Children's Toy Review: Counting Bunnies Puzzle 23

In this day and age store bought toys are a dime a dozen and their designs and novelty are temporary if not fleeting. Even the quality is not as it once was, with giant companies racing to cut over head by outsourcing to factories with shaky safety records, hoping to turn a lucrative profit.

But do toys really matter any more? When video games and electronic devices such as cell phones and ipods , have consumed the culture of most of the civilized world's daily existence, and become the most wanted items - echoed in the fashions and advertising campaigns that flood our televisions and printed media. Do seemingly "dull" toys of yesteryear have a needed place in our children's lives? I, among a growing movement of parents , educators and specialists, believe the answer is yes.

There have recently been many studies compiling findings that support the theory that moving our children into the digital age has not come without a price. People are cluing in to the fact that children are slowly loosing out on make believe play, which is critical for language and problem solving development within their growing brains. Articles such as The End Of Make Believe featured on Newsweek.com, site that technology and entertainment are NOT tools used to stimulate imaginative play, no matter what their clever advertisements may lead you to believe.

In order for a child's brain to be stimulated to encourage proper make believe play , the toys he or she plays with need to be very plain and basic in nature (always wondered why your children enjoy the box the toys came in, more than the toy it's self?) - without all the flashing- beeping- digital goodness that floods store shelves. Wooden blocks and other basic toys are open ended - meaning there is no set outcome or plot, these toys can be anything the child imagines and the potential for creativity is limitless.

One of the toys I am reviewing today falls into the category of those reminiscent of toys of yesteryear.

Counting Bunnies Puzzle is offered by Imagiplay.com, a company that believes in selling toys that are eco-friendly and that inspire the imagination.

Counting Bunnies Puzzle Specs:

• Hand-crafted & hand painted with child-safe paints. Made from plantation-grown rubberwood, an environmentally-friendly hardwood.
• Non-toxic, eco-friendly, educational puzzles that teaches numbers, colors, dexterity and fun!
• Fair Trade allows artisans a fair wage to support their families.
• 10 puzzle pieces (8 bunnies, 2 carrots) 1 wooden puzzle base.
• 
• Ages: 3+
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 4 x 14.5 inches ; 1 pounds
• ASIN: B0016HPLK0

Pros:

This puzzle is sized very nicely, perfect for a child's hands. The pieces are larger than other similar puzzles I have seen on the market, they also have rounded edges. It is nice to have a puzzle that offers a 2 dimensional feel instead of the typical one-dimensional, painted-on-one -side-only puzzles you find elsewhere.

The Counting Bunnies Puzzle's design is very sweet with momma bunny watching over her babies as they race to get to the large carrots, all numbered to encourage your little one's counting skills. The way the bunny pieces are positioned will help your child to learn about balance and sharpen his or her's dexterity. It is a nice feeling knowing that the designer used child safe paint when decorating the puzzle pieces, so many toys are made without forethought into the ingredients that will be used.

My 5 yr old daughter liked the way the pieces fit into the base and thought the carrot theme was "so cute!". Even my 18th month old little boy was drawn to the bright colors and different shapes.


I was happy to know that this purchase is supporting fair trade ^W artisans and that the wood used to create this puzzle is rubberwood - which can regenerate new growth that is usable fairly quickly, so the harvesting process is very eco-friendy.

Con's:

The only slightly negative thing I can say about Counting Bunnies Puzzle is that because it is eco-friendly the puzzle came wrapped in shrink wrap, so there is not actually a container to house the pieces - which was a little inconvenient. My kids had the pieces all over the place in no time.

Overall Impression:

The Counting Bunnies Puzzle is well constructed by hand out of environmentally sustainable wood and supports Fair trade workers in disadvantaged countries. Not only will your children love the cuteness factor of the puzzles design, but this puzzle is educational and something that will last for years to come, and would make a great toy to pass on to future generations.

Related Posts:

• Encourage Your Little Chef, while Encouraging Listening Skills
• Product Review: I-Spy Memory Game
• Product Review: See Me Read Kit - Complete
• Book Reviews: Let's Get Ready Series

Encourage Your Little Chef, while Encouraging Listening Skills 19

When foodies envision the perfect pizza, the visions are filled with wonderful and exotic ingredients - the texture, the smells and the very process of the pizza production conjure up such great memories and mouthwatering fantasy of new creations.

When cooking with children, pizza is often a dish that gets top attention. It is fun to mix and children love to see the dough rise and are thrilled to spread the sauces and cheese or other toppings upon the pizza.

But sometimes with younger pre-schoolers or those in kindergarten, it can be quite the challenge to hold their attention and keep them focused.

Well that is where Noodleboro Pizza Palace Listening Game comes in handy. This game comes complete with pizzas & real take out boxes, a peel (which doubles as the scoring track /game board) , plenty of toppings. Think of it as a pre-pizza conditioner, to help your kids strengthen those listening skills needed to cook along side you in the kitchen.

When I got the chance to review this game, not only was my 5 yr old excited, but this game was something she could relate to me and culinary. She loved that she would be "cooking" up pizza and earning points when her orders were right. The audio CD was a hit with her too and even my 17 month old joined in and was dancing and clapping. A fun game for the whole family.

Noodleboro Pizza Palace Listening Game Specs:
Contents:

• 25 pizza topping cards
• 2 sets of 25 pizza toppings
• 2 pizza boxes with pizzas
• 2 pizza topping trays
• Chef's Hat Moving Pawn
• Scoring track
• CD (21 tracks)
• Storybook
• instructions in English and in Spanish.

Product Dimensions: 3.4 x 10.5 x 10.5 inches

ASIN: B0013WKAJK

Item model number: 40505

Mfr. Recommended Age: 36 months - 6 years

Number of Players: 2 - 3


...this will  be big fun for little chefs  while honing  skills...

In the Noodleboro Pizza Palace ListeningGame storybook "Listen While You Work": Chef Listentino stubbed his toe and has the only pizzeria in town. Suddenly it looks as if pizza eating is doomed for the whole town - until 2 young boys offer to help.  Avery and Earnest tell Chef Listentino they will make the pizzas for him. They get a crash course in proper pizza production, but Avery doesn't listen to Chef, and when the time comes to make pizzas their assembly line goes awry due to Avery's bad listening and communication skills with his partner Earnest.


Although not up to HAACP standards, this book is written in a way that will engage your little chef. Filled
with bright illustrations, and plenty of non-stop silliness.This same theme is echoed in the actual game play:

The "order giver" must select 3 topping cards, most of the ingredients are standard pizza topping such as pepperoni or anchovies, but just like the storybook some silliness carries over in the form of soccer balls, tennis shoes or French fries and other objects edible or not. Order Givers are encouraged to change their orders to help strengthen memory and listening skills.

"Pizza makers" must listen as these ingredients are read out loud, once they have been said it is up to the pizza maker to remember what was said without hints. Each successful pizza order gains the pizza maker another spot on the scoreboard (a.k.a the peel) , whoever advances their chef hat game piece first to the top spot, wins.

The audio CD included in the game has 21 tracks of silly sounds and songs which all coincide with the storybook, that strengthen the overall lessons of the book - bringing the book to life for your kids.

This game is guaranteed to encourage your child's social skills such as working on a team and communicating, all naturally through different sensory stimulations, whether it be from the book, the audio CD or actual game time.

Product Review: See Me Read Kit - Complete 6

Have you wished there was an educational product out there - one you could add your child's pic to, that would help him/her get better at reading ? See Me Read  is a product aimed at helping early readers succeed. After seeing her success from working with her own son - Lori Albert Luke , worked with childhood literacy expert Lynette Frentte to create the See Me Read^TM kit, a program that features personalized whole-word learning tools.

See Me Read Kit
Completely customizable...

The Product Specs:

I received the complete kit. The kit includes:

1. Laminated Reader Cards (24 words)
2. Reading Books Level 1 and Level 2
3. Labels (24 words)
4. Writing Pad
5. Parent Guide on encouraging reading and
   tips for success

When you go to the See Me Read site , you
have 3 options, or kits, to choose from.
The largest kit is the complete kit.
You have the option to "Buy now,create
later" or "create now".

When you create your personalized kit,

You will be asked to choose 24 words out

of 39 words - the words are people,

objects, animals or places(such as dad,

or bathroom) . You will then be instructed

to take pictures of your child or upload

pictures you already have, that match

the what each word

describes (such as a picture of Ella stand-

ing in"Ella's room " or "Ella's cat"). These

are the words your child will be learning

to spell and read.

If you have selected the full kit you will also

need to fill out a questionnaire because the

Reading Book Level 2 has more advanced

sentences that need to be personalized to

fit your child's kit.

This process will take anywhere from

45 minutes to an hour. So prepare to have

some time freed up if you will be ordering

this complete kit.

The selected kit will then be shipped out and you

should receive it via USPS in 2 weeks.

Product Pros:

1. Flash cards are large and heavily laminated, and are put on a jump ring - this is great because I know with my kids they loose anything cards related, having these cards on a ring ends having to pull them from every which corner and crevice in our house months after the fact.
2. The Labels, Flash Cards, Reading Books 1 & 2 are all written in large print , and are not to busy or distracting, making for kids friendly reading.
3. This kit integrates learning to read into your child's environment so everything your child is reading about is familiar and welcoming - there is no instance for your child to feel overwhelmed by being in a strange environment, so the learning is natural and at your child's own pace - SO much so that your child will wake up wanting to learn more.
4. By using your own child's name and pictures on these tools, this encourages your kids to embrace themselves in a new light - one that will boost self esteem and confidence
5. The kit is designed with pre-school and kindergarten curriculum in mind
6. This kit is easy to use, and your child will practically teach him/herself.
7. The included notebook has exercises to stimulate your child's creativity and fine motor skills by encouraging your child not only to read the object but to also draw the objects she/he has been learning to spell out.

Product Cons:

1. The parent guide mentions putting the labels on the object they are describing (such as a dresser), at your child's eye level to encourage them to read wherever they are and learn through association. But I can't help but wish the labels were laminated like the flash cards.

Hint: If you purchase the kit I would recommend you take the labels into Kinko's to get them laminated - especially if you will be using with younger siblings later on.

Conclusion:

The See Me Read Kit Complete is an excellent tool to help get your little one on the right track to reading regularly. I would definitely recommend it.

Book Reviews: Let's Get Ready Series 8

I am excited to review 2 wonderful children's books that are geared at readying your little ones for Kindergarten and First Grade. My daughter will be entering kindergarten this Fall, and these books couldn't have come at a better time.

Out of all the "get ready" books I have seen so far, the Let's Get Ready Series from Cedar Valley Publishing are the most engaging for kids and made from materials that are kid friendly.

Both books are paperback, with thicker than average paperback pages - that are laminated! What a great feature, this allows you to let your children, or even their younger siblings handle the book without worrying too much about the book getting torn.

These books aren't just work at home books - they teach the curriculum that is found in your child's kindergarten and firstgrade classrooms.

Plus 10% of the profits are donated to literacy programs.

Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! (Let's Get Ready Series)
is written by Linda Desimowich and Stacey Kannenberg . Illustrated by Joyce Babel-worth.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Cedar Valley Publishing (March 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933476001
ISBN-13: 978-193347600

Mrs. Good , the books fictional teacher guides you and your little reader through the skills needed to prepare your child for her kindergarten class: telling time, recognizing money, making a calendar, colors and shapes, body parts, counting to 100, learning 5 senses, rhyming words, opposites, seasons and much more.

From reading, to recognizing money, to learning which hand is left or right , the fictional classmates in the book show your child learning IS fun. My daughter was begging me to teach her with this book.

The illustrations are very lively and fun. With great colors to keep little ones interest on each page you share.

This book not only will give you the tools and confidence to teach your child in an engaging, age appropriate way - But will also give you tips on how to ready your child for school days, and coach her on classroom issues such as bullying.





Lets Get Ready For First Grade!(Let's Get Ready Series)
Written by Dori Schmitz and Illustrated by Tracey Jackson.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 44 pages
Publisher: Cedar Valley Publishing (March 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933476109
ISBN-13: 978-1933476100

Mrs. Best, the books fictional teacher, and fictional classmates, will help you teach your child important academic milestones to learn for first grade : Writing full name & number, recognizing upper and lower case letters that out out of sequence, adding & subtraction, numbers 1-30, counting to 100, recognizing patterns, skip counting by 5s, 10s to 100, know money and value, reading basic sentences, under standing weather and so much more.

The illustrations are still fun and inviting, but are much more detailed in this book, sure to interest more motivated first graders.

Lets Get Ready For First Grade! really details first grade classwork. You will feel right at home teaching and following along with the book.There are also tips for fostering self esteem and proper ways to handle sensitive issues.

Overall Let's Get Ready Series are great books that will having you wondering why you didn't find them sooner. Your children will enjoy having the time spent with you and learning the cool skills in these books. I highly recommend them!