My favorite toys are the ones that encourage my children to use their imagination. That is why I was excited to be introduced to Manhattan Toy’s new series called, “imagine i CAN“. This series includes a variety of crafts, do-it-yourself, role-play, puppet kits and  games. With 28 different activities to choose from, priced from $5 – $20, there is definitely something to match everyone’s personality and budget. All kits come in a sturdy box. Some come in a hard case similar to a metal lunch box, allowing items to be stored safely or used for other imaginative play and others come in a box that turns into a back drop for the toy.

“Toys that leave room for a child’s input and creative imagination are the ones that they return to over and over again – they are captivating, enduring.” – Disney’s Family.com

Lately my 5 year old daughter has been begging for some paper dolls after she saw a friend with some. She pretty much tore the package open when she saw the imagine I CAN Create & Color Princess. Not only did she get to color her doll, but she got to build her, too. I stepped back and let her do the entire thing. It kept her occupied for well over and hour. I was not sure if she could put it together or not, but she figured it out after a few minutes. There were just a few pieces she got confused on (the bow and crown). Hint: the pieces have numbers on them where they are supposed to connect with their matching number. This was a blast for her and she still plays with it over a week later!

My kiddos love to be sneaky. That’s why I thought my son would love the imagine i CAN secret Agent Spy Gear. I honestly tried to get a picture of my son playing with this kit, but he kept playing in “secret” in his room with it! I love games that promote imagination and this one does just that. The kit comes with a Spy Catcher Scope, a blueprint, a pretend fingerprint powder container, invisible ink, and some secret message cards with a decoder. All the toys are made of durable material. The blueprint is in cloth, not paper and the bottles, decoder, and scope are all made of wood. The secret message cards and ID card are made of card stock and has has a sturdy cloth bag to store them in.

Another product we were able to play with was the imagine i CAN Pet Rock Pals. To be honest, I was not sure if my kids would appreciate this activity as much as the others…boy, was I wrong! It comes with two packages of clay, which made it simple to share with 2 children and have it be even. It was nice that the case had some sample pictures for my 5 year old to look at and get an idea of what to make. My 7 year old went to town! In fact, he rolled the dough so much it started to harden before he was finished shaping it. No problem! We just got our hand a little wet and that allowed us to keep on rolling. They eventually got real creative and had a lot of fun making and designing their own Pet Rock Pal. They played with this kit for almost 2 hours and I still find them playing with their “pals” days later.

They even had fun playing with the felt face accessory pieces. Their little sister was a more than willing victim!

Checkout this new line of toys on their site and Enter To WIN one for your own!

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*Product was provided to supplement this review. All opinions are 100% my own!

My children are constantly asking to play games on my phone. Constantly! I do not mind it all the time, but busy, no thinking needed games drive me bonkers. So, what is a mom to do? I could tell them “No!” until I am blue in the face or find a way for it to be a win/win for both of us. Thanks to AppStart Learning we found a win/win with their new line called iLearn ‘N’ Play that is specifically made to make learning fun via an App-enhanced learning curriculum using your iPad, iPhone or iPod.

“AppStart Learning joins 3+ Toys and Apps to make learning fun by making learning play! iLearn ‘N’ Play workswith little learners to help them understand all sorts of early learning concepts! All iLearn ‘N’ Play Apps are builtaround our unique iLearn ‘N’ Play Global Curriculum that joins technology, play, and early learning needs to helpchildren learn while having fun.”

AppStart Learning has released 3 new toys in the iLearn ‘N’ Play series and each toy has it’s own learning app that is available for free via iTunes. You can find them at Target (and get a $10 discount until 3/30).

• iPad App: Letterbox for the Learning Tablet toy
• iPad or iPhone/iPod Touch App: Letter Explorer for the Adventure Explorer toy
• Either iPhone/iPod Touch App: Numberbots for the Robbi toy

Our family was able to test out the Adventure Explorer. The cool thing with the Adventure Explorer is that it can be used with an iPad, iPad mini, iPhone or an iPod and it comes with a driving console with a steering wheel, knobs and buttons to keep your device screen from getting smudged fingerprints all over it. With the smaller devices, like my iPhone, you can place it in a protective case. To be honest, it makes me nervous to just to hand my phone over to my kiddos when playing interactive games, so I love that the case attaches to the console. And if it is used without the console, I like that the case has a thicker outside with handles to help the kiddos have a better grip.

The free app/game that is designed for Adventure Explorer is “Letter Explorer”. The app helps children learn and practice letters and and phonics with 36 different levels to work their way through. When you pair the game via your Bluetooth you are able to play it with the console. Make sure you read the simple instructions that come with the console because it tells you how to do this if it is not already set up. We found the directions helpful because we did not realize that our Bluetooth was not already setup. Also note that the console needs batteries to be operated and make sure when you are not using it, that you switch it to the “off” button found on the underside of the console. We forgot the first time and the next morning it was dead. But, that was a user initiate problem!  ;-)

This video does a great job showing you how neat the Adventure Explorer is:

Basically, if this if someone is playing the Adventure Explorer in our house, there is a line to play it. This toy is the one everyone wants to play with. My 5 year old likes to claim it is for her, but the 7 year old likes his turn, too. Even Dad had to get some time in playing!

Win an iLearn ‘N’ Play for your family!

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*Product was provided to supplement this review. All opinions are 100% our own!

“At Peaceable Kingdom it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s all about playing together!” With a slogan like that, I could not help but be interested in learning more about the Peaceable Kingdom’s line of “Cooperative Games.”

“In a world that preaches cooperation but overwhelmingly celebrates winners over losers, Peaceable Kingdom has found a way for kids and families to have fun by playing together in a non-competitive way. Dubbed, “Cooperative Games” these games emphasize play, not competition. The goal is for players to work together, help each other, and, most important, play for the fun of it.”

I have never been a huge fan of a lot of popular board games probably because growing up when we played the game usually ended when someone decided to toss the board and all the pieces to the side out of frustration and anger because they were loosing. It was never a fun experience for everyone. So, I have been avoiding most of them with my own children…that is until now. For example, we were lucky enough to get the game BUZZ! to add to our game closet. It’s a game where players try to pick up all their nectar pieces (the dots on the flower) and make it back to the Hive before the bear gets to the Hive. Everyone has to make it back to the hive before the bear in order to win.

When I first introduced the game BUZZ! to them, a few of their first reactions while playing was to tell the other one “I’m going to beat you!”, calling the other a “Cheater!” or sad face when they thought they were loosing. I had to emphasize that we only win when we ALL get to the Hive, not just one. It is a new concept, but it starting to sink in! We have played this game almost everyday for the past 2 weeks, especially when Dad gets home. If we have a friend over during the day, the kiddos are always excited to introduce the game to them, too. They love explaining the “new rules”. We have found that the age suggestion of 5 and up is pretty accurate. The times we have played with friends younger than 5, the seemed to loose interest before the end of the game verses friends who are older usually make it to the end with enthusiasm still left. And another perk is that the game does not take a super long time to finish, hence the enthusiasm still lingering after playing!

Peaceable Kingdom also has a line of sticker posters, sticker activity books and a new-style of stickers that “do anything but stay on the page… they literally glow-in-the-dark, dance and flicker, orpop out under the view of 3D glasses!” I have not met a child who does not enjoy playing with stickers, especially stickers that come in themes of: aliens, ponies, monsters and fairies.

We had a lot of fun playing with the Monster Sticker Activity Book. What intrigued me about these stickers is that they are not your typical “Take sticker. Put on page. Do next sticker.” type of stickers. They are repositionable! So they allow for a lot more imaginative play than a basic sticker. In our case, I made the kiddos share and take turns, but they really loved the monsters themed stickers. They were able to create a party, choose food for the monsters, put together a puzzle and even make monster faces (I can see those pages definitely being rearranged over and over again). Even Dad had to get in on the action! It is not an uncommon site for me to find that one of the kids has sneaked into another room with the sticker book to rearrange a few stickers. Gotta love it!

Enter below to WIN your own Game or Sticker Book

(available games to choose from are: What’s It?, The Great Cheese Chase, BUZZ!, or Stack Up! and available sticker activity books themes to choose from are: Dinosaur, Magical Ponies, Monster or Princess)

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**Product was provided in order to assist the review. All opinions are 100% my own!