Best Basic Geodes Science Kit; Ages 6-12; no. DCSGEO6 Deals

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My grandson is an excellent student and he has an inquisitive mind. When he comes over he always wants to do something unique and have fun while learning. It is a tradition we started when he was very young. When Dr. Cool asked if I would review this Basic Geode Kit I was excited to have my grandson try it out on one of his next visits. You get six geodes, safety glasses, and activity book and an adventure guide.

My grandson actually enjoyed the books a lot but the real fun came when he got to smash the geodes. We did get a very unique geode in the kit and you can see it in the attached video. We couldn't bring ourselves to smash it and I think you will see why when you see it in the video.

Overall my grandson had a great time with this kit and he liked it a lot as a learning tool and just downright fun. It is a great activity to spend time with your children while they have fun and learn at the same time. We all had a good time watching him use this kit and breaking the geodes. You should have seen him chasing a larger round one trying to break it.

We recommend this to you as a very good educational tool and one that your children will enjoy.

I received a sample product for evaluation and I promised to provide a fair and honest review.

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Out of the pile of toys he got for Christmas, this was the first thing my 5yo wanted to open. We were out front by 8AM with a hammer and goggles breaking them open. He loved it! He hasn't really touched him since though so I'm not sure how much lasting power these have.

Best Deals for Basic Geodes Science Kit; Ages 6-12; no. DCSGEO6

We've purchased geodes for cracking in the past and had fun opening them up. They were single geodes from a museum or mining attraction and came just as they were, a round rock.

Dr. Cool's Basic Geodes Science Kit takes that a few steps further. You get 6 geodes (and no one can tell what is inside until they are broken open), safety glasses a solid pair that stays on, and nicely designed printed materials describing how to crack open the geode and additional activities.

The geodes were a big hit with my 8 year old who, as is evident in the video, was able to crack them open on her own. She was thrilled with how they looked and has them proudly displayed in her room.

When you buy rough geodes, you have to understand that they are small, uncut, unpolished and not dyed. Many geodes you see on display at stores are cut, dyed, and polished so they look a lot different. My daughter was thrilled with what she got but an adult may be expecting more.

*** We just did some experiments with food dye and the geodes. The dye (although probably not as good as a natural dye or cloth dye) did add color to the rocks! It permeated the outer shell more so than the crystals but it gave some great variations and added excitement when looking at them.***

The activity is nice in that the element of surprise is great and you get to keep the broken geodes for display and study. An added benefit was that some of the geodes (exteriors) glowed under the black light we had from our Glow Rocks Science Kit.

Dr. Cool provided a complimentary kit for evaluation and an unbiased review.

Honest reviews on Basic Geodes Science Kit; Ages 6-12; no. DCSGEO6

They are hard to open...we used a hammer...and scored around the rock then split them.. some opened in half,, some in pieces. We had very nice crystals....all different...some are even rare.. states the book that comes w/the kit...nice touch. We had these for Christmas eve and it made fun for eveyone!!! They are still out on the coffee table so people can still check them out!

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We got this for my 4 year old son for Christmas. He was so excited! We had to crack the crystals for him. He loves them, but we were a little disappointed that they were all the same kind and color. Only one of them was really hollow with crystals the others were more solid with crystals.

Discount AmScope 50 PC Biology Zoology Botany Entomology Glass Prepared

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List Price: $150.00
Sale Price: $35.50
Today's Bonus: 76% Off

I've been a lab scientist for nearly 30 years, and these are good slides. I finally put these under the microscope last week when my granddaughter came over...she's a little 7-year-old brainiac. They are very beautifully stained and colorful. I've made biological slides myself with mounting medium and it can be a mess, but these are great with no bubbles trapped under the cover slips, nice thin sections, not smashed or distorted....beautifully stained. Very neatly labeled. Great sample of various 'things to look at'. No sharp edges on slides.

In no time, granddaughter was taking them out of the very nice quality wooden slide box, putting them on the scope, and putting them back when she was done. She looked at different structures in stem sections of different types of plants, stomach lining cells ( I explained they were 'wavy' so they would have more absorption surface) and insect parts. I skipped explaining the life-cycle of the Ascaris egg. As I said, all of the cross sections were extremely crisp with no distortion and beautifully stained. Definitely professional and well-done.

A lot can go wrong when making slides...these were clean and very well prepared. This is a great option for teaching because there is no mess!!

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I bought this product for my 9 year old son to use with his new microscope, and he was amazed with the slides, the quality is great and the specimens are interesting for a 9 year old or an adult, not at all like other slides that are "toy quality". They arrived very well packaged, and the wood box is quite sturdy.

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I purchased this set for my 7 year old grandson. When I pulled them from the wooden box I noticed the slides were smudged and dirty. Looking at them through the microscope you could see the dust paticles and smudges. I had to clean them before use. The images are great. I would recomend these for young users as well as older people interested in the micro world. The only reason I did not give a 5 star rating is because of the slide conditions with the smudges and dust.

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Most of these slides are like the same thing. There's little variation in the slides. I bought them for my 8 year old's new scope. But they don't hold his interest. I would look elsewhere.

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I am not sure if it is manufacturing of the slides or the box or whatever but every slide was dusted with grit. Not a real problem because they can be cleaned but it does show some lack of care in the production process.

Agate Light Table Slices (set of 12) Reviews

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I wanted to give my first graders a unique gift for Christmas. I found a picture book about a moose named Agate and decided that I would read this book to my class and then give them each their own agate. I was surprised to find some that I could afford and the picture of the agates looked as if they were a nice size. I was disappointed when they arrived because they weren't the size that the picture makes them out to be and they weren't as colorful. However, my students loved them. If you purchase these, you may get a lot of dark (or as one student said, dull) colors--not the variety that the picture shows and they fit in the palm of a first grader's hand.

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I bought this for my 4-year-old son, along with a partitioned collection bin for storage, as a start to his new rock collection. He treats them with care and loves to "study" them, along with other rocks he now has. These thin slices are fun because he can hold them up to the sun or place them on top of a lit surface to look at the color rings and swirls. He uses a magnifying glass, too, and feels like a real scientist. I think it really helps for a kid to get his hands on science rather than just looking at pictures. Ours are quite colorful, and I really enjoy looking at them with him. They are maybe 1.5-2 inches long and we've got pink, purple, blue, orange, brown, etc. A good purchase!

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They are vibrant and beautiful, and they make great jewelry pieces! I can imagine that children would find them interesting, they are are typical dyed agate slices at a great price.

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I was looking for agate slices for my 6-year old rock collector to use on a light table, among other things. I am not sure why people think these are small, in my opinion these are very typical about 3 inches in length and 1 1/2 to 2 wide. These slices are quite thin which makes them more transparent and excellent for viewing on a light table but does make them appear a little more on the fragile side (however, ours have been dropped on a hardwood floor and shaken in a hard plastic container and they have whithstood it all). The colors were wonderful we received quite a variety of colors including blues, greens, purples, and shades of tan and brown. Overall, these were an excellent purchase and I would buy them again!

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First of all I am very surprised this turns out to be a toy I don't feel there is any room to play with, in this slices, or maybe I am just not a child anymore.

I use this slices for making jewelery.

I feel a bit controversial about this pieces. Some of them are my favorites among other cabochons and pendants very beautiful and eye catching, will bring a wonderful variety to any necklace etc. One or two gave me such a strong inspiration I couldn't wait to start creating with them!

But at the same time, most of what you get are very dark or gray or brown, or pale/partially transparent, or just some other color that is hard to define. Dark blue or violet at best.

Not catching, they will sit forever in my box with materials.

One came broken in half. Well it wasn't the best one, so I don't care happily, the brightest ones came safe) and one had a small chunk cracked off it, near the border line, still possible to use if hide a particular detail a little.

So I took one star for 70% of boring colors and one star for 2 of them being damaged.

I wish I had the orange like the one on the provided picture!

Discount My Tot Clock Faceplate: Princess Design

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The tot clock is one of the greatest tools for sleeping. This is a cute faceplate for my daughter. She talks about it and wants to see her clock.

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This is really not a toy so it was hard to rate it but it is a great addition to the "My Tot Clock". I love the idea that you can change the face of this clock to blend with the decor of the child's room. My granddaughter loves the colors,the rainbow and the dancing shoes on her faceplate.

Reviews of Touch and Feel Flash Cards

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First of all, these cards have a letter featured on both sides but a texture on only one. This means that half of the letters don't have a texture. If you want this just for the ABC aspect, these cards have very cute and appealing pictures and feature familiar objects, but these are pointless if you wanted them for the tactile benefits.

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These cards are bright and interesting. My 1 year old loved holding them, scratching the textures, and trying to look at them himself. He also enjoyed going through them together and practicing his ABCs. The are very durable and have stood up over the last several months no problem. I recommend any of the learning flash cards in this series.

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I bought the ABC and counting versions of the Alex Toys flash cards for my daughter. I also bought touch and feel flashcards from another brand: the "My First Touch & Feel Picture Cards: Colors and Shapes". The Alex Toys cards are nice but the touch and feels are not really all that great -some are just a smooth shinny surface and the pictures could be better. They have the upper and lower case letter on the ABC cards which is nice. The my first version cards are just a cut above. For starters, they're beautiful. They have suggested questions to ask your little one on the back and ideas for helping them learn the color or shape. They also have the color listed in four different languages on the back with correct way to pronounce them. I was thrilled the with My First series and while I will use the Alex Toys cards, I have to say I will buy the My First cards from now on.

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My daughter loves these flashcards. They are colorful, cute, and have the touchable textures.

Also, the box is quite nice. She plays with taking them out and rearranging them from the box.

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I didn't like these cards because they were double sided but only had textured patches on one side, which means half of the numbers have nothing. I also didn't like that there was only one patch to feel instead of the number featured on the card. If the card says 5, there should be 5 patches to count. I was not impressed.

Reviews of I Have Who Has Math Games Gr 3-4

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I've been playing this game with a small group (3-5) 3rd grade students in the learning lab. We've played the addition and the place value decks so far. The kids really enjoy it and it is a wonderful learning tool.

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Cheap VTech - V.Reader Software - Shrek's Vacation

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Well, here we are, only two days out from Christmas Day. Our darling 4 1/2 year old received her VReader on Christmas Day, from us. I am back to give our impression of it so far.

We didn't really find time to do much with it until very late last night. I was going to look at it a bit while she had a late snack of peppermint ice cream. Before I knew it she had finished and was back to me just as I was about to start playing with it.

I handed it over to her. We bought her five cartridges/titles for it, plus the one it came with. The titles we own are: Shrek, Toy Story 3, Olivia, Dora and Tinkerbell. The age spectrum varies a lot among those titles. I was eager to see the representation of various age levels. I was pleased to find that Shrek is much more difficult than some of the other titles. I believe it has the highest age rating; it is ages 5-7. Toy Story 3 has an age rating of 3-5. While Toy Story 3 was relatively easy/babyish for her, it was still fun and I believe engagin if not exactly challenging. This means the creators pulled together a pretty good package. The Shrek title will certainly last her a LONG time. Some of it is easy enough for her to do now but some will take her a while to master and that is good.

We'd played with the demo units in the stores this Christmas season. But demo units such as the stores had are not really definitive. There just wasn't enough variety in what it allowed the user to do. So far it seems that every title has the option of reading the title story or having the unit read it aloud to you. Each title also appears to have a lot of games, say, perhaps about 10-12, associated with the story! I was really surprised by the number of activities included in each title!

I think this unit is going to last her a long time. I believe we will end up buying a lot more titles. Our little one is a big reader. She is already reading 3 and 4 letter words on her own and I recently caught her decoding the word "chapter" as she tried to read a book herself! I love that she loves to read. I think her VReader is going to be a lovely compliment to her homeschooling as well as her personal enjoyment of books.

See more of my thoughts at

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It's cute, interactive and my daughter loves it. She is enjoying the extras. I wish that the pages would turn slower though. She doesn't always know how to stop that.

Best Deals for VTech - V.Reader Software - Shrek's Vacation

My son likes it very much. I am happy with the purchase. The price is very good compare to other stores

Honest reviews on VTech - V.Reader Software - Shrek's Vacation

My sons love their reader. Getting this cartridge for their Vtech was the best purchase ever. You can't go wrong with Vtech.

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My son absolutely loves this! I just got him the V-Reader for his birthday and I got this and cars for his V-Reader and it is just great! He can navigate all around it by himself

Cheap Nikki Sixx Miniature Thunderbird Guitar

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This little guitar (about 10 inches long) complete with it's own stand is so much like the real thing, down to real strings.

I'm using it as a birthday cake topper for a 40 something rocker. I'm sure it will an instant hit.

The order was filled the day I made it & shipped that next day. I had it in 3 days. It comes with a nice box &

would be perfect on a bookshelf as center or lots of conversations.

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Review of Replogle Globes Barrel Globe, Bronze Metallic Finish, 16-Inch

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A globe in this price range should be 100% perfect.

This one isn't. The latitude lines from neighbouring segments as well as the longitude lines between northern and southern hemisphere are not aligned on many spots.

Some of these affixed segments are a little bit creased as well.

The overall design of the globe with its stand is very nice though.

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Very beautiful globe; great in the living room. Mixes well with our arts and crafts mission style furniture.

Pricey but worth it, a real conversation piece.

Scholastic Teacher's Friend Simple Addition & Subtraction Learning Review

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My 2nd graders love using this puzzle during math. I have multiple math puzzles in the classroom and they're always a big hit. The only change I wish Scholastic would make, would be to clearly label the 6 & 9 since they look exactly the same. I just took a Sharpie & wrote the number name to clarify the confusion with my students.

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Busy Basics Busy Ball Choo-Choo Review

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My 10-month-old son LOVES this toy. I almost didn't buy it because there's no volume control, but I'm so glad I did. It also helped him learn to crawl because he was so motivated to chase after it. It's very easy for him to get the train to go -the button on top is easy for a baby to push.

He loves grabbing the balls as they spin around inside the train and then putting them back in again. The different settings are good (spinning balls vs. balls falling out the back; stationary vs. moving train), and you can also turn the center wheel on the underside of the toy to make the train go in a circle instead of a straight line. The train will also move on carpet if the pile isn't too thick.

Only downsides are that there's no volume control--it's pretty loud--and the tunes get stuck in your head.

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My long-awaited, spoiled baby daughter has so many toys a lot of our friends comment that we should open a daycare center (no thanks!). This is one of the toy purchases I truly regret. I am putting it in the attic because it NEVER gets used. I keep showing it to my baby, who's now 21 months old, but we both think the same thing BORING. BTW, we've had it for about a year now, and she's never been interested in it, so I don't think she ever will be. Save your money and buy the Playskool Busy Ball Popper instead loads of fun for about the same amount of money. As an added bonus, even the older kids from the neighborhood love to play with the Ball Popper (even up to age 14), especially when it has fresh batteries and the balls pop all over the place! Take my advice if you're trying to decide between these 2, get the ball popper and leave this one behind.

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My 9 month old loves this toy. It captures his attention for quite some time. He likes to chase the train and pull the balls out, and then put them back in to watch them go around. My dog also likes to watch the balls around and often hits the button on the top of the train when my son is not playing with it. Great toy! The music is kind of loud, but it keeps the baby quiet, so I won't complain!

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This toy is really great, my 7mo old son that is learning to crawl loves it! BUT be careful... The part that the ball comes out before going down the spiral doesn't stop when little fingers are in the way! Both my son and I got our fingers pinched a few times.

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I bought this toy from Santa Claus for my 6 month old grandson but ...his dad had as much fun playing with it as he did....if fact all of my grandchildren (9) loved to play with it!! It is a really great "first" choo choo train!

Buy Toysmith Pocket Star Finder

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List Price: $22.95
Sale Price: $5.78
Today's Bonus: 75% Off

A lot of people looking to buy their first telescope are advised to get a pair of binoculars and a planisphere (wheel-type star chart) first, and spend some time learning the sky. If you do go on and get a telescope, you'll still find the binoculars and planisphere useful to plan your observing sessions, orient yourself in the sky, and scan around for the good stuff. But which planisphere to get? David Chandler's _The Night Sky_ (also available on Amazon) is often recommended, and it is very nice. In fact, it's so nice that I am less likely to carelessly stuff it in a bag for a quick getaway. It would also be nice to have a second planisphere for field use. Ideally this would be small enough to fit in the binocular case, plastic laminated to fight dirt and dew, easy to read using a red flashlight, and inexpensive enough that if it gets destroyed, I won't feel bad about replacing it. This Pocket Star Finder fits the bill. It even includes a sheet of red plastic for converting a regular flashlight into a night-vision-preserving red flashlight. Get one of these, a cheap pocket flashlight, and a pair of binoculars, and you're all set for ultra-mobile stargazing.

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The title says it all, "star" finder so no planets or tiny stars. It is also more for kids than for amateur astronomers.

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We could have made these in our astronomy and science classes....the textbooks had instructions for doing so. However, these are already put together, and they are done in heavy duty plastic. I think my students will have these for a long time. Thanks!

Discount Hands-On-Math Activity Book; Grades 4-5; no. CTP2650

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I have the CTP book called Hands On Math for 1st 3rd and I loved that book and used it often in my 1st3rd grade classroom. I was looking for a bit more and was thrilled to see that they had this continuation. However, it isn't truly a continuation. I don't know if it is the lack of illustrations like the previous book had or if the jump in challenging problems was too wide but I wasn't too impressed. There were a lot of good activities but it seemed like there is still a gap between the 3rd and 4th grade activities and this book didn't fulfill my need.

The activities are hands-on and do focus on understanding the concept but I was a bit disappointed nonetheless with the book. And, I got the book pretty banged up on the edges even though it was supposed to be brand new. It wasn't work going through the return process but I was a bit irked. .

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Best Learning Resources Cross Section Human Heart Model Deals

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I can't believe anyone would pay the price amazon is charging for this piece of junk and be happy. It's two pieces of foam with paint and stickers on it. The pieces don't even fit together well and you can see all along the edges where it came out of the mold because it's bumpy all the way around. I have a 7 year old who LOVES Science and is very bright and this is going to BORE her, yet 7+ is the recommended age. This is ridiculously over-simplified, over-priced, and NOT well-made at all. NOT happy, would NOT recommend.

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I ordered this toy for demonstration purposes in an upcoming Toastmasters speech I'm giving. The foam is really neat, but the printed depictions of the cross section should be laminated or something. They are sort of "cheap" and the only disappointing part to this toy. The inside will not hold up to kids playing with it.

It is an accurate depiction of the heart including the chordae (strings) on the mitral valve. It does not show the leaflets of the valves, but most kids are not going to care.

The vendor shipped the product the day I ordered it and I had it a couple of days after. That was impressive. It was well packaged.

There is a neat leaflet that accompanies this that outlines several projects.

I am overall very happy with my purchase.

Best Deals for Learning Resources Cross Section Human Heart Model

It is about the right size for a heart. I think it will be durable for my 7 yr old to play with, it is made of foam (like the stress toys.). The heart parts and the names are screen printed on the insides. It's 2 pieces, it is nice that there are not a hundred pieces to have to pick up.

As someone who has had open heart surgery it is nice to see that a child friendly model has been made at a reasonable price.

Honest reviews on Learning Resources Cross Section Human Heart Model

I bought this product wanting to learn more about the heart for my cardiovascular chapter in Anatomy class. When the heart arrived, I was a bit surprised at its size. It's a bit small, and it doesn't really define the atriums/ventricles. It is made of foam. As for use of a toy, it is nice. But for an advanced course, this isn't it.

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We ordered this heart model for my daughter to use with her science board. It is made of a semi squishy foam with a plastic overlay of the diagram of the inside of the heart. The cross section view is a good example but it looks a little confusing. We expected the model to be of a stronger material but the foam works too. It was also smaller than we expected but if you hold it up to an adults body it looks close to the actual size.