Geosafari Jr Kidnoculars, by Educational Insights

Nature/ Type:           Binocular that works! 

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  3 - 6 year-old

Who would love this: Kids that love to explore and observe. 

This is Geosafari Jr Kidnoculars from Educational Insights. I wasn’t too sure about this toy when I first saw it. Appearance wise, it looks pretty “plastic” and unrealistic. So I was really surprised and happy to find that it actually does function as a “binocular”, albeit in a more kiddo way suitable for preschoolers. 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Binoculars for Young Kids: According to online resources, this is the only (or one of the rare few) binocular toys in market designed specifically for young kids between 3 to 6 year-old. It is a sturdy toy, easy to be carried around by small little hands, not heavy, and with sharp colours that kids love. My four-year-old was pretty excited when he saw this kidnoculars and immediately wanted to have a try.

(2) 2 x Magnification: it actually works and functions as a “binocular”, although in a much lower 2 x magnification. I personally think this distance range is sufficient for young kids to have a first taste of how a binocular works. 

(3) Child-friendly Features- there are other child-friendly features such as enlarged, comfy and focus-free eyepieces, perfect-fit goggles, and a breakaway safety strap. 

The online reviews are kind-of mixed for this toy so it’s probably not for everyone. But my kid loves it and has been using this for indoor objects observation, and also bringing out for “expeditions” including a recent zoo visit. 

Enjoy the Video: 

Slope Tumbler Roller, by I’m Toy

Nature/ Type:           Wooden Toy with tumbling-down fun

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  3 year-old ++ 

Who would love this: Kids that love watching things dropping and falling down (gravity is fun!)  

I’m super excited to share about this Slope Tumbler Roller by “I’m Toy”. At first glance, we might think that this is just another ordinary ball-run sort of game. But wait till you see the surprises installed (swipe left to watch the videos!!!) 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) The “Surprises”!!! We can drop the three balls from the top of the colourful rainbow slope and watch them run from one level to another. Now comes the “unexpected”. Pick up the cute wooden acrobat (the original set came with two of them), drop him from the top of the ladder, and watch an amazing stunt being performed where the acrobat does some somersaults and drops down in style! The surprise doesn’t stop here! Next, place the slope roller structure on its side, and watch the little bright red tumble bean rolls down the wooden step in great action and fashion! The kids giggled and laughed, and we had so much fun watching the objects tumbled, rolled and slipped downward three ways! 

(2) Wooden Echoing Sound: I like the beautiful wooden echoing sound when the balls run from level to level of the slope. 

(3) Cuteness! the red tumble bean is too cute! It’s smiling at one side, but gives us an “unhappy” face when it’s being turned around. 

(4) Wooden Materials- like most of the other “I’m Toy” products, this Slope Tumbler Roller is made of sustainable rubber wood, finished with non-toxic child-safe paints and lacquers. 

I love it!!! 

Enjoy the video: 

Rapido, by Hape

Nature/ Type:           Bamboo and Colour Recognition Learning Toy 

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  3 year-old ++ 

Who would love this: Kids that love a quick, speed, learning game. 

Rapido by Hape is all about ball, ball, ball and ball! 😊 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Speed & Colour Recognition: It’s a game about speed, concentration, visual memory and colour recognition; this is a perfect little game for small kids that love “picking things up”. 32 colourful balls released and ran wild within a roped boundary; the object of the game is to pick up the balls according to the colour sequence shown on the dotted bamboo strips, quickly and correctly. The four clever cylindrical collecting pipes remind me of a mini tennis balls pickup-tube that my 1 year-old really loves handling every weekend during her big brother’s weekly tennis class. So naturally, the girl was obsessed with the activity of pressing the pipe down onto each ball, and finding real joy doing just that. My four-year-old enjoyed a mini “race” with me and felt pretty proud with what he could do with the pipe. 

(2) Natural Materials: I love the bamboo materials; they are light weight, lovely to touch, feel natural, and eco-friendly. 

If I can change a few things, I wish there were more balls of different colours (perhaps purple, orange and white for more challenging levels?), and also more strips with coloured patterns. I also wish they can replace the rope with a sturdy bamboo boundary as the balls can easily escape and make a mad mess in the house. 

Overall, I think this is a good toy to train-up hand-eye coordination, and is a nice “occasional” game that can bring some giggling fun to the kids. 

Enjoy the video! 

Natural Maths Set, by Qtoys

Nature/ Type:           Mathematics Learning Resources  

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  5 year-old ++ (although for simple stacking and building, this can probably be                                        played by kids of any age).

Who would love this: Parents searching for mathematics teaching resources of beautiful wooden                                                 materials  

Natural Maths Set with Ruler by Qtoys: 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Natural Materials - like any other Qtoys products, the toy is made of natural materials, lovely to look at, and nice to hold in hands. This is a product made of natural plantation timber using non-toxic, child-safe materials. It also contains recycled lychee wood blocks of various sizes. 

(2) Standing Ruler - I love the standing ruler; it creates great opportunity of educative fun. We can put the tree blocks (ranging from 1cm to 10 cm) beside the light-weight wooden ruler to check out their height measurement in centimetres. We can do simple adding and subtraction with the kids. I like that it is a teaching toy for basic numbers and mathematics, yet it also looks absolutely adorable and makes a good display in toy’s room. 

(3) Stacking Fun - Although mainly a teaching tool, we can stack the tree blocks, build a structures or make a pretend mini tree-house with the  kids. I think this is a great toy to encourage open-ended play. 

Enjoy the video! 

Wooden Robot, by Kids & Co

Nature/ Type:           Wooden Flexible Robot  

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  3 year-old ++ 

Who would love this: Robot lover  

An aunt got us this super cute wooden robot by Kids & Co purchased from Kmart few years back. This is one lovely item that the kids and adults both enjoy randomly folding, bending, and transforming anytime anywhere. 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Right Size For Travel - it has the perfect size to fit into any handbag, a great “on the go” toy when you are out running errand or travelling with a young kid. 

(2) Wooden Material - this little robot is made of light-weight wood, with elastic-band at each limb and joint to create different adorable, crazy, yoga-lookalike, or impossible poses. We are loving that confused-expression on this robot. 

(3) Lovely Colours - I also love the colour scheme of this tiny toy: earthly wood, lemon yellow, sky blue and denim blue. It’s pleasing to the eyes, and looks cute displaying anywhere in the house. 

There are quite many different brands and designs of similar bendable robot in market. I think this is one of the few cuter-looking versions. 

Coding Express, by LEGO education

Nature/ Type:           Construction/ Building Toy 

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  2 year-old ++

Who would love this: Building + Coding Lovers

I like open-ended natural-material toys, but I also think coding toys are pretty awesome, especially a screen-free one that can be played and understood by young kids. This Coding Express by LEGO education is one that I personally love and enjoy playing with my two monkeys. 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Lego Building Time - it’s Lego Duplo! So before we can start any actual coding, kids need to spend time constructing the objects: a train, a castle-playground, a fishing boat, a fuel station, a train stop, train tracks and any other Duplo creations that the kids can think of. 

(2) Push-And-Go Train Engine - the set comes with a clever push-and-go train engine that can detect and follow instructions of the “action bricks” - Red brick means “stop”, green means “change of direction”, blue means “stop for fuel”, yellow brick makes a train sound, white brick triggers light on and off. Kids can place these action bricks on the train tracks, and watch how the train acts according to the pre-planned instructions when it passes over them. We had loads of fun trying out different plans and actions, and watch the train reacted accurately on each step. The boy was eager to design and watch the train performs each action at the “correct timing”, eg stopping for fuel when it arrives at the fuel station, turning backwards when arriving at the end of track etc. 

(3) App Experience - There is also an optional app which enhances the experience of play if you need some educative screen-time with kids. 

Enjoy the video! 

Hedgehog Cogs, by Bello

Nature/ Type:           Wooden Construction/ Building Toy 

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️  

Recommended age:  3 year-old ++ 

Who would love this: Kids who love spinning gears + cute colourful hedgehog

Bello Hedgehog Cogs - this is one lovely toy that my four year-old loves playing with. Whenever we read  about the mechanic of spinning gears and its chain effect, the boy would exclaim “ahhh, just like that hedgehog toy we have!” 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Engineering Principle in a Visual Way - it’s simple toy to illustrate and apply the basic engineering principle of chain movement using 11 gears of different sizes and colours. It’s fascinating to  watch how one toothed wheel instigates a spinning reaction and transfers the motion to all the other gears placed on the hedgehog board. This is a good tool to explain a simple but really useful concept. 

(2) Lovely Appearance & Design - there are plenty of toys in the market adopting similar mechanic using such interlocking movement. This Bello Hedgehog Cogs is one of the prettier one; it is colourful, made of wood, with a cute hedgehog board as base, and encourages children to arrange the gears in numerous ways to create different chain reactions. I think this is a good toy that worth a place in any toy room. 

Enjoy the video! 

Plus-Plus Midi Size, by Plus-Plus

Nature/ Type:           Construction/ Building Toy 

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  the big version is safe from 0 + age

Who would love this: Creative kids who love to build, build, build! 

This Plus-Plus construction toy Midi / big size is my latest discovery and I can’t say enough great things about this awesome toy! Confession time: I didn’t think much about this toy when I first saw it; I mean, what can you really achieve using the same repetitive, sort-of-boring, unison shape? But BOY the surprise that I had once we started playing with these clever construction pieces! 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) One Shape + Endless Possibilities- like what it says in its website, Plus Plus has “One Shape” but “Endless Possibilities”! We had to start interlocking the pieces together before we can believe the magic it performs! We spent a great afternoon exploring this set with the kids, and we managed to build structures that look kind-of like a robot, a kid and a dog. The fact that the pieces are connected at different joints means we have a flexible robot that can move its limbs upwards and downwards, which we find it to be really cool. 

(2) Suitable For Young Kids- Plus-Plus comes with two different sizes. The mini version is suitable for age five and above, and a larger midi version (which is what we have here in the pictures) is safe for baby from 0 age and above. This bigger size is easy to be held and connected together by little hands. Even our 20-month-old can put the pieces together by herself without much help. 

(3) "Green" Toy- According to its official website, all Plus Plus is made in Denmark using 100% green energy from wind power, adopting a “no waste” policy, and all its products and packaging are 100% recyclable. An eco-conscious toy manufacturer deserves a big tick and some support. 

(4) Colours! - Plus Plus comes with a variety of colours, but I am absolutely loving this soft colour tones of the pastel mix! 

Enjoy the video! 

Building Set, by Roominate

Nature/ Type:           Construction/ Building Toy 

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  6 year-old 

Who would love this: Colourful modular pieces that can build up and up + interesting motor device 

This Roominate Building Set makes me smile. The online reviews are kind of mixed ranging from downright disappointment to absolutely loving it. Personally, I find this construction toy really awesome and I’m a new fan! 

Why I love this toy: 

(1) Colourful and Bright: Roominate is created by two female engineers who aim to inspire next generation of women engineers. But the toy is really gender-neutral, and I don’t see why it should be targeting just the girls market. My four-year-old boy loves creating tall structures out of the pieces. They are colourful, vibrant, bright, and not too hard to be put together. 

(2) Mini Motor & Circuit Devices: I love the mini motor and circuit devices included. It gave us a chance to explain to the kid how a circuit facilitates electricity to travel from the battery source in a full loop. The boy is very fascinated with the fast moving whirring device, which can be used to build a fan or a windmill. 

(3) Wide Possibilities: I love the wide creative possibilities that can be inspired by the modular pieces. This is a good toy that can keep the kids entertained for hours. 

However, if there were a few things I can change, I wish that the circuit devices can be improved. The motor does not seem to work well sometimes. Also, I wish there were switches to adjust the speed of the spinning motor to suit different uses. But overall, we are happy with the toy and I think the set has great re-play value. 

Have fun with the video: 

Tactile Search and Match, by Guidecraft

Nature/ Type:           Sensory Toy 

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  2 year-old 

Who would love this: Colourful and fun to touch! 

This is "Tactile Search and Match" by Guidecraft. My 20 month-old was instantly attracted by this toy and was happy playing with this over an over again. 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Great Sensory Toy for Young Kids: the nine rubber wood pieces are chunky and perfect for little hands to grab and match. I love the bright colours and the variety of surfaces for a fantastic touch and feel experience. Sharp red bumpy ridges, sea blue wavy lines, lime green spiralling design, smooth orange block and so on. They are pleasing to look at, and delightful to touch. The game can train up a kid’s colour, sensory and pattern recognition. 

(2) Right Skill Level- the puzzle challenge is just right for the skill level of a 1 to 2 year-old toddler. My 20 month-old can easily match all the nine pieces to their corresponding positions on the puzzle board, and she didn’t mind doing it over again a few more times right after. My four-year-old also loved a challenge, so he flipped the nine pieces of blocks upside down, did a “blind-feeling” of the texture, and guessed the answers. 

(3) Sturdy Design- I love that the set is sturdy, huge, but also easy to be stored away using the original box. 

Enjoy the video: 

SmartMax Build XXL 70-piece Magnetic Construction Kit, by SmartMax

Nature/ Type:           Magnetic Construction/ Building Toy

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Recommended age:  1 year-old ++

Who would love this: a one-year-old can easily connect the pieces together! 

SmartMax Build XXL 70-piece Magnetic Construction Kit by SmartMax. If I were only allowed to choose one toy for my one-year-old, I probably would just grab a box of this colourful magnetic set for the baby. And yes, it is THAT awesome, and the toy is well-loved by both my 20 month-old and 4 year-old. 

Why I love ❤️ this set: 

(1) Magnetic Building Set for One-Year-Old- there are not many magnetic embedded toys around in the market that are specifically designed for young baby from one-year-old onwards. Smart Max is a lovingly crafted construction set for little hands: each of the magnetic bars and metal balls are oversized, sturdy, chunky, colourful, and with high quality magnets. Any small kids can easily inter-connect the pieces and get any structures built up with ease. 

(2) Clever Lid & Bars Design- the lid is designed to be used as a base for construction. There are grids on it that can be used to lay down the metal bars and balls as foundation for the building. The metal bars have two different lengths to encourage more interesting structure to be built. 

(3) Strong Magnet- I am especially impressed by the strong magnetic force of the toy. The pieces can hold up a really tall and complex structure. 

The magnetic bars are divided into two categories: the warm colours (like red, orange and yellow) have their south poles directed outwards, and the cold colours bars (like green, blue and purple) have their north poles directed outwards. In other words, the two colour scheme bars can connect to each other, but the same colour group would repel each other. The concept is probably too complicated for young kids, but they can sort of figure this out by way of trial and error. 

Many online reviews suggested that the smaller sets of Smart Max couldn’t seem to get any good structure built up. So if any parent wants to invest in this toy, I would suggest that you go straight to a large box like this XXL 70 pieces set to avoid frustration. 

Enjoy the fun and colourful video! 

Matador Construction Set, by Matador

Nature/ Type:           Wooden Construction/ Building Toy 

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age:  5 year-old ++

Who would love this: Classic, wooden, open-ended, and encouragement to create! 

Some toys are timeless - it has been here probably since your grandparents’ childhood; and now, whilst watching your kids playing with it, you know the toy is here to stay for the next generation or so. Matador construction set is one of those classic, timeless, and never grows out-of-date toys that will continue to delight kids and adults for years to come. 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Classic & Back to Basic- it’s all about “back to basic” - just some blocks with holes, wooden sticks, wheels, tiny discs, hammer, and a plier. The possibilities are limitless. It encourages application of simple engineering knowledge and skills in a great fun way. According to online resources, the toy was created over 100 years ago by an engineer father who wanted to see complex wooden structures being built. The result is these clever Matador blocks. 

(2) Hammer & Pliers- the wooden sticks can connect the blocks tightly together with some simple pushing in or hammering. To disconnect the blocks, snap the pliers around the rod, do a little twist and turn, and simply yank it out. The kids are loving the mechanic and use of tools in getting the structures done and dismantled in style! 

Enjoy the video, and watch how engaging and simple the building mechanism works! 

SnowWhite, by SmartGames

 

Nature/ Type:           Brain Teaser for young kids 

Rating:                      ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age: 4- 7 year-old 

Who would love this: Young kids that love brain teasers and challenges + fairy tale lovers  

SnowWhite by SmartGames- my four-year-old is a super Disney fan, so naturally, you can imagine his excitement when he saw a game featuring one of this well-loved fairy tales. 

Why I love ❤️ this game: 

(1) Fairy Tales + Brain Teaser: As usual, Smart Games is pretty clever when it comes to combining kids stories with brain teaser, encouraging kids to solve puzzle using objects or characters that they are familiar with. 

(2) Easy but Nice Challenges: to play this game, we need to place the seven dwarves, the evil queen and / or Snow White in the house at the position as indicated in the challenge booklet.  Next, deduce and find out where the remaining  figurines should be placed at the empty positions. There are 48 challenges with different difficulties, 24 of of them to be played using the front-facing house, and the remaining 24 to be be played by turning the house facing backwards. The harder challenges would have additional “conditions” set out, for examples, the orange dwarf must be placed in front of the green window, and the purple and green dwarves must be placed next to each other and so on. The red dwarves and blue dwarves are “twins” that would always stick together, adding on to the fun of logic and deductive challenge. 

(3) Doors + Windoes: I love the closing and opening of windows and door to conceal and reveal the figurines. My four-year-old loves opening the door and windows to discover if he has got the solution correct. 

However, my feeling is the kids would outgrow the game really fast. My four-year-old found the challenge to be “easy”, although be doesn’t mind having imaginative play with the figurines using the 3D house as the scene. Also, the figurines can’t seem to fit well onto the slots, something I wish it could have been designed a bit better. 

Overall, we love it, but this is probably not my most favourite or top-listed Smart Games. 

Where to buy this: 

https://www.leisurelearning.com.au/

Enjoy the video!