ChildTrek Blog

By Miebeth Bustillo-Booth, ChildTrek Founder

ChildTrek Natural Toys - Voted Top 5 Winner
King 5’s Evening Magazine 2008 Best of Western Washington
Customers voted ChildTrek Natural Toys as Top 5 Winner of King 5’s Evening Magazine 2008 Best of Western Washington - Children’s Gifts category. Because of your votes, ChildTrek placed #2. Many thanks to all of our customers for honoring us with your business and vote. The ChildTrek team will continue to do our very best to win your loyalty and praise.

Check out our Top 5 Winner Best of Western Washington Special!

What Customers Are Saying
Below is a sample of the reviews customers posted at the official website for the King 5 Evening Magazine 2008 Best of Western Washington.

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“I can not say enough positive things about this store! I love it so much and I refer it like crazy to all of my family, friends, and parents. The toys are my sons favorite and it feels good to be buying toys that are safe for him and the environment. Customer Service is outstanding also!” ~Kelly48

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“One of my favorite places to shop in Tacoma. I love the store itself, but I keep coming back because the owner is so wonderfully helpful, and finds the greatest toys and books. Their online presence is great as well. I feel very lucky to have their retail shop nearby!” ~tanaf

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“This is the only store that I’m aware of that has ONLY safe/natural toys. The owner was so helpful and generous with her information that I took home her little fliers and when folks come over to see my new baby, I make them take her flier home with them!!” ~courtneyloved

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“It is so great to see this store in Tacoma. We can walk in and feel good about anything that we buy. The helpful suggestions have resulted in some new favorites for our 8 month old. We can’t wait until he is old enough to play with everything in the store. In the meantime, we will continue to visit to get age appropriate toys, and to “test” our favorites. We have also dropped lots of hints to all of those in the market for gifts–no more toxic toys!” ~greysma

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“The best all around - prices, customer service - AMAZING SHOP!!! I LOVE THEM!” ~WynneF

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“This is a wonderful earth friendly toy store for children! Great customer service. A store all parents must go to with their little ones to have a great experience and to encourage the healthy development of their children. HIghly recommended as the best toystore in Tacoma!” ~Melissa54

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“This is the best toy store we have ever seen. As new grandparents, I’m sure we will be back many times. The owner and staff are knowlegable and creative and led us through the maze of available toys to make the best selection.” ~roncharley

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“If you are looking for a green and one of a kind gift this is the store for you! I’ve been back several times for my son and for gifts. The shop owner is very helpful and she carries a wonderful selection of books. Currently my 1 year old’s favorite book is from ChildTrek!” ~yeldsy13

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View more Best of Western Washington customer reviews.

By Miebeth Bustillo-Booth, ChildTrek Founder

Shape Sorters - Important Early Learning Toy
Shape sorters are important educational toys. They help strengthen your child’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, develop problem-solving skills, encourage color recognition, and begin to help your toddler understand cause and effect. It’s one of the best early learning toys around.

Plan Toys Shape & Sort It Out: Classic, Effective
If you are around children, you know that shape sorters can be very challenging for toddlers. Some are too gimmicky and complicated.

Plan Toys hits it on the spot with its Shape & Sort It Out. In order to encourage success, Plan Toys stuck with three basic shapes and familiar colors (red, blue, green, yellow). In doing so, it promotes success and confidence through recognition and repetition. It is classically designed and comes with all you need to help your child develop important foundational skills. No frills, no gimmicks. Just a sturdy wooden box, a lid, six wooden shapes (2 of each: square, circle, triangle), and your child sorting things out. It worked when you were a kid, it will work just as well with your little one.

A few features that are worth noting: There are rounded cut-out handles on the sides to help with storage and portability. Unlike its soft counterparts, the wooden cut-out shapes have no give. So there’s no cheating by squeezing or stuffing in the pieces. If your child gets too frustrated, he can lift the lid and put the pieces in that way. This is completely normal and gives the sense of progress. Of course, your toddler will try sorting again and with each satisfying clunk will eventually figure things out.

Plan Toys Shape & Sort It Out is well built. It will withstand years of play and will be ready for the next child’s attempts.

Simply good.