Toy Review: Play Doh Fundamentals CUT!

The last set we got her was a Play Doh Fundamental set.  It teaches a child to use scissors, the pair of scissors is plastic and cuts clay.  There are also 3 other cutters in the box but the main star of the show was the scissors.  She's been nagging me to let her use real scissors and I refused until I saw this.  I used these as training scissors for her.  A few days after she mastered using these scissors I let her use a small pair of real ones as she sat on my desk.  She cut for almost an hour the first few times.  Also, two 2oz cans are included in the box

What she learned:  She safely learned how to use a pair of scissors.

Durability:  The scissors and the chopping snail always breaks apart but is can be easily snapped back together by an adult.

Fun/Entertainment Value:  Spent 20-30mins each time we played with it.  Loved playing with it but soon got tired of the novelty of using a pair of scissors when she got to use the real thing.  But she still plays with the other cutting materials included.

Age: 1.6yrs old to 100.

Toy Review: Play Doh Sesame Street Fun Shapes Bucket

Who doesn't love the stuff?  Even I still enjoy making things with clay at my young age of 30.  I've been wanting to buy her Pay Doh or some version of it since Maxine was born.  I got her her first set when she was 1 year and 7mos old.  She loved it.  We already knew of her love for Elmo so when we saw the playdoh sesame street set we immediately got it for her.  We spent more than a month playing with that everyday.  

There are so many things included in the set that it occupied her attention for around 30mins everyday.  She made Cookie Monster, Big Bird and Elmo using the molds but it took her awhile to learn how so for the first few weeks we (papa bear and I) were the ones making them for her.  After she got bored with the 3 main finger puppet molds she went on to use the stamp molds.  She especially loved the small plastic knife included in the set.  Four 2ounce cans of clay are also included.

What she learned:  She learned how to form shapes with the cutters and to make things with clay.

Durability:  The molds, cutters and stamps are all still intact.  The 3 playmats got wet when the rain came into the house and it couldn't be salvaged anymore.  We never got to play with them.  The clay has dried up even if we took good care of them but they are repairable.

Fun/Entertainment Value:  Spent 20-30mins each time we played with it.  Distracted her from every other thought and kept her attention for so long we fell asleep while she played with it.  Worth every Peso!

Age: 1.6yrs old to 100.

*quick tip: put a few drops of water in the canister and cover overnight.  open and mix with play doh utensil to somehow get back its former texture.  repeat as long as necessary.  

Toy Review Playskool Ball Popper

My hubby said I bought this toy for myself. He said I only used Maxine as an excuse to get this toy.   I really don't know why he thinks watching a ball pop into the air would amuse me and that I would buy a toy for myself.  But he was 50% correct, thank goodness he doesn't read my blog so he won't know that sometimes he's right hehe.  I got it for Maxine when she was 6 months old, she can sit on her own by then and I thought she would be amused by this.  It plays music as the air blows the balls into the air.  Such a simple toy.  At first hubby kept teasing me about it because Maxine didn't really pay any attention to it.  Weeks later she started to stare at it in wonder, then she started to try and catch the balls and as they fell to the floor she crawled to chase them.  She then figured out that pressing on the button would start it up again.  She's now 2years old and almost one month, today she turned on the switch and played with it.

What she learned:  Cause and effect.
Durability:  ***** Still works until today.
Fun/Entertainment Value:  15-20mins playtime when she was 9mos old.  She likes catching the balls and putting them back in.  She loved chasing them and identifying their colors.
Age: 6months to 2yr old.

Toy Review: Leap Frog Sit to Stand Learning Walker

There are walkers of different shapes and sizes in the market.  When we say walker we think of the donut like thing with 4 wheels where you put the kid inside and he walks on his own all the while being surrounded by toys.  Well, they say those walkers aren't good for the kids so the new and "improved" kind is like the one in the picture.  I  wish I got the old style of walker for Maxiebear, this one was just too hard to master.  By the time your child can really use this as an aid to walk, he already knows how to walk on his own.  Maxiebear tried to use a Winnie The Pooh version of the learning walker and hit her head on the floor.  She fell backwards as she put her weight onto the handles and the toy slid away from her.  I was so shocked that I couldn't move.  After that I put the toy away.  I still wanted her to learn to walk so I went to the store and tested out the walkers they had.

The Playskool version is just as dangerous as the Winnie the Pooh one.  When I tried it out at the store, I almost fell!  I was actually on my knees trying it out!  There's something about the distance of the sets of wheels and where the weight goes as you try and depend on it to walk (thats just me trying to think of a reason why some walkers work while others are just too accident prone).  I also tried the Fisher Price and Chicco one.  Both passed the test but were too pricey for my budget.  I ended up getting the Leap Frog one, it has enough activities on it to entertain and was balanced enough for walking.  You can also take out the activity part of the toy so the baby can play with it even before she can walk.  Maxine loved the telephone on it, the piano keys and the page that you can turn.

Just be careful when using any thing with plastic wheels on tiles, they slide fast.  What some people do is they put tape on the wheels to keep it from moving too smoothly so the toy wont "run away" from the baby using it.  You just wrap the tape generously on all 4 wheels.

What she learned:  It helped her learn how to walk a little.
Durability: ***** (5 Stars) It still works.
Fun/ Entertainment Value: 5-8mins on standstill.  Indefinite when being pushed.  At the age when they need this toy, anything that can help them move from 1 point to another is going to be used a lot.
Age:  3mos to 1yr depending on when the child starts to walk.  You can use the activity pad separately at 3 mos or ever earlier.  Kaylabear uses it now as entertainment while she's sitting on my lap.

Toy Review: Leap Frog Learn & Groove Musical Table

The box says its for 6months to 3yrs.  We got this from Aku, for Maxiebear when she was 1.  She used it for around 15mins when she first got it.  She kept turning the page back and forth.  She isn't musically inclined even if she listened to classical music when she was a baby so she simply ignored the piano keys.  This toy was then put into the cabinet after a month or so.  Recently, now that she's 2years old, she's started playing with it again.  She still flips the page over and plays the "piano".  This toy also has 2 language options, English and Spanish.  So if you want your child to be bilingual this can help.

Price: $37.64 at Amazon
What she learned:  Shapes and colors were in her face everytime she stood by this toy.  It helped her stand up longer and she walked around it as she was getting used to walking.
Durability: Still working well, despite all the banging and pounding.
Fun: **** (4 stars) spends around 5-10 mins around the table.
Age: 6mos to 2.5yo (you can use it once the baby starts pounding on things because the legs are removable.  When the baby starts to stand up, you can put the legs in and he can use this for support as his legs get stronger.

Other Option:

We also got to play with the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Fun with Friends Table at a playdate, I prefer it over the Leap Frog version for 2 reasons.  1.  Fisher price also give you 2 language options, English and Chinese.  Since I am Chinese and not Spanish, this would have been more useful to me.  and 2.  Kids prefer to play with things that open and close, this toy has more choices like that.  Cons, I have seen a kid slam the computer shut on another kid's hand and it is more expensive.  Priced at $44.50 at Amazon.

Toy Review: B. Times Square Activity Cube

There are so many toys to choose from in the stores nowadays.  Leapfrog, Fisher Price, Baby Einstein are just a few of the well known brands here in manila.  Its a hard job making sure a toy we get is going to be worth it.  There's no way of knowing that our baby will like the toy in the 1st place, play with it a lot and really get to learn things as the packaging promises.  I tried to make a list of toys that I know Maxine and Kayla like but it was too hard and such a wide range.  So, instead of that I decided to just write a review of the toys.

  This was a gift from Ninang Nat from the states.  There are different versions of it here in Manila, some smaller and simpler.  There are also more complex and larger versions of this in the states.The cube has 6 sides, 2 sides are shape sorters for numbers and the other for letters.  1 side is a telephone and it has shapes you can press.  The other side is a clock and when you line up the hands to read 12o' clock the door opens.  The top part lights up and has music while she moves the shapes in the light up maze.
   She enjoyed putting in the letters and numbers in their designated holes.  She was very curious about the door in the bottom.  But she gets bored easily with the maze even with the music and lights.

What she learned:  Nothing specific.
Durability:  *****
Fun: ***** Spends 15-20 mins sitting down playing with it.
Age: 1yo-1.6yo
Purchase at www.amazon.com for $19.99