International Playthings provided this shape sorter free for the purpose of a review.  The opinions expressed in this blog post are purely the bloggers own.

This is a game that requires a lot of hands on, trial and error learning. I feel like no matter how I describe it, you need to really play to understand it – but I’ll give it my best shot.  There are three levels: easy, medium and hard. When the game starts – one square, or any combination of colored squares will light up. After you touch the check button at the top. it will rearrange the lights into a different pattern to show you the puzzle. It’s your job tomaneuver the squares by  pushing the top of the Rubik’s device to the left, right, up, down, or rotating it to the right or left, to move your squares to the correct location to solve the puzzle. When you get it right, the blocks will blink and make a cool sound. There is also a timed setting to see if you can quickly solve 10 puzzles in a lighting round fashion.

With all of the toys I review, I try to use them with different children to gain their perspective. It was a big hit amongst a few young elementary school aged boys. Keep in mind that as parents you know your children best; this game appealed more to those types of children who are puzzle wizards and love a good brain challenge. The only downfall to the Rubik’s Slide, was there is initially a little bit of a learning curve, but once they figured it out, they were hooked! Though it is marketed for children 8 and up, and each child is different, I did have quick success using it with children first grade (6 years old) and up. This was a very motivating game for kids with limited hand strength to build the endurance of the small muscles in the hand.  I also thought it was a great tool to help children learn the concept of right and left while learning the game.  One quick hint: I do wish their was a tutorial level, so young children could really practice a fair amount of easy ones before progressing to more challenging ones.  However, I would often stop and re-start the device a few times until they got the concept.  It also took me a few days to figure out that there is an adjustable volume setting, so the sound can be turned off for quiet play at home or during travel.

Rubik’s Slide is available online and in stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, Toys “R” Us, K-Mart and JCPenney.  Technosource provided this Rubik’s Slide free for review.  All opinions expressed in this post are purely the bloggers own.

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.

P: Pen! First we filled the small pen like dispenser with colored beads. I found it helpful to take a pair of tweezers from the medicine cabinet to help fill the dispenser, as the beads were very small, and sometimes challenging for the kids to pick up.

I: Index Finger! I encouraged the kids to hold the dispenser, as they should their pencil or marker, with three fingers in a tripod position. We used our index fingers to push down the button to release the beads onto the template.

X: Xylophone! Okay, so we didn’t make a xylophone, but you could easily do this with the create your own template feature online at www.pixos.com!

O: ORGANIZE! Make sure you are organized prior! This is definitely an activity that you may want to do sitting nearby your child to assist them as they need it. PixOs has a key on the back of each product, identifying whether the kit is easy, medium, or hard, so be mindful of this with younger children. There was a sorter in the box for the kit I reviewed, that allows you to separate out the beads by color, but there was not a cover to this particular container. I would encourage you to put the entire container in a sandwich size ziploc bag when you are finished to prevent the beads from escaping all over the place. However, after looking more at other great PixOs Products online, some kits do come complete with sorters that have a cover.

S: Spray Success! I successfully used this in a small group with two children at the same time. They alternated taking turns between filling the dispenser and placing the beads onto the template. We created one design in about 1/2 hour, then needed another 1/2 hour or so for it to dry. It says to let it dry for 10 minutes, but the kids got a little excited about the water spraying, so it took a little longer. We also needed to spray some of the designs twice as some of the outer beads did not attach when they were sprayed.

Other thoughts:

- Considering their price points, these would make excellent birthday and holiday gifts!

- Don’t stop with just making your creation! After spraying the design with water and waiting for it to dry, we made a story together about our creations and wrote them down in a journal to promote the academic skills of learning letter formation, as well as the visual spatial skills of writing with good spacing, formation and size of the letters. Children working on social skills and social language can have their PixOs interact with a friend’s creation.

- Parents consider PixOs for a fun activity over the summer. Teachers and therapists always encourage children to continue with their writing to keep their skills current, why not take a fun activity like PIxOs and bring it to the next level by promoting your child’s fine motor coordination and keeping their academic skills fresh!

Spinmaster provided a free sample of PixOs to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed in this review are purely the blogger’s own.  If you are wondering about the safety of these beads, visit www.pixos.com for all information. PixOs meet and exceed all current international toy safety standards.