Author: Jane

About Toy Reviews @ BeTwinned

by Jane Day Rasmussen

Photo from www.fisher-price.com

Name: Little People® Animal Sounds Farm™
Manufacturer: Fisher-Price®
Category: Pretend Play
Manufacturer’s Suggested Age Range: 1-5 years
Our tested age range: 6 months – 3 years
Learning Components: Animal Recognition, Creative Play
Price Value/Honeys: (what are Honeys?)

A must-have in every house, the Fisher-Price Little People® Animal Sounds Farm™ does not disappoint!

We started playing with this toy when my son could sit up and grab at the animals. At first we showed him where each of the animals go to make the appropriate sounds, but he soon took over! The animals are just the right size for little hands, and the toy itself is indestructible.

It is a great toy for multiples to share because there are many things to do on the farm. The set includes: Farmer Jed â„¢, a cow, a sheep, a horse, a pig, a chicken, a food cart, a rooster and connectable fence pieces. It does take 3 “AA” batteries, but if you’re like us, you’ve got a stockpile of that sort of thing.

The biggest problem my twin nieces had with this toy was that they loved to carry around the animals – so my sister stocked up on extras of the girls’ favorites that she found on E-Bay. You could probably also contact Fisher-Price and see if they sell replacements, I’ve had good luck doing that with some of their other products.

While we still love this toy, it doesn’t come out much now that our son is almost 4, but when other kids come over – it always gets some play.

Fisher-Price sells lots of great farm accessories to go with this set: the Animal Sounds Stable, Baby Farm Animals, Lil’ Farmers Market and the Animal Sounds Tractor. If you like the farm, Fisher-Price also sells a ton of other Little People play things (like a house, garage, amusement park, ark, castle and zoo).

Check out www.fisher-price.com to see where you can get all the stuff you’re looking for.

About Toy Reviews @ BeTwinned

by Jane Day Rasmussen

Name: Heritage Collection Hand Puppets
Manufacturer: Ganz
Category:Pretend Play
Manufacturer’s Suggested Age Range:none given
Our tested age range: 6 months and up
Learning Components: Motor Skills, Creative Play
Price Value/Honeys: (what are Honeys?)

These puppets are really lots of fun – we started playing with the dog when our son Jake was about a year old. Even now (at 3 ½ years old) he asks almost daily for us to “play doggie.” I loved the toy so much that I bought the pig and cow for my twin nieces when they were about 6 months old.

Puppets provide visual stimulation for infants and encourage parent/child interaction with your toddler. Jake loves to be surprised with whatever antic doggie comes up with next. And if you get bored playing the same thing over and over again, a game of puppets is always a creative venture into the unknown. The twins can also play with each other – or if you’re a really talented parent of multiples – put one on each hand and play away!

The Heritage Collection Puppets by Ganz come in lots of different animals: panda, tiger, pig, dog, cow, monkey, lion, horse, elephant, frog, St. Bernard, alligator and cat. Each one is cuter than the next. I particularly like them because they have the whole body and not just a head. I don’t know why, but it seems better that way.

The puppets are about 11” tall and have moveable arms and head. They are made of a very soft material and wear well. I’ve thrown doggie in the laundry many a time and he comes out looking new. The hand opening is very generous, so even my husband can take a turn (and give me a rest!).

I found these puppets at our local toy store and it seems like there are plenty of places to buy them online too. I don’t want to recommend a site, because I didn’t see any sites that I’ve previously ordered from. The company’s website doesn’t have a lot of information about the puppets, or a way to find out which retailers carry them, but here is the link anyway. They retail for about $10 each – a great bargain in my opinion, so I rated them four honey pots.

Of course if you can’t find these, there are lots of other great puppets out there too – so the main thing I recommend is make sure you have a stock of them in your house!

About Toy Reviews @ BeTwinned

by Jane Day Rasmussen

Photo from Toys to Grow On

Name: Spell-A-Word Alphabet Board
Manufacturer: Lakeshore (sold exclusively online at Toys to Grow On)
Category: Puzzles
Manufacturer’s Suggested Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Our tested age range: 3.5 years and up
Learning Components: Independent Play, Word Building
Price Value/Honeys: (what are Honeys?)

This is an awesome educational toy that is well-made and fun. The large, sturdy board has all the letters for puzzle action, or use it with the stand to slide on the color-coded letters for spelling fun!The cards are sold separately, making the toy a bit pricey, but overall it is worth the money. The cards are double-sided – one side has the picture and the word, and the other side has just the picture for a more advanced speller.

My son, Jake, loves finding objects he wants to spell and then goes to it all on his own (at 3 ½ he still uses the side with the color coded letters!). He feels a real sense of accomplishment by “spelling” the words without any help from mom or dad.

The alphabet board has helped Jake understand that the letters have a bigger meaning and aren’t just for singing the alphabet song. He now sees other words and asks what that spells.

This toy would be great for multiples – they can either work together to spell a word, or take turns with their own spelling bee.

It is sold exclusively online at Toys to Grow On, a family-owned company that strives to provide toys that have an “extraordinary play and educational value.”

With the Spell-A-Word Alphabet Board, they’ve done just that.

About Toy Reviews @ BeTwinned

by Jane Day Rasmussen

Photo from Amazon.com

Name: Thomas & Friends Conductor’s Figure 8 Set
Manufacturer: Learning Curve
Category: Planes/Trains/Automobiles
Manufacturer’s Suggested Age Range: 3 years and up
Our tested age range: 1 year and up
Learning Components: Motor Skills, Independent Play
Price Value/Honeys: (what are Honeys?)

My best friend gave my son, Jake, this Thomas & Friends Conductor’s Figure 8 Set for his first birthday. Thinking Jake was a little young for the concept, I tucked the present away for a rainy day (hint: a practice I’ve continued so new presents miraculously appear throughout the year, and not just at birthdays and the holidays).

What can I say? When we opened the box several months later, it was love at first sight. My son hasn’t been seen without a train in his grip since. This set is a great introductory set for the soon-to-be Thomas enthusiast – or, all you will need to have a great set of trains for your non eat-drink-sleep train guy or gal. I have since given this gift many times over and was thrilled when my twin nieces loved this gift on their second birthday.

The set includes a stone bridge, conductor’s shed, tree, stop sign, signal, Sir Topham Hatt, wooden track, and wooden Thomas, boxcar and caboose. If you are buying this for multiples, I would recommend purchasing some extra trains for more fun – especially if your multiples will need to play with Thomas at the same time.

The quality of the toys is exceptional – the wooden track and trains are nearly indestructible. The track goes together (and stays together) easily, so even the littlest of engineers can maneuver and create their own railroad.

My son loved pushing the trains on the track when he was one year old and now loves to act out the storylines in the videos at the age of three. The twins take turns with the track design – one loves to make circles and the other loves more intricate layouts. Both must have Thomas in their sight, although they are content sharing twin trains Bill and Ben.

Of course, there are tons of accessories to go with the wooden Thomas railway system – visit www.learningcurve.com for the complete list. I will admit, the Thomas craze can get expensive; that is why I only gave it three honey pots out of four.

If you have an A.C. Moore in your area, they have great 20 percent off sales on Thomas stuff pretty regularly, and look out for videos that have a train inside – a great money saver. I’ve also gotten some cool trains and sheds on E-bay. PBS airs Thomas in our area every Sunday morning – so we can get a regular Thomas fix.

There are also other great Thomas products that are not compatible with the wooden railway system – Thomas Take Along (smaller, plastic track, and less expensive version of a great theme) and a battery-operated set that runs a blue plastic track made by Tomy. My son and twin nieces love these as well.

This set has won several parenting awards, and I’d be remiss not to mention them:
In 2003 – Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine, Teachers’ Picks “Top 10 Toys of the Last 10 Years”; and in 2002 it won the prestigious Parents’ Choice Award. A similar item, the Water Tower Figure 8 set won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Gold Seal in 2004.

Overall, an excellent toy choice and guaranteed to pay for itself with hours and hours of fun. All aboard!