Learning

Note: We received copies of the games to facilitate our review. I was not compensated monetarily for this post. All opinions are honest and my own.

We’ve had our Innotab Max for a while now and it is still a big hit with the kids. Their favorite game is a magic beanstalk game – the boys like to play it together, which of course I love – but they were excited to try some new games, too. We got two games to try out:

InnoTab® Learn to Write with Cody & Cora learning cartridge

(Ages 3-6 years; MSRP: $24.99)

• Go on learning adventures with Cody the Smart Cub™ and Cora the Smart Cub™ in Learn to Write with Cody & Cora for InnoTab. Read the e-Book about an adventure Cody and Cora take while writing and spelling words.
• Learn and develop handwriting skills in a progressive manner with 11 activities and games.
• Includes a fun e-Book about an adventure with Cody and Cora

InnoTab® Go! Go! Smart Wheels® Busy Day in Alphabet Town learning cartridge

(Ages 2-5 years; MSRP: $24.99)

• Explore Alphabet Town with Casey, Paul, Frank and Cyrus in the Go! Go! Smart Wheels Busy Day in Alphabet Town game for InnoTab. Read about their adventure in the e-Book or join the residents of Alphabet Town as they build roads, rescue kittens and more in fun learning games.
• This InnoTab software title features nine creative activities and learning games that teach letters, numbers and more.

What I love about all of the games we’ve tried on the InnoTab Max is that they’re really appealing to a broad range of ages. I feel good knowing that my 2, 5, & 7 year-olds are enjoying the games now, but I know that they’ll have staying power as the kids, especially our youngest, gets older. You can see in the photo below they were all glued to the game – too engrossed to grin for a picture!

And of course, all the InnoTab games have the wonderful benefit of being educational along with being fun. They’re learning and reinforcing skills in reading, spelling, math, writing, and more – as a parent, I think it’s wonderful!

Note: I received a set of Tiggly shapes and a gift card to facilitate my review. All opinions in this post are honest and entirely those of myself and my family. 

Our boys, who are 5 & 7, love to play games on our iPad. And of course Brian and I like to get our fair share of game-playing in, too. But baby E, who’s almost 2, has been left out of all the iPad fun – until now, thanks to Tiggly shapes & apps.

Tiggly creates hands-on educational tools that work together with free Tiggly apps on the iPad to create an exciting learning experience that combines physical play and digital fun.

When we first pulled out the Shapes and our iPad, E just sat and held the shapes while she watched the animation of the app, but then she quickly realized she could interact with the app using the shapes and she had a blast playing.

Then our boys came in to see what she was doing, and they started playing along with her. It’s nice to have something all three kids can enjoy together.

About Tiggly Shapes:

• Tiggly Shapes incudes a set of four easy-to-grip colorful shapes that are inspired by the classic wooden block. They’re easy for little hands to grip – E loved holding them, and she liked the bright colors, too.

• Little ones place Tiggly Shapes on the iPad to make Tiggly apps come alive. Each Shape is specially designed to be safe for kids and iPad screens.

• Tiggly Shapes helps little ones learn about shapes and fundamental geometry concepts, improve their language skills, and develop their motor skills, spatial thinking, and creativity – all while having fun!

• Each set of Tiggly Shapes also includes a felt carrying pouch for easy storage and fun on the go.

• Tiggly Shapes is great for toddlers age 18 months to 4 years old (I can attest to the fact that our 5 & 7 year old thought the apps were fun, too!).

• Tiggly Shapes is compatible with all generations of the iPad and iPad mini.

• Tiggly Shapes has a retail value of $29.95 and can be purchased online at tiggly.com.

• Tiggly Shapes includes three free TIggly apps designed by education experts and approved by parents. With their bright colors and fun games, little ones will have hours of fun while learning with Tiggly apps.

About Tiggly Apps:

• Tiggly Stamp: Kids explore the seasons while creating their own scenes and stories. Parents and children can use the camera and voice recorder to save the fun tales they dream up.

• Tiggly Safari: Children use Tiggly Shapes to create friendly animals from the jungle, farm, and sea.

• Tiggly Draw: Time to use your imagination! Kids use their iPad as their canvas and Tiggly Shapes as their tools to craft their own works of art.

Stay connected:

• Be sure to visit http://tiggly.com for the latest on Tiggly and to find tips and advice for parents on the Tiggly blog.
• Friend Tiggly on Facebook at Facebook.com/Tiggly and follow Tiggly on Twitter @TigglyKids
• Don’t forget, you can buy Tiggly online at Amazon.com!

We live in Texas, and although we’re known for our hot (HOT) summers, we get our fair share of cold weather too. When we have extreme weather, it can be hard for us to get out and let the kids get some much-needed activity. So we were thrilled to discover the iBounce trampoline, a great way for kids to burn off energy right inside your home!

JumpSport, makers of the award-winning iBounce children’s trampoline with tablet mount (fits, iPad, Kindle, Kindle Fire, Samsung and most other tablets), rolls out two new animated adventures for RompyRoo in Let The Games Begin and The Grand Finale! Both videos keep kids hopping as they develop balance and coordination while learning to listen carefully and follow directions. The JumpSport iBounce makes a great holiday gift for kids 2 to 5 years old.

The kid’s trampoline, packed with entertainment, has gotten gushing reviews from mom bloggers, consumers and (so far) eight industry honors this year, though it was only introduced at Toy Fair in February. Everyone agrees that the iBounce benefits preschool-aged kids by getting them off the couch/floor/bed and motivates them to exercise along with adorable animated character, RompyRoo. Learning numbers, colors and letters are all part of a brief, bouncy attention-grabbing session.

We love the stability that the handlebars on the trampoline offer, and we love that it is small enough to fit well in our house. The iPad stand is a nice feature, but we really like letting the kids watch the videos on our TV best of all. It’s great that they combine learning and activity all in one package. We’ve had the boys each bounce 100 times before bed, which helps them work on counting and burns off a little energy before they go to sleep. :) The trampoline is great quality and very sturdy, and the design is nice and bright and cheery. We love it!

Here you can see it in action a little – J is trying out the trampoline while watching the video on our TV:

This trampoline has won a LOT of awards already:

• Spring 2012 National Parenting Center  Seal of Approval
• Spring 2012 Parents’ Choice Foundation Award
• 2012 Mom’s Choice Awards • Gold
• 2012 Creative Child • Kids Product Of The Year
• 2012 Dr. Toy’s Best Vacation Children’s Product
• 2012 Tillywig Toy Awards • Top Fun Award Winner
• 2012 Parent Tested Parent Approved
• 2012 Family Review Center Seal of Approval

For information about the iBounce and its newest RompyRoo DVDs/downloadable videos, go to www.jumpsport.com/kids-trampoline.

If you’d like to purchase an iBounce for a special little one in your life this holiday season, you can find it on Amazon and other online retailers.

Note: We received this trampoline to facilitate our review. We were not compensated monetarily for this post. All opinions are honest and are our own.

I wrote earlier about BabbaCo, a subscription company that delivers a box filled with kids’ activities and crafts each month. We got the chance to try one of the boxes for ourselves, and I’m excited to share our experience with you so you!

Each box has a theme, and this month’s was sun, moon and stars. I noticed right off the bat that BabbaCo uses QR codes, which are a great way to add interactive content. I just had to use the (free) scanner on my smartphone and I was instantly taken to online content!

The contents of the box are well-organized, and I was impressed with how much was included – a chart to document the phases of the moon along with binoculars, a paper mache kit with all the supplies (glue and everything) included, a star-themed wine stopper for mom & dad, a star-themed book, and an art activity to make your own constellation artwork using sun-sensitive paper and stickers.  The boys were really excited to look through the box, and we started off by reading the book.

Next we started the paper mache activity – like I mentioned, everything was all included so it was easy to get started!

The boys loved being hands-on. They tried blowing up the balloon but finally decided that was a task for me, but they both took squeezing glue out very seriously. J was especially excited to do this craft – he and C took turns squeezing the glue out and then he helped me get the paper strips ready to go.

We got our first layer finished, and then let it dry overnight to prepare for putting the next layer on. I did have to explain that this was a project that took some time to finish, because they were wanting an instant result at first!

All in all we were really impressed with the box! It was perfect for J, who fits within their target audience, but C enjoyed being a part of it all, and especially liked the book that was included.

As a parent, I felt like this was a good value for the money. The convenience of having all of the craft elements provided is pretty invaluable, and you’re not having to go out and buy a whole package of sun-sensitive paper, for instance – you get just what you need. That’s important to me since we don’t have a lot of storage space for housing a ton of craft items! It also saved me the time of putting together a themed series of projects that can really hammer home details about a topic by all being connected.

These boxes will be something I definitely keep in mind for gift ideas; so many kids now have SO many toys (we’re guilty of that too!) so this is something different that encourages quality time as a family, fosters creativity and allows for fun learning. You can order a subscription or just one box at BabbaCo.com!

Note: We received a BabbaCo box to facilitate our review. We were not compensated monetarily for this post. All opinions are honest and are those of myself and my family.