Activities and Learning Reviews

My daughter received this as a gift. She LOVED creating her story. We had lots of fun together with the planning and the layout and she really enjoyed being able to express her creativity so freely. When the final product, a hardbound copy of her story arrived, she was so excited. Now we read her story often and it is so neat to know that the words and illustrations are her own. We also bought this as a gift for my friend's son (his sixth birthday) and he loved it as well. My daughter recently asked me if we could get another kit so she can make another story. I definitely will get this for her again. It is a wonderful gift and also a great keepsake for years to come.

This is one of the greatest gifts my 5 year old daughter ever received. It kept her occupied for hours, not to mention the days when she likes to go back and read it. It was so interesting, that my 7 year old nephew helped her create the book. They drew a line down the middle of each page so they each had a side. Then they just created their masterpiece-no arguing-just sharing and imagining together. I now give this as a gift to anyone around the ages of 5-7 years.

As a teacher, I had to buy this gift for my seven-year-old niece. She loved making her own book, and the finished product that they send you is very professional looking, like a book that you would purchase from a store. They even included some tips and activities to help children write their stories, including diagrams for pre-planning and brainstorming. My niece loves her book and shows it off to everyone - she even took it to school and got to read it at storytime. This is a great educational activity that really gets children to be creative, and they love it. Buy it for all of your favorite kids!

Trotter is cute, cuddly, easy to clean, straps on to your diaper bag or stroller and fun for baby. Being a "horse person" myself, I bought him immediately for my child when she was just 2 months old! She loved staring at him (then) and chewing on him (now)! He comes with us everywhere and never seems to get bored of him. Great colors to help develop babies vision and the different sounds also keep baby interested. I highly recommend him! I plan on buying Celeste (as per the other writer's recommendation) and the dolphin that is now available!

Ya gotta love any of the Lamaze label toys. Trotter, like the others our son has received, is well made and sturdy. His legs pull back and forth through the body and my son loves to laugh at the pony's legs disappearing. The top ring is an open one so it is easily attached with links to his stroller. You have to appriciate one of baby's favorite stuffed toys not getting tossed into the dirt every thirty seconds!

My daughter is now about 3 months old and this is the only toy that will hold her attention. She will gaze intently at TTP (trotter) and make the cutest little inquiring faces. She grabs at his rings and bats at his legs. It is just the cutest thing. I definately would recommend this toy.

When my sister plays express with Gordon and all the coaches she sometimes has a hard time pulling them. Then when I help her I realize how many coaches Gordon can pull. It amazes me how strong gordon really is. Like all Thomas trains the magnet is very durable and it can be used for hours of use.

Gordon is a big express engine who is fast. He is the same size as He is in some story stops like Gordon takes a dip and Henry and the elephant. He has a tender with the number 4 on it.

This huge toy is loved by many; you can roll it around, make a train, play games, and lots of other stuff with it.

Also, it is very durable.

This toy is great!

I bought this kit for my 9 year old sister-in-law and she enjoyed painting the wooden models. There was plenty of paint and she mixed some of the colors (the instructions give good recommendations). She also painted the cards with the names of the horses she decided on. I was impressed with the instructions, horse facts, and helpful tips that came with the kit; the little wooden figurines are even hand carved. One of the horses she painted became a Christmas ornament (the string and magnets were a nice touch). Overall, it's a great kit.

... I bought three of the Horses kits, they had a fabulous time and my husband and I enjoyed the night much better with them painting, creating and laughing away rather than watching TV or playing electronic games. My daughter was given another horse kit about 2 years ago and she still played with them pretty regularly and sit on her night table. They bring back memories.

For the above reasons, I am quite fond of the kit, I also love the fact that the horses are hand done from solid wood. I guess other cheap plastic horses will be more durable for my five year old son but i do not think paints can stick to plastic well and my daughter likes natural wood. For my 8 year old daughter, she plays with the horse but does not bang them on the floor so they are still as good as new after 2 years.

I have given the same kit to three of my daughter's friends birthday parties and two moms raved about it. I would like to see a large deluxe kit for craft party.

There are only three horses to paint. The paints seem nice and in good containers. My set came with only one brush! I am sure my three little girls will enjoy this toy very much. I went to a craft shop today and bought more wooden horses so they could paint to their hearts content. For the high price of the toy I was a little disappointed in the small number of wooden horses!

This game really is great. My autistic 11-year-old gets
a good mental challenge and feeling of accomplishment out of it,
and I have fun as well. My only negative comment is regarding
travel. We've taken it on many plane trips, and it's great
because it fits in a small area to play as well as store, but
it has a lot of small parts (duh! :-), and they are easy to lose
track of when travelling. So be vigilant, and find all those
train cars when putting it away! :-)

This is a fabulous game for people of all ages. Even little kids can play the easy cards. The harder ones can be very engrossing for adults. My son started playing it when he was 4 years old. I have also given it to somebody as a present for their 40th birthday. I recommend it for anybody who wants a bit of a mental challenge.

This is a great puzzle game. Kids learn problem solving and adults practice their own problem solving; all of this brain work is neatly disquised because they are having fun. I wish that Binary Arts would come out with more card sets for their Railroad game like they have for the Rush Hour game. I want extra puzzles! It would make it more rewarding to own.

My daughter was pretty much frightened by this toy until about 3 or 4 months. Now, at 5 months, she loves it and chews on it and puts her lil hands through the plastic hoops. HOWEVER, be warned, the plastic triangle hook at the top got STUCK in her mouth at one point and we had to cut it off. This could've been a really dangerous moment. Lamaze should really do something about this defect in design. I believe most if not all their toys have this triangle hook thing. It IS MOST DEFINITELY small enuf to fit in a baby's mouth!!!!
Having said that, I feel Lamaze toys are among the best developmental toys around and I have the musical inchworm, (the favourite! altho the music disappeared after one wash-despite manufacturing instructions okaying wash), tucker the turtle (a little undecided on this), the doublesided gym mat (close second to inchworm) AND the bringalong pals or whatever they're called!(not a favourite-neither here nor there).ooh and a couple of soft books-these are great! Back to the cat, great toy, but not for newborns...

My daughter has loved her Allie Cat since she was about 6 weeks old. The vibrant colors and interesting sounds (rattling, crinkling, and jingling) attract her eyes and ears, and the rings are a favorite for her grasping. She is puzzled by the purring (vibrating) sensation - her expressions are so fun to watch as she interacts with and explores this toy with mom and dad. It's the first toy she plays with every morning. I'll certainly be shopping for more Lamaze products based on our great experience with this one!

My 3 1/2 month old loves this toy! She has had it a while and mostly looked at him in the beginning. But she is just now able to really grab onto the kitty. He has crinkly legs that she tries to get in her mouth, a collar bell and a ball that rattles, and he is holding plastic rings. The colors are vibrant, and he is soft all over. So many different things going on to keep her attention. Plus, he has a clip to hang from an activity bar or fasten to the stroller. She loves him!

This toy is fantastic! I've seen both my kids play with it for hours. It is a great game for independent play, however my own 3 year-old greatly benefits from the help of his 5 year-old sister! I don't think many 3 year-olds are mature enough to enjoy playing it without help from a sibling/adult. After several sessions to help them train their brain how to think, a 3 year-old could happily play alone.

If done in order, the 30 puzzles in Mighty Mind progress in difficulty from using two semi-circles to make a circle, to using all 32 pieces to make a shape similar to a train with cow-catcher! The first 20 puzzles provide color clues in the picture to assist a child in selecting the needed shapes, but the last 10 are without clues and are the most challenging.

I'm at amazon checking the price vs. the manufacturer's website (1smartkid). The price here is a few cents more and is very likely for the PLASTIC shape pieces. The toy was originally made from very nice, colored WOODEN pieces and still is, but for about three dollars more. I'd recommend splurging for it - I don't know how well the plastic pieces would take being stepped on. The pieces do tend to fall to the floor - either by accident or in frustration! We are missing three shape pieces and I found the manufacturer's website while searching for replacement pieces, which can be had for about half the price of a new game. Instead of buying replacement pieces, I decided to upgrade to the wooden Super Mind set instead (exact same 32 shapes).

I just bought two dozen of these games at a fifteen percent case-discount from the manufacturer! I went to their site looking for replacement pieces for the wooden Mr. Mighty Mind (old name)and decided to buy birthday gifts for my two kids' friends in advance since my own children really enjoy this game. I bought a dozen of the Mighty Minds for the 3 year-olds for when they turn 4, and a dozen Super Minds for the 5 year-olds for when they turn 6. My daughter just turned 5 and is getting bored with Mr. Mighty Mind and I'm sure her age group will enjoy the more challenging Super Minds more. Mighty Mind is great for a 5 year old if they haven't done it before - but after hours and hours with it the more challenging Super Mind will be more fun.

TIP: I like to find an age-appropriate, gender-neutral gift for my kids to give as gifts, buy it in bulk (often at a discount!)and spend an hour wrapping them all in advance. I also had a roll of personalized stickers made for each of my kids that say "Happy Birthday from (Name)" and I put the stickers on after wrapping. SO MUCH CHEAPER than buying individual cards! Then, the day of a bday party, we grab a wrapped gift from the hall closet and go!

Mighty Mind and/or Super Mind are both great gifts for this purpose, because even if the child already has one, another set makes if more fun to play with a friend instead of all alone!

Unfortunately it's very difficult to get this game here in germany, but I played it with the kids in the "kindergarten" und if i ever saw it i'd buy it.

My daughter just got this for Christmas. She is 4 1/2 and loves it. It gives instant confidence and is good for an active child who doesn't like to wait a long time. She got oodles of toys for Christmas and she keeps coming back to this one, so I ordered the Supermind upgrade. For those of you who are missing pieces, maybe you can order them from the manufacturer. They were very courteous and helpful AND they answered the phone immediately! I'm going to buy more to give as gifts too.

The balance board was fun and challenging. It is even enjoyable if your watching some one do it. It can keep you busy for hours. I also would reccomend a pogo stick if you like this.

We are ages 12 and 10 and we adore the Balance Board. We got it as a gift from our friends. I (the 12 year old) have to for school write down how much excercise we do each day. The Balance Board is the perfect activity for when it is raining, snowing, etc. I (the 10 year old) am a competitive gymnast and the Balance Board is a great way to get stronger and have fun too!
As you can see, we both love the Balance Board but we wish that you offered it at a cheeper price. Thanks.

I have two teenage boys. We keep the balance board in the house (so far) and when one is playing video games the other one tends to stand and use the balance board. It is challenging enough that I expect them to be entertained by it for quite awhile. They've developed their own "tricks", and it is a great outlet for that extra energy. My oldest son weighs about 150 pounds, and so far the board holds up well.

When I ordered the roundhouse I believed that the red 5-way switch track was also included, especially when it is pictured on the box, but was disappointed to find that it wasn't. As my 4 year old son believes, as I am sure most do, that this is a very necessary piece of the building he will have to wait until his birthday to receive it (...). A little upsetting.
Apart from this one thing the Roundhouse is a fantastic piece to have on any Thomas layout, my son loves it and plays with it for hours.

As an avid Thomas fan, my son (4) loves this roundhouse. For the unenlightened, this is the house where the trains "sleep." It is durable and easy to put together and immediately adds to the complexity and fun of any track combination. It allows my son to engage more easily into pretend play, as he can put differnt trains back to the roundhouse to take a rest while he plays with others. The only minus of this building is its size--it is quite big and cannot be put apart. But again, as all the Learning Curve Thomas series toys, it is durable (wood), fun, easy to put together and a long term favorite.

In the tradition of long hours of fun with Thomas toys, the roundhouse is a workhorse. The long track grooves inside the roundhouse allow your engineer to double stack up to ten engines inside as in the stories. The open back portion allows little engineers to see into the shed where their engines sleep. In addition to durable doors which are sized just right for little hands, the sturdy construction allows a pint-sized engineer to sit on the roundhouse while running at his/her feet below.

Some of the Thomas tracks don't stand up under my three-year old's impression of "Godzilla" but the roundhouse withstands the monster's fury every time!

It is unfortunate the Learning Curve did not see fit to market the red turntable as a part of the Roundhouse toy as it takes up less room on your island of Sodor than the other wood-colored turntable.

The roundhouse is a terrific anchor for any railway line. Happy Railroading!

I love sea monkeys! they are absouloutely cute! I saw this one come up to do some tricks for me and they were swirlys! so of course, i named him swirly! this is my first kit and i am satisfied with it!

I just got this Explor-A-Sub kit and I LOVE IT!! It holds up really well and is really fun to go hide in a closet and turn on the lights. The little brine shrimp are cool to watch swim around, too. I wish it had a tighter lid so the water wouldn't spill when you tipped it over...
Anyway, if you get the handbook, it is really easy to 'train' the sea monkeys and let them do 'tricks.' I really reconmend this to all other 12 year olds, SEA MONKEYS RULE!

My life finally has meaning, thanks to my ultra-cool Sea-Monkeys Explor-A-Sub!!!! I hope it doesn't sound like I'm hyping this, but this is simply the greatest thing ever created in the history of mankind!!! The educational value is incalculable!! By itself it dwarfs the minisule life's work of Jaques Yves Cousteau. NASA is childs play. Dr. Ballards' work is laughable! Simply the pinnacle of humanities' achievment. (And only 20 smackers! Cheeeee!)