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Duck Runner:
Q&A
Does your family have an end of school ritual? Cynthia LaRowe VP/chief brand officer for PEMCO and mom to 8-year-old Nico
I always get some graduation-related decorations and completely blanket the house. For the last day itself there are always cards, usually a stuffie and a lunch or some special ice cream out. Then we often take the next week off, visiting my dad in Spokane.
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A classic toy trip down memory lane The first time my grandfather rolled Duckie across the floor in front of my 3-year-old feet lo those 52 years ago, I was smitten. Duckie flapped the ground with rubber feet as Grandpa quacked. For days I pushed the toy’s extended handle everywhere I went. Years later, my own kids loved Duckie just as too, almost as much as our pet cat. Such a simple toy brought decades of joy. Imagine my delight in finding Duck Runner at Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Shop. Handmade by Fall City-based Deep Forest Woodworks, the Duck Runner push toy is a throwback — and an invitation — to simple memories and simpler times.
Learn geography and practice fine motor skills with the wood continent boards from Mirus Toys.
CON TI N E TN B OAR DS : COU RTE SY OF A M Y P ORTRA I T STU DI O D U CK: COU RTE SY O F DE E P FORE ST WO ODWORKS
Things we love
— Cheryl Mufrin
The Wonder of Wood Toys Washington toymakers help turn on imagination by K A T I E A N T H O N Y
When parents reach for wooden toys, they are in fact helping their children engage in an important “work.” That is, the developmental work of play. “With flashing, plastic toys,
kids are passive observers, not active participants,” says Suba Jagannathan, mother, toymaker and the owner of Mirus Toys in Vancouver. Conversely, simple wooden toys, Suba believes, tap a child’s
Ages 2 and older $39 Duckrunner.com Available in Seattle at Pacificnorth westshop.com
imagination the way plastic, electronic toys often don’t: “Their imaginations are really awesome. If we give them the stories, they can repeat them, but if we give them the opportunity, they will make up stories, and surprise us over and over again.” A study out of Eastern Connecticut State University supports Suba’s belief; when it comes CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE >
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