Educational Insights Design & Drill Socket to Me Review & Giveaway #ToyReview

Design a boat, robot, race car, or rocket with a real, working socket wrench and rugged bolts – then play with your creations! Endless construction fun for preschoolers.


Preschoolers love designing, building, banging, and using their imagination. The Design & Drill Socket to Me Play Set lets them do all the above. I love the fact that every toy that is on the Educational Insights website teaches while they play.


Play isn’t all fun it games, it’s very beneficial for kids and their growing minds. When preschoolers play and design with small pieces it teaches hand-eye coordination as well as problem solving and creativity. Adisyn couldn’t wait to get started after the box came in the mail. She even put them all in a certain tote so she could keep up with all the pieces after she was done.



The set comes with 4 different hands-on pieces which include a boat, a race car, a rocket, and a robot. The socket wrench actually works like normal and makes the clicking sounds as well. They use the socket wrench to attach different colored bolts to the pieces. She had tons of fun “building” her creations. She thought she was miss fix it all after this, lol.

This doesn’t require any batteries at all, so it makes it the perfect take along toy. You can throw this in your beach bag for a day at the beach, or in your kids backpack for long doctor waits.

Win your OWN!
Good Luck!

-Jessica

Toy Review: LeapFrog Read With Me Scout #HolidayGiftGuide2013 #ReadWithMeScout

Reading is something that is VERY much enjoyed in our home. I LOVE to read myself and it is something that I wanted to pass on to my kids. We go to the library all the time and I let them choose their own books. We read them, re-read them, and then I try and get them to re-read the books to me.

There are times when I am super busy and have to get something VERY important done and would love to read to them but can’t. That’s where the Read With Me Scout by Leapfrog comes in. She can patiently sit down and play with him and have him read to her while I wash dishes, clean, or cook supper. I can then sit down and join her after we’ve ate supper, I’ve washed the dishes, and they’ve had their baths for school the next morning.

Adisyn absolutely adores her Leap Frog Read With Me Scout. He comes with 5 color coded books that are also numbered. The books are hardback books and very durable for small hands. (This is a HUGE plus because she tends to still sometimes slightly tear pages on accident). So them being board books make a HUGE difference.

Scout makes reading very interesting and interactive, even for a Preschooler! When you turn the switch “ON” on Scout’s collar he will say something like “pick up the blue book and pat my head when you are ready.”

He will then read the book to her, commenting on the book, and asking questions as he goes. This is awesome because it builds comprehension skills as well as helps them pay attention to what is being read to them. It amazing how much he engages her in the book and makes reading that much MORE fun.

Scout has 5 different interactive spots (cheek, both paws, head, and back) that respond to her touch. She can kiss his cheek and he will tell her that she’s his best friend, she’s friendly, and he likes her. His left paw produce songs, the right produces random responses (high five, yeah, it’s nice to see you, let’s play). His back responds “You’re my buddy, I like that, and I love you” etc.

The 5 colorfully illustrated board books teach:
    1) Rhyming—helps children learn about the sounds of language and build phonological awareness,
    2) Learn-about—learn about the world through reading and recognize how print carries meaning,
    3) Narrative—learn about how stories are put together, with characters, settings, and a sequence of events,
    4) Pattern—learn with rhymes, refrains and repetition to predict what comes next, and
    5) Concept—explore concepts like colors to label and classify new information.

Adisyn love to carry Scout wherever we go, no matter where it is. To the post office, the Doctor, and even to the grocery store. She even wanted to pack him in her backpack to take to school. She loved showing all our friends and family how much of a big girl she was by trying to read along with Scout.

Scout was a tremendous help to me on Friday. I had a doctor appointment for 11 because I ‘d been having severe migraines and felt “stuffy” for a few days. I thought I had allergies, so I made the appointment. We went in (Adisyn doesn’t have school on Fridays) and sat there until 2:30. It was ridiculous, but at least we had Scout to keep her entertained, occupied, and from flipping out from sitting there all day.

He teaches comprehension, early vocabulary and book and print basics. The more words a child sees, the more words they will eventually be able to use. The more a child is read to, the more they will LOVE to read. They will definitely love interacting not only with their book, but having a buddy that talks!

This is the perfect holiday gift for any child ages 2-5.

Get YOURS: Read With Me Scout by Leapfrog $34.99 $29.99

Stylish Southern Mama received the product free as part of a promotional program with LeapFrog and MomSelect.

 

Jessica Renee

Toy Review: Educational Insights- Raccoon Rumpus™ #HolidayGiftGuide2013

Join the party! Raccoons have raided your closet and now they’re having a party. Help these masked bandits get dressed—the critter that collects the most costumes wins. Includes 4 raccoon cards, 20 costume cards, 1 jumbo color die, 1 jumbo costume die, and game guide. 2-4 players. Grades Pre-K+ -

 

Adisyn absolutely loves to play cards, well what she thinks is playing cards. Usually we just play match the cards, or I hold the cards and show her one and ask her to find the same card in her hand. That’s OUR version of Go Fish because she doesn’t know all her numbers yet.

The Raccoon Rumpus game is specifically for preschoolers, so it doesn’t require them to know anything they don’t. It’s a game that is fun for her because all it includes is critters, costumes, matching, and memory! The goal is to collect costumes and help the raccoons get dressed. Whoever collects the most outfits wins! She loves it and has tons of fun!

The color matching rules are super easy, the die is bigger so they can easily grip in their smaller hands, and the game is fast paced and fun! It definitely helps with math skills, colors, and memory as well as matching!

Adisyn and Aidan both thought it was hilarious to see raccoons in their underwear, I’m pretty sure they snickered every time they played a new game. It’s a cute, funny game that they continue to love!

It’s a cute little game that is perfect for any stocking!

Get yours: Raccoon Rumpus $14.99

Connect with Educational Insights online:

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Jessica Renee

Toy Review: GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars™ #HolidayGiftGuide2013

The only binoculars designed specifically for little kids! Enlarged focus-free eyepieces—more than three times the size of ordinary binoculars—and perfect-fit goggles with placement guide enable kids (even toddlers) to see up close! Grades Pre-K+

Adisyn was extremely thrilled when I handed her the GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars. She has always wanted a pair of binoculars after seeing Dora had some on one episode. These are absolutely perfectly suited for any preschooler!

Regular binoculars are expensive, hard to handle, and have tons of knobs that make it difficult for a preschooler to use. She was mighty delighted to be able to go outside with “her” binoculars and watch animals.

She has always been fascinated by birds, squirrels, and butterflies. It was always difficult for her to really see them though unless they were really close to her, and then she’d run after them! Now she can animal watch with ease!

She even walks around the house and yard looking at random stuff; grass, flowers, leaves, you name it! These have really peaked her interest in not only nature and the animals in it, but now she’s interested in EVERYTHING she sees through the Kidnoculars, She can play and explore her world while doing it.

This is another hit from Educational Insights. They REALLY do make the best toys! They definitely put themselves in a kids shoes or SOMETHING because every single item we’ve got from them my kids ADORE!

This would make an awesome gift for your little explorer! Get them!

GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars. $14.99

Connect with Educational Insights online:

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Jessica Renee

Toy Review: Educational Insights GeoSafari® Jr. Animal Eye Viewers #HolidayGiftGuide2013

Take a walk on the wild side—backwards! Slip on your Shark Eye Viewer and use the rear-view mirrors to get around, but look out for your blind spot—sharks can’t see directly in front of themselves. Choose from three different Animal Eye Viewers and lots of animal adaptations and get a whole different view of the world. Grades Pre-K+

Do you see what they see? See the world through an animal’s eyes with this set of three amazing Animal Eye Viewers. Try the insect viewer—the pixelated views create dozens of mini-images. The shark viewer provides a 360° view complete with rearview mirrors, central blind spot, and ocean-blue tint. Or, try to keep your focus with two independently rotating eyeballs in the chameleon viewer.

Aidan and Adisyn were excited to open their box of GeoSafari® Jr. Animal Eye Viewers. They come with 3 animal “eyes” inside the box. The chameleon, shark, and insect. They play with them all the time, for long periods of time pretending to be the animals. It’s cute.

I love the fact that these not only inspire their imaginations, but they are educational as well. They loved seeing the world through the eyes of the different animals. After we got them we looked up and printed off information about each “animal”.

I think these toys would be an amazing addition to any classroom as well as any kids toy collection. My daughter loved the insect viewer the best because it shows the world like a Kaleidoscope- with tons of whatever you’re looking at coming in to view.

My son loved the shark. We had no idea before getting these that a shark had blind spots. The chameleon eyes are just crazy. They rotate and it’s hard to look at anything straight, lol. Educational Insights did an amazing job of recreating these animals “eyes” for us to see and learn about!

This would make an amazing gift for kids as well as teachers!

Get Yours! GeoSafari® Jr. Animal Eye Viewers $27.99

Connect with Educational Insights online:

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Jessica Renee

Toy Review: Raskullz 3 Wheel Cutie Cat Scooter #HolidayGiftGuide2013

 

Give your child a ride on the fun side with this Cutie Cat-themed three-wheeled scooter. The scooter is designed with tri-wheels for stability and balance, a skid-resistant foot plate for safe footing, and a steel frame for super durability. This pink scooter is adorned with Cutie Cat graphics and is perfect for new riders to cruise around the neighborhood in style. It also features a 3D molded character attached to the handlebars.

My daughter was absolutely ecstatic to be able to choose her own scooter from Raskullz. If you were reading Stylish Southern Mama last year you seen that my son got to review a Raskullz Radgon Backpack last year. So, when my daughter got to get herself a cute little character scooter, she chose the Raskullz Cutie Cat Scooter of course!

It comes really quickly and isn’t put together. It didn’t take us very long at all to get it together and let her roar up and down the sidewalk! She has so much fun riding it everywhere. Of course my son wanted to ride it when he got home from school, even if it DID have a cat on it, lol.

She loved the cat scooter so much that we bought her the matching helmet at Wal-mart this past weekend. It was cheap, only $20. She needed a good helmet though and this was the same price as the other helmets so we let her get it! It was definitely the cutest helmet on the shelf!

I even let her ride the scooter in the house, up and down the hallway. The scooter is extremely safe for a 4 year old who is just learning how to drive a scooter. The wheels are pretty big and don’t scratch the floor at all! It gives her entertainment on rainy days, and she likes to show EVERYBODY that comes over that she got a new “scooter”.

I am excited to have this because of the upcoming winter months. There isn’t much she can do inside (except play with her regular toys), so having the scooter will cure the winter blues. I love the fact that the handle bars are padded, it makes it easier for her to grip!

She loves the fact that the kitty is in 3D. It looks just like a cartoon hanging on her scooter, and she adores it. I love the fact that the scooter is extremely durable and can take a lot of abuse from a little girl. She has knocked it over and the cat on the front still looks the same. It hasn’t chipped, cracked, or broken ANY which makes me love it that much more!

The “foot” part of the scooter is wide and also decorated with the cat. The bike is super adorable and she is sure to get a LOT of use out of it! I love the fact that she now has something to ride. She doesn’t know how to ride a bike yet because there isn’t a place to teach her because we live RIGHT in town where people speed up and down the road like demons.

So, I’m glad that she can ride this in our driveway, in the house, or even in the grass without a problem!

This would make a perfect gift for the holidays! They have more characters (for boys too).. So, if you’re looking for the perfect gift.. here it is!

• 3D molder character attached to handle bars
• Adjustable height handle bars
• Awesome printed kick plate
• PVC wheels
• Easy assembly
• Max users weight 40 lbs

Get Yours: Raskullz Cutie Cat Scooter $34.99

Connect with Raskullz online:

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, & Youtube

 

Jessica Renee

Crayola Dry-Erase Activity Center- Put Fun Back into Learning! <Review>

Crayola has always been a huge part of my life. When I was in school I loved getting fresh new giant boxes of Crayola crayons. I loved that there were so many amazing colors to choose from, and a blank paper had the potential to be made into so many things. I’m pretty sure Crayola started my craft obsession.

I wanted to pass this onto my kids. No matter what brand of crayons you buy- they WILL never compare to Crayola! So, when I got a chance to review the Crayola Dry-Erase Activity Center- I was all over it. My kids love to color, write, and draw. Now that they are both in school, I was looking for something that we could use again and again for practicing.

The activity center is eco-friendly because it doesn’t require any paper. It has a clear writing/drawing surface that works with any dry-erase product; dry-erase markers, dry-erase crayons, and even dry-erase colored pencils. SO it saves paper from being thrown away, just let them write their heart out and then erase it and let them start all over!

My daughter started preschool this year and is learning all the essentials; alphabet, her name, shapes, and numbers. I was glad that the Activity center had more than 25 games and activities that we could use on a daily basis to help her learn!

It’s an activity center that comes with 4 dry erase markers (red, black, blue, and green), an eraser, and 5 front/back cards. The cards help with alphabet, numbers and counting, words and stories, and building their imagination as well.

When you open the Dry Erase Activity Center box inside is a little pamphlet that helps you show your kids even MORE ways to have fun with the center. It shows you little learning games that make it even better. If you go on the Crayola website, they even have hundreds of Dry-Erase activity sheets here that you can add to the collection!

Just the short amount of time that we’ve had it has already made a big difference. She has been doing so well with learning how to spell her name, her alphabet, AND shapes. We are solely focusing on those for right now. I don’t want to throw too much at her at one time. I want her to fully comprehend what she’s learning before we move on to something else.

I love the fact that they added in a blank page. This has the potential for so many different things. You can write directly on the dry-erase sheet and insert it under the clear plastic pane so they can trace it! This is what has been helping her with her shapes and name the most!

The grid sheet can be used for many things. Lower or upper case alphabet, numbers, or even greater and less than. You can have them color 5 blocks on one line black for instance and then 7 blocks on another line green and tell you which is greater.

It is extremely durable, it has withstood being dropped on our floor a couple of times and didn’t even crack. I love the fact that we can re-use it time and time again. We didn’t have to buy the pre-printed school paper for her to learn! Just in the short time we’ve had this, my daughter has already made tremendous progress learning her letters and name!

My son loves to use it to draw on. He has been getting pretty detailed and awesome at drawing. He has been practicing drawing trucks, helicopters, cars, and rocket ships! It’s been awesome to see them play with something longer than 20 minutes. They will draw, write, and color for hours! This would be awesome to take on a long road trip to keep them occupied, of course I have to buy another one so both kids can have one!

Get Yours: Crayola Dry-Erase Activity Center $16.99

Connect with Crayola on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for inspiration and sales!

Jessica Renee

Toy Review: WonderMind Educational Kits for Toddlers & Kids

Teaching kids to tell time can be a very daunting task, however it is necessary. They need to know their schedules, especially when they start school. Aidan started Kindergarten this year, and has been fascinated with telling time all year. Adisyn is 4- and follows and learns from him.

Aidan knows and can read his  numbers on a digital clock—which is what most of them are in our home. Phones, computer, microwave, and alarm clocks. However, non-digital clocks are a totally different story.

WonderMind is a complete five-piece interactive learning system designed to work together to help preschoolers and kindergartens learn how to tell time.

Included are 5-pieces; Wonder and Discover Theater DVD, Wonder and Discovery Picture Book, Discovery Workbook, Tick-Tocks Talking Toy Clock and a parenting guide.

You start out with the 20 minute DVD, which includes 10 different elements such as grammar, counting, time, and more. The chapters are short, so the kids really enjoyed them and stayed entertained with the  interactive telling time activities.

The picture book has chapters that center on what they had just watched in the DVD. They are very informational stories with big, bright, colorful pictures that show what the story is talking about.

Aidan and Adisyn really enjoyed looking at the “What’s in the Oven” part of the book. It shows about baking bread and how certain foods are made from other foods. Such as Pizza Crust and Spaghetti are both made from flour… It amazed them!

Then there’s the workbook. It shows how to use tick-tock, which is the interactive talking clock that comes with it. Then it goes into “story-time” where they visit tick-tocks house.

Before getting Wondermind, Aidan didn’t know how to tell time. Now he can tell you which is the long hand, the short hand, and most of the time tell me what time it is. He still has problems after 30 (such as 12:31) because he can only count to 30. BUT we have made some serious progress!!

Aidan and Adisyn both loved playing with the clock and learning the different parts of a clock. It has certainly made telling time more fun for them. Very interactive which holds their attention for a longer period of time.

The two colored clock hands made it so much easier for  my children to understand “long and short” hands and the clock even comes with a timer and quiz button.

The workbook helps along with the clock, not only to tell time but other certain things they may need to know. It helps to show them the right way to hold a pencil, whether they are right or left handed and how to write with it.

It helps that the workbook comes with reward stickers (YAY) and the timer on the clock can be set from 3 minutes to 15 minutes. Kids have very short attention spans and when you try to make them sit for a long time period learning something—they aren’t going to retain that information for very long.

This helps them grasp “time management”.. so they know we work on the book for 10 minutes a day, almost every day. That way they can actually tell how long 10 minutes is!

At only $29.99 plus a 30-day money back guarantee it is affordable and comes with a ton of activities to help children learn the importance of telling time!

For more information on the kit we reviewed or the toddler kit visit www.wondermindkids.com

 

Jessica Renee