My Review of Animal Yatzi

Originally submitted at Magic Cabin

Shake, rattle and roll out the elephants and monkeys! This fun adaptation of a classic favorite is just as exciting, but with a twist - the dice have tiny animals instead of dots! The game comes packed for travel in a tidy little tin. Made by Haba® of Germany.

For ages 5 and up.
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Animal Yatzi

Fun Game

By NatureMom from Michigan on 5/7/2011

 

4out of 5

Pros: Great Value, Entertaining, Fun, Interactive

Best Uses: Indoor, Young Children, Family Time

Describe Yourself: Stay At Home Parent, Education Oriented, Parent Of Two Or More Children

Was this a gift?: Yes

This was a gift for my 4 1/2 year old daughter for Christmas. We've only played it a couple of times, but it is a lot of fun. She originally took an interest in the adult version of Yahtzee when we played with friends, so I knew it would be a hit with her. I love that the dice are wooden and have cute animal shapes. It's nice that everything fits right back into the little container to store it, but I must say that I originally thought the container would be larger and the sheets of paper would be larger to make it easier for small hands to write their own scores. The container can be used to shake the dice in (it is about the size of an adult Yahtzee shaker cup). Honestly, my only disappointment is that I intended this to be a larger present, but it ended up being a stocking stuffer because of the size. Overall, I am happy with the purchase.

(legalese)

My Review of Peg Loom

Originally submitted at Magic Cabin

Children will soon discover the fun of making everything from dollhouse carpets to pencil cases on this simple, hardwood Peg Loom, furnished with a tapestry needle, wool yarns, cotton warp string and clear, concise instructions.

Made in the USA for ages 5 and older.

Make yo...

Peg Loom

Nice Product.

By NatureMom from Michigan on 5/7/2011

 

4out of 5

Pros: Great Value, Entertaining, Fun

Best Uses: Family Time, Creative Development, Indoor

Describe Yourself: Parent Of Two Or More Children, Stay At Home Parent, Education Oriented

Was this a gift?: Yes

I purchased this as a gift for my daughter for Christmas. At the time, she was 4 1/2 years old. I was surprised that she took an interest to this product right away, I really thought it would be something I would have to push her toward. She enjoys weaving the yarns through the loom, but needs help with the "over-and-under" near the edges and beginning the next row, and when it comes time to add the next piece of yarn. I think this is something she will continue to enjoy as she gets older and will be a nice quiet time activity.

(legalese)

A Special Handmade Christmas Present

While reminiscing about my childhood in the early 80s, I thought about the really cool sticker books that existed at that time. I was probably 4 or 5, and my older sister would have been 14. We were both ecstatic whenever we were able to come across new stickers to add to our books. I even remember the nearest mall had a store that exclusively sold stickers on large rolls and you could go in there and tell the employee which ones you wanted, and they would cut them off the roll for you.

I am now much older with my own children, the oldest being almost 5. She will often receive stickers from various places like the dentist, post office, even during the boat ride while heading to Mackinaw Island two summers ago. She adores each and every one of them, and instinctively wishes to apply them to SOMETHING.

My search for a sticker book similar to the one I had as a child turned up useless. I searched countless stores and online with no luck. So, being of the crafty kind, I finally decided to make her one myself. While designing the book, I had a couple goals in mind: 1. Keep the cost low - it is a sticker book. 2. Make it cute - I wanted to be sure she would enjoy looking at it. 3. Similar in style to what I remembered from the 80s. 4. Make it sturdy and strong so that it will last a lifetime.

I set out to find cute pictures from a children's book that I could photocopy, and came across several animals that I really liked. I brought the copies home and colored each with colored pencils and cut them out with an X-acto knife, then glued them to various colored construction paper. I ended up with 10 sheets for the inside of the book (20 pages), plus a front and back cover.

I wanted the paper to be strong and glossy like I remembered, so laminating seemed to be the best option. My husband dropped them off at an office supply store and had them work their magic. I really wanted a black plastic binder ring along the entire side to hold the pages together, but they said it couldn't be done. I'm assuming this is because I had so many laminated pages.

After I had the laminated pages back in my hands, I had to bind them together somehow, so I used my very inexpensive and weak 3-hole ring puncher to make indents into the laminated paper. I was then able to see where the holes needed to be and used my single hole puncher to punch each hole separately. I then tied jute string into each hole. I hope to find metal rings to replace the jute soon.

I added a sweet little note on the inside back cover to remind my daughter when she is older that I made this for her as a Christmas present, and I hope that she will take good care of it forever.