Stuff Parents Need

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

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.

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

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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.

child's tape measure measuring a toy

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!

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. 

How We Hang Art on the Fridge: Super Strong Magnetic Clips (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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If your child attends any sort of parents’ day out, day care, or preschool (or if you are just a crafty parent), then your house is likely swimming with pieces of art that your little Rembrandt has completed.

I shared a long while back one way that we display some of our favorite pieces. We have frames set up along a short wall in our house and we rotate out the art work. It is at Darah’s eye level, which she really enjoys. And it elevates the art to gallery status, even if only for a few weeks.

But as Darah has gotten older and started to do more coloring and drawing, and as she has started to request that more of her work be displayed, we’ve run out of framed space. And so, we turned to the fridge.

I wanted to find some magnets that Darah would be able to make use of on her own. But I know from experience that she loves to play with magnets and sometimes leaves them on the floor. With a crawler in the house, this just won’t do.

Learning Resources has the perfect option: Super Strong Magnetic Clips. These magnets are strong enough that Darah can’t take them off the fridge, yet because they have a clip, Darah is still able to use them and hang her artwork all by herself. I like that with these magnetic clips, the child has control over which art pieces get displayed and which get removed, or at least put behind other art.

photo (10)

The Super Strong Magnetic Clips, in addition to being great teaching tools for children, are also true work horses. Each clip can hold up to 50 pieces of paper at one time (!) and in terms of weight, can hold up to 20 pounds. Can you believe that?!

Learning Resources offers this product for $14.99 for a set of 4. These are magnets that you will use for the rest of your life. They are durable and oh-so-useful. While you are checking them out, see what else you might find at Learning Resources. They are having a huge after-holiday sale with many items 20-50% off! 🙂

What about you? What do you use to display your child’s art work?

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a set of Super Strong Magnetic Clips

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.

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.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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.

 

Learning Resources My Very Own Doctor Set Review and GIVEAWAY!!

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Can you think of any toys growing up that you never got and still to this day remember how much you wanted them? A doctor’s kit falls into that category for me. I had friends and cousins who owned doctor’s kit, so I frequently got to play. But oh my goodness, how I longed for one of my own!

Darah recently received from Learning Resources the New Sprouts Cure It! My Very Own Doctor Set, and let me tell you, she and I BOTH have been having a blast playing with it! We have opened up a stuffed animal urgent care facility. Darah is the attending doctor on staff, and I am her trusty assistant. I report the symptoms of our patients to her, and she gives a thorough exam and diagnoses the problem.

Here’s the adorable part: about 90% of the time Darah determines that the patient has a hurt heart, and the prescription she gives is, “lots of hugs.”

So. Stinkin’. Cute. It just about kills me, folks.

In addition to healing heartaches, playing doctor is also giving us the chance to talk more about anatomy, and even about viruses, diseases and injuries. There are so many great ways to incorporate some knowledge into our pretend play with this kit.

Naturally, I very highly recommend it. It’s going to be played with for a long time, I can tell! You can find the My Very Own Doctor Set at Learning Resources for $24.99.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a My Very Own Doctor Set from Learning Resources!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

sprouts cure it! my very own doctor set

Helping Kids Truly Understand Shapes: Shape Sorting Presents GIVEAWAY!!

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One of the key things that I have learned about effective learning methods since Darah started at a Montessori school is the importance of being able to move away from learning in the abstract. For example, when it comes to learning shapes, simply studying flash cards of circles, triangles and squares is not sufficient for a mind to fully grasp and commit a shape to memory. The shapes need to be understood in the context of every day life.

That’s one of the reasons that I’m really enjoying a game available at Learning Resources called Shape Sorting Presents. This game comes with 6 boxes, each a different shape, and 90 cards with everyday objects that represent one of the 6 shapes. Each box has a slot at the top so that children can drop the cards into them.

Darah really enjoys sorting objects right now, so this game is perfect for her. I would have told you before we got this game that she had already mastered her shapes, and that is true in their abstract form, but now that we are looking at every day objects and thinking about their shapes, I see that we have more work to do. I’m so glad we have this game, because it is helping her think about objects and shapes in a different way than she had before, and I know that by doing this, she is starting to truly understand what makes a shape (straight lines or not, even sides or not, etc.). She can also see shapes now even when the object isn’t 100% like a shape drawing (a throw pillow with fringe, for example, is still in a square shape).

As Darah masters these skills a bit more, we’ll still be able to use this game to do things like go on shape hunts in the house and find objects that match with the cards.

I recommend Shape Sorting Presents as an excellent resource for your home or for a pre-k or kindergarten classroom! Since there are 6 boxes, more than 1 child can play at once. This retails for $32.99 and can be purchased at Learning Resources online.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win Shape Sorting Presents from Learning Resources.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Sorting Game for Preschoolers: Attribute Apples Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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There’s a new game we have in our home, and Darah asks me to play it with her every single day. It’s called Attribute Apples, and it is available at the online store I love and have highlighted several times before, Learning Resources.

The game is designed for kids ages 3-8, and it is basically a bucket full of 27 different apples with different attributes (3 different sizes, 3 different colors, 3 different physical characteristics such as having a worm, having a leaf, or having a stem).

The purpose of the game is to work on classification skills, and my child really loves the challenge. It keeps her engaged for a long time, and she does a lot of good critical thinking every time she plays.

The bucket comes with a removable divider so that you can put your apples in 3 different sections in the bucket. Darah loves to use the bucket to sort her apples, and as soon as she finishes, she dumps them out and starts over!

Her very favorite apples to find are the ones with the worms in them. While she is hunting for those, she ends up sorting out the ones with leaves and the ones with stems in the process.

Once your child masters color, size and characteristics, there are also other, more advanced things you can do with attribute apples so that the fun can continue. One example is to use the apples to make patterns. This is too advanced for my child at this point, but over time we’ll be able to use the apples for this purpose.

This product is very simple, but is getting played with VERY frequently. I think it is well-designed and really captures the attention of little ones. I highly recommend it! It retails for $21.99.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win Attribute Apples!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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

Learning Resources: Primary Science Magnet Set Review and GIVEAWAY!!

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The hits just keep coming from Learning Resources, folks. I’ve already introduced you to a few of their great products that make learning fun. Check out my reviews of the Letter Construction Activity Set, the Gator Tweezers and the Primary Science Mix & Measure Kit, all of which are used frequently at my house.

Our newest product that has been giving us experiment ideas is the Primary Science Magnet Set. It comes with 10 activity cards, and also has 10 more activity cards on the site that you can download! Darah has been learning about attraction and repelling thanks to this set. She’s been asking a lot of questions, and trying out different combinations of magnets to see how they come together or stay apart from one another. She especially finds the fact that they can repel each other to be really fascinating!

This toy recently won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Gold Seal Award, so Darah’s certainly not alone in her enjoyment of it! It’s designed for ages 4-12, but with adult supervision, 2 and 3 year-olds can also certainly have fun with it and learn a lot at the same time!

I absolutely love that Darah regularly asks me if we can, “do science” at home, and Learning Resources products have played a large role in opening her eyes to the world of experiments. They are a resource I would recommend to anyone looking for fabulous toys that teach.


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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 



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


Disclosure: I received a complimentary product from Learning Resources for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.