Educational Alphabet Flash Cards

 

Details: Educational Toys Planet's Alphabet Flash Cards are great for children ages 3, children ages 4, and children ages 5.  Using fun, happy, bright, colorful images, images that are larger just for smaller children.  Smooth sturdy card stock, with slightly rounded edges of each flash card helps children enjoy hold these, plus they're safe to hold.  Great for teaching image letter recognition.  Each package comes with a whole 26 upper case letter set and a whole 26 lower case letter set, 2 parent/teacher cards, a game idea/ suggestion card.

My Review:  The day we got these in the mail, my 3 year old claimed them as his school supplies, and wouldn't share with his 6 year old.  After the 6 year old went to bed my 3 year old stayed up begging for me to use his school supplies with him.  So at 10:30pm my 3 year old and I are sitting in my bed with a warm softie blanket around us learning the Big letters, the Little letters, and the images that go with them.  He loved it so much!  This is perfect for a little kid who is learning the ABCs.  The pictures are my favorite.  Some ABC kid flashcards or books use images that kids don't know.  But with these flashcards my 3 year old knew all but 4 images, and those images he didn't know, are of things he hasn't ever seen before. (i. e. ink bottle, ball of yarn).
 

Pros: I love this, my 3 year old LOVES this

Cons: none

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

My Rating 

Motor skill toys for children

Details: First Time: My 1st Teach Time Gift Set. Made for children 12 months and older.  3 toys in one package.  Learning as they play.  Shape sorter: 6 shapes.  Stacking Rings: 4 rings and a Teddy Bear top.  Stacking cups: numbered 1-5.  All sets of toys are in happy bright colors.  No noises, no lights, no batteries. $7 at Big Lots.





My Review: My 3 year old son got this for
Christmas last year.  He had so much fun playing with these toys.  Even at age 3, he had a ton of fun with these toys for about 7 months.  The stacking cups were great, because his older brother used a set for school time, and playing kitchen.  The stacking rings were fun, but the Teddy bear head didn't fit very well, so that was put away for most of that time.  The shape sorter was the hardest toy for my 3 year old to do on his own.  Even as the Mommy I had a hard time getting the top off the bottom to get the shapes out once they were put into the toy.  This is definitely a none name brand play set of toys, are sold at an amazing price, this is good, not great, but good.  Of the 3 toys, the stacking cups were the best.  They have a little hole in the bottom of each, so even in the tub or pool these are great toys.  

Pros: love the bright colors, love the simplicity of the toys, and the stacking cups are fun

Cons: the shape sorter is too hard for even a 3 year old to play with alone, the Teddy head didn't really fit or stay on the stacking rings.

My Rating: thumbs up for great price, and a good product, but thumbs down to the not so kid friendly shape sorter, and not very child entertaining stacking rings Teddy bear head that doesn't work

Fisher Price Tool Bench

The Fisher Price Tool Bench is GREAT for Kids!

This toy is made with very durable plastic that lasts for many many years, safe for both indoor and outdoor use.  It includes a fun clamp for holding wood or other flat objects, plenty of holes to hammer nails through, as well as some great tool hangers! This is super fun for all of the little handy men and women in the family who love to learn just how their handy parents do what they do!

My Toy Review: 

With all of the video games, movies, tablets, and hand held gaming systems this awesome creative toy is a wonderful outlet for the little ones. All of the tools that came with it are kid safe and friendly and fun to use.

Pros: great fun for kids ages 2-8.  Great when brand new, but if you get one used and with nothing super easy and cheap to fix up for your kids.

Little Tykes Kitchen

Details: Durable plastic, may fade, but won't break.  Lasts for years, comes with kitchen wear and food when brand new.  Around $30 used.  Different models provide different modes of fun.  Comes in different colors.  Great for indoor and outside use.  Boys and girls with have hours of fun!

My Review: I bought this for $20 used at a thrift store, but have seen them going for between $50 and $30 used in the same condition on craigslist and ksl.com here in Utah.  All the kids love this toy, the girls and the boys alike.  All our friends love bringing their kids over to play with this.  Here's the thing, when I bought this there were no plates, cups, food etc.  So I wanted to provide my own.  I got very creative.  Check out the pictures.  I saved and washed 4 Odwalda juice bottles and put colored water in them and super glued the tops down.  I washed out 2 McDonald's chocolate milk jugs and super glued the lids on.  I washed out my used up spice containers, yogurt containers, Blue Bonnet butter containers too.  I washed out and filled with colored water: Kettle Almond Butter, Honey Bear, BBQ Sauce, Ketchup, and strawberry jelly containers and super glued their lids on.  I gave my kids old expired condensed milk and canned vegetables to play with.  They got rocks put in super glued vitamin bottles, sprinkles that were old that got super glued in, etc.

I went to the thrift store and spent $4 on saucers, cups, bowls and utensils for the play kitchen.  I recycled, reduced my trash and reused for some super duper fun for the neighborhood and my own family.

 

Zimbbos!

 
Details: 1-4 players, ages 3 and up.  Elephantastic pyramids.  Juggling fun!  Make by Blue Orange educational toys.  Who will build the most amazing, crazy and tipsy topsy pyramid of elephants, clowns, bears and lions?    Everyone is wooden, and high quality.

My Reivew: We love these types of toys, we've played with a few from the Orem Public Library's PERC center.  This one is the most fun we've had.  My kids love the little wooden elephants and the bears.  Its fun to learn about gravity, balancing, math and problem solving.

Pros: wooden toys, simple directions, easy to play.

Price: From Amazon.com

Zimbbos by BLUE ORANGE GAMES

Buy new: $27.99 $20.06

51 new from $16.14 

                           

                         

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Number Hunt Game

Details: Six math games in one!  Made by Discovery Toys.  Earth friendly and kid fun!  Beyond learning getting smart is just half the fun of learning.  The hunt is on by rolling the dice and moving your disks along the trail through the jungle.  Add numbers and subtract numbers, count insects, and more.  Ages 4 and up, and 2-4 players, takes 15 minutes to play.

This product is organic and printed with vegetable ink on recycled paper and includes parts made from natural wood and bamboo.  This is sustainable and biodegradable and renewable resource.  All products meet or exceed ASTM safety standards.

Information: This sounded like a really fun game, as we're getting our 5 year old ready for Kindergarten this fall, but let me tell you we were all very bored with the game within 5 minutes.  The instructions are confusing even for me to figure out to explain to my children.  The two cool things about this game is that 1. its organic and biodegradable and environmentally safe, and 2. Its instructions are printed on the top cover box so you can't loose them.  I am not pleased with this game at all.  I do not recommend it.  We checked this out from Orem Public Library's PERC center.

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Mr. Popper's Penguin game

 Details: This is an all wood game for children 4 and up.  2-4 players, and it does have small parts.  You have 12 penguins, 12 colored eggs, 4 iceberg scoring boards, and 2 colored dice.  This takes about 10-15 minutes to play.  The penguins hide the different colored eggs and after they're all mixed up you take turns rolling the dice and lifting up a 2 penguins trying to find matching colored eggs.  Its a cute and fun twist on the matching game that gives kids hours of fun and laughter.

Information:  We checked this game out at the Orem Public Library's PERC center.  My kids ages 5 and 2 love this game.  The penguins are super cute and remind us all about Mr. Popper's Penguins the movie with Jim Carrey.  We've played this game a few times now and each time the kids get a kick out of trying to find the different colored eggs, and trying to trick me into loosing.  I really do like this game, its made by Blue Orange.  My only con is that this game should really be for children ages 3 to 5.  I would think anyone older than 5 would be bored with this game.  I highly suggest this game as a great way to learn colors, matching, and memorization.

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Melissa and Doug want you!

Have you heard, used, or seen any of the products that Melissa & Doug have in the stores?  I love them!  My kids have used tons of their puzzles, and we just got some of their games from the Orem Public Library's PERC center.

Well they are trying to reach 100,000 likes on Facebook and are offering a very large giveaway for it.  Help them reach their goal!  After all its still the New year and goals are very important.  Their products are so great, everyone should help them out!  Join in the fun and get a chance to win big!

Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/MelissaAndDoug

Hooked on Numbers

Details: DVD, MP3 songs, activity pad, journal, wipe off crayons, stickers.  Ages 3-5.  The Crayons conform to ASTM D 4236 (child safety regulations).  This Super activity kit is an educational extravaganza that's packed with learning and fun.

Information: This was another educational tool I checked out from Orem Public Library's PERC center.  First off, my kids and I sat down and watched the DVD together, and to be honest we were all very glad it was done because it was very boring.  The Amazing story was the best part, but my kids didn't really like it (and I say this because they watch lots of different educational DVDs or TV shows like: Dora The Explorer, Leap Frog, Little Einsteins, Dinosaur Train, Super Y, The Mickey Mouse Club House, etc.)  Secondly, my 4 year old who can write, draw and is learning to read basic words didn't like the little Number Journal.  He found it very frustrating because he had to draw things without any type of guide line.  He also prefers white erase markers to wipe off crayons. The Numbers Activity pad was the best part.  Lots of puzzles where you have to read the instructions to get the correct answers.  This was a fun part to do with my 4 year old.  Myself and my children didn't like anything except the puzzles on the Activity Pad.

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GeoSafari

Details: 12 plastic slides with insects on them to view under the light.  Games, codes, puzzles and more.  Easy usage, bright colors, fun, educational tool.  Sound on, off, and volume control.  Simple easy to understand instructions. For children 3 and older.

Information:  I checked this out from Orem Public Library's PERC center for 1 week.  My kids are ages 2 and 4 and love this!  This is a great parent child, or teacher child tool to use to help teach children about science, insects, listening to a question and then give the correct answer from what you see.  This company has a few different models, so I've posted a few different pictures, and prices that I've found on Amazon.com.  I highly recommend you buy or check out this product for your children to use at least once!  Its so easy my 2 year old knows how to turn it on, put the slides in place, and get to the easiest set of games.

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Discovery Toys

Educational Discovery Toys for Kids! 

Travel Tracks for kids is so simple and fun! And there are so many wonderful Discovery Toys out there.

Why this toy is so beneficial for learning . . . 

This is an educational hands on toy, not just because it can teach geography, earth science, problem solving, puzzle skills and fine motor skills, critical thinking skills and other life and social skills.  This is an educational hands on toy, not just because it comes with 2 wind up jeeps so your child can learn to share, or your children can learn to take turns, learn to wait for their turn.  They can also learn probability, and chance because the wind up jeeps follow paths the puzzle pieces create, and if an incomplete path or a path with a fork in the road, the jeep’s mechanism will compensate.  We found as we explored this toy that there are dozens of possibilities of how to make the tracks.  Your kit comes with 8 track puzzle pieces; that connect in many different ways!


  Learning is fun because… it's all about Discovery Toys  In the beginning, I found this at Saver's in Orem Utah, and paid $1 for this.  Saver's is a Thrift store, very similar set up like Salvation Army and Good Will, however, their store is a lot nicer.  There are organized racks of clean clothing, organized selves and bins for stuffed animals and kid's toys, books organized into sections like Kids books, informational, romance, etc.  This is a store that I really enjoy shopping at because we're on a tight budget.  So when I find a really good deal, I have to blog about it.  I mean who wouldn't want to know about an amazing product?  Ding! Ding! Ding!  I love hearing from my friends, from blogs, and peers what the best toys, and products are.  Especially awesome products for kids, because my kids rule my life right now.  My product review is from personal experience with this toy, and how my kids enjoyed using it.  As it is a Discovery Toy branded toy, I know it cost more than Thrift store pricing.  However, I'm very grateful that I was able to find it at such a good deal.  This was a great treasure that I found, because it introduced my family to the company Discovery Toys.  A company that focuses on helping children learn in fun exciting ways.  When you find a good company, with great products, you want to be able to easily purchase more products from them.  However, I have found that Discovery Toys is one of those companys where you need to find a Rep who sells the products, because only specialty stores sell these products.  


Check out this Product... This was a complete hit in my house!  See, my kids love to put the puzzle piece travel tracks into different shapes, and change the pathways to have the jeeps travel through the topography type of map full of volcanoes, glaciers, beaches, forestry and lots of other land.  I found that for very young children this is a great parent child time toy, as you can help teach the child about the different geographic areas the vehicles travel through, and you can play one on one with your child as there are only 2 jeeps that come in the package.  With older children they will be able to place the puzzle pieces, interlock the pathways for the vehicles, and be able to create a whole new world of imagination play.  I like to think of this as an educational version of the popular Hot Wheels tracks.  The jeeps are child hand sized (roughly 2 inches or so in size)  The only negative thing about this set is if one of the vehicles breaks (like the wheels break) you can't substitute it for a vehicle you can buy in Wal-Mart or Target.  You have to go back to a company Rep who sells Discovery Toys, and work with them.  I highly suggest this product for any of the following: in the home, Preschools, Home school groups, Joy schools, Co-op schools, and public school media or class rooms.

Check out another one of our favorites, "Measure Up Cups"!

My Rating? A BIG Thumbs Up!

If you liked this product review, come check out Trio Blocks.

Reptangles

Reptangles: Turtles that snap
Fat Brain Toys Reptangles

Details: design, create, build, 24 geometry turtles in 6 different colors.  Learn, play, puzzle, create thousands of possibilities.  Some designs are like: Third Order Rotational Symmetries, Truncated Octahedron, Lesser Rhombicuboctahedron.  Can you flip, slide, and turn?  Two Reptangles can snap together in more than 100 ways.  More than 50 puzzles, over 80 structures, essential math concepts.  Ages 6 and up.

Information: We checked this toy out from the PERC center at the Orem Public Library.  My 4 year old can usually play with toys up ages 6, but this one is very frustrating to me as the parent.  These turtles are supposed to connect in tons of different ways, by just using 2 turtles.  But I struggle just to get the turtles to connect in 3 different positions.  I'm not impressed with this educational toy at all.  Trying to follow the instructions is impossible, it takes forever just to get the stinking things to connect.  I do not recommend buying this toy at all.  I've played with legos, kintex, tinker toys, Lincoln logs, and trio blocks.  I design beaded jewelry, and paint so I know I've got skills to be able to work with things that are complicated, but this product just doesn't work.

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Trio Blocks

My kids LOVE Trio Blocks!

These creative building blocks are amazing

These are plastic blocks very different than Lego's, but a similar design as you build and construct designs.  A fun for kids, can be annoying to parents when heard constantly at 6 or 7 am is that when they connect together the blocks snap!  Brightly colored, themed by sets pick and choose similar again to Lego sets, Trio Blocks are perfect for cute chubby little fingers of toddlers on up to older children who enjoy thinking, building, engineering.  The company gives a wonderful focus on both boy colors and girl colors which may or may not be appreciated by all.  But in my household purple and pink are reserved by me, because of how my kids have claimed colors for themselves.  Daddy gets black, brown and gray...when he can't convince our kids to also allow him to use orange and yellow on occasion.  They are so much fun for both kids and parents a like!  I have spent many hours playing with these toys with my children.  Helping them put together the barn and tracker in the Farm set, or building the cars.  Each themed set comes with instruction booklets, or design booklets, as guides to help your child learn how to build different objects.  However, my kids rarely ever use those booklets, and just create on their own.  There is Trio Block Jr, and regular Trio Blocks for ease of use depending on the age of the child.  There are basic sets, beginner sets, medium sets, themed sets, and advanced sets.  My kids would die for the advanced Castle and Dragon set!

Learning is fun... with these are block sets.  They, Fisher Price, claims that sets grow in difficulty as your child grows up.  Children get to use their imagination with these.  These blocks have helped my PreK child understand addition and subtraction, sizes, and sequencing for school.  We use these with my 3rd grader for science, Cub Scouts, problem thinking activities, educational play time, and so much more.  Sometimes we'll ask the kids to create an object to show us when they are done.  Now, much like any other building block company, these can get pricey, and you'll have to buy a bunch of sets just to get enough different pieces to really give your child a great experience with these.  Even my husband and I both enjoy making things with these blocks, as do all my kid's friends.  Sometimes we have to take the trio blocks away when we have play dates because the kids all fight over the same pieces.  Another reason it's a good idea to buy a good amount of pieces.  These make great gifts for any occasion!  Holidays, birthdays, school rewards (say for learning to read, or finishing a work book without complaining) etc.  The best place to get the most options for Trio blocks is Amazon or Ebay.  They both have great pricing, and there's no guarantee that all the pieces will be there especially from Ebay.

 My Rating? A HUGE Thumbs Up!

If you enjoyed this product review, come check out Leap Frog Baby Learn Around Playground.

Leapfrog Baby Learn Around playground

Looking for a great education toy? 

This multi leveled, multi-educational toy is great for kids! It offers children a wide variety of activities that help drive learning. It includes the entire alphabet, bilingual numbers 1-5 (English and Braille), different shapes (star, heart, square, circle, triangle), textured fabrics in primary colors, and a number of things that your child can touch, pull, push, spin, and move. It also has a music/song setting to add to the fun.


Why this toy is great: 
It offers lots to do for children who are either already walking or just learning to stand.  My 4 year old son finally learned how to say the whole alphabet in the correct order by being able to play with this toy. (And he's had flash cards, ABC books, and sound toys.) All in all I feel that any child would love this toy as they grow up. It's stimulating and fun!


What to watch out for: 
If the child is big enough or strong enough, it can tip over if they push on it, so be careful to prop it up beside something sturdy, or up against a wall. The balls can get lost, but I found a solution, you can buy rubber bouncy balls for 50 cents at either Wal-Mart or Target that fit as well! 

All in all the LeapFrog Baby Learn Around Playground is a great education toy that has helped my children to learn as they grow!

My rating