Editorial Review

Well-designed with lots of terrific detail, Learning Resources' Calculator Cash Register completely satisfies a young child's hunger to play with bills, coins, cash drawers, and big numbers. The chiming cash register features a built-in solar calculator as its keypad, thus allowing kids to act as bankers, shopkeepers, and accountants all at once. A large cash drawer holds life-sized bills in four denominations (1, 5, 10, and 20), and four coin holders make room for embossed plastic pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. There is even a credit card slot that dings when you correctly slide the faux VISA card through it.A suggested-activities booklet is included. Requires a 1.5V button cell battery (included) to make the chiming noise. No assembly required. Winner of awards from Dr. Toy, FamilyFun Magazine, and Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Solid, Great Toy
I bought this for my 2 year old daughter last year and she has played with it all year.It works well and the voice is not too annoying or loud. When you are cleaning up the money you can open the cash drawer without the voice coming on which, believe me, is a huge plus.It is a real calculator and when she presses numbers it says them out loud which is educational.And when she presses the minus key really fast over and over again, it says "Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine" which cracks us all up :)

This is the funniest toy ever
When I got this toy i played with it for such along time and still do. You only spend $29.99 on it and it is money well spent. You make the right choice if you get this toy. The age group i would say is probably 5-whenever. Let me tell you parents what when my mom and dad got this for me i lovedit and it made me happy for so long.Three words for this toy.
MONEY WELL SPENT!!!!!!!!! FUN
so you should get this toy. KNOW dont think twice get it...NOW
dont forget get the scanner and bar codes* that go with it.
*SOLD SEPARTLEY

A preschool favorite
I'm buying this toy for my son's 3rd birthday because he makes a beeline to it everytime we go to our parent-child preschool class.He usually sets up a toy phone nearby, too. I get to be the customer and bring a basket of toy food to him which he "scans" on the notepad area.It's nice when toys leave something to the imagination.He loves the play bills and coins and pretending to make change.I believe that this toy will grow with my child and still be fun for him in a few years.

I figure that if this toy has survived daily use by multiple 2-4 year olds, it will survive around our house.If it doesn't, then I will update this posting!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Activity    2. Pretend Play    3. Money    4. Learning    5. Math    6. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    7. Electronic    8. Preschool    9. Counting    10. Electronic Learning Aids   

Reviews (5)

Classroom Teacher
This product has provided hours of entertainment to my Kindergarteners and my first graders in the last two years.I can't believe how rough they can be with the toy and nothing breaks.

Really neat...even fun for mom
I bought this set for my son when he turned 4.He didn't attempt to play with it by himself until one day I got it out, sat on the floor with him and started building really neat stuff.When he saw what I had done and watched all the colors of gears turning round and round that was it, he loved it.This set has so many options; you can build 1,000 different things.We will have this set for a long time.

Start with the Under Sea Adventure set, this as add on!
We received several gears, gears, gears sets at the same time, and found that the plain set ie Super set although initially fun looses excitement without some add ons.If I were to buy just one set I would start with the Under the Sea adventure set first, then add with the fantasy play park.The Undersea set has parts that move the gears in interesting ways from the standard set.It also comes with regular gears for building, although in limited number so the super set still helps extend the play.The motorized monstors sounded more intteresting than it was, but the parts when added to the Undersea adventure set was great fun!The gears are an interesting way of learning how things work. If your child is mechanically minded any of these sets will provide a wonderful new constructin opportunity.If your child hasn't been inclined towards let's say lego's etc.. This toy may provide some interest initially in being able to create a design that moves.However, construction with this set is more complicated than legos and for the less mechanically inclined child will still need paren'ts help beyond the age minimum's recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Preschool    2. Construction    3. Building Sets    4. Activity    5. Pretend Play    6. Play Sets    7. Blocks   

Subjects:  1. Pretend Play    2. Cooking    3. Activity    4. Play Sets   

Reviews (1)

Super item -- flawed packaging
Precious, precious item.My 9 year old daughter just loves it.It might seem young for a girl this age, but she loves to play school, and she loves having all the "tricky" things right there together in one package.A sweet toy.One problem:Seller did not include the markers in the package!List of items included clearly says "markers," but the markers did not make it into the package.Oh well.These are easy enough to replace.We were unable to get this package before Christmas as item was out of stock.Even when we ordered it after Christmas, our ship date was listed as some time in March.Surprise!Product arrived before January 1!Grandparents, for a young girl this would be a wonderful, fun gift. (Although stay under the age of 8 to be on the safe side--my daughter is young for her age.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Math    3. Reading    4. Activity    5. Arts and Crafts    6. Playboards    7. Pretend Play   

Editorial Review

The Dino Math Tracks game (winner of several prestigious awards,including an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal) is a race around therainbow with a pack of pintsize, prehistoric pals. An unusual spin on atypical roll-the-dice-and-move game, it spotlights the mathematicalconcept of place value and gives kids reinforcement in what makesour base-10 number system tick. Each player is allotted one dinosaur foreach of the four tracks (the tracks are labeled 1s, 10s, 100s, and 1000s).To play, a player rolls four dice to create a 4-digit number andthen moves his or her prehistoric posse to the appropriate 1s, 10s,100s, and 1000s places. Problem-solving strategies are honed as playersscurry to get all four miniature mammoths or tiny triceratops into thedino haven, ahead of the other players' thundering herds. But look out!In the race to dino utopia, it's easy to get bumped by a babybrachiosaurus!

The Dino Math Tracks game provides multiple levels of play for a varietyof ages. At the simplest level (perfect for a first-grader who knowsArabic numerals and one-to-one correspondence), kids use only the placetrack for the 1s. Later, cards with simple problems are introduced("Stuck in a tar pit! Move your 10s dino back two spaces!"). At the mostadvanced level, players might encounter a question like this: "Your 10sdinosaur forgot its pants, so it went back 15 to get them. Then ithurried forward 25. How far did it get? Move that many." Young playerswill find the 2-inch, spunky vinyl dinosaur playing pieces irresistible.The game offers plenty of opportunities for friendly competition andbrain bending--not to mention lots of nonthreatening practice ataddition and subtraction. --Julie Ubben ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A real winner!
This game is great!The tiny dinos spark my 5 year-old son's imagination and enable him to have so much fun that he does not realize he is learning.Furthermore, he does not want to stop!!!He learned place value up to the thousands during our first game. After each roll of the dice the player uses all four dice to make a number and then s/he reads the number aloud (i.e. ifyou roll 6666 you say six thousand six hundred and sixty six).As we move our dinos around the board T.R. looks forward to our pieces landing on the same track so that we can have a "Showdown".In a "Showdown" you simply have to roll a dice and the person who gets the larger number wins.However, we move our dinos to the middle of the board and have a miniature battle.The player who rolled the larger number wins the battle.The loser is sent back home and the winner gets to move ahead.After playing the game a couple of times without using the cards - which is the simplest level of play with this game - my son asked to use the cards.So on Day 2 we began using the cards.Again he uses his imagination and does a great deal of role play as he carries out the instructions.It fills my heart with delight to see his excitement and to see that he has truly learned how to read numbers up to the thousands. (T.R. learned to read when he was 4 so he independently reads the dice and reads the cards.)

As a parent I highly recommend Dino Math Tracks because kids quickly learn a lot while having loads of fun.This game can be played at three levels, so it grows with your child.

Great fun!Colorful!Math skills to boot!
My child loves this game!Each person has a single type of dinosaur in four different colors.Each color represents one of the placement values; Ones, Tens, Hundreds, Thousands.The dinosaurs, as determined by roll of four dice, have to walk their color-coordinated path from start to finish.But look out! If an opponent lands on the same space, a die-rolling duel ensues, with the high-roller prevailing.This basic game is a lot of fun for young children.Then there are two decks of cards, one more advanced than the other, which enable the parameters of the game to expand with the child's developing math skills.My child and I can play on even ground - a rare trait in today's games.This comes highly recommended!

My kids love this game
I was not too excited when my kids got an educational board game as a gift, but my kids took right to it and still ask to play it on a regular basis a year later.They have learned a lot, and I am buying this game as a gift for our school friends this year.My only gripe is that the numbers wore off the dice, since the kids played the game so much! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Board Games    3. Learning    4. Math    5. Counting    6. Numbers    7. Dinosaurs    8. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    9. Electronic    10. Activity    11. Family Favorites   

Editorial Review

Kids love to emulate adults around them--give them the pleasureof learning to use their very own phone with the Pretend & PlayTeaching Telephone. The bright red and yellow plastic unit measures 7inches across and has large buttons for easy use. Program in a number(your home, for example) and record a message for the kids to hear whenthey get it right. There's also an emergency message associated with911 to teach them what to do when trouble strikes. Other fun featuresinclude speed dial and an 11-digit display. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Special Toy For A Special Boy!
My son has autism, so I am constantly on the lookout for toys that will help him in everyday task. The phone is FANTASTIC! In only two day, he got the hang of the phone and learned his home phone number! The kicker was for praise, he heard mommy's voice saying, he got it right! No mechanical, strange voices! Good Job! Great Product!

Gets loads of play! Kids of all ages love this.
This toy can be used by babies and toddlers and up. Younger kids can use it simply as a pretend phone. When certain buttons are pressed there is a dial tone sound, a ringing sound, and a "busy signal" sound. My youngest was one year old when he began playing with this, randomly pressing buttons, listening, and really pretending to talk.

Older kids (5 or maybe 4) can use this as a teaching tool, with the parent. As described by the manufacturer (above) this has the capability to program in numbers, record your voice, and practice calling 911 or practice calling other important phone numbers.

So far we've only used the toy to play with during imaginative play. My kids have played with it so much that it is worth the cost. Kids who visit for playdates also gravitate to this toy and love to play with it. I highly recommend this as a great toy for pretend play.

Also great from this manufacturer is the pretend cash register. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Talking    3. Activity    4. Pretend Play    5. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    6. Electronic    7. Math    8. Preschool   

Editorial Review

Mix one 82-piece box of Gears! Gears! Gears! Gizmos with a handful of children and what do you get? A tableful of swirling, whirling, twisting, turning, cross-your-eyeballs thingamajigs! The Gizmos advanced set includes some unusual connectors, including a couple of comical 8-inch springs, some angled joints, and a working propeller--along with a generous helping of the basic stuff. With three sizes of meshing, stackable gears, and simple snap-together bases that can be arranged scores of ways, kids have the freedom to create all kinds of gyrating gadgets. Even with the outlandish decals and Day-Glo shades, Gears manages to teach budding builders an astonishing amount about how machines work. --Julie Ubben ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Looks pretty but lacks durability
This was a fun toy to look at and the box it came in was huge compared to what was inside. The colors are fantastic, but actually getting the gears to work is another story all together. The snaps were EASILY breakable and would lodge inside the gears.The directions for making a robot or an airplane were ridiculous and I usually don't have a problem with complicated directions.Skip this one and go for a science kit.

Fun
Gears was bought for my 4 year old nephew and he just loves it.
I would recommend this toy for education, imagination, and just plain fun!!!

Gear, Gears, Gears Motorized Monsters
I bought the Motorized Monsters set here (I don't see it listed now) based on fabulous reviews. I was very disappointed in the set and so was my 6 year old son. It is noisy, clunky and not at all the fun toy that we were expecting. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Preschool    2. Building Sets    3. Activity    4. Pretend Play    5. Play Sets    6. Construction    7. Gears   

Reviews (1)

Looks great, but doesn't work great!
My son got this for his 4th birthday.While the pieces snap together fairly easily, it is complicated - no way a 4 yr. old could do it.Even following the instructions step-by-step, I found the process confusing and time-consuming.Once I got it put together, it was fine as long as no one touched it or turned the motor on.It is not the most stable toy when assembled, so it seems to fall apart easily - at which point, it wasn't always immediately obvious how to put it back together without consulting the directions.When the motor is running, it's worse.The horses on the carousel are supposed to go up and down.In our case, just one horse not working properly causes the whole system to break apart - the gears jam and the pieces start to topple over - the carousel pops out of place, bringing the ferris wheel and roller coaster with it.I was shocked to see how expensive this item was - especially after the 1st few catastrophes the 1st week, my son rarely plays with it now.Definitely not worth it!The gear thing is cool, physics-wise, but I'm sticking with the simpler horizontal versions! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Preschool    2. Construction    3. Building Sets    4. Activity    5. Pretend Play    6. Play Sets   

Subjects:  1. Pretend Play    2. Activity    3. Play Sets   

Editorial Review

Kids can mind the store with the Pretend & Play Talking Scanner.The 5-inch red and blue plastic tool rests comfortably in its blueplastic base until it's time for checkout. Then young checkers can scanany of the included 32 price stickers to hear a price and see itdisplayed on the LCD screen. The front button is pressed to receive arandom price quote, or hit the side button to mute the voice. Additionalprice stickers are available from the manufacturer if kids want to gowholesale. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Be sure to read instructions!
My 5 year old has had the cash register that coordinates with this scanner for 3 years and it's WONDERFUL, but when she was old enough to notice the other registers with scanners on the shelf, she was disappointed, so I was elated to find this scanner. I almost didn't buy it after reading the reviews for durability, but I think I now know what went wrong...there is a RESET "button" on the underside of the scanner.It's actually a teeny-tiny hole- I had to unfold a paper clip to slip inside and trigger it.This is explained in the directions for the toy, but we thought it was broken- reading incorrect numbers, displaying jibberish, etc.It works great as long as we reset when needed, and my daughter absolutely loves it.She doesn't use the barcode stickers- it will "scan" anytime you push the button, giving a new price.The only reason I gave it a lower score for educational value is that obviously it can't know the real value of an item, so when she scanned the family dog, the price was something like $ and when she scanned a lollipop, it was $.A little misleading, but that's what us parents are for.This toy is fun and I highly recommend the matching cash register- it's the best I've seen anywhere and will grow with them for years.We even use it during yard sales since it holds real-size money.

Piece of [trash]
I bought this toy for my 8-year old for Christmas.A piece of the scanner was missing (the piece that holds the batteries in).Luckily I opened it up and checked it before wrapping it or he would have been very disappointed.So it is being sent back.Also, I'm not asking to have it replaced because when I put batteries and "scanned" the bar codes I noticed that it does not read the price that is actually on the bar codes.This may do for a 3 or 4 year old child.But my 8-year old would have noticed this right away and that would have been a big dissapointment.

The best toy in the world!!!!!
I bought this toy back in September, and it was the best toy I ever got. I play with it with my register all the time. I really enjoy it so you should get it for your kids because they will love it!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Math    3. Activity    4. Pretend Play    5. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    6. Electronic    7. Counting   

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Science    3. Numbers   

Reviews (1)

Not worth the money
My son received this you when he turned 5 and he is almost 7 and has only used it to hear the woman's voice announce the time. It is difficult to figure out how it works even after reading and re-reading the directions. The buttons are not clearly labeled and the volume button does little to change the sound level. It not even mildly entertaining. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Math    3. Talking    4. Time    5. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    6. Electronic    7. Electronic Learning Aids   

Reviews (2)

It's a great tool for learning to tell time
This item is a bit pricey for what you get, but it is really a helpful tool in teaching children to read time.I ordered it two months ago, and by the time Christmas rolled around, my daughter wasn't having trouble with time so much.Still, it is very interactive with her daily life, including magnets for kids to practice time in conjunction with their daily activities.I highly recommend this item, especially if your children are just starting to learn to tell time.

Educational and great time teacher!
We received this item as a gift for our 4 yr old son's birthday.The concept is great in that the child can relate activities in their day to certain times on the toy.Our son can now understand half hours, 45 minutes, etc!
The only complaint is that the magnetic hold on the magnets is pretty weak...so they don't stick real well and fall off easily if you brush up against the board.The pen also doesn't stick well to the surface and the magnet has already fallen off of it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Preschool    2. Learning    3. Math    4. Numbers    5. Time    6. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    7. Electronic   

Reviews (2)

Very good
It's a very good geometric toy. No sharp edges. And you
can buy more cards at learningresources.com. I wish they were
available at Toys R Us.

Stimulating
We received this toy for a gift for my 3-1/2 year old, and he loves it! He loves puzzles, and immediately figured out how to manipulate the pieces to fit the diagrams He never tires of it, although he'll occasionally get frustrated if the pieces slide out of place on the diagram. The pieces are very well made with no sharp edges. My only complaint is that it only comes with 4 patterns, and the cardboard "form" isn't very durable. Excellent choice overall, though! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Preschool    2. Puzzles    3. Learning    4. Math    5. Activity    6. Construction    7. Blocks   

Editorial Review

Someone's in the kitchen with Auntie Pasta, cooking uppizza-specific ways to teach younger children the basics of beginningfractions. This game for two to four players includes a spinner and aplaying board with circles divided into halves, thirds, or quarters.Players receive cardboard pieces of pizza in different sizes (withcorresponding numerical fractions on the back). The sections are placedon the circles during the game to create complete pizzas, with tinycardboard pizza boxes to cover each completed pie. The game requiresvery little reading (just a few basic words on the spinner), and it's agood way to introduce the concepts of pie-chart fractional divisions aswell as simpler fractional concepts. Adaptable for preschoolers as wellas for older siblings, it's a good choice for home schoolers or family gamenight--with pizza for dinner, of course! --Marcie Bovetz ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cards    2. Learning    3. Games    4. Numbers    5. Preschool    6. Math    7. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    8. Electronic    9. Activity    10. Family Favorites    11. Board Games   

Reviews (1)

Motor and Sharing Skills
For help with fine motor skills, this toy can't be beat. It's attractive and easy to use. It is also light, which can't be underestimated, because it is 1) portable in its handy lidded plastic jar and 2) unlikely to do damage to household items and pets (think about the heavy wooden alternative). However, after mastering it and making a few loops, my child found it boring and I also found that the foam had an odd smell. Share this with a friend or, better yet, donate it to a school. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Activity    2. Learning   

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Math    3. Games    4. Numbers    5. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    6. Electronic    7. Activity    8. Family Favorites   

Reviews (1)

Cheap and unattractive
I'm a psychology professor and do research with children.I purchased these puppets to use with children in my projects.At this price, I didn't expect extremely high quality puppets.However, when they arrived, I was rather surprised at the shoddy quality.In particular, the puppets are much smaller than I'd imagined - more like finger puppets, as the arms are essentially functionless.

Furthermore, the female puppets are clearly wearing dresses; thus their bodies appear to be full-length.However, the male puppets seem to end at the waist.When I unpackaged them, one of my graduate students stopped by and asked why the father was wearing a pink dress!These puppets have been used with children a few times in my lab, but they have been mostly uninterested in them.I can't blame them!Next time I'll splurge and buy better puppets.
... Read more

Subjects:  1. Pretend Play    2. Puppets   

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Math    3. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    4. Electronic   

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Reading    3. Science    4. Alphabet    5. Blocks