Best Rocky Cat and Dog Deals

Customer Ratings:

It is great to know there are quality toys still available that are made right here in the United States. This product reminds me of my childhood.

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I wanted to purchase a classic toy but also wanted one made in the USA. Most, including some 'upscale' brands, are made in the People's Republic of China. So I was surprised to see this on Amazon. Item arrived as shown on the website. Pieces were solidly made, with all edges smoothed down. The toy was thoroughly enjoyed by the toddler who received it.

Just one minor note: the rod portion of the toy that holds the wooden rings has a rounded tip, but I would still advised caution for young kids playing with this that they not fall on it, especially the eyes. Perhaps I'll a bit paranoid, but if you watch any medical TV shows, kids can get hurt in all sorts of ways.

Nonetheless, I have no regrets purchasing this otherwise well made toy that supports a US company.

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We bought this stack toy for our youngest son when he was a newborn. He is almost three and still enjoys stacking the rings and coming up with creative combinations, and it still looks brand-new. It is made in the USA, which was a huge draw for me. It wasn't cheap, but because of the quality and craftsmanship we will be keeping this toy & passing it down to the grandkids someday.

Review of Ultimate Geodes Science Kit

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Dr. Cool provided us with this kit free of charge as a review sample.

The box has 15 little geodes from 1 to 1.5 in. in diameter in a bag, the plastic safety glasses and a glossy, illustrated booklet that explains how geodes came into existence and their various types.

The actual fun is the breaking of geodes to reveal the crystals inside and this is where I am deducting half a star. While this is a very interesting activity, it's also something that children, especially children from ages 6-12 simply can't do on their own. The rocks were not easy to break and, as hard as she tried, our 9 yr. old armed with a hammer and a chisel could barely scratch the surface. Our 15 and 16 yr. olds found the rocks difficult to break as well yes, anyone can smash rocks with a big hammer but the goal is to only crack them into 2 halves, 3 (thirds) at most.

Our first session lasted more than an hour and it consisted of reading the 8-page booklet and then the kids and myself worked on breaking the rocks open. Once a geode was successfully cracked we would spend some time trying to identify it using the booklet as our guide, then admire than crystal formations inside. We cracked 8 out of the 15 provided rocks, saving the rest for a second session. I don't know if it was luck but most of the geodes we opened were quite interesting, including a very nice Amethyst geode, some containing nice and clear Quartz crystals and some with smaller crystals but arranged in interesting formations.

This can be a fun and educational activity for as long as the geode-cracking part is left to the grownups.

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I love toys that are educational as well as fun. When I received an offer to test two science kits from Dr. Cool I jumped on that chance. Geodes kit was my first choice, and I was really looking forward to it as I have a fondness for rocks and wanted to share it with the kids. I really thought I would love this kit. However this kit left us frustrated. We (me and two teenagers) had very hard time cracking the rocks. After a fairly long attempt at each geode I was able to open just two.

I am attaching a collage of two photos that I will be referring to in this review.

Photo #1 shows the entire content of the kit next to the ruler so you can see the relative size of the geodes. The kit includes 15 geodes and eye protection glasses. The kit requires you use your own tools: a hammer and a chisel.

The guide gave us two methods for cracking the geodes: the chisel method and the sock method.

Method 1: Before cracking the geodes the instruction said to score the geodes so they would break along that line. We did not have a chisel and use a big screw and a screw driver to score the stone. Perhaps the lack of the proper chisel explains the difficulty in cracking the geodes. After scoring the geodes we tried tapping them with a screwdriver positioned on the scoring line. Kids could not open any, I was able to crack just a couple. Photo #2 shows the opened geode with white crystals on the inside.

Method 2: Putting a geode into a sock (to prevent small pieces flying around) and hitting it with hammer with more force than method #1. This method did not open any geodes.

I wish the kit included a chisel as this is not a common tool like a hammer, and it might have made a difference if we had it.

This is potentially a very neat toy, my recommendation is to have a strong adult present. Clearly, I was not up to par on this. We plan to try again with more muscle power present.

Ali Julia review

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I bought a few different sets of Geodes for my kids for Christmas. These were by far the best quality Geodes and they were larger than I expected them to be. Each one cracked open to reveal a large cavity with great crystals. They took some effort to open but the results were great. We used some books I bought as well as the included pamphlet to identify the type of crystals. They have added these to their rock collection. This was much more fun then just buying the already cut rock samples as they got to do this themselves.

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My children had TONS of fun breaking these geodes open, and I liked the fact that the kit included safety goggles. I'm glad we got the ultimate kit. There were a number of differences in the crystal formations inside, and it was fun to compare the crystal treasure.

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This Ultimate Geodes Science Kit is without a doubt one of the coolest science related sets for kids! We are science enthusiasts and enjoy doing educational project so this Geode kit was a fit for us.

The kit includes 15 unopened Geodes, a glossy manual, and safety goggles. The glossy instruction book is packed full of details on how geodes are formed and is very informative. The geodes range in size from about 1.5" to 2.5" in diameter and most can indeed be broken open by children in the target age range (6 and up). We place the geodes into a thick plastic freezer bag (see video) and we all enjoyed opening them with a hammer (not included), with "Whack it again!" as a common encouragement! The inclusion of plastic safety goggles was a nice touch and very responsible of the kit maker.

Out of 15 geodes, we were able to open 14 of them without much effort and the last one was able to be opened by me with a very heavy hammer. The crystals inside ranged from fairly small to impressively nice, but all of them were good looking and definitely worth having.

This is a great family activity that teaches important geological information and gives you a lasting, pretty reminder in the form of the opened geodes.

Highly Recommended!

CFH

Note: Kit provided by manufacture for review, but that in no way influences my comments or rating

LeapFrog LeapPad2 Explorer Disney Princess Bundle Reviews

Customer Ratings:

This is a nice toy, and they've made some improvements since LeapPad 1. The front and back camera option is especially nice. I was very excited to see that this bundle came with a Disney theme. But now that I've gone through setting it up and testing it out, I'm really not that impressed. With it's price tag being what it is ... in hindsight I wish I'd just bought a regular tablet for my daughter like the Kindle fire.

First, a note ...

STICKERS: Like someone else mentioned, I also thought the stickers were missing and was disappointed. THE STICKERS ARE THERE! Just as I was taking all the packaging out to the recycling bin, I found them. MAN! They are hidden WELL, but they're there. There are two problems. First, the sticker "sheets" are probably much smaller than what you think you're looking for (they're only about 2"x3"-ish), and second ... they're HIDDEN! They're inside one of the many, many folded cardboard compartments and sealed up with tape. Honestly, it's a terrible place to put them I'll bet half of parents will throw them away not knowing where to find them. But if you read this -keep looking! They're there.

Now, some issues ...

1) TOUCH SCREEN: It's not all that receptive/reactive to touch. You're better off using the stylus, but for the younger crowd, that could get a little frustrating. I was buying this for the touch-screen aspect, so this is disappointing.

2) THE CASE: Yes, the case could use a redesign. It's CUTE, but ... there's no strap or elastic for the pad, so when this thing is unzipped by little hands, the LeapPad is undoubtedly going to fall out. The other side of the case is designed for a spare stylus and cartridges. If you, like me, are going to download the apps from the app store and have no intention of using cartridges, this will be useless for you. I'd rather they included a place for headphones. Also, if you have a younger child (3), note ... the case is not super easy to zip/unzip. It's not impossible, but ... the stiff zipper might be a little tricky for tiny hands.

3) BE PREPARED THE APPS ARE EXPENSIVE: If you're expecting $1.99 apps (like on iTunes), don't. The cheapest app I've seen was $5 and the "good" games are about $25 each. It's going to cost you some cheddar to fill this thing up. After selecting just a few apps to get started, I viewed my cart and saw I was already over $100 ... which made me wonder if I should've just sprung for an iPad mini. Also, note, with this bundle when it says you get to pick an app, you don't get to choose any app you want out of the app store. You must pick one of four specific apps.

4) LACKLUSTER VIDEO QUALITY: For $7.50 each I downloaded some video apps of Nickelodeon shows (Fresh Beat Band, Dora, etc.) I just tried them out ... ugh! I'm not pleased with the resolution / screen quality. I mean, it's okay but ... not great. I was hoping the LeapPad 2 would be a little nicer in this area. Not so much.

5) NON-REMOVABLE ADS!?!? Okay, I bought this thing, I paid through the nose for apps ... why is there still a "Leap Frog Sneak Peaks" ADVERTISEMENT permanently on the screen for my daughter to click on??? Seems wrong. I'm annoyed by that.

6) ON THE HEAVY SIDE: I put the four AA batteries in this and ... it's pretty heavy. Not terrible, but I have a feeling little three year old hands are going to get tired out from this.

7) CREEPY MP3 ERRORS: I got the MP3 player app so that I could load my daughter's favorite songs onto the pad. I loaded a batch of perfectly fine MP3s all encoded the same all of which work properly on the computer or on my own mp3 player. HOWEVER once they got onto the LeapPad, some of them (randomly) only play SUPER slow with low low voices like CREEPY low. Scary! Doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to which ones aren't playing properly. I loaded 63 songs 22 worked okay, the other 41 have this playing slow issue. :( Also, the player leaves much to be desired. It's not graphical at all, so if your child doesn't read yet, they'll have no visual identifiers to help them find the songs they want. And even if they DO read the screen only shows about 20 characters, so if the song title is long or shows the artist's name first, it may become impossible to identify the songs (if you've got several songs by the same artist with more than 20 characters in their name, the song titles will be pushed off the screen and you can't see them.)

8) CAN'T LOAD VIDEO? The computer interface allows you to upload mp3s (not that they actually work on the other end ... see above), but it doesn't seem to allow you to upload videos into the LeapPad. I'm guessing this is because they want to make sure you're purchasing videos from the app store.

9) SCREEN REARRANGES? I took the time to move all the tiles around so that the apps I think my daughter will like best appear on the first screen. By the way, you can't do this on the computer interface, you must move each app icon on the LeapPad itself. At any rate, I took a few minutes and did that, and about 10 minutes later (after I'd explored a few of the new apps) I noticed that some of the app tiles had rearranged themselves and moved to different screens. ? Not sure if that was a fluke. I hope it's not an ongoing thing. It's going to really confuse my daughter if the apps are moving around all the time. :(

Hope that helps! Don't get me wrong, it's a nice little toy these are just a few observations. If I had known all of this before I purchased it ... honestly, I probably would've gone with a Kindle Fire or an iPad mini instead. I think it would've been worth it in the long run, especially considering how much the leappad apps cost. C'est la vie!

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My 5 year old has the old leap pad, so naturally him & my 3 yr old daughter started fighting for it! It was the perfect birthday present! I was worried she might be too young for it but she uses it with ease. I love the front camera, it makes it so much easier for her to take photos!

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bought this for my 4 year old granddaughter, she is on it as soon as she gets up and would probabaly stay on it if her mother allowed. wonderful toy, worth my money. also seems to be very durable.

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I bought this for my great-grandaughter's birthday which is Christmas. I gave it to her though about a week after I got it, as it is electronic and only has a short window for return to Amazon if something ia amiss with it. I also purchased Pet Pals 2, Dora and Mr. Pencil. She played only with the Pet pals. She is only 3 and 10 months so I figure she will try the others later. However, after a few days of playing Pet Pals it started to freeze up and we had to keep turning it off and back on. This of course frustrated her and it also kills the batteries as the child keeps trying to make it work before it hits you that it has froze. I sent the game back to Amazon and they replaced it the next day. I will give it to her the replacement game today and if it keeps freezing then there is a possibility it may be the system and that is what I am waiting to see. Also be aware that the recharger does not come with the bundle though a very nice case does. The case has a place for storing several games. The recharger is approximately 37.00 on Amazon and free shipping with prime. I will update if the new game does the same thing. Hope this helps.

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First off, I bought this for my 3-year old, so I can't comment on other age groups. My daughter has had her Leappad 2 (Princess) for about 2 months now and has played with it everyday. As parents know, that is something to say when it comes to 3-year olds. I am personally impressed as well. Is it comparable to my Nexus 7, an iPad or an iPhone? No. But I didn't want her having one of those! I wanted a durable device that is 100% focused on learning. I honestly believe that she learns more efficiently on this device than other more adult oriented devices. I've heard complaints about the prices of games. I understand those gripes, but I personally don't mind paying a premium for a game that is 1) dedicated to learning and 2) adapts to their educational level (you are able to adjust the level from early pre-k to much higher learning). Another complaint from others is battery usage. Easy fix get the rechargeable battery pack and that problem is solved. If you are in a position to spend about $300, (device, battery pack and 2 gigs of apps), and can persuade your little one to take care of it as much as possible, I really believe you'll be happy with this device. Was I in a position to drop $300? Nope, but my daughter's early education is worth it and when I see her enjoying it, it makes it worth the corners on other things I've had to cut. My biggest complaint? A very small one. No way to toggle brightness?

Discount Geomag Kids Color - 110 pieces (Colors May Vary)

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This system is just a lot of fun. When you build something (and it doesn't have to be like a building), you have a whole new perspective on where the forces go: One wrong move and it collapses. On the other hand, when you build a structure like the star shown here, it is durable enough to hand--from other geomags, of course. The magnets and spheres all fit together easily, but you find after a while that the direction that you put the bars matters. And, being magnets, they sometimes move on their own...

There are also small panels available in other sets, which make more stable structures.

Both I and my granddaughter (she is 5) like it, so I think that the age given of 3 yrs. to 15 is a little restrictive. Actually, I don't think that most kids would get much out of it until they are 5 or so, but after that, I can't picture an upper age. There is a website at the manufacturer's that has ideas to pursue (if you have thousands of parts). I enjoyed it enough to order more--it may be addictive--but even with only a hundred pieces, you can build some fun structure. .

Also, if you have children who put things in their mouths (either from age or habit), all the small parts could be a problem.

This is a great toy, both educational and just plain fun.

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We have several sets of Geo Mags and all my kids love them. I wish they still made the original shorter magnets but these are just as fun. They made a nice addition to our older sets.

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Geomags are fun for kids and adults too! High-quality, strong magnetic toys that can be used for education or just for fun. As long as your kids are old enough not to swallow them, that is. I give these my highest recommendation.

Reviews of LeapFrog Easy Reader Phonics Kit 1

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While my son enjoyed the illustrations anf fun content of the books in this set, I felt it was disappointing as a learning tool for beginning readers because it moves much too quickly. The first book is just letters and letter sounds. Very introductory. The second book introduces three letter words right off with no transition at all like 2 letter blends. That was ok to me since it was phonetic 3 letter words, but by page 2 we were already "leaping" to 4 and 5 letter words and by page 3 they were already introducing a sight word "does" and a double consonant word "cannot". I thought the pace was frustrating for my son. I was hoping/expecting a book devoted to just blends and/or 3 letter words. Instead this program is organized by vowels with the letter a being introduced first. I don't see that as a problem, but I was expecting more phonetic 3 letter words to start and introducing harder 4 and 5 letter words by maybe book 3 and sight words coming later, like maybe book 4. Unfortunately, you can't see exactly what your getting until you open the box.

Nonetheless, the audio is entertaining for children with music and humor thrown in and the reward stickers, poster, and ribbon are a fun way to recognize your child's achievement. The practice game is basically just like the Word Whammer Fridge Phonics product but with cards instead of magnets.

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My five year old is in Kindergarten this year, and I have gotten very frustrated because I just don't know how to teach him anything! I am an internal learner, and mostly learned how to read from watching Sesame Street as a child. So, I was pretty desperate for some help. I purchased the whole "Learn to Read" Kit, which includes Phonics kits 1-3, plus the Read & Write Leappad. We've just started the first kit, and my son is extremely excited about the sticker chart, and he really wants to earn the ribbon that they provide. It says "I Can Read". I agree with the review that states it is very fast moving. I was hoping for a bit more in the connecting sounds to create words area. My son has listening issues and has a learning delay and he's responding very well, but it's also very frustrating for him. The main issues that I'm having with this is how difficult it is to decipher the sounds at times from the little electronic speaker. It's difficult to tell the difference between "f" and "s" for example. The other big issue is that when playing a game where my son was supposed to listen to the letter sounds and figure out what word they were spelling, it kept saying everything started with "C"! It was confusing for him. It would clearly say "errr" "aaa" "ttt" (Rat) and then say it began with "C" or "sss" "lll" "aaa" "mmm" (Slam) and then say it began with "C"! he kept hitting "Cat" and then it would tell him he was wrong. He wouldn't believe *Me* that the machine was wrong, because they never lie *headdesk* However, for its purpose of giving ME the tools to better teach my child, it deserves four stars.

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I bought this also along with kit 2 and kit 3.. while they do move a bit quickly, these books, kits, are suppose to help give the child an idea of what "they" are and how the sound. These books and kits are MEANT to be used with a REAL person, and to reinforce what they are being taught, they are NOT meant to teach the child every thing there is to learn! A teacher or parent should be teaching these things in full to begin with and the books and kits to be used as a tool, or as a back up to help the child as a reniforcement. If you use them correctly they are a wonderful tool for any child! Ho and if you buy one kit you really should buy all three of them because the three together are a wonderfull addition to school work, practice, learing, reniforcement of what is being taught.

Sarah

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My children love their leappads and I love the fact that they are continuing to expose themselves to reading even when I'm not supervising them. These phonics kits contain cute stories that help reinforce the concepts that I try to introduce. I don't believe that this kit will teach them phonics on it's own but I love them anyways. As with all leappad books, I wish they were a little sturdier as the pages can get caught on the pen when littles are turning them, causing rips and tears.

Jumbo Circular Stamp/Paint Pads Set; 6" Diameter; Washable Review

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These are terrific for a classroom or crafting at home. The large size means that more than one kid can be stamping at a time. I also like how it's easy to keep colors separate. You can't quite fit an entire adult hand onto the pad, but if you do two presses, you can. The pads stack easily too.

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They are great, but the seal is impossible to pull off, so you have to cut it off and I suggest wearing gloves when you do that

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I let my one year old play with these all the time. He gets them on the floor, on his clothes, on the walls (he is a quick mover...) and it has come off of everything. I am super pleased with this purchase. They are much better quality than other stamp pads I have used working in schools and childcare centers. I will be purchasing these again!

Best Magnetic Poetry Fridgelife Chore Magnets. Flat Pack. 3306 Deals

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My child has ADHD, so having a responsibility chart really helps, for she responds to schedules. These magnets really help.

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These magnets are great because they are functional, but my only problem is the font they came in. I abhor Comic Sans font and sure enough instead of the pristine font shown, I was given Comic Sans. That oddly is a big deal to me. I know this is nitpicking but I was disappointed because I didn't get exactly as I ordered. As this is for my child's chore list and the "a" in the Comic Sans font is one of the only fonts with how preschoolers are taught, I won't be returning the magnets.

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These are the cheapest chore magnets I could find and they're perfect for the chore chart I made! Lots of different options and even some kid-specific ones.

Reviews of Recycling Learning Center

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I received this as a gift and figured it wouldn't be used very much because it seemed so specific. I was quite mistaken. My kids really took to it and enjoy using it. I think it is because they can connect the pictures on the cards to things they see in their homes. For example, they now categorize things in their home using the categories in this set. They might pick up a real newspaper and then put it next to the little paper recycle bin. It's prompted me to get a better recycling center going in our home, so that the kids can recycle things in real life just as they do with this set/game. I'd highly recommend it. Be prepared to make sure the kids can do real recycling in your home, too!

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LeapPad Phonics Book 2 Reviews

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First you need to know that the content of this product now titled "LeapPad Phonics Book 2 Tad's Good Night" was previously published as "Leap 1 Phonics Book Tad's Good Night". The products are identical except for the change in title. Actually the revised line of products as "phonics book" numbering from 1 to 14 makes logical sense and is more helpful to parents like me who are trying to figure out the proper sequence to buy and introduce these phonics teaching books and activities to their children.

This is mainly a reader that reinforces the short-a and short-o vowel sounds. This is designed to be used after the child knows these sounds from an earlier LeapPad program or already knows them from another learning source such as Mom and Dad or school. If it is used out of sequence it may cause confusion or frustration. This program acts as one unit in a phonics program, properly isolating certain sounds and reinforcing them with practice actually reading the story. Reading experts in phonics feel that there should be a systematic progression of learning some sounds then practicing them. This program fits right in if you make sure you are following the sequence from beginning to end. All in all there are 14 LeapPad products you would have to buy to follow the entire progression from start to finish, just so you are aware. Inside the package is a chart showing the proper sequence of products; since all are sold separately...otherwise it is quite confusing to try to figure out as a consumer/parent.

This is a short story about the little frog Tad, whose parents go out on a date night together, leaving him and his siblings at home with their grandfather as babysitter. Tad is not happy his parents are leaving him and is upset and even crying. In the end his older brother Leap helps make him happy and he falls asleep before Mom and Dad arrive back home.

I liked that there are several ways to have the story read. If you press the green "go" circle, the story starts being read automatically with different voices for the different characters and the meter, rhythm, inflection and the punctuation is correct. If you touch the pen to the words themselves then it reads off that one word. If you move the pen along the line of the text it reads along the words. The downside is the pen-touching method is the robotic monotone voice that has no regard for punctuation, emotion, etc.

I noticed an improvement in this product over some other programs we have, I was happy that the background music is softer than the spoken word. With some of the older programs, the music is as loud if not seeming louder than the spoken letter sounds, which makes it harder to hear the letter sounds.

There are two 2-page spreads that contain a total of 5 games to play. Each page of the story also has the ability to play one game per page. Every page also has the option by touching a certain button to say the word, spell the word, or sound out the word. I feel that every child will need more practice than this book provides, and highly recommend the extra practice that is found in the "activity book 1" and the other 3 subsequent activity books as a supplement.

Thank goodness Leap Frog has decided to be consistent in providing volume controls for every program. Kudos to Leap Frog for that option! There is a wide range of soft volume to what I consider to be "too loud". Thank you for having volume control!

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My english is not very good but i can said that is a grate toy a very good for my gaughter learning

Cheap Hohner Kids / 2-piece Maple Soprano Baroque Recorder

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I'm a professional concert flutist and I had a need for a recorder for a production of Sweeney Todd. I had one of the really cheap Yamahas (24S model), and I upgraded to the 300 series. In fact I just got a combo of 4 that had the Sopranino all the way to Tenor. Anyway. I came across this Hohner recorder in a music shop and they had 3 of the Maple one (this one) and three of the Pearwood model. I tried them all out and I liked the maple better than the pearwood. So, I bought it and had the conductor listen. He felt that the tone was too sweet and too pretty for the show and chose the Plastic 300 series Yamaha. Fair enough.

What I'm trying to say is that it's a good deal. The conductor thought the sound was too nice, and honestly, it is quite an upgrade from any of the other plastic recorders I've played. It's definitely not a top of the line recorder because I did find some clarity issues with upper register notes, but that's fine. For roughly $30, this is a heck of a deal. It has a sweet, pure sound that is deliciously warm. I will never be a Pro level recorder player. Nor do I want to be. But, this recorder is definitely a good instrument in my opinion. Wood does have a learning curve to it. Plastic generally has a faster and easier response, but the tone quality simply doesn't compare.

If you're debating between this recorder or a plastic model (Aulos or Yamaha for example) in the same price range, think about what you will use it for. If you are willing to take a little longer to get the best out of it, get this one. If this is for a child, get the plastic ones. Wood WILL break, and the light oil finish on these simply doesn't offer any additional protection.

If I were given the opportunity to buy it again, I wood. Get it. Wood? Haha ;)

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After some years of playing plastic recorders, I finally tried wood, in part because of the reasonable price of this made-in-China German recorder. It has the sweetest timber of any soprano recorder I have played (not as sweet as alto recorders, of course); the tactile sensation of playing wood is quite different (softer) than plastic; low C and high A are not too difficult to hit consistently; and (apparently like all wood recorders) condensation/spittle is a minor problem compared to plastic recorders (that block up very easily). This comes with only the lightest oil finish. I used olive oil and not the recommended linseed oil (I want edible oils for anything that goes in my mouth). Although Hohner says not to use oil on the cork seal (used to attach the 2 parts), the olive oil does not seem to bother it. I have also used the vegetable joint grease from Aulos without problem. After oiling inside and out a few times, condensation has no effect on the wood. If you have a narrower rod than the one supplied (which is identical with Aulos rods for soprano recorders) and something like gun-cleaning patches, this recorder can be cleaned without breaking it down. Hohner does not include joint grease or a thumb rest. That is unfortunate, but you can rectify the omissions by ordering from Aulos (the soprano thumb rest is a tight fit but will work OK). I cannot deduct stars for that because this is such a bargain at the price. I should advise that the recorder I received is called the B9560 by Hohner (the Hohner website has no model 9522--once again US vendors changing barcodes and model numbers for who knows what reason).

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This Hohner maple recorder is surprisingly nice. I like it better than their more expensive "Concert" pearwood model, which has a louder, albeit duller quality to it. The tone on this one is more open, and lighter. Like all Hohners,it hits the higher notes quite easily.

I would definitely recommend this recorder to anyone looking for something that sounds nice and wants something in wood. I have some expensive recorders, and to tell you the truth, I like this one the best. Good for children and adults, and adults shouldn't think just because this is a "student" model (basic shape, design) that it's inferior. It sounds just lovely!

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I have decided to take up the recorder after many years away from playing anything. I had used a plastic recorder the previous few months and was pleased with that, but I am definitely glad I spent a little bit more to get this recorder. I was going to save $8 and get the all pear one, but someone reviewing with knowledge recommended this one. If you have played even a little bit and wish to continue playing recorder, it will be a wise choice. I can play longer without the moisture obscuring the sound of plastic and making it temp unplayable. It is easier to hit low C and high A! I don't have a great ear but it does actually sound better! Cleaning ain't that big of a deal and it comes with everything you need. Someone mentioned it being smelly. LOL There is a very minimal wood smell that I enjoy. I wish it smelled stronger. I had to put my nose to it and it is fast loosing even that minimal scent. Can't believe I didn't get this sooner.

UPDATE: I'm still in love with this little baby! It sounds lovely... Best buy I could find on a quality wood recorder, still to this day. It has held up perfectly over the past 1.5 year and actually sounds a tiny bit better, then when brand new and warms up more quickly at approx 2-5 minutes instead of 10 minutes, for several months after first purchased. Highly recommended!

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The plastic recorder originally bought for my granddaughter always 'screeched" and I could barely stand to listen for more than a few seconds. This beautiful wooden recorder is well worth the little bit of extra money it is a pleasure to hold (the wood is like satin) and has a much nicer sound. I read the other reviewers comments before buying it and was glad to make such a good purchase. I would recommend buying the 'fuzzy' rods (also bought at Amazon) for drying it out after playing. My 7 year old granddaughter understands that drying is important and likes that she can do this herself.

Cheap Princess Diary with Tote Bag, Charm Bracelet and Lipstick Pen

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List Price: $21.99
Sale Price: $14.99
Today's Bonus: 32% Off

I bought this gift for my niece for Christmas and she seems to love it. It was very cute. She loved the bracelet and the book. The pen was a little flimsy but I don't know if it was the way it came or if the kids broke it. Most likely the kids broke it since they are so rough and she can be careless. Overall, I was very satisfied. This item got to me within 2 days, even through the northeast blizzard a few days back.

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Cheap Kids Adventure Standard Jumbo Blocks 96 pc

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List Price: $199.99
Sale Price: $149.99
Today's Bonus: 25% Off

I have spent many hundreds of dollars on these blocks and think they are great. First saw them at a local children's museum and have since purchased several of the 48, 96, and one 192 block sets. The only difference between the sets (other than the number of blocks) is that the larger sets come with more, and larger, plastic windows.

My son (turned two recently) has been walking along, climbing up, and crawling through my creations since he could move. He can now usually pull the blocks apart himself but can't always push them all the way together.

These are durable enough to hold the weight of a 160lb adult and I've even made bridges I could stand on by sliding several sections of PVC pipe through the holes.

I highly recommend the blocks but be warned no matter how many you have you'll likely think of even more amazing structures you could build if you had just a few more blocks!

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We have had these blocks for several weeks.now. My 3 year old plays with them every day. She has been building castles, robots, sand castles, etc. The blocks are very durable. They are light weight (hollow inside), made just like a lego or duplo block, just larger. I definitely recommend them. If you're on the fence about making the purchase, do it, you won't be disappointed. Oh, they also came with several different sized 'windows', and some of the blocks have grooves along the side for their placement.

Best Deals for Kids Adventure Standard Jumbo Blocks 96 pc

These are great blocks durable and sturdy. My only regret is buying only the 96 pc set. The true fun of building with these is that you can build really big structures and to do so and keep the structure sturdy you need a LOT of blocks. We found that the 96 pc set is probably the minimum that I would recommend. With it we can build walls, small pieces of furniture, free-standing animals, and half-forts. Doubling the set to around 200 pc would be ideal and would allow us to build forts and more complex shapes.

Honest reviews on Kids Adventure Standard Jumbo Blocks 96 pc

We bought these for my 4 boys, and they love them. We've spent hours building different structures. They're very sturdy too. I know that I've stepped on a couple by accident, and no cracks whatsoever. Recommend to anybody whose kiddos love to build. Awesome toy.

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Arrived quickly, and was exactly as we expected. Only downside is the price for the number of blocks you get... Our son likes these very much, but you can never have too many to build with....

Discount Crystal Growing

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Do not order from this seller. I am a teacher and I have used Smithsonian crystal growing kits in my classroom for many years. They are great fun and always thrill the students. There are many possibilities for experimenting with growing the best crystals. But this seller is showing a kit to grow many different colors and types of crystals and geodes. That is not the kit they send. Instead I got a kit that grows 3 types and only 2 bags of powder instead of the 8 advertised. The kit I received is also good, but it is $10. less than what I paid. Beware from this seller!

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Bought this for my 9 year old son. We followed the directions and got a mess. Not at all what is in the description. He was very disappointed as was I.

Best Measuring Marathon Game Deals

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Race to the finish. This game is fun because it is fairly short. In homeschooling it is good to have lots of educational games on hand. The short ones are better because the children don't lose concentration and they do learn something.

Description:

You move your playing piece forward by answereing multiple choice questions on your turn. eg. How long is a foot? a. 12 inches b. 18 inches c. 6 inches

If you answer correctly you move your piece forward until somebody reaches the finish line.

Great educational game for about grades 2 to 4. Some of the questions will be a bit tricky for grade 2 and most would be easy for grade 4.

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What a great game to learn all types of math. My 13 year old son just loves this game. The whole family plays.

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it simplistic questions only are really good for review, and not for learning. I keep this game around for when I have a substitute. It allows the kids to practice seeing questions they might see on standardized testing, but it really does not allow me to adapt well for different learning levels.