Smart Boy’s Toy Club & Smart Girl’s Party Game are the only games for preschoolers (age 3-6) on Nintendo DS.  These are “first-time games for first-time gamers.”  Included on these games are 18 skill based games that help develop the memory, and they encourage creativity through activities like interactive coloring books.  They also teach basic skills and work on hand eye coordination.

SingStar is making an encore performance with SingStar Vol. 2 which has 30 new chart-topping tracks from top artists including The Bravery, Spoon, Paramore, Radiohead and many more.  You are able to access hundreds of downloadable songs via the PS3 online Singstore.  You also are able to share your SingStar experience with friends and the online My SingStar community!  You can even get  SingStar ABBA for either the PlayStation 2 or the PlayStation 3.  SingStar ABBA features over 20 chart-topping singles from ABBA’s hit album, ‘Gold’ including ‘Mamma Mia,’ ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme,’ ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Dancing Queen’.

This is another unique toy from Oh! Toys.  I think my husband was just as excited to play with this as Madison.  This too is for ages 3 and up.  However, this does come with marbles, so if you have kids younger than three, you need to be very careful (the rule here is that Madison can’t play with this unless Will is napping).

Again, this is another toy that I like, because it makes my kids think. It requires them to think and do problem solving using creativity.  There are no bells and whistles; yet, Madison played with this for a good two hours the first day we took it out of the box.  Basically, what you do is make a track for the marble to work its way down. Right now, Madison is making pretty basic tracks with it. However, daddy did help her make a more intricate system like this one:

Also, clean up is awesome.  All of these pieces fit nicely into a bag that comes with it!  You don’t have to worry about how you are going to get all the pieces back in perfectly so you can close the box.  I also love that this is a toy that Madison can grow into.  Right now, she is only making very basic designs.  However, as she gets older, I know her designs will get more intricate.  This will also make it through the wear and tear of several children too.  It is made with good quality materials.  TheCugolino set contains 37 pieces and is 100% compatible with cuboro’s classic system.

Now, are you like me and impressed by the selection of unique toys from Oh! Toys? If so, I have the giveaway for you. Oh! Toys has offered to give one of my lucky readers a $25 gift certificate to their site. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post. Go check out Oh! Toys and tell me what you would use this gift certificate for!
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For 5 additional entries,

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This giveaway will end on December 9 at 8:00 pm CST is available to US residents only. Good luck!

I recently came across a site called Oh! Toys that has some of the most unique toys on the US market.  The toys on this site stimulate creativity and development.  Also, these toys are a lot of fun, and you won’t find them at your local toy store.

Most of the toys on the Oh! Toys site are for kids between the ages of 3 and 10.  However, the Sina einSTEIN blocks can be used by all ages.  As you can see from the above pictures, we made it a family event!  The shapes of these blocks are truly nothing you have ever seen before.  You can made some of the most unique things with them:

Have you seen any blocks that allow you to make such interesting shapes? I know I haven’t.  Sina’s einStein Blocks have 36 pieces – 9 blocks in red, blue, yellow, and green.  I noticed that they also really made my 4 year old think.  This aren’t your normal traditional blocks.  You can’t build a tower like you normally would with them.  However, you can build so many new cool things.  These blocks are something she will definitely be able to use for a while.  Now, Will (my one year old) was able to help with the tower (a little), but his main goal was to knock down whatever Madison and Daddy were building.  They made it through the rath of a 1 year old and no harm was done to my walls or the blocks.

If you need a toy for that kid who has everything, this is definitely it.  It will make them think and allow them to create to their mind’s delight.

If you are looking for software to purchase this Christmas, Creativity Express definitely should be on your list. The animators who created animated films like Mulan, Lilo and Stitch, and Sinbad have joined forces to create this game. The ages on it are from 7 and up. However, Madison (who is 4) and I were able to do play with this together. Creativity Express has 16 lessons on it. The lessons include movement, portraits, museums, making paint, etc. On top of having 16 lessons, there are also 30 hands on activities your kids can enjoy. Some of the activities include creating a comic book, a time capsule, and making crazy masks. With the software, you can easily store and share their artwork too!

The part that impressed me most with this software was that I found myself learning a lot about art. There was a whole section on what ingredients make up certain paint colors. I was really surprised at some of the ingredients. I learned that the impressionist era was the first time painters had paint in tubes. They no longer had to make it from scratch every time they painted which is why you find lots of outdoor paintings for that time period. The artists were able to take the tubes of paint out to their subject, and it was just easier for them. I could really go on and on about all the things I learned.

Creativity Express is software that will definitely keep your kids (and even you) occupied for hours.

If you have kids like mine who love hide and seek and treasure hunting, you have to get WheeGo for them. It is hide and go seek to the extreme. Madison absolutely loves it, but because she is only four, we have to help her along.  There is reading involved, and we haven’t learned how to do that yet.

The first thing she loves is that when you are the captain, you get to wear a sticker on your shirt that says Caption WheeGo.  The Captain then takes the clue cards and the treasure card out and follows the directions about where to hide them.  The character card then tells you where to find the first clue.  From there, each card you find helps you to find the next clue and so on.  Finally, the last clue will lead you to the treasure where you will find more stickers (which is always a huge plus!  I love that this opens up their creativity, and you can easily make up more cards to keep the game going for older kids.  Each quest is designed to help your child develop sequential thinking skills, build confidence, and reveal the value of self initiation.

This game is an awesome stocking stuffer, and you will be amazed at how much fun you can having playing this with your children!