As a child and even well into my adult years, I've been an avid history lover. Learning about those who have come before, what they've accomplished and how they changed history has simply fascinated me. Some of my favorite time periods include the Golden Age, the Renaissance and the Progressive Era. These days, I'm trying to pass along my love of history to my own daughter; I can't get enough of revisiting some of my favorite periods and history and helping her to discover some of her own.  It's been my personal experience, both in my own learning journey as well as my daughters, that any subject you learn and how easily you learn it, depend 70% on the teacher and their materials. When I was offered the opportunity to work with the minds behind the Invicta Challenge, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to use their materials to engage my daughter in history in a innovative and fun way. The mission of the Invicta Challenge is to encourage reading, teach history and foster … [Read more...]

When I was growing up there was a stigma floating around about how boys could only play with action figures and girls could only play with dollies. As a little girl I was the one out of my friends to wonder why it was my lot in life to only be able to play with certain toys and why I couldn't do the things the boys were doing; I simply couldn't understand or accept that that was just the way things were at the time. I did everything in my power to break the mold I had been placed in by those who came before me. I played in the mud, played with action figures and partook in games of cops and robbers. To this day I still believe that children are wrongly limited when it comes to what they can and can't do or what they can or can't play with but do my best as a parent to raise children that don't limit themselves to that train of thought and who believe they can do anything they set their mind to. When Miss Sarah was 2, we hit Target. I was shocked to see a "boy aisle" and "girl … [Read more...]

You know me, I'm a firm believer that children learn to play. So, is our job as parents, to make sure they have great things to play with! Miss Sarah has a very strong science aptitude, and I've had a lot of fun finding new things that work with STEM, but it's always great to shake things up a bit. When Hasbro sent me a list of a few fun things to review, and Scrabble Twist jumped out right at the start. In fact, the lady that I work with through Hasbro, said she knew that would get my attention. (Love Her!!) The Scrabble Twist is such an easy easy easy easy game to play! (did I mention that it was easy? ) You can play with someone else, you can play by yourself, but here's my favorite thing: it's easy to drop in a purse or glove box! Have you ever sat next to that table at a restaurant with the parents do nothing for their children? The kids are bored, start to become disruptive, and the parents don't even stop them from getting out of the booth and walking around? Even … [Read more...]

Since getting their start in the early 80's, Vtech has been the go to company for innovative, learning gadgets for children. Since they got their start, the folks over at Vtech have been doing their best to develop high-quality, innovative, electronic gadgets that have been helping our children learn while also being fun, must-have gifts for every age group. With their award winning gadgets on the market like their Innotab, Vreader and the MobiGo, Vtech has been named the world leader in age appropriate learning toys. When I was given the opportunity to partner with VTech to review one of their amazing children's products, I couldn't say no. It's been my experience that finding age appropriate toys can be frustrating and a tiring experience. Most packages can be misleading with their suggested age groups so finding something to suit the age of the child or the special needs of a particular child can be tougher than it needs to be these days. With Vtech Toys, finding the … [Read more...]

When I was a little girl I often allowed my imagination to run wild. Like many children, I had imaginary friends, played dress up and invited my neighborhood friends over to take part in games of pretend and make-believe. One thing I really loved doing during the days when my creative juices flowed relentless was building. If a friend had Lincoln Logs or Lego's, I was designing something or other; still to this day design has been a skill I've kept with me and passed on to my own daughter. When I was approached with an opportunity to work with Roominate Kits to review their innovative engineering products for girls, I couldn't have been more pleased with at the chance! Most girls are discouraged in science by fourth grade. That is why I less than 5 percent of professional scientists around the world, are women. If you ask me, that is pretty pathetic. It is also a reson that groups like Girl Scouts, has created a lot of sly curriculum based off of STEM principles. STEM stands … [Read more...]