In the Mega pack I reviewed were a few foam shapes (guitar, peace sign, butterfly, moon and a star), as well as different colored fabric squares. First the child chooses a foam shape. Next they place it on top of the yellow crunch art foam block. Using the blue, Crunch Art tool, they simply push the colored fabric square where ever they desire, into the foam block.  This is not an easy activity for kid’s with weaker hands, and it’s great as an alternative to help develop the smaller muscles of the hand in a fun way.  Want to put your fabric square in a different location? No problem, just pull it out and replace the same fabric square in a different location.  The only downfall is that there was only one tool in the pack, so if you have more than one child, they would have to share the tool or get creative with designing their picture while the other person crunches away. It’s very cost effective, starting with some smaller sets at $5.99, this set retails at $10.99. It’s recommended for ages 4 and up.

Want an even better way to help your children develop a more mature pencil grasp, place the yellow crunch art foam block resting on an 2 inch three ring binder turned sideways. A slanted surface helps the fingers remain in a better position, that promotes a more mature grasp pattern needed for endurance writing. Encourage your children to delicately hold the tool with their fingertips, rather than having a death grip and pounding away. For kid’s that have difficulty with planning, let them trace the outer foam shapes onto a piece of paper and have them pre-draw their design on a piece of paper and then use it as a guide to finish the plan to completion.

Little Kids Inc provided crunch art free to facilitate a review. The opinions expressed are my own.

VTech InnoPad coming in September 2011

Many children have a variety of learning disabilities that make it challenging for them to organize their thoughts and handwrite them effectively on paper with good legibility. Some children, after years of occupational therapy, due to a variety of disabilities and reasons, still have difficulty with the coordination of their fingers for typing. Typically at the middle school level, we make recommendations to teachers and parents for children to begin to access technology as an alternative form of written communication.

Dragon Dictate software is not only a great way for adults to improve their productivity, but a fabulous alternative for students with either learning or physical disabilities to be able to effectively communicate their thoughts in an organized way so that others can read their creative ideas. Not to mention that once the students get the idea of the software program, they may be able to complete their work assignments much faster than typical. Wouldn’t it be easier for you as a parent to find a faster alternative for your child who could more happily and independently complete their homework?  Many kids are more efficient at telling you their thoughts, but can get roadblocked by the motor skills of handwriting. As a result, they often choose to take short cuts in their work to accommodate for their disabilities and as educators we know they might not always be working to their fullest potential.

I did complete this review using the Dragon dictate software. So I will have to admit, it has been an adjustment to get used to speaking out loud without a template- when for many years I’ve been used to organizing my thoughts in a typed way. However, as long as you follow through with the calibration of the microphone, I have been very impressed with the accuracy of what has been typed, as well as the speed at which it is typed. After you download the software, to calibrate the microphone system you need to read lengthy passages, which could pose a challenge for those kids with a reading disability. However, this software is intuitive and over time we have been able to utilize this program successfully.

There are also two modes with the dictation software – dictation mode and command mode. Command mode will literally run your computer without the need to even touch the mouse. With a simple command you can open, close and access all sorts of programs. Though I wasn’t all that successful myself transitioning back and forth between each mode and there is definitely a learning curve to remembering and using the commands appropriately, I did see some nice video’s on the Nuance website demonstrating the capabilities of this awesome software.

Being that I am very busy with working full time, raising a family and creating this blog, I am hopeful that I can learn to dictate more effectively – so at the very least I can use it to quickly create my blogposts. I do wish I had used this when Gavin was an infant while I tried to learn to type fast while using the one free hand I had available! If you decide to purchase this product for our use, please be aware there is a Windows version and a MAC version.

Nuance provided this copy of Dragon Dictate free to facilitate a review. The opinions expressed in this blog post are my own.

Sassy provided these tub toys free for to facilitate my review.

Fisher-Price Little People Wheelies Stand and Play Rampway.

Last week, I saw a lot of children smile playing Sumo Ham Slam. Who wouldn’t have fun feeding funny looking Hamsters food pellets before placing them in a center ring where you use a magnetic wand to try to knock the opponent back into their corner on the game board? I think as adults it was just as fun for us to have a little comic relief, for sure.

So what did we work on with Sumo Ham Slam?

The understanding of new directions, fine motor coordination to plan how to use your magnetic wand to guide your hamster without being able to really see it, and planning on how to win by wrestling him back into his respective corner. Not to mention turn taking and social connections with peers. You all know me by now if you read my posts regularly, I’m a big proponent of encouraging children to write but my biggest roadblock is finding a way to motivate them. So here were some creative writing topics we identified after playing this game by writing a story on your Sumo Hamster:

What’s his name?
What kind of pellets does he like to eat that makes him so strong?
Where does he live?
Why is he wrestling in the ring?

Please comment under this post with any other creative topics you can think of to make this game educationally fun.

Gamewright provided Sumo Ham Slam free for the process of a review. The opinions expressed in this blog post are purely the bloggers own.

At a Gamewright GameNight, boxes of popular games are shipped to your local school and children and their families get together at the school to have fun and play them together. Games are available on site for purchase and the school receives a donation of up to 50% of sales to raise funds! The event we attended at a school in the Greater Boston area was an amazing success. There were many children and their families gathered together, laughing and socializing over a fantastic educational activity. I would encourage people who are looking for a fun, exciting, educationally based fundraiser to bring a Gamewright Gamenight to their community.

I attended this event for my own knowledge to understand more of the process before posting. The opinions expressed in this blog post are purely the bloggers own. We would like to thank the Community Charter Public School in Lawrence, MA for allowing us to visit their Gamewright GameNight!

Photo credits to Derek Wilmot

Fisher Price Brilliant Basics™ Stack and Roll Cups™ Review by ToyQueen
These are the Stack and Roll cups by Fisher-Price. These cups are great for children 6 months of age and older as they work on grasp/release. Kids can improve their coordination to stack the cups. Older children can use them to learn both colors and numbers. The cups fit together to make a ball, so you can roll them back and forth to each other or across the floor to encourage crawling. Children are also working on the cognitive skill of nesting, where they can place the cups inside each other from biggest to smallest. These toys are great to use in a sand and water table as well.

How can you not love it? All of the pieces store inside the table and it completely folds flat for travel. It takes up very limited space in the car, is very lightweight but sturdy and has a handle for easy carrying. We have used it both outdoors and indoors, and it cleans up very easily with disinfectant wipes. It is true to MegaBloks creative fashion, allowing children to build up with multiple platforms and any other MegaBloks pieces we have at home are compatible with the table.                                          

I love multi-use toys that are cost effective. It’s a great toy for children that are learning to pull up to a standing position, as long as you are nearby to supervise and keep it steady. It grows with your child through their age span where first they can work on basic dump/fill play, then simple stacking for more precise grasping and letting go, and eventually creating their own intricate pretend play scenes. I also think this is a great travel sensory table, add water or sand to the inside for something a little different when you are at the park or the beach!

MegaBloks provided this table free for product review. The opinions expressed in this post are purely the bloggers own.

There are no limits to LEGO creativity!

I recently heard about a great FREE event, the Ultimate Block Party, sponsored in part by LEGO that will take place Sunday October 3rd, in Central Park at the Naumberg Bandshell in New York City!  The event will take place from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m and through multiple sponsors, a variety of stations, games and activities will encourage children and their families to play and experience the fun and importance of playful learning together! At the LEGO Imagination Construction Zone, individuals or teams will choose from 250,000 loose green LEGO bricks to construct a model for a creative landscape designed and built by Ultimate Block Party attendees.

According to the press release from this event, “the Ultimate Block Party will transform the Bandshell area of New York City’s Central Park into the world’s most innovative playground, demonstrating the power of fun and games for learning and helping to reinforce that how we play as children helps form who we become as adults.”

LEGO will give a LEGO CREATOR: Ferocious Creatures Set (valued at $29.99) to a reader to encourage the use of LEGO Construction Zones at home as a way to expand a child’s play skills and creativity!

LEGO Ferocious Creatures Set

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment under this post describing how your child likes to play imaginatively, and a random winner will win the LEGO CREATOR Ferocious Creatures set!

Additional Entries: Follow @ToyQueen on Twitter, Retweet this post on Twitter, Like ToyQueen on Facebook, Share this link on Facebook with your friends

Make sure to comment under this post on any additional entries completed

Contest ends Tuesday, October 5th at 11:59 p.m. EST!

LEGO provided the LEGO CREATOR: Ferocious Creatures Set for the giveaway. No form of monetary compensation was provided by LEGO or any other sponsor for this post.

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

Baby Goes Pro speaks w/ ToyQueen in NY at ToyFair

Gigi Fernandez and Valerie Stern developed Baby Goes Pro. Gigi is a two time olympic gold medalist in tennis. She has two year old twins and wanted a creative way to introduce her children to sports. Baby Goes Pro introduces young children to sports like tennis, golf, baseball, basketball and soccer.

Through repetition, sing a long songs and music, the movements of the sports are provided in video format to children. Abbreviated movements are provided, paired with the verbal direction so that when the child goes to play, for example, soccer, they have heard the words and seen the movements. Children can watch, which helps them break down the motor skills so they can generalize skills with success to the activity on the field. This product also encourages parents to get out and move with their children,.

Tisha from International Playthings demonstrates toys from the Ecotronic Brand. Kids love toys with electronic features, but batteries contribute a ton of toxic waste into the environment so Ecotronic brand includes the lights and sounds without batteries! It uses the power of kids play to power the toys. The monkey flashlight is activated by squeezing the handle and this powers the rechargeable battery inside. The monkey’s nose will then light up and it’s an LED flashlight. Perfect to put in a handbag, works on hand strengthening and is great for Halloween, camping and to place in a child’s bedroom.

The Rocketship is activated by cranking the handle. To power it up you hit the button and it’s a NASA recording of a space shuttle lifting off. It has long lasting LED lights.

The EcoRadio is easy to charge up. It’s an FM radio but it also comes with adaptors for cell phone charging! It’s entertaining at sports games, the beach or picnics! It’s good for safety and great for on the road when you need to charge your phone!

Hasbro ToyFair 2010 Event

Today we had the pleasure of being invited to the Times Center in New York City to preview Hasbro’s newest products for 2010. Though I always knew that Hasbro represented a multitude of brands, seeing them all under one roof and in one room was exciting to think about all the fun to be had in the upcoming year.  I never expected to feel so nostalgic since many of the toys I grew up enjoying are still on the market for our children to play with, in a new and improved, up-to-date version for today’s market.

The day began by presentations from Brian Goldner, Hasbro CEO; Jane Pitson Parsons, Hasbro’s Global Consumer Insights Leader; and Jerry Perez; Hasbro Senior Vice President Global Brand Leader Preschool Marketing. They all spoke about Hasbro’s plan to Reinvent, Reimagine and Reignite the brand. Not to mention their commitment to the social media space and to parents and caregivers worldwide, to maintain an open dialog, so that Hasbro can be the best they can be to provide an immersive play experience, as well as to foster innovation, ideation and creativity.

I was on such a high after taking a walk down memory lane remembering all my childhood experiences with Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, the Easy Bake Oven, Mr. Potato Head, Play-Doh, and Candyland. After all that excitement, don’t forget the brands that exist in Hasbro’s effort to encourage family social interactions with Family Game Night such as Monopoly, Life, Trivial Pursuit, Clue, Battleship, Boggle, Guess Who, Connect 4, Sorry, Jenga, Yahtzee and Scrabble. Who knew GI Joe and Transformers were part of the Hasbro family either, as my brother and I also were able to play with these together.

However, working with young children on enhancing their development, there isn’t a day that goes by where that I don’t use Play-Doh or engage children with one of Hasbro’s awesome preschool games. Over the next few posts I’ll plan to highlight some of my 2010 favorites with Hasbro brands.

Crayola TaDoodles Drop and See Review by ToyQueen
This is part of the Beginnings Baby Collection and it incorporates the Tadoodles balls into a nice storage compartment on the side. The balls included are Yellow, red and blue. Children are working on grasp and release skills from the ages of 9 months and up, which means they are working on picking up and letting go. When they drop the ball into the top, there are different levers that can be pushed down and activated to move the ball to a different compartment teaching cause and effect play as well as more refined coordination. You may need to use hand over hand assistance first when activating the buttons to teach the children how it operates and moves the ball through the maze. The balls also change color from one compartment to another, so you can work on teaching colors and what color appears when two colors are mixed together.