Growums!

Remember our Growums giveaway in May? On Mother's Day, Ava and I planted our Growums seeds and have been patiently waiting for them to grow into herbs we can use while cooking.

I am happy to report, ours are still thriving! They are just about ready to be put into little pots! Ava and I are so excited to check on our plants, and to water them daily. We have been keeping them outside during the day, and inside at night, but a few times we left them out during insane storms by accident. Guess what? Our little babies are still growing!



I tend to have a very-non-green thumb, and I am so impressed! We have been following tips and our progress on-line and really appreciate the reminder emails we receive telling us what we should be doing!

The Dinosaur Train All Aboard Game

We are just loving all the awesome Dinosaur Train goodies we have been reviewing! The latest and greatest from this Jim Henson creation is a board game for kids aged 4+. I tested this out with my students who are 3-5 years old.  They all LOVED it!

The directions are simple and easy-to-follow. The pieces are bright and colorful, and let's be honest, there are dinosaurs and there are trains, what more could you ask for?

From Dinosaur Train, "In this game, players will choose a character – Buddy, Tiny, Shiny, Don, Cory, Tank or Mr. Conductor – and try to move the fastest along the tracks.  Speed through the three dinosaur eras: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous along the beautiful scenery.  Special Stopwatch spaces will help you get closer to the nest, while Dinosaur Crossing spaces will send you back.  The first player to reach the nest area in the center of the board wins. (For 2 to 6 players ages 4+; SRP $12.00)."


We loved it! Thanks for the opportunity to review this game! All opinions are our own.

Let's Party! with Pocoyo Dvd

If you have a young child at home, you know Nick Jr. and PBS very well. We recently discovered Pocoyo and have been loving watching it together!

This spring, Pocoyo is teaming up with his pals to help you celebrate “Best Friends Day” on June 8 and celebrate the longest day of the year, “Summer Solstice” on June 21^st with a backyard camping party!  And don’t forget Father’s Day on June 19^th! There are a lot of reasons to have a party!

You can head over to  entertainmentthateducates.com, to download all kinds of fun (and free!) printable party materials, including party coasters, party invitations and party hats!

When you're finished printing party supplies, make sure you head over to Facebook to check out Pocoyo's fanpage!  Your children will love visiting and registering at Pocoyo World - there's lots more fun to be had!  I know Ava and I LOVED Pocoyizing ourselves, too!  I am still trying to make twitter fit into my busy-busy life, but if you're active on it, you should definitely check out their twitter, too.

Ava and I loved checking out Pocoyo's new DVD,  Let's Party.  This 90-minute DVD is broken into several episodes which was really great for Ava's attention-span. We could watch it in chunks.  We were completely entertained as we followed Pocoyo and friends as they were at a birthday party, tea party, and a welcome home party!

The episodes include:

Who's on the Phone

Whale's Birthday

Pocoyo's Puppet Show

Party Pooper

Everybody's Present

Pocoyo's Present

The Great Race

Elly's Tea Party

Pato Underwater

Baby Bird Bother

A Present for Elly

Farewell Friends

To learn even more about Pocoyo, follow Three.Sixty Marketing + Communications on Twitter! 

Ava and I received a sample of this DVD to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.

Gomu Erasers

My daughter Katie (5 years old) and I just received these adorable Gomu erasers. Katie
immediately wanted them out of the package and figured out that the came apart
right away!

She loved the little heart and lunch box looking one. After a few minutes
of playing with the removable pieces , Katie wanted to try to use them as erasers. I
was so excited to see how durable they are…even after lots of rubbing!

We then discovered that you can go online to Gomu Eraserland and earn points for your erasers and see
which erasers are worth the most points. Since Katie is new at using the computer,
I loved this idea and it gave us the opportunity to talk about numbers! This a great ,
affordable, educational and functional toy all wrapped in one! ! These will make
great party favors and stocking stuffers , the removable parts can be traded with
friends! How fun!

We can’t wait to buy more!

Thank you to our contributor Tish and her daughter Katie for testing these cool little erasers out!


We were provided with samples of this product to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.

Go See: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was worth the wait. Of course, with Johnny Depp's return as the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, we knew there would be laughs, deceit, and of course, mutiny.

The movie starts with Gibbs being tried as "Jack Sparrow." Captain Jack comes to his rescue, where Gibbs informs him there is an imposter "Jack Sparrow" who is getting a crew together.  Captain Jack finds the imposter and immediately knows who it is: Angelica. Jack finds himself on a ship with Angelica, sailing to the Fountain of Youth. But whose ship is it? None other than Blackbeard's, of course! And without Jack's help, they won't make it to the Fountain of Youth in time. So with twists and turns when you least expect, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is bound to leave you wanting more.

Thank you to Dianna, our contributor, for checking out the movie and for writing up this post.

Dianna was provided with two complimentary passes to attend an advanced screening to help facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% her own.

Go Read: Dinosaur Train Books!

Abers and I recently had the opportunity to check out some brand-new Dinosaur Train books, in honor of Get Caught Reading Month.

Get Caught Reading Month is organized annually by the Association of American Publishers to stimulate a love of reading in people of all ages.  Sid the Science Kid and Buddy from Dinosaur Train are teaming up and are participating in a free poster campaign (flat shipping applies) that supports Get Caught Reading Month. These are great for teachers or parents, check them out here! 

 We got to review three Dinosaur Train books, all of which are aged 3-5. There is:

Buddy and Friends 

This colorful board book follows Buddy as he meets many of his friends from the TV show.  This is a fun introduction to the various species included on Dinosaur Train. We still LOVE board books around here. I like that Abes can sit in her special chair and read and read and read, and I do not have to worry about her tearing any pages- this is wonderful during laundry time!!!

 Next, we got to check out A Surprise for Mom! 

This book details a sweet adventure that Buddy takes as he searches for the perfect gift for his mommy, ya gotta love that.

Lastly, we read Tiny Learns to Fish .  Mr. Pteranodon takes the kids to the pond to learn to fish, but they encounter some difficulties when they get there. In the end, team work makes it happen!

 As a teacher and as a mom, I love these books because they're colorful and teach important life skills in a fun and exciting manner.  Since I am a teacher, I tend to support these stories with questions like, "What do you think this book is about?" 

"What do you think will happen next?"
"Where did Buddy go with his friends?"

Following up with questions like this is so important and truly does help children retain what they just learned!

If you want to purchase these books for your little reader, check them out here:

Want more information on Sid the Science Kid or Dinosaur Train? Check out these great websites:

Dinosaur Train on PBS: http://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain/

The Jim Henson Company: www.henson.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hensoncompany
Twitter: http://twitter.com/hensonparents

Geocache: www.geocaching.com/dinosaurtrain

SID THE SCIENCE KID and DINOSAUR TRAIN air on PBS KIDS (check local listings for details).

We were provided with samples of these books to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.

MMCH: Mickey's Great Outdoors

If you have a toddler in your house then you surely can sing all the songs from Mickey Mouse Club House.  My daughter was smitten with the show with her first viewing. Now, at 2 years old, she loves following along and rocking out to "Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dogggggggg"!

Ava really enjoyed helping me test out the new dvd- Mickey's Great Outdoors.  It includes 1 Mickey Mote, a DVD, and a Digital Copy! As an avid iphone/ipad user, Ava LOVED having her very own 'mote (remote) to participate in her viewing experience.  As a mom-on-the go, I really appreciate the digital copy- and I wish we had it when we flew to Texas last month! When you have a digital copy, you can transfer a copy of the movie from itunes to your ipad. Pretty neat, huh?

Anyway, back to Mickey- just like the other movies in the series, Mickey's Great Outdoors follows Mickey Mouse and his buddies on a fun adventure.  There is lots to be learned along the way, all while providing fun entertainment for you and your child!

This DVD is available in stores TODAY!

We were provided with a sample to facilitate this reveiw. All opinions are our own.