Activities and Learning Reviews

A family member bought this for my little brother and although he loves to catch all sorts of bugs, he was extremely disappointed with this bug keeper. The mesh was eaten through by crickets and the door broke after he dropped it on the basement floor.

I found another bug house made by Tweber and bought it in hopes it would hold up a little better for a 7 year old's adventures. It has held up great and he has had it for 2 summers--the mesh is cricketproof(which means no escapees inside the house)! It also has glow in the dark trim for our warm summer night firefly catching adventures. Look for Tweber products---they really are durable---and don't forget a butterfly net!

It sounded like such a good idea to get this for my 5-year-old son. He was very excited about it . . . until the plexi-glass door broke off of it within the first 5 minutes. Oh well.

This item is extremely well built and very handsome

I received this mat as a gift for my second child...little did the gift giver know I had already given the away the same mat. I will be returning it! My second baby is now three months old and the bars fall over every time she kicks or rolls. If you hang any additional toys, the weight will pull the bar down. It's going back. I will purchase another brand that doesn't collapse with every wiggle. My boss said the same about her son's Lamaze drop and pop. What a disappointment.

If you are looking for a little free time from your infant this will do it. My son loved the lamaze playmat. He loved to lay on his back and look at himself in the mirror and reach for the toys. It was great entertainment for him as well as helping him developmentally. Plus it is so easy and portable to take with you to friends, family, and on vacations. The reversible sides are perfect for you to get the most use out of for fast growing children. I was able to use it up until five months, and it can easily be stored for use with future children. I loved it so much that I bought one for a friend for her baby shower.

Durability should be 0 stars! As soon as my baby was able to hold the toys in her hands, she pulled on them and the activiy gym collaped over her.
The arch is not stable enough to put a heavier toy on it. Too bad, there are so many fun toys available and most are too heavy for this arch.

I bought the Off the Map Zoom Cam for my granddaughter for her graduation from pre-school. When it was opened, my son tried to load the film in the camera and it would not take the film. Her other grandfather, a trained photographer, could not get it to work either. I am returning it to the store here in Savannah and hope another one will work. I was extrememly disappointed. Guess it goes to show, when you do not buy a name brand item with a proven track record, this is what can happen. Not Toys R Us'fault. It is faulty merchandise from Wild Planet.

this is cool! it dose not magnify things that much, but it magnifys more than a normal camera, but for the price it's good.

It's easier for the kids to have fun when they don't know they are supposed to be learning!

The minimum age recommendation for Timing It Right is 7. Waiting this long would miss out on the most fun and educational parts of this game. A little flexibility is necessary, but my 5 year old son plays this game with ease and enjoys it very much.

The die is in time increments (5 mins. to 2 hrs.), not dots. As you move around the board, you are moving through a school day--waking up, eating breakfast, catching the bus, and on. You roll a time period and move ahead that much time. The directions have the player setting the a small clock to show their time on the board. You look that time up in a booklet and follow the directions for that time, which say things like "spell a word backward and move ahead 2 hours," "waiting in the playground is no fun alone, move another player to your spot," etc.

Having to do all these steps for each turn can take a little getting used to, and the booklet is rather cumbersome to flip through. At one point, we temporarily lost the unique die, and I had to make a fake one of of paper.

The fun of this game is in the flexibility. My son can set the clock in 15 min. increments, but I don't have him do it if the time is 20 or 25 mins. after, for example, because it's beyond his ability and would be frustrating. However, he's now counting by 5s if he rolls 15 or 30 mins., which is pretty cool for someone not yet in kindergarten.

This is a game that we also played with my daughter when she was 6, and she will play it now (9). It's a fun game that is teaching something very useful and specific. I think it's a lot more fun if the parents can use this game in the way that works best for their kids, instead of following the directions to a t. Definitely recommended.

This is not one of those educational games that you are likely to play simply because it's fun. However, it is good for sharpening time telling skills. It also moves rather quickly so your kids are not likely to become bored and want to quite before finishing the game.

I play this game with my 5 year old son during our home school time. It provides opportunities to practice:
- figuring out the time by adding hours and minutes
- setting time on an analog clock
- reading time on analog and digital clocks
- reading

Recommendation would be to use a toy clock instead of the paper clock that comes with the game. The hands on the paper clock do not move easily.

After 45 minutes of play the Apollo astronaut's helmet was broken in half and two hoses broke off his chest. He is very fragile. I thought I was purchasing an action figure like a Power Ranger or Star Wars figure but thes are much more fragile.

The International Space Station Figure is more durable but his backpack will not stay on. The pegs that hold it on are not well made and loose their grip into the figre after only a few removals. His helmet is hard to "snap" onto the figure but stays on better and is better made.

The paint job on each figre is a specke of white on a greyish background and this doesn't show on the internet images. The joints on both figures are getting very loose and are now hard to stand up.

They are cool looking but now on day three the Apollo figre has so much epoxy glue all over him to hold him together. The toy could be much better made by resembling hoses on the chest in a more molded way and by attaching the helmet onto a taller cuff around the neck.

The Apollo astronaut is incredibly fragile. His helmet would not stay on and requires that you press hard to get it to click onto the body of the astronaut. Because of this his helmet broke in half after just 45 minutes. The hoses to the backpak all broke off. This toy is really more for looking at - not handling.

The International Space Station astronaut is a little more durable and the helmet does not pop off as easily and seems better designed.

The small image of the astronauts on this site does not show the speckle paint job on both of them. It is a white specke on a grey background color. It looks wierd.

My son likes them but they are frustrating for him to play with. He loves astronauts and I wish there was a more durable yet realistic toy available.

This toy is not durable! My 6 year old son (who is not rough on toys) was very frustrated when, on the first day, one of the helmets broke. The helmets also do not snap on the figures, so they fall off during play. The hoses that attach the backpack to the astronaut also broke off easily. Many of the accessories broke on the 1st day as well. He's had fun with them, but not what we expected and not worth the money.

My son got this case for his 2nd birthday along with the Figure 8 trian set.He loves it and is so funny trying to carry it around the house.I think it is a great way to carry and store the trian set.I dont know what we would do w/o it.I dont know just how durable it will be because it is still new.I do know that we liked it so much that we recommended it for a gift to another 2 year old and he loves it as well.Basically it has been a big hit all around!!!

My son received this bag for Christmas 2001, it is very poor quality. It is not durable, the straps tore loose from the bag with in just a few months. If your child is anything like mine, Thomas goes everywhere he goes. This bag cannot handle the wear and tear. If your looking for something to carry your train set in you need to look further.

This carry bag, although functional, could definitely stand some improvements. My 2-year old adores his wooden trains and requires us to bring them along wherever we go. My biggest beef with the product is the lack of dividers or any type of organization. Inside, there are a few pockets suitable for holding a few engines/cars, but otherwise the bag is just a flimsy, rectangular piece of plastic. It's great for just throwing some wooden track into and getting on your way, but it would be better if there were separate compartments for curved & straight track and maybe an accessory or two. I gave it three stars across the board, but we have not had it for very long so I cannot vouch for the product's durability.
BOTTOM LINE: If you've got to have a Thomas bag for your trains & track that travel, this is about your only option. But I'd recommend you save your [money] and throw them in a small duffel.

i recently bought pacific digital's drumxtreme with all intentions of using this product as a beginner's tool. i hate to say that i am dissapointed with it though. for starts, the software that comes with it hardly works, meaning the "music game, etc." doesn't work, so therefore one cannot play along with music. all it basically does is let you bang on the drums and try to figure out things for yourself. so why not get real drums instead? this product promises a good beginner's experience but does not deliver it. the sound is not good quality, and the toms are barely audiable. not to mention that this model doesn't come with a hi hat pedal, leaving the beginner to use their arm - which complicates things in the beginning and could leave one frustrated. sure, there are other models that offer this, but for one who is on a budget and just looking to begin drums, this one seems like the best bet. i personally wish i would've kept my money and used it on real drums instead, which i am going to have to do now. so save yourself the trouble, if you want to begin - begin on real drums and get the real experience, dont be fooled by this product.

This great for kids who want a drum kit. Parents won't have to listen to the noise that a real wood drum set can make. For a professional, probably not a road worthy buy, but for a beginner and for the low price it is a good buy. All you need is a pc and it doesn't cost $1000 to $4500 dollars...

I bought the DX-150 (DX-100 with extra hi-hat pedal and pad) 2 months ago after did a lot of research before decided to buy this set since I was trying to save money (I'm a student). I have not been disappointed at all. I'm not try to compare with $500 e-drum. All I'm saying is that the quality of the set with the price I paid, I really have to give it 4 starts. The set-up with the rack is awesome and nicely done. I initially run the system with my very old soundcard and the sound was terrible. But after I upgraded my soundcard to 24-bit Audigy, this thing came alive. However, the system doesn't provide that many choices in terms of sound. Hopefully, there will be an upgrade version of the program (then I can give 5 stars). The delay of the sound after hitting the pad could be disturbing for experienced drummer. I ended up plug the system into my drum module (Alesis D4) with some modification on the base pedal. And it works like charm. I put a thin gum-rubber on each pad to reduce the nagging sound when you hit the pad. It works great without loosing the sensitivity. Really recommend this set if you have low budget.

My son has so much fun with this camera. He loves taking pictures - we've already developed some pictures and he gets such a kick out of what he's done. This is a great way to express himself artistically.

Flash did not work, went through 2 roles of film and got no pictures. DO NOT BUY !!!!!!!!!!!

I bought this camera for my young son who sees me using my camera all the time. I thought he'd get a kick out of tagging along and taking his own photos. I was right. He loves it. He's only 2 1/2, so I haven't even bothered loading film in the camera. He's just happy clicking away. The camera is wonderful. Absolutely worth the money.

I don't know how these people can call this a habitat! Regretably I started out with three small crabs in one just like it. Now I have four mediums in a 10 gallon tank, the small crabs croked! A lot of these products don't come with proper instructions, so listen to me...if you get something like this DO NOT, and I mean DO NOT fill it with regular water. Bottled water's OK, but Calciumize made by tetra is the best because our lovely little hermies need the calcium. Chlorine in regular water will zap quicker than you can get em' home, trust me-been there done that.

I got this from a local retail store and bought two hermit crabs. its an okay habitat for one crab, but two is pushing it. my crabs were not very happy in their home, though the hut was their favorite thing in the whole habitat.

(...)this thing is not durable AT ALL! (careful not to drop it, 'cause i did, and the whole thing cracked and it wasnt fun.) i dont reccomend this habitat

Land Hermit crabs absolutely can and do live long... provided they are cared for properly. They require specific conditions in order to thrive and those conditions CANNOT be maintained using this product. They also need room to roam and climb which this product does not sufficiently allow.

Anyone who is curious enough to learn more about land hermit crabs as pets after the purchase of products like this will soon realize money has been wasted and could have been better spent buying a proper enclosure (10 gallon aquarium)as well as some of the necessary items needed such as humidity and temperature gauges and tap water conditioner.

Many are not prompted to research proper care methods because the manufacturers and retailers of these highly inappropriate Hermit Havens and similar products have people believing all they need is included in these kits. As well, often times, when information is included, it is inaccurate and what you end up with is dead hermit crabs in a short period of time leaving one to assume they just don't live long.

This product is not only cruel to hermie crabs, but also to children (and adults) who are gypped out of a wonderful experience and sooner rather than later will instead experience the loss of a beloved pet.

In my opinion, these pets are not suitable for very young children. If you are considering hermit crabs as pets, pass on this product and do your homework ahead of time. You'll be happy you did.

first of all to get all the pieces to the pool requires a small bag, then the toy does not stay connected in the pool as soon as the smallest wave comes near it. the toy does make sounds but my daughter still at two does not seem to be to impressed.

My kids (3.5 and 2) received this as a gift, and at first I was excited--it's cute and colorful. In theory, a great toy. However, my kids don't like it. Water gets inside the dolphins and when this happens, they won't make noises (easily remedied by shaking the water out of them, but my kids don't have the patience for this). They also get very frustrated that the rings that the dolphins sit in do NOT stay linked together. Slight movements that disturb the water will cause the chain to come apart. I'm sure that this would be a favorite bath toy with a few improvements made by the company.

We got this toy for our son when he was 11 months old. He has a great time with it and he was able to make the dolphins "sing" after about a week of playing with it. You don't have to hit them hard to make sound. They whistle for him with a tap. We do have to shake the water out from time to time or they do stop working but that is an easy fix. Our son has now learned to blow in the bottom end and make them whistle. He plays with them in many different ways. They do take up quite a bit of space in the tub but we don't mind. He's having fun.