This year for Christmas, most of the gifts the kids will be getting are educational toys that we can use for homeschooling. Not only did I make quiet time bins for them, but we also do activity trays as part of our learning. I love having a wide variety of different toys, games and activities to fill the bins and trays with. One of my favorite places to find the different education toys we love is Learning Resources. We recently found a few more items to add to our learning stash, as well as a little something that Henry seems to really love.

The first item we received for review is the High Seas ADDventure addition game. One thing that Maggie and I have done a lot of is play games together. When she napped at a later time than Charlie, we would play games after he went to sleep until it was time for her to nap. Now they nap together so we don’t have as much time to play alone, but we still sneak in some games together {and naps are starting to phase out, so we will have lots more time}. The High Seas ADDventure addition game was a lot of fun to play. We had so much fun playing one on one, but she was also learning a lot. The game centers around counting to 10. For the younger crowd, there are help sheets with arrows between the different numbers needed to get to 10. I love that Maggie is a good sport whether she wins or loses and we can always celebrate anybody winning. It’s also a great addition to our homeschool math tools.

The second item we received is the Tumble Trax Magnetic Marble Run. This ranks up there pretty high on my favorite things list. With 10 activity cards, 4 marbles and 14 pieces, this is never ending fun. While it does say agent 5+, this is my 3 year olds favorite thing to play with. There is a basket type square piece that goes at the bottom to catch the marbles. I had bought a large magnetic white board to use for our homeschool activities that works perfect for the Tumble Trax Magnetic Marble Run. I set up the marble trax the first time by following one of the activity cards and then dropping the marbles. We all had fun watching the marbles work their way down {seriously, who wouldn’t love this}. Charlie wanted to play by himself so I let him have at it. Either he is too young to follow the activity cards or he just didn’t want to, I don’t know, but I could actually SEE him learning as he moved the track pieces around. Time after time he would set it up and the marble would either stop or fall off the board. I could see his mind working to figure out what to do to make it follow the path to the bottom. He would play with this all day, every day if I let him. Maggie loves it to, and is able to follow the cards a little better. She doesn’t get to play much though, Charlie pretty much hogs it {and hates that I “disappeared” it until Christmas}. Seriously, this is sure to be a hit with any little learner…..or adult.

The third item we received is the New Sprouts Stir Fry Set. We love play food around here, whether it is desserts, dishes, or veggies. If you are thinking that all play food is created equal, you are wrong. We have quite a bit of food in our play kitchen, but I’ve gotten rid of a lot of it. Over the last 4 years, some of it has gotten holes in it or fallen apart. With the New Sprouts line of food and dishes, they are durable, colorful and perfect for those little hands. I really love all of the healthy food lines that encourage good food choices for children. As it turns out, Henry LOVES the broccoli {but beware with children under 3 because of choking hazards}. The kids love this set that comes with peppers, peas, onions, carrots, celery pieces, broccoli, a fortune cookie, tongs, spoon for stirring, and the wok to cook it all in. But, it wouldn’t be complete without the container to put it all in. All three kids are always in the kitchen cooking it up, and Maggie never complains she doesn’t like something when it comes from their kitchen!