educational resources - Stuff Parents Need

Hit the Beach with a Metal Detector for Kids (Giveaway!)

April 10, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 107 Comments

I always wanted a metal detector as a kid. When we would take family trips to the beach, I’d do some digging for buried treasures on my own, but became quickly discouraged at the sight of those old men with metal detectors.

They probably beat me to all those lost diamond rings and really old coins that I just knew were a few feet under the sand. RUDE.

So when Learning Resources informed me that they could help today’s little ones best those old gold diggers with their new metal detector for kids, I was all over it!

We took it with us when we visited the beach for the first time, and while we didn’t find any treasures, it was still a major hit. I may or may not have had a wee bit of trouble sharing it at first, but now I am totally comfortable letting the kids run around in our yard with it. As long as I get my turn, too.

What? This is totally normal, you guys. TREASURE MAY BE LURKING!!!!

My kids love this great outdoor toy. And yes, it really does function as a metal detector. It requires batteries to run, and it lights up and makes noise whenever it gets near metal. Pretty awesome!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Learning Resources metal detector for ~~themselves~~ their children.

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.
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Building Words with Word Construction (Giveaway!)

February 10, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 33 Comments

Darah is starting to read, and she enjoys spending time looking at letters and figuring out how they might sound when they have been put together. I’ve been on the hunt for games for early readers, and of course, I found one at Learning Resources.

Learning Resources is one of our favorite places to find educational activities that also foster the imagination and are lots of fun for kids. We were sent Word Construction, a new game for 2014.

Word Construction comes with 6 bolts that can each hold up to four nuts, and the nuts have the letters on them. You simply turn the letters, and make new words. It’s really fun for kids to see how swapping out just one letter can create an entirely different word.

My only complaint about the product is that the nuts seem a bit difficult to get onto the bolts. There is a special groove that needs to be properly aligned in order for them to slide on and off easily. My 4 1/2 year old definitely struggles to successfully do this herself. With that said, I also witnessed my 21-month-old do it herself. Just a heads up that it may not be an easy task for every kid.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t share with you the first word my daughter proudly built. She was all smiles (and blissfully unaware) as she showed me this:

Thanks a lot, kid.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win Word Constrution.

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of the page.
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Primary Science Plant & Grow Set Review (and Giveaway!)

September 25, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 91 Comments

Learning Resources, one of our very favorite online shops for educational toys, recently sent us the Primary Science Plant & Grow Set to review, and I’ve really been looking forward to telling you all about it!

It comes with lots of great (and sturdy!) tools to use for various experiments, all related to plants and watching things grow. This is a topic of much interest for my 4-year-old, which has made this set a real hit with her.

I especially love the cards that contain several different experiment ideas. Last week, on the way home from preschool, we stopped by our local grocery store to buy some carrots so we could do a really fun and easy experiment together.

We filled up our observation jar about halfway with water, then added 10 drops of food coloring. We cut all but an inch off the carrot top and cut the bottom tip of the carrot, as well. The we put the carrot into the water and waited. The waiting part was tough for Darah, since we needed to wait 2 whole days!

This experiment teaches about how root vegetables get their nutrients, and how water travels throughout the vegetable. After two days we could see blue food coloring at the top of the carrot, as well as on the inside. It was very cool!

If you know of a child who is interested in plants, or who just loves a good experiment, the Primary Science Plant & Grow Set, available through Learning Resources, is a terrific find! After all, the best learning happens when kids are having a lot of fun!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Primary Science Plant & Grow Set!

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Visual Learning Meets Critical Thinking: Snapshots Photo Cards (Giveaway)

July 25, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 63 Comments

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Thanks to Learning Resources for supplying a copy of Snapshots for review. All thoughts expressed here are my own.

One of my favorite educational toy companies, Learning Resources, has a fantastic new game out that is absolutely perfect for little ones who are visual learners, or who love telling stories.

We’ve been playing with Snapshots over the past week, and it has inspired a whole lot of conversation, critical thinking, and storytelling! Snapshots is a set of 40 laminated, double-sided cards. One side has a picture on it, like this:

The other side has some starter questions for you to ask your child about what is happening in the picture, like this:

These questions help the child practice using context clues, drawing conclusions, and using her imagination, in addition to sharpening her eye for detail.

We’ve also used the cards to make up stories about the people, animals or places in the picture, and to talk about times when we have done similar things.

I like Snapshots because it is travel friendly, encourages discussion and awareness, and is quite a bit of fun, too! Snapshots can be purchased at Learning Resources, as well as on Amazon (on sale right now for $13.95!).

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win their own copy of Snapshots!

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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

How We Study the Weather and the Calendar (Giveaway!)

June 2, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 54 Comments

What morning rituals does your family have these days? I’d like to show you one of ours that Darah (my almost 4 year old) is really enjoying and that creates great moments for learning. Check out the Funky Monkey Forecast!

Learning Resources has this set of 60 magnetic pieces available on their website. It comes with a jumbo monkey and 28 different accessories to dress him in, depending on the day’s weather. There are also 6 weather icons and 3 weather words. Every morning Darah looks outside to see what the weather looks like at the moment (sunny, cloudy, etc.) and I also check the forecast online to get a sense for the daily temperatures and if any special weather conditions are headed our way.

After Darah dresses the monkey for the day, she has a better idea of how to dress herself, too! This helps tremendously once we head upstairs to pick out an outfit. She used to choose things that were seasonally inappropriate and not understand why she would be much too hot or much too cold in them. Now she gets it, and she edits her options accordingly. And as you likely know, drama over wardrobe is GREATLY reduced when the child gets to make her own choices. So the Funky Monkey is helping us not only with weather comprehension, but also with the practical life skill of dressing oneself.

Darah dressed this moneky for a warm day at school. Note the backwards shoes and the lack of pants. Darah finds pants to be an annoying component of wardrobes, to be avoided if at all possible.

practical life: weather and dressing with funky monkey

Her clothing selection (a dress, which means no pants needed! )

Additionally, I’m starting to work with Darah on the calendar aspect of the Funky Monkey set. It comes with the 7 days of the week, as well as the 12 months of the year. Darah is starting to associate the days of the week with the different activities we do on those days (such a school on Monday and Wednesday during the summer, or Daddy being at home on Saturday and Sunday). She isn’t yet able to identify the words by sight, but the magnets are helping us practice and improve in that area.

I’m really pleased with this fun new tool that provides my child with a morning ritual to get her day started right. And I also LOVE that it comes in magnet form, which means it takes up very little space. Three cheers for that!!!

Buy it!: The Funky Monkey Forecast is available for $29.98 through the Learning Resources website, as well as through Amazon.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Funky Monkey Forecast!

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

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I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains an affiliate link.

Learning Resources Twisty Droppers Water Droppers (Giveaway!)

April 19, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 52 Comments

While I am feeling very sad, in some ways, that my baby is turning one in a few weeks, I’m also feeling REALLY excited.

Mostly because I know what her “big” present is. Since Layah isn’t a reader of mine, I can spill the beans here: she’s getting a water table! Layah takes her play VERY seriously, and I know that we are going to spend hours and hours on the back porch splashing in the water while big sister runs around in the yard.

I’ve already got the perfect accessory for the water table, and it is also great in the tub! Learning Resources Twisty Droppers are very affordable (just $12.99 for 4 droppers). They are sturdy (Layah has been chewing on them, so I know for a fact that they hold up well!). And they are FUN!

Kids love to play with water, and they also love to move water from one vessel to another. The Twisty Droppers provide a means through which they can have a lot of fun and also work on several different skills and competencies, including developing fine motor skills, strengthening hand muscles and learning cause and effect. While Layah doesn’ t yet have the hand coordination skills to use the droppers as they are intended, Darah does, and when she plays with them in the tub or at the table doing a water lesson, I can see her really concentrating hard. She LOVES watching how the water goes up the dropper, and then back down. The twisty effect really helps kids pay close attention to what is going on inside the dropper.

I think this toy is a winner. And if you don’t need all 4 droppers for your kids, they make fantastic gifts. What a cute item to put on top of a birthday present as part of the wrapping!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of Twisty Droppers!
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Be sure to enter my other contests, found on the sidebar of my page.

I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Product that Encourages Sensory for Toddlers (Giveaway)

March 20, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 53 Comments

The Montessori method of education gives a very strong preference to using multiple senses during the learning experience. Whether you have an infant, toddler or preschooler at home, I want to encourage to make it a goal to find sensory activities to do at some point every day. Touch, taste and smell are all very important components of memory development, and they also help pique interest when used together.

Learning Resources has a terrific product available that can be used for years and years and for so very many uses. This summer we will be working on sensory for toddlers as Layah becomes a young toddler (oh…don’t make me cry!!!) and we will be working on sensory for preschoolers as well. The Primary Science Sensory Tubes will be getting a workout, holding all sorts of fun discoveries that we can study more closely.

This is a set of 4 sturdy, clear tubes. They can be opened on both ends and have high quality lids that can be screwed on of off. They come with an extra set of vented lids just in case you want to smell what is inside or if you have small creatures in there than need some air. LIke Ariel, for example.

We have already made an “under the sea” sensory tube. Darah really enjoyed scouring the house for anything that made her think of the ocean. She has quite a collection of sea shells!

I very highly recommend the Primary Science Sensory Tubes for parents of toddlers. Each product comes with 4 tubes, so you can even keep some and give others away as gifts.

What sensory activities have you been doing in your home, whether intentional or not? I’d love to hear!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of Sensory Tubes for Learning Resources!
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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Teaching a Child How to Read a Tape Measure (GIVEAWAY)

February 21, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 78 Comments

A few months ago, Darah asked, “How do you read a tape measure?”

Hmm…an interesting question! She can read the numbers on the measuring tape that her dad uses around the house, but she has figured out that the numbers mean something more than just a simple number.

I thought perhaps the best way to help Darah learn how to measure objects and how to read a tape measure would be by getting one just for her that she can use. Learning Resources has an excellent child’s tape measure!

A tape measure is actually an incredibly useful teaching tool. You can learn increments, fractions, and of course, measurements with it. You can also work on comparisons for the younger kids.

Here’s what we are doing to work on the skill of learning to read a tape measure.

When we are having a “measuring session” I get out a piece of paper and serve as the note taker. Right now we are learning about the foot measurement. The tape measure we have goes up to 4 feet. So we hunt for things that are less than one foot, greater than one foot but less than 2 feet, greater than 2 feet but less than 3 feet, and up to 4 feet in length. It is so cool to see Darah using her critical thinking skills and her estimation skills before the pulls out her tape measure to investigate length. She will often make a guess about how long an item will be. She isn’t often accurate, but this will improve with time, I think. Plus, we try to teach her that it is perfectly fine to be wrong. Better to take a stab at a problem and not get it right than to not try at all!

Does anyone have any tips on how to teach children the concept of inches? I’m not sure how long it will be before we are ready for that task, but I’d like to be prepared once she is!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a simple tape measure from Learning Resources!

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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Barker Creek Magnetic Kidphonics Activity Set Review and GIVEAWAY!!

August 21, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 105 Comments

Darah is showing some clears signs of readiness for learning to read. One of the clearest signs is that she is growing increasingly frustrated when she sits down to read that she can’t actually read the words. Tim and I read to her every day, but I can tell that she wishes she could read to herself. She often points to letters she recognizes on the page, or points to certain words and asks what they say.

Darah’s teachers have also reported back to us that she seems particularly interested in the language lessons in the classroom, and spends a great deal of time working on her letter sounds. We’ve been working on having similar lessons in our house so that she can continue working on something that interests her so much, and so that she can make strides on the path to reading.

Barker Creek is a website that has many award-winning educational products that are ideal for the classroom and for home. I took a bit of time recently to flip through their catalog. I was extremely impressed by the comprehensive selection of products that teachers and homeschooling parents would love to see in their classrooms. Even if you don’t fit into either category, they still have TONS of stuff that can provide educational enrichment to your child!

Want to see what we’ve been enjoying from Barker Creek?

Check out the Magnetic Kidphonics Activity Set, currently available for $49.99. It comes with the following elements:

magnetic a-z pictures (one picture for each letter in the alphabet)
magnetic uppercase letters
magnetic lowercase letters
magnetic Kidboard

We have both really enjoyed sitting down together to work on matching pictures with letter sounds. What we do is pick out a picture, then identify the letter sound it begins with and search for that sound. We don’t put the focus on the name of the letter, but instead, on the sound it makes, as I have learned that reading readiness skills are enhanced by looking at letters and thinking of their sounds even before thinking of their official names.

Darah really loves the Kidboard, and being able to make her own charts of pictures and corresponding letter sounds. Here you will see her latest completed board!

In addition to the letters and pictures, we also received the Learning Magnets Numbers and Math Signs set. This is going to be useful for several years, and we’ll be able to practice number identification, and later on addition, subtraction, division and multiplication! This set is available for $9.99.

We also received the Magnetic Kidmath Critter Counter Set, available for $9.99. I LOVE these magnets, as they make the abstract concept of math very tangible, using bugs as examples of quantities. Montessori education states that students are going to really learn a concept once it becomes tangible, and can be understood using all the senses. I believe these magnets are a step in that direction!

I highly recommend these tools for helping with reading and math readiness. My child is enjoying them and really seems to focus when she has her magnets and her Kidboard out for a lesson. I will also say that the quality of the magnets is quite good! I’d love to hear what you all are doing (or did in the past) to help your children learn to read and learn about math.

Don’t miss out on the weekly web-only specials at Barker Creek. They offer a variety of products at 50% off every week. Woo hoo!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Magnetic Kidphonics Activity Set!
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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.