Dora the Explorer: Dora's Christmas Carol Adventure

We love Dora. Oh do we love Dora, or "Doo-wah" as Baby A calls her.  Nickelodeon released this 52-minute long fully animated feature in November of last year and now that my daughter is old enough, we are checking it out this year!

By now, you all are familiar with the bi-lingual character, Dora, who likes to go on short adventures with her Backpack and her pal, Boots, all while dodging the lovable villain Swiper!

True to the movie's title, adults will totally recognized this adapted classic story line, only this time, it's Swiper who gets on the naughty list for "swiping" a star from Dora's Nochebuena party.  To help Swiper get back in good standing with Santa, Dora accompanies Swiper to the past, present, and future to learn about the true meaning and spirit of Christmas.

The DVD has all your favorite characters, new fun and exciting songs, and extra scenes for extended viewing pleasure.  Baby A and I really enjoyed watching "Doo-wahh" and her buddies and are so super excited for the holiday season to arrive! I never ever mind putting Dora on for Baby A, the show is tolerable to watch, and I love how educational it is, while still being fun!

Thank you to Nickelodeon- they provided a copy of this movie to us to help facilitate the review.  All opinions are 100% my own.

Moon Dough

It's getting colder and and the kids are going to be playing inside more as winter rapidly approaches. Is that enough to make your blood pressure rise, mom? Breathe deep and repeat after me, "It will be okay...we have options".

Kids love all types of modeling clay and dough, but no matter how cool the colors are, no matter how fun the accessories are, there is always one problem---it.dries.out. Like seriously, no.matter.what.you.do! No matter how many times you nag little Jenny, there will always be a missed ball of dough, or a corner of the container left open. Noooo!

It might make you crazy enough to start making your own out of flour and water, but before you get all nutty on me, hear me out.

I have the answer. The answer to all your crusty-dried out-dough issues!

MOON DOUGH.

It's magical. I'm not making false claims, it says so right in their tag line, hehe! Moon Dough does not dry out. Ever. Ever-Ever.   Even better, it's for the little guys- ages 2-4! Talk about a mom/teacher's dream- clean, fun, safe, non-drying imaginative fine motor play! EEP!

The dough is soft and squishy, reminiscent of a marshmallow (please don't eat it, and while you're at it, don't let the kids eat it either:)).  It comes in durable, cute, colored moon-shaped containers and we tried it, it really does not dry out, should your little babes leave some out.  The possibilities are endless when playing with Moon Dough, and if you need some inspiration, you can purchase accessories for it, like this awesome Magic Barnyard!

All opinions are 100% mine. Spin Master provided me with a tub of Moon Dough to facilitate this review.

iXL Learning 6-in-1 Learning System

You thought you had seen it all by now, right?


Well think again.

Fisher Price. You know it. You love it. So many of us grew up with it.  Now our children are growing up with the brand, and it's wonderful.  You can still buy the simple classics like the Chatter Telephone, Pull-a-tune Xylophone, the stacking rings, and the shape sorter....

Well. Weeeeeell.
Fasten your seatbelt. Fasten a couple seatbelts.

What would be your most perfect toy to not only help you teach your child, to help you entertain your child on long car trips, and to help you teach your child creativity?

Enter the iXL Learning System.

This little device has SIX different modes; Digital Reader, Game Player, Note Pad, Art Studio, MP3 Player and Photo Viewer.  What does that mean? It means you and your child can read books on the iXL 6-in-1 Learning System. If they come across a challenging word, they can just click on it and the iXL will say it for them! Children can also set the iXL on Read-to-Me mode, or they can learn about what they are reading in Interact-with-Me mode.

The iXL also has a game mode, making it a hand-held portable game system that teaches numbers, letters, and sequencing.  Children can draw, stamp, and color in the art studio, and they can listen to FOUR HOURS worth of MP3s (it IS headphone compatible!!).  In notepad mode, kids can trace upper and lower case letters, and numbers.  Last but certainly not least, they can import and view photos from any PC or Mac (usb cord is included).

Licensed software is available ($24.99 each/sold separately): Ni-Hao Kai Lan, Disney Princess, Handy Manny, Batman^TM, Toy Story^TM and SCOOBY-DOO!^TM , Shrek^® and SpongeBob SquarePants^TMsoftware CDs currently available; 

The iXL Learning System is recommended for children aged 3-7.  Check out some cool video of this product in action at http://www.youtube.com/fpixl.

All opinions are 100% mine, Fisher Price provided me with an iXL Learning System to help facilitate this review. No monetary compensation was received. 

Paper Jamz Drumset

Okay. Be prepared to be blown away by the coolness that is Paper Jamz! Paper Jamz is a line of drum sets and guitars that are PAPER-THIN. There are no strings, no drum sticks, yet you can play them like real instruments!

Recommended for kids ages 8 and up, this is a toy for almost everyone in the family - you can even get an amp for it! Imagine how fun Thankgiving will be- post-turkey, the family can take turns channeling their inner rockstar!!

I got to see it in action in NYC when the Kicking Daisies rocked out on them.  If you are an actual musician, then you can put the drums in free mode and you can actually play them.  If you are not quite as experienced, you can check out three of the more supported modes-Perfect Play (play perfect drums to the 3 hit songs that are included); Rhythm (control the rhythm for each song); or Karaoke.You can sync up with other Paper Jamz instruments and play as a band, or for after-school solos, they are even compatible with headphones (major bonus, huh, moms?).

All opinions are 100% mine.

Paper Jamz graciously provided me with a drum set to facilitate this review.

Pinkalicious- School Rules!

As a mom to a young daughter, I will admit that sometimes I find myself extending my childhood through her---returning to favorite books, favorite toys, and even visiting childhood PLACES! 

Unfortunately for me, Pinkaliciouswas not around when I was little, but fortunately for Ava, she's here now and isn't going anywhere! I first heard about the series by Victoria Kann while working with one of my students with special needs- her classroom teacher read Purplicious to the class and then we followed up with a lesson about colors.  I was hooked instantly.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending an event in New York and I got to meet Victoria Kann! THE Victoria Kann. I was completely starstruck and found myself rambling about teaching and photography and Baby in the Kitchen and of course, AVA!! She was kind and laid back, and decked out in pink (LOVE!). She started writing these books when her girls were young, to teach them about nutrition and why we need to eat sugar in moderation (Hello, girl after my own heart!).

Pinkalicious: School Rules! is now part of the I Can Read series of books, which are books about beloved characters that are categorized into stages to support beginning readers.  Pinkalicious: School Rules!is a Level 1 book, which is for readers who are starting to sound out words.  The sentences are short, the words are familiar, and the concepts are simple enough for young children to read and understand on their own. Pretty cool, huh?

Pinkalicious: School Rules! is about a little girl named Pinkalicious who misses her unicorn, "Goldie", while she is at school.  To alleviate her sadness, she decides to bring "Goldie" to school! Of course, it is against the rules to bring a unicorn to school, but when Pinkalicious begins to cry, her teacher allows "Goldie" to stay, just this once.  "Goldie" may stay at school, as long as Pinkalicous teachers her all the rules---and she does!

The story is entertaining and visits the concept of rule following while at school.  The illustrations are beautiful and colorful and the story leaves your heart feeling fuzzy and warm.  There were a few larger words like "Pinkalicious", though I do not think this would prevent a child from enjoying this book.  A teacher or parent could easily teach the large words during a picture walk.

Read more about Pinkalicious on her official website here!

You absolutely must check out the Pinkalicious books, toys, and games line which are growing by the day (of course we will have some more to check out, too, so check back)!

All opinions are 100% my own, I was not paid to write this review. I was provided a copy of Pinkalicious School Rules to facilitate this review.

Royal Princess Castle Deluxe Playset

As a special education teacher, I use a TON of Velcro. I use it to make picture schedules, positive reinforcement charts, job charts, etc.  LOVE me some Velcro. Imagine my surprise when I learned that they have a kids line that makes creative playsets---all made out of VELCRO!!!!

Awesome.

The Royal Princess Castle Deluxe Playset is made by Velcro Kids and is designed for kids aged 3 years old and up and just made it's debut this fall.  This playset is three-dimensional, is durable, portable, interchangeable, and folds completely flat for easy transport and storage.  The characters' clothing is completely interchangeable and is made out of a tear-resistant plastic film.

The castle can be customized by moving the floors, rooms and decor with a simple peel and stick.  My sister and I would have loved playing with this when we were little- the possibilities are near endless!

*All opinions are 100% my own. No monetary compensation was given for this review, though a playset was given to me by Velcro Kids to help facilitate the review.

Leapster Explorer

Oh, the things they come up with these days!!! Leap Frog is at is again with cutting- edge technology that is laced with fun and learning.  Today's exciting review is of the LeapFrog Leapster Explorer Learning Game System
.  The Leapster Explore debuted this summer and is promising to be one of the IT toys this holiday season.  Recomended for children ages 4-9, the Leapster explorer is a fully portable system that boasts a beautiful, bright, easy-to-see touch screen (I don't know about you, but thanks to our ipad, ipods, phones, etc, my daughter already knows how to scroll through touch screen pages!). 

With the Leapster Explorer, you can insert game cartridges which are sold separately and range in price from about $18-$30.  The games range in age and skill level and feature many popular characters and movies such as Toy Story, Tinker Bell, and Spongebob.
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The Explorer is much more than a hand-held game system though, just like mommy and daddy's high tech toys, this is fully compatible with apps! Children can read e-books (great for trips!), download apps, play online, do flashcards, watch videos AND there is an accessory that will give the Explorer Camera and Video Recorder capabilities!!!! Love, love, love it!!!!

A huge thank you to Leap Frog who provided me with a Leapster Explorer to help facilitate this review. I was not compensated monetarily and all opinions are mine only.