Education.com's 2008 Gift Guide Gives Holiday Shoppers a Cheat Sheet of Unique Gift Ideas

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Education.com, a leading web destination for parents of school-aged children, today unveiled its 2008 Holiday Gift Guide -- a one-stop shopping resource parents and other shoppers can use to find fun, educational, unique, and safe holiday gifts for the children on their lists. The 2008 guide, developed by Education.com's selection team of parents, teachers, and kids, showcases gift items that have outstanding educational value, while also being exceptionally fun.

The guide contains 15 items hand-picked for each grade level including toys, books, "experience gifts", stocking stuffers, and gift-donations to charitable organizations. From eco-easels to homemade fort kits, green board games to a super pogo stick, Education.com's 2008 Gift Guide is packed with unusual choices that work kids' brains and bodies, without their even realizing they're learning.

Education.com Editor-in-Chief, Danielle Wood, explains the 2008 Gift Guide selection process, "We were extremely picky in choosing products for the guide. We spent the last year going to toy shows, meeting with publishers, collecting recommendations from teachers and parents, and doing our own research to come up with the 500 products we ultimately reviewed and chose from. And when I say 'reviewed', I'm not talking about looking at product specs on a website. We brought each product into our office and got down on the floor with teachers, parents, and kids to play, read, or create. If a product was highly educational but not really fun or if it was entertaining but didn't contribute to the child's physical, emotional, or cognitive development, it didn't make the guide."

Education.com also considered price, safety, and environmental factors when making gift guide selections. "We wanted to include something for every shopper -- from aunts and uncles who might just be looking for a great stocking stuffer to moms and dads who want to know that their big ticket item is going to be a winner," explains Wood. "We also wanted to be sure that there's a good mix for boys and girls -- most items are actually gender neutral. And we tried to get back to basics in a way. We worked to include lots of toys made out of wood, fabric, and other materials that will last a long time and help kids connect with their natural world."

Unlike many other gift guides on the market, product manufacturers were not asked to pay a review fee to be considered for Education.com's gift list.

"We think holiday shoppers are going to find our gift guide really refreshing," notes Wood. "They're going to find lots of items not found on other lists and a lot of small companies they've ever heard of before. Most of all, this guide is about making kids light up when they open that package and giving them something they'll still love long after the holidays are over."

Education.com's 2008 Gift Guide (and information about where each item can be purchased) can be found at http://www.education.com/gift-guide/.

About Education.com

Education.com provides parents of school-aged children free access to information and resources to give them answers they need about raising and educating their children -- plus activities designed to make learning together more fun for everyone. Often called "The WebMD of education", the company has teamed up with the leading universities, non-profits, and research organizations in the country to offer highly credible parenting, developmental, and educational information. The site also offers printable activities, discussion boards, access to best-of-breed educational services, and SchoolFinder -- a tool that gives parents comprehensive data on the nation's 125,000 public, private and charter schools. Education.com was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Redwood City, CA. The company is backed by leading venture capital firms, Azure Capital Partners, TeleSoft Partners, and California Technology Ventures. For more information, please visit http://www.education.com.