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!

Logic fun for everyone

Anti-virus is fun as well as attractive and interesting.  It wraps up concepts from science in a logic challenge.  Our 4 year old is able to complete the starter challenges, and our older ones are challenged by the upper levels (our 3 year old just likes to play with the colorful pieces).  The way the pieces move diagonally as well as in groups adds to the challenge and makes it different from other logic puzzles.  The game provides an opportunity to discuss disease at the cellular level.  We added this to our “logic before lunch” sessions when we all take a logic game and complete as many levels as we can in a certain amount of time.  I wish we had 2 of every game because they especially enjoy competing against each other.

We purchased the pink Wahoo as our daughter’s second birthday present. She was immediately in love and started bouncing around the room. We’ve had him for almost six months and this little guy is still a hit. My four year old and seven year old also love to ride on Wahoo. They ride him all over the downstairs.  They’ve recently come up with a plan to get the second one so that they can try jousting, both on their own trusty steeds. I’m not sure about that plan, but it should give you an idea of the age range for this toy.

All in all I’m glad I purchased this for my daughter and wish I’d bought it earlier to give the kids some great indoor exercise during the cold winter months.

A good toy for all ages

Camelot Junior is very popular in our house. I bought it for my 4 year old so that he’d have something fun to do during school time, but my older boys (ages 7 and like to play it, too. I like it, too, and will frequently turn to the more difficult puzzles in the back as I’m setting it out or cleaning it up to see if I can do them. Younger children (5 and younger) will need some help to do more than the first few puzzles, but it’s a high quality toy that can be enjoyed in many ways. My 4 year old will often start just playing with the blocks as he desires, and I can let him because the wooden blocks aren’t going to get worn our or lost like the small, plastic pieces in some other games. I also think it’s silly that the princess sometimes rescues the knight. My boys just always send the knight to rescue the princess.

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 purchased two of these (Jumbo Magnifier by Learning Resources) for our toddler twins, and haven’t regretted that purchase for a second! From the large size, to the jumbo handle, this is truly rough and tumble and well suited for toddlers to use.  One of my twins would sit for the longest time staring into it, moving it around, looking at things closer, and further away.   And i suspect this will be something they play with for years to come, just in different ways.  The attached thingy that holds a paper close to the magnifier broke on one of mine- but we don’t really use that part anyway, so its function is still retained.  So if you have REALLY rambunctious toddlers- you may have that problem but overall this thing is as strong as steel.

Visit timberdoodle.com to read additional Jumbo Magnifiers reviews.

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.