Team Mom Review – K’NEX!
I was thrilled to receive the latest two review items from Team Mom, the K’Nex 400 Pieces Tub (for kids ages 7 and up) and the Sesame Street Neighborhood Collection (for kids ages 2-5) (a follow-on offering from last year’s Sesame Street characters introduced by K’Nex, which we’re still playing with).
400 Pieces Tub
The 400 Pieces Tub, obviously comes loaded with (wait for it . . .) 400 parts. Seriously, tons of pieces, including bricks, for lots and lots of wide-ranging fun and endless opportunities for building! For the creatively challenged, like me, the set includes instructions and ideas for 20 models, which were surprisingly easy to recreate. Moms will love the convenient storage tub, providing a handy place to put your pieces, and kids will love it, since it allows them or take the fun along wherever they go.
Suggested price is $20.99 for the 400 pieces tub, recommended age is 7+, and they are available at Target, Wal-Mart, and Toys “R” Us. Oscar is way too young for these (2 1/2 is not quite the suggested age, but he’s definitely going to be using them much sooner than the stated age range). Having said that, he loves them already, even though he can’t build anything on his own yet. If you’re going to jump the gun like me and play with a set early, be mindful of the sizes of the pieces.
Our set is now being used by a perfectly aged 7 year old boy whose mom says he hasn’t put them down for two hours. Enough said.
Sesame Street Neighborhood Collection Building Set
I think you’d be hard pressed to find a toddler who doesn’t love building with the SESAME STREET Neighborhood Collection Building Set. You can select the 1-2-3 Brownstone, the Ice Cream Truck or the Police Car (which we scored). They come with a new buildable Elmo or other character (smaller than last year’s, but just as cute). The package includes a “Play & Learn” activity sheet and additional building ideas.
The set comes with a fair number of parts (around 40), that is manageable, but not overwhelming. The pieces are perfectly sized for toddlers and are easily put together and pulled apart. What I love about this set, compared with last year’s, is that you can create multiple objects with this. We’ve made a car as shown on the box, but have made a number of different variations on the theme. Great for a toddler with less than an ideal attention span.
The Developmental Benefits of Sesame Street Building Sets:
- Physical Development – Building supports the development of hand-eye coordination
- Social/Emotional Development – Encourages imaginative play
- Language Development – Talking about what they built and created can enhance your child’s language skills
- Cognitive Skills – Sorting and making patterns with the building parts encourages thinking and problem-solving skills.
Suggested retail value is between $9.99 and $19.99, for ages 2-5, and available at Target, Wal-Mart, & Toys “R” Us.
Team Mom Review – Leslie Patricelli Books
Back before Oscar, I used to love to read. I still do, but all I read now are board books, which is why I was so pleased to receive my new package from Team Mom this month. This month we received two books by Leslie Patricelli, both of which have made it into our daily reading rotation.
Both books are big hits, but since we’re still at the board book stage, we’re getting the most use out of “Baby Happy Baby Sad”. I remember seeing books from this author on Amazon, but wondering if they were a bit simplistic. They are basic, but I actually think that is what is nice about them. This books introduces fundamental concepts (in this book, basic emotions) to kids, which I think is very helpful (at least in our house). The theme of the book (no surprise) is happy and sad moments for babies. I won’t give the entire premise away, though! The pictures are both colorful and very expressive.
I also like the second book, called ”Higher! Higher!” Oscar is a swinger (in the right sense), and this is great because it’s a story of a little girl on a swing asking her father to push her higher and higher. Each new page shows just how high she can go. It’s not a board book, but even Oscar is loving looking at the bright illustrations. Both books are available now, and I think they’d make a great first birthday present for any child.
Team Mom Review – Bella Sara II
A few months ago, I had never heard of Bella Sara. Now, compliments of Team Mom
and a single review I did a few months ago, I have experienced a mass influx of visitors looking for information on their beloved magical world of horses. For those of you not in the know, Bella Sara has a website and trading cards for little girls (and some boys, too, I would think) who love horses. Bella Sara is now introducing two new products, Bella Sara Miniatures Series 1 and Bella Sara Treasures.
Bella Sara Treasures is the eighth series in the popular Bella Sara line. How popular, you ask? It’s sold more than 55 million cards so far. Treasures bring a new facet to BellaSara.com, with additional printable activities – bonus codes, coloring pages, wallpapers, a poster and jigsaw puzzles. Now through April 30th, you can check out www.bellasara.com for a chance to win a Treasure Hunt Party of your own. My Oscar, of course, is far too young to appreciate things like trading cards, but he is loving the tattoos and stickers that come in Treasures. You can purchase Treasures trading cards starting today, March 3, for $2.99.
For those of you who have loved the cards, but wanted a more tangible experience, Bella Sara will also start selling their Miniatures series on March 3rd. This is a new product line of 20 horses from the land of North of North. Each Miniatures pack includes one random, cute little horse, a stand for the horse, a bonus code redeemable online and a full color checklist. They’ll retail for $1.99. Why such a low price? These things are TINY. Teensy, teensy tiny, which is part of their appeal, especially for little girls. Having said that, as a mother of a 19 month old, I have to warn you to watch out for these and keep them away from your toddlers. Oscar is enticed by these (especially Walter), and both of the horses we were given went directly into his mouth. Not likely an issue for the intended demographic, I’m sure, though.
While I never have been the “horsey” type, I have a niece that spent years completely obsessed with anything equine. If your daughter, niece, etc., is of that ilk, she’s likely to be a fan of Bella Sara.
And just because I want to be welcoming to all of the Bella Sara fans that are making a pit stop here on my site today, here is a handy link for a coupon giving you 15% off a pack of Bella Sara Treasures at my beloved Target (through April 12th).
Bristle Spinners – Team Mom Review
I’m kind of sad that we have now received our final Team Mom toy of the year, but the upside is that it’s by far the best toy we’ve received so far (and let’s face it, we’ve received some great stuff this fall). We are thrilled to have been given the opportunity to test out the new Bristle Blocks Spinners from Parents® brand toys. When the package arrived, I (not so brightly) opened it immediately, forgetting that Oscar was due to go to bed within an hour. Let’s just say that bedtime was considerably delayed that night. Since then, it’s become the first toy he heads for each and every morning.
What are they? Well, Bristle Blocks Spinners are 57 fabulously colored blocks, wheels, axles and funky little characters with bristly hair. You can put them together in dozens of different ways, limited only by your imagination. You can make a few different cars, a ferris wheel (which you can use to spin the funky little guys round and around – oddly a lot of fun even for mom) and tons more. Same sort of concept as Legos, but I find the bristles are easier to work with for my toddler, and personally, I prefer the softer, rounded shapes of the Bristle Blocks. I also vastly prefer the colors – orange, lime green, purple, etc. All in all, a great addition to the nursery.
They’re aimed at kids 2-6, although like I’ve mentioned, this is a huge hit in our house and Oscar is only 16 months. Even the nanny loves these – she is absolutely sure Oscar will continue to play with these for years. Right now he’s pretty constrained in what his little hands can build, but as he grows, I’m sure his ability to make more complex objects is just going to continue to grow with him.
Bonus for moms is that these toys are non-toxic and extremely easy to clean. You can find these and other Parents® brand toys at Target. Christmas and Hanukkah are next week. If you’re still looking for a sure-fire hit for a pre-schooler this holiday season, this certainly could be it.
A Secret Mountain Giveaway
I know, I’ve never done such a thing, but Team Mom sent me a bonus book and CD, so to kick off the holidays, I thought I’d give it away.
What do you need to do to enter? Simply drop me a comment – no need to subscribe to my feed or anything. Just let me know you’d like the book, making sure you leave a link to your blog or your email address so I can contact you. The lucky winner will be selected Sunday night, November 23rd.
***Update – Sarah’s the lucky winner (#14)! Congratulations – just wish I had one for everyone.
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The Secret Mountain – Team Mom Review
One of the reasons I joined Team Mom was that I’m a bit overwhelmed by all of the choices out there when it comes to shopping for Oscar. There are so many products, and let’s face it, between the expense of the toys and simply not wanting to overwhelm him (or me for that matter) with too many objects, I have a hard time choosing what to buy. I typically only buy things a friend (IRL or bloggy) recommends. In the hope that I can help someone else out, I have not only a product review, but an actual recommendation for you.
We recently received three books from The Secret Mountain. I had never heard of them, but their product is fantastic. Lovely, illustrated story books that each come along with a related CD. Sure, we’ve all seen this sort of thing before, but in this case both the books AND the songs on the CD are fabulous. We’ve bought a lot of books and a lot of kids’ CDs. Oscar loves the books, but the CDs to date have left him cold. Not these. Within seconds of hearing the first track, he started his little bop that he saves for the Latin-American music we play in the house. The books themselves are beautifully illustrated and the stories are clever.
Take a look at the video here if you’d like to see and/or hear a little for yourself. I’m off to buy A Poodle in Paris.
Baby Bella – Team Mom Review
Just add water – Team Mom Review
I’m loving this Team Mom thing. We received two new products last week – the newest ones are the Bath Blizzard and the Aquadoodle Draw ‘N Doodle both from Spin Master. Oscar and I are huge fans of these. I was most excited about the Bath Blizzard, which I ripped open as soon as it arrived (c’mon, who doesn’t like bubbles?). This is a smallish (the size of an old fashioned radio, if you’re old enough to know what I’m talking about) battery operated machine that hangs onto the side of your bathtub that sends a barrage of bubbles pouring into the water. Spin Master has a new Kid Kleen line of toys, a line of kids’ bath activity toys that are safe, non toxic, hypoallergenic, and tears free – all of their products have been tested and approved by ophthalmologists and pediatricians. I was a bit concerned about putting so much soap into the bath with Oscar’s post-measles skin, but it wasn’t drying at all. Nanny Norma gave him a bath last night without the bubbles and Oscar demanded them. I’m guessing it’s a hit.
The other product we received was the Aquadoodle Draw N’ Doodle Mat. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t all that excited about this one initially. I’ve always wondered what the appeal was with these things, as I tend to think that childhood is all about fun and vibrancy and the dull blue colors that you get out of these pens left me a little cold. I suspected these were popular with high-maintenance moms who freaked out at the prospect of their kid leaving marks on the walls, furniture, etc. from markers and crayons. Ok, I was wrong. Oscar loves this thing. He’s just getting the hang of writing, so his “art” is a bit immature, shall we say. This has become the go-to toy in our house each and every morning. It’s great - there is absolutely no mess – all you do is add water to the Aqua Pen that comes with the mat and your kid will draw (or in our case, scratch) on the doodle mat. The mat is really quite durable and reusable for many, many hours of mess-free fun! (yes, if you’re picking up on the fact that I like the no-mess aspect of this, you’re right – I’m coming to terms with the fact I’m one of those high-maintenance moms I mentioned).
You can find both of these products at major toy retailers (including Amazon and eToys – suggested price of the Bath Blizzard is $19.99 and the Aquadoodle is $24.99).
Sesame Street Builders – Team Mom
So I recently joined Team Mom, a group that does unpaid product reviews, and what was the first product shipped to me? Sesame Street Builders by Knex. Think Lego-like Sesame street characters, but better (meaning they actually look like their characters). They come in a variety of characters – Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie and Oscar. You KNOW which one I was hoping for, of course, but we ended up with Cookie Monster. Can’t say my Oscar was disappointed, though. One look at the box and he was hooked – and he doesn’t even watch Sesame Street yet.
I was a bit concerned that these would be too advanced for him (he’s just 14 months old, and the box says for age 2+). No need for concern. They’re large enough that I’m not worried about him swallowing them and also big enough for his little hands to grasp in a way that allows him to actually build things himself. So he wasn’t able to actually fashion his Cookie Monster into any recognizable form (Nanny Norma had no problem with it, though). He did love what he built, though, and even better, he loved taking it apart and putting it together again. Must say, though, that his favorite thing about this toy at first was the box. He spent about an hour chewing on Cookie Monster’s eye and practicing placing the pieces back into the box.
I dragged Cookie Monster along with us to our doctors’ appointments last week, and it was a hit with other kids as well. Well, I assume it was a hit since a little boy swiped it from Oscar and his mom took him away crying when he had to give it back to us.
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Where I’ve Been
