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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Right?

Wrong.

It’s darn near impossible to get any sound out of these dolphins at all. I tried it for YEARS - with both of my first two kids - and got really proficient at getting a sound about 10% of the time. So that was really disappointing. But it doesn’t stop there. The most annoying thing is that the “floats” that the dolphins sit in, won’t stay linked together like they are supposed to. Forget it!

I think the most value this toy brought was helping to review colors when my children were learning them. And my older daughter enjoyed pretending that the floats were bracelets. I tossed the dolphins and just kept the rings for her, until she outgrew them…at which point I was delighted to chuck them, too.

Approximate Retail: $19.99
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When we play movies in the car, it’s quiet, but I worry that my kids’ brains are going to mush. Not so with “Are We There Yet?”, because they are talking the entire time. They play games, such as counting car colors to see who gets to five, first. Or answering questions - mini-quizzes after certain video segments - on things like the nickname of New York City, how far a humpback whale migrates each year, or what a baby kangaroo is called. They learn about constellations and US history. They look for clouds in certain shapes. You get the picture! It’s constant stimulation and it’s educational.

“Are We There Yet?” is an acclaimed DVD by Banyan Productions, the same people that make grownup television shows like “Trading Places”. It’s their only venture into childrens’ video, but it’s superb. It’s educational. And it’s fun.

Approximate Retail: $19.97
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When my second child reached the crawling stage, we had to put it away for awhile, due to the small parts, but we brought it back out during her nap time for her older brother, who continued to enjoy it. Once she as old enough, Pizza Party regained its permanent spot in our playroom. And we had a new surprise with our daughter’s description of the toppings - pickles and marshmallows were the two she named. (We think the pickles were the pepperonis, and the marshmallows were the mushrooms, but I’m still not sure!)

The baby just turned one and has gotten really mobile, so unfortunately it’s time for Pizza Party to go back into the closet until she’s old enough to not pop the toppings into her mouth. But I’m looking forward to the day when she makes this toy her own, just like her sibs have!

Approximate Retail: $19.97
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I have to say - Rock Em Sock Em Robots has been a ton of fun! Primarily because I can beat the pants off everyone else in the house, even my DH. And it’s kinda cool to knock their HEADS off, but don’t tell my kids I said that!

The main issue I have with this game is the inability to store it easily. It’s BIG, it has lots of pieces that come off, and you can’t put anything down on top of it. So admittedly, it’s sitting in the garage right now. But hopefully I’ll finish installing those Closetmaid wire shelves in my kids closets this weekend, and we’ll have more room to keep things like this within reach. It’s definitely not going into the upcoming garage sale.

Approximate Retail: $21.97
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For the first few days the BebePod was a dream. My 3-month-old enjoyed it as much as Lisa’s son did. But in less than a week, the yellow piece of foam that goes between baby’s legs broke off! The BebePod is made of two separate pieces of foam, and I was entirely disappointed with the lack of quality and longevity. So back I went to the chain store, to Target this time, where I found the original object of desire, the Bumbo chair.

This chair has now been with us for 5 months and hasn’t suffered any damage yet, not even from my 3-year-old taking turns sitting in it. My daughter is now over 9 months and a good sitter, but she still likes the comfort of her Bumbo. She uses it for play and for eating (when I take her to grandma’s house, for instance). This one definitely gets a thumbs up!

Approximate Retail: $39.95
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If your kids are like mine, the three things they want control of in the house are the phone, the TV remote, and the camera. When they were younger, they just wanted to see the digital image of every single snapshot I took. As they’ve gotten a little older, though, they’ve decided they want to take pictures with my camera. That got pretty old, pretty quick, as visions of shattered lenses and scattered electronic parts snuck into my mind. That’s when I decided I wanted them to have their own Kid Tough Digital Camera. My mother-in-law came to the rescue and got one for each of my kids for Christmas in 2006. (I waited a year to write about them, because it’s hard to know if it lives up to its name without putting it through the ringer! Now, nearly 13 months later, they are still ticking.)

My son’s camera is blue, and my daughter’s is pink. I love the fact that they make two colors, just because it saves a lot of fights about which camera belongs to which kid. They also received a memory card for the camera, and there’s tons of storage room with that. (It’s not easy to get in and out of the camera, though - which is a pain, but probably a good thing in the hands of preschoolers.) The quality of the pictures isn’t PERFECT, but it’s quite good given that we’re talking about a toy, here. And getting to see the world through my kids eyes is a wonderful thing. At least, most of the time…every now and then we do end up with pictures of people’s knees and rear ends. But I guess that’s what is at eye-level for small children!

There’s also a matching carrying case for the cameras. To my knowledge, it only comes in blue, but my mother-in-law painted some flowers on my daughter’s to give it a feminine flair. This has definitely been one of the best presents ever.

Approximate Retail: $69.95
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