Challenge & Fun Labyrinth Wooden

Balance Board Game

November 2, 2009 by thingsmomslike

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LOT of fun for the whole family! Both my teenager and my 7-year-old love the challenge of balancing while trying to get the balls through the maze and into the middle of the board.  It’s incredibly durable and sturdy and made in the U.S.A.  It’s a wonderful way to keep them active on rainy or cold days when being indoors is in order.  The Labyrinth Wooden Balance Board from Challenge and Fun, Inc. comes with three balls, but you can start with one and work through the levels of difficulty by adding balls until you’re trying to work with three.  My husband and I have played with it, too, so it’s definitely suitable, even for kids at heart!

Friday, November 6, 2009

I Cherish Planet Earth Review and Giveaway

Little Music Man loves playing matching games (he often tells me “let’s play match-match!”), so I was eager to review I Cherish Planet Earth (ARV $16.95, FocusBloom), a combination book and match game that is also a Dr. Toy Green Product of the Year Award winner.

I Cherish Planet Earth is about appreciating and preserving nature and our planet. It is a celebration of Earth’s life and beauty. It is an inspiration to learn about and care for all life, from the tiniest flower to the greatest forest. It is a natural addition to any go-green program, at home, neighborhood, school, or other community. For centuries, pair-matching games have been the perfect tool for sharpening concentration and short-term memory in people of all ages. FocusBloom™ takes a giant leap forward by combining the game with affirmations, a book, and inspiring visuals. Affirmations offer a powerful means for creating a lofty, focused mindset. The picture book, A Love Letter to Our Planet, helps build meaningful understanding. The game extensions are well considered and offer the opportunity for communication, creative self-expression, and action.

I Cherish Planet Earth's match game contains 48 cards, but because of Little Music Man’s age, we’d only play with 5-7 pairs of cards at a time. Also, since he has a hard time stating the entire affirmation on each of the card, he matches the cards simply by the pictures (e.g. Pandas, Animals, Mountains, etc.) for the respective card, and I’d read aloud the corresponding affirmation, which he tries to repeat.

The book itself is very engaging. It’s full of colorful illustrations, and Little Music Man loves to point out the plants, animals, and other objects whenever I read I Cherish Planet Earth.

The book also offers suggestions on ways to incorporate the cards and books in other games and activities.

I Cherish Planet Earth is an innovative way to incorporate a popular game into an activity that is not only fun, but also reinforces the importance of helping to protect the earth.

It’s never too early to get our kids thinking about how precious our earth is and how it’s important that we do everything we can to protect it.

 

 

Friday, October 30, 2009

Charlie Hope "I'm Me!" Music CD Review & Giveaway

Are you sick of the same old children's music? Have you had enough of The Wiggles? (No offense guys!) My oldest used to listen to The Wiggles all.the.time. However with the twins, we just really never got into them. For one I was tired of listening to them over and over again and to be honest, we don't listen to music as much as we should. So when I was given the opportunity to review Charlie Hope's new CD "I'm Me!" I jumped on it! A little bit about Charlie Hope:

Charlie Hope spent her childhood in Toronto and Boston harmonizing with her sister and in her school choirs. As she grew she discovered the joys of writing music as well, and it became a powerful outlet for her to express her feelings. For Charlie, music should empower not only the creator, but also the listener.

Her fresh approach to children's music stems from the many years she has spent with children - from receiving her degree in Art Therapy with Children to the preschools and private homes she has become an integral part of as a trusted caregiver. From all her experiences Charlie believes that music is vital to a child's overall well-being.

On her debut album, "I'm Me!", she created music that is relevant to children's lives; reflecting and respecting their experiences. Elements in the album include a positive take on naptime, learning about the joys of having a new child in the family and discovering the limitless possibilities we all have inside of us.

We have really been enjoying this album over the past few weeks. I love the sound and tone of Charlie's voice, it is very mellow and soothing. The songs are a lot of fun too and she has a nice folksy style. We have the album on while we are playing and when it ends we start it over again. We enjoy all of the songs but I think my personal favorite is the title song "I'm Me!" This is a great line from the chorus:

"I can act a certain way
And do all sort of things but in the end
I'm me, I'm me, I'm me"

I also really enjoy "Mr. Sun" because it is upbeat and very catchy. I find myself walking around singing it all the time. There is even a song titled "New Baby" which fits in perfectly here since our new baby is due in less than 2 months (wow).

This album also just recently received a silver Parent's Choice Award! As a very nice bonus, the CD packaging is made with all vegetable inks and minimum 10% post-consumer recycled content. Oh and no wasteful plastic case!

You can visit Charlie Hope's website to listen to all the tracks from the album, see a listing of upcoming shows and check out some photos and videos.

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Monday, October 26, 2009

I Cherish Planet Earth Review & Giveaway

One thing I really need to start working on is teaching my sons how to care for the Earth. While my twins are still a little young to understand, my 4.5 year old certainly can. So we talk about recycling but really not much else, I just don't know where to begin or what to say. The folks over at FocusBloom have put together a great product that I think will definitely help with this!

"I Cherish Planet Earth is about appreciating and preserving nature and our planet. It is a celebration of Earth’s life and beauty. It is an inspiration to learn about and care for all life, from the tiniest flower to the greatest forest. It is a natural addition to any go-green program, at home, neighborhood, school, or other community."

 

I Cherish Planet Earth is a pair-matching game as well as a full-color book. Included is 48 game pieces each containing affirmations such as "I respect the ocean", "I plant a tree" and "I conserve water." Included is a cotton bag to store your game pieces in. The book, "A Love Letter to Our Planet", is filled with the same colorful pictures that you will find on the game pieces and some lovely writing. The end of the book also gives ideas on how else you can play. What is also great about this set is that the game pieces are printed on recycled cardboard, the book is printed on recycled paper and both are printed with vegetable oil-based inks. FocusBloom is also a member of 1% For The Planet and donates 1% of all sales.

Challenge and Fun, Inc. sent us an I Cherish Planet Earth to test out and my son and I have really enjoyed it. He loves matching games so as soon as we got it I had to get all of the pieces ready for him to play. This was a lot of fun for him and he did it over and over again. Then he would go through the book and match his game pieces up with the pictures on each page. I also read some of the book to him while he was matching, here is just a little excerpt that I like a lot:

"I can help protect you, Mother Earth. I can listen, read and learn, and make changes! Where there is pollution, I can give you what you need. I want your air to be clean and your water and soil to be healthy. Even the smallest can help clean up!"

I particularly love that last line because it is so true. The smallest child can clean up. The smallest changes we make can make a difference.I Cherish Planet Earth is made in the U.S.A. and is recommended for ages 4+ up. It won the 2009 Dr. Toy Best Green Toy Award. This set would make a great gift for the child in your life or even for a teacher to use in his/her classroom.

I Cherish Planet Earth, Book/Game Set – Review & Giveaway

Written by Jeralee, Guest Reviewer

• "The illustrations are absolutely beautiful!  I particularly loved each watercolor print on every page."
• 

"This is a well written book with beautiful illustrations.  The accompanying cards come with several different suggestions and games on how to reinforce the concepts learned about the environment and recycling.  These concepts could be applied at home or in a classroom setting."

 

 

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Charlie Hope: I'm Me! A collection of songs for children

What a cool name. I mean, really. Charlie Hope.

I was luckily the recipient of a new CD from Charlie Hope, called I'm Me! A collection of songs for children. Oh, and it's so sweet. This is a lovely, folky CD with a plenty of catchy, funny and poignant songs for kids.

This is a perfect morning CD, when you are up early with a little one, not quite ready for something loud and too bouncy, or a deep voice. Charlie's CD is now right next to Elizabeth Mitchell's Little Bird in my book, both lyrical and sweet for the child and grown up-- and perfect with strong coffee to get up to speed with your energetic toddler (where do they get that energy in the morning?) I loathe comparisons, but it also reminded me of a children's version of the 10,000 maniacs.

The opening track is good fun right away, with animal sounds that your child will want to repeat and join in. And it's message about being who you are is perfect. In fact, the whole CD is participatory and empowering in its message. Truly.

For those having another baby, the lovely New Baby song shares the joys of being a big brother or sister. I found myself singing this song while at school teaching and then thinking: yikes! My students might think I'm pregnant (I'm so totally not). The song is just THAT catchy. My little girls love saying, "Wait, wait, wait, frogs don't eat edamame!" in the frog song, and all the other wrong food items, too. I adore the ode to naps, called Naptime, since neither of my little people take one anymore (heavy sigh). Zoom, Zoom, Train Song, and Fire Truck invite dancing and singing without being loud and crazy. My girls love these songs.

This is a beautiful CD for children and obnoxious children's music weary parents. Charlie's CD also is labeled with "Made with certified green components" printed with vegetable inks, and the package is made with 100 green practices board with a minimum of 10 percent recycled content. Righteous!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

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I Cherish Planet Earth: A Beautiful Book, Game and Teaching Tool (and Giveaway!)

"One thing that is critical for me is to teach my girls to love, respect, protect and honor the earth. We talk about all that we do to that helps the earth, but sometimes it seems so ephemeral, so hard for them to understand.

I Cherish Planet Earth is a great way to develop and continue the conversation about how to love, honor and protect the earth in a way kids can understand."

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I’m Me! A Collection of Songs for Children by Charlie Hope CD

25 October 2009

I’m Me! A Collection of Songs for Children by Charlie Hope
Release Date: July 9, 2009

Kiwi Magazine Review:
I have secret (well, not anymore) musical crushes on some bands who perform songs for children. Numbered among them are Recess Monkey, Elizabeth Mitchell, Lisa Loeb, Frances England and Milkshake. It is very hard to make my music crush list. Very. But, Charlie Hope, you had me at track one. Charlie is an astounding female vocalist who reminds me of the lead singer of The Sundays or even Frente with a touch of Three Non-Blondes. Even the up-tempo songs showcase her soothing, intoxicating voice. This is one of those CDs that parents will continue to play long after the children have gone to sleep. The original songs are instant classics.

Product Description
A compilation of 20 songs and verses - including original songwriting by Charlie Hope. Themes include positive approaches to naptime, learning about the joys of having a new child in the family, discovering the limitless possibilities we have inside of us, fire trucks, and frogs. Includes a lyric/coloring songbook. Who is Charlie Hope? Charlie grew-up in Toronto, Canada & Boston, MA. With her background in Art Therapy and beautiful singing voice Charlie has created music that is relevant to children’s lives; reflecting and respecting their experiences. Charlie Hope’s music is melodic, interactive, and sing-able. Parents & children alike will enjoy listening to her music over and over again.

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World of Dreams: Soothing Songs & Lullabies CD by Charlie Hope

World of Dreams: Soothing Songs & Lullabies CD by Charlie Hope
Release Date: July 22, 2009

Kiwi Magazine Review:
I am very happy that someone thought to send a Charlie Hope CD to me because she is a new favorite children’s music artist. There are some amazing children’s artists on the shelves lately, and Charlie Hope is in good company with some of the best lyricists and vocalists out there. Her soothing and intoxicating voice will even have mom and dad playing this CD even when the kids aren’t around.

Buy this CD on Amazon.com

Product Description
11 original songs and lullabies. On this album Charlie Hope has created music to help children transition from their daily activities to peaceful sleep. Themes include the wonderful world of dreams, sailing on the sea with a teddy bear, pitter patter of the rain, love between parent and child, and more. Many adults will also find her lullabies soothing and relaxing.