Best VTech Bugsby Reading System Pen and Starter Book Deals

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We first purchased the Tag for our (then) 5 year old son, but could not get the audio to download. After numerous emails to LeapFrog and many tries on several different (family & friends) computers, we just could not get it to work. Very disappointing as I felt that it was truly a quality product. The only book he can use with it is the one it came with.

Enter the Bugsby. Each book has it's own cartridge which has a place for storage inside the back cover. For that reason I gave it an extra star for "ease of use" (at least for us!). As long as you don't loose these you're good to go and can change out the cartridge for a new story as many times as you want(the Tag could only store 5 stories at a time, if you wanted to add more you add to remove another). The pen device works in the same manner as a Tag. It has a place for headphones to be plugged in, buttons to adjust the volume up and down and a "read the whole story" button.

As far as the book that comes with it goes, it's a simple story about how Bugsby, who has lost his glasses, searches within different stories (accompanied by his friends Josh and Hanna)to find them. Along the way it labels different animals, and includes "game" buttons on each page (with "stop", "repeat", "yes" and "no" buttons to be used with it). Games include things such as "Find the animal next to the squirrel", "What animal begins with this sound 'p'?", "Do these words have the same vowel sound, 'cup'/'mat'?" and have different levels. Touching in different areas of the book produce little silly sounds, characters saying a few phrases, and short songs. The back of the book includes a two page spread of the alphabet with games to go along with it and a "Story Writer" spread which allows the child to come up with several versions of a short story, changing the character, action and setting. The book has the option to read each individual page or the whole book. I would say the reading level is K-2 depending on the child.

Overall my son (and I) like this product. I don't think it offers quite as many games or levels of play as the Tag, and the way the narrator voice of the book says certain words sounds strange to me (the T's are overemphasized on certain words other character voices are fine though). But considering the lower price and the fact that you don't have to worry about downloading anything, the Bugsby worked much better for us.

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This review will compare the Leapfrog Tag and the VTech Bugsby. Thought maybe this would help others in their decision making.

We have owned the Tag for some time and my 4 1/2 year old loves it. We have recently turned OFF the TV altogether, except for some on weekends. Before that, he could have cared less about the Tag. Now he loves it. I love it too. Great toy. I haven't had one problem with the downloading part. Only thing...I see no point in owning more than 10 books (do we really need more?). Our Tag only holds ten and I WON'T connect to the computer that often to change around books. The toy is very smart and it's a huge hit.

I recently purchased the Bugsby...mainly because I thought my son would love it. He does miss his "friends" from TV and VTech's books have a lot of the characters that he recognizes. It's nice too. Sings a lot more than the Tag (you have the option of turning off the music). Also when you touch the page on a certain spot it gives three (or more) responses...that's different than Tag. If you touch a spot with Tag, it's the same every time. Adds a bit of variety. It's cheaper than the Tag...books cheaper too. My son loves seeing SuperWhy and World World. But, after seeing a new, exciting toy and playing with it for a bit...he asked for his Tag during quiet time. The cartridges are hard for a 4 year old to put in (sort of hard for a 31 year old too!) My 7 year old handled it well, but my little guy will no way be able to handle that for a while. If they were easier to put in, it might be a nicer feature over Tag because there is no connecting to the computer.

Anyway, overall, they are both very nice toys. The Bugsby is great, but comes in slightly lower than the Tag in our opinion.

Best Deals for VTech Bugsby Reading System Pen and Starter Book

I bought this for my 4 year old daughter since she has started trying to read. I also have a daughter who's almost 2.

They both love it so far. It's still early as they've only had it for a day so far. I will update this as we use this more, but initially, I was trying to decide between this and the Tag system. There were good reviews for both systems as well as some complaints about quality issues.

After reading reviews on both, it appears both products do the same thing. Bugsby was onsale and about a third of the price. Bugsby's books were also cheaper, and I didn't see any reason that convinced me that I should get the Tag.

Tag vs Bugsby summary of differences

Tag hold 10 books which are downloaded.

Bugsby uses cartriges.

There are Pros/Cons to both approaches. Catridges can be lost (there is a plaeholder in each book) Downloads require installing software, downloading, and syncing with the pen)

Tag has more books to choose from

Bugsby costs less.

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I went back and forth between purchasing this or the Tag system. What sold me on this one was the books offered. My kids love Wow Wow Wubzy, Olivia, Max and Ruby, Wonder Pets and so on. I did not see some of these characters offered in the Tag system (at least not back in November when I was Christmas shopping).

I also liked that we didn't have to get the computer involved with downloading stuff. The cartridge system works great in our home and my kids are very good about putting away the cartridges after reading each book.

The books are durable and the pen appears to be so as well. My very destructive 4 year old hasn't broken it yet!

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We got the Bugsby reading system for our 3 year old daughter for Christmas this year. She is OBSESSED with this toy. Loves it. There are a ton of options with the different books from matching games, reading games, straight reading through the book, and word searches.

My only complaint with this toy is the battery life. It is ridiculously short. My daughter can only really play with this toy for maybe an hour straight before the batteries need to be changed on the little bug. So, get a battery charger and keep the batteries charged at all times.

Otherwise, it's a great toy.

Best LeapFrog Letter Crazy! Deals

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Great toy!!!

Uses listening skills and memorization.

Loads of silly sounds. Lightweight enough to travel with.

Keeps the kids occupied for 1/2 hour or so.

It's a combination between the games Simon and Memory.

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Purchased for my 2 year old Grand Daughter. She absolutely loves it. Plays with it daily.

Best Deals for LeapFrog Letter Crazy!

As a kindergarten teacher, I recommend Leap Frog products to parents often. This product is durable, educational and is of high quality. A former student learned her letters with this toy. However, when I ordered one to use to let kids take home for practice, I disliked the light up display. It was difficult to tell which letter was being displayed. The letters are all capital letters. Lower case letters are most helpful in learning to read. I did like the focus on the sounds.

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Weird toy. My son(2) got into it right away. Figured it out. Then got bored. When the lights flash, you hit the flashing button, it thens say an animal name with the begining letter on the screen. We played for about 20mins. Now sits in the toy box.

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I really love this toy! We have a 3 y/o and he is learning how to play it. I don't know what age this toy is rated for but a child 3-4 should be the low end of the age. I don't think a child older than 6-8 would find this fun or stay busy with it for more than a few minute.

Reviews of VTech Spin and Learn Color Flashlight

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List Price: $12.99
Sale Price: $12.09
Today's Bonus: 7% Off

Awful! Loud, chaotic, no real educational value, and worst of all not a flash light! Our baby discovered our flashlight and loves it, but he likes to shine it in his eyes and our real flashlight is too bright for that. We wanted a flashlight with a gentler light and more baby friendly form. This VTech flashlight absolutely did not deliver. First, it is not a flashlight, in that you press a button or switch and the light goes on. Instead, there are 3 numbered buttons and one ladybug button. When you hit any of these these buttons, the light flashes randomly (but does not stay on), and a riot of crazy beeps, chimes, and voices goes off. We had it on the quiet setting and even so, it drove us crazy just testing it. You cannot get the light to go on without the noises. It's also super confusingly designed. You'd think the ladybug, being on the handle and ergonomically where your thumb would be, would turn the light as long as its depressed, but no, it just brings on another seizure-inducing round of flashes and shrill noises. This was an immediate return.

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I bought this for my 1 year old's birthday. She loves anything that lights up and plays music. The handle is easy to grip for little hands and the ring that changes the color of the light is easy for little ones to turn. It also has features that teach counting and different animals. It is a very cute idea for a toy that will be played with for a long time. I am sure my oldest will be playing with it too.

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Great toy, my two year old toddler plays with it but, doesn't care about the light. I didn't pay $30 maybe around $12 from Target...

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I think this is pretty cool and so do most kids that come in contact with it. My 18mo doesn't seem super impressed by it but I think that has more to do with his personality than it does with the flashlight.

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We bought this for our daughters 1st birthday. She loves the music and the colors from the flashlight. I would recommend this toy!

Reviews of Leapfrog Tag Activity Storybook Miss Spider's Tea Party

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My little girl is having lots of fun with the Tag books and Miss Spider's is one of her favorites. Of course, she can count to twelve and she knows most of the words but reading practice is precious and she's always happy when she manages to read the text so that it actually rhymes she's into painting and poetry these days.

As a Tag book, there are lots of interactive surprises on every page and there are a couple of big intensive play areas at the end. And, did I mention that the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous?

Can't go wrong with this little book. For the 4-6 years olds. MUST have the Leapfrog Tag system or 80% of the fun is lost.

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This is one of the better books for my 3 year old. It is easy to read and all of the little bugs make cute noises. Recommend for the youngest of the tag book readers.

Best Deals for Leapfrog Tag Activity Storybook Miss Spider's Tea Party

I bought this product for my autistic niece. She caught on quick on how to use the tag pen. I look forward to more books. I think this is an awesome toy

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We love it! My guy is almost 3 and VERY into technology so this was something not so techy but still educational and he loves it!

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My kids loves Miss Spider and they love their Tag systems. They read this book a lot. It's a great book!

Lamaze Baby Toy, Push Along Peanut Review

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This is an absolutely PRECIOUS little toy... I love it and my sweet little baby loves it too! All the different textures and colors make it a perfect *sensory* toy for little tots and growing minds!

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Buy Sky Scraper

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The Sky Scraper is a very entertaining toy that really delivers. The spinners fit on the top of the handle and a strong pull on the built in self retracting cord sends the spinner skyward for what seems to be an amazing height easily 100 ft. or so. This is accomplished because the spinners have three support ribs that function as mini-propellers. This toy appears to be well made and should provide many trouble free hours of entertainment. I have no negatives regarding this toy, but you should know that on a windy day the spinner may drift quite a ways and if there are trees or roofs nearby you're likely to lose the spinner. Aeromax sells a separate package that just includes the spinners.

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Trophy 4 Bell Wristlet Reviews

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They arrived quickly, and look exactly like the picture. They appear durable, and make a nice jingly noise. My only complaint is that they are not adjustable. This may not sound like a big deal, but it results in them not being able to fit over adult hands or feet, while being too large to stay on children without slipping off.

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The bells are well made and make lots of noise... BUT THEY DO NOT HAVE ADJUSTABLE VELCRO CLOSURE AS THE DESCRIPTION SAYS!!!! which makes them unwearable for adults and they easilly fall off kids hands! They can't be attached to a belt loop or handheld or ankle! very disappointing.

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These add a fun dimension to dancing or caroling in winter. Put these on the wrist of your carolers to add dimension to favorite carols or winter songs. Put them on dancers to make the sound of horses and sleighs or reindeer. They sound better when bunches are worn.

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My niece has become obsessed with "Jingle Bells" over the past few months, so I got her a few of these to wear on her arms or ankles as she runs around. They sound great and are a great value. I may order more to hang on my doorknob!

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I ordered these to put on my dog's collar so he'd sound like Santa's sleigh coming down the street when I take him out for walks. They fill the bill and are quite well made. Other dog owners have asked for them

Reviews of Wooden Counting and Shape Sorting Clock

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This product arrived on time and appeared as described. It was purchased as a gift for a 3yr. old. It held his attention and it was easy for the child to understand.

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Reviews of EFG - Chemistry: An Atom Building Card Game

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Really helped me test my knowledge in that class, and was a lot of fun to play! I even used the cards to study for the AP test.

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I got this game from another seller when my son started his high school chemistry class. He has used it several times as a review for tests. He said it felt like the game had been made for his class! He found the questions helped him focus on the fundamentals he needed to review for each unit. For his last test, he took the game to a friend's house and they both played with his friend's college-age sister. She told my son it was lucky he had this game as a way to review, and if this kind of game were available to her when she was in high school, she might not have gotten a D in Chemistry! Highly recommended. You'll be glad you bought this one.

Best Fisher Price Learning Sensation Play with Letters Desk Deals

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My 3 year old loves learning letters and phonics and trying to learn to read. She chose this toy at the toy store in reward for potty training. She couldn't wait to 'drag' those big block letters accross the board! I was so happy she chose something educational. We opened it and what a dissapointment! It is a GREAT CONCEPT! She loved dragging the letters accross the board to make sound (the name of the letter, phonics sound, and letter beginning with it) is said clearly when you drag a letter. The PROBLEM IS that it is just not refined enough. Literally a third of the time, the letters don't read. Even when your child drags the right letter it asks for, it sometimes will not read it giving them the feeling they got it wrong. It was very glad I was sitting there to tell her it was right and to keep trying. Sometimes she had to drag it again and again and it still wouldn't read and we would have to turn the thing off and on again and start with a new letter. I couldn't even get it to read 1/2 the time after she failed even after doing it perfectly as instructed in the manuel-which 3-year olds don't read so what good is touchiness like that in a toy! Total frustration within 10 minutes. The toy has an ON button that is not clearly marked, you just have to know that is the right one. The other 3 buttons for modes of play are confusing. You press the note button for a 'song' about the letter. But it takes forever to play this little intro song and meanwhile, your kid has dragged several letters accross the thing trying to make it work. By the time the intro song is over, they are over with it too and pressing other buttons to get it to work which only confuses the machine more. The other two buttons are a button that makes it ask for certain letters and a quiz button. The questions are fine. My kid was very excited to answer as she knows alot of her letter already and yet 1/3 the time it didn't respond to her rolling the letters. Again, this is a great fun and educational concept but not refined enough. I truly would have rated it the tops for education if I was only rating it when it worked! But, I don't see how it can teach when it doesn't respond to your child's answers half the time. I am going to keep trying to convince my little girl that she should bring this poor working toy back to the store and pick another reward but you know how hard that is for kid's to understand. She wants to play with it so badly but is already walking away from it each time she trys. I am so glad I opened the package carefully! Skip this one and get the little letter desk that comes with a magnetic chalkboard, word cards with cut outs where the letters magnetically fit into, and magnetic letters. It is not electronic but great fun and still taken out every other day here after 6 months. It is by Fisher-Price as well and I think it is called the ABC something and it is much cheaper and self-correcting in that the correct magnetic letters only fit in the word cards! My girl loved being able to 'spell words' with this. Good luck.

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I love to purchase fun educational toys for my children and was excited to get this home for them. When each block is dragged across the desk it is supposed to "read" each block. The blocks should say the letter, the sound it makes and a word beginning with the letter. Unfortunately, the desk doesn't always read the letters and it often took several tries before it did. There are games that can be played too, but my children never got that far since they couldn't get it to respond properly. This would be a great toy if it worked as it is described by the manufacturer. Fisher-Price needs to improve this toy before I would recommend anyone to buy this. I think the LeapFrog Read and Write Phonics desk is a better purchase if you are looking for a toy that will help with letter recognition, phonics, writing, and spelling games.

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This toy works great and is helping my just turned 4 yr. old his letters and sounds. His almost 6 sister also loves it and it is helping her learn and practice her phonics. They like to play school together with this toy. Cool item and well worth it. Great price for such a good toy. Also the volume level is nice and not annoying-so many toys are so loud and annoying-not this one.

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We are going to try this product with our vision impaired children as, not only does it provide feedback to the student based on its gross motor design, tactile surface and its auditory component, it also has Braille letters! The perfect way to get a Junior Kindergarten child's literacy on the right track! It is also excellent for auditory learners, kids who need tactile reinforcement as well as visual cues! Thanks Fisher Price a very well conceived product!

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My three year old got this for her berthday and loves it. She is learning her ABC's mutch quicker now. I am a blind mom with a sighted child and the braille, raised, and speech letters are all nice things to have. No more hasil of finding easy to braille flashcards!! Thank you Fisher Price!!

Best Magnetic Poetry - Happiness Deals

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It has it all in a little box, even the presentation of the bos is neat and nice, perfect to give as gifthavent used it yet but im sure I wont be dissapointed

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The number of magnet words included with this kit is a little overwhelming, and I find myself trying to figure out how to arrange them. There is only one example of a saying on the front of the box, and it would have been helpful if there had been additional examples included with the kit as a starting point.

The magnets themselves seem to be good quality, and the writing is clear and consistent. My only issue is the box they come in while it is very pretty, the box's window is not covered with anything (the front of the box is actually a lift-up flap), so the magnets fall right out if you try to store them! I ended up cutting the piece of hard plastic that initially contains the magnets and taped it to the inside of the box, but I shouldn't have had to do that.

I would have given this set a 5 star if there had been examples of sayings provided and if the box (which really is quite pretty) had been suited to store the pieces in.

Best VTech Grade School Learning Nitro Jr. Notebook, 4-7 years Deals

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We bought this toy to take on a car trip for our 5 year old. We didn't even bring it because the lowest volume is so loud and the sounds are annoying. My husband couldn't stand to have it in the car. We couldn't even put headphones or anything in it because there is no way to put them into the laptop. The games my son plays on the laptop don't really teach him anything although there are ones on there that do. The kids love the way you move the things around and although they wanted a mouse like our computer, they find this laptop easier to use. The screen is also very dark and hard to see sometimes. The contrast once again is hardly noticeable with the contrast button. If they would fix the sound and screen, it wouldn't be too bad of a toy.

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I am happy i bought this toy. My 5 yr old son loves it and uses it often. He figured out all the activities and games. Some people said that graphics are bad but come on , its under $30, what can u expect. I think this toy is totally worth the money.

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I'm disappointed because the screen does not light up! So you need to make sure that the child sits somewhere with good light, otherwise they wont see anything. My daughter loves to play with it, but no light-up screen takes a lot from this toy

Honest reviews on VTech Grade School Learning Nitro Jr. Notebook, 4-7 years

As a teacher, I am thrilled to find an exceptional educational toy and this is it. I purchased this for my son who has a learning disability and he took to this laptop immediately. After showing and playing with my son a few times, he was able to master the mouse and key board quickly. He enjoys the language arts lower level games the most. I appreciate that the laptop has more advanced games that he can grow into. The laptop speaks to the user by praising when achieving a high score or offering encouragement to continue when a low score is earned. There are five more programs included such as Math and Brain Teasers. I was hesitant to buy because of the concerns offered by others that there is no "back light" that will illuminate the screen. The screen is highly visible in regular room light. I encourage parents to play some of the games before giving it to a child so the adult can explain how the device and programs work.

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My son who is 4 years old and autistic received this yesterday, I ordered to replace his Vtech Talking Whiz Kid 2000, a blue, heavy, bulky, hand-me-down laptop (from my older kids 13 and 14 years old) which was a success in the old days. Not sure when it was built but it has designs of Windows 3.1 icons around the screen. Like I said that old one is bulky and weighs as much as my old iBook G4, so you must imagine the big change the upgrade made. We would have never replaced "old faithful" if it wasn't for the fact that 4 activity buttons were broken. It isn't very usable, however it still turns on and does the activities that are not broken.

Moving on to our new acquisition, this laptop is light as a feather, has two cartridges that can be stored in a front compartment and has two designs (white with blue display and silver with yellow-green display) but I imagine both do the same thing. Mine is the silver with yellow-green display as pictured.

My son was playing with it all day yesterday since it came, and it was the first thing he reached for today. More fun than gazillion bubble buzz lightyear he got, and it has survived a lot of rough handling. The previous Vtech Whiz Kid laptop survived a lot of extensive mistreating and being tossed often. I will update within a month, or as soon as this thing breaks. I imagine it will last longer than the buzz lightyear (4 weeks), our son is very rough but this thing seems to be quite sturdy.

It doesn't have a backlight, but for less than thirty dollars, who would expect to get backlight? I think this thing is worth what it costs.

Elenco - 830 Tie Points Review

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Standard breadboard. One fault I did notice was that a couple of the pin holes were too small to fit the gauge of wire that I was using, but the other holes were fine.

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Discount Sassy Counting and Spell Bath Appliques

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These are great in the bath. They float, stick and are great for my 8 mo old to suck on (his favorite hobby these days). My only complaint is that there is only 1 of each letter (I should have paid closer attention to the number of pieces when ordering). Not a huge deal, but we can't spell my son's name out, (we need 2 R's). Oh well, they do their job otherwise.

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I purchased these about a month ago for my 26 month old son. He has loved them from the first time he played with them in the bathtub and has played with them every night in the tub since then. He loves putting all the letters and numbers all around the tub. They stick well to both the tile and the tub. I was also very happy with the size. They are large enough for him to handle easily. I also like that they are solid colors which makes it easier to identify the shape of each letter. My only minor complaint is that the "M" and "W" look very similar and neither letter is the appropriate shape for a learning toddler. Despite the "M" and "W" I am still very happy with the product and have already purchased another set for a gift because my son loves them so much.

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These letters helped my son be able to play and learn at the same time.

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These are a lot of fun however, they get moldy pretty quickly in the batch tub.

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My daughter loves these! They are fun as well as educational. They are nothing fancy but I think every child should have some of these!