Home School Product Reviews

A great way to use

When I first saw this set (EDTOY MagnaMobiles Construction Set), I knew that I had to order it for my 3 year old son who loves vehicles. I gave them to my son for Christmas and they were a hit. He loves playing with them and trying to create different vehicles. They were such a hit, that I ordered the second set for his birthday, Christmas day. I love that the magnets stick the pieces together while playing, but are not at all difficult for him to remove and change. These vehicles will be played with for some time to come and have been played with daily since received on Christmas Day.

B. Pop-Arty Beads

A favorite with my boys!

B. Pop-Arty Beads are a favorite with my two boys (ages 4 and 2). I bought another set of larger beads for my toddler, but he can’t connect them as easily as he can the Pop-Arty Beads. My boys connect them in all sorts of ways and will wear them or pretend they’re trains or other things. The beads do smell a bit unpleasant, but that does slowly fade and it hasn’t fazed my children in the slightest. These beads are very popular, but especially with my 2-year-old. I recommend them for an indoor activity on those wet or excessively hot days.

Surprising fun

We LOVE this putty.  I was impressed with the volume of putty in the can.  It is enough for me to divide between my four kids who then stretch, roll, and squish it while I read to them.  As one reviewer noted, you do need to watch out for stains.  Especially when the putty is stretched, very thin pieces or strings tend to quietly fall onto clothing, carpet…if you clean it up right away, it’s fine.  I just use a bit of putty to “grab” the putty off the carpet or clothing.  So far we’ve had no staining.  We have however lost a small chunk to hair.  My daughter got it stuck in her hair. I had to cut it out, there was no rescuing the putty or the hair.  Regardless, we still LOVE this putty.  I don’t know that it can be explained but you could sit and mush this stuff for hours.  Worth the price!

Creative way to learn critical thinking skills

We purchased Anaconda for our 9-yr-old son as a way to help him focus on learning critical thinking skills, as he loves critters. While he may complain about completing a math assignment on paper, he will sit quietly for a long time and work on these puzzles, figuring out which pieces must go where to complete the snake. I have been adding these types of puzzles to our homeschool curriculum so that we can all have a puzzle to work on during “game time”. My son and I race to complete our puzzles, and my other children are occupied with other puzzles. My younger children enjoy just playing with the Anaconda pieces – putting a snake together without following the diagram. These games are a refreshing change from book work and I am looking forward to continuing this aspect of our schooling.

We have such fond memories of Smencils from when we first started homeschooling. Each boy had their own and they treasured it! The smells last a long time too. When you store the Smencil in the case it comes in, the smell lasts a long time and smells like the first time you opened it. If left out, it still smells, but loses some of its smell over time ~ but they still smell! I haven’t seen these in a long time and was so happy to see them on your site. Will add these to my “wish list” for sure! I know the kids will be thrilled to bring back some fun memories {and remember how excited they were when we first started homeschooling!}.

Michelle

This is a great (Engino Mechanical Series – Cams and Cranks) product and I was very surprised at all that came with it!  My 7 yo. son likes to take things apart, fix them and then put them back together.  So this is super perfect for him!  The pieces snap easily and stay together.  He was able to follow the directions on his own with minimal assistance. The companion booklet is very thick with detailed “take it further” and exploring different cranks (remember the early model T?!).  I am looking forward to using all the other sets and really digging in with him once fall arrives.  I can see this lasting for a long time and getting a lot of uses.  One thing is the string, it is super long and can be difficult for him (and me!) to manipulate in place.  The directions are not clear on whether it should be cut or what…But that has not spoiled the family’s enthusiasm on this product.  :) Highly recommend it.

This turtle maze is appealing in various ways. It is a fun quiet toy for your child to play with, without making a mess or losing pieces. It teaches good manual skills, and mental skills, as well. As they begin, they will just work on the ability to move the balls around, but eventually they will begin matching the colors and bring up the skill level a notch.

We bought this (OLLO Action Kit) for our science loving 7 year old for his birthday.  It is like an erector set with a battery pack.  We knew it was going to be one of those toys where an adult would have to assist in the building of it, but that was ok with us.  Right away our son and his dad built 2 of the creations: the windmill and the puppy.  The fact that the battery pack makes them work (backwards and forwards) was great fun.  He was proud of himself for being able to mostly build it.  I hope to buy an additional set for Christmas.   This will be a toy that will be played with again and again.

It does have small pieces, but afterall, it is recommended for children ages 8 and up.

I received this set a few weeks ago for our children, ages 7, 5, 3 and 10 months old.  It has been a perfect fit for our young family!

The older kids enjoy the play bench as much as the little ones do!  It’s great to watch them teach their younger siblings colors and shapes as they all play together.

Our three-old son LOVES the hammer!  He can work with his tools just like Daddy.  :)  Since the hammer is attached to the play bench by a cord, we don’t have to worry about it getting misplaced.

At 10-months old, our little guy enjoys shaking the rattley shapes more than anything!  The shapes are bright and colorful, just a tad noisy, and the perect size for his chubby little hands.

The Tolo Shape Sorter Play Bench is an all around favorite at our house!

Challenging and fun

I bought this logic game (Titanic) with my 13 year-old in mind, but sadly, it never made it that far … my 9 year-old snagged it, and hasn’t let his sister get hold of it yet! This is a challenging, thought-provoking game that uses a neat historical tie-in to spur interest even in kids who don’t normally “go for” logic puzzles. The card challenges progress in difficulty, and many at the upper levels have left our older family members stumped. Definitely a winner!