Home School Product Reviews

Wee Wedgits have been very popular with our baby! He was 9 months we he received them and he has played with them fairly regularly since. His older siblings enjoy them too. We will probably get a set of regular wedgits once the baby is old enough. My only disappointment with the toy is that they were described as being squishy soft and they are definitely harder than that. This has not deterred my son from chewing on them at all; that is his favorite thing to do with them!

Thinking Putty

Think Again!

Think again! We bought thinking putty as Christmas gifts for our children. It ended up in our daughter’s hair, on the carpet, on the couch…. It was worse than gum! We’re generally careful about where our children play with potentially messy toys, but as this is billed as an item to fiddle with while doing school, we allowed it in our schoolroom, aka family room. Big mistake! We called Timberdoodle to find out how to remove the putty from the carpet and they in turn called the company. We followed all the instructions and while the stickiness is gone, we still have lovely dark stains spotting the carpet. And our daughter had her hair trimmed….

They love it!

I originally bought the putty because it looked like a lot of fun and I needed something for my parents who really NEED nothing. My nine children are all grown and I already had Christmas gifts for my grandchildren that year. I wasn’t sure they would really use it, but they love it! They each set theirs (I bought different colors for each of them) beside their recliner and use it to exercise their hands while they watch TV. It helps keep their joints from being stiff, too. Just a warning-put it back in its container when you finish! It conforms to the shape of its container as it rests. If you put it in something with a small mouth you might not get it out very easily or if you leave it sitting in a ball it might spread out all over your table! Don’t worry though, you can scrape it up with itself and roll it up and start over. It is really addictive as anyone who sits in the chair and happens to pick it up will tell you! I have plans to purchase some for myself someday, but I haven’t needed enough items to make the cost plus shipping a reasonable price for something I just want and don’t need. The price on the item is good, but the shipping cost for just the one item makes it too expensive. Maybe I’ll have to convince some friends to go in with me and buy a case of it!

Thinking Putty is available from Timberdoodle. Check out our shipping special of $4.95 on any order.

I have two ‘hands on’ boys who love to build. When I wanted to teach them about simple machines I knew that building the machines would be an ideal way to make the concepts stick. Knex building sets make this easy to do. The set comes with all the necessary pieces, instructions and lesson plans. The pieces are durable and color coded so assembly is easy. The sets are ideal for families teaching multiple ages. My boys are six and nine. They easily built the models by themselves and then performed the simple experiments with my instruction. I plan to use these sets again when they are older because the lesson plans also include formulas for figuring out basic physic problems. Wonderful find. Highly recommended.

Rebecca

Cumberland, MD

Hexbug

My kids got Hexbugs for Christmas and positively LOVED them.  They played with them a lot and enjoyed them very much… until they started having problems.  One Hexbug got kicked (not really hard, and not into anything) and a leg came off on Christmas day.  And now, in mid-January, another’s legs have gotten bent out of shape enough that it won’t walk.  These are good toys for very careful children who will treat them as the breakable toys that they are.

Parents like this stuff as much as the kids.

We bought Bubber and putty for some of our children at Christmas. It all was a BIG hit with the kids. Today I am ordering one more Bubber and an additional putty…for me and my husband. Yes, the parents like this stuff as much as the kids.

Kathe Kruse Nicki Baby

There’s just something about the Nicki Baby.  Unlike my daughter’s other baby dolls, Nicki is just full of personality.  She’s friendly and soft and cuddly and I even find myself picking her up and cuddling her.

I bought one for my one-year-old for Christmas and when it first came I was a little surprised at the size.  It was smaller than I imagined it would be.  I was picturing Beanie Baby bear size and it was a little smaller than that.  But then I saw it in my tiny daughter’s arms and I realized it was just right for her.  She loves to hug it and cuddle it.  And I love tucking her in at night with it because I know it’s soft and won’t make her uncomfortable when they both shift positions in their sleep.

I’m a rather frugal person and normally I wouldn’t pay $17.50 for a small doll, but I don’t regret buying Nicki Baby at all.  She has totally charmed me.

Kathe Kruse Nicki Baby is available in 5 colors at timberdoodle.com

Wahoo - Pink

When I first saw this in the catalog I thought it was so silly. I thought that I’d never pay that much for a blow up toy that would probably wind up in the corner. Then I watched the little video and thought about it some more and decided that my 2 year old might really like it. I showed my husband and he said, “No.” Then we went to a toy store where they had one blown up and my 2 year old ran and jumped on it right away. My husband changed his mind. The problem was they wanted almost $50! So we ordered one from Timberdoodle for Christmas. Wahoo was the favorite gift. My 2 year old jumped on it’s back and hopped around with it, danced with it, sat on it, kissed it, carried it around, told me she loved it, and covered it up with a blanket. My only regret is that I didn’t get on for the 4 year old because she is all over it wanting one too.

Wahoo is available from Timberdoodle in Blue and Pink

Wedgits 20-Piece Tote

We love Wedgits!  Children of all ages can build and create with them.  At the simplest level, they can be stacked into interesting towers.  Older children and adults will realize that you can also slide and wedge pieces together to make structures that stay together without the help of gravity.  The included base is especially useful for younger children, because it makes their towers more stable.  Our whole family enjoys these, and we often end up with visitors (both adults and children) on the floor playing with them.  We did end up buying more sets to complement the 20-piece tote, but this one is a very good start, especially since it includes the base.

See our entire Wedgits collection.

Sit 'n Gym

I am homeschooling my 4 children and one of my sons has been struggling with attention and focusing on schoolwork. It was getting very difficult to run a school day and I was beside myself as to what to do. Then my sister gave your catalog and there in the front cover I read about the Sit ‘n’ GYM chairs. I was not sure if I believed it could really work but anything was worth a try. After just one week on the SIT ‘n’ GYM chair my son’s work habits improved noticeably. He is still always the last one done with his work but he is able to finish a days work. He and I both love the SIT’n'GYM chair.

TwigJig

I bought TwigJig for my 14yo son for Christmas and he has really enjoyed it.  I wasn’t sure if the forms would work as well as they do in the video but they do!  You can make some amazing structures with this. My son has made two bridges and a tower. I only wish there was booklet of projects that came with the kit. He just made his designs up as he went (which is probably better for him in the long run ).  I see above where it says the kit comes with plans for a bridge but I don’t think we got that with our kit – maybe it is a new addition?  TwigJig is well worth the money and I highly recommend it!