Great for preschoolers with autism!
Reviewer: Liane Gruett from Aurora, IL United States
I purchased the Kid-O A to Z Magnatab for my 4-year-old autistic son.  I was thrilled with the sensory aspect of it!  He will use the pen provided, but seems to enjoy tracing the letters with his fingers much more.  We have already seen him start to write letters freehand!  The only drawback is I wish the pen were attached to the board, but this will not hinder me from purchasing the lowercase letters and number Magnatabs in the near future.

A Good Challenge for an 8th Grader
Reviewer: Teacher of 3 Middle Schoolers from Fl, US
The student guide is an easy-to-read manual introducing every part in the Snap-Circuits Kit as well as it’s uses and several practical applications. It experiments demonstrating the concepts as well as short quizzes as the end of each chapter. I was slightly disappointed in that it appears to be geared towards an older student and my 3rd grader is a little bit lost with some of the technical parts of it. It is perfect for my 8th grader – challenging, but doable.

The teacher’s manual includes additional quizzes (that I give the boys at the end of each chapter) and answer keys.

I like how the book is applicable to three different models of Electronic Snap Curcuits – SC-300R, 500R, or 750R. It is divided into sections according to which model the student has, so the material he or she reads matches the parts they have for experiments

Thinking Putty: A GREAT Find!
Reviewer: Karrie Moore from Kissimmee, FL United States
I discovered Thinking Putty just a few weeks ago & ALL three of my kids (ages 10-18) LOVE it.  My oldest son is 18 & uses it to keep his hands busy as he studies for College CLEP exams!  My youngest son, 10, loves to play with it while I’m reading allowed.  Who am I , kidding he JUST loves to play with it anytime!  I just bought one to check it out, but he wants to spend his OWN money & buy his own!  He has renamed it his “Study Putty.”

I’m also planning to order a few more to use in our church Children’s Ministry.  I think it will be great for those kids who just can’t sit still through a lesson!

I’m SO glad I stumbled on Thinking Putty while browsing the Timberdoodle site & would definitely recommend purchasing it!

Great Math Curriculum
Reviewer: micci granger from Rantoul, IL United States
I am very impressed with this product. The lessons are fun, easy to understand, and are very time manageable. There is also a whole section of supplemental activities for reinforcing skill that I have found very helpful. Math is quickly becoming a favorite subject around our home.

The best ball ever!
Reviewer: Letitia Cypert from Ada, OK United States
I love this ball.  I bought a miniature one for my newborn grand daughter and bought this one for her first birthday.  She loves it.  It is the biggest thing that she can hold and she acts like she is so proud of herself for being able to pick up something so big.  She likes to throw it, and crawl after it.  She can pick it up so easily and hold on to it.  Her uncles, ages 18 and 16 love to play with it, too.   It is hard to get them to share it with her. But, it also gets them to play with her, so that they can have a turn, too.  If I had only one ball, this would be it.

Shackelton and the Lost Expedition
Reviewer: Malcolm & Jean Kennedy from Walton, OR United States
Our Family loved this story! I Have personally read the book Ernest Shackleton Wrote of his expedition and this version for children is great! The pictures are great for reluctant readers the comic book format will make them want to read! I would say buy this! You won’t be sorry.

If you haven’t signed up yet, you can still apply!

Timberdoodle is now accepting bloggers to be part of an exclusive Product Review Team. As you can imagine, we receive much more interest in reviews than we can ever meet, so we’re developing a method of categorizing the different blog options open to us in preparation for launching an exciting new review program.

If you currently have a blog and are interested in becoming part of Timberdoodle’s Product Review Team, then please follow this link and fill out the form with as much information as you can. We will sort, categorize, and strategize, then email you the details of phase two. We will not sell or publicize your information. It is for our internal use only.

If you are a blogger and interested in being a part of the team, just fill out the form here. Thank you so much for your interest!

The art kit we tried sounded great, with small foam type pieces to shape and mold, creating sculptures, picture frames, etc. But our experience with this product resulted in multitudes of minuscule foam pieces adhered firmly all over toddler clothing. Needless to say after 15 minutes of scraping pieces from pants, shirt and socks, we were less then captivated and now had a ¼ of a page in our catalog to fill with something else.

You never know what to expect when product testing!

Our first gathering was our fire department’s Christmas party, at which our family was responsible for child entertainment. We racked our brains for a while on this one, what would be engaging, indoor, and suitable for 1-25 children confined in a smallish room! We ended up with an assortment of different activities, (Rolit, Exago, Duplos, arts and crafts, etc) but our favorite was “target practice.”

After building a number of Citiblocs towers (which was almost an activity in and of itself), we held a shooting contest to see who could knock the towers down first with Hot Rocketz. It was a blast – literally! Of course the adults couldn’t stay away either, and it provided an easy and fun way to direct some of the endless energy that evening.

Our second gathering was our New Year’s get together with extended family and for this gathering we loved Word On The Street. Our family is not a “reserved” family and so of course we had many enthusiastic plays and lots of laughter. Word On The Street gave us an entertaining outlet for our excess of (friendly) group competition. Because we had family members arriving at different times the freedom of only having two teams, and no limit on how many team players, was a blessing.

Here are some short video clips Joy managed to capture while we were “trialing” the game with Grandma before the other relatives arrived:

So how about your family? Did you receive Timberdoodle items for Christmas? Which one was your family favorite?

Here is what they think:

MamaBuzz, Tara, Heather, Granola Mom, Nancy, Melanie, and Jenn

Reviewed by other families like yours, these Typing Instructor reviews can help you get a feel for just exactly what is the good and bad about Typing Instructor. Read and enjoy!!

By MamaBuzz, Melanie, Jessi, Heather, Jana, and Abbie.

“I love Timberdoodle’s stuff, so I was pretty happy when the company offered to send me their Puzzleball Globe so that I could try it out with my 6-year-old son. Adam insisted that a couple of his stuffed animals had to watch if he was going to put together a new puzzle.

The puzzle frustrated us a bit at first. With a 6-year-old’s motor skills, Adam had a hard time holding the round puzzle up and fitting the pieces in at the same time. The puzzle came with a base, but he had to be able to see the pictures, so the first several pieces had to be done while being held.

We also discovered pretty quickly that the pieces themselves, many of them a blue ocean, were a bit challenging for him. But perhaps Timberdoodle foresaw that problem, because they labeled the back of each piece with a number. That proved easier for Adam. He started with number 1 and went through 96, figuring out how to fit each piece in as he went along.

Adam liked the large, child-friendly graphics on the globe, pointing out pictures of kangaroos and penguins and the like.

He became distracted about halfway through, when he quickly realized that half of a globe made an excellent house for some of his plastic dinosaurs! But eventually he got back to work and finished the globe completely.

Because it was challenging for him, I was a little surprised when it quickly became one of his favorite toys. He took it apart and put it back together several times over the next few days. He also enjoyed carrying the globe around and playing it while it was put together. I was also surprised to find that his 14-year-old brother and 17-year-sister each asked to take a turn putting it together!

One of the great things about this globe is that the pieces are plastic and, once put together, the globe holds up beautifully to the abuse of young boys. I know this because at one point Adam and his brother decided to make a game of seeing how many times they could drop the globe on the hard kitchen floor before it came apart. Surprisingly, they had to drop it several times, harder each time, to get it to come apart!

Puzzles can be educational in so many ways because they stretch your child’s brain and improve the way his mind solves problems. While he’s solving a puzzle, he’s really teaching his brain to work in new ways. As your child solves a geography puzzle he is mentally drilling himself with physical facts, such as what country goes next to the one he has just completed. Unconsciously he is making a number of associations as he searches for the next piece.

Oh, in case you are wondering, this is a true puzzle. No glue required!

Price: $12.75

Put out by: Timberdoodle (Publisher: Ravensburger)”

Here are some other bloggers’ thoughts on Puzzleball Globe including some great pictures!!

From Mel and Melissa J at MamaBuzz

Granola Mom

Angie at My Four Monkeys

Candle By Night

Shauna at Treasure Seekers

Titus2Homemaker

And a Timberdoodle Video

“I was so anxious for the mailman to bring our latest review product from Timberdoodle. I knew the kids would be thrilled when they opened it, and I couldn’t wait to play with it myself!

Police Blockade is a really cool game that requires lots of strategy and patience! Wyatt ripped the box open and immediately went to work on the first puzzle. You are given a setup (in picture, so it’s easy) of the buildings and the ‘bad guy’ in the red car. The object is to block him in with the police cars. Sounds simple, right? The first few challenges aren’t too difficult, but after that the kids and I were definitely working together to solve them! There are 60 levels to conquer, so you’re guaranteed hours of fun.

This game is so much fun! Natalie (5.5) did seem to lose interest pretty quickly, but Wyatt (8) couldn’t get enough! He has a very logical way of thinking and this definitely kept his interest. As a homeschooling mom, I love that this has the kids really focusing and problem-solving. This game certainly makes learning fun!

Police Blockade would make a great Christmas gift for boys (and girls) of all ages!
Thank you, Timberdoodle, for allowing us to review this game!
Police Blockade costs $17.75 at Timberdoodle. Below are more details from their website.

Police Blockade
Sirens screaming and tires screeching, there is nothing like a little police action to liven up a road trip. Police Blockade lets you keep it legal but is just as exciting.

Your Job: Block Him An elegant red sports car has been stolen and the police force is scrambling to jam every escape route. As police chief, your child will be asked to coordinate all available units in order to prevent a getaway. His career is on the line; can he block the perpetrator’s escape and avoid unnecessary bloodshed?

60 Challenges!With 60 fast-paced easy to expert challenges he will have plenty of chances for a “do over”! For 1 player. Includes game board, clear plastic lid, one red sports car, six police cars, and four sets of buildings, game booklet, and a nifty elastic band to hold it all together.

Logic, Thinking Skills, Visual Perception…This one-player game develops logical reasoning, builds higher cognitive thinking, and strengthens visual and spatial perception. It is self-contained, includes solutions, and makes an ideal travel companion. Plus, it offers an amazing amount of fun for all ages!

Game includes:
· Game board
· 60 puzzles with four levels of difficulty
· One red sports car
· Six police cars
· Four sets of buildings
· Solution booklet

**Disclaimer** This is a Mama Buzz review, and the product was provided by Timberdoodle for this review”.

Some more reviews of Police Blockade from other families like yours:

MamaBuzz

BusyMom

Melanie

Danielle

Sarah

Saidah