Elefun features four butterfly nets, a whole mess of “butterflies” and an elephant with a 4 foot trunk. You fill the trunk with the butterflies and turn on the elephant - whose trunk will extend outward - shooting butterflies into the air.

It’s pretty, the fluttering butterflies raining down on your living room in rainbow colors.

But then - in the blink of an eye they’re all out of the trunk - and the game is over. (Whomever caught the most wins). Now guess what? You have to reinsert all of the butterflies into the nose of the elephant. Which is a hassle because the end of the nose is narrow and you have to shove them in, then stand up and straighten the nose and shake them into the bottom.

Now, turn it back on again to play. POOF it’s over.

The reloading takes longer than the actual game, and my kids interest waned quickly.  It’s a great concept but if we never get it out again, I’m ok with that. It may make it into my fall garage sale. Thumbs down, we didn’t love it at all.

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 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.

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You might remember the old Jarts with the steel tip that was allegedly going to impale your teammates if you didn’t throw it properly?

Well they took them off the market and they disappeared from my psyche until suddenly I saw them again. And I HAD to have them. With a new safety tip that will not impale your friends and neighbors, the new JARTS are just as much fun as the old ones.

I took my oldest into the backyard one night while we cooked out and set the circle targets out on the ground and taught him the art of the underhanded Jarts Throw. After several throws he turned to me and said “Watch and learn, Mom. Watch and learn.”

Jarts are a great outdoor family activity to get everyone outdoor and away from the TV or computer games. A huge prop goes to the return of this fun game!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 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.

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So when we got the MY FIRST UNO deck from Fundex Games I was pretty excited. It’s a smaller deck with bigger cards which are perfect for little hands. He’s a little big for the Yo Gabba Gabba characters (can we get some Power Rangers?) but still, he is familiar with the characters and it wasn’t boring to him.

The rules are slightly altered for little guys as well. Only five cards in your hand vs. seven and a couple of other very minor alterations that keep the game moving and keep things simple for the wee ones.

Fundex Games makes a large line of great family games including some oldies but goodies that I thought were gone forever - GNIP GNOP anyone? They also carry a large assortment of Yo Gabba Gabba merchandise if you have any big DJ Lance fans in your house.

We had a great time and he picked up on the rules and how to play within the first hand. I’m giving this fun, family time activity a huge prop!

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.

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3D ROLLERCOASTER RUSH
3D Rollercoaster Rush comes with 40 different rollercoaster tracks set in the Wild West, each with a Challenge Race Mode where you can play against the designer of the game! The game leverages the accelerometer feature on the iPhone and iPod touch by allowing players to easily accelerate and brake by tilting the device to make the carts go faster and slower.

CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH
California Gold Rush allows players to explore up to 30 mines and features a compelling story with a colorful cast of characters. Your objective is to help Mandy dig for gold, artifacts and gems below the depths of the earth as you avoid collapses, cave bats and other dangers! The game leverages the innovative Multi-Touch user interface of iPhone and iPod touch, allowing players to move Mandy and start digging with the touch of their fingers. California Gold Rush provides depth and long lasting gameplay that will keep players digging for hours.

PYRAMID BLOXX
Set in Egypt, Pyramid Bloxx allows you to put your puzzle and strategy skills to the test.  There are two unique game modes including Quick Game and Empire Modes that offers high replay value. In Quick Game, players are challenged to create the tallest pyramid possible while facing disastrous elements such as Sand Storms and Earthquakes. In Empire Mode, there are two distinctive parts. First, players need to carefully navigate blocks up from the mines while picking up power-ups and meeting fun characters along the way. The second phase requires gamers to strategically place the stone block on the pyramid grid to achieve the maximum score.

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 7 year old son. Last year they moved to the country to live on a rock road. Emily was stuck with dial-up internet for 13 months and kissed the installation guy who recently put in high speed at their house. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves to review new things.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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