Tag: learning


Sep
2019

Animal Here, Animal There

categories: Reviews

In our home we have a lot of toys that are not very fun unless you use your imagination. I like keeping toys around that have a purpose. Whether that be learning, creating, imagining, exploring; the list could go on. Bottom line – I want my kids to be challenged while playing.

I want their play to purposeful. 

We’ve slowly been working on collecting high quality animal figurines for our kids. Animals give our kids an endless amount of play.

The Schleich brand is one of my favorites for animal figurines. 

The German company was founded in 1935 and is ‘the leading international provider of realistic animal figures.’ Schleich now offers six different themed worlds which include over 600 figures. 

The Schleich figurines are all hand modeled and designed using photographs, drawings, or models found in books or images. Each figurine is molded by hand, examined, and then hand painted. Each step of the process is ensuring that the toys are high quality and non-harmful. 

We love the Schleich brand for many reasons, one of them being that their belief is just what we’re striving for in our home. See what they have to say: “At Schleich we believe that promoting creativity and rich imagination is one of the most valuable gifts you can give a child. The best part of it is: a child’s creativity as well as their imagination develop almost by themselves with the right playing concepts.” They seriously just hit the nail on the head with this one. 

We also love Schleich because the materials used in all their figures are safe. They are all safety tested and meet strict national and international requirements. Their products really are high-quality and designed carefully. This keeps the child(ren) engaged and the parent happy. 

I am just blown away by the amount of detail that goes into crafting these animals. They look so real! Just look at the detail on each of the figures and tell me you’re not impressed.

Schleich Lion

Schleich Quokka

Schleich Giraffe

The Schleich animal figurines are perfect for kids of all ages. Wheather your buying for your own child or giving them as a gift, they will last a lifetime and offer endless imagination. Be sure to check out their website, they have so many options to choose from. You won’t be disappointed!

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Sep
2018

Toomies Toys

categories: Reviews

When you come across a company with the mission of: make the world smile, then you know it’s going to be a hit in your home.

That’s exactly what Toomies toys did for our family.

Toomies is a brand underneath the umbrella brand of TOMY. Some other brands that TOMY represents are John Deere, Lamaze, and the First Years. Their innovative, high quality toys are products that your children will love.

Seeing their mission come to life didn’t take much with toys we were able to play with. That’s why we are a big fan of the TOMY toy line – Toomies.

 

 

Available at Target and Target.com, the Toomies toy line is very easy to come by. And trust me, you’re going to want to check them out.

One of my favorite aspects of these Toomies Toys is that they don’t require batteries. Each of the toys we’re featuring are free of batteries and 100% child (or parent) operated. Like, seriously, what more could a mom of two boys want (besides a massage :D).

 

Pop & Hatch

This cute little mom and chick toy is perfect for an older infant/young toddler. My one year old loves this one. Push down the head of the chicken and off she goes!

The push and go action of the chicken gets your kiddo moving. My son has tons of fun chasing around the mommy chicken. My husband even commented on how fast the chicken moves; he was pretty impressed!

 

 

The chick is a hit too. It hides in the egg and then pops up; great cause and affect for him.

 

Sort & Pop Spinning UFO

This is my two year old’s favorite. Similar to a shape sorter, putting the shapes in their corresponding holes will cause a fun reaction that your toddler is sure to love.

 

 

This toy is educational; allowing your child to differentiate the shapes.

Another learning opportunity that presents itself with this toy are the colors. The bright and vivid colors give your child great potential with color recognition.

 

 

My sons favorite aspect of this toy is the ‘pop and spin’ feature. Once the shapes are in their correct spots, push down on the middle on the UFO then let go. Watch as the toy spins, then POPS!

Seriously endless amounts of fun.

This feature is a little difficult for my two year old to do. It’s hard for him to push down enough on the center piece in order for the toy to spin. He needs just a little bit more muscle power. Luckily he is very persistent, so he eventually gets it to pop and spin on his own.

 

 

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Flappee Stackees

 

This toy is my favorite out of the ones we tried out. I love the colors. The blue and pink are adorable, then add in the orange car; what more do you need?!

This is a fun one because no matter how you stack the different pieces, they all fit together. Just like the name says, this toy is stackee. Creativity is endless with this toy because there are many different options stack it; you could stack it different every time!

 

 

When you push down on the pieces that are connected to the car, off it goes!

This is another great one to have your child chase after; continuous fun.

 

Pirate Bath Ship

Making bath time a tug-a-chug blast is the new Pirate Bath Ship from Tomy.  This interactive bath toy will get your imagination stirring and make bath time a true pirate adventure. With a canon that splashes out water, a tiny separate boat to send your pirate a’ sailin’ and a squirting octopus you will have tons of fun while scrubbing your kid clean.

This toy is not only great for bath time, but it’s perfect for water tables and can be uses as a pool toy too. No batteries are required for this easy to dry toy.

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Sep
2015

Teach My Baby Review

categories: Reviews

Teach My Baby Review

With the holiday season approaching we often wonder what to get the small children in our lives. Houses are cluttered with toys. Clothing is hard because they grow of it so quickly. The one gift that never fails is the gift of knowledge. I honestly think Teach My products the best educational item you can buy for the child in your life. They have 3 levels, baby, toddler and preschooler. This review will focus on the Baby Deluxe Kit.

Teach My Baby Deluxe Kit (6+ months)

The Deluxe Kit Contains:

  • Teach My Baby First Words Learning Set
  • Teach My Baby First Numbers Learning Set
  • Teach My Baby Self Learning Set
  • Teach My Baby Sounds & Touch Learning Set

Features:

  • 12 One Piece Puzzles
  • 6 Two Piece Puzzles
  • 6 Touch and Feel Flashcards
  • 6 Mirrored Flashcards
  • 6 Mirrored Nesting Blocks
  • 5 Finger Puppets
  • 4 Board Books
  • 1 Double-Sided Storyboard
  • Teaching Guide
  • Storage case

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Mama’s Experience

My son is 18 months. He is not officially verbally delayed, but he is on the borderline of being officially delayed. Having an older sister who always talks for him, he never gives it a go and tries to talk. He gets lazy I feel. He doesn’t push himself to try to talk. I was very excited to try to use this program with him. Anything to help engage him and learn at least what the his basic words are is going to be a win in my book.

mirror cards

This kit is jammed packed with fun teaching tools. I am not a teacher. I am a parent. I know how to talk and help my child and how to relate to him. I can use the books, puppets, cards, blocks and puzzles in this kit to his benefit. I know that he prefers to point at each picture at his own pace. When he points to a new picture I know that means he is ready for me to tell him what it is. If I go too fast or too slow then he looses interest or gets upset. Reading your child and paying attention to their cues will make this kit not only fun but also fruitful.

number

My son, like many other children, loves blocks. The key feature that makes these blocks special is the mirror on each one. The blocks focus on facial features. You can point and show them your nose/ear/hair, then point to their nose/ear/hair and then show in in the mirror what their nose/ear/hair looks like. This helps in a way I never thought of. I can point to my face and their face, but until they do it for themselves and see themselves in the mirror its like another part of the brain clicks. He gets it. While he still cannot say the word ‘mouth’, now my son is slowly starting to remember where his mouth is and can occasionally point to it. These blocks are so great.

mirror box

fuzzy

The touch and feel flashcards are another super special tool in this kit. Babies love the touch and feel books. They are engaged in the book. By drawling a child’s interest into touching the card and really focusing on the image they are using more then just the sense of vision like most flash cards. This engages them to focus in and really look at what they are touching. Everyone learns in different ways. Some by sounds, others by touch, some by all forms of their senses. I think having touch and feel flashcards is a brilliant idea.

puzzle

This is a wonderful gift for this 2015 holiday season. You can pick one up at your local Toys R Us or WalMart!