The Clay Center with Play-Doh comes with LOTS of items that include: rolling pins, scissors, molds, stampers, extruders, body part pieces, sculpting tools and 4 cans of Play-Doh in its own tool kit.

So how does the Clay Center with Play-Doh help with Back to School? Easy, use it to help your child review their skills before they return in the Fall:

- Any smooshing, squeezing, pinching and pulling will help rev those hand muscles back into shape for better endurance during pencil/paper tasks

- For preschoolers, use the body part pieces to review body part awareness by making a person. Encourage them to draw a person after they have made their own Play-Doh person to reinforce the positioning of head, body, feet, arms, etc.

- Roll out the putty into long “snakes,” using the scissors with a “thumbs up” position, cut the snakes up into several pieces to get those hands ready for scissor cutting control!

- If you have older children who know their letters, encourage them to make different letters with the Play-Doh, have an alphabet strip nearby from them to look at to help their memory, or push the playdoh onto a letter tracing card.

- Use the purple sculpting tools and hold them in a tripod fashion (using thumb, index and middle finger) with a good grasp and draw letters or words into the Play-Doh.

I would also recommend adding some Ziploc bags to this kit to help keep some of the smaller pieces sorted. If this kit ever got dumped over, the pieces would be everywhere!

Make sure to check out the Constructive Playthings website for other back to school and learning toys.

The GIVEAWAY this month is a Clay Center with Play Doh for one lucky person!

Mandatory Entry-

1. For a mandatory entry go to www.toyqueen.com and click through the blue Constructive Mom button on the right hand side to enter the Constructive Playthings website.  Leave a comment under this post about another great back to school toy that you saw on the Constructive Playthings website. Remember, anytime you click through to the website using this button, you will get 15% off your entire purchase!

Extra Credit Entries- Make sure to leave a comment under this post if you complete any of the following.

1. Follow @ConstructiveMom and @Toyqueen on Twitter

2. Like Constructive Playthings on Facebook and ToyQueen on Facebook

This Giveaway will end on Wednesday August 18th at 11:59 p.m. EST

I received products from Constructive Playthings in return for review. All opinions are my own.

My little “Lego Lover” friend was very eager to help construct the pyramid.  With only a bit of cueing for placement of the pieces, after 20 minutes, we had maybe put together 1/4th of the game, so thinking we’d have time to play the game faster, I began assembling the pyramid in super-speed, giving him a few suggestions of bricks to find along the way. It took us a solid 45 minutes to get the pyramid together, with me hustling for about half of it.  Due to time constraints we had to postpone playing the game, but my friend was happy to play with the pyramid.

A week later we got together to play the game. I started to read the directions and initially got seriously confused. The goal of the game is to move your LEGO adventurer first around the base of the pyramid and then ultimately up and down the pyramid, trying to get to the top to defeat the mummy King Ramses. Along the way the adventurer collects colored crystals and looks under the secret temples to guess what color crystal is hiding underneath. Players will need to use their memory so that later on they can remember what colored crystals are hiding underneath each secret temple.  With each turn guessing the correct color of a crystal will allow them to move  move up, down and laterally to different levels on the pyramid.  Simultaneously, with a roll of the dice, mummy’s are released from the top of the pyramid, preventing your adventurer from accessing different levels on the pyramid, as well as allowing for rotation of the levels of the pyramid to change the path to the top. Once the first adventurer reaches the top of the pyramid and rolls the dice to a mummy, they defeat King Ramses and get access to the treasure room hidden in the base of the pyramid.

In the manual I found a link to games.LEGO.com, where there were animated tutorials providing the directions using a visual demonstration.  They made so much more sense, I would recommend this over trying to read the directions.  If your child has difficulty with multi-step directions they will most likely need some assistance in remembering the sequence.

So as is typical of LEGO’s in general, fine motor skills and hand strength are required in the process of building the pyramid. This particular game includes visual memory, as each person has to remember the color of the crystals located in the secret temple to gain as many crystals as possible to make moving up and down the pyramid easier. Visual spatial skills are involved to determine exactly how many spaces are between the edges and temples when building the pyramid. Though I was not successfuly in learning this game right out of the box, after 30 minutes of play, we became much more confident. I think this game would appeal very highly to the 8-12 year old boy. Not only does it include the ability to recreate a very detailed and cool Egyptian pyramid, but this game does promote customization with changing the rules and team building through cooperative group play.  At the very least, this makes a rather cool pyramid where children can create their own imaginative play.

Though LEGO provided a free copy of Ramses Pyramid for review, the opinions are purely the bloggers own.

As I flipped through, I personally liked the way this catalog was organized with like items sorted by page.  Cute little sayings titled each page for different categories of toys such as – “Own Little World, The Perfect Gift, Building Imagination, Creative Minds, Little Wonders, Constructing Play, Just for Me, Explore Your World, Put on a Show, We’re on the Move, My Wish List, I Like to Pretend.”  I was much more aware of the great variety of imaginary toys sold by Constructive Playthings when I finished reading it for the 10th time!

One of the toys I picked out of this catalog I did not find when searching online that I’d like to try out is the Light & Sound Town,$39.99. I tend to always gravitate towards toys that promote fine motor skill and coordination, and this toy takes the busy box idea to a much more imaginative level as kids activate buttons that operate different vehicles.

Click the link to get your own FREE TOY CATALOG sent directly to your home so both you and your children can start your holiday wish lists early allowing plenty of time for customization if needed!

I’ve recently had the opportunity to review a few Tommee Tippee products.  Tommee Tippee was started in Great Britain and has within the past few months made a grand entrance to the U.S. market selling their feeding products at BabiesRUS.com, as well as all Babies R Us and Toys R Us stores nationwide.

I received 3 products from Tommee Tippee and the Mom Bloggers Club free for the courtesy of my review: the Non Slip Easy Mat, The Weaning Bowl with Spoon and the Spill Proof Water Bottle.

I have to say I was initially most excited about the Non Slip Easy Mat.  This mat is placed on a table or high chair and allows the Weaning Bowl or other standard plates/bowls to be attached to it.  By securing the bowl, it could prevent food from being dumped out of the bowl onto the floor and it also keeps the bowl in place when children learn to eat with utensils.  Though Gavin found a way to remove the bowl from the mat within a minute or so and his lovely dinner did end up on my floor, I do believe this mat could still be beneficial to older toddlers who are motivated to self-feed with a spoon or a fork, so I’m hopeful when he’s older we can give this another try!

I really like the weaning bowl and use it almost daily.  In the package I received there were two weaning bowls, one cover, and a spoon. In the cover there is a spot where the spoon can be inserted for on-the-go meals. What a great idea to first and foremost remind us all who are functioning on little sleep to make sure we actually put a spoon in the diaper bag!  I’ve sent Gavin with meals to my parents’ and friends’ houses using this bowl and we have not had any spilling in route (though I haven’t used it for liquid textures i.e. yogurt, cottage cheese).  I have put these bowls in the microwave and dishwasher without any difficulty; they are also BPA and Phthalate free. The bowl has a handle on it, making the bowl easy to hold when you are feeding the child.  This feature is also perfect for older toddlers when teaching them how to hold the bowl as they scoop with the other hand using a spoon. This bowl is also deep, which can allow for better success during these early self-feeding stages, making it easier to get textures like yogurt onto the spoon easier. The spoon was easy to hold, lightweight and great for being on-the-go. Though I have other spoons I prefer to use for more consistent infant feeding, this is a good alternative for travel.

Lastly, we tested out the Spill Proof Water Bottle. This water bottle has two pieces that fit inside the spout that make it spill proof.  It is not difficult to extract liquid when sucking from it, but if this is hard for your child initially, remove the two pieces that serve as the no-spill valve. You can put them back in the cup once your child has the idea of how the cup works. Try to encourage your child to also remove the liquid with their lips anddon’t let them bite on the spout with their teeth to stabilize when drinking.

I know how overwhelming the feeding aisles can be in local stores with row upon row of choices, but if you want to give Tommee Tippee a try:

Now through July 23:  Buy any Explora item (cups and toddler feeding), get the second 50% off at BabiesRUs.com.

Like Tommee Tippee on Facebook: www.facebook.com/tommeetippeenorthamerica

Follow Tommee Tippee on Twitter: @tommeetippee_na

Disclosure:  http://cmp.ly/2/c6zy7i

Though I received free products from Tommee Tippee and the Mom Bloggers Club to facilitate this review, the opinions expressed are purely the bloggers own.

Keri talks with Carla, the designer of the Wubbanub. The Wubbanub was designed initially as a soft cuddly attachment for the Soothie pacifier. The Soothie pacifier is very commonly distributed to parents for their infants throughout well baby nurseries, special care nurseries and the NICU. Wubbanubs come in a variety of different animals including a duck, giraffe, lamb, red dog, cow, monkey, bear, frog, pony, and kittens. There are beans designed into the limbs of the animals to help provide a calming effect for deep pressure while it rests on the infants chest. The animals are soft and also allow for fine motor development and hand eye coordination. While the child is riding in their carseat, the limbs of the Wubbanub can also be placed underneath the straps to keep the pacifier in place. Go to www.wubbanub.com to find a list of local retailers.

Review of Rory Story Cubes by ToyQueen. Is a game that promotes several ways to inspire creative play. Ages 8 and up. Price $7.99 at www.gamewright.com

Review of Toy Story 3 game called Woody’s Run Around Round-up. For ages 3 and up. Price: $34.95 at www.wildplanet.com .

It unfolded very easily out of the box, after I installed the three AA batteries (batteries are not included), I let Gavin, my 8 month old loose. He has just started to crawl on hands and knees, so he was happily crawling up and down the mat, using his hands to activate the different sounds on each square in good old cause and effect fashion!

Then we brought the mat to our friend’s house over the 4th of July holiday to see what their 3 year old twins and 5 year old thought of the product. We tested out the games, though truthfully, we had some difficulty understanding most of the audio directions. When you step on the mat it makes a crinkly sound and with any other background noise, we found it hard to hear and follow at times because it sounded a bit muffled and spoke too quickly.  The twins enjoyed simply hopping on one and two feet from start to finish in hopscotch fashion without the audio. We then tried to think of some different ways to use the product without the sound, so you can continue to promote the color, shape and number recognition the mat is designed to teach.

So we had more fun using the mat in “Twister” format! If your child is two or three, you would want to encourage color recognition. Encourage them to stand on a color, put their nose on red, crawl to blue, etc.  The twins knew their colors, but hadn’t learned all their numbers. So I encouraged them to find the number 9 by looking for either a green space or a triangle. For older children preschool and school age who are working on  shapes and numbers, give them more than one direction at a time, sit down on 7 and a put your foot on a rectangle. This allows you to use the mat with different age groups at the same time.

When it’s rainy, snowy, windy or too hot outside and you have kids with extra energy, this is quick indoor way to relieve some wiggles. It can also be helpful for children learning to advance their motor skills for hopping on one foot and improving their motor coordination. Though I would suggest being with your children when they play it to repeat and modify the directions to meet their skill level.

Constructive Playthings is a family owned business who, since 1953, has been striving to provide botheducationaland developmental toys to consumers.  They will also be offering a $50 gift card this month to a US or Canadian reader, 18 and older with a valid email address who completes the following three steps:

1. Visits http://www.constplay.com and takes a look at the website. Come back and tell me a toy you think your child would really enjoy. (The toy mentioned in this review does not count!) (COUNTS AS ONE ENTRY)

2. Follow @ToyQueen on Twitter (FOLLOW COUNTS AS ONE ENTRY) and post a comment here.( POST COUNTS AS ONE ENTRY ONCE A DAY)

For Extra Entries: (Please leave a comment on this post letting me know what you have applied for regards to extra entries)

- Post a comment on our Facebook page (COUNTS AS ONE ENTRY)

- Post this contest to your facebook status (COUNTS AS ONE ENTRY)

- Follow @ConstructiveMom on Twitter and Facebook (COUNTS AS TWO ENTRIES)

Giveaway will end in three weeks on Monday July 26th, 11:59 p.m. EST

Remember, if you plan on ordering any toys or products, use the blue discount button for the Constructive Moms program on the sidebar of my blog, it will get you a 15% off discount on any purchase!

Canadians – Constructive Toy is just on the verge of launching in Canada.  If you win, you will be one of the first people to shop on the website with your gift card when it launches later this month

Disclosure: http://cmp.ly/3/da8l53

Send in your photo’s fast, this contest ends June 30th!!!!

Visit www.nationalgeographic.com/lithium to enter as soon as you can!

In conjunction with Energizer, since batteries are so crucial to a child’s play, comment under this post your child’s favorite toy that consumes batteries in your home and you could win Energizer® batteries!

I heard about this opportunity and decided to blog about it. Energizer has provided batteries free for the courtesy of this post.

So from a motor perspective this game gets kids moving whether they play indoors or outdoors while it facilitates hand/eye coordination.  Boochie also promotes visual spatial concepts of near/far/close, encourages simple math through it’s basic point system, and is most of all quick, fun and easy to play in a short time frame. Another tip over the summer to keep kids current in their measuring and math skills would be to encourage children to use a ruler or yard stick to measure the distance between items when it’s too close to call!

I had a great time using this game with children first grade and up.  I did need to repeat various directions and assist with point scoring, so it would be beneficial to have an adult or older child who understands the point system nearby to act as a facilitator.

Gamewright provided this item free to facilitate my review, the opinions expressed are the bloggers own.

Constructive Playthings/US Toy Company is a family owned and operated business for the last 57 years whose vision is to provide high quality, unique products designed to inspire learning, creativity and fun!

With my background as an occupational therapist working with children with disabilities, I hope to assist the vision of Constructive Playthings so together we can promote the key benefits of their products, so parents can continue to assist their children to grow, learn and develop new skills!

Follow the program on Twitter: @constructivemom and Facebook: www.facebook.com/contructive-playthings

Here is a comprehensive list of the 11 other outstanding moms that were chosen for this fabulous program!

Lee: http://www.mysentimentexactlee.com (Program Leader)
Allie: http://www.notimeforflashcards.com
Karen: http://3garnets2sapphires.com
Brittany: http://thegreerfive.com
Dwan: http://www.mommadjane.com
Tennille: http://www.feistyfrugalandfabulous.com/
Jody: http://www.mommymoment.ca/
Lisa: http://www.crazyadventuresinparenting.com
Gina: http://www.wrestlingaddictedmommy.com
Bridgette: http://www.thenotsoblog.com
Kimberly: http://www.raisingolives.com

In conjunction with writing posts on many of their products there will be giveaways and all sorts of great surprises in store! So make sure to follow me on twitter: @toyqueen and Facebook: www.facebook.com/toyqueen so you don’t miss any information!

Several mom influencers from the Boston area met to enjoy good food and conversation while sampling all 6 tastes of Aquafina FlavorSplash: Grape, Wild Berry, Lemon, Raspberry, Peach Mango, and Strawberry Kiwi.

So I’m pretty boring when it comes to flavors and usually gravitate to pretty straightforward tastes like Lemon, so what I was completely surprised by was that the Peach Mango was my favorite – hands down! Guaranteed if I had decided to purchase this in a store, being my predictable self I would have never tried the Peach Mango. It wasn’t as sweet tasting to me as the Wild Berry, Raspberry and Strawberry Kiwi, which was a pleasant surprise.

Having an infant, working full time and blogging, time out for myself is pretty much nonexistent these days. So a big shout out to Aquafina FlavorSplash and Mom Central for sponsoring such a welcoming event where I could relax with some fabulous, intelligent women who have created some unique blogs, all while we indulged in some fantastic treats centered around a refreshing product.

I wrote this post after attending an event sponsored by Aquafina FlavorSplash and Mom Central. I received FlavorSplash goodies and a gift card as a thank you for posting.

Last year I attended a feeding conference in Las Vegas, where one of the speakers, speech pathologist Erin Sundseth Ross, stressed the importance for young babies to use appropriate teether toys to improve their feeding skills. Unfortunately, though, most teethers these days are round to reduce the hazard of choking. In order for the tongue to gain the skills it needs to eventually chew, children need to mouthe something safe with a really long handle to work on the tongues ability to move from side to side, and at the conference encouraging parents to use regular, long-handled spoons to do this was discussed.

So my first use for these spoons with Gavin was to allow him to use it as a teether starting just before he turned 4 months. We started pureed foods with him just after he turned 4 months, so by allowing him to hold, chew, and mouthe it first, he was already familiar with the actual spoon we were going to use and believe me — he LOVED gnawing on this.

I loved them even more when I began to feed him puree’s with these. They are made of a soft silicone and have a long handle, so first of all, your hands can stay quite clean with these during feeding. I sent one to daycare with Gavin and my provider, with 20 years under her childcare belt, has proclaimed this the best spoon she’s EVER fed a child with.

I’ve been taught that when introducing purees a side spoon method is helpful, rather than placing the food directly into the child’s mouth and scraping it off the gums. Using a side spoon method, eventually the children learn to use their lips to remove the food, which allows for better oral motor skill. I’ve had great luck with the BEABA spoon using this method because of the width of the spoon and depth of the bowl. (Thank you Lori Overland for teaching this technique!)

Here are some other suggestions of things to try when spoon feeding:

People I know that it would be easier to feed your child on the run, while you try to multitask. (Believe me I have tried it!) Make it a point to sit down, directly across from your child when eating. If you stand, they will look up at you and tilt their head back, which puts their neck in extension and this does not put them in a safe position to accept food.

Make sure that they are well positioned in a high chair or booster seat. (See my recent post on the SVAN High Chair for more positioning information when feeding)

At the end of meals I put food on the end of the spoon and encourage Gavin to bring the spoon to his mouth practicing the start of self-feeding. I know, you are thinking, MESSY! It is, but if you strip them down and head to the tub right after, what’s the harm?

I certainly can’t live without these, and have recommended them to all my friends who are mommies and mommies to be, do the same! They are a unique gift, not typically found on a baby registry, that I guarantee any recipient will be sure to love!

I received these BEABA spoons as a gift and decided to write a review based on my fabulous experience. The opinions in this blog are purely the bloggers own, except where techniques used in therapy are reported and given credit those individuals who presented the skills at conferences I have attended.

Photo credits to Derek Wilmot, www.derekwilmot.com

Gavin is now 7 months and he LOVES photographs.  He will look, smile, talk to and touch pretty much any photograph we give him. We joke that he’s so photo oriented because his father is a photographer, but due to his love for pictures, we have turned his Sassy Look Book into a personal photo album that includes pictures of us, him, his grandparents, friends and the family dog. What better way to promote language than to use real pictures of the people and things that are constants in his life!

Younger infants a few months old may enjoy focusing for a few seconds on the patterns.  You can also move the book side to side from left to right, or up and down to work on visually tracking an object in their visual field.

Babies also have a preference for smiling faces, so like we did, turn your Sassy Look Book into your family photo album with all the smiling faces of your nearest and dearest.

Other developmental skills that can be promoted using this photo album can include:

- For a child having difficulty separating from you, include pictures of the child, the car, daycare, mom/dad at work and pictures of the child with you at the end. Read the book telling their individual story and reiterate not to worry that you will come back!

- Pictures of the daily schedule can be included for visual reminders of the days events (child eating breakfast, getting dressed, in the car, school, home, dinner, bedtime). This can be helpful for some children who need pictures to assist them with structure and routine.

- Many young children can use a photo album as communication device where you can put pictures of a sippy cup, favorite foods, and favorite toys so they can get their  needs met by pointing to a picture of something they want to minimize frustration until they can say the word.

- Encourage the child to turn the pages and use an isolated index finger to point to the pictures.

- Some children have difficulty regrouping after temper tantrums, take pictures of them resting in a quiet space, reading a book, eating a snack or drawing, so when they are frustrated they can identify a picture of a preferred activity that allows them to settle back into the routine if they are too frustrated to be able to tell you what they need.

Sassy provided the Look Book free to facilitate my review. However, the ideas and opinions provided in this post are purely the bloggers own.

Derek, Gavin and I have participated in many of their shop-a-longs at Target, completed product review testing, and attended marketing research events giving feedback on the designs of many new products. We have had a lot of fun doing these, so contact Ashley and sign up if you can!