Jacquard Beaded Diary Review

Customer Ratings:

This is a beautiful keepsake for a diary, journal or lists and plans for a special occasion. The jacquard cloth is high quality with the gold brocade and jeweled beads sewn very fine and artistically for a unique pattern. While supply might be limited, if this is ever spotted here again, it would be a splendid buy for personal or gift purposes. Service by this particular vendor was fantastic.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

SMART CYCLE Extreme Software - Go Diego Go! Reviews

Customer Ratings:

Granddaughter who will be 4 soon has had this since she was 3, she plays this along with other games for the extreme cycle. She amazes us on how quick she figures things out. I really like the cycle in general and since she loves Diego and Dora this was a must to buy for her.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Discount InspirEd Educators 5107 I Think Geography - The Middle East

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $35.63
Sale Price: $28.50
Today's Bonus: 20% Off

I am a 7th grade Geography teacher in Oklahoma, and this is probably the best book I've ever bought as far as usefulness for my classroom goes. The lessons hit on the most important topics when discussing the Middle East such as stereotypes about the Middle East, water shortages, terrorism/extremism, oil, land disputes, religious conflict, etc. I used at least 5 lessons straight from the book, which is saying a lot coming from me. I am very rarely satisfied with pre-made lessons, but I only made very minor changes to the instructions the authors gave.

One of my favorite lessons is called "Going Home?". It starts off with a brief timeline of the history of the Jewish people to show where their religion originated and give some perspective about the hardships they had to face throughout history. Next, students are presented with 6 exhibits of primary and secondary source documents all revolving around the history of Palestine/Israel. They are:

-Letter from British government to Jewish leader

-Table showing immigration into Palestine between 1920 and 1945

-A picture of Palestinians protesting Jewish immigration

-Pictures from the Holocaust

-A newspaper article telling the story of a Jewish ship that was refused entry into Palestine

-An excerpt from a speech by David Ben-Gurion declaring the new state of Israel

Students look through the evidence by themselves, with partners, or in a small group. The teacher can choose how in depth you want to go with each exhibit. I personally assigned one exhibit to each small group and then had them present their findings to the rest of the class. As each group presented their exhibit, students completed the "Putting Words in Their Mouths" activity. Basically, they came up with a quote that different people involved in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict might have said based on the exhibits presented. The people they had to compose quotes for were

-A British political leader

-A Holocaust survivor

-A Palestinian Arab

-An Israeli settler

-A British soldier who removed refugees from the Exodus 1947

-A reporter who witnessed the events of the Arab Uprising

-Someone in the crowd at Gurion's speech

My students really enjoyed getting to work with actual documents from the time and they enjoyed the activity overall. This is but one example of the kind of lessons you can get from this book. I would highly recommend this product for both Geography and History teachers.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

21" Turquoise Gemstone Globe with 3-Leg Gold Stand Reviews

Customer Ratings:

here in Europe you can consider it a unique piece, couldn't find it anywhere than ordering it directly from the States... very beautiful... saw it once in a shop on a cruise-ship, but than the box was to large to handle as a passenger...

Keep in mind that the custom charges for Europe are expensive: 80 euro's extra I had to pay on delivery...

As packaging concerns: one leg of the tripod was lose and scratched the compass part... overall several little scratched areas on as well the globe as on the brassed parts

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Clock Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $12.99
Sale Price: $10.39
Today's Bonus: 20% Off

made of quality material wood.

i like that it does not lay flat.. they added a piece of wood on the back that props it at an angle when you lay it down so its easier for the child look at.

theres so many different stages of learning to this piece. colors, numbers, shapes, and of course learning time. this will be great for years to come. my son is 17 months old now.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

My son loves it but gets a little frustrated when he stands the clock upright and all the pieces would fall off.

Best Deals for Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Clock

I like this compared to other clock toys which cost a bit higher from Melissa . One additional advantage in this is you can match colors which you cannot in the other clock toy from the same seller. It helps in introducing time concepts at an age you think is appropriate for your kid. Very useful and value for your money.

It would have been better if it had a stand at the back but this does not affect the functionality or the utility of the toy

Honest reviews on Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Clock

What a surprise to my niece when she got this! She said it's beautiful and sent me a big toothless grinning picture! (LOL)

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Clock

I am not so thrilled about the fact that the shapes keeps falling off he clock. But other ways this is a vey educational toy.

Cheap Subtraction Practice Math Machine

Customer Ratings:

I just pulled this item up because I have the whole set that is now a good 5 years old. I have to tell you that as far as I can tell these tile boards are indestructable, incredibly durable, and extremely educational not to mention the fun that my daughter has had pushing to buttons. Anyway, I pulled the site up so that I could send the link to our local elementary school that my daughter attends. I bought all 4 (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) as a set while my daughter was in Kindergarten. I struck GOLD!! We still use the multiplication and especially the division one, she is now 12-years old. Excellent way to keep the kids SHARP. I have my daughter close her eyes, randomly touch upon one of the tiles, and then.....we see how sharp she is. My daughter has acute ADHD and these boards have been the ticket!! They are engaging versus sitting still and memorizing math facts. An absolutely awesome learning tool.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Kids love this and have fun while learning their math skills. I do suggest you have them do it in random order to make it more challenging.

Best Spaghetti Legs Table Deals

Customer Ratings:

I purchased this table for my Grand Daughters for Christmas. They were amused at first! One is 15 months old and the other is 4 years old. The four year old isn't interested at all. She likes her hand held games. The younger one does play with it a few times a week. Would recommend it for a doctors office or preschool. It has lots of maze like wires and beads. But, really only used occasionally.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

The kids love this. It can also be bolted to the floor if needed. The kids under 2 can stand there for an hour and play!

Best Deals for Spaghetti Legs Table

This toy keeps him busy! More activity = more fun. Learn to concentrate, educational, durable, and well thought product for a good price!

Review of InnoTab V.Reader Storage Tote (Blue)

Customer Ratings:

We received 2 of these today. My boys love the fact that it is backpack style. I didn't realize this wasn't hard plastic (although it is a firm and covered in fabric) and I do feel like the material will get worn pretty easily, but overall my kids have been wearing them around since they got them and they haven't even gotten the Innotab yet! It seems it will do a fine job of protecting the Innotab. Inside has slots for 6 cartridges and an elastic net section for the Innotab or reader as well.

UPDATE: We've had these a year and they are still going strong. They have held up great! I was worried the fabric would snag or something, but it has not.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This is a great, compact, backpack style storage case for the Innotab. The storage case unzips, and inside it there is one large mesh pocket for the Innotab. In addition to the space for the Innotab, there are a few smaller mesh pockets for cartridges.

I've noticed other reviewers say they are able to store their battery chargers or ac adapters, but I couldn't. I tried my darnedest, but it's a very slim case and I couldn't make enough room for anything other than the Innotab and the cartridges. *****SEE UPDATE BELOW*****

Despite the fact that I think it would be more useful if it was roomy enough to store some alternatives to batteries (the Innotab is notoriously bad at sucking up batteries), I still think it was worth $15 to protect the unit.

*****UPDATE ABOUT STORING THE PLUG ADAPTER*****: My nephew just got an Innotab and all the accessories for his birthday. They were able to put the AC adapter into their case! We have the same case but a different adapter we bought the Vtech adapter and they bought an off brand that is MUCH smaller. Ours is quite large and bulky but his is easily half the size of our adapter and fits in the case perfectly.

Best Deals for InnoTab V.Reader Storage Tote (Blue)

Have not had the bag for too long so it is not completely tested. It fits the innotab perfect with slots for game cartridge. Was able to fit the connecting cord in the bottom as well. The 2 straps and size of the case are perfect for a toddler. The hard sides help keep the innotab safe. Love it.

Honest reviews on InnoTab V.Reader Storage Tote (Blue)

Perfect for my grandson to take his innotab anywhere & have it protected. good product at a good price. Very happy w/ this purchase

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for InnoTab V.Reader Storage Tote (Blue)

The InnoTab storage case InnoTab V.Reader Storage Tote is colorful and complements the InnoTab. I'm a little disappointed in the construction, I was expecting hard plastic. The case is firm and covered in a thin layer of fabric which leads me to doubt its durability in the long run. The case provides little in the way of protection for the InnoTab but hey, what do you expect for $15? Inside the case, there is an elasticized compartment which holds the InnoTab securely in place. On the opposite side, there are compartments enough to hold 6 cartridges, or use one or two of the spaces for extra batteries you'll need them! The USB cord fits well in the bottom of the case.

There are two cloth straps that allow about a 10" opening providing ample room for easy placement and retrieval of the InnoTab while preventing the case from flopping open. There is however, no room to place either the A/C adapter or car adapter even if no cartridges are stored. Pretty disappointed in this as I would prefer to keep the whole system stored together especially for road trips. As it is, we must keep up with the case and the chargers. We do like the backpack straps as it makes for easy portability for my son. All in all, we are satisfied with the product at this time. We will purchase another when this one is no longer useful.

Discount Planet Earth Mini Explorer Kit

Customer Ratings:

This was a good gift for my little explorer son. He favorite color is of course blue so this was for him. He still uses it and love the bincoluars. And it's a huge plus flashlight doesn't need batteries, just crank it and go.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Just got this for my 4 year old's birthday he wanted a pair of binoculars and I couldn't see spending alot for something he may or may not use.

This is a fantastic set! the flashlight alone was worth it it's a manual charge LED they sqeeze a handle to charge the batteries. LOVE it! Binoculars are ok for a kid, minimal magnification, but my guy doesn't mind or know the difference. If he'd ever actually looked through a real pair he might be disappointed, but for a beginner they're just great especially love the break-away safety strap. The compass is functional although he's not interested in learning how to use it (big brother helps him with that part). Overall this is perfect for us. My son is thrilled and I feel like I got more than my money's worth. Plus he looks darn cute running around with his explorer kit strapped on, ready to conquer the jungle!

Buying a second one for big brother's (7th)birthday !

Buy Step2 Whisper Ride II, Blue

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $59.99
Sale Price: $58.99
Today's Bonus: 2% Off

I bought this and all the other neighborhood kids have the older versions! The parents are jealous.. LOL . It is easy to maneuver, smooth ride for my son and good looking. I put it together in about 30 min by myself.. The instructions have no words (just a word of caution).. and that is very hard at times to figure out.. I guess with allthe random languages in the US, pictures are best.. anywaysBUY IT!!! awesome!!!!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

We push our 13 month old around the house, around the block, wherever in this little car, and it rides so smooth. He loves riding in it, and when he's done, he'll get out and push it around the house himself. And the handle is tall enough my 6'3" husband can push him without hurting his back. I would buy this again, LOVE IT!

Best Deals for Step2 Whisper Ride II, Blue

This is the best little car! My grandson loves it and wants to go everywhere in it. I got it for his 1 year birthday and it was his favorite! It took a few minutes to assembly but it is made very well and rides smoothly. My grandson likes this better than his stroller. Grandma enjoyed pushing him in it too!

Honest reviews on Step2 Whisper Ride II, Blue

This was bought for our 1 year old grandson. He loves it. Great for walking the track to shopping. Great quality and smooth ride.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Step2 Whisper Ride II, Blue

The car arrived on time. My son was excited so we just took the car part and put the steering wheel on it and he enjoyed it. The instructions to put the car together were bad. My husband pulled it up online and had better luck. It did take about 45 minutes to put together.

Since it has been assembled, we walk several times a week. My son loves to write in the car and will sometimes try to get into it on our way to the car.

First Act MO285 Mini Guitar, Minnie Mouse Reviews

Customer Ratings:

I purchased this guitar for my 2 years old daughter. It looks really good and seems like it's made well. Didn't have a chance to use it for long time enough to see for how long it can survive in hands of a toddler.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

My three year old Great Grandbaby was turning three and her theme for her party was Minnie Mouse so when I saw this I knew she would love it. Her parents however were not quite as happy! lol She seranades them nightly! I told my granddaughter she will thank me some day when Kendall wins American Idol! lol

Best Chronicle Books Eric Carle Animal Flash Cards Deals

Customer Ratings:

Our 16-month old received these cards as a gift, and we LOVE them. If you are an Eric Carle fan, these are especially wonderful. They reinforce "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," "Panda Bear, Panda Bear," etc. She truly has a grasp of A, B, Cs and is on the way to developing color skills. She has memorized many of the cards, like Giraffe, Narwhal and Peacock, and stardards like Duck, Hippo and Monkey. Only downside is that she asks for them constantly, when she wakes up in the morning "flash cards" is the first thing out of her mouth.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I never review products, but I had to make a special case for this one. These ABC flash cards are thicker than the pages on a board book, so my one-year-old can't be rough enough with them. With a letter on one side and pictures on the other (and a very sturdy box to hold them all), these cards have been her favorite learning tool. Better than any book, because she enjoyed taking them out of the box and trying to put them back in. And she tries to stack them like Mommy! She can tell me what a monkey says, show me the horns on a buffalo, and the tusks on a walrus. These are great ... you can't go wrong.

Best Deals for Chronicle Books Eric Carle Animal Flash Cards

My 2 year old loved these SO much, he had them memorized after the 5th time I pulled them out! Best of all, he now points out (correctly) the letters he sees all around him everyday (so, great translation from the cute and colorful cards I had worried about whether he would correctly associate the 'colorful' letters to the 'plain' letters, in a book) - Boy, that was painless!!! Thank you Eric Carle ~ my son just got his reading foundation, and ENJOYED it too!

This is saying alot, for my whirlwind of a son ;-) -for instance, his preference for reading books/looking at these cards, is that we are actively moving at the SAME time!!!-we may be both standing on our heads -or building Lego towers -or throwing a ball -Because of his learning style, I feel the added interest of the colors was a help in gaining/retaining his attention. He comments on the colors, and asks if the letters are 'swimming' (some of the watercolors have a lovely 'water/wave-like' appearance!). The colors also aided in providing initial distinction between similar-in-appearance letters (capital E and B, or, Q and O --for instance). With a couple times of practice, he was able to easily distinguish the differences (without the color aid), but this was a helpful 'beginning' boost for us.

My daughter also learned the alphabet with these cards, and still loves them, because of the beautifully portrayed animals! (She, thankfully, did not learn them standing on her head bottom in mid-air -she learned them cuddling in bed with mommy --gee, you have to love girls! ;-) -but my son is the best weight-loss program EVER! ;-)

ps PLEASE do not forget to enjoy the adorable (and sometimes, exotic) animals on the back! (I will never forget when my daughter told her Grandma about a 'Quetzel bird' -and Grandma thought she was making it up! ;-) -my one criticism of the animals is the 'Giraffe', I wish it had been 'Gorilla' perhaps, since I like to teach that 'G' sound first . . . but this is a pretty minor complaint -and the Giraffe is too cute anyway!

Honest reviews on Chronicle Books Eric Carle Animal Flash Cards

This is a great flash card set. I use it while my daughter eats dinner, and every time we get near the high chair, she immediately points at the flash cards. I think it's nice that some of the animals aren't the 'typical' you'd think of for the letter (like, flamingo instead of frog). I've listed the cards below.

A: alligator; B: buffalo; C: caterpillar; D: duck; E: elephant; F: flamingo (even though there is a picture of a frog on the box); G: giraffe; H: hippo; I: iguana; J: jellyfish; K: kangaroo; L: lion; M: monkey; N: narwhal; O: octopus; P: peacock; Q: quetzal; R: rhinoceros; S: snake; T: turtle; U: urchins; V: vulture; W: walrus; X: xolo (xoloitzcuintli, Mexican hairless dog); Y: yak; Z: zebra.

The reasons I gave this a 4 star and not 5 star. First, X is for xolo, which I can't pronounce, and comes with an explanation. If an explanation is needed, I don't think it was a good choice. X-ray fish could have been used as an alternative. Second, the letters are in a sans serif font. So, the capital letter 'I' looks like a lower case 'L'. I think the font is fine generally, but they should have adjusted the 'I' specifically.

Those are minor complaints, overall I think this is a great set.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Chronicle Books Eric Carle Animal Flash Cards

These cards come in a nice flip top box which is sturdy enough for toddler hands to open. It's a little difficult to get the cards out, though. You kind of have to dump them all out at once. The cards themselves are on really nice, heavy board with a matte finish. The colors are vibrant, and of course, the Eric Carle art is lovely. My infant likes to look at them while I flip through the cards and talk about the animals, and a visiting 1yr old enjoyed looking at them himself. He scattered them on the floor and we made a game of having him find the animal and bringing us the right card. Since he had to flip over any cards that were laying on the alphabet side, the game took a while, but he never got tired of it. The cards withstood the throwing, dumping, grabbing and bending of the whole game and still look like new, so I think they will stand up to almost anything!

Overall, a beautiful and study productthis is a real deal for the price.

Reviews of Pirate Dig Kit

Customer Ratings:

My kids love this. They love pirates & they love to dig. It occupies them for quite a while. The downside to this toy is trying to put the skeleton together with the string once he is 'dug up'. The digging tool they give you is pretty useless, but we use the end of one our spoons & it works perfect.

My kids keep asking to buy them more. They want to collect all the pirates.

It is messy, which is not fun for me, but again, the kids love that too!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Keeps my son busy. He enjoys digging and finding the 'treasure'. I will buy from this seller again. This is a great gift for a child that likes to keep busy

Best Deals for Pirate Dig Kit

I was very excited to get this in the mail. However, it did not come with the brush or the digging tool. How is my grandkids going to dig if there is no tool? I am very disappointed. Lucky, I have been keeping the tools and brushes from others that I have purchased.

Honest reviews on Pirate Dig Kit

This product allows for some quality time for a father and son. The rope needs a guide mechanism like a needle and some of the rope holes had to be drilled out. An unexpected tool time session with my son.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Pirate Dig Kit

My six year old grandson loves Pirates and this kit was absolutely perfect. All evening he kept going back to the "dig". It's difficult to find a toy to hold his attention but this kit did the job. He was ecstatic with every bone he found. I also purchased a "Crystal Mining Kit "for my three year old grandson and "Pirate Treasure Dig kit and game" for my 5 year old granddaughter. The entire family was down on the floor with their Safety Goggles on digging it was fabulous and a lot of fun. Each child had their own exploration going and the adults rotated between helping and looking at their finds. According to the box, there are several Pirates available. It would be great for future purchases to be able to choose which Pirate to buy. A lot of fun for all a good purchase!

Cheap TOPS Idea Collective Journal, Black Cover, Wide Rule, Cream Paper

Customer Ratings:

I bought this journal to test it against my other journals I have written in. I can not justify buying expensive journals, so I found the TOPS journal.

I found the paper is thinner than Moleskine's and that it tends to curl like inexpensive composition or 3 holed school paper. It is especially curly when you use a ballpoint pen. I tend to write with a heavy hand with a ballpoint, but I write lightly with a fountain pen. The reverse side of each sheet showed "bleed through" with both inks, but not enough to keep me from not using the journal.

The stitching for the pages is inconsistent with some pages having up to half of a page not sewn into the book.

The cover is durable and hard. I like the design imprinted into the cover. It is not just "plain".

Overall, I would buy more of these especially when I find them on sale. I had a hard time finding them on the internet.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>