Here are some suggestions when playing this game with young children:

- In the beginning I acted as a facilitator, to take control of the dice, help the kids keep track of whose turn it was, help them recognize the numbers and complete the corresponding shapes, as well as to monitor the four cards in the playing space and to make sure all of the shapes were matched
- There are three different colored cupcakes on the cards: yellow, pink and blue. The yellow cards have one shape to match, the blue cards have 2 shapes to match and the pink cards have 3 shapes to match – so if you are playing with younger children you may want to just play with the yellow cupcake cards until they understand the concept of the game, then progress to adding some blue and pink cards the more they are able to multi-task
- I played the game with two almost 4 year olds, using all 16 cards, and due to their age, it was challenging for them to organize all the steps, especially if a lot of shapes emerged from the sprinkler. It was also hard for them to understand that they could use all four cards because they thought the card directly in front of them was theirs. So it may also be helpful to have children sit next to each other with the cards in rows in front of them and in this case, the role of being a facilitator allowed even younger children experience the fun of this simple game
- This game is great for fine motor skills just using your fingers to place the sprinkles back into the container, want to add even more fun? Use a pair of tweezers or tongs to place the unused shapes back in the sprinkle container, and this is greatfor preschoolers learning how to use three fingers to hold a marker or crayon

Gamewright provided Take the Cake free to facilitate a review, the opinions in this blog post are purely the bloggers own.

Good Night Scout is a hard plastic book, with a simple story and a few pages to easily turn. If you push the music button on the top it will read the book and if the book is closed and you push the button it will play lullabies. There is an on/off switch and even better it is Tag Jr. compatible. The Tag Jr. is a small handheld device that encourages literacy through “magic!” When the child places the Tag Jr. over certain places in the book, it might read the story, ask questions, and label pictures. What I love about this particular story is that it incorporates simple words that young children are learning like dog, ball, duck, bye bye, and goodnight. It plays either five or ten minutes of lullaby songs and I really enjoy watching the little ones independently explore the pages as they point at the pictures and label them.

To accompany Good Night Scout is Twinkle Twinkle Little Scout. This is a soft plush animal with a detachable blanket. When you touch the various buttons he will simultaneously play 10 or 20 minutes of lullabies while the moon on his tummy blinks as a night light. Scout sings basic counting songs and also encourages body part awareness. This has been such a great addition to our nap and night time routines. As soon as Gavin hits the hay he turns Scout on and lies down immediately. At around 15 months, he is learning to point to and say different body parts and this is a great toy to help young children with this skill. I love Twinkle Twinkle Little Scout so much , I even included him in my Top 12 Interactive Toy and Game awards of 2010. For those of you with little girls, check out Twinkle Twinkle Little Violet.

Leap Frog provided these toys free to facilitate a review. The opinions expressed in this post are purely the bloggers own.

Enter by:

1. Sending a photo through Twitpic to @ToyQueen on Twitter.com

2. Upload a photo to our Facebook (www.facebook.com/toyqueen) page under Secret Santa post

3. Tag an image “ToyQueen” through Flickr.com (Make sure you put “toyqueen” in the tag and add “toyqueen” as one of the people in the photo for flickr uploads)

Each image counts as one entry (two image limit per household). If you share an image on Facebook or RT on Twitter that will also count as one entry maximum. If you subscribe to our newsletter that will count as an additional entry (if you already subscribe let us know that you do)! Winner chosen at random will receive a Secret Santa present valued between $25-100 from www.ToyQueen.com . Contest Ends on January 3, 2011.  Please comment on this post below with where your entry was placed. Rules are subject to change.

This year we are highlighting what are my Top 12 Interactive Toys and Games (I-TAG) of 2010.   These are toys and games that not only provide the child with pure fun, but can be utilized to promote their education and learning in many different ways over the course of time.

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Scout/Violet by Leap Frog (newborn and up)

These adorable plush toys play music and are great to incorporate into a child’s bedtime routine from infancy.  Scout is blue for boys and Violet is pink for the girls. This toy plays both environmental sounds and lullabies, while also promoting counting skills and body part recognition.

2. VTech 3 in 1 Zebra Scooter (12 months to 36 months)

When children are learning to walk, the VTech 3 in 1 Zebra Scooter starts the fun as a push-toy and as the child’s skill progresses with a few simple clicks, turns into a ride-on toy and ultimately a scooter. There are several buttons on the Zebra’s mane that engage the child in learning as well.

3. Mega Bloks Pirate Ship ( 1 year and up)

This musical pirate ship promotes interactive building at a young age with Mega Bloks. However, incorporated into the pirate ship are multiple compartments to store blocks which are great for children learning dump and fill play in infancy.  As children learn to walk they can also pull the pirate ship behind them.  As their pretend play and imaginative skills blossom, these pieces can be designed into new play schemes.

4. Pop on Pals by Spinmaster (2 years and up)

Not only can children have fun popping their people into a bus, airplane or amusement park, they also have the ability to personalize their person along the way making combinations like a fireman ballerina!

5. Play-Doh Sesame Street Shape & Spin Elmo by Hasbro (3 and up)

3 things I love – Elmo, Play-Doh and learning! Elmo encourages children in a turn taking game to find and make different shapes                                                                        with Play-Doh!

6. Stinky The Garbage Truck by Matchbox (3 and up)

I fell in love with Rocky the Robot Truck last year and this year I love his pal Stinky the Garbage Truck. He says over 90 sounds and phrases and encourages preschoolers to sing, feed him and play along.

7. Velcro Kids Pirate Ship and Royal Princess Castle (ages 3-8)

Using patented Hoox technology by Velcro brands, using fine motor skills and imagination, your child can design their own 3 dimensional pirate ships and princess castles!

8. Zoobles (4 and up)

These cute little animals curl up into little balls and when they are used in their interactive playset, spring to life from magnetic action! Built by Spinmaster for little girls which grew from the design of their Bakugan lines for boys, they appeal to many age groups and encourage both pretend play and imagination.

9. Lego Games (ages 5 and up)

Starting at ages 5 and advancing all the way up to 10 years of age and beyond, Lego has created a variety of new games where children use Lego blocks to create the actual gameboard.  The dice is changeable and so aren’t the rules along the way in these creative games! Some of my favorites include Robo Champ, Creationary, & Harry Potter Hogwarts.

10. Perplexus by Plasmart (ages 6 and up)

We met the inventor of this cool spherical game back in October! There are three different tracks where you maneuver the small marble throughout with the twists and turns of your hands! Encourages attention, logic, memory and lots of problem solving!

11. Rory’s Story Cubes by Gamewright (ages 8 and up)

I have had so much fun with these tiny cubes over the past year encouraging children to create and write their own imaginative stories.  Each dice has different pictures on them and groups of people work together to develop wacky, and creative stories. Many children have really enjoyed working on the daunting skills of writing by creating their own unique silly stories.

12. Rubik’s Slide  by Technosource (ages 8 and up)

I was not a very successful Rubik’s cube user, until we fell in love with Rubik’s Slide at our house! Lights on the cube will flash to indicate what the puzzle to solve is.  By pushing and twisting the Rubik’s Slide you maneuver the lights into the proper locations to solve the puzzle.  Addictive for sure and since it has volume control, great for travel!

So “I-Tag”ged these toys – your turn to now bring the fun and education to all the children you love!  Did any of these toys make your child’s holiday wish list this year?

These toys have been provided by the above companies free to facilitate a review. The opinions in this blog post are purely the bloggers own.

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.

Beyblede Metal Fusion

In case it seems as if I’m speaking Japanese, both of these games are battling tops games.  Using different launchers, tops are released into a plastic gameboard area and simply the last top spinning is the winner.

Battlestrikers Set

With Beyblede Metal Fusion, there are small tops that are attached to a launcher and released by pulling a plastic rip cord.

In Battlestrikers, your top is attached to a motorized launcher (takes 3 AA batteries – not included) that releases the top by either a flick of the wrist,  bumping your launcher into another players or a smack on the top of the launcher with your opposite hand.

Though Beybledes are smaller in size, both Beyblede Metal Fusion and Battlestrikers allow the tops to be taken apart and put back together with interchangeable pieces from other tops. This allows for different strategy, fine motor control and overall customization.

Battlestrikers Launcher

Though one component that Battlestrikers has that Beyblede Metal Fusion does not is that you place two of your fingers on your opposite hand inside a plastic piece with a magnetic tip.  This allows you to flick your top against another person’s for more strategy as well while they are spinning.

Believe me, there is a lot of hype around these battling tops and you know your children well enough to make an educated decision on which game they might individually prefer.  After some serious competitions using both games, due to the interactive nature of the launcher and the ability to use more skill and strategy by being able to flick your top against your opponent, we voted Battlestrikers the winner in our home!

Please feel free to comment under this post on which game your child  prefers and why!

Hasbro and Mega Bloks provided these games to facilitate a review.

Links to reviews I have completed with some of my favorite Gamewright Games are  below:

Sumo Ham Slam

Rory’s Story Cubes

Boochie

Can You See What I See

Ringo Flamingo

Disclosure: Gamewright provided the above games for review.

This Training Loop set is one of many different playsets, others such as the Launch and Go Roundhouse, and Fix & Go Repair Shed can be incorporated into the train play. The set includes the train Wilson. After he is positioned at the top of the ramp and with a few taps on the push button he heads down the ramp, crashing through obstacles, until he hits a motorized launcher, zooms through a 360 degree loop and takes off across the room! One other train from the Chuggington series can be added and they will zoom through the loop in a multi-car train!

It took me about 30 minutes to put the set together, about 5 minutes of which was spent searching our house for a very small Phillips head screwdriver and 2 D batteries. Unlike many train sets that children are able to put together by themselves, adult assembly is required and recommended. The tracks are labeled underneath so that you can assemble them sequentially. It may take a bit to locate the numbers initially, but once you do they are very easy to push together. The directions are pretty self-explanatory. The directions are in several different languages, and sometimes it can be confusing trying to find the relevant information to the set up. First I set it up on our Constructive Playthings train table to utilize it. However, it is best used in a large area with a hard surface because the train zooms out of the loop and pretty much crashes into the side of the table. Make sure you press and hold the launcher button at the top, if you tap it too quickly it sometimes takes a few tries to launch the train into action. The motorized launcher is a bit loud once it is turned on, I did put my fingers on the motorized launcher and it stops automatically as a safety feature. There is a loud speaker play piece, but it should be noted it does not play music or speak, so make sure your kid’s give a big “Let’s ride the rails” in true Chuggington fashion before Wilson heads out on the loop!

I know this is geared to be a toy for a 3 year old, but Gavin (13 months) enjoyed watching me test this toy. He was happy to go get the train after it zoomed across the room and even tried to place it at the top of the track when he brought it back. He did quickly pull some of the rails out, but they were pretty easy to install. So for all of you that have more than one child, keep this in mind!

Learning Curve provided this train set free to facilitate a review. The opinions expressed in this blog post are purely the bloggers own.

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

These little guys are flying off the shelves in stores this holiday season! Squinkies are tiny squishable toys that live inside small plastic bubbles. Once these bubbles are opened they can be squished, used in dramatic play, attached to the top of the pencil, hidden in a pocket, played with using one of the adorable playsets, traded, collected or made into jewelry. The Squinkies Cupcake Surprize Bake Shop comes with 9 Squinkies.  It works just like a real gumball machine so when a nickel or a dime is inserted, and when the handle is turned, a Squinkie prize is on the way! Not to mention, the playsets are a great place to store these little guys, because they are very small and definitely not intended for children who place toys in their mouth.  There are multiple playsets that are part of the Squinkies collection, as well as different Bubble Packs that include 12 Squinkies.  Little girls will love to play with these toys imaginately, as well a share and trade these collectibles with their friends.

Squinkies were provided free for the purpose of a review. The opinions expressed in this blog post are purely the bloggers own.

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story toy soliders decsend from the ceiling at the Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010 John Lasseter holds a lego replica of himself

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Toy Story 3 event at Toy Fair 2010 John Lasseter poses next to lego replica of himself

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - John Ratzenberger poses with Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - John Lasseter poses with Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City

February 14, 2010 - New York, NY - Keri WIlmot from www.toyqueen.com at the Disney preview of Toy Story 3 in New York City gets shown some of the new toys for 2010 by one of the Disney executives

Crayon Buddies

At what age should my child color?  Beginning at one year of age, if you give your child a crayon, they may begin to hold the crayon, place it on the paper and imitate you moving your hand back and forth to produce a scribble.  Expect attention for this activity at this age, to last literally seconds.  As they get older, their ability to scribble more will evolve to produce more specific crayon strokes that are the prerequisites to handwriting.

Many times parents tell me they become frustrated that their children have a hard time coloring for any length of time. Here are some ideas to assist your child with learning to focus on the love of coloring using the Crayola Beginnings Products!

1. First,  you will need to teach your child the concept of coloring and what to do with the crayon or marker, especially since it will probably go right into their mouth.  If you have not transitioned away from using a pacifier, for those kid’s that are very oral, if you give them the pacifier before the crayon it may not go into the mouth and could help their attention!

Crayola First Marks

Otherwise, if they attempt to place it in their mouth, distract them by redirecting their hand to the paper to color using hand over hand assistance.

2.  Place your child in a booster seat or a high chair when coloring and set up a routine.  They won’t be tempted to color the wall if they are not given free reign to roam the home! Sit with them and offer

Crayola Tub Crayons

two choices of crayons or markers, one for each hand, and don’t give them the whole stash! If they color the tray by accident you should be able to wipe it clean easily with these washable products. If they are in a booster seat at the table, use a plastic placemat under the paper to protect the table.  Even better, Crayola has created tub crayons, if you are worried about the mess, practice in the tub!

3.  Generally speaking, one and two year olds are capable of scribbling randomly. At two years of age, some children are imitating simple strokes such as repeatedly making dots, a vertical line and horizontal line after you demonstrate them.

Crayola Easy Stampers

4.  Crayola’s products are excellent at this age, as shorter, fatter tools prove to be the best for grasp development, allowing for more control.  Even better, the Crayola Beginnings products have a nice rounded bottom to assist with developing a fingertip grasp pattern for better control.

Small World Toys three piece farm animal puzzle review by Toyqueen. Showing the extra benefits that include grasping techniques and more.
For children 12-18 months, these three piece puzzles from Small World Toys are great way to promote puzzles. Small World Toys makes nice beginner puzzles with only 3 pictures and there is a visual reference underneath. Children will learn the skill by matching the piece to the actual location. For younger smaller hands, they have larger handles to hold onto as it does not take as much skill to rotate the piece into the puzzle. You may need to use hand over hand assistance, where you place your hand over your child’s and teach them to guide the piece into the puzzle. This allows you the opportunity to teach the skill of how to complete a puzzle. It may be helpful if you cover over the pieces they are not working on, so they are not visually distracted and can focus on the piece you provide them. Incorporate language into puzzles by singing songs like Old McDonald Had a Farm, give them the piece, sing the song together, and assist the child with putting in the piece before you sing the next line and move onto the next pieces. This makes the puzzle interactive. Keep extra containers from around the house handy for storage of the pieces. www.toyqueen.com

http://tinyurl.com/2p9yhe

Fool proof swaddling! You can keep the top swaddled to change a diaper, or even swaddle the baby while in the swing or in the car seat! Swaddling provides nice firm input, similar to that of being in the womb, which can help your baby remain calm and focused during feeding, sleeping and interacting.

Sleep Sheep- $25.00
http://www.cloudb.com/ssandf/sheep.html

This adorable little lamb attaches to the crib and plays different selections of soothing music for baby to fall asleep with as part of their nighttime and naptime routines. Helps to promote self-calming.

I believe these are some of the smaller “hidden gems” of the Baby Registry that may tend to get overshadowed by the bigger ticket items. These suggestions are a bit more cost-effective for gift giving on a lighter budget.

Check the site regularly, every Monday during the month of August, I’ll post some of my favorites.

For the Car:

Fisher-Price Precious Planet Auto Mobile Mirror – $25.00
http://tinyurl.com/md55eq

Not only can your baby entertain themselves by seeing their reflection in the mirror while riding in the car and watching the animals dangling above them, how ingenious that it provides the parent driving the car with a clear view of their face to determine whether they are asleep, awake, or have lost their pacifier!

Infantino Tag Along Chimes – $6.49
http://tinyurl.com/n4v9ms

These adorable little guys can dangle from your car seat or attach to links on an activity mat. They are great for visual tracking and eventually they will encourage your child to advance their hand skills to try and reach out and grasp at them.