A recent purchase for my book-a-holic nephew, the Scholastic Children’s Encyclopedia is his latest can’t-put-down source of “guess what…?”  Kids love knowing facts that amaze and amuse adults, and this encyclopedia’s bursting with!  Reading and understanding these facts is made easy by child-friendly but text-relevant images, which bring the information to life in ways that children from the ages of about 9 to 12 can easily comprehend, ready to apply as needed to schoolwork, personal projects and interests or just to make auntie feel dim!

 My nephew loves having the book on his shelf – its beautifully bound, colorful hard cover makes it robust for shelf-hopping.  Inside, the information is arranged alphabetically, great for using with a younger child to reinforce learning about alphabetization, whilst the ‘Further Reference’ section helps to teach about categorization and sequencing.  As well as the basic information on a topic, there are eye catching ‘Did you know …?’ sections (inspiration for my nephew’s “guess what …?” chats) plus a ‘see also ..’ section to signpost kids to further points of relevant interest.

 In these days of ‘competition’ with more technological forms of the written word, this child’s book of knowledge is full of multi-culturally relevant information, conveyed in a child-friendly but not patronizing way that engages a child not only with its content, but also with an enjoyment of reading and learning.  The gift of a Scholastic Children’s Encyclopedia means that this aunty got thanks not just from the nephew, but from his parents too!

Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

As parents we strive to provide our kids ways to learn faster while having fun at the same time.  Thus, when I was offered by the kind people of Rock N Learn to review the Life Science DVD, I jumped at the chance. Both my kids loved watching the DVD and best of all, they have been learning in the process.

Rock N Life Science DVD  tells the story about Kevin who gets introduced by Marko to a butterfly named Bailey, who happens to be an expert in Life Science. In the DVD you will see Kevin learning all about Life Science from his newly acquainted friends. From cycle of life, all about plants and animals and how to differentiate one from the other to the ecosystem and how it balanced itself in the process, Kevin learns a lot of new stuff and does well in school and makes the best of what he has learned.

The Life Science DVD will help your kids learn science in an easier and fun way.  Read my full review here and trust me when I say this DVD has helped my son get better grades in his science subject. You can get your own copy here. You’ll be glad you did, it’s all worth the money.

Disclosure : I have not received any compensation for writing this content. Review copy of DVD courtesy of www.rocknlearn.com. The opinion above are solely my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

A couple of months back, I bought this for a friend’s daughter who was celebrating her 1st birthday. As stated on the packaging, this Learn & Groove Musical Table is designed for children from six months to three years so, it is definitely a worthy purchase. What I never expected was the feedback from my friend when we met last week. She told me that the gift was a hit with her one year old as well as her soon to be three year old son.  So, I decided to write a review for this toy here.

Leapfrog’s Learn & Groove Musical Table is made of plastic but is sturdy enough and yet flexible as it can be placed flat on the floor for babies to play while they are sitting down. All you need to do is just to detach the table’s legs. There are so many activities to keep toddlers or children entertained, such as spinning the maraca for the ABC song, moving the trombone, playing the banjo or piano, tapping on the colourful drum and more. Children will delight in playing these musical instruments while parents will secretly enjoy the fact that there is a switch for a “low” volume so you wouldn’t be too annoyed with the sounds.

There’s another feature which I like ~  the “book”, which contains pages which can be turned. If you change the mode to “Music” and turn the pages, you will be able to hear more than 40 songs, including nursery rhymes.

Overall, this toy is great for motor skills development. Just one point which I feel I should point out : it uses 3AA batteries and with plenty of songs, melodies, twinkling lights and instrument sounds, be prepared to stock up with your battery supplies. Otherwise, a worthy investment for a baby as it can be used for a couple of years. Leapfrog’s Learn & Groove Musical Table can be purchased at Amazon.com.

I recently reviewed a book ” Teach your child the Multiplication Tables, Fun, Fast and Easy Dazzling Patterns, Grids, Tricks!” over at Parent Reviewers, and here’s an excerpt of it :

Growing up, I was never really good at Maths. Until, I had the benefit of getting to know an excellent Maths teacher, who showed me the good side of Maths. It was astounding. I never thought Maths could be so interesting and from then on, each time I found a pattern or a sequence, Maths got easier and easier. I have to say, by the time I ended High School, the only thing I really excelled in, was Maths (and English ~ but that didn’t count somehow).

Now, as a parent, I have to admit, I really suck at teaching Maths. Perhaps I’m too impatient with my kids and think ahead of myself. The easy stuff like Addition and Subtraction was taught with much frustration, on my part, and much dismay, on my kids’ part.  I dreaded the idea of teaching Multiplication and Division! When the book “Teach Your Child the Multiplication Tables, Fun, Fast and Easy with Dazzling Patterns, Grids and Tricks“, arrived, I looked at the front cover with much skepticism. How “fun” could it be?

I completely forgot how amazing it is, when the brain opens up, finds a pattern and starts working furiously at the numbers. Until this book arrived. My 7 year old saw this book and immediately wanted to work on it. I knew he learnt some multiplications at school, but I wasn’t sure how much.

He attacked the first grid….working all the multiplication numbers from 1 to 10. Just like that. I was amazed. He had read and glossed over the book, (I assumed he was just looking at the pictures) earlier…and when he started doing the numbers, he seemed to understand the underlying patterns under each multiplication.

And here I thought I would have a hard time teaching him the Multiplication!

Currently, there is a giveaway going on, which will last till 4th August 09.  7 lucky readers will get a chance to win! So hurry on over there, and while you’re there, check out the other reviews and giveaways going on there.

The Don’t Bite Me! Patch is a revolutionary, new product that provides an alternative to traditional insect repellent. The Don’t Bite Me! Patch combines an old remedy with new technology to make an outstanding product! Only natural ingredients go into our topical patch which lasts for up to 36 hours. Now you can simply put on a patch, not messy sprays and lotions. Whether you are swimming, camping, golfing, gardening, hunting, fishing or watching an outdoor sporting event, you can now enjoy your time outdoors, not dread it!

If you are a follower of my parenting blog, you’ll know that my kids and I are dreadfully afraid of insect bites. These bites often result in swelling and a lot of pain, followed by itchiness due to inflammation. Therefore, when I stumbled upon the Don’t Bite Me! Patch, my curiosity was piqued. I wanted to try and see whether it really works!

The opportunity came when I went for a recent teambuilding trip to Lumut, Malaysia. We stayed at the Swiss Garden Resort which was a beachfront resort. Since I knew our teambuilding was going to last until 10.30pm that night, I did not want to risk being bitten my mosquitoes. From the instructions, the patch had to be applied two hours before going outdoor, so after lunch, I quickly slapped the Don’t Bite Me! Patch on my outer upper left arm. It was pretty easy as you just need to peel off the adhesive tape. I like the fact that the patch was transparent which meant no one knew I was using it.

My observation throughout the time I had the patch on, which was roughly 18 hours, I did not have a single insect bite. I’m not sure whether it was a coincidence as I am usually very prone to mosquito bites. I was also pleasantly surprised when I removed the patch and noticed that there wasn’t any itchiness even though my skin is generally sensitive to adhesive products.  However, my skin did look redder than usual but the colour returned to normal after a couple of hours.

Since the key ingredients are Vitamin B1 and Aloe, the Don’t Bite Me! patch is also safe for children. Thus, I’m keen to try it out again with my kids when we go for our next outdoor activity.  Other features such as being waterproof and able to last up to 36 hours are an added advantage. You can purchase your own here!