This contest has ended. Congratulation to the winner Amy P.!

Madelyn playing with her VTech MobiGo

VTech’s done it again with another great product that kids love to play with and learn from. Way to go VTech!

VTech MobiGo

Madelyn got a VTech MobiGo a few days ago and as you can see in the photographs, she loves it and takes it with her everywhere. My 10 year old went to camp about 35 minutes away and the MobiGo was great to have in the car. I actually got to listen to grown-up music while she played with her MobiGo! What was really great is that Madelyn, 4 years old, didn’t get frustrated with any of the games or have to ask me for help.
I’ve reviewed a lof of electronic toys for kids over the last 8 years and MobiGo is one of the easiest for young kids to pick up on right away and keeps preschoolers and grade schoolers interest very well.

MobiGo Game Cartridges

Ben 10, Disney/Pixar’s Cars, Disney Fairies, Disney Princesses, Dora the Explorer, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Mr. Men & Little Miss, NASCAR, Shrek, Super Hero Squad, and Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3.

VTech MobiGo key facts

• MobiGo Touch Learning System will be available nationwide in August at key retailers and online at Amazon.com and www.vtechkids.com.
• Suggested retail price: $59.99
• MobiGo Touch Learning System is recommended for ages 3 to 8 years
• The slide-out QWERTY keyboard familiarizes children with typing skills.. you know your kids are going to be texting when they’re 6 or so.
• For more information on VTech’s additional product lines, visit www.vtechkids.com, www.facebook.com/VTechToys on Facebook or follow @VTechToys on Twitter.

A short video demo

Watch this short video of Madelyn playing with her VTech MobiGo. You can see how easy it is for Madelyn (4 years old) to use the touchscreen in this video and how great the graphics are.

(sorry about the shaky video and that I don’t sound very enthusiastic.. I wasn’t feeling so great when I shot the video)

VTech MobiGo Giveaway

We are giving a lucky reader a VTech MobiGo Touch Learning system!
Entries accepted through June 21, 2010.
The winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond. Open to US residents 18+ only. Your email and contact information may be shared with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide for shipping purposes only.

Mandatory entry: To enter to win our VTech MobiGo giveaway sweepstakes, fill out the form below.

Extra entries:
Do as many as you’d like for up to 10 entries!
- Leave a comment below telling us why you want to win. (2 extra entries)
- Follow @mommyinsider on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. (2 extra entries)
- Follow @VTechToys on Twitter (2 extra entries)
- Follow VTech Kids on Facebook and tell them you entered to win a MobiGo from The Mommy Insider (3 extra entries)

This giveaway ended June 21st, 2010.

VTech MobiGo review and giveaway is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

What you get:

• FLY Fusion™ Pentop Computer
• FLY Fusion™ Notebook
• 13 FLY Fusion Games
• MP3 Player
• Memory Expansion Slot
• FLY Fusion Installation CD
• FLY World™ Application
• Rechargeable Battery
• USB Cable
• Quick Start Guide
• Reference Card

Get the Fly Fusion digital pen computer for $9.99 here.

Today only! Leap Frog FLY Fusion digital pen computer $9.99 down from $79.99! is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

The Apple Grove Pals Farm Playset includes three farm animals, Pig, Cow and Zebra, each with fun interchangeable hats. Madelyn’s thinks it’s really funny when she puts Cow’s hat on Pig and Pig’s hat on Zebra, etc.. Hilarious.

The Apple Grove Pal characters are young, which allows children to more readily escape into the world of make-believe. The Farm Playset has some exciting features for young hands, including a fun elevator and slide in the grain silo, barn doors that swing open, buttons that make farm animal sounds and more! The Farm Playset (and every Apple Grove Pals item) comes with a storybook that teaches children an important moral and social lesson, which plays an important part in a young child’s development.

One problem that Madelyn has run into is that the elevator will come out of the track sometimes.

Where are the photographs of Madelyn playing with Little Tikes Apple Grove Pals Farm Playset? Well, I took the original photographs when my Dad was in town from Florida and they are on his camera! Oops. I am going to try to get some shots of her playing with the playset later today and will post them then.

Where can I buy it? Amazon.com
How much is it? SRP: $34.99
What age is it for? Ages 18 months and up.

Little Tikes Apple Grove Pals Farm Playset is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

Madelyn loves the popular PBS show Super WHY!.  In case you haven’t seen the show you can watch it on PBS, click here to find your local station, and you can watch a snippet of the show on YouTube here.

SUPER WHY, is a preschool series designed to help kids ages 3 to 6 with the critical skills that they need to learn to read.  Madelyn loves to repeat the letters and words.

Learning Curve’s new Super WHY! product line includes a wide range of exciting, adorable and educational plush toys, figures, vehicles, play sets and early learning aids. With many of the items available for under $20, and filled with familiar sights, sounds, and a cast of reading-ready superhero characters straight from the popular preschool literacy program, children and parents will love Learning Curve’s new Super WHY! line.

A few Super WHY! toys are the Super WHY! Zap & Learn Why Writer, a handheld learning aid that combines role play and learning for hours of interactive fun; Super WHY! Electronic Role Play Sets, which enable children to “become” their favorite character and act out the show through imaginative play; and the Super WHY! Hovering Why Flyer, a motion-activated toy that “magically” hovers above the ground and features lights, sound effects and phrases straight from the TV series.

Madelyn loves her Super WHY! Electronic Princess Presto Role Play Kit and the separate Princess Presto Wave & Learn Magic Spelling Wand. Sometimes she’ll use both wands at the same time.  I’m sure to get out of the way then!

Shop for Super WHY! toys for your PBS Super WHY! lovin’ toddler at Amazon.com here.

GIVEAWAY!
We are giving 3 lucky readers their very own Super WHY! Hovering Why Flyer!

About the prize: The Super WHY! Hovering Why Flyer magically allows our favorite storybook hero to take to the sky!  Actually hovering above the ground, this amazing motion-activated toy features lights, sound effects and phrases straight from the Super WHY! TV series.  The innovative hovering flyer takes imaginative play to a whole new level, as kids take Super Why in search of new adventures for hours on end. Ages: 3 and up. SRP: $19.99

To enter, tell me in the comments below what you and/or your child love about Super WHY!. Get an extra entry by re-tweeting this review using your Twitter.

Entries accepted until August 31st.

Enjoy!

Super WHY! wows toddlers with toys is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

There are times when I feel like I need to let Madelyn watch TV.  I try to occupy her through out the day with toys, creative stuff, etc.. but with most of my work needing to be done between 1 and 6pm, I rely on the TV to keep her occupied for an hour or so. However, I hate Sponge Bob and after 3:00 or so, shows are mostly geared for older kids.  I try to find the best quality, most educational show on during that time but there is such as a thing as re-runs and just plain yucky educational TV.

I was recently introduced to Young Mind Number and Counting DVD and Madelyn, 3 years old, watched it for the first time today.  Her response was adorable and I really enjoyed seeing her reaction and hearing her talk along with and back to the DVD.  Here is a short video of Madelyn watching the DVD.  I apologize for the sound quality and the camera seems to have zoomed in and out the entire time.  Yikes!

MathTutorDVD.com has created the Young Minds series of DVDs to introduce young children to the joys of learning Math at a young age. This DVD in Numbers and Counting teaches young children to count from 1 to 10 by way of engaging classical music, photographs, and video.

Each number is presented with colorful, non-cluttered, large photographs, video, and animation that kept Madelyn’s attention very well.  Numbers are animated to fly-in from off screen and show the child how to count by counting objects that they are naturally interested in. Animals such as frogs, horses, jellyfish, sharks, whales, and more are shown to the viewer along with the animal sounds. Colors are also taught by pointing out the color of objects on screen.

DVDs in this area are designed to stimulate young children to take an interest in Math at an early age.  The DVD is set to classical music selections from the great composers such as J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi, and others!

The central idea of this video is to teach children numbers and counting while at the same time teaching them the names of animals, machines, and other objects along with their associated sounds and colors. This integrated learning approach keeps children interested and promotes continued learning.

Learn more about Young Minds and their DVD’s at the Young Minds / Math Tutor DVD website here.

GIVEAWAY!
Thanks to Young Minds we are giving 10 lucky readers a Young Minds Numbers and Counting DVD!

To enter leave a comment below telling us why you want to win a copy of Young Minds Numbers and Counting DVD.
For 2 entries, click the green ‘retweet’ button to Twitter this post to your friends and then leave your Twitter ID in the comments below.
Entries accepted until August 31st.[tweetmeme]

Young Minds Numbers & Counting DVD for Toddlers + Giveaways! is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

I’m having a blast trying out new iPhone apps and what’s even better is that I get to watch my kids enjoy them too! Yes, I try apps for organizing, apps for recipes, apps for travel, but apps for the kids are the most fun because my kids are involved and I love to see their reaction and desire to play or watch them over and over again.  My kids are on iPhone time limits.  I don’t recommend handing your iPhone over to your kids and letting them have at it for hours. I think about 10 minutes at a time is plenty.

Animal Fun Time (iTunes link), brought to us by people operating technology, provides interactive musical on-screen flashcards featuring the animals as the stars. Promoting interactive see, touch & recognition skills, with bright colors and great sound effects, it’s the perfect app for a busy toddler AND for a busy parent who needs a busy toddler!

So what is Animal Fun Time? It is an app that teaches toddlers ages 3+ animal recognition as well as hand-eye coordination.  There are 5 animals on the screen at a time and your child must ‘press’ on the correct animal to move to the next screen. Kids are awarded with realistic (if not real) animal sounds and enthusiastic praise when he/she presses on the correct animal.

Madelyn, 3 years old, has a great time with Animal Fun Time. She loves to hear the noise each animal makes when she chooses the correct animal. The game is randomized so the game is never the same and thus your kids won’t get bored with it. Oh, and don’t worry, there’s no need for instructions so you can count on handing your iPhone over to your toddler to play Animal Fun Time and she’ll be on her way to a super fun time!

GIVEAWAY!
Thanks to people operating technology, we are giving 5 lucky readers their own free copy of Animal Fun Time!
1 entry: Just leave a comment below telling me why you want to win Animal Fun Time and/or tell us a funny story about your child and your iPhone.  Did something crazy happen when your kid had your iPhone?  Let us know!
2 extra entries: Click the green ‘retweet’ button to share this post with your Twitter friends then leave a comment below with your Twitter ID.
Entries accepted until August 25th, 2009.

[tweetmeme]

Animal Fun Time iPhone app review + 5 readers will get a free copy! is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!