Not all workbooks are created equal, and I flip through all the pages before I choose which to buy. I look for a good flow to the subject matter, age-appropriate activities that won’t frustrate my son, high quality pages that are durable and easy to write on, and fun artwork that will keep my son interested and engaged. I found the workbooks I received from The Learning Company to have all of the characteristics that I look for.

The Learning with Curious George Preschool Reading book teaches alphabetical order of letters and words, beginning writing and drawing, and text movement. The activities provided fun reinforcement of concepts he already knows, and will help him with the skills he is anxious to master, like writing and drawing. He has shown some readiness to read, and the activities in this book, such as filling in the missing letters from words (accompanied by pictures), will be a great help in making that leap from individual letters to entire words. My son enjoyed the fact that Curious George, a favorite storybook and TV character of his, was the theme of the book.

We also received the Reader Rabbit Let’s Learn Kindergarten Reading workbook which teaches beginning word sounds, ending word sounds, rhyming, capitalization and end punctuation, text direction and sentences. It is obviously a step up from the preschool reading workbook, but it begins with simple exercises that preschoolers should be able to handle. It will be a little while before my son understands concepts like rhyming and punctuation, but I’m looking forward to working through this book with him as well.

I like the fact that both books feature colorful illustrations on each page, which really makes for a high quality and fun presentation. Another feature I noticed right away and loved was the themed “chapters” in each workbook. The Curious George book started out with a clouds theme, for example. An introductory page has a colorful illustration and a fun little blurb for the adult to read which sets the tone for the activities and explains exactly what the child can expect to learn. The second half of the book has a camping theme, while the Reader Rabbit book featured beach and cave themes.

The Learning Company workbooks also come with some great online perks such as free downloadable certificates and supplemental online activities. I found the website to be just as high quality as the workbooks, with fun games that will help my son learn to use the computer in addition to reinforcing the concepts he has learned in the workbooks.

The Learning Company is a division of the well-known textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and the quality of these products is in line with what I would expect. Other workbooks in the series teach math, colors and shapes, handwriting and more. In all, they provide over 200 educational activities. These workbooks are a great way for parents to involve themselves in their child’s education, even if they don’t feel like they’re the teacher type. A study by the Harvard Family Research Project found that “When parents participated in academic enrichment activities with their children outside of school for an average of less than 12 weeks, children demonstrated an equivalent of four to five months’ improvement in reading and math performance.”

The Learning Company workbooks are a fun and educational gift idea that can have a lasting positive impact for a child on your gift list. They sell for $5.99 online at Amazon.com.

(No, my three-year-old son isn’t a prodigy who can read songbooks–he likes to pretend that he’s reading the music while he plays)

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At first I was a bit taken aback when I became a mom and discovered how much Little People had changed since I was a kid. I wasn’t sure if I liked the new toys or not. Now that my son is three, however, the verdict is in–Fisher-Price Little People are still high quality, durable toys that kids love. Which do I like better: the vintage style from my childhood, or the (admittedly safer) version on store shelves today? It’s tough to choose.

I think overall the craftsmanship of the vintage Little People toys is superior. The plastic is of higher quality, and the pieces (with the exception of the peg-like people) are slightly more realistic and true to scale. That said, I do remember that the stickers were prone to peeling and being ripped off, which made for a less cosmetically pleasing toy after a while. I liked that the people figures were easy to fit into the spaces designed for them on vehicles and furniture.

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The newer Little People are much chunkier and less likely to end up lodged in a child’s throat (I do remember all of us kids putting our Little People in our mouths at least once, but thankfully we all made it this far alive). They have cute, friendly faces, unlike the rather bizarrely fascinating “angry boy” you could get with the older sets. The animals are much more realistic. The figures are made from a softer plastic (vinyl, I believe), not the hard plastic or wood of old. I really appreciate the attention to detail on the figures, and so does my son–he used to pretend to talk on a tiny little phone that one of his men is holding. The painting on each figure is colorful and neat. They fit a bit more snugly into vehicles, which I find a bit annoying, but at least it keeps them in place.

The vintage angry boy has its charm, but the new figure is cute and detailed

The buildings and other accessories that come with newer sets are hit or miss. There are some we love, like our toy barn (but oh, how I miss that mooing cow on the old version!), a fire station and the airplane. Our parking garage, with a ramp that frequently comes apart and a jerky elevator that is difficult to operate, is a complete disappointment and far inferior to the version my siblings and I played with for years.

The newer Little People parking garage is lacking in quality and craftsmanship.

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I guess I’m okay with the fact that many of the toys use batteries, but I think it’s clever how many older Fisher-Price toys managed to make fun sounds without. Some of the newer Little People toys are destined to be classics, while others are duds.

At age three my son is playing with his Little People like never before. They line up to wait for the school bus, they put out fires and build new roads. They even come to mommy for cuddles and kisses once in a while. It gives me so much satisfaction to see him enjoying his toys and using his imagination to play pretend. So, this Christmas will be the third year that he receives Little People toys under the tree. I was fortunate to be able to attend a toy consignment sale this morning and snap up three fun sets for just $14!

My consignment sale finds. All this for $14.00!

The toys are such great quality that even though they’re played with, they don’t show much if any wear. A quick dip in a hot soapy bath (the larger pieces were wiped down with Clorox Anywhere spray) and they are more than suitable to serve as Christmas gifts and be played with for several more years to come.

Little People figures are easy to wash with hot soapy water.

As for me, I wouldn’t mind if Santa brought me this adorable Christmas ornament that Hallmark put out this year…

So, what do you think? Are you all about vintage or do you love the newer toys just as much?

He told me his ideas, and I told him which letters he needed to write. I wrote the words properly after he was done. Didn’t he do a great job? He’s growing up so quickly!

]]> http://www.jenspends.com/mr-boys-first-christmas-list/feed/ 8 http://www.jenspends.com/boysterous-boys-from-manhattan-toy/ http://www.jenspends.com/boysterous-boys-from-manhattan-toy/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 03:38:31 +0000 Jen Spends http://www.jenspends.com/?p=3048 There are plenty of dolls geared toward little girls, but for boys the options are more limited. Manhattan Toy fills that niche with a cool line of soft poseable action figures with a sports theme. I first learned about Boysterous Boys through a blog review, and thought they were the greatest idea. I was delighted to have the opportunity to review one of them myself.

Manhattan Toy currently offers five different boys to choose from: a skateboarder, a hockey player, a soccer player, a football player and a snowboarder. They also make a neat “play environment” that serves as a skateboard ramp, a football/soccer field and a carrying case for the boys. I received Slope Shreddin’ Sean for my review. Having only seen pictures previously, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised by the detail and features of this product.

Sean stands about 9 inches tall. The doll’s body is a fuzzy felt-like material. His flexible wire armature means that he is fully poseable. His facial features are embroidered, and he has fuzzy ginger hair. Sean wears a non-removable outfit of black boots, gray snow pants, and a plaid “down” jacket. At first I assumed the hood was fixed to his head, but no; it pulls down to reveal a cute ski cap with embroidered stripes, and more ginger hair. I love little details like that.

I have to admit that I didn’t do a lot of research on Slope Shreddin Sean before I received him, so it was quite a nice surprise when I discovered that his snowboard was metal, not plastic like I had expected. Why metal? Because Boysterous Boys all have magnetic hands and feet enabling them to hold their accessories. It’s so cool the way he can stand up all by himself, or hold his snowboard in his hand, and it makes action-packed imaginative play much easier. My son had a lot of fun pretending that Sean was snowboarding (and of course the inevitable crashing) down a pile of pillows.

Boysterous Boys have a retail value of $17.00 and the Extreme Sports Zone carrying case sells for $30.00 on the Manhattan Toy website. I prefer to stick with basic, high quality toys for my son so that he can use his imagination and the toys don’t go out of style. Boysterous Boys definitely fit my criteria, and I would recommend them as a unique gift idea for the sports-loving boy (or girl) on your gift list. Purchase from Manhattan Toy online, or through a specialty retailer near you. These toys are suggested for ages 3 and up.

Win it!

Manhattan Toy wants to give one lucky reader their own Slope Shreddin’ Sean action figure!

Enter using the Rafflecopter form below (this may take some extra time to appear). If you are viewing this via email or an RSS reader, please click to my website to see the Rafflecopter form and enter. The contest will end on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 12:01 a.m. ET.

Do you have more gift list than you have budget? I love to give nice gifts, but I don’t have a lot to spend. I look for ways to stretch my budget to the max, so I can give as much as possible without hurting my family financially. Deal sites that sell closeouts can be a great resource for finding quality items for less–just remember to research the items to make sure you’re getting a quality product and the best deal.

Today Amy talks about MamaBargains.com, a daily deal site that offers a variety of discounted baby and toddler items each day. Once a deal sells out, a new one is added in its place. Unlike other deal sites, MamaBargains offers several shipping options to choose from if you are in a particular hurry.

A gift certificate to a site like MamaBargains is a great idea if you don’t have a particular item in mind, and with the low prices your gift will go far! Or, scope out the deals yourself and stock up on low-price gift items for the mamas and babies you know. Amy can get four lucky readers started with $50 gift certificates to MamaBargains.com! Head over to her site, The Budget Mommy, to enter and learn more about MamaBargains.

To see our complete giveaway schedule, click here. We have a few great giveaways already in progress, and more to come!

Melissa & Doug want you to tell them which of their educational toys you think is the best! Just click on the image below to place your vote in the North “Poll!” You’ll Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon to use at MelissaAndDoug.com just for voting!

I love the grocery cart and the giant giraffe, but there are lots of other cute toys to choose from too. Melissa & Doug toys have been under our Christmas tree every year since our son was born, and I’m sure this year will be no exception. Enjoy your discount!