Activity Toy Reviews

A game for the family--we played with my children, my brother and my step-mother, it was too much fun. We were talking about it the next day, the crazy answers and trying to figure out whose answer was whose.

I originally got the game as both an educational tool for my children to encourage their deeper thinking and communication skills, as well as for my classes (I teach English as a foreign language). And so far it has been a big hit, we can't wait to play it again.

On their turn, the player rolls the dice and moves accordingly. The spaces are all colored, using 4 different colors, similar to pictionary. The player then pulls out a question card and asks the question to everyone else. Everyone except the player writes their answer on their answer sheet and gives it to the person on the right of the present player. The person who has the answers then reads them one by one to the player, and the player tries to guess whose answer it was. If they are right, they move forward one. If not, they stay put.

It took us about 1 hour to get through the game, but we were never bored once the entire time. I would highly recommend this game as good fun for the family and sleepover with friends.

The developers of this game did a great job coming up with questions designed to appeal to kids, questions like:
If you could star in a movie, which movie would you choose?
If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life what would it be?
The questions range from simple to a bit more complex, so that kids who like challenges as well as those who don't will enjoy the game.
Another thing: Although you can follow the rules and play this strictly as a board game, we used it while we were just sitting around the table having a casual chat. Sometimes the kids asked the question, sometimes the adults did...but we all learned more about one another...a LOT more...and many of the questions got us talking about family history, memories, etc. Lots of fun! It'd be great to take the questions along on a trip or while eating at a restaurant since they are surefire conversation starters but not so personal that anyone's "personal boundaries" will be invaded. Plus, there are no right or wrong answers and any information provided is strictly voluntary, revealing as much or as little as the respondent wants.
One caveat: You will eventually go through all the questions so this game won't last forever...unless you are able to find new people to participate. If so, it be used for years. In terms of fostering family closeness without any threatening or off-limits questions (in short, everyone has to play nicely together) this is great!

This is definitely my daughter's favorite toy. I bought this toy when she was 3 months old. She was so fascinated with it. She would stare at it with such amazement. Now she is 5 months old and absolutely has a ball with it! She will pull down on the rings with such ease and make it "flutter" over and over again. Out of all the toys she has, she will reach for this one everytime. We never leave home without it. This is her "happy" toy!!!!

I bought this for her when she was only a couple of weeks old to put over her changing table. The petals have black-and-white patterns on the underside that captivate her each and every time! She loves to talk to her Flutterbug during diaper changes.

My 5-month old daughter absolutely loves this toy. I bought it for her before she was born and she has been enjoying it since she was a few weeks old. The flower makes a crinkly noise that she loves, the petals have black and white patterns that are very attractive for baby and the cute bug vibrates when pulled. In addition, you can attach this toy almost anywhere-the play gym, the bouncer, the swing...

The flutterbug keeps my daughter entertained longer than any other toy she has. Highly recommended!

I was surprised that this toy got such good reviews, because I am not at all impressed with it. I thought that both of my sons (12 mos. and almost 3 years) would enjoy it, but neither has spent much time with it, despite enjoying other shape sorters - plus, one loves music, the other loves animals/making animal sounds. The shapes are hard to get out, and this frustrates my 1-year-old son. And I was disappointed that the music doesn't play when the shape is inserted; you have to press the shape after putting it in to get the music to play (or bypass that, and push the little button to get the music without even doing the shapes).

She got this toy for her birthday and just loves it. It keeps her occupied the whole time while I am getting ready for work. Her favorite side is the shapes. She will take them out and put them back in over and over again. When she pushes on the shape she will wiggle and bob her head to the music. A good value for the price.

My mom bought this toy for my 13 month old daughter. She absolutely LOVES it! She loves pushing the animals to hear the sounds they make, taking the shapes out and shaking them (they rattle), and turning it over to play with the items on the other side. It entertains her for a good 30 minutes, which is quite long for a 13 month old. I read that some people were not as impressed with it, but I have not had 1 problem. I would recommend this toy to everyone!

My son (now almost 6) has been a dinosaur fanantic since the age of 2. He knows the names, where they lived, what they ate...you name it, he knows it! Or so we thought, until he got this for Christmas! After having a great time making and painting the "fossil" he read in the manual that each bone has it's own name--so now we're learning those as well! The only problem we have with it is when the smaller pieces get dropped on a hard surface they tend to break pretty easily. They are, however, also fixed easily with a dab of super glue.

An excellent project for your child's school report. We purchased the Velociraptor kit for our 8 year old daughter not knowing what to expect. After opening the package my wife came up with a clever idea of pouring melted chocolate chips it into the dinosaur molds, instead of using the plaster mix. We experimented with white chocolate chips and created realistic looking dinosaur bones! We buried these edible bones in ground up Oreo Cookies. What a thrill to see our daughter's 2nd grade class excavate these delectible prehistoric fossils!

I BOUGHT THIS FOR MY EIGHT YEAR OLD FOR CHRISTMAS WITH A BUNCH OF THE "WHATS POPULAR NOW" TOYS. THIS BY FAR IS THE TOY THAT HAS KEPT HIS ATTENTION FOR MORE THAN A FEW MINUTES. MORE LIKE NEARLY 2 HOURS THE FIRST TIME WE TOOK IT OUT. IT ALSO KEPT MY 6 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND THE EVERY ADVENTEROUS 4 YEAR OLD BUSY. I HAD TO KEEP DAD FROM DIGGING AND DUSTING OR ELSE THE KIDS WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN A TURN. AFTER FINDING THREE BONES - I TOLD THEM IT WAS TIME TO PUT IT AWAY AND SAVE IT FOR ANOTHER DAY. MY HUSBAND WOULDN'T QUIT FOR ANOTHER 30 MINUTES UNTIL THEY HAD FOUND AND UNEARTHED ONE MORE BONE. THEY HAVE MANY HOURS OF FUN LEFT WHICH IN RETURN WILL GIVE THEM AN ADDED BONUS--NOT ONLY ARE THEY HAVING FUN; BUT ARE LEARNING AT THE SAME TIME!! ONE CONSIDERATION IS THAT IT DOES SAY FOR AGES 8 AND ABOVE, BUT MY 4 YEAR OLD HAD HIS SUN GLASSES ON AND MANAGED QUITE WELL. HIS ONLY PROBLEM WAS GETTING DAD OUT OF THE WAY!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

Quite a bit smaller than the picture on the box would have you think, but the price should be a clue.

I would say that this one was very easy to build, finished it in 1 day on and off. The paper "flags" were very fiddly and I left them off the model.

Overall, a very nice 3D puzzle. It lets me see Notre Dame in 3D which I've heard of ever since I was a kid; now I don't have to go to France! Highly recommended for even beginners!

Wrebbit's Notre Dame does everything I expect from a jigsaw puzzle. It comes together in a logical way so that things just start clicking at the end (sort of like in a good novel). It has a nice balance of visual cues and mysteries. And the result is attractive enough to display for a while.

I am not sure it is "Advanced Level" as the box suggests. I haven't put a puzzle together for years and I was able to work through this with only an enjoyable level of difficulty. The instructions cleverly force you to work with diagrams of blank pieces for various sections of the structure and color pictures that never seem to show you exactly the view you want. Between the shapes, colors and logic of the building, you figure out the rest. As a result my experience was full of those wonderful surprises: Oh, THAT's where that belongs!

The result has a clever balance of 3-D and 2-D detail that looks pretty convincing from a few feet away. It has been on my dresser for several days, and I have already begun work on the Eiffel Tower.

I really recommend this for adults that want to both relax and challenge their spatial skills.

We've bought this many times and the kids never seem to get tired of it. My kids range in age from 2 to 10 and they all enjoy watching the caterpillars change to butterflies. It's always a special family event when we let them go.

I purchased this for my Kindergarten class and the LOVED IT! the package came to me quickly and the directions were very easy to read. I sent off for the caterpillars and they came back to me in about one week. My students were so excited everyday they came in my room. They told teachers in the hallway and their parents to come to my room to see "Their Butterflies". It was a very good learning experience and one that I will do every year with every class. I would recommend this product to anyone, it is well worth the money and time and very easy to follow. Thanks.

If you're looking for a gift for a child that's just the right combination of fun, excitement, and an excellent learning experience, you've found it.

I cannot recommend this product enough. I bought it for my five year-old niece and it quickly became an adventure for her and the entire family.

The caterpillars were delivered promptly. All five were alive and soon began eating themselves silly. The chrysalides formed in a matter of hours after just a couple days of eating. A few days later, they hatched overnight into gorgeous Pink Ladies.

What a wonderful way to teach children (and adults!) about the miracle and fragility of life.

The house itself is durable and well-made and the educational materials that accompany it are clear and informative.

One tip if you do buy this item: Keep an eye on them. They grow up so fast! Taking pictures of their different stages might be good for a elementary school science project, too.