Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

$50 Educational Insights Gift Card GIVEAWAY!!!

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Big things are happening at the Educational Insights Facebook page! They are working hard to get to 50,000 fans (they are currently at 19,000). They have a survey they want people to take (I just completed it and it took me about 45 seconds…SO easy!). For every 1,000 fans they get between now and 50,000 one survey respondent will be randomly selected to win a customized Educational Insights prize pack worth $500! Once 50,000 fans are reached, ALL fans will get a reward! Woo hoo! Entries are good for the duration of the contest, so you only need to enter once to be eligible.

But it gets even better, folks! I also get to host a giveaway right now for $50 to Educational Insights and there’s only one entry! Easy peasy! If there are ANY children on your holiday shopping list, this contest is not-to-miss. Educational Insights has some of the most AMAZING toys that are so much for and so educational!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to fill out the 50,000 fan survey on the facebook page so you can be entered for all those $500 giveaways, too!

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

I received a gift card as a thank you for hosting this fabulous contest. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Making Logical Mathematical Estimates: Estimation Station Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Educational Insights is already one of the very best destinations for fantastic products that make learning so much fun. But I’m so impressed with how they just keep getting better and better. They have recently launched a fundraising program that I want to make sure you all know about. It’s completely free to join, and they offer 20% cash back on all purchases made by you and anyone you refer to them with a special promo code you will receive at sign up. It is an incredible way to earn funds for your child’s school, or even for an individual classroom! Get the full scoop here!

With the holidays fast approaching, there are so many wonderful options for gifts from Educational Insights. Today I’m featuring a product that helps promote math and logic skills. It’s called Estimation Station. What I love about this product (and what I’m consistently finding with most every Educational Insights product) is that it’s not a one-hit wonder. There are over a week’s worth of activity suggestions with this one product, including estimation, counting, place value, comparing and ordering number, making prediction, graphing, statistics and mathematical reasoning. That’s a lot of awesome concepts to derive from one toy!

Darah is still a bit too young to use this toy, as it is ideal for ages 5-9. When we introduce it to her, though, we can start with larger objects (like giant marshmallows!) and build up from there. I absolutely love this hands-on application of mathematical concepts. This can even be a really creative way to have kids put a little bit of work in prior to getting a special treat, like gumballs or jelly beans. Estimation Station retails for $14.99 and really does bring math to life in an exciting way for young children.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win Estimation Station!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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. 

So Many AWESOME Discounts from Educational Insights and a GIVEAWAY!!!

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Educational Insights has got to be one of the very best online destinations for educational materials that kids will really love.

I’ve mentioned before Hot Dots and how much Darah enjoys playing with them. Thanks to these cards, she is learning logic, patterns, sequencing, letter recognition (uppercase and lowercase) and basic science. I’m so excited that there are so many different types of Hot Dots cards for her to use as she gets older and is ready for more complex concepts. We recently snagged some cards that I’m going to keep in our game closet for about 6 more months before trying them out with her. I haven’t even told her about them, because I know she’d want to give them a whirl right away if she saw them! But since she is still working on mastering her sets that are already open, I think we should just stick with those, for now.

Educational Insights has a really impressive selection of Hot Dots cards, and I very highly recommend them for kids. We have certainly enjoyed the Hot Dots, Jr. sets, and look forward to continuing to use the Hot Dots sets as she grows. And before you know it, Layah will be using them, too!

I also want to point out that Educational Insights has a Pinterest page, and it is loaded with great ideas for kids educational activities. In the future, they are going to be holding Pinterest exclusive giveaways, so be sure to follow them there so you don’t miss out!

But wait, there’s more! You can earn $10 off an EducationalInsights.com purchase just be filling out a SUPER short (4 questions!) suvey here: http://www.educationalinsights.com/category/id/119977.do

May I suggest what you put this fabulous credit towards? Some Hot Dots! Now through August 11th, you get a free Hot Dots pen with the purchase of two card sets! That’s an $11 value! Enter code HOTPEN at checkout!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Hot Dots pen as well as two card sets of your choice!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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 expressed here are strictly my own. 

$50 Gift Card to Educational Insights GIVEAWAY!!!

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As you know, I have partnered up with Educational Insights to bring you monthly selections of AMAZING toys, games and other educational products that your kids will love and that will foster a genuine love of learning at home.

Educational Insights has offered a very special treat to Stuff Parents Need readers this month: one of you is going to get a $50 gift card to spend as you please on the site!

What do you need to do to enter? It’s SO easy! You just have to like Educational Insights on Facebook and let me know you did so on the Rafflecopter form below. Woo hoo!

There are so many great things for you to spend it on….can’t wait to hear your ideas!

What are you waiting for?! Get to it!

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Hot Dots Jr. Alphabet Cards Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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We have a FANTASTIC new educational toy at our house, and I’m so excited to share it with you! It comes to us from Educational Insights, an online store that is packed with really great games and toys that help children learn important concepts.

Hot Dots, Jr. is an interactive set of flash cards. We received the beginning alphabet cards. You use these cards in conjunction with a special talking pen that helps children know if they have solved the problem on the card correctly, or if they need to try again. Darah has Kat, and they also offer Ace the dog. Kat’s eyes turn green and she purrs when Darah selects the right answer. She meows when Darah needs to try again.

The cards in the beginning phonics set have various problems that need to be solved. Darah is just now mastering the set of cards that has her match upper case and lower case letters. We are now moving into the cards that also have her match upper and lower case letter, but offer more options and seem to be a bit more difficult. Darah absolutely LOVES to do these flash cards, and she does not get discouraged when she misses the answer. She remains very focused and also practices the sounds the letters make while doing her work. Its really pretty awesome to watch!

I will most definitely be getting more of these cards for her to work with because she has responded so well to them. I also like that they come in a compact case with a velcro lid and a canvas handle for easy storage as well as easy access by Darah. She can pull these out on her own and put them away on her own, which is really nice.

Hot Dots, Jr. card sets retail for $14.99 each and the talking pens retail for $12.99 each. I highly recommend these products as a way to keep the learning that is happening at school also happening at home.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Hot Dots Jr. card set and a talking pen!

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Grandma’s Trunk: 5 Games in 1! Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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I’m so excited to announce that I am part of the blogging review team for a FANTASTIC educational resource website called Educational Insights (this is a site you are going to want to bookmark, promise). Every month I’ll be bringing you at least one review and giveaway opportunity. I’ll be introducing you to some innovative and exciting educational products for young children, and you’ll get a chance to win, of course! Let the fun begin!

My very first review for the company is of a new game called Grandma’s Trunk. This is designed for kids in Kindergarten and up, and it is actually 5 games rolled into 1 (hooray for toys that can do more than one thing!). From the website, here are the 5 games that can be played with this set:

1. What Comes Next? Take turns placing the letter cards in the trunk in alphabetical order.

2. Memory Time Take turns repeating the sequence of cards already in the trunk, then adding one of your own and challenging other players to remember them all, in order.

3. Grandma’s Riddles Deal the cards, then read a riddle and race to see who has the letter card that answers it!

4. Letter Sequence Memory Deal the cards and take turns putting them in the trunk in alphabetical order, repeating the items already in the trunk and challenging other players to remember them all, in alphabetical order.

5. Grandma’s Adventures Place the letter cards in the trunk and take turns pulling them out to create a cooperative story: “Once upon a time there was a grandma. She saw an iguana.”

While most of these games are too advanced for Darah at this point, we are already playing with the set by looking at the letter cards and practicing the sounds each one makes (she LOVES practicing letter sounds at school, so it’s great to continue those lessons at home!). Since there are so many different things to do with this set, I can tell that it will be played with for several more years, which makes it an excellent value.

I’m very pleased with all the different things you can do with Grandma’s Trunk, and with the overall quality of the game. I’d say that at $14.99, this is a bargain price for a game that will really help develop reading, memory and story telling skills.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of Grandma’s Trunk! Score!
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