All Mum Said

Telling it like it is...

Learning with LeapFrog

By Leave a Comment

I have shared my love of LeapFrog here on the blog a few times now and that’s because it is a brand that just keeps giving. I love that they continually produce products to suit a range of ages and encourage learning from the start. Mr 5 has a LeapReader that he uses daily and we recently added a new book to the collection that is proving to be very popular with not only him but every other child that visits; Doc McStuffins: The New Girl. The book encourages good vocabulary skills and healthy habits while educating children about cultures, health and social skills.

LeapFrog

The fun new AlphaPup aimed for 1-3 year olds is a fantastic product that teaches the alphabet, phonics and is great for improving gross motor skills. It is full of colour and has a range of settings for sound that include: the alphabet, singing and dog phrases. Miss H loves pulling this behind her she crawls along and gets so much joy from the bright coloured buttons. The AlphaPup is going to be a hit in our house for a long time yet.

Disclaimer: I was gifted the above items for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own and those of my children.

Learning Can Be Fun! + GIVEAWAY

By 71 Comments

Do you remember back in the day when toys were made to last? When so many of the awesome playthings were made from wood? I LOVE WOODEN TOYS and always wanted to get some for my boys when they little but just couldn’t find any and if I did they were ridiculously expensive or poor quality. So unfortunately they missed out. That is of course until a wonderful blog buddy of mine opened her very own store that is full of – you guessed it – WOODEN TOYS!! That’s not the best bit though – they are extremely affordable. Woohoo!! There is a stigma for kids that learning is boring, dull and takes them away from actually playing which we all know isn’t always the case. The range at School of Mum is absolutely brilliant and combines fun with learning. The toys are educational yet exciting!! Catered to suit children of all ages these magnificent products are great quality and will provide hours, weeks and more than likely years of fun, learning and entertainment.

The variety of products don’t stop at classic wooden toys though; there really is something for every child. You will find items suited to babies, toddlers, school age with a wide range of clothing, personalised items, puzzles, teddies, clocks, memory and my all time favourite – wooden blocks – IT’S ALL THERE!! We have recently had an order arrive from the wonderful School of Mum and my kids couldn’t get into the bag fast enough. As you will see below some of the products can be fun so much fun for children that they don’t even realise they are learning. The memory game is made from wooden tiles with a letter of the alphabet and an Australian animal that begins with the same letter. Not only are they strengthening the memory part of the brain but they are also learning letters and animals.  

Australian Alphabet Memory Game
$19.99

The clock puzzle is great for both my boys as we use it to help learn the time for my 6 year old and my 4 year old uses it to identify the numbers along with the concentration of working out the correct order of the numbers. There is a boy and girl version of this particular product.

Clock Puzzle
$3.50

For the babies in way of toys there are the Rattle and Roll Doves which are gorgeous, simple and easy to use. As bub moves or pulls it along the dove effortlessly rolls and rattles causing a great deal of excitement. This also comes in pink or blue.

Rattle n Roll Dove
$9.99

With the Bird Smackeroo there are hours of fun to had and most importantly it is great for building on hand /eye co-ordination. As you can see from the short video below it is very easy to use and great enjoyment for the kids.

My all time favourite product is the Educational Wooden Blocks, this might be because they take me back to my own childhood but at the bargain price of  $15 how can I say no? There is no much that can be done with these little babies; building, stacking, learning, the possibilities are endless.

Educational Wooden Blocks
$15

Now I’m sure by now you have worked out that I am very fond of this little shop and as a way of sharing some wonderful educational (and fun) products the extremely generous School of Mum has decided to offer a $50 voucher to one very lucky lucky Mad Mummas reader!! Just in time to get some great items for Christmas.

To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below. Winner is decided based on skill and chance plays no part. Australian residents only! Sorry everyone else. **The mandatory instructions MUST be completed or your entry will be void!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

Power Rangers make top 10 list + GIVEAWAY

By 67 Comments

It’s hard keeping up with the new and ‘in’ toys these days. There are so many crazes at once and the kids still ‘need’ them all! In saying that though; I do love that so many of the TV shows that I grew up watching as a kid have made a come-back.  I remember growing up my brother, sister and I used to pretend to be Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and ‘fly/jump/somersault’ off the swing set in an attempt to destroy the villain Rita Repulsa or in later episodes Lord Zedd. My brother was always Jason the red ranger, I was Kimberly the pink ranger and to my sisters disappointment she was always Trini the yellow ranger. Power Rangers have clearly proved themselves with series after series being aired and while they have definitely changed over the years they are no less popular.

90’s Flashback
2013 Version

 It is great seeing my kids enjoying the same things that I got hours of entertainment from all those many years ago. Today however they do create Power Ranger toys that are so much cooler than they when I was a pink ranger. If your kids, like mine have embraced the world of Power Rangers then the Power Rangers Megaforce Gosei Morpher is more than likely on their Christmas wish list. It features lights, sounds and opens up to place your card inside. Each card unlocks phrases and sound effects which make for even more interactive imaginative play. 10 cards are included with the Morpher and more can be purchased to increase the phrases; there 180 phrases in total. Another pro to this toy is that it only requires 2 batteries!! RRP $49.95

Can you tell he’s excited?

As the heading suggests I also have 2 to giveaway to lucky Mad Mummas readers just in time for Christmas!!

You can win 1 of 2!

To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below. Winner is decided based on skill and chance plays no part. Australian residents only! Sorry everyone else. **The mandatory instructions MUST be completed or your entry will be void!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

Toy Shopping In Your Pj’s + Giveaway

By 128 Comments

It’s the end of financial year which means The Big W – Giant Toy Spectacularsales are about to begin and I can get a start on Christmas shopping. There is nothing I enjoy more than a good sale, except maybe being able to shop from the comfort of my own home. With the convenience of online shopping I can do it at any time of the day, wear my pyjamas and ugg boots or even enjoy a glass of wine while I shop!

The online sale begins on the 20th June and ends on the 10th July. I was fortunate enough to receive a gift card to personally experience shopping with Big W online. I told my kids they had a set amount to spend and could get whatever toys they liked within the budget from the toy section on the website, they were absolutely thrilled and found it so simple to pick and choose the toys of choice. I had considered using the voucher to purchase their Xmas gifts but I seem to be quite out of touch lately with what toys are ‘in’ and toys are ‘so last week’ and figured my boys are the toy experts and left the decision in their capable hands.

Last year I used the Big W Toy Spectacular Sale to purchase Christmas presents and must say that the Christmas Layby Service was a massive help. It allowed us to be select the items we wanted and pay them off over 6 months!

Would you like the chance to win a $100 Big W gift card to spend at the Giant Toy Spectacular? I have 5x $100 gift cards to giveaway to 5x lucky readers and their toy experts to enjoy.

To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below. 

Winner is decided based on skill and chance plays no part. 

**The mandatory instructions MUST be completed or your entry will be void!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

WINNERS ANNOUNCED: 

Jasmine N, Carolyn K, Natalie S, Benjamin T, Anna R-P

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Big W.

Serenity Rocker by Steelcraft

By Leave a Comment

Rockers and bouncers are a baby item nearly every family has had at some stage in their lives. It is one that I personally couldn’t have lived without when my boys were babies and their sister (who is set to grace us with her presence on the 11th June) will be no different. However since it has been 4 years since gave our loved bouncer away and we had to make a new selection.

The Serenity Rocker by Steelcraft offers everything our old one did but with more features and benefits. I love that it can be used as a rocker or can be used in a stationary position, it is very easy to swap between the two as well. Along with folding conveniently for storage or transport it also has 3 seating positions for additional relaxation and a padded seat, supportive headrest, shoulder harness and crotch pad for extra comfort.

Another feature that I am very fond of is the vibration and music function, the one we used for our boys had this feature and it was great as the vibration soothed them. This rocker is suitable for use from newborn – 9kg.

The Serenity Rocker is available to purchase from:

babyschoice.com.au

babycarenursery.com.au

babysavings.com.au 

Prices range from $99-$140.

Top Posts & Pages