5 Best Educational And Fun Learning Toys For Toddlers and Preschoolers – Tried and Proven

Hello, welcome back to Azy Reading Journey website, where our goal is to make learning fun. In this post, I will be reviewing 5 best educational and fun learning toys for toddlers and preschoolers. These are educational and fun learning toys that are included in the learning materials that we are using to help teach Azy. So, they have been tried and proven by us.

We love using educational toys because they can help children develop problem solving skills. When using educational toys, children can learn how to follow instructions and play independently.

Azy has several education and fun toys that we use in learning activities. Some of them are used more often than others. However, he learns something from all of them, and they serve as tools for ongoing learning. Go to the blog post to learn more about other toys that we are using.

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

I will be reviewing the following Products: Click on a product to read the review.
♦ LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book
♦ Melissa and Doug Disney Mickey Mouse ABC . 123 Nesting & Stacking Blocks
♦ Melissa and Doug Play Money – 550 Pieces
♦ Vtech Drill & Learn Toolbox
♦ Vtech Time to be a Hero Learning Tablet

You will hear how we use these educational and learning toys, and how they are helping Azy to learn in a fun way. Kids love to play, and they get toys. So, when you buy toys, why not give them toys that can help them.

Try buying toys that can teach them something valuable while they are playing. Even though educational toys are not the only learning material that can help kids learn, they can help to stimulate learning.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Product: LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book
Manufacturer Recommended Age: 18 months to 4 years
Package Dimensions: 9.4 x 9.2 x 1.9 inches
Item Weight: 1.51 pounds
Manufacturer: Vtech
My Rating: 5 out of 5

LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book Overview

This is an excellent bilingual learning book that is great for early learning. It can help your child learn English and Spanish words. We bought it mainly because we want to help Azy learn Spanish.

He understands the language, so our goal is to help him to learn it. Azy enjoys using this touch and learn interactive book, and when we do the lessons with him, we get the opportunity to learn Spanish too.

PRODUCT FEATURES
1. Off/Low/High Volume Switch: Slide the Off/Low/High Volume Switch to turn the unit ON and select the volume.
2. Music button: Press the Music Button anytime to hear two learning songs in English or in Spanish
3. Language switch: Slide the Language Switch to hear the book in English or in Spanish.
4. Mode switch: Slide the Mode Switch to choose Word Mode, Fun Facts Mode or Fun Sounds Mode.
5. Automatic shut off: To save power, the Learning Friends 100 Words Book automatically shuts down after 30 seconds without input. Open the book or change mode to turn the unit ON again.

ACTIVITIES:
1. Word Mode: Slide the Mode Switch to the top for Word Mode. Press pictures on the book pages to learn about toddler-appropriate words.
2. Fun Facts Mode: Slide the Mode Switch to the middle position for Fun Facts Mode. Press pictures on the book pages to hear different fun facts about each picture.
3. Fun Sounds Mode: Slide the Mode Switch to the bottom position for Fun Sounds Mode. Press pictures on the book pages to hear music and sound effects.
4. Music: Press the light-up Music Button to hear two learning songs.
5. Language Play: Slide the English/Spanish Language Switch to hear the songs, directions and picture words in English or Spanish.

What Will Your Toddler and Preschooler Learn?

The Learning Friends 100 Words Book is a sturdy touch and learn book with bright colors. It will help your toddlers and preschoolers learn new vocabulary in a fun way, with animal friends, Turtle, Tiger and Monkey. There are three Core Learning Skills: Early Vocabulary | Spanish Vocabulary | Colors.

According to the information on the box, the Words Book can help your child learn more than 100 words. The book has 12 Learning categories. Your child will learn about: Animals, Body Parts, Colors, English, First Words & Phrases, Food & Nutrition, Nature and Opposites.

Each page has a different category and appears in this order: pets, animals, fruit, food, mealtime, clothes, colors, my body, activities, outside, vehicles and opposites.

There are three play modes, and your child can use the Mode Switch to choose English or Spanish words. They will hear the words read aloud, fun facts, music and sounds.

In Fun Sounds mode, pressing the light-up star button will allow your child hear two learning songs, and when the pictures are touched, they will hear silly sound effects.

When using the Touch and Learn LeapFrog Learning Words Book, your child will explore the colorful pages and touch each picture to hear the animals say words along with exciting facts and sound effects.

Sliding the Language Switch will allow them to select if they want to hear the book in English or Spanish. They can also slide the language switch to hear the words, songs and instructions in both English and Spanish.

Can It Help Your Toddler and Preschooler? – Yes

I believe this LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book can help your toddler and preschooler. We had been looking for a bilingual educational toy to help Azy learn Spanish, and we are happy with this product.

Azy have fun when he uses it. He does not use it every day, but he is starting to use it more often. The LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book received a rating of 4.8 out of 5 on Amazon.

However, I gave it a rating of 5 out of 5 because it does what it was designed to do. As usual, there are mixed reviews on Amazon, but I highly recommend this product.

According to the LeapFrog website, this product has gotten several awards. It comes with 2 AA batteries, so your child can try it right away, but the batteries may not last very long. No assembly is required, so once again, you child can start using it immediately.

The product may be a bit heavy for young children, but I don’t think that should be a problem, if they are sitting while using it.

In addition to using the LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words book, we are also using the Baby’s First Impressions Letras DVD Spanish Letters DVD to help Azy the letters of the alphabet in Spanish. The name includes “Baby’s,” but the DVD is for kids, ages 1-5, and it is only in Spanish.

We also use other LeapFrog products including the LeapFrog Go-With-Me ABC Backpack I wrote a review it. You can read about it here.

Final Thoughts

Many children start getting toys at early age, so you can’t go wrong when you give them toys that can help to educate them. I believe that the LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words book is a great gift for any toddlers and preschoolers. It can help them to learn over 100 word, and do so in not only one, but two different languages.

You can add additional learning activities to this product. I believe that it is very important to test your child’s knowledge occasionally, to check if they are learning. So, you could add some activities to the see how they are doing.

For example, if your child is learning the alphabet, you could ask them what letter is for an image or object that they touch.

Test their knowledge by telling them to touch a specific image or object, and asked them what the color is. Be creative, your child and you can have fun with the LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book

Check out the latest price on Amazon and read the reviews. 

The LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book is also available at Kohl’s

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Product: Melissa and Doug Disney Mickey Mouse ABC . 123 Nesting & Stacking Blocks
Manufacturer Recommended Age: 2+ years
Package Dimensions: 5.75 x 5.75 x 5.75 inches
Item Weight: 1.5 pounds
Manufacturer: Melissa and Doug
My Rating: 4.7 out of 5

Melissa and Doug Disney Mickey Mouse ABC . 123 Nesting & Stacking Blocks Overview

Melissa and Doug Disney Mickey Mouse ABC. 123 nesting & stacking blocks is a set of 10 blocks. It is a great learning toy that promotes fine motor skills, number and letter recognition, and matching and sorting skills. The blocks are brightly colored and the come in a colorful case.

This learning toy can help your toddler and preschooler learn letters, numbers, counting color and words. The blocks are made of lightweight cardboard composite materials.

Each stacking block displays Mickey Mouse and friends, and has letter, number word and the number of images to match each number. The 10 blocks set have the 26 letters of the alphabet and are numbered from 1 to 10 starting with the largest block.

When stacked, the blocks can form a tower that is nearly three feet high, when nested, the 10 blocks fit inside one case. Azy loves to use the Mickey Mouse ABC. 123 nesting & staking blocks to build tower, as he calls it.

He stacks the blocks, and then pushes the blocks to let them fall. As Azy builds his tower, he tells us what the letters are, what they are for, and calls out the number on the block and counts the images.

For example, the largest block has the letters A (apple), B (balloon), C (cake) and the number 1. It also has an image to represent each.
Block 1 to 7 has 3 letters; block 8 and 9 have 2 letters and block 10 has 1 letter.

Azy have fun with this toy, and he loves to use it, especially to stack the blocks. We also used the blocks in other letter recognition activities.

Can It Help Your Toddler and Preschooler? Yes

I believe that the Mickey Mouse ABC. 123 nesting & staking blocks can help your Toddler and Preschooler. Initially, we used block 1 and 2 to help Azy recognize the letters “A” to “F,” because he had recently started to learn the letter of the alphabet.

After we did the lesson, he would continue to stack the blocks. As we continued to do the lessons, he started doing better with recognizing and identifying the letters and numbers on the blocks.

As mentioned above, the Mickey Mouse ABC. 123 nesting & staking blocks can help your toddler and preschooler learn skills including letters, numbers, counting color and words.

They can help them to learn upper case and lower-case letters, since the letters are written in capital letters and the words are written in lower case letters. Since the blocks have Disney characters, they will also help your child to recognize the letter and the character on the block.

Recently we bought some beads at the Dollar Tree and Azy has been placing them on the stacking blocks when he is using them for number and counting activities.

Azy also tries to put toy cars on the blocks when he is counting, but since the blocks are smooth, the cars fall off often. If your child loves building, they will love this toy even more, and they will have fun building tower with the colorful blocks and knocking it down.

Final Thoughts

I believe that the Mickey Mouse ABC. 123 nesting & staking blocks can help your Toddler and Preschooler to learn in a fun way. They are lightweight, so your child can handle them easily.

The product a rating of 4.7 out of 5 because the blocks are not as sturdy as stated. Maybe they are for little kid, but since they are built with cardboard, older kids and rough play can damage the blocks.

Now we watch Azy when he is using them, because two of them were torn. Despite that, I believe that it can still help your child to learn various activities and they will enjoy learning them. You can also check out the latest price on Melissa and Doug website.

If you are not yet ready to teach your child numbers and counting, you check out Melissa and Doug website for the Alphabet Nesting and Stacking Blocks, to help teach your child letters.

Check out the latest price on Amazon and you read the reviews.

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Product: Melissa and Doug Play Money – 550 Pieces
Manufacturer Recommended Age: 3 to 7 years
Package Dimensions: 17.25 x 1.25 x 10 inches
Item Weight: 2 pounds
Manufacturer: Melissa and Doug
My Rating: 4.9 out of 5

Melissa and Doug Play Money – 550 Pieces Overview

This is another educational toy that toddlers and preschoolers will have fun with. We first bought the Melissa & Doug Pretend-to-Spend Wallet for Azy.

The wallet has 45-piece, and he was enjoying it so much, that his mother purchased the 550 pieces set. The 550 pieces, have 50 of each denomination that includes familiar looking paper bills and plastic coins.

They come in a wooden tray that is used as the cash drawer and storage unit, but there is no lid. The tray has 50 each of $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, pennies, nickels, dimes quarters and fifty cent pieces. There is a total of 300 bills, and 250 coins.

Each denomination is placed in a particular compartment, so that can help with sorting and cleanup. At this time, we mainly use the play money to help Azy learn the different denomination and how to count.

However, we plan to use them for a long time because there are so many activities that can be done with these play monies. According to the information on the package, the “Play Money is perfect for playful purchasing.”

Your child can learn addition by adding coins or paper money. They can learn counting and learn to make change with hundreds of pretend bills and coins.

Matching money to pictures on cash drawer is also a fun activity, matching the same bills and coins with each other can be another activity. Play money activities can be ongoing. Number recognition games would also be fun activities to do with the play money.

Countless Way To Play

Here are some of the activities that are listed on the package:
• Match The Money: Remove the money from the cash drawer and mix it all up. Set a timer and race to put the bills and coins back into correct compartments. Try to break the record.

• Pick A Coin: Put several of each coin in a pile and mix them up. Close your eyes, pick a coin, and try to determine by feel alone if it’s a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, or half-dollar.

• What’s In Store: Open your own store or restaurant! Create a price list or menu and take turns with friends being the paying customer and the cashier.

• Add It Up: Practice match skills by “making change” for a $20 bill. See how many different combinations you can come up with (for instance, two $10 bills: two $5 bills and a $10 bill; etc.). Don’t forget to include coins! Make change for other denominations, too.

Final Thoughts

The review for the Melissa and Doug Play Money – 550 Pieces maybe short, but I hope you saw how your toddler and preschooler can benefit from the many activities that they be done with this educational product.

If you do not want buy the 550 pieces play money at this time, you could try the Pretend-to-Spend Wallet.

Melissa and Doug Play Money – 550 Pieces was rated 4.8 out of 5 on Amazon, and most of the negative reviews, were about the missing lid.

A rating of 4.9 out of 5, was given because even though the lid would be helpful, I believe it is a great product that can help kids learn many valuable lessons.

I recommend the 550 pieces, and believe that is a great gift for kids 3 years and older.

Check out the latest price on Amazon and read the reviews.

You can also check out the latest price on Melissa and Doug website.

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In the video below, you will see Azy using the LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book

Visit our Facebook Page if you would like to see more videos with Azy having fun learning.

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Product: Vtech Drill & Learn Toolbox
Manufacturer Recommended Age: 2 to 5 years
Package Dimensions: 4.88 x 10.91 x 5.71 inches
Item Weight: 1.79 pounds
Manufacturer: Vtech
My Rating: 5 out of 5

Vtech Drill & Learn Toolbox Overview

Azy also got this Vtech Drill & Learn Toolbox on his fourth birthday and he loves it. He uses it often to work on his vehicles and we also use it for learning activities. This is a toddler-friendly toolbox that teaches, Pretend Play, Colors, Fine Motor Skills and Sing-Along Songs.

The package has 11-pieces that includes the Toolbox, a removable Electronic Project Tray, 7 Tools and 2 Double-Sided Project Cards. The tools are: A Hand-Powered Toy Drill, Hammer, Wrench, 2 Nails And 2 Screws.

Hammer, wrench, nails, screws and activity cards fit inside the toolbox. Two AA batteries are required, and they are included. However, you might need to change them when you buy the toolbox or shortly after.

Electronic Project Tray has a card Slot for the activity cards, 9 electronic tray holes that trigger sounds and phrases holes. 3 Fun Gears that spin when you use the drill, and 3 Tool Buttons that introduce tools colors and objects.

For the 2 double-sided project cards, one card has 4 Vehicles and 4 Objects while the other card has 9 Colors and Number from 1 to 9. This is an interactive toolbox that can help to teach language and math skills when they use the activity cards.

Activities

There are three Modes, Free Play Mode, Quiz Mode and Music Mode.
Free Play Mode: Press each tool button, Wrench, Hammer or Drill to hear the name of the tool and other information including color and sound of the tool. In the free play mode, information is provided about the activity card that is in the slot.

For example, when the color card is inserted in the slot, and you put a screw or nail in a hole the first time, the color is announced, when you insert the screw or nail a second time, you hear the spelling of the color.

When the number activity card is inserted in the slot, and you insert a screw or nail three times in a slot, you hear different information about the number, such as what the number, what the number is more than, and what the number is less than.

In free play mode, information is provided for each activity card when they are inserted in the slot and a screw or nail is inserted in a hole.

Quiz Mode: test your child’s knowledge by asking them questions. For example, a question on the Object card is, “which picture begins with the letter R?” An instruction to do a specific task is, “the window needs to be fixed.”

Questions can be answered by using the tools or pressing the tool buttons. When a question is asked or an instruction is given, the child puts a screw or nail in the correct hole.

Music Mode: in music mode, when a tool button is pressed or an activity card is inserted in the card slot, you hear songs about tools, numbers, colors and objects.

Can It Help Your Toddler and Preschooler? Yes

According to the information on the package, this toy has Developmental Benefits such as Role-Play, Motor Skills, Problem-Solving and Cause & Effect.

In Role-Play, your toddler and preschooler use the accessories and pretend to make repairs or complete projects using the double-sided project cards.

Motor Skills can be learned when your child use the tools to hammer the nails, or drill the screws into the holes of the tray.

Problem-Solving can be learned by pretending to fix a plane, car, robot and more.

Cause & Effect will be learned when your child hammers the nails or drill the screws to hear fun sounds and phrases.

Azy has fun playing with the tools by himself, and we use the activities cards to do lessons with him. There is a lot to learn on the double-sided activity cards.

Your child can definitely learn a lot when they play with the Vtech Drill & Learn Toolbox. This toy will keep your toddler and preschooler busy and learning about the different tools and doing other fun activities.

This toy can be look at as being simple, but you might be very surprised when you start doing the activities with your child and really see how much they could learn.

The combined learning features and tools provide the opportunity to have one on one when doing lessons with your child. After that, they can play on their own doing more activities or playing with tools.

Final Thoughts

I highly recommends this educational toy because I believe it is an excellent toy for toddlers and preschoolers. It can help to teach them about tools, colors numbers, objects and more.

Trying out the different tools will keep them engaged for a while. If you are not fond of toys that are loud, this a good one because it has volume control for quieter play.

The toolbox shuts off automatically when it is not in use for a while. We love the automatic shut off on toys, because Azy often walks away and leave them playing.

Azy has other Vtech toys, and they have helped him with learning letters, number, body parts and much more. So, we believe that Vtech has some great educational toys that can help your toddler and preschooler learn some valuable lessons and activities.

We also use the Vtech Touch and Learn Activity Desk Deluxe to help teach Azy. The desk has activity cards that are inserted in a card slot as well. The activity desk teaches lot more than the tool box. I wrote a review about the activity desk, you can more about it here.

Giving the toolbox a rating of 5 out of 5 was easy, because Azy has been using it from January, and he does not have any problem with anything.

The only thing that I would change is, adding more activity cards. Including cards for the letters of the alphabet would be great. Apart from that, we believe it is a great learning toy, and would be a great gift for toddlers and preschoolers.

You can check out the latest price and read the reviews on Amazon.

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Product: Vtech Time to be a Hero Learning Tablet
Manufacturer Recommended Age: 3 to 6 years
Package Dimensions: 1.51 x 10.14 x 7.89 inches
Item Weight: 1.22 pounds
Manufacturer: Vtech
My Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Vtech Time to be a Hero Learning Tablet Overview 

Does your toddler or preschooler love PJMASKS? They will have fun with the Vtech Time to be a Hero Learning Tablet. This Tablet has 6 Learning Activities and teaches Phonics, Vocabulary, Rhyming, Matching and Logic.

The package contains the Tablet and a Parent’s Guide. The LCD screen has several buttons, including 26 Letter Buttons, a button for each of the six activities and several other buttons. You can see more information on the Parent’s Guide here.

Developmental Benefits are:
Language Development: Strengthens language skills, including letters, phonics rhyming words and more.
Visualization & Memory: Develops logical thinking, visualization and memory skills through interactive games.
Imaginative Play: Character voices from the PJ Masks and dynamic sound effects encourage imaginative play.

Your toddler or preschooler will be helping the PJ Masks team, Owlette, Catboy and Gekko defend the city from Luna Girl, Romeo and Night Ninja.

They will help them by doing the six learning activities: With Letter Fun, your child will learn letters, phonics and words. Matching Phonics will reinforce knowledge of letters and phonics as they help Owlette repair the Picture Player.

Letter Eggs strengthen hand-eye coordination by typing the letters to save the city from Romero’s rotten eggs. When doing Rhyming Words, your child will match the rhyming words to find Master Fang’s hidden sword.

Super Gekko Camouflage requires your child to use spatial skills to help Gekko hide on the wall and Shapes Maze requires your child to choose doors with matching shapes in Romeo’s maze to help Catboy rescue Owlette and Gekko.

What Will Your Toddler and Preschooler Learn?

By playing the six educational activities, your child will be learning skills in a fun way. They will explore letters, vocabulary, phonics, rhyming words, beginner typing and problem-solving skills.

As they continue to do the activities, your toddler or preschooler will do activities that will help to reinforce what they have been learning. The six activities feature the real character voices of Catboy, Owlette and Gekko with exciting animations.

When you turn on the Tablet, you will hear the PJ Masks saying, “PJ Masks we’re on our way into the night to save the day.” Catboy, Owlette and Gekko say their name and “let’s go.

After that the Tablet start announcing the different learning activity, and occasionally telling you to “press an activity button to play”. If an activity button is not pressed, the six activities will be announced, and then starts over.

The second time, the first two activities will be announced and if no button is pressed, the tablet will shut off.

Letter Fun, pressing the activity button, gives Azy the opportunity to press any letter, to hear the name of the letter, the letter sound and the name of an object that begins with the letter. The letter and image are shown on the screen.

Matching Phonics helps to reinforce what your child learned in the Pressing the Letter activity. A letter is shown on the screen, the letter sound is given, and Azy must find the letter that is for that sound.

Letter Eggs activity needs Azy to type the letter that is showing on the screen to prevent rotten eggs launched by Romeo to hit the PJ Masks. If he fails to type the letter before it reaches the PJ Masks, it will hit the PJ Masks and knock them over.

More On What Will Your Toddler and Preschooler Learn?

Rhyming Words, Azy needs to help Catboy find Master Fang’s sword that Night Ninja hid in the park. A word is shown on the screen and his job is the find the word that rhymes.

For example, the word “Seal” is shown on the screen, Azy should press the left or right arrow to find the word that rhymes with “Seal.” As he presses the arrow, he listens to the three words that are called, choses the rhyming word “Peel,” then press the “OK” button.

Super Gekko Camouflage, Gekko is hiding from Night Nija, and Azy need to help him hide on the wall, by choosing the patten that matches the one showing on the screen.

Like the Rhyming Words activity, Azy uses the left or right arrow to find the pattern, and presses the “OK” button to confirm. There is a problem with this activity, because sometimes the correct pattern is selected, but when you press the “OK” button, the tablet says the pattern selected is incorrect.

Shapes Maze, Romeo captured Owlette and Gekko, and Azy will help Catboy rescue them. Once again, he will use the arrows and “OK” button. Doors with matching shapes connect to one another.

So, Azy needs to use the right or left arrow to help Catboy get to the door, then press the “OK” button for him to enter. When Catboy enters a door, if it has a matching shape, Azy presses the “OK” button again, and Catboy is moved to the other door.

Azy then continues to use the arrow until Catboy goes through the doors. The game starts with Catboy needing to get through two doors to reach his destination, but as the activity goes on, Azy has to help Catboy get through three doors.

Can It Help Your Toddler and Preschooler? Yes

I believe that this Tablet is a great learning tool that can help you toddler and preschooler learn a lot from doing the six activities. The games are easy, but they will challenge your child and help them to think.

Tablet is easy to use, the learning activities are fun games that can keep your child engaged for a while. Azy loves PJ Masks, so he loves using the Tablet. He plays all the activities, but his favorites are Letter Fun, Letter Eggs and Shape Maze.

Azy also loves using his PJ Masks blanket and his PJ Masks Look And Find Play-A-Sound 8-Book Electronic Reader. He can choose a book and we read it to him, or he can use the Electronic Reader to choose the book that he wants to listen to.

The Vtech Time to be a Hero Learning Tablet is a well-made toy that is light weight, so a child should not have much problem holding it. The sound is loud, but it can be turned down. I think that you child will need you help with using the Tablet, until they get familiar with it.

Parents who want their child to play quietly, will love the volume control for quieter play. The Tablet also has automatic shut off feature that will help save battery power.

If your child is like Azy, who walks away and leaves it on, the automatic shut off will be helpful. The Tablet requires 2 AA batteries that are included, but might need to be replaced shortly after purchase. No assembly is required so try it right away.

Final Thoughts

Over all, I believe this educational toy is a good buy, and toddlers and preschooler can benefit from using it. It is also useful, if you child already knows the letters of the alphabet, because it could be used to test knowledge.

My rating of 4.8 out of 5 was because of the error in the Super Gekko Camouflage activity, saying the answer selected is incorrect, when it is correct. Since the Tablet is small, the screen is also small.

The images and information on the screen are light grey and black, so sometimes they are not very clear. It would have been nice if they were colored like the PJ Masks, or have a lighter color. Then, the screen would be brighter and the information would be more clearly seen.

Thank you for taking the time to read my reviews, on the 5 Best Educational and Fun Learning Toys For toddlers and preschoolers.

You have heard about the various ways in which Azy has used them, or is using them.

I hope that I have provided more than enough information to help you decide if these products will help your child. I believe that they will.

Click here to check out the latest price on Amazon and to read the reviews. 

I would love to hear from you, is your child using any of these educational or fun toys? What do you think about them? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

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