The arrival of the School Zone Discovery Cards was a big deal in our house. It’s my first product to review for the Parent Bloggers Network and of course, new toys are always welcome. I was not prepared however, for the enthusiasm that spewed forth from my one-year old daughter when I took the brightly colored packages out of the shipping box.
Her little eyes lit up and her tiny hands reached out for the parcels. She started squawking and begging for them immediately. I got only halfway through the instructions on how to use the Peek-a-Boo-Bunny (I didn’t get the bear one) when the cries that translate to “GIMMEE! NOW!” became too much. I handed over the Peek-a-Boo-Bunny first. In mere seconds, she had the cards out of the box and all over the kitchen floor. She inspected the bunny’s magnetic hands that easily play Peek-a-Boo and found it highly amusing as she laughed loudly. She really wanted to figure out how the magnetic bunny hands played peek-a-boo. It was quite serious work. I sat on the floor with her and attached the cards one by one to the magnetic bunny board. We flipped them over and over again asking questions like, “Who likes honey? The bear likes honey.” After a short time, she caught on and figured out that by pulling the flaps down the cards reveal more pictures, like who lives in a nest or web. While she seemed to enjoy the cards with their brightly colored pictures and flaps at first, they did not hold her interest for very long after that initial playtime. I have tried to engage her on numerous occasions to play with them on her own or with us. It might be that she is just a bit too old for them since the cards are for 9 months on up. I think the price of $10.99 is fair. The product is packaged nicely and would travel well. It would probably do well on a road trip and definitely as a gift.
Next, we broke out the Fuzzy Animal Friends Clever Baby Cards. Her little hands couldn’t tear apart the packaging fast enough. The colors on these cards are very bright with lots of foil, fur, and crinkly bits protruding from them. My kid loves textured toys like this. The googly eyes on the snake and crocodile cards were mesmerizing to her. She has spent the last few days playing with these animal cards over and over again. She wants us to review them with her too. We read the cute sayings to her, such as, “slither and shake purple snake”, time and time again. She likes to chew on the crinkly legs and tails and look at the how the foil colors change when she waves them around. This product has held her interest for far longer than the Peek-a-Boo-Bunny set. We have spent a lot of time going over the different animals, their colors, and the various textures such as furs and feathers. She loves to rub her hands on the cards and point out the varying grades of sensations. I like this toy for precisely that reason. While it’s geared for ages six months and up it is a hit in our house and the $15.99 price tag makes it a good buy. I will keep this toy in mind to give as a gift and keep for our next child.
For us, the Fuzzy Animal Friends fared the best in our house. The cards kept her engaged with their bright colors, different textures, and appendages. While she liked the Peek-a-Boo-Bunny magnetic cards, they just didn’t hold her attention for as long as the animal cards did. I do overall think that the School Zone products are well made, educational and make excellent gifts.
You can check out more reviews for this product by other bloggers and various other goodies at the PBN site.
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