15% off

ALL Kettler trikes, bikes and scooters

until May 15, 2013

- Kettler is stocked at our Dundas and St. Catharines stores; available as a special order at the Niagara Falls store

- all sales final

Learn about seed germination with this fun science experiment for kids. Plant some seeds and follow the growth of the seedlings as they sprout from the soil, while making sure to take proper care of them with just the right amount of light, heat and water. Have fun growing plants with this cool science project for children.

What You'll Need:

• Fresh seeds of your choice such as pumpkins seeds, sunflower seeds, lima beans or pinto beans.
• Good quality soil (loose, aerated, lots of peat moss), if you don't have any you can buy some potting soil at your local garden store.
• A container to hold the soil and your seeds.
• Water.
• Light and heat.

Instructions:

• Fill the container with soil.
• Plant the seeds inside the soil.
• Place the container somewhere warm, sunlight is good but try to avoid too much direct sunlight, a window sill is a good spot.
• Keep the soil moist by watering it everyday (be careful not to use too much water).
• Record your observations as the seeds germinate and seedlings begin to sprout from the seeds.

What's happening?

MAY 1ST!

With 17 all-new, special minifigures in Series 10, the LEGO® Minifigure Collection continues to grow. Each minifigure comes in a sealed 'mystery' bag with its own special accessories, display plate and collector's leaflet. Inspired by movies, sports, history and just everyday life, this collection includes: Warrior Woman, Decorator, Sad Clown, Roman Commander, Bumblebee Girl, Motorcycle Mechanic, Grandpa, Revolutionary Soldier, Baseball Fielder, Librarian , Sea Captain, Medusa, Skydiver, Trendsetter, Paintball Player, and Tomahawk Warrior.

Most kids generate a little chaos and disorganization. Yours might flit from one thing to the next - forgetting books at school, leaving towels on the floor, and failing to finish projects once started. You'd like them to be more organized! Is it possible? Yes! A few kids seem naturally organized, but for the rest, organization is a skill learned over time. With a clever organizational plan, kids can develop an effective approach to putting things in their place.

Organize Art Supplies

Use a 5 gallon paint bucket and a tool holder to hold art supplies. Easy in, easy out!

Stash Essentials in Cubbies

Use cubbies in a freestanding cabinet, a built-in, or bench that your kids use most often. Kids can learn to put away their own things from a young age when storage is easily accessible. Store shoes, backpacks, umbrellas, hats, and other items used daily.

If the Shoe Fits...

A hanging shoe holder can be repurposed to hold much more than just shoes. Use a door-hanging shoe holder (at kid-height) in a closet to store action figures, dolls, and any smaller toys.  

Calling All Cars!

Install a magnetic strip (often used for storing knives in a kitchen) to the wall and place matchbox cars along it when not in use. Without using a bucket or bin, it's less likely every single car will be dumped on the floor!

Colour It Organized...

Use a hanging garbage bin, label it, and use it for storing kids' colouring books, art books, and/or paper for crafts.

Hooks at Varying Heights

Kids will use wall hooks they can reach easily. Put extra pegs and hooks below adult-height hooks, about 3-feet off the floor). Once the kids grow taller, these can be used to hang wet hats, scarves, bags, and other smaller items or short jackets.

Highlight Important Papers

Installing a display rail helps to keep track of all the important incoming and outgoing paperwork from school and home. Tickets, homework, permission slips are all good candidates for this.

Dry Boots & Shoes Quickly

Use a simple metal or plastic cooling rack (usually used for baking) to sit inside a larger tray or baking pan. This will collect dirt and water, leaving floors mess-free. To clean, hose them off or just rinse and throw them into the dishwasher.

Corral Messy, Outdoor Toys Before They Get Indoors

When you have kids, muddy shoes and toys are a fact of life. Use a plastic basket or washable canvas bin to collect used rain gear, messy sandbox toys, and soggy pool supplies. Either mount the bin to the wall or set it inside a larger tray or bin which will collect the water, dirt, and debris.

The Organized Family

Using mounted file holders, upright baskets, or mailboxes is a fun, easy and clever way to keep the family organized. These can hold things going out and coming in: think school library books, notes and other paperwork for school, umbrellas, hats and other daily essentials that you don't want the kids to forget. Forget the morning scramble! This makes mornings much easier for parents.

Spring Explorers!

What better time to entice your gang into nature than when the whole wide world is coming back to life? Here are four great ways to celebrate the new season and bring out the outdoor adventurer lurking inside every kid.

Call Out the Worms

Find an area of loose, slightly moist soil (the dirt under a log or landscape timber works well) and push a 12- to 18-inch-long stick two to three inches into the ground. Vigorously rub another stick from side to side against it for about 2 minutes and watch as any worms in the area wriggle to the surface. Try several areas in the yard to see which ones are the hottest worm hangouts, and keep an eye out for baby worms, which are in abundance this time of year.


Catch a Breath

This easy experiment can be conducted anywhere there's a patch of grass and sidewalk, and proves that plants are breathing in the spring air too.

Invert a clean, empty glass jar over a patch of grass in the sunlight. Place another jar over concrete or asphalt. Leave the jars for an hour, then return to examine them. The inside of the grass jar will be coated with droplets of water, while the other jar should be mostly dry inside. 

Track Trap

While you can see many animals that make your backyard their home during the day -- birds and rabbits, for example -- many others only come out at night. This footprint-catching "trap" lets kids investigate who's hanging out after dark.

Place a white sheet, folded in half, in an area of the yard where animals are most likely to visit (near a hedge, for instance, or a compost pile). Place cut-up fruit, bread spread with peanut butter, sliced carrots, or hard-boiled eggs in the center, then spread a foot-wide band of dirt around the edges of the sheet. Using a watering can, wet both the sheet and the soil and leave it overnight. The next morning, check your trap to see if any animals have taken the bait, then try to identify them by their tracks. Reset your trap in other spots around the yard -- you might attract different animals in different places.


Pond Explorers

Ponds are teeming with living things, large and small, especially in the springtime. A simple embroidery hoops sifter lets kids get up close and personal with the fascinating critters -- bugs, snails, tiny shrimp, crayfish, and more -- that call the pond's floor home.

Cut two circles from tulle that are slightly larger than a 7-inch embroidery hoop. Place the hoop between the circles. Staple the pieces together around the hoop's perimeter, pulling the tulle tight. (It's easiest to staple one side first, pull it tight and staple the opposite side. Then continue stapling around the hoop.) Now find an area of the pond where plants are growing or draping into the water Lower the hoop into the soil on the pond's floor, sweeping it slowly back and forth, then gently raise it out of the water (it may take a few sweeps to collect something). Transfer your findings to a small plastic container filled with pond water. When you've finished your examination, gently return the critters to their home.  A finely meshed bug net works really well for this too.

*Valid until January 31st *While supplies last  

 
Save 20% OFF Sea Monkeys Big Show Projector until January 31st

There's no business like show business and the Sea-Monkeys steal the show every time! Just add water and watch your live Sea-Monkeys hatch and grow! Turn down the lights and watch as they are projected onto the wall. The Big Show set includes everything you need to get started and enjoy hours of fun with your live Sea-Monkeys.