EQtainment Party

I recently had the opportunity to be a participant in an EQtainment Party, where I was exposed to the world of Q Wunder.

 The party pack came with a board game, coloring book, travel game and weighted Q monkey.

 The travel game included three sets of cards - Do, Q and You.  These are the same sets of cards included in the board game, but in a much smaller tin meant just for conversation while traveling.  The cards ask children questions about what they might do in a situation, give them opportunity to explore feelings and emotions and learn appropriate responses.

 The board game contains a board, the same sets of questions and markers as well as instructions for play.  Play is easy and follows basic board game rules with turn taking.  Colors are bright and engaging, and the game is fun for children.

 The die and game markers are large in size, easy for small hands to manage.

 The weighted monkey is provided to teach children the value of taking time to calm down and relax.  By placing Q the monkey on the child's chest, they are to breathe in for three counts and then out for three counts, over and over, inducing a sense of calm as they watch Q rise and fall.

The EQtainment folks have put thought into creating this resource for building emotional awareness and development for young children, a valuable skill in a world that has them rushing around and rarely taking time to be calm or quiet.

My children (2, 4, 6) have enjoyed playing with these toys and games and I, as mom, see a lot of value in these products.

In addition to the physical products, we were also able to use the app and watch the Q-Wunder show thanks to Tryazon.  My children have enjoyed participating in those as well, and they each offer enrichment and enhancement to the Q family of products.

If you are interested in any of these products, you can get a 20% discount right now using the code: HOUSE PARTY

#tryazon #qwunder

Math Dice Chase Review

Think Fun, one of my favorite game companies, has released another fun learning game for kids.  This time, the focus is on learning math facts.

Math Dice Chase is designed to be used played with 4-6 players 3rd grade and older, as it is made to be played using multiplication facts.  The play of the game is simple.  Two people on opposite sides of the table each roll their pair of colored dice and then multiply the two numbers and state the answer (which can be checked by observing players).  Once a fact is answered correctly, the dice pass to the next player and continues around.  The challenge comes in the fact that each person takes a different length of time to roll and solve, causing the dice to eventually catch up with the same person.  This is how the "Hot Potato" factor of the game plays in.  The idea is to stay ahead of the other set of dice so as not to be caught holding both pairs of dice.

This game comes with a storage bag, instructions and four 12-sided dice - two in blue and two in purple.

The dice are fairly large in size, not your basic black and white dotted playing dice.  These are kid friendly, big enough for little hands to easily pick up and roll without slipping out of hands with lesser fine motor skills.  The numbers are easily read and well etched into the dice so as not to rub off with regular play.

It all stores nicely in a small bag to keep pieces together.

We have had fun playing this game as intended with the whole family as well as in an adapted form one-on-one with some of our littles.  The game can easily be adapted for addition or subtraction using the same game play rules, or just for practice.  It is also handy to take on road trips or use for quiet times.  There are so many math learning possibilities for this game beyond the written rules.  This is why I love ThinkFun so much!  The games they create are high quality, learning heavy and easily used for learning and fun beyond the intended use.  Another addition to our educational manipulatives that I will be holding on to for years to come!

You can find this game here

* I received this product for free in exchange for my honest and un-biased review.

Leo's Pad Enrichment Program Review

From the Manufacturer:

For the first five years of their life, your child’s brain is plastic, or malleable, meaning this early learning stage is where creative, thinking and social-emotional skills should take root so that these learning outcomes will last a lifetime.

Leo’s Pad Enrichment Program is an award winning learning series for preschoolers designed by Stanford early learning scientists and an Emmy Award-winning creative director. The games in Leo’s Pad address over 25 skills essential to early learning and adjust to each child’s skill level as they play, so content is always highly relevant and engaging.

Parents can download the free Learner Mosaic iPhone app to use with Leo’s Pad Enrichment Program. It provides you with insights about your child’s learning strengths and struggles and then offers personalized research-based tips and activity suggestions you can do together to help your learner thrive.

My Review:

Leo's Pad, created by Kidaptive, is an iPad app that has 6 chapters and a finale which introduce preschoolers to creative learning and fun as they follow Leo (young Leondardo DaVinci) through adventures with his friends (young Galileo Galilei, Marie Curie and more).  Children paint, help build items in a puzzle format, trace and work on hand/eye coordination as well as direction following.

An accompany app, Learner Mosaic, is downloadable for the iPhone and gives parents additional insights on their child's progress and learning stages.  After a short survey of the child's current skills, it suggests activities and other ways to enhance and grow skills for the individual child.

The app plays out much like a movie, with breaks in the story for children to participate and help Leo and his friends accomplish tasks and reach goals.  My children were absorbed in the first couple of chapters for some time, and before I was aware almost 45 minutes had gone by.

I really wanted to like this app, especially since it has a price tag I would never pay for any app.  While I see value in the child participation games, they are not anything my kids cannot get from other apps I have.  The stories are engaging and the "movie" is well played out, with encouraging life lessons and moral messages.

I was unhappy to see how much time had passed.  There is a lot of screen time needed to get through each chapter, and a lot more waiting to finish the entire story.  I cut my kids off after a while and have not allowed them to finish the story yet as I  dislike how easily they are sucked in and become oblivious to life going on around them.  This will be a sick-day or long trip kind of app for my kids, definitely not a daily or even weekly thing.

That said, you can check out the first chapter for free and get 20% off the program if you would like to check it out and form your own opinions, which I strongly encourage everyone to do.  My preferences are not by any means the end all of parenting or learning.

To check it out for yourself, go here.
and enter the code TRYLEO at checkout to get a 20% discount on your purchase, if you choose to do so.  This discount code is only valid through the link above (Kidaptive) and will not work in the App Store or anywhere else.

This is an app ONLY for iPads and iPhones - it is not available for other platforms at this time.


Through the BzzAgent program, I was been given the opportunity to try a new app for my kids.  The Leo's Pad Enrichment Program, normally $25 to purchase, was provided to me for free in exchange for my honest and un-biased review.