picture list of objects and choose something to find, while even older kids will find their objects according to clues like: "Something that flies". 

 

The I Spy Bags from Kidbiz are challenging fun for all ages.  Even the Man of the House and I gave it a whirl when the boys weren't looking.  And I have to admit, we've each played with it for hours since we've been home!  I now carry it in my purse and whip it out when the boys need a little extra entertainment in restaurants, waiting rooms, grocery lines...I could really go on forever.

I chose the robot I Spy Bag, as pictured above.  The bags come in all kinds of colors and fabrics.  You're sure to be able to find one to suit your little one. 



{photo courtesy of kidbiz}



I knew from the moment our I Spy Bag arrived it would be something I wanted to share with my readers.  I like to share a little more about the stuff I review rather than just the item itself.  So I sat down tonight to do a little research on the shop owner, to see what else there was to know about the shop. 

Oh.  My.  Goodness. 

Kidbiz is run completely by a group of five sisters, four brothers (and one little cousin!) saving money to go to summer camps.  Their mom checks each item for quality before it's shipped, and that's it.  The rest is up to them.  These kids are totally inspiring and awesome!  You can read all about them in their Etsy shop profile.  Make sure you do!

This could possibly be the best $8 plus shipping I've ever spent.  Now that I think of it (and am so in awe of this kid-run business) I'm going to make a quick stop at their shop before bed and purchase a few more I Spy Bags to keep at Grandma's house, and for upcoming birthday gifts.

Thank you, KidBiz!  You guys ROCK and I wish you lots of success & summer camps in the future!

{"Hurry, Mom!  We're finally on the plane!  Get out the I Spy Bag!"}