LakeShore Learning: Let’s Play School Review & Giveaway

I remember when I was a kid, I loved to play school. I was the oldest out of my sister Brandy and cousin Sara, so of course I was always the teacher. I loved to teach them their ABC’s, numbers, shapes..etc. I’d give them quizzes and tests, grade them, and give them back. It was tons of fun!

When I was given the chance to review an item from Lakeshore Learning, I was immediately drawn to the Let’s Play School Play Set. I wanted to give my kids the love of learning that comes form playing school.

The Let’s Play School Play Set is absolutely brilliant. It comes with all the amazingly fun supplies that any kid would need to pretend play. I would have loved this when I was a kid. It contains over 65 pieces which include a 21’ chalkboard, chalk, eraser, pens, whistle, bell, American Flag, Reward Charts, Stamps, tests, roll book, and so much more.

I was truly amazed at how much stuff came with the set. Lakeshore Learning really thought of everything when it came to what teachers need and have inside their classrooms. They even added desk decor) (an American Flag)! How cool is that?

My daughter Adisyn was the only one home when the package was delivered, my son was at school. Preschool here didn’t start until 2 weeks after the rest of the grades, so she got to have first run of the activity set. She was absolutely thrilled!

I loved seeing her beautiful gleaming smile light up the room. She was absolutely delighted when she looked in the box. She just kept pulling out more and more of the toys. The look on her face was “More?” with a gigantic smile.

The quality of the products are nothing short of exceptional. You can tell that Lakeshore Learning really appreciate their customers and enjoy what they do. They want your children, grandchildren, or godchildren to be able to play with their products for a very long time! They make them with nothing but top quality!

I love the fact that we can use the Chalkboard to continue learning at home. My daughter is in preschool and has been learning her ABCs, Numbers, shapes, and how to write her name. My son is in preschool and has spelling words and is learning to add.

I can write whatever it is that they are learning for the week on the board and have them practice. I can either have them trace what I’ve written or write it underneath what I’ve written. It really helps with math, counting, and shapes because we can do unlimited number of problems.

Not only does the chalkboard have space for Word Math Problems but it’s nice to be able to save paper. He will get math problems that say “Draw 4 circles, 3 squares, and a triangle and add them together.” He is a good artist but he draws pretty big, so I’m glad that there is adequate space for him to learn.

When school starts every child gets a name badge. This helps the “students” to learn how to write their names. It also has shapes, colors, color names, and number on the name badge as well.

The first thing a teacher does after morning announcements and getting settled in the classroom is roll call. I think it was pretty neat that they include a real roll call book that they can write in! I also like the fact that they include attendance awards for “being” in school everyday! Pretty cool!

Of course a teacher has to have all this, right? They have to give spelling tests, it’s the most compelling thing about teaching. So, when they included an entire pack of spelling tests, reward stickers in a variety of colors and designs, and a report card!

America please! No teacher is complete without an American Flag sitting on the desk, right? What about the famous “United States map?” I love the fact that I can take the puzzle apart and help my kids learn about the wonders of American and all the beautiful states that we have!

My son has been learning how to tell time on a regular clock. He already knows how to do it on a digital clock, but he had been having issues with the big/little hands on a round clock. I love that I can now help them learn their time! Also, Aidan learned his days of the week last year, but Adisyn doesn’t know them yet. This will help them learn the days of the week, month, and year!

More rewards? Of COURSE! There are written words for reading, being a super star, dynamite job, god work, and congrads! BUT—what do kids like even more than a card award with their names on it so big and bright? TOYS of course? Inside the Lakeshore Learning Let’s Play Kit is a Reward cup AND the “prizes” that go inside it! AMAZING!

Last but not least is the Teacher tools. This is what makes a teacher a teacher (besides the fact that they teach, right? lol). It comes with the hall pass, teacher pen, teacher pencil, marker, stamps, bell, pointer and whistle. Let them feel special and amazing and check out the Let’s Play School kit for yourself! Doesn’t this look amazing? I know my kids have had a BLAST!

Buy IT: Let’s Play School Play Set $49.99

Connect with Lakeshore Learning online:

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The Lakeshore Story: A Simple Beginning

Our story begins with Ethelyn Kaplan—homemaker and entrepreneur. In 1954, this courageous mom took a chance and opened a supply store for parents and teachers. Fast forward to today, and Lakeshore is still a family-owned business and education industry leader with catalogs, a comprehensive website, and dozens of stores coast-to-coast!

Win IT: One Lucky Stylish Southern Mama reader will win their very own Let’s Play School Kit.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks,

Jessica

Leapfrog Pre K-K Early Learning Kit Review

The kids and I have been extremely excited to let you guys in on a little secret. The time has come for us to share that little secret.. well it isn’t a secret- per say but it’s something really awesome. We’ve all used the Leapfrog battery operated toys (LeapPad/LeapPad2) and stuffed animals (Violet/Skip), but we didn’t know that they also had learning products made of paper as well.

Leapfrog has teamed up with Mega Brands, and they have created some really affordable learning paper products. Most of these products are under $5 and can be found in the art/stationary aisle instead of with the toys.

They certainly got a thumbs up from the kids. As soon as they seen what it was, they immediately wanted to sit down and try it out. My daughter is going into preschool and my son is coming out of Kindergarten—so we got the Pre K-Kindergarten Learning Pack.

They are all paper based, no batteries required and most of what we got could be erased and re-written (it comes with dry-erase crayons) which I’d also never seen before. I love that they had a variety of stuff to learn. ABC’s, numbers, shapes, colors, and even teaches them how to write the color words.

I love that most of it was dry-erase. I could let the kids practice their little hearts out and then erase it later that night. Then we could start on it again the next morning or day. They say that practice makes perfect.. and it’s true. My daughter has definitely learned how to write A-F as of right now.

This kept the kids quite busy. They were having so much fun. I was having fun just seeing them learn WHILE have fun. There was such a wide variety of activities, so even my son could do some of them. He had problems last year learning the color words, so that’s what he was practicing most.

I love that each book contained a variety. Most only cover 1 or 2 (ex. colors or shapes). These have letters, numbers, drawing lines, drawing shapes, color words, and so on. Megabrand and Leapfrog put it all together and made it fun.

They also sent Alphabet cards with some really cute characters to show the letter. They ARE in color and have separate cards for uppercase letters and lowercase letters. we had tons of fun making up card games with the flash cards.

I am aware they are supposed to be used to SHOW the kids what the letters are, but my kids have a very vivid imagination. We ended up playing Go-fish with alphabet cards.. “DO you have a B?” LOL

They also sent the success charts, which I <the mommy> think is cool. We can use these all year to reward the kids for learning! There are tons of them in the pack!!

LeapFrog products by MEGA Brands are available for purchase (MSRP $0.99 – $24.99 for children ages 3 and up) at major retailers including Toys R Us, Michaels, Joann’s, Target, Walmart, Officemax, and Costco.

 

 

     Jessica Renee