Stuff Parents Need

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

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

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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!

metal detector for kids

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!!!!

metal detector

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

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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:

critical thinking and visual learning game: snapshots

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

toy for visual learners snapshots

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!)

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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!

kids weather

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.

kids learn weather funky monkey

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!)

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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!

twisty droppers water droppers

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)

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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.

mermaid sticking out of a clear tube. Sensory for toddlers

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!

sensory for toddlers with sensory tubes

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.

Real World Folding Geometric Shapes from Learning Resources

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Here’s what I remember about my 8th grade geometry class: I hated it.

Here’s what I don’t remember: pretty much everything I was taught.

I had such an aversion to math growing up, and it is something I want to work very hard not to pass on to my daughters. I want math concepts to be part of their learning process early on. I’ve also learned from Montessori education that the more hands-on opportunities we can give our children to interact with math, the better suited they will be to tackle the harder concepts down the line. This is particularly true for geometry and understanding shapes in a 3 dimensional way, instead of simply in the abstract or on paper.

That’s why I was really excited to see Learning Resources offer the Real World Folding Geometric Shapes.

The set includes 3 dimensional versions of 8 common shapes:

  • cube
  • cylinder
  • hexagonal prism
  • rectangular prism
  • triangular prism
  • square pyramid
  • triangular pyramid

It also comes with 24 cut out designs that can fit inside the shapes to help children identify where these shapes can be found in everyday life. You can also cut out your own designs to put inside the shapes. Being able to see and touch a shape in this way is extremely important to muscle memory, and when that is instilled in your child at a young age, it will help tremendously by the time geometry class comes up in middle school. To be able to break a 3 dimensional shape down into something flat also helps a lot with understanding symmetry.

The kit also comes with great activity suggestions (far more than I would have come up with on my own!). I think this is a marvelous learning aid and I highly recommend it, especially if you think you might have some trouble bringing the world of math to life on your own like I do. The kit is available for $36.99.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Real World Folding Geometric Shapes set from Learning Resources.

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. 

Jumbo Safari Counters For Early Math Skills: Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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In the world of parenting little ones, it’s definitely a jungle out there.

Sometimes, literally.

We recently welcomed a herd of 30 little creatures into our home. Fortunately, they all fit inside a bin in the closet! These are the JumboSafari Counters from Learning Resources and they are fun AND very functional. You can use these little critters to help with color sorting, counting, addition and subtraction, and other early math skills. You can also use them to create safari playscapes!

The Jumbo Safari Counters are a reasonable $19.99 and would make a wonderful holiday gift for a child in the 2-5 range. Learning Resources has this product as well as HUNDREDS of other really great options available right now. Don’t miss out on their great holiday deals, which they are starting now (no need to wait for Cyber Monday to find awesome deals!). I recommend following them on Facebook so you can stay in the know about their latest sales!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of Jumbo Safari Counters from Learning Resources!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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