educational

Entertain Little Ones with Fun and Educational Toys From VTech Baby-Giveaway

March 22, 2017 by Kathryn 87 Comments

When my oldest son was born, one of my very favourite things about having a new baby in the house was choosing some fun first toys for him to play with. I was amazed by how much technology was packed into toys to help promote learning as well as play. And ten years later, that’s even more true! From cuddly and interactive stuffed toys to literacy-inspired musical instruments, there are all kinds of ways to encourage little ones to learn as they play!

Recently, VTech Canada sent me a few of its newest toys to check out for myself: the Lil’ Critters Huggable Hippo Teether and the Baby Beats Monkey Drum. I loved the bright colours and designs of the two toys and couldn’t wait to see what made them a great choice for babies.

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The LeapFrog #LeapTV is a Holiday Gift that Gets Kids Moving and Learning #LeapFrogMomSquad

November 20, 2015 by Kathryn 7 Comments

My boys love gaming systems and while I understand the appeal (I’m a bit of a gamer myself), I don’t like how long they sometimes spend sitting and staring blankly at the television. As for the games themselves, some have cleverly incorporated educational content into the games, but others provide almost no intellectual benefit. So what’s a mom with two game-crazy kids to do?

Turn to the LeapFrog LeapTV, of course! My boys have had LeapFrog hand-held gaming systems for years now and I’ve seen for myself how effectively the systems combine fun and learning. Now, LeapTV is taking the benefits one step further with a gaming system that’s designed to get kids moving as they play and learn!

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Learning Through Pretend Play with Toys from LeapFrog #LeapFrogMomSquad

November 4, 2015 by Kathryn 20 Comments

While I do love the modern and trendy LeapFrog gaming systems and tablets, I have to admit that I’ve always had a special fondness in my heart for the company’s toddler toys. LeapFrog has a special talent for turning pretend play into a learning experience, and the brand new Number Lovin’ Oven and Scout’s Build & Discover Tool set are perfect examples of that.

The LeapFrog Number Lovin’ Oven not only lets kids pretend to cook just like mom and dad, it introduces basic number concepts including counting and fractions. With sixteen different food items to cook, little ones can pretend to make all their favourite treats. And with more than thirty songs and phrases from the talking oven to engage kids, learning to cook is more educational than ever!

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Give Your Child an Epic Android Tablet Experience with the Kid-Safe #LeapFrogEpic

October 23, 2015 by Kathryn 13 Comments

I’ve shared many times before how much I love LeapFrog and its innovative, educational toys and games for children. We have a house full of LeapFrog toys including the brand new LeapPad Platinum tablet and my boys play with them all. But when I received the LeapFrog Epic to review, I wasn’t sure what benefits it would have that our current LeapPads didn’t already provide.

Of course, I should have known that LeapFrog had innovations planned that I hadn’t even realized I wanted. And that’s exactly what the LeapFrog Epic is…an innovation! Rather than a tablet-style gaming system running software specifically designed for the device, the LeapFrog Epic is a genuine tablet for children, complete with the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system! [Read more…]

Encourage Baby’s Multi-Sensory Learning with the Fisher-Price Bright Beats Dance and Move BeatBo-Giveaway #PlayAdvocate

October 17, 2015 by Kathryn 149 Comments

Watching a baby develop has always felt a bit magical to me. The way a little one gradually masters concepts such as cause and effect or size and spatial relations always makes me think about just how complex the human brain is…and how much potential for development it has! Since we are multi-sensory creatures, it stands to reason that our learning process is multi-sensory as well. And there are all kinds of fun and easy ways to use sensory input to help your baby learn new things.

Hear

One of your baby’s first senses to develop is hearing. Encourage this through singing and speaking to your baby as much as possible. While it can be easy to revert to a “baby voice”, speak to your baby as if they are a more developed child. Sing nursery rhythms or narrate what you’re doing to your baby so they learn all the different sounds they will one day be learning to speak. [Read more…]

Introduce Kids to a World of Fun and Learning with the Safari Tales App

September 18, 2015 by Kathryn 25 Comments

When it comes to relaxing and unwinding after school, both of my boys love spending an hour or so playing video games. And while I don’t mind that, I do prefer that they do something to enrich their minds if possible…as long as they’re still having fun, that is! So when I learned about Safari Tales, an iOS, Android and Amazon app from Kuato Studios that combines engaging gameplay with literacy skills, I couldn’t wait to see what it was like.

The fact that this game, created by the same developers as the award-winning Dino Tales app, featured baby animals was something I especially loved. My youngest son adores animals, so a game that let him play and interact with a baby lion, elephant or giraffe was something that I knew he would enjoy. I downloaded the app on my iPad, entered Benjamin’s name and reading age and let my son sit down to play.

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Combine Fun and Learning with Magformers Building Sets-Giveaway

August 19, 2015 by Kathryn 164 Comments

When it comes to finding the best toys for my boys, I tend to favour those that encourage creativity. That’s why building blocks have been a favourite with Zackary and Benjamin for years now; the building possibilities are only limited by the imagination of my children. But recently I had the chance to review a toy that gave children a different way to create…Magformers! These clever geometric shapes contain magnets on each side so that they can snap together in all kinds of ways.

Recently I had the chance to review some of the newest Magformers sets and I knew my boys would be only too happy to help me out. I received the Unique 44pc set and the WOW 27pc set to review. I loved the idea of a set that included wheels since my boys love any kind of vehicle. But they had just as much fun seeing how many shapes they could build with the Unique set!

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Three Educational Family Destinations when Visiting North Dakota

June 25, 2014 by Kathryn 57 Comments

When travelling with kids, it’s tempting to just stick to the activities that are sure to be kid-friendly. But travel can be so much more enriching when kids are given the opportunity to explore beyond zoos and amusement parks! That’s why I couldn’t wait to check out some of the historical sites in North Dakota with my boys. These tourist stops may not be traditional choices for travelling with children, but that doesn’t make them any less enjoyable!

Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center

The Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center was created to honour the point where these two mighty rivers meet. The center itself contains a large main exhibit area called Trails, Tracks, Rivers and Roads. The exhibit explores both the geography and geology of the area as well as the impact that humans had on the land upon their arrival. I was fascinated to see some of the native animals of the area from both past and present; I had never known there was such a thing as a paddlefish! And Zackary and Benjamin enjoyed the historic vehicles, which included a frontier army transport wagon and a 1904 Model A Cadillac. To make the exploration of the exhibit even more kid-friendly, a fun “treasure hunt” sheet was provided with riddles about the exhibits for kids to answer.

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