Emoji Cube, By GiiKER - REVIEW

Nature/ Type:             Desk accessory/ fidget toy 

Rating:                       ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:   3 year-old ++ 

Who would love this: Anyone! Especially those who love fidget toys & Christmas! 

If you are looking for some last minute stocking-filler that’s jam-packed with festive-mood and overloaded with irresistible cuteness, look no further! Check out - Emoji Cube from GiiKER - a non-electronic fidget toy with an adorable emoji twist! 

Why I love ❤️ it: 

(1) Green Cube + 4 Cute Emoji Stickers 

Emoji Cube comes in a unique Christmas-theme green cube and 4 clear stickers featuring lovingly illustrated facial expressions. First, peel the stickers and stick them on each of the 4 rotatable surfaces of the cube. Next, adjust the bright red and white winter earmuffs (or the cute headphone) so that the band is positioned right on top and across a “face”. Seriously, how super CUTE this Emoji Cube is! Our kids can’t stop admiring and smiling looking at the 4 cute Emoji faces - the blushing face with a hint of shyness, the crying face with tears flowing uncontrollably, a “lovey-dovey” expression with two heart-shaped eyes, and a rosy-cheeked face completed with a cheeky smile. I LOVE toys that display different emotions - they are great conversation starters with the kids, and the kids love mimicking the special expressions whilst adding some silliness onto them! This emoji cube makes my heart flutters with its enchanting cuteness! 

(2) Spin-able - Super Cute Fidget Toy!

Grip the cube by holding-on to the white parts of the earmuff with 2 fingers; Now, spin the cube, watch it rotates in quick motion, and guess which lucky emoji it will land on! This is probably one of the cutest fidget toys I have ever seen. It’s delightfully addictive to play with, and really satisfies our natural urge to spin, roll, and flip things around with our restless hands. This is an awesome stress-releaser - calming, reducing anxiety, engaging the senses, and keeping us focused in a surprisingly relaxing way. 

(3) Christmas Colours & Festive Mood 

I love the Christmassy colours of green and red! I also really love how tiny this cube is - this is a stylish desk accessory, a friendly on-the-go companion, a lovely bag charm, and a charming keychain charm. It fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, and slips effortlessly into pocket or backpack. I’m loving this compact little travel-companion! 

# gifted in exchange for review 

Where to buy this: 

https://giiker.com/en-au/products/fidget-cube

Enjoy the video! 

DUPLO Build Me Emotions, By LEGO - REVIEW

Nature/ Type:          LEGO DUPLO bricks with a focus on emotions/ expressions  

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  3 year-old ++   

Who would love this: Young DUPLO fans 

There is hardly ever a Duplo set that doesn’t excite my kids. LEGO DUPLO Build Me Emotions - 188 pieces is one engaging and cute construction toy that makes us smile and creates loads of fun discussions. 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Double-Sided Facial Bricks - The best thing about this set is the unique double-sided facial expression pieces. The emotions depicted are obvious and easily discernible. I think this is a great starter set for any young kids who are learning and grappling with the concept of “good” and “bad” emotions. The “angry” face has eyebrows pushing towards each other with suppressed narrow lips; a “sad” face is represented by eyebrows that droop towards each corners and downwards-pulling lips; the “surprise” face has two widened eyes and an opened-mouth gape. The “positive” emotions, on the other hand, are displayed with lively round eyes, cheeky wink, raising lip-corners, and happy rosy blushes. It’s easy to tell the expression apart, and it’s even more fun when we can “transform” an expression just by turning our constructed figures from front to back, as each side of the expression brick shows a different emotion. These are child-friendly toy that teaches apparent and easily- recognisable “feelings”; there is nothing complicated, no “in-between”. 

(2) Build Your Characters - The set comes with sufficient pieces to build interesting figure structures. The “curved top” brick is perfect for building “feet”; the “curved bottom” is great for connecting the “head” with “body”, and the taller curvy pieces can be combined into a “skirt” for the characters. There is no right or wrong way to build this. I love how “open-ended” the concept is. 

(3) Building Ideas - The set also comes with 8 double-sided building cards (featuring 16 characters) that provides the kids with interesting building inspirations. 

(4)  It's DUPLO - And last of all, like any other DUPLO sets, the durable plastic brick pieces are compatible with other DUPLO / LEGO products. The colours are, as usual, appealing to young kids with so many varieties! 

 

I think this is an awesome “beginner” emotion set for kids (but it would probably outgrow the kids pretty soon). 

Where to buy this: 

https://www.teaching.com.au/product/LEG5018 (Australia) 

Enjoy the video! 

Big Feelings Pineapple, By Learning Resources - REVIEW

Nature/ Type:          Adorable mix-and-match toy to learn about feelings/ emotions    

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  3 year-old ++ 

Who would love this: Parents who are looking for toys with a focus on social-emotional feelings 

Like the Melbourne’s weather, our girl is unpredictable and has a roller-coaster of BIG feelings. She’s tempestuous and definitely a “force to be reckoned with”. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I guess that sums up why I have a keen interest in toys about emotions - I love how they spark interesting conversations and allow me to have a glimpse of the unfathomable heart of a three-year-old. Today, I would love to share about the “Big Feelings Pineapple” by Learning Resources, kindly gifted by Clover Street (Australia & New Zealand distributor/ wholesaler). 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Build & Learn To Recognise Feelings - This toy comes with 26 “face pieces”, 2 arms, and a pineapple with peg holes to build various facial expressions - from happy, frustrated, embarrassed, confused to silly! Mr Pineapple reminds me a little of the nostalgic “Mr Potato Head”, but with one MAJOR difference: instead of playing dress-up with accessories (like hat, moustache, and glasses), this Pineapple helps kids to identify the “window to the soul” by using facial pieces like eyes, brows, and lips. For example, a “surprised” look is built using “raised eyebrows”, “big round eyes”, and a mouth that formed an “O”. Combine two eyebrows that drawn downwards and zig-zagged lips with corners down, you get a “don’t mess with me” angry face. Our favourite is the “lovey face” with heart-shaped eyes and a happy smile. The set comes with an illustrated guide with 24 suggested expressions to imitate, or we can simply mix-and-match and make-up our combinations. This toy allows us to explore the nuances of social-emotional feelings in an interactive way! 

(2) Two-Sided Design - Mr Pineapple is two-sided; we can build two “opposite” faces on each side (literally), or have two kids compete to build the silliest of expressions. The kids get to “compare and contrast” (happy and sad, silly and serious, calm and nervous) and play guessing games with this feature! 

(3) Brightly Yellow - I love the bright and positive tropical feel of Mr Pineapple. Kids can work on their dexterity and visualise their feelings with this yellow buddy! 

(4) Pineapple Storage Case - Mr Pineapple is hollow within, can store up the bits and pieces, and completes with a lid of green crown. I love how organised this toy is! 

# gifted in exchange for review 

Where to buy this: 

The Therapy Store (Australia) 

OfficeMax (New Zealand) 

Enjoy the video! 

Empower Empathy, by My Tiny Sprouts

Nature/ Type:          Original board game with an emphasis on emotional intelligence 

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Recommended age:  5 year-old ++ 

Who would love this: Superheroes + board game lovers 

I have tested many toys that focus on feelings, but I had never played with a board game that places such important emphasis on emotional intelligence! I am so grateful to My Tiny Sprouts for sending this award-winning Empower Empathy game to me for review. At the end of each game, we felt closer together as a family, by listening to each other and having candid conversations about our feelings. This is a fantastic game. 

Why I love ❤️ this game: 

(1) Unique Theme of Empathy- I love the unique theme of instilling empathy as a life skill into kids. I love the 160 scenario cards with relatable circumstances for kids - “Russell’s best friend moved to another school”, “No one is playing with Kim at the park”, “Fred knows no one at his new school”. We chatted about how the person must have felt, and what “actions” can be used to handle the unpleasant situations. The boy talked about how the scenarios reminded him about “someone” he knows, or sometimes, his own experience. There are 80 “Power Up” cards that give us an open space to discuss about emotions - “how to ask for help to make frustration smaller”, “3 ways to calm your anger”, “name 3 things you are thankful for”. I never knew how BIG and COMPLEX kids’ emotions and feelings can be. I love how the game encourages the kids to put themselves in another’s shoes and personalise the experience by using simple real-world scenarios. I truly value the chance to share with the kids lessons and thoughts through a fun game! 

(2) Superheroes + Collaborative Game- I love the superheroes, mission-packed concept; players work collaboratively to solve social dilemmas and defeat Goobi the villain. The kids love the idea of “saving a city”, competing to reach the target, and the fun “face-off” times where they get to mimic a range of facial emotions (proud, silly, disgusted etc). I love the accompanying guidebook with ideas to navigate tricky social conflicts. 

(3) Awesome Game Components- The game components are of top-notch quality! The graphics are beautifully-done and visually appealing to kids. I love the elegant wooden dice and the adorable superhero markers. I love that the raw materials are toxic-free and 100% recyclable! 

How GREAT is that! 

# gifted in exchange for review 

Where to buy this: 

https://www.mytinysprouts.com/product-page/empower-empathy

Enjoy the video! 

Wooden Egg Pressions Set, By QToys

Nature/ Type:          Cute wooden toy that teaches us about emotions/ expressions

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  2 year-old ++ 

Who would love this: Parents who love a great conversation with kids about emotions  

Kids are innocently simple, yet they can also get so emotionally complicated at times. The roller-coaster of feelings, overwhelming and out-of-control at one moment, calm and joyful the next. I am a big fan of facial expression toys. I love the meaningful conversations generated using these clever educational resources. QToys’s Wooden Egg Pressions Set captures all the BEST criteria that I’m looking for in an “expression” toy. This is my personal latest favourite addition!

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Range of Emotions - Most of the “expression” toys focus on the obvious and easily discernible “positive” and “negative” emotions; the contrast between “happy” and “sad”, “angry” and “calm”. Egg Pressions bring us a range of emotions of different degrees and intensity; some of the feelings are “blended”, hard-to-read, subject to interpretation. I think that’s the exact reason why this set appeals to me immensely! There are 40 pieces of “half-face” which can be mixed and matched to create 20 faces featuring different expressions. We have the most extraordinary discussions playing with it; a raised eyebrow could be a sign of surprise, distrust, or “deep-in-thought”, a half-tilted lip gives an impression of satisfaction, but it might also suggest something “secretive” going on in a person’s mind. We had a mini competition creating the “cheekiest” and “scariest” face, and we named the created “characters” (“Mr grumpy”, “Sir Sleepy”). I love the fun dialogues of “what” and “why”. We soon realised that facial expressions are never as “straightforward” as what we always see in picture books. This is an amazing toy to develop emotional intelligence and to understand how everyone reads expression differently. 

(2) Egg-shaped & Easter Feel- if you are thinking of an Easter-themed toy, these egg-shaped, Humpty-Dumpty lookalike faces is a great choice! They are cute to look at, fun to balance, and can be used in various versatile and open-ended ways. 

(3) Quality & Safety- QToys is synonymous with quality. I love the non-toxic, sturdy plantation timber material, and the strict safety standard compliance. 

(4) Storage Bag - The set also comes with a burlap bag storage with drawstring. 

# gifted in exchange for review 

Where to buy this: 

https://www.qtoys.com.au/shop/by-age-group/3-to-5-years-of-age/wooden-egg-pressions-set-of-20/

Enjoy the video!