Dont you love toys that promote imaginative play? Learning Resources is one of my favorite places to shop for homeschooling resources like educational games and playsets made with the purpose of learning in mind. If youve never browsed through Learning Resources you must!

Today were featuring the Sprouts Fix It! My Very Own Tool Set. This was chosen with Isaac in mind, the little guy loves to help daddy put things together. Giving him his own tool set was my idea they are so much safer than real metal tools which can be a hazard in a 2-year-olds hands. Especially Isaacs, he throws everything!

The bright colors and soft, light chunky feel of each of the tools make this set attractive to little ones. They are easy for him to grip and the screwgun makes a little noise when the trigger is squeezed which I thought was super cute (see first photo). Heres everything you get when you order the set:

All of the pieces have held up well over the few months weve had them. We think this is a fun first tool set for toddlers and recommend it for little ones who are looking longingly at daddys (or mommys) tools and want to get building!

Note: If youre looking for something for older kids or want a little more to your childs tool set I would check out the Pretend and Play Work Belt Tool Set at Learning Resources. It looks awesome!

Want It?

You can purchase the Sprouts Fix It! My Very Own Tool Set from Learning Resources or Amazon.com it retails for $24.99.

Connect With Learning Resources!

Request a mail catalog
Sign up for Email Updates
Follow them on Twitter (@LearningHandsOn)
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow them on PINTEREST!
Follow their Hands On Learning Blog

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Disclosure: The product reviewed in this post was provided to me to keep. The opinions I have given are 100% mine based on my experiences.

The post {Learning Resources Giveaway!} Sprouts Fix It! Chunky First Tool Set For Toddlers first appeared on Kindred Spirit Mommy.

My Little Pony: Adventures in the Crystal Empire
(Buy it on Amazon.com)
Release Date: 12/4/12
Shout! Factory

What Its About:

A magical empire has suddenly appeared in the arctic north of Equestria, and Princess Celestia needs Twilight Sparkle and her friends to find a way to protect it. While her friends try to keep the Crystal Ponies occupied at the Crystal Faire, Twilight Sparkle searches for the hidden Crystal Heart that is the key to keeping their empire safe from harm!

Our Take:

If your child is a lover of the My Little Pony series, this is a DVD youll be wanting to add to their collection. Emma loved the episodes (see below) and wanted to watch the whole thing again after it had finished, so I think its safe to say this is worth buying. This DVD is about 2 hours long and contains five episodes, the first two from Season 3 (The Crystal Empire Parts 1 and 2). Those are the most exciting episodes, two Emma hadnt seen yet!

The 5 Episodes:

• The Crystal Empire, Part 1
• The Crystal Empire, Part 2
• Sonic Rainboom
• Luna Eclipsed
• Its About Time

Watch a Clip!

Want It?

You can buy it onAmazon.com its on sale for $9.99 at the time of this posting!

Note: My Little Pony: Adventures in the Crystal Empire was provided to my family for us to keep and share our thoughts on here at Kindred Spirit Mommy. My Amazon affiliate link is also embedded in this post thank you for your support of this blog!

The post {New Children’s DVD!} My Little Pony: Adventures in the Crystal Empire first appeared on Kindred Spirit Mommy.

What Its About:

In the depths of the Great Barrier Reef, Marlin (Albert Brooks), an overly protective clownfish, embarks on a daring rescue mission when his beloved son, Nemo, gets scooped up by a diver. With his unforgettable friend Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) by his side, Marlin encounters an ocean full of memorable comedic characters on his momentous journey to find Nemo.

Our Take:

Ive loved Finding Nemo since the first time I saw it in theatre its possibly my favorite Disney-Pixar film EVER. You tear up, you laugh, youre fascinated with the gorgeous underwater world, youll never forget those quirky characters or look at a Clownfish (or a shark for that matter) the same way again. Its no wonder it won an Academy Award!

I was thrilled when I found out it was finally out on Blu-Ray everything looks better Blu-Ray, and this is no exception! Its crisp and clear and vivid, a delight to watch again and again. And the special features are awesome! If youre looking to upgrade your Disney DVDs to Blu-Ray I recommend this edition highly.

Special Features:

• Knick Knack Theatrical Short
• Aquarium
• CineExplore
• ReInventing The Submarine Voyage
• Deleted Scene: Alternate Opening
• A Lesson in Flashbacks
• Finding Nemo: A Filmmakers Discussion
• Outtakes & Deleted Scenes
• Art Review

Want It?

You can buy the Finding Nemo 3-Disc Collectors Edition at Amazon.com. It retails for $39.99 but is on sale for $26.96 at the time of this post. Also see the Finding Nemo 5-Disc Collectors Edition (Blu-Ray 3D + Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy) which is actually a better deal right now at $24.99!

Note: Finding Nemo: 3-Disc Collectors Edition was provided to my family for us to keep and share our thoughts on here at Kindred Spirit Mommy. My Amazon affiliate link is also embedded in this post thank you for your support of this blog!

The post {New Release & Review} Finding Nemo Blu-Ray + DVD 3-Disc Collector’s Edition first appeared on Kindred Spirit Mommy.

This is a GREAT deal for a series my kids love and that is educational dont miss out! You can get it for only $26.99 with free shipping at amazon.com by clicking HERE. Make sure when you get there that you look to the far righthand side under buying options and add the $26.99 one to your cart. You wont get it right away because its temporarily unavailable, but it says that if you order now they will send it as soon as it becomes available. Enjoy!

The post GREAT DEAL! The Magic School Bus The Complete Series (52 Episodes) only $26.99 with Free Shipping on Amazon! first appeared on Kindred Spirit Mommy.

Finally, heres the giveaway I promised!

If you havent yet, please take the time to read my reviews of the Crayola Digital Light Designer and the Crayola Marker Airbrush Set! We gave our thoughts on the products with pros and cons so it should help you out in deciding if these two popular sets are for you and your family.

And now on to the giveaway!

Leaving a blog post comment is mandatory.
After that, you can tweet the giveaway every day for an extra entry.
Open to the US only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prizing will be provided by the awesome folks at Crayola.

The post {GIVEAWAY} Crayola Gift Pack: Digital Light Designer ($49.99) AND Marker Airbrush Set ($19.99) first appeared on Kindred Spirit Mommy.

The Crayola Digital Light Designer is a hot new product for little artists that gives kids the power to write or draw with light. Kids can draw all around the dark dome then apply special effects (spinning, color-changing, etc), save their creations, play built-in games, and even make movies with it!

So what are our thoughts on it? Weve been playing around with this since we received it a couple weeks ago, my daughter Emma asking to use it every day (a good sign!), and have quite a few pros and cons to share. Most of the cons are things that affected me but not Emma, so keep that in mind if its a gift for your child.

Quick Overview: This is basically a mini computerized art studio, faintly reminiscent of the old Lite Brites I had when I was a kid. Its simple in that you draw with dots of light, but there are many things you can do to make it more fun than just a drawing dome. It has a lot of cool factor because there are games, special effects, and movies you can make. And its a touch screen (with the stylus only of course)! To navigate you use menus and icons just like on a regular computer:

What We Like:

First, theres no mess involved. Thats always a plus!

Replayability? Emma has asked to play with it every day so its stayed on the table ready to play with for weeks with all the activities available, youll not quickly become bored with it.

Free draw is our favorite activity, and the spinning and color-changing special effects are most-used here. You can draw a very long picture and then turn off the lights and watch it spin around its gorgeous!

As far as the actual drawing goes, you do have to go back to the menu often if youre changing colors a lot, but you learn to move fast. The stylus is chunky and easy to grasp, and is used by touching the dome directly, or if you push the button on the stylus while drawing you can stay about a half-inch away from the screen and draw without touching it.

The dome is very sturdy and doesnt slip on hard surfaces. It does have to be on a hard flat surface like a table to work (if you pick it up it will turn off, but when you put it back down it will resume where you left off).

One of my little creations any Doctor Who fans here?

What We Didnt Like:

It makes a whirring noise that you get used to, but it was surprising at first. You can hear it in my video below. I dont know that its something we dont like exactly (I dont mind it at all) but some might find it annoying. Emma didnt.

Theres no undo button. If you make a mistake you have to go select the color that will fix it and draw over it which can be time-consuming. For the perfectionist, anyway.

This is another thing that I dont love that doesnt affect my daughters play the batteries. It takes a ton! The dome takes four D batteries and the stylus takes two AAA batteries. If giving this as a gift you wont want to forget to include those (and maybe some extras what the hey, just run to Costco and get them in bulk!).

My Video Demo:

Final Thoughts: The cons didnt outweigh the benefits of the Digital Light Designer for us its very popular in our house! I would recommend this for kids who love to paint and draw (itll save you paper!) and will appreciate the computer-like setup and special effects. Since my daughter is 4 and loves it (and can play with it independently), Ill recommend this for ages 4 and up.

Want It?

You can purchase the Crayola Digital Light Designer online for $49.99 and free shipping at CrayolaStore.com. You can also check it out at Amazon.com by clicking here. Also, at the time of this post its on sale for $39.99 at Target.

Crayola Online

Crayola on Twitter
Crayola on Facebook
Crayolas Holiday Gift Guide

The Crayola Digital Light Designer reviewed in this post along with the information on the product have been provided by Crayola.

The post We Tried It! The Crayola Digital Light Designer Spinning Light Canvas (A Mom’s Thoughts) first appeared on Kindred Spirit Mommy.

Heres what you can get:

Deck the Halls Christmas Gift Tin $49.99
Chocolate Covered Peanuts
Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
Dark Chocolate Cocoa
Chocolate dipped Vanilla Bean Moravian Cookies
Cinnamon Honey Dipping Pretzels
Cinnamon Bun Caramel Sauce
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Sticks
Milk Chocolate Bavarian Mints

Mini Christmas Gift Basket $24.99
Metropolitan Trail Mix
Dark Raspberry Sticks
Signature Dark Chocolate Bar
Double Dipped Peanuts
Chocolate Wafer Roll

Coffee and Chocolates Gift Stack
Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Moravian Cookies
Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans
Espresso Cookie Brittle by Moon Dance Baking
(2) Perfect Potfuls Assorted Gourmet Coffees
Milk Chocolate Orange Sticks
(2) Milk Chocolate Smothered Graham Cracker

Theres a LOT to choose from in every price range, I recommend checking it out!

Gift Baskets under $50 at GourmetGiftBaskets.com

Get the $25 for $50 at GourmetGiftBaskets at PLUM DISTRICT here.

This deal was shared because its truly a GREAT deal! My referral link is embedded in this post.

The post Deal Alert! Send a Gift Basket to That Special Someone… See What You Can Get for Only $25! first appeared on Kindred Spirit Mommy.

If you and your children are fans of The Magic School Bus books or DVDs, you wont want to miss this review! Leapfrog and Scholastic have released an interactive game that can be played on the Leapster Explorer and LeapPad 1 and 2, a game which allows your child to become one of the kids on THE coolest bus around! In this gaming adventure youll be exploring the oceans along with The Frizz and your classmates, learning about everything under the ocean.

Specifically, your child will:

• Discover more than 100 sea animals and learn over 100 facts
• Sort and classify ocean animals by common characteristics
• Learn how animals rely on each other to survive in the ocean

Our Thoughts:

In the Magic School Bus: Oceans Leapster Explorer/LeapPad game, there are several different games and activities that teach facts about the ocean and animals that live in it. As she progresses through the games, Emma (4 1/2) earns badges, providing a fun incentive (I hear a little whoop when she earns another one!). Three different levels of play (easy, medium, hard) make this game perfect for a wide age range Emma usually does Easy or Medium. The game is specifically recommended for ages 5-8, but Emma has enjoyed it very much and done well so I think its safe to say 4-8.

Here are a couple of our favorite games:

Guess the animal by shining a flashlight in the dark.
You have three chances to guess which animal is hiding in the inky ocean waters
Answers are multiple choice!

Learn about the food chains!
It starts out explaining how each animal is part of the food chain. You begin at the bottom and work your way up the food chain, navigating the ocean waters staying away from those things that might eat you but filling your stomach with your prey.

The sorting game, this is a good one!
You find the animals that have fins, have spots, or other differentiating characteristics by touching them with your stylus.

Other games have Jaedyn tracing the lines to reveal a sea creature, racing to the finish line while avoiding pitfalls, and exploring different areas of the ocean while filling a virtual notebook with facts, photos, and more.

Watch this Trailer to See These Games in Action!

Final Thoughts:

I really recommend this game there is just SO much to do! Emma loves the games and as a mom Im loving the fact that shes learning as she plays. I appreciate that it talks about the fish or sea creature featured briefly before jumping into the game, mentions facts about the ocean and creatures throughout, and that it clearly describes how to play each game (what buttons to use, etc). For the children who cant read yet, it highlights words and reads them out loud. Its been a great fit for us and valuable educationally. I hope The Magic School Bus makes more games like this I will buy them if they do!

Want It?

You can purchase The Magic School Bus: Oceans on Amazon.com or Leapfrog.com. It retails for $24.99 but is currently on sale for only $15.99 on Amazon!

Note: The game reviewed in this post was provided to my family for us to keep and share our thoughts on here at Kindred Spirit Mommy. My Amazon affiliate link is also embedded in this post.

The post Explore the Ocean With The Magic School Bus! {Leapster Explorer/LeapPad Game Review) first appeared on Kindred Spirit Mommy.

Stay tuned for a Crayola GIVEAWAY in the next few days!

If youve been eyeing this new activity set from Crayola and wondering if it would be a good fit for your kids, read on for our take! Introducing Crayolas new Marker Airbrush Set, which claims to turn markers into spray art and produce cool airbrush effects onpaper, clothes and windows. Sounds like fun, right? Emma, like most 4-year-olds, loves to color with markers and paint, so this was right up her alley. And shooting paint out with a gun-like apparatus is definitely going to appeal to kids she was no exception. Well, lets find out what this baby does!

This is what you get when you open the box:

– 4 stencil sheets
– 4 fabric markers
– 8 pipsqueak mini markers
– 20 sheets of paper
– The pump and gun

To get started, you have to pump the handle 15-20 times.
Note that its a little too hard for Emma to do by herself.
(Shes 4 1/2 and the recommended age range is 6+.)
(I do like that this requires NO batteries!)

Next, you push the marker into the spray gun. (It has to snap in tight or it wont work.) Pull the trigger!

The effect (which we loved):

We did some free-hand spraying first, but then pulled out the stencils.

Isnt that awesome? I secretly want to play with this after my kids go to bed.

Next we pulled out an old pair of Emmas jeans and used the fabric markers:

Think of all the possibilities! Shoes, t-shirts, notebooks, the kids furniture, toys, whatever!

I wish the set had come with window markers as well, we would have been going crazy on the windows in the house

Our Take:

First, the recommended age level for this is 6+. Emma is 4 1/2 and I found this set a bit too hard for her to play with by herself (although she LOVED it), so I think that age range is just right. She required my help on a few things, which I didnt mind at all because she had fun, but if you want your child to be able to do it independently then youd better stick with the recommended age level. But, if youre like me and want to try it for yourself and let your littles in on the fun, go for it! Emma had a total blast with this.

Cons: Im gonna mention the cons first. The amount of air that 15-20 pumps gets you is maybe 30 seconds worth. Then its time to pump again. For older kids this probably isnt too much of a problem because theyre having so much fun creating they wont mind the extra pumping. If theyre any younger than 7 youll have to help them by pumping it for them or it will get very frustrating, though. Which means it will soon become a chore for you be ready to devote some time to the project! Im not saying it isnt worth it because it is! But be prepared to help out.

I do wish the stencils had been plastic rather than stiff paper or whatever they are. They can peel if you arent careful and wont hold up as long as plastic would have. You can, of course, buy stencils along with the set that your child would like that are plastic but I liked the ones that came with the set and would have liked to have them last longer.

Pros: The biggest pro of this set is that is doesnt take any batteries. Theres nothing more frustrating than getting a cool present only to realize it takes batteries that arent included, or having your favorite toy run out of batteries. Not so with this! Its completely kid- (or mom-) powered.

Another cool pro is that any markers from the Crayola line work with the set! And you can use their specialized markers: the Window Markers, Fabric Markers, or regular Washable Markers.

Since the set doesnt require filling anything up with paint, theres virtually no mess to deal with (unless something gets sprayed that you didnt intend to be). When youre done you just pull out the marker and put the pump away the only cleaning required is the occasional wiping of the nozzle on the spray gun to keep it clear. AND I really like that since were using markers the paint dries immediately no waiting around for your art to dry!

Final Thoughts: Overall, we think this set is very worth owning and is a terrific gift idea! There are SO many cool things you can do with it! Dont let any cons I mentioned deter you from getting one its totally worth it. Recommended!

Want It?

I normally send people to Amazon to buy the products I recommend but its pretty pricey at Amazon right now. You can check it out if you want and see if the price has gone down here. It shouldnt be more than $19.99. At the time of this post, it IS on sale for $15.00 at Target (check here to see if its in stock locally for you)! Its also in stock at many Michaels Craft Stores, which often has coupons for 40% off an item so definitely look into that, too! And check out the Crayola Marker Airbrush set at Crayola.com to see where its in stock near you!

Crayola Online

Crayola on Twitter
Crayola on Facebook
Crayolas Holiday Gift Guide

The Crayola Marker Airbrush Set reviewed in this post along with the information on the product have been provided by Crayola.

The post Crayola Marker Airbrush Set Review – Turn Markers into Spray Art! first appeared on Kindred Spirit Mommy.

What Its About:
Twas the day before Christmas and all through the yard the Cat in the Hat and his guests partied hard. When the party was over, and the guests all departed one poor baby reindeer was left broken-hearted! Can the Cat in the Hat, Sally, Nick and the Fish help make come true little Ralphs Christmas wish? To be with his family, in far-off Freeze-Your-Knees. Will you help see him home? Come be our guests, please!

Our Take:

If you like the The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That series, you wont want to miss this one! Its a great addition to your childrens Christmas DVD collection (dont you love to pull those out every year?) and is enjoyed by all ages. This DVD features a special holiday movie 60 minutes long during which Cat in the Hat (the voice of Martin Short), Sally, Nick, Fish, and Thing 1 and Thing 2 make it their goal to help a young reindeer get back to his family for Christmas, encountering many different adventures and problems to solve along the way. This was a really cute movie, it kept everyones interest and both my kids loved it!

Watch the Trailer!

Want It?

You can find The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas at Amazon.com (currently only $7.50!) and NCircle Entertainment.

Visit NCircle Entertainment Online:

NCircle on Facebook
NCircle on Twitter

Leaving a blog post comment is mandatory.
After that, you can tweet the giveaway for an extra entry.
Open to the US only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas was provided to my family for us to keep and share our thoughts on here at Kindred Spirit Mommy. My Amazon affiliate link is also embedded in this post thank you for your support of this blog!

The post GIVEAWAY: The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas on DVD! (And Only $7.50 on Amazon!) first appeared on Kindred Spirit Mommy.