My children were recently given a selection of puzzles from the Great American Puzzle Factory, which is part of Fundex Games. Imagine our delight when we opened the boxes of the Make’em Move puzzles to find that they have wheels that turn as well as other pieces of each scene that move. On the race car puzzle the driver’s scarf flows in the wind and the checkered flag waves in the winner.

The fire truck’s ladder moves so you can pretend you’re climbing up and down and the bell moves. You can find something for every child’s interest. The great thing about these is that after your make your puzzle, you have something to play pretend with!

All of their puzzles have nice, large pieces which lock together easily for little hands. This makes putting them together fun and not frustrating for little ones who are just learning.

And I noticed at the Fundex Games website that they have brought back JARTS! JARTS! I am so buying some Jarts this summer! I’ll introduce my family to some real fun. All the puzzles are great and I give them props!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 5 year old boy and 3 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

While walking through the mall when my son was just an infant, I came upon an educational toy store and in there was a a fairly ugly and pretty large, bright yellow rubber horse cow dog donkey Rody. It is supposed to be a horse, but really has a very distinctive look. Being the goof that I am, I hopped on and started bouncing around the store. If I at 30 loved it, surely he would enjoy it when he was a little older right?

Having money from his Great Grandma burning a hole in my wallet, I paid the $50 and brought the little guy home. He sat very obtrusively in my living room for a year before my son actually showed any interest in doing anything but staring at him, but once he hopped on I knew I had made a good purchase. I didn’t buy the base, but now wish I would have and may for my second child. It would allow the Rody to be used from a much younger age as it turns it into a rocking horse and gives it some stability.

My son has been bouncing around the house on Rody for a year now and as he starts to outgrow it, we simply add more air and it grows with him. Along with the added air also comes a harder body and therefore a toy requiring more core strength to use. It would be great for rehabilitation from injury or for children with certain disabilities, but I don’t know anyone who can’t use a little more core stability including myself. You’ll still see me goofing off and bouncing around my house on Rody just as I did the first day I encountered him at the mall. It’s a big pthalate-free not so attractive, but extremely awesome horse cow dog donkey Rody!

Written by Nicole, who blogs about whatever strikes her fancy at Much More Than a Mom. She’s a mom first, and then a whole bunch of other crazy stuff, including a teacher, fitness & yoga instructor and mother to two. She is also the founder & senior editor at The Opinionated Parent, where one of her favorite things to do is give great stuff away.

Thank You For Subscribing to the Props and Pans RSS Feed.

To enter visit the Academy of Model Aeronautics website and leave a comment here telling us one of the 10 reasons you should join the AMA . The contest is open until December 2, 2008.

You can receive a second entry by blogging about the contest (linking to it) or adding us to your blogroll. Just e-mail us with a live link or let us know you have it posted on your site. You do not need a blog to enter, just leave us your e-mail address so that we may contact you. As always, it is Props & Pans policy NOT to distribute any information you give us (including your e-mail). Thanks for entering!

Thank You For Subscribing to the Props and Pans RSS Feed.

The Havoc Heli might seem pint sized, but it packs some power that you control. It was a great way to challenge our son’s hand-eye coordination. It did take him several practices to learn to control the lift off and landing, but the practice has been good for him. He doesn’t seem to mind needing to practice flying a helicopter, unlike practicing learning to read.

One major prop is that it charges in about 15 minutes, which is good because most young children do not have the patience to wait. This should allow for around 6 minutes of flight time. You will need 6 AA batteries (which are not included) and that does seem crazy that such a small toy would need so many batteries.

Air Hogs manufactures several versions for all ages and skill levels. The cost averages around $26 for a model such as the one we tried and seems well worth the price. I was amazed at how durable the helicopter was considering it definitely crashed several times! They do sell replacement pieces for these models, which makes sense. You can get a new part rather than ditching the entire toy when something needs to be replaced.

I was amazed that the Havoc Heli is only 6 inches long and weighs just 10 grams. They literally fit in the palm of your hand. But the lightweight model allows it to withstand crashes and was built with a flexible, high-impact EPP foam body. You can choose from a yellow, blue or red exterior.

These tough and tiny helicopters are not just for flying solo. The Havoc Heli is specially designed to fly with your friends. There are three selectable frequencies so that up to three Air Hogs helicopters can fly in the same room at the same time. There is also a hook attachment on the bottom of the helicopter that will allow you to pick objects up - or in my son’s case you can hover small toys above the dog and tease her.

If you are interested in starting a new hobby that you and your child can enjoy together, take a look at the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). They are one of the world’s largest sport aviation organizations and provide leadership, competition, representation and education to modelers.

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 6 year old son. They recently moved out in the country and live on a rock road. Emily had to give up high-speed internet and she blames the realtor for not informing her ahead of time that it was not available. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves to review new things.

Thank You For Subscribing to the Props and Pans RSS Feed.

Let me introduce to you wooden food from Melissa and Doug.

Sanded smooth as can be and finished, the different food groups are represented so that you can make balanced pretend meals or just be silly and mix whatever you want together. My five year old thinks it’s funny to put an onion on bread and offer it to you.

The colors are bright and attractive. You can make sandwiches with the bread offerings, which is something that my littles ones love to do. A living room picnic is even more fun when the food you are using is fun to look at and hold.

Melissa and Doug are committed to providing safe toys for children to play with. The safety statement on their website details the testing that is done to make sure that the paints used on their wooden toys exceed our government’s safety requirements. Given the number of recalls on painted toys lately, I found this very reassuring.

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 5 year old boy and 3 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

Thank You For Subscribing to the Props and Pans RSS Feed.

Enter by leaving a comment HERE. Visit the Eco-Kids and tell us what you won’t find in their products. Eco-Kids lists many things on their website that their products DO NOT CONTAIN. The contest is open until July 28, 2008.

You can receive a second entry by blogging about the contest (linking to it) or adding us to your blogroll. Just e-mail us with a live link or let us know you have it posted on your site. You do not need a blog to enter, just leave us your e-mail address so that we may contact you. As always, it is Props & Pans policy NOT to distribute any information you give us (including your e-mail). Thanks for entering!

Thank You For Subscribing to the Props and Pans RSS Feed.

What’s so great about play dough? Well if your kids use it, you know how great it is. There are endless hours of non-stop fun and there are so many things you can do with it. From making food to making people, it can do it all! You can imagine how excited we were to get the Eco-Dough here in our house.

It’s all natural so when the little ones are crawling around underneath all the fun, or when it gets so tempting to take a taste while making that pretend food, you don’t have to be quite so worried. Also the fact that it can be used in the play dough gadgets is great. When you’re ready for the next use, which is sometimes days later, you’re able to without having to get all the old hard dough out first. It’s extremely soft and easy for anyone to knead.

My only objection to this amazing product is the price, but for something all natural it’s not unreasonable. In my family we use play dough a lot, and it gets mixed and ruined quickly. Which means we’d need to purchase a lot and that is not completely practical here. Overall though the Eco-Dough is a great natural product and lots of fun!

by Andrea

My 4 ½ and 2 year old love play dough. My mom has a wonderful homemade play dough recipe that I usually use instead of buying Play-Doh from the store, but after trying Eco-Kids, I’d definitely reconsider play dough purchases. Eco-Dough comes in 5 beautiful colors made from plant, fruit and vegetable extracts. It is incredibly soft and while it stuck to our little rolling pins, my kids loved how tactile it was in their little hands.

Eco-Dough claims that their product doesn’t dry out like Play-Doh, which is great since the stick factor didn’t bother my children at all. They really enjoyed the Eco-Dough and unlike the stuff from the store, I didn’t have to worry if my 2 year old accidentally put it in his mouth because it is made of all natural ingredients.

by Leticia

I wasn’t sure what to expect when we opened our Eco-Dough package in the mail. The colors were great and the consistency was smooth and soft. As we were playing with it, I was reminded of our homemade play dough, so I checked the ingredients. As it turns out, it is the same recipe for homemade dough that we use, except it is colored with food extracts rather than artificial colors. If you do not have the time or inclination to make your own, this is a wonderful product. I, however, will be making my own next time.

by Jessica

I saved the handmade Eco-Dough for a rainy summer day. When I brought it out and let my three almost three year olds play with it, I was shocked at how much fun we had together. I confess to my own hands-on method of helping them enjoy the experience. Maybe I helped too much? I loved demonstrating the use of cookie cutters and other press–on objects. The compostable container says it is for kids of all ages, but I did not fully understand that until after I was finished playing. Perhaps I will let the kids play with it alone on the next rainy day. Perhaps.

by Helene

Thank You For Subscribing to the Props and Pans RSS Feed.

The fire truck’s ladder moves so you can pretend you’re climbing up and down and the bell moves. You can find something for every child’s interest. The great thing about these is that after your make your puzzle, you have something to play pretend with!

All of their puzzles have nice, large pieces which lock together easily for little hands. This makes putting them together fun and not frustrating for little ones who are just learning.

And I noticed at the Fundex Games website that they have brought back JARTS! JARTS! I am so buying some Jarts this summer! I’ll introduce my family to some real fun. All the puzzles are great and I give them props!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 5 year old boy and 3 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

Thank You For Subscribing to the Props and Pans RSS Feed.

Pretty much anything that will make cleaning easier is okay with me. I’m not a fan of cleaning all the time, but I know it needs to be done. With a baby crawling on the floor and with a toddler, you know the messes just keep coming. We use Clorox Disinfecting Wipes here. They are great for pretty much any mess because of how heavy duty they make them now, and lets not forget the wonderful fragrances they have to choose from as well.

They’ve come especially handy during potty training, with the constant dribbles on the seat (as well as the floor), heavy duty cleaning of most surfaces, quick spills of those nasty meat juices and whatever else you can possibly think of. I think it’s a great disinfectant for everyday use.

by Andrea

Perhaps it is due to the fact that we recently completed a major addition on our home, but my children are construction obsessed. My son knows the name of every piece of construction equipment on a site and has an eagle eye for cranes. Both he and my daughter love a good project.

It is only natural for my children to have loved the most recent Bob the Builder DVD. The Three Musketrucks contains five new 8 minute episodes and introduces Dodger the Milktruck as the newest member of the crew. Packer, Scrambler and all of the Bob the Builder favorites make an appearance in the newest episodes set in Sunflower Valley. The Three Musketrucks has quickly become a new favorite and will be coming on vacation with us this summer!

by Leticia

My family frequently camps during the summer and we are always looking for ways to keep the kids entertained. If you’ve walked through any campgrounds recently you may have noticed that the old washer board games are absent and in their place is Lasso Golf. I admit that the first time I saw this game I thought it was very hillbilly looking. Throwing a pair of balls attached by a rope at a bar didn’t seem to difficult or fun, but I was wrong.

We purchased our own set on Amazon after our kids begged us for weeks. My husband and I both find ourselves competing with this new game and I’m not sure if the kids or adults enjoy it more. We’ve even used it in our own backyard with neighbors. You don’t have to go camping to have this much fun!

by Melissa

Thank You For Subscribing to the Props and Pans RSS Feed.

You can receive a second entry by blogging about the contest (linking to it) or adding us to your blogroll. Just e-mail us with a live link or let us know you have it posted on your site. You do not need a blog to enter, just leave us your e-mail address so that we may contact you. As always, it is Props & Pans policy NOT to distribute any information you give us (including your e-mail). Thanks for entering!

Thank You For Subscribing to the Props and Pans RSS Feed.