Disclosure: Blue Orange Games sent me a complimentary copy of this game. All opinions are my own. Does your family enjoy puzzles? How about games? If so, keep reading because Blue Orange Games combines the two in their new game, Brain Connect. It's the perfect fit for my own kids -- competitive puzzle playing! You have to think fast and use fine motor skills to solve this sliding puzzle … [Read more...]
Games & Puzzles Holiday Gifts for Kids 2016
Giving games and puzzles as gifts a time honored tradition in our family. Each year I look for new games that my kids and your kids will love to play -- usually with an educational or learning angle. Here's your Games and Puzzles Holiday Gift Guide for Kids 2016! See last year's Games and Puzzles Gift Guide here. Games & Puzzles Holiday Gifts for Kids 2016 Mudpuppy Cats Meow Color-in … [Read more...]
P’Kolino Wooden Puzzles for Preschoolers
We LOVE puzzles -- so we feel that we've researched all types of puzzles for children of all ages. And for the toddler / preschooler set, the P'Kolino puzzles are our hands-down favorite. Puzzles, as you probably know, are fantastic learning toys. They help children develop hand-eye coordination, spatial skills, and fine motor skills. Plus, these double sided options allow children room to be … [Read more...]
Who Will Be The FASTEST at Puzzle Battle?
You know we love puzzles but do you know that my kids are addicted to puzzle races? (Especially against daddy.) They'll get a stack of 3-4 puzzle boxes with the exact number of pieces, usually 30 - 50, and race to see who can finish all the puzzles first. Well we just discovered that we were on to something. And there's an actual puzzle race you can buy from Blue Orange games called Puzzle … [Read more...]
The Best Jigsaw Puzzles for Tweens
My 9- and 12-year old kids are way past those 25- and 100- piece jigsaw puzzles. (Although we do have puzzle races with 4 25-piece puzzles at a time. That's pretty fun!) Anyway, I looked and looked for a little harder puzzle that wasn't too Thomas Kinkade looking like the one above. 'Cause no kid likes that. Well, at least not mine. Best Puzzles for Tweens Finally, I found the best … [Read more...]
U.S. History and Geography Games & Puzzles
I love learning games and am always looking for the best geography and history games. So, just in time for Thanksgiving, here are some of my family's favorite history and geography games and puzzles. History and Geography Games Scrambled States by Gamewright This is one of our FAVORITE geography games! Actually, just a favorite game period. Players learn the names, capitals, nicknames, … [Read more...]
Dot-to-Dots That Will Blow Your Mind (& a Giveaway)
When I read through Dr. Toy's top 100 best toys, I saw Monkeying Around's Dot to Dot books. I wondered what could make a dot-to-dot book that different than any other dot-to-dot book - enough to win an award? Dot to Dot Books for Big Kids These aren't your preschooler's dot-to-dots. They're the coolest dot to dot pictures you'll ever see designed by David Kalvitis. You can't guess (or at … [Read more...]
Learning Toys for Kids
The Best Games, Puzzles, Maps, and Building Gifts for Kids Yeah! The long-awaited learning toys gift guides for parents who prefer open-ended play and thinking toys and games to plastic do-it-all-for-you products!! There are five gift guides - literacy, books, math & science, games +, and art+ and I'll publish one a day until they're all posted. Watch for TONS of sweepstakes -- at least half … [Read more...]