Light Reviews

How can anyone NOT notice these lights? One minute you have a blue light, wait, make that red, I mean green....WOW! This was the real headturner this past Fourth of July and on our campouts and at parties, etc.. Adults really love it best. The kids love it too, but it's the adults who play with it.

You won't regret this purchase. Great gift for anyone.

definately gotta check out these Sauce products from color kinetics. these guys really know how to make cool and fun
stuff...

I have bought many Color Kinetics Sauce products over the past few months both for myself and to give away as presents. Children, teenagers and adults all have the same reaction... "Wow! This is a cool product" I have found that these are great for parties, gifts, birthdays, holidays, etc and highly recommend this product. -BH

We bought this for my 5 year old when she was 2 and she still loves this puzzle. All of her cousins do the puzzle when they come over and now her younger sister loves it too. It has held up well for all the use it has gotten!

We have 4 of these Lights, Camera... Interaction floor puzzles for our son. He started with them in the winter when outdoor activities are limited. He was about 1 year and 9 months then, and very quickly this became a favorite daily ritual. It built eye-hand coordination and dexterity, associative skills, naming skills, and of course self-confidence. After a few days he was able to do them by himself, always following a certain pattern (like starting with the tractor, its tires, then the sheep, etc). Soon he learned to identify edge and corner pieces. By having several puzzles, over time the lessons for puzzling became generalized. After the puzzle is complete, he does a "puzzle dance" to celebrate, stomping on the completed work of art! This is a wonderful indoor activity, assuming one has enough floor space or a very firm carpet to spread it out. Also makes a great gift. Melissa & Doug, who make the puzzles, should be thanked and congratulated on an affordable, durable starter puzzle.

My daughter (now 28 months) has loved this puzzle for over 1 year! She first loved seeing the excellent barn/farm animal picture come together like magic when she was young. Then she enjoyed putting the pieces we gave her in the spots we'd show her. Now she knows to look at the picture on the box for help, separate all the edge and middle pieces and can put it together pretty much on her own. (Although she loves an audience when putting puzzles together!) We now own six large floor puzzles, although this one is still the favorite. The alphabet train puzzle is a close second and is great for helping my daughter learn the alphabet visually in order. We sing the alphabet song from the beginning each time so she can figure out which letter piece comes next. These puzzles are really fun and are excellent quality. Also, this barn picture comes in a large knob wooden version as well, which my 8 month old son is beginning to enjoy! I highly recommend these puzzles for any child just under a year old and up to probably age 5 or 6. (The neighbor's kids play with them just as happily and they are 5 and 7.) I'm sure my daughter's love of puzzles began with this barn puzzle.

We got this for our 2 yr old but her 4 yr old sister enjoys it also. We have several other food type toys with plastic food but none of them are as well liked or stimulates so much interactive play. The other plastic toys are handed to you if you ask but with this set, the kids insist on telling you what they are going to give you and enjoy separating each piece for service. Also can use to attach pieces that don't belong to get the kids to work on sorting and motor skills. I thought the velcro might wear out too quickly but it is still going strong after 6 months of heavy play. Also nice that the food items are really health choices, no meat or cookies. Very simple and well made and surprisingly loved!

We got this for my 2 1/2 year old son for Christmas, since he always wants to help cook. Everyone played with it for hours, from adults to tweens to teenagers to toddlers. It really sparks pretend cooking and imaginary play. My son has created "sandwiches" and "stew" as well as many non-food "things" with the peices. I'd highly recommend it to anyone and plan to give it as a gift to many kids (and their parents!)

This product is a high quality product. This toy stimulates gross motor skills and the love for kitchen stuff. My daughter will play with it for hours and she loves the real cutting action and then velcroing them back together. This product is used by alot of Occupational Therapist with small children.

This is quite inexpensive for all you get. I love that this is a combination of upper and lower case letters.

This puzzle can be made the traditional way or it can be used as a moveable alphabet. A moveable alphabet is a name for little letters that kids can manipulate on their own. Moveable alphabets are used in Montessori schools and other schools. After buying an expensive moveable alphabet of only lowercase letters (that is all that is available from that other manufacturer) I realized I could have bought multiple sets of this puzzle and use them in the same way. A moveable alphabet is used in freeform activities with your child to teach letter recognition. It is a tactile exercise as the child is holding the letter and moving it, rather than it being a little mark of ink on a page. You or the child can also form words with the letters and sound them out and read them as a way to supplement teaching reading. (Multiple puzzles would be needed so that there are more than one letter each.) My children hold up the letters and ask me which it is and we play games like that, that either they or I invent.

This puzzle is very durable as are all the other wood puzzles from this company.

The only downside is that organization is key if you want to not lose any of the pieces. This is too large for the puzzle holder that this company sells. Also beware the L's and I's are quite small and definately are choking hazard sized..so if you have little ones, take care to keep this out of their reach.

I think this is an inexpensive learning tool that every child should own. Please buy this for your child or give it as a gift to other children.

The puzzle doesn't have fancy graphics or bells and whistles to entertain. Games could be made up by the parent working alongside the child to make this interesting.

In this puzzle and in reality, there are strong similarities in
a, p, q, b, and d. This puzzle gives great opportunities for fine tuning similarities differences skills. Since you only have one of each letter, trace or print the following. p p q p then b d b b and so forth. Let children practice noticing the differences and similarities. Learning Abilities Books is a cool website with free information about similarities and differences training. That's where I got this idea. You might want to buy more than one of this cool puzzle.

My son was around 21 months when he knew his capital letters really well. At about two, I bought this puzzle, so he could learn the lowercase as well. Much to my surprise, he not only learned the lowercase letters quickly after playing the puzzle, but he quickly learned how to say all the pictures below the pieces, and says those words when he is doing another alphabet puzzle I have which has no pictures on it. He'll go to put the A in the non-picture puzzle, and say airplane or apple, which comes from the 'picture beneath' puzzle, like the one shown here. Obviously, he is learning language and letters all in one with this puzzle, or he wouldnt be associating the letters with words that start with that letter without seeing those pictures on the puzzle. I guess its a great memory aide, as well, for him to remember the pictures from the other puzzle that were associated with the letter. Great puzzle, and it IS his favorite, no doubt. The others he has enjoyed are the Alphabet Train and Number Train as well, made by the same company, and have the pictures below and on the puzzle piece. Well worth the price I paid for the hours we have played with them over the last month.

My three year old loves this puzzle and it has helped her learn her letters. We even play games with it - kind of like "I spy" for the next letter. The peices are large and easy for her to assemble. Well worth the investment.

This has got to be one of the best puzzles or tools to teach the alphabet. My little one just received this for his birthday and has put it together all by himself already (he's 3)! It teaches great motor dexterity as well as the alphabet and 26 animals. He loves to make all their sounds as he goes along. It stretches clear across the kitchen floor and it's a bunch of fun for the cat too! My son is getting a big jump on the alphabet with this puzzle and it's just a great investment. Here's a little hint though. Don't wait until the last minute to get it for Christmas. I tried last year and it was sold out for 2 months! Get it now and don't be disappointed!

I bought this puzzle for my 2 yr old daughter for Christmas and she loves it. She doesn't know her letters yet, but she can find all 'passengers' on the train and we say the letter for the piece that she is looking for. Now, she is starting to know what letters we are looking for. This is a step up from the alphabet song and leading into letter recognition. The pieces are thick and durable. She stands on them and there is no wear and tear. This is a great toy for any preschooler! Wonderful 'hands-on' toy!

This lightsaber is an extremely fun toy. The blade is nice and bright at night, it is very durable, and it the noises are accurate and only go of when you hit it. Some other knockoff brands don't work that well, but this one sure does. Te handle is easy to grip and the weight is just right so you can swing fast. My friends and I have had a lot of fun with lightsabers and this is one of the best. I strongly recommend you purchase this item.

WELL MY FAVORITE JEDI WAS MACE WINDU SO I WAITED FOR HIS SABER TO COME OUT TO STORES AND WHEN IT DID I WAS EXCITED. I REALLY COULDNT CARE LESS IF THE HANDLE IS FROM PHANTOM MENACE CAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT HIS REAL HANDLE ITS WAY TO COMPLICATED TO MAKE.
THIS SABER HAS GREAT DURIBILITY COSIDERING THAT I ALWAYS DUEL WHEN I CAN. I HAVE NOTICED THAT THESE ITEMS ARE NOT VERY COMMON IN STORES SO IF YOU REALLY WANT IT THAN GET IT QUICKLY CAUSE THEY GO FAST. IN GENERAL THIS IS ONE OF THE BETTER LIGHTSABERS MADE! 8-)

This is the purple lightsaber that everyone wants. I just got mine and it is a nice one. The grip is nice and it looks amazing in the dark. My only advice is to get your hands on it while you can. It seems they only distribute one per each box of lightsabers and these are in very high demand. Any Star Wars fan would love this lightsaber in their collection.

This is a great toy! My son loved dinosaurs and puzzles, so this was the perfect toy. He would do them again and again. He was only 3 years old when he received it for his birthday and only recently stopped playing with it(he is turning 6 next month).

These are just great. Four 12-piece puzzles made out of very durable materials (see Pros below). The sturdy wooden box has four compartments under a sliding lid. Each of the four puzzles are theme related. These four are Triceratpos, Stegasaurus, Pteranodon, and Allosaurus.

Pros:
Easy but not too-easy puzzles.
Pieces fit well together.
Nice pictures.
Sturdy container.
Each puzzle has a different shape printed on the back to make sorting the puzzles easier.
Super durable. I did not realize just how durable they were until I found a piece in my dishwasher. Even after being washed the picture was fine and the wood in perfect condition.

Cons:
It may take a few moments to figure out how to fit an entire puzzle's pieces in a single compartment.
Lid does not lock closed.

My kids love these and you will too.

The company gets kudos for stamping different symbols on the back of puzzles to help adults sort the four puzzles apart. This toy is fantastic and will likely be done over and over again with plenty of wonder each time. Only complaint is that pieces sometimes stick together and eager hands may apply too much pressure. We know they will eventually break, but the price is tremendous given the amount of attention the puzzles have commanded.

My 3 year old son enjoys his 24 piece grocery store puzzles and was able to spend a good 15-20 minutes assembling them, at first with help from mommy and then by himself. I thought it was time to try a more difficult puzzle- this was a good next step. He and I put this one together- he is not ready for it on his own, but it is not so difficult that he gets frustrated if we work together. As another reviewer pointed out, this is a good puzzle to teach 2 important puzzle skills that 24 piece puzzles don't quite get at: #1: to look at the box as a reference and #2: to start by making the outside border and then filling in the middle. The quality is outstanding- it blows grocery store puzzles out of the water. The colors are beautiful, but lots of similar shades of brown and green which make it slightly more difficult. My son is wanting to know the names of the different dinosaurs now. If you want to sit down and help your toddler with this puzzle at first it is a great one to get! We love this company and their products!!!

We bought this as a gift for our two-year old nephew, and he absolutely loved it! Like many little boys, likes anything dinosaur, and he also enjoys puzzles, so this was perfect. The pieces are very sturdy and can certainly survive some toddler abuse. The puzzle can be used again and again, but the finished work is so attractive that it also makes a cool wall hanging for a kid's bedroom--it looks great in my nephew's room! Highly recommended.

We stepped up to this puzzle after mastering the farm animals puzzle, which had fewer pieces and was relatively easy to assemble without looking to the box for help. The dinosaur puzzle, on the other hand, was great for teaching my almost-4 year-old the ins and outs of puzzle assembly.

We start by looking at a piece and determining what it's a part of. ("This is someone's green neck. Who needs a green neck?") Because the dinosaurs are all shades of browns and greens, we next match the piece to the box, then lay it in the appropriate spot. We're currently working on learning about "corners" and "edges".

The construction is excellent, as with most LCI products. The pieces all fit snugly and unambiguously and are printed on durable, glossy stock...

This lightsaber is a lot of fun and really stretches childrens imaginations. My child has had lightsabers since the age of 6 and is now 11. She still loves them! I would highly recomend this toy to any child who loves to play makebeileve Star Wars. If your child does not have self control I would NOT recomend this toy! Also I would buy 2 so your child can have lightsaber deuls with other Star Wars lovers.

This is a great toy in which it is very fun to play with! I bought two of these (blue & red) for me and my friends to play with. We have a blast playing with them, pretending to be good jedi and evil lord siths. Of course, somtimes you miss the other guy's lightsaber and you accidentaly hit the your opponents hand or (head)but it is ok, it doesn't hurt. These play lightsabers last for a couple years and don't break easily. I guess these toys also help your reflexes by dodgeing your enemies attacks. Overall, this is a very good toy and I recconmend it!

This lightsaber has been a life saver...literally. Before I bought one I dueled a kid I went backpacking with every year. Trust me, plastic scars a lot less than driftwood and broken sticks. Other than not getting cut from hits, this lightsaber is more authentic and is retractable. One downside is that compared to the true lightsaber length (1 meter beam and 20-24 cm. handle), this one is very short, making combat even closer than is usually is. This however, is not a big enough downside to lose a star because with a regular dueling partner, you should get used to it.

These are just great. Four 12-piece puzzles made out of very durable materials (see Pros below). The sturdy wooden box has four compartments under a sliding lid. Each of the four puzzles are theme related. These four are Fire Truck, School Bus, Steam Engine, and Jet Airplane.

Pros:
Easy but not too-easy puzzles.
Pieces fit well together.
Nice pictures.
Sturdy container.
Each puzzle has a different shape printed on the back to make sorting the puzzles easier.
Super durable. I did not realize just how durable they were until I found a piece in my dishwasher. Even after being washed the picture was fine and the wood in perfect condition.

Cons:
It may take a few moments to figure out how to fit an entire puzzle's pieces in a single compartment.
Lid does not lock closed.

My kids love these and you will too.

My 2.5 year old son received this toy for christmas. Not even two weeks later, we have already had to fix four of the puzzle pieces. The pictures are coming off the "wood". The wood is more like layers of wood (reminds me somewhat of cardboard), which is probably why they are falling apart so easily. As another reviewer mentioned, it can be difficult to get the pieces apart after the puzzle has been put together, which also can be contributing to the layers of the pieces coming off. Also, it can be difficult to slide the cover back on, unless all of the pieces are laying a certain way in the box. This can be time comsuming for an adult to do, and nearly impossible for a two year with no patience. Overall, I like the theory of the product, but I doubt that it will last much longer unless we stand by with a bottle of glue at all times. I am most upset about the poor quality of the product since I gave several of these as gifts over the holidays. It is embarrassing to give a child a gift that turns out to be junk.

My one dissapointment is that the puzzles are much smaller than they appeared to be in the picuture when I bought this product.

My two-year-old doesn't seem to mind though.

Otherwise, this is a great deal. This is the next logical step for the 2-to-3 year-old who likes peg puzzles, especially the ones where there is a single image divided up into pieces, and especially if you've got a little guy who lives for fire trucks, school buses, airplanes, and choo-choo trains!