I'm a full-time mummy

I came across this tweet pitch looking for bloggers to review products and as usual, I replied the tweeter asking whether they are OK with international bloggers, and my oh my, they are happy to provide me some products of my choice from their website for my review! This is the last of 2 products I get to review from the sponsor. The first was the "Pink Pig Dynamo Torchlight".

Description from the product page:
"If you are fortunate enough to have a 10000 square foot loft space like Pete Waterman, this train set probably isn't for you. For the rest of us mere mortals however, the Train Set in a Tin could be just what we need to indulge our childlike train-driving fantasies. Stored in a lunchbox sized tin, this train set has everything you need to get your own locomotive running in no time at all. Your tender and two carriages come supplied with six curved and eight straight pieces creating a full oval track. Obviously the track pieces can be connected in any configuration you like allowing for a virtually unlimited number of combinations. The train is powered by a single AA battery meaning that there is no need to have a power point nearby.

Constructed in tough plastic, the Train Set in a Tin is suitable for use by children and is ideal for use anywhere, anytime. When you have finished playing with the set, the whole lot packs away neatly into its tin ready for the next time. So whether for use as an executive desktop toy or a way to keep visiting children amused, the Train Set in a Tin fits every would-be locomotive engineer's needs. "

When I saw this product, I was very very intrigued! I mean, a train set in a tin box?! Really?! Now my 3.5 years old boy loves train and I thought what better products to review which I can then pass on to him as a gift, right? Hahaha... so yes, thank God for the generous sponsor for sending this product all the way from UK to me in Malaysia as well for my review! The tin is about 6 inches long and 5 inches wide.

Apart from the 3 carriages that comes with the main train carriage and it has different track pieces to create a full oval train tracks, the cool feature that I like on this train set is that it is powered by a single AA battery. I find it much easier to have products which require batteries that are easy to find and purchase.

Amazing right how tiny are the carriages?!

Of course my boy was thrilled when I took out the train from the tin and started assembling the tracks and all. The AA battery is placed inside the main train carriage, just pull up the red cover and slot in the battery then there's a tiny on/off lever which you can flick on and off. My boy was running around chasing after the train the moment I turned on the train.

Just want to share that one of the train wheels cracked into half on the same day we used it. I managed to put it back together and hold it with the rubberised wheel band. I am sure this is not the sponsor's fault as it can happen to any products. Even if you checked each and every single piece it's hard to tell or predict this will happen.

Nevertheless, it is a great toy and gift idea especially if your child is into trains. Come to think of it, even adults will enjoy this as it is so small in size and easy to carry around. Just dump everything into the tin container and we're good to go and have toys everywhere you go!

You can find this and more Christmas presents ideas for 2012 at http://www.paramountzone.com/christmas-present-ideas.php

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the product in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

I received an email pitch to review this app and to be honest, when I saw the title of the app, I was thinking 'Should I let my boy read this?' You see, I've been hesitating in telling him this story as I feared he might be scared at the witch and all but surprisingly the storyline in this app is really good and I'm glad I got this app for review!

It's so good that I have the nerve to even asked the sponsor to provide more codes so that I can pass it on to other bloggers who follow my Facebook page in case they want to review the app as well. Without further ado, here goes my feedback...

* Title: Hansel and Gretel: Lost
* Price: $3.99
* Category: Books
* Released: Oct 05, 2012
* Version: 1.0
* Size: 241 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: PB&J Publishing
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.

Description from the product page:

"Experience this classic fairy tale in 21 fully-interactive scenes, complete with music, narration and gorgeous illustration."

* It is engaging and interactive and I love that we can also touch the objects in each page on the screen and there are animations popping out here and there that surprises you!

* There are some pages which got Ben's attention and reactions such as the pages shown below:

~ Gretel waking Hansel up by bouncing on his bed, setting on the alarm clock and even pulling back the curtains. The moment I pulled out the curtain and the room is brightly lit and Hansel said 'It is bright!', my boy smiled cheekily as these are the same words my boy said to me when I did the same! It is from this moment I can tell my boy is hooked with this app as he can relate himself to Hansel in this situation.

~ I explained to my boy the rationale of Hansel and Gretel dropping the bread crumbs just so he knows actually we should not waste food and drop bread crumbs like the characters. I told my boy that in this story, they have to do that so they can find their way back home by following back their bread crumbs' trails.

~ My boy totally had fun dropping the candies and treats to Hansel and Gretel and watching them gobble up the treats. Initially I was wondering whether the whole house can be taken out as well but luckily not hahaha...

~ Our favorite page has got to be where Gretel gets to kick a$$, I mean kicks the witch's bottom, sending her off to the oven! What you do is help swing Gretel so she can get enough momentum to deliver a mighty swift kick to the witch's bottom hahaha... 

* To be honest, I am really really glad there's no animation to burn the witch in the oven as that will be very horrifying and something I will have difficulty in explaining to my child. So kudos to the developer for keeping this app kid-friendly and considering the pshychological impact as well.

* In summary, this is an awesome app, one that brings us back to memories of fairy tale and yet not being violent compared to the actual story. An app that I did not regret reviewing and will totally go through it again and again with my boy!

You can purchase the "Hansel and Gretel: Lost" app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"

This review started with an email for an interview opportunity with Dr. Bill Sears. I mean, the moment I saw this name, I was very interested to find out more. I mean, for someone who is best known for his attachment parenting philosophy, Dr. Sears is now working to help parents teach young kids to read BEFORE they get to school. I am of course interested to know what kind of reading materials and methods is he using to do so. Here goes my review:

About:
"American Reading at Home is a reading program from American Reading Company that helps children ages 3-6 during the earliest stages of reading development. The company publishes books that work like training wheels on a bicyclebecause so much of the reading support is provided by the books, children gain confidence as they master just one new skill at a time. The narrow hierarchy of skills required at each level ensures children don't get frustrated, but experience successful reading practice."

I created an account on their website and followed their easy to understand instructions in order to receive my first 5 e-books to read on my iPad. From my iPad, I just need to login once to the Bookshelf app using the email address that I used to create the account and I can immediately see the e-books there.

I have to say this is by far one of the most frequent used app in my iPad. Of course my 3.5 years old boy is not into reading stage yet so at the moment, I am the one doing the storytelling to him.

He just loves snuggling up next to me and listens as I tell him the stories, one after another! We sometimes go through as many as 10 books in a session, tiring for me yes but it is nice to see my boy so interested in books and I have been gently showing him the easy words in some books to get him to familiar with the words and I also sometimes tested him when we see the words being repeated again and again in the books.

He is more interested in the cartoonish type of books at the moment but I will definitely revisit the books with actual pictures of animals and objects later on. Pictures below are 2 of his favorite books at the moment, "Camping" and "Clean Cat".

And yeah, I mentioned in the beginning of my post here that this review started with an interview opportunity with Dr. Bill Sears, so of course I did posed 3 questions to him and got my replies! Below is the details in case you are interested:

Me: How do we begin introducing literacy to our preschoolers? Do we go with the phonics, or introducing the alphabets or sight words or what?   

Dr. Sears: The most important thing a parent can do to develop a healthy reader is to spend time side-by-side reading aloud to your child.  Learning to read takes a combination of many developmental skills so the answer is yes, all of the above!  Parents should try out the reading level wizard at http://www.americanreadingathome.com/wizard/  to identify your child’s reading readiness skills and independent reading level.  From there you will be guided on what skills to work on to move to the next level.

Me: Can we teach our children to read if they do not know how to recognize the alphabet yet?

Dr. Sears: Yes!  The first 2 levels for American Reading at Home (1 Yellow and 2 Yellow) do not require alphabet recognition or letter sound skills. Initially your child won’t actually read any words, and may not even look at the words, but she will remember the repeating sentence pattern and “read” the pictures. Your child is learning to read fluently, with confidence, and for meaning. She’s also learning that reading is thinking, which is an important foundation for future comprehension skills.  Knowing letter sounds isn’t required until the 3 Yellow level.

You can get the first 5 e-books for free at: http://www.americanreadingathome.com/bookshelf/

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the products in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.