Mom and baby product reviews on The Mommy Insider

Kids Central Kitchen baking mixes - review, coupon, and giveaway

Playing with kids can be a chore for parents.  Kids play by their own rules and often with toys that are missing pieces which gets very frustrating for me.  If you are looking for something more structured, fun, and educational to do with your young kids, look no further than Kids Central Kitchen.  My kids LOVE to help me cook and love the end result even more.

• Kids Central Kitchen has 7 different baking mixes including Flap Jacks, Propellar Energy Bars (my favorite), and Brownies. 
• You provide minimal ingredients, mostly water, milk, oil, and/or yogurt and the rest is in the baking mix. 
• These baking mixes provide an easy, fun way for older kids to work on basic skills like measuring and reading.
• Simple yes, full of yummy delicious flavor.. yes!

You'll also find kitchen utensils, bakeware, and baking supplies at Kids Central Kitchen and while you're there check out the Kids Baking Party in a Box!

WEBSITE

COUPON CODE: MOMMY15 - get 15% off your order (expires 12/31/09)

GIVEAWAY: One lucky reader will win a $25 Kids Central Kitchen gift certificate!
Leave a comment below telling me what color the BIG mixing bowl on the Kids Central Kitchen homepage is and your email address will be entered in the giveaway drawing!  GET TWO ENTRIES when you tell me a short story about a funny cooking experience you've had in the comments area below.

ItzaBitza Educational Reading Game for kids + giveaway - this game is so much fun!

This is one of the most entertaining game I've played in a long time.  Yes, I admit I played ItzaBitza.  My kids weren't even around.  The concept of ItzaBitza is awesome..I've never seen anything like it.

ItzaBitza promotes reading comprehension, artisitic and imaginative creativity and provides an exciting gaming experience for kids ages four and older.  I was amazed time and time again by how the game responded to my drawings and made them come to life.  

Here are just a few things you can do in the first ItzaBitza scene:

• Draw a tree, apples grow on it.  
• Draw a moon and stars light up the sky and your Sketchie goes inside the house you drew, goes upstairs and goes to sleep.
• Draw an envelope and your Sketchie takes it to the mailbox.
• Draw a cup and watch your Sketchie drink out of it.

The Sketchie your child chooses at the beginning of the game (a boy or a girl) asks your child to draw things, including a house and a tree, then the drawings become part of the animation and story.  An example would be when I drew a tree with leaves, the game added apples to the tree.  You can see my award winning drawing (ha!) below.  Click on the image to view the larger version.  I didn't draw the flowers.  When I drew the sun, the flowers grew!  How cool is that?

Through out the game, the Sketchie gives you ideas and little games to play via a little word bubble that pops up when you click on him or her.  If your child has trouble reading a word in the bubble, all she has to do is move the mouse over the word and it is sounded out for her.  Great reading practice!

There are several scenes that can be unlocked as your child progresses in the game including a camping scene and a naunted house.  You'll have to buy the game to find out what happens in each of the scenes!

Buy a copy of ItzaBitza at Amazon.com for $17.99 (current price) OR buy and download the game here.

Giveaway details are coming soon but until then you can subscribe to our updates and you will be notified with giveaway details as soon as we get them up!

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Toy review: Balancing Coral toy from Plan Toys

Plan Toys makes some of the nicest looking and well made wooden toys I've seen.  

Made of earth-friendly and replenishable rubber wood, Balancing Coral, is a game for up to 4 players ages 3 and up. The idea is to take turns putting pieces of coral on the coral base and see who makes the coral topple by not keeping the coral balanced.  Madelyn works very hard at putting a few pieces on but manages to topple the coral within a few tries.  That is to be expected though as she is only 2. 

Balancing Coral is great game for young kids as it will help develop good cognitive and fine motor skills.  I always supervise Madelyn when playing Balancing Coral because the pieces could potentially be a chocking hazard for children 3 and under.  Madelyn stays too busy putting the coral on to try to put the pieces on her mouth.

GIVEAWAY!
We have a Plan City Fire Station to giveaway to a lucky reader!   Go to Plan Toys website and tell me in the comment box below what you think makes Plan Toys stand out and tell me what other product (1 only) you would love to have of theirs and why.  You just might get it too!

You can buy Balancing Coral at Plan Toys or at Oompa Toys, one of my favorite online toys stores, for about $35.

Check out some of our other givewaways running now (Expire Dec. 31, 2008):  invisibelt giveaway, Little Tikes Rated Green products giveaway, Fisher Price Zen Collection Swing giveaway, Precious Girls Club book and goodie bag giveaway.

Toy review: architecture abc blocks by Parents®

Madelyn loves, loves, loves Parents® abc architecture blocks.   These blocks are colorful, squishy soft and stack easily.  One of my favorite things about the abc architecture blocks is because they are soft, they don't make a loud crashing sound when they are knocked down.

Parents® abc architecture blocks can even go in the bathtub.  They float making them lots of fun.  Just be sure to sqeeze all of the water out when the kids are through playing with them.

There are 9 different shapes including squares, columns, and curvy pieces that can go on top of the column pieces to make a cool tower.  Each block has an animal and/or a letter of the alphabet molded on it. 

Parents® also makes wooden toys including a Doctor's play set that Madelyn is getting for Christmas.  I am so excited.. she'll have so much fun with it.  Something that I really appreciate about Parents® toys is that they are all practical and educational.

Recommended for ages 6+ months.

You will find Parents® ABC architecture toddler blocks at your local Target (check first) or Target.com here for about $19.

smart-e-bear: click, connect, and cuddle for ages 2-6

A super snuggly bear for kids ages 2-6, smart-e-bear is a huggable, loveable friend that plays award-winning kids music, fun games, and interactive stories right out of the box!

Madelyn's favorite activity is listening to Five Little Monkeys and Head and Shoulders which Sebastian also loves.  They both crack up and have a blast when smart-e-bear starts singing really fast.  Madelyn is learning songs and stories and Sebastian,  9 years old, is learning things like Head and Shoulds in Japanese!

He's the only bear with a computer interface, a lesson plan that you can customize, AND he's totally wired into the children's music scene - with access to thousands of songs by artist like Sara Hickman.

To set up smart-e-bear, plug him into your computer's USB port for download, and he's ready to engage and interact as your child sings and reads along, while answering questions by squeezing his paws.

smart-e-bear asks Madelyn questions such as "Do you want to play simon says?  If yes, push my hand, if no push my foot".  Then smart-e-bear says "simon says push my yellow foot" and she pushes his yellow foot.  She loves that smart-e-bear interacts with her when she pushes his hands and feet.  Madelyn finds smart-e-bear very easy to understand and follow.  smart-e-bear's interactive design lets Madelyn decide what games to play, or stories to hear, with a squeeze of his hands or feet.  When she first got smart-e-bear she had to push around on his hands and feet to find the sensor but after a couple times of playing, she knows where they are without a problem.

smart-e-bear speaks English and Spanish, and calls your child by name. I can select age-appropriate content, customizing Madelyn's learning experience with thousands of songs, stories and games.  Like iTunes, most songs and activities are .99 to download.

smart-e-bear is soft and cuddly.  Other than having a small module box stuffed way into his back, he is a regular super soft and plush bear and can be squeezed just like any plush animal.

Learn more about smart-e-bear here.  You can buy smart-e-bear at amazon.com here.  There is also a smart-e-dog or smart-e-cat.

Watch a short video of smart-e-bear singing.

Jumpstart 3D Virtual World - My First Adventure

JumpStart made the first PC games I had for Sebastian years ago.  8+ years later, JumpStart still rocks the computer game world for kids. 

Their new PC game, 3D World, My First Adventure, combines a whimsical 3D world of imagination, and adventure, with interactive learning.

There is a Movie House where players complete missions to unlock storybooks providing the player with a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Skill and activities include ABC's, counting, planting flowers, sing-along music videos, and games that are appropriate for kids ages 3-5.  I have to admit though, that Sebastian, my 9 year old, enjoyed this game a lot!

Parents have access to personalized progress reports and advice from educational experts.
The Virtual World concept adds extra excitement as kids love to interact with characters and feel like they are part of a larger adventure!

Price: Can be purchased for about $10 at Amazon.com

K'NEX Sesame Street building sets for ages 2-5

Sesame Street, on television since November 10, 1969 is the longest running children's program on American television and is a childhood staple.  K'NEX Sesame Street building sets give our children a fun way to interact with their favorite Sesame Street characters.  These new character building sets come complete with K'NEX rods, connectors and blocks that can be snapped together.  Beyond the standard K'NEX building pieces, each Sesame Street K'NEX character has its own unique pieces like Oscar's pet worm and funny eyes.  Each Sesame Streen K'NEX building set includes additional building ideas.

When I saw that the Sesame Street K'NEX building sets are for ages 2-5, I was thrilled because there aren't many building toys that Madelyn, my two year old daughter, can actually build.  With most building sets the pieces are too small or too difficult for a two year old to snap together but these K'NEX pieces are large enough for Madelyn to hold onto while she snaps the pieces together.

As a mom, one of the things I appreciate most about the K'NEX Sesame Street building sets is that they are self contained.  The Oscar the Grouch pieces, for example, are stored in a garbage can container.

Other characters include Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover, and Abby Cadabby.  Pieces from different sets can be combined to make some very silly characters!

Price: $10.00 & up

Available at: Amazon.com

Alphabet Magnets from Eager Mind

Madelyn really enjoys Eager Mind's alphabet magnets.  Available in lower case and upper case magnet sets, these will help your toddler learn to recognize both.  Each letter magnet has a corresponding picture such as 'rocket' for R and 'slide' for S and the magnets are a good size for little hands at about 1 inch wide and 2 inches tall.

Madelyn puts the magnets on other things like my mixing bowl or a baking sheet and now that she knows they don't have to go on the fridge, she tries sticking them on just about anything including the air vents and the hinges on cabinet doors.  I find them in the strangest places.  These would actually make a great travel toy if you have a magnetic board you can take in the car.  The magnets are very strong which is great but Madelyn has had to slide a magnet or two off of the refrigerator instead of pulling it off because the magnet was so strong.

Mommy tip:  These magnets are great for leaving short, to the point messages for your husband like 'clean up' or 'bath'.  OK, so they are hints, not messages. :)

Giveaway:  We are giving away a few sets of Eager Mind alphabet magnets!  Just stay tuned to find out when the giveaway starts.

Price: $8.95 for a set of upper case or lower case alphabet magnets

Website: Eager Mind

Wooden toy review: Cone stacking rings

Madelyn has the Jumbo Wooden Lacing Beads and the Cone Stacking Rings from Holgate Toys and she loves them!  The beads are laced onto rope, not a string.  The thick rope eases the challenge of lacing the beads and therefore holds Madelyn's attention longer than when lacing beads on a string.  These lacing beads are great for developing fine motor skills as she is required to hold the rope with one hand and get the bead on the rope with the other.  Sounds easy, but not necessarily so for a toddler.  These toys are great for teaching colors, and counting as well as fine motor skills.  Holgate Toys wooden toys are brightly colored, very durable and the weight and size are just right for little hands.  Madelyn is proud of herself when she gets all of the beads on the rope and the rings on the cone.  It's nice to see her so proud!

Holgate Toys,  a manufacturer of wooden toys for over 200 years creates brightly colored wooden toys for infants and up.  Holgate's early toy designer was Jarvis Rockwell, brother of famous illustrator Norman Rockwell. Jarvis Rockwell's concern for safety, durability and educational play earned him recognition as America's premier toy designer during this period and Holgate has kept their standards high throughout the years.  You will find Infant Toys, Educational Toys, Developmental Toys, and Personalized Toys at Holgate Toys.  Holgate Toys was turned to by Mr. Rogers to manufacture replicas of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Trolley and other toys.  If I remember correctly, Mr. Rogers was a bit meticulous so can you imagine what kind of requirements he had for the toy line?  Holgate obviously met and probably exceeded those requirements and to this day still manufacturer's Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood toys.

Giveaway alert!   Several lucky readers will each get one of these toys!  Check back to see when the giveaway contest starts and join our newsletter to be the first to know when and how you can enter the giveaway contest.

Website: Holgate Toys

biome5: organic clothes for kids

I dont' know how many times I have refered to Madelyn as a little monkey.   We had to get her out of her crib before she turned one because she tried to climb out of it.  She climbs as high as she possibly can in any given situation.

I was excited when I received a cute biome5 Monkey tee for Madelyn because it describes her perfectly.   And as if cute isn't enough, biome5 tee's are educational.  Shh, don't tell your toddler.  How can a tee be educational you ask?  On each shirt, a huge letter is printed with an animal whose name starts with the letter.   The M tee has a cute monkey on it while the Z tee has .. I bet you can guess.. a zebra.  The colors are vibrant and on most designs, the animal printed on the tee looks like a photographed image making the animal easy to recognize.  You child has probably seen most of the animals at the zoo, aquarium, or in your own backyard.

Tee's are available in 2T, 4T, and 6T short sleeve and long sleeve and the onesie is available in 3-6 months and 6-12 months sizes.  All of the designs are gender neutral so you are not limited to the number of tee's or onesies you buy for your child.

Oh, and what's really neat is that the name of the animal on the shirt is printed upside down so your child can read it while wearing the tee.  That is such a cool idea!  biome5 tee's give toddlers the opportunity to work on learning the alphabet and phonetics while wearing an awesome tee.

Click on over to biome5 to see all of the designs and check out their current sale prices.