11/17/12: ThinkFun Zingo and Mini Mouth

 I have posted in the past about ThinkFun and I really enjoy their games.  I love that they are educational and this is why they are next up in my Holiday Gift Guide.  If I can sneak learning in while playing it is a win for me.  One game I received was Zingo Sight Words.

I have said it before and I will say it again.  Before I had kids go to school I had no idea what a Sight Word was.  Now I am very aware of what they are but trying to find fun ways to teach them has been difficult.  I  tried flash cards with my son which could get boring.  I love that this game teaches them and makes it like Bingo.

As you can see Lauren is matching the word that came out of the Zingo Zinger with one on her board and pronouncing it. 

It is perfect for her as she is in Kindergarten now and we just got our first sheet come home about learning Sight Words.  The kids really had fun playing with it.

Here it is as packaged.

The sight words used in this game have been specially selected by leading educators as the most fundamental for reading development and is best for grades preschool to 1st grade.  It includes 1 Zingo! Zinger,  72 Word Tiles,  6 Double-sided Zingo! Cards and Instructions and Learning Guide.

I also received Mini Mouth which is a great game that can be used during travel and will build vocabulary skills.

Players take 2 to 5 letters and the first one to call out a word containing these letters wins the tiles.   

Both kids had fun trying to come up with words.

 It is portable as it comes with a small draw string bag to put the 26 tiles in.  

Love toys you can take on the road and even play in the car.

 Evan was proud to have tiles to make Horse.

Check out ThinkFun out this holiday season.

Feel free to check out ThinkFun on Twitter: @ThinkFun or on Facebook here.

Disclosure:  I was provided these games for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

11/17/12: Disney's Phineas and Ferb: The Best Live Tour Ever

We were lucky enough to go see the Disney's Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever! tonight at the Tsongas Center at UMASS Lowell.  We had a really nice family behind us that actually gave the kids the Phineas and Ferb hats.  I really like the Phineas on on Evan.

The show is a lot of fun and very high energy getting kids out of their seats and dancing.  Phineas and Ferb have a lot of catchy tunes and it was adorable hearing the kids singing along.

Perry the Platypus is our favorite.  He is adorable.  There was one little boy in the audience with the same hat who looked so cute. 

 The cast dancing it out.

This is what happens when you combine marshmallows and monster trucks. 

 My personal favorite is the Squirrels in my Pants song by Candace.  I will be singing that all night now that it is in my head.

 What a fun show!

Great job to the cast and crew. 

 The kids gave it a two thumbs up.

It's the ultimate end to summer vacation, so seize the day 'cause Phineas and Ferb are gonna do it all!

Disclosure: I received a family four pack of tickets for the show to promote it. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.

11/17/12: Pinypon and Nenuco Mommy Party

Today we had our Pinypon Mommy Party and it was a hit with Lauren and her friends.  We were provided with Pinypon dolls for all the girls, 2 Pinypon Caravans, and 2 Nenuco Dolls.  Both Pinypon and Nenuco are put out by Famosa.

Lauren was beyond excited to have her friends over for a play date.  Here she is with all that we received to have the party as we prepared it last night.

No one at our party had heard of Pinypon.  In fact I had not heard of them until I saw them when I went to Time To Play's Holiday Showcase in New York and got to see them.  They are mini-dolls who love fashion, accessories and new hairstyles.  They have interchangeable parts so that you can mix and match dresses, accessories, hairstyles, and even faces!

There are so many variations.  Here are some.

They really are adorable.  You can switch their faces around and on the other side they have their eyes closed.  The girls started the party by doing a scavenger hunt to find small cards that had pictures of Pinypons on them with a number on the back.  The number was the number of the doll they would get.  This way we didn't have multiple girls wanting the same ones.

 Now they were excited to get started with their dolls.  Most didn't want to exchange any parts with each other but Lauren showed them quickly how you customize your doll.

 As these dolls are at a low price point we discussed how these would be perfect for school grab gifts.  Usually these grabs are $5 and under of $10 and under and I always struggle trying to come up with a decent present at this price.

 Then they started to play with the Caravan.  I really like the Caravan.  There are a lot of small components that go along with it, however these can be packed up right in the drawers inside it.

 It has a lot of cool features.  The top comes off and becomes a boat.  In the middle area a table pops up where you can add the plates, silverware, and glasses.

 The girls were having fun with it.  They were the perfect age, all being 4-7.

Here is some video of them playing with it.

 

Here you can see the bath tub.  This works if you put water in it.  You can pump it to spray the water out.

Plus we also go to play with a Nenuco Doll.  She is the Nenuco - New Born Makes Bubbles doll.  She is a beautiful doll and would you believe she pees in the potty?  Great for potty training.  You have her drink, and then when you put her pacifier in her mouth she pees.

 The girls thought she was adorable and loved making her pee.  They really enjoyed having her drink and sitting her on the potty.

Here she is.  Isn't she adorable?

What a fun party!  And who doesn't love parties that have cupcakes and a doll to take home!

They are sold at Toys 'R Us, Amazon and other Toy Retailers.

Receive discount savings by visiting www.Pinypon.com

Like Pinypon on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pinyponusa

Like Nenuco on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Nenucousa

Follow Pinypon on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PinyponUSA

Follow Nenuco on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/NenucoUSA

Disclosure:  I received these products from Mom Select on behalf of MommyParties, Pinypon and Nenuco. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

11/15/12: Sandzini Review and Giveaway

CONTEST CLOSED:  CONGRATULATIONS TO JENI FOR WINNING!
I have another cool product I got to review and I get to giveaway.  It is Sandzini sets.  We received the Pony Set and Lauren had the best time playing with it.  Plus I am giving away the T-Rex Sandzini Set.

 Sandzini is a mix that takes any shape which you can cut, mold, and sculpt.  Then let it dry and you have a beautiful creation.  Plus it is a lot cleaner to work with than Moon Sand.  

 It has glitter in it which Lauren loved.  Plus she loves ponies.  Lauren said that it was one of the best toys.  She loves being creative so I knew she would like it.

 Cutting it up.

 She loved molding with it and putting it on the pony.

 Here it is as packaged.

You can win the T-Rex Set below:

Follow Sanzini on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sandzini/309102582522294

Disclosure:  I received this Pony Set for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

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11/15/12: Nanoblock Review and Giveaway

CONTEST CLOSED: CONGRATULATIONS TO SUSAN FOR WINNING!
Next up in my Holiday Gift Guide would make an awesome stocking stuffer for a boy or girl.  It is Nanoblocks from Ohio Art, the makers of the famous Etch A Sketch.  These tiny blocks give kids a challenge to build cool 3D objects.  We received the Violin from the “mini plus series” collection.  I will admit that we took some creative license with this set and followed the directions for the most part.  I also have a giveaway below for a Pig set.  This is my first one with Rafflecopter so feel free to provide feedback in comments on that too. 

 Here it is as packaged.  It is a resealable bag which is good to put the blocks back in.  They also provide a lot of extra blocks which is good because I could see these disappearing very easily.  Especially the clear ones.

 Here is Evan putting it together.  This was a level 1 but still tough to put together the micro-sized blocks.

 Evan focusing to put them together.

 These are all the extras.

Now for the giveaway.  I am giving away a 100 piece pink pig Nanoblock set.

Like them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/nanoblockUSA

Follow them on Twitter: @nanoblockUSA

Disclosure:  I received this product in exchange for review.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway