Toys

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Yummy Dough Let’s Kids Eat What They Play With

Kids love making things. They love using drawing and coloring, building with bricks, and shaping things out of dough. Yummy Dough is the dough kids make from scratch and it’s edible too. So, if you child gets it in their mouth there is no need to panic. Once they make their creation with Yummy Dough, you pop it in the oven and bake them for 12 to 15 minutes.

Yummy Dough, from Smarty Parents, comes in a resealable plastic container. Once you make the dough you can put it back in the container if you don’t want to use it all. Since this is not like other molding doughs and is a food product, the dough needs to be refrigerated and can only be stored up to 2 days once it is made.

According to the container, Yummy Dough is “safe to eat raw or after baking at 275 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes”.

Ingredients: wheat flour, sugar, whole egg powder, vegetable fat, wheat starch, modified starch, glucose syrup, maltodextrin, beet powder, turmeric, milk protein, vanillin, coloring agent E 133.

There is an expiration date on the packaging as well.

Inside the container you will find bags of dough mix, a large plastic syringe, small plastic spatula for mixing and shaping the dough, and instructions. We provided the blue bowls you see in the photo below. You need four of them to mix each of the four colors – yellow, blue, green, red.

We received another product from Smarty Parents called the Kiddy Platter. This really came in handy. It protected my counter and the girls thought it was neat. It is clear so you can put things under it like a picture. It hangs slightly off the counter and has a slight tray on the edge, which is great for crayons. It works perfect as a placement to protect your table and can also be used as a craft mat. It comes in red, green, blue and pink.

Ava and Paisley are listening intently as Uncle Winston explains the directions. Pretty good for a 3 and 6 year old.

The first step in the Yummy Dough
process is to pour the powder into individual bowls. You can tell what each color is going to be because the powder has a slight tint to it.

Next is adding the water. Here is where we went wrong. We did follow the instructions, we thought, and there were five adults all standing around trying to make sure the water was just right but somehow we got it wrong. They measure the water in ML and while the US has tried to convert to the metric system no one really uses it in “real” life. We all use ounces so we had a dumb look on our faces trying to convert from ounces to milliliters. Of course, we could have just Googled it.

Smarty Parent thought of everything though. They include a large plastic syringe that has the measurements on it. That’s the green thing in the picture below.

Haha, this is what you DON’T WANT! If your dough looks like this, you have added too much water.

This is much better but a little too dry so more water was needed. We eventually got it right with a little trial and error. We also found out a little later – helps to read ALL of the instructions – that kneading the dough is vital to get it the consistency you want.

While at the New York Toy Fair we had the chance to test our Yummy Dough and the people from Smarty Parents showed us exactly what the dough should look like.

Nothing is perfect is it. The main thing is did the kids have fun? The answer we heard from both of them was yes!

Disclosure: Smarty Parents sent us both the Yummy Dough and Kiddy Tray to try out. The grandkids had a ball with both and these products were a big hit with them.

Black & Decker Junior Power Tool Workshop Review

The Black & Decker Junior Power Tool Workshop is loads of fun for kids ages 3 and older. I think it is probably perfect for kids ages 3 to 6. The Black & Decker Junior Power Tool Workshop features more than 50 pieces with a working drill press and chop saw.

This full-stocked workbench allows kids to work alongside Dad (or Mom) as they build and fix things up around the house! It has nuts, bolts, screws, a hammer, Phillips head screwdriver, wrench, saw, working drill, working saw, toolbox, vice grip, walkie talkie, and storage underneath the bench.

This is a sweet toy! The tools actually work giving it a realistic feel and creating more hours of creative fun. It does take AA batteries as those are not included so make sure you keep that in mind.

The drill spins around and the lever makes it go up and down. It has realistic sounds too. There is even a toolbox included that holds all of the loose tools like the screwdriver, wrench, hammer and nuts and bolts.

The working jigsaw cuts a plastic board in half (help together with velcro) and the lever goes up and down. It also makes realistic sounds. All of the parts are plastic so there is no danger of children getting hurt.

There is a real working light that bends easily. It does require batteries, which are not included. No batteries are included in this kit so you will have to make sure to buy them.

I was really impressed with the Black & Decker Junior Power Tool Workshop. It comes with everything a child would need to pretend like they are building and using tools. All of the tools are realistic and so are the sounds. The plastic is heavy duty and the whole bench is sturdy. I think they should have included batteries but that is the only thing I have against it. Otherwise, it is a great toy that let’s kids use their imagination.

Disclosure: I received the Black & Decker Junior Power Tool Workshop to test out and review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Fun with Mega Bloks Police Squad

With the Mega Blok Squad Police Force Pursuit your kids can build the Police Cruiser SUV complete with a decked out Blok Squad Police Officer. Give him a Walkie Talkie, baton, handcuffs and even a tiny plastic gun and he’s ready to protect and defend.

I think it is important for kids to have toys that educate. This Blok Squad kit will teach you kids about the police and they an role play what a police officer would do. You can use it to teach them about their jobs as well. Because there is a boat, you could talk to them about Police sometimes go on the water to hunt down bad guys, something they might not even know.

The Mega Blok Squad Police Force Pursuit kit comes with 391 pieces, everything you need to build a police cruiser, Police Carrier and Police Boat, and comes with 3 Blok Squad Police Officers.

You can purchase this Mega Bloks kit available online at Amazon.com and at major toy and retail stores.

It amazes me how much block sets have become so realistic since my kids played with blocks like these. The wheels are made out of rubber and the cars actually can be driven around. The steering wheel even turns.

Inside the Mega Blok kit you will find an instructions booklet. If your child wants to make each vehicle and make sure it matches the picture on the box, all they need to do is get out all of the pieces for that one vehicle based on the diagram in the booklet.

Here are all of the pieces we laid out to make the Police cruiser.

Tada! The Police Cruiser is all made and ready to play with.

Add the Police officer and he’s ready to drive off and give somebody a ticket

There are two other police officer figurines in this kit. This one has an orange vest and I gave him a bull-horn so he could warn oncoming traffic about the accident.

The hands on the figures actually turn at different angles so they can hold things like this Walkie Talkie. This figure have a grey protective vest on.

Disclaimer: I received this Mega Bloks Squad Police Force Pursuit from Team Mom to review. We had a lot of fun putting it together and showing you how your kids will enjoy it too.

The Aerobie Skylighter Flying Disc Lights Up the Night

Today we played with the Aerobie Skylighter that lights up so you can see it in the dark. The neighborhood kids (Brynn, Hayden, and Bryson) really enjoyed playing with the Aerobie Flyer Rings this summer. I’m getting to be the Grandma in the neighborhood and the kids know where to get all of the cool toys and find out what’s new on the market.

The Aerobie Skylighter is a giant fly disc with one difference, it has a battery pack in the backside that turn on to reveal a hidden light. As the Aerobie Skylighter whisks through the air it is easy to spot so you never lose track of it. You might lose track of your friend but never the disc.

The star designs distributes the light evenly around the flyer as it spins and just like the original Aerobie Flyer it is large, easy to toss and has rubber edges to protect whatever it hits – like your house or car, and believe me, it happens.

The Skylighter is actually dual purpose. Get this flyer and you only need one for day and night use. Since it has the light it gives you that extra playing time. The retail cost is $15.00 and you can buy it at many local sporting goods store or at a discount online at Amazon.com.

This flyer is best played with at dust. It might be a little too dangerous to play with it when it is pitch black unless you are in a field or large parking with no cars coming.

We had originally thought the light came on when you threw it and glowed but after reading the package again we realized that you turn the switch on to make the light come on. It comes with a long-lasting battery already installed, the kind you find in watches, so there is no need to buy a battery or replace it anytime soon.

Check out the video to see just how it works. The last section of the video shows what it looks like if you are playing with it in the dark.

About the Aerobie Skylighter:
The Skylighter flying disc is great for the shorter days and enjoyable but darker evenings of early fall. Once the sun goes down players can turn on the light module to illuminate the disc for dazzling evening play. The Skylighter disc’s patented aerodynamic design makes it easy for players of all skill levels to throw and its cushioned rim makes for comfortable catches. It retails for $15 and is sold at Sports Authority, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and most other sporting goods stores. It’s recommended for ages 10 and up.

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Disclaimer: The Aerobie company sent us this flyer to test out. All opinions are strictly our own and we were not influenced by the company to write anything.