Moon in my Room is the coolest nightlight on the planet. It’s a great-sized plastic moon that you hang on the wall. It’s remote control lets you change the phases of the moon from new moon to full moon, with a total of 12 different phases. Additionally, it’s packed with other cool features such as an audio CD that talks about the moon, a calendar, phase charts, etc etc.

My kids have been fascinated with this toy. Even before taking it out of the box, I could see the excitement on their faces. It’s very realistic, and a great way to get a “close up” view of something that seems to always fascinate children.

Some of Uncle Milton’s toys are a bit flimsy in nature, but this one met my expectations (at least, given today’s average!) and has lasted quite awhile. In fact, I think we ran through the batteries twice already, even given the fact that it turns itself off after awhile to preserve the batter life.

Approximate Retail: $29.97
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This summer we’ve been working especially hard with our three-year-old daughter’s development. Her language skills have lagged behind her classmates, and some of her pronunciation is still very toddler-like. However, she’s a smart kid with a great imagination, and just needed some direction to channel that mental energy into some other task than drawing on her bedroom walls.

We gave her a copy of the Pre-K through Kindergarten version of the Summer Bridge Activities workbook at WonderBrains. The book focuses on basic logic problems (color 3 of the items shown below, in a list of 5) and letter recognition and writing. It gives her plenty of opportunities to color and be creative, which she loves.

To keep her older brother occupied during this time, we got him the 2nd-3rd grade version and he did very well with it too. Like many of us, he still refuses to show his work while doing math problems, but it definitely kept his attention.

It probably didn’t hurt that we bribed them with a Wii for finishing their books!

I’ve loved the Orb Factory line of Sticky Mosaics craft kits, but although their designs are awesome, they were mostly aimed at girls. There are kits for mermaids, unicorns and ponies, princesses, and even a 3-D princess palace and a jewelry box. But my son, who’s really the only one old enough to do these kits without close supervision, was not interested in the girly themes. But finally they’ve come out with some really great designs for boys.

The Sticky Mosaics Dinosaurs and Dragons kits are exactly what you could hope for. They are vibrant and colorful, attractive for boys who are interested in these great, fanciful creatures. As with all the kits, they do a great job of combining creativity with the same kind of logic you find with paint-by numbers kits.

The sticky mosaics are made in China, but Orb Factory has gone through extensive quality control and safety testing, and The Orb Factory welcomes calls from customers wanting further information; their phone number is 902-477-9570.

Approximate Retail: $14.97
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The Wobble Deck gets my vote as the new favorite toy in our household. I’ve been looking for good toys to get the kids up and off the couch. Summertime in Florida brings warmth and sunshine, which is great for water toys and trips to the pool. But summer also brings daily afternoon showers, since we’re far enough south that we actually have a rainy season. So in the search for an active toy that could be used indoors, I came across the Wobble Deck.

The basic idea is to balance on the toy and complete one of 3 games (Memory Match, Speed Play and Freestyle). That’s right – this board is ELECTRONIC, so that alone got my kids’ attention pretty quickly. It helps them develop balance and coordination, and is great for fitness, although it is a little bit loud. It’s only suitable for children 5 years and up, but I’ve used it with my 3 year old while holding onto her to help. (Note that I am not endorsing this for use below the product recommendations! Just sharing my experience.

The construction is good and the design is really nice. It’s a little pricey at almost $40 but I’m really glad we made the investment.

Approximate Retail: $39.97
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