· Record & Learn KidiStudio™: 
o Children can perform and record like a rock star with the Record & Learn KidiStudio. Kids can explore a variety of musical instruments; adjust the tempo and sing-along to the music while recording a musical masterpiece to share with family and friends.
o The light-up keyboard lets them follow the lights and learn to play their favorite melodies.
o Kids can sing along to 20 melodies in Rock, Hip Hop, Jazz and Techno styles with a real voice-changing microphone.
o Ages 3-6, $39.99
My kids love music. We've had simple
piano type toys in the past, but never one with all the features the
Record and Learn KidiStudio has, so I was excited to be given a
sample to review in exchange for my opinions. I love the microphone
and the way they can change their voice. While this toy is intended
for the preschool set, even my older kids enjoyed the voice changer
and special “sound effects” buttons. My kids were laughing
hysterically at themselves and each other with the voice changer.
They had a hard time resisting the urge to change the way they were
singing along with it. (My teenagers have been playing with it for
over an hour without any little kids around.) They also liked the
“alien” instrument. You have to be fairly close to the microphone
to be picked up, so it didn't pick up background noise. My kids were
already familiar with quite a few of the songs, but for the ones they
weren't the lyrics were in the user guide. There were lots of songs
(20) and the toy never sings the words. The sliders to change the
volume, voice changer, and tempo seem a little fragile, especially
the tempo slider, but the piano keys and everything else seem very
well made. The volume button is fully accessible and easy to adjust
by the kids, so I found myself asking them to turn it down at times
(on loud, it is quite loud). This is a toy that I see my little kids
using a lot as it was intended and my big kids finding reasons to
play along with them and be silly.
· Lil' Speller Phonics Station™:
o The Lil’ Speller Phonics Station lets children build and learn words with fun sounds, melodies and animations that encourage interactive learning and reinforce words.
o Kids can discover letter names and hear their sounds by plugging in the letter blocks one by one, or learn letter order by determining which letter is missing, then plug in the correct letter block to complete the letter order.
o The Lil’ Speller Phonics Station includes 26 letter blocks and four extra blocks to spell words like “mom” and “dad.” It also features a handle and all of the blocks can be stored inside for easy travel.
o Ages 3-6, $24.99
With 9 kids, we've tried a lot of toys
over the years, and Vtech toys have usually held up well. I love when
I find a well built, fun toy that is also educational. Perfect for a
beginning reader or younger child just starting to explore the world
of letters, sounds, and words up through beginning readers/spellers.
I like how the Lil' Speller gives both sounds for vowels and letters
“c” and “g.” For my 3 year old, who is just learning her
sounds, I just give her a few tiles at a time, that match the letters
she has learned so far and one or two more. She has been picking up
the new ones quickly to “earn” more letters. My 5 year old is a
beginning reader who already knows his sounds. He liked practicing
the abc order game and trying to make words. I liked having a list of
words the toy recognized to prompt him with. He also likes the spell
game and how it shows the word briefly at first. The help button
gives hints if he gets stuck. I did receive a sample toy from Vtech
in exchange for my honest review, but this is a toy I would have been
happy to buy regardless. Overall, I think this is an excellent toy
that sneaks in a big dose of learning while still being fun.
· Go! Go! Smart Wheels® Ultimate Amazement Park™:
o Race through three AMAZING courses in the Go! Go! Smart Wheels Ultimate Amazement Park Playset!
o Drive the included SmartPoint™ race car over the 8 SmartPoint locations, and listen as it responds with different music or fun sound effects.
o The Ultimate Amazement Park is more than three feet long and can be connected to other Go! Go! Smart Wheels playsets (sold separately) to encourage creative play. It’s playtime with miles of learning fun!
o Ages 1-5, $59.99
If you are looking for a toy with
“WOW” factor, you've found it! This track is huge and impressive!
It stands mid-thigh on me, eye level for my 2 year old son. There was
enough to do that all three of my boys (2,5, and 7) could play at the
same time, but it does only come with one smart car (the smart car
makes sounds as it goes across different parts of the track.) While
that car was easily the favorite, the other cars we own also raced
down just fine. Because of the way the track is set up, you don't
actually race the cars-- the two starting points go different
directions. This set can also be added to if you want (with the Go!
Go! Smart Wheels Deluxe Track Set),
but I felt there was plenty to do with just this set. I will likely
add the other set for a birthday in a few months. The little car does
have an off option, which I appreciated.
It did take awhile to assemble, about
an hour without any kids around, so either set it up before hand or
plan on time to put it together. It is much more impressive out of
the box. It would make a perfect “Santa” toy on Christmas
morning. The toy seems sturdy and well made with bright, attractive
colors. The one downside of this toy is that it doesn't break down
easily to store, so it will take up a good bit of space. At the same
time, it is a toy that my boys will come back to over and over again,
so I think it is worth the space it takes. I did receive a sample toy
in exchange for my review, but this is one I would have loved for a
Christmas morning surprise.
· 3-in-1 Care & Learn Stroller™: 
o The stroller’s smart sensor recognizes when it’s being moved and plays sing-along songs about letters, colors, places and animals.
o Transform the stroller into a high chair to hear baby care reminders that introduce nurturing concepts and healthy habits while kids pretend to feed their doll.
o Turn the high chair into a bassinet and the doll can fall asleep while listening to classic nursery rhymes or 20 familiar lullabies.
o With three ways to play, this stroller is packed with role-play fun!
o Ages 12-36 months, $44.99 each
With a new baby in the house, what is
the perfect gift for a 3 year old? Her own baby and accessories! This
set fit the bill perfectly and I was thrilled to be given one to
review by VTech. I love that the baby doll is completely soft, like a
teddy bear. There aren't any hard faces or hands to roll into during
the night to wake her up. Assembly was easy, and the sound can be
turned off (or made quieter) as needed. This one toy changes into a
stroller, high chair, and bassinet (or as my daughter called it, a
changing table/bed). I always like space saving toys, so having 3 in
1 is a plus. Changing from one form to another was easy enough for my
3 year old to do after a little practice-- you just push a button
and turn.
In stroller mode, you are able to hear
sounds about different pretend places, including the farm, park, and
neighborhood. The stroller recognizes when you put the baby in the
stroller and changes where you are going each time. As you push the
“story” button you hear sounds that you would hear on your walk.
In the bassinet set up, the “story” button says nursery rhymes.
Unfortunately, the music button on the toy didn't work, even after
trying fresh batteries. This meant she couldn't play the lullabys or
songs from the stroller mode. It didn't detract from her playing with
the toy, but in the bassinet mode it kept telling her to play music,
which she couldn't do (except one note at a time on the piano keys.)
When you turn it off, it plays music
and then says “bye-bye,” instead of stopping immediately. (It
does time out and shut the sound off itself if it hasn't been played
with for a few minutes and says, “bye-bye” then as well.)
Second, when you turn the sound back ON after it has been off, it
says, “Sound off” when you are actually turning it on and if you
push the story button when it's off, it says “music off” and then
keeps talking . My seven year old was annoyed by a song about the
rainbow that leaves out the color green as it names all the colors in
the rainbow. They remembered indigo, but left out green. :)
Overall, my kids and I like this toy.
My daughter was thrilled that it was pink and purple. My two year old
son wanted his turn to play as well and would push around other dolls
in the stroller when my daughter wasn't playing with it. The sounds
were fun, but I was also glad they are easy to turn off if needed.
The plastic part of the toy seems very well built and sturdy. The
fact that one of our music buttons didn't work out of the box makes
me wonder how the rest of the sounds and buttons will hold up.
However, even without the sounds, this toy has lots of play potential
with the three different options and saves space over 3 separate
toys.
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