Explore the Weekends Count Magazine

Click the links to explore more about the travel categories listed below.

Let's Travel in the United States Let's Travel Texas

Let's Explore Travel TipsLet's Learn

Let's EatLet's DIY


Showing posts with label Toys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toys. Show all posts

Millennial Parents Teach Their Children about STEM with the Pinbox 3000

PinBox 3000 - Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Arts - @WeekendsCount
Our family usually struggles to finding activities that can engage mom, dad, and the kindergartener. Now, we will struggle NO MORE! We received an invitation to review the Pinbox 3000 and we were slightly reluctant to accept a DIY item. Boy were we wrong! It was amazing!




I was away for a weekend for a conference and my husband and daughter constructed and decorated our family's new Pinbox 3000! I arrived back home and it was incredible! We had a GREAT time creating and reviewing the product!



The Pinbox 3000 enabled our family to focus on ourselves and laugh during a very difficult time for all of us! Thank you Pinbox 3000 for the opportunity to review this product...this amazing product!


This post contains affiliate links to help you build your shopping list and travel list for your family. We are passionate about the product and the experiences listed in this post, but we also wanted to provide easy links you can click to purchase products for your busy lifestyle.

The Pinbox 3000 from is made from cardboard and it is one of the premier toys for parents and grandparents who want to introduce science, engineering, technology, and art to their children after school. This product enabled millennial parents to relive their childhood and relieve stress while having fun after a long day of work! This product is sturdy and will last a family for years!

Check out the Cardboard Teck Instantute's YouTube Channel!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp9P-Dxf6BC8h12LQDxfk_g


Have a great week and plan for the weekend!






Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
About Weekends Count - Weekends Count is a Millennial Family Travel, Fun, Food and Activities blog based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas. We review hotels, travel and household items, and millennial family experiences!

Authors - Jennifer and Tony Edwards

Here's a link to our press kit/media kit - http://www.weekendscount.com/p/our-media-kit.html

Mailing Address: 1030 East Highway 377 Suite 110; Box #145; Granbury TX 76048
Phone Number - 817-382-8475

Send us an Email! We are PR friendly! - weekendscount@gmail.com
Watch Our Videos on YouTube! - http://www.youtube.com/weekendscount/
Become a fan of Facebook! - http://www.facebook.com/weekendscount/
Follow Us on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/weekendscount/
Look for Us on Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/weekendscount/
Discover the Weekends Count Blog - http://www.weekendscount.com

5 Innovative Ways You Can Use a Kids Cooking Set to Teach Your Children Science and Literacy




Our family is always looking for high-quality children's toys for a great price! The Little Chef eight-piece metal children's cooking set is one of the best toys (for a great price) for your 3-5 year old! This colorful playlet includes two pots, one pan, two lids, a set of utensils, and an oven mitt!

This post contains affiliate links to help you build your shopping list and travel list for your family. We are passionate about the product and the experiences listed in this post, but we also wanted to provide easy links you can click to purchase products for your busy lifestyle.

She has been in love with metal cooking sets since she discovered one in the childcare book fair last month. I promised her that we would find a great one or her and this one did not disappoint!


You can use the Little Chef cooking set for MORE than just dramatic play. You can use it in the following ways:

1 - Color Identification
Description - Have your child separate the pots/pans of a similar color to demonstrate the concept to color identification and separation. (1-3 year olds)

2 - Make Your Own Story!
Description - Enabling your child to make a story with a two item from the eight piece set.
*You can record this story by taking photos and copying and pasting them into a word document and then your little one can add words. THEN, you can print the items out for a story! OR you can video record the story! (3 year olds and older)

3 - Water Density for Preschoolers!
Description - Science Project - Will it sink or will it float?
*Purchase a large plastic bin from the Dollar Tree and fill it with water. Then, ask your child about the items they think will sink or float. Test the theory! (3-5 year olds)

4 - Balancing Dried Beans!
Description - Enable your child to play with dried beans and pour the beans from the pot to the pan, etc. You can also weigh the pot/pan that on a balance scale to demonstrate the concept of balance! (3-6 year olds)

5 - Forming Shapes!
Description - Have your three/four year old draw around the pots, pans, and their lids to create shapes.
*This is a great way for your child to refine their fine motor skills!

Please let me know if you develop any new ideas!

Have a great week and plan for the weekend!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Follow Us! 
Instagram/Twitter/Periscope - @WeekendsCount 

Our Top STEM Toy Pick for 2016 - The "I Do 3D Vertical Pen"!


Realistically, professional parents who work outside the home and/or who commute for 30-minutes to an hour to work have a limited amount of time to spend with their children in the evenings. Post of the time, this precious time is filled with dinner prep, after school activities, sports, etc.

This busy situation is true for our small family as well and we emphasize homework or a STEM activity for our preschooler each day. She really enjoys the hands-on activities instead of the workbooks, but she really likes creating items and watching physical changes occur during the science experiments.




This post contains affiliate links to help you build your shopping list and travel list for your family. We are passionate about the product and the experiences listed in this post, but we also wanted to provide easy links you can click to purchase products for your busy lifestyle.



Here's Step 1 - Utilize the Design Paper to Create the Martian!



Step 2 - Allow the Solution to Cool (while admiring your creation)!



Step 3 - Make Your Creation a 3D Creature!


Toys like the "I Do 3D Vertical Pen" (the price ranges between $3.39 and $19.99) is one of those affordable, versatile toys for busy families who want to emphasize the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics in 30 minute segments for their children. Our preschooler LOVED creating her own objects and viewing them on the dining room table each day!






Tony, my husband, is a former science teacher and my father is a former science teacher as well. So, science definitely runs in my family. My preschooler also loves science. She will definitely be a STEM Girl and I know that she will carry on the family name in the science field!

Have a great week and plan for the weekend!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Follow Us! 
Instagram/Twitter/Periscope - @WeekendsCount 

Top 10 Preschool Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Toys Under $30


We hope you are having a great week! Our family loves the Fisher Price brand and we've been purchasing toys from this company for years! So, we were very excited to find out about their "Think and Learn" line! In addition to Fisher Price, this STEM toy list also includes learning toys from Melissa and Doug, Tiggly, Educational Insights, Learning Resources, and Magformers. Here is our family's "Top Ten Preschool STEM Toys for Under $30"!

This post contains affiliate links to help you build your shopping list and travel list for your family. We are passionate about the product and the experiences listed in this post, but we also wanted to provide easy links you can click to purchase products for your busy lifestyle.

Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-A-Pillar Toy

1 - Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-A-Pillar Toy
We've been watching this toy since last year's Consumer Electronic Show. If you want to integrate Science, Engineering, Technology, or Mathematics for your child(ren), this is the MUST have toy for the season! Here's the neat thing, out of 74 customer reviews, the average score for this toy is 4.5/5 stars! Other people think this toy is great too!

2 - Fisher-Price Think & Learn Smart Scan Color Chameleon
This is a great toy for two and three year olds who are learning their colors! This toy is definitely one of the top toys for color recognition. In fact, our little one is obsessed with QR codes and scanning them into an iPhone. This toy is similar as well! Just scan the paint swatch with the paint brush and the chameleon will identify the color! This is a fun way to integrate the technology piece of STEM for your children! Out of 25 customer reviews, the average score for this toy is 3.5/5 stars!

 
3 - Fisher-Price Smart Scan Word Dash
For the older children in your life, this word dash toy is going to be awesome for sight words and interactively play! As a education doctors, we are always looking for innovative ways to integrate learning each day for our little one! This toy/game is similar to a "metal detector", but for sight words! Also, we are always looking for neat travel toys (especially for travel to grandma's house and this toy is definitely on our list! Out of 22 customer reviews, the average score for this toy is 3.5/5 stars!

4 - Melissa & Doug Bead Sequencing Set
Create your own preschool coding week! You can integrate the Melissa & Doug Bead Sequencing Set in a week-long preschool lesson on coding, number sequencing, and counting. We love the Melissa and Doug brand, because they sell high-quality wooden toys for affordable prices! Out of 119 customer reviews, the average score for this toy is 4/5 stars!

5 - Tiggly Math Learning System for Kids 3-7
Our little one loves her iPad and we are always on the look out for neat iPad friendly toys that can teach STEM to our little one after her school day ends! This mathematics learning system includes four toys for the tablet app (available on android and Kindle Fire). Out of 45 customer reviews, the average score for this toy is 4/5 stars! Other people think this toy is great too!


6 - Magformers Inspire Set (30-pieces)
The Magformers brand is awesome for preschoolers! This particular set is very color and includes 30 pieces. It is a great travel toy and it can help you emphasize engineering for your child! This is a TOP toy, because out of 226 customer reviews, the average score for this toy is 5/5 stars!

 
7 - Educational Insights Design & Drill Dazzling Creations Studio
Yes! STEM focused toys for our little girl! We are definitely adding this toy on our Christmas list! Our little one loves crowns, princesses, and jewels...so this toy is the PERFECT combination for our preschooler! Plus, you can take place all of these items in a gallon-sized zip lock bag for learning on-the-go during your family travel adventures! Out of 16 customer reviews, the average score for this toy is 4.5/5 stars!

8 - Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! Build and Bloom Flower Garden Building Kit
We are BIG fans of the Learning Resources company, because many school districts purchase these products for their classrooms. The Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! Build and Bloom Flower Garden Building Kit is a great toy for your little one(s), because it is colorful and it is focused on physics! Your little one can actually see the reactions the gears that they connected! Out of 49 customer reviews, the average score for this toy is 4.5/5 stars!

9 - Educational Insights EI-5112 GeoSafari Jr. My First Microscope
As a child, we loved the GeoSafari system, because it enabled us to view different parts of the United States with a simple magnifying glass! The company is still using this concept, but they are enabling children to view the world around them through their first microscope! Out of 387 customer reviews, the average score for this toy is 4/5 stars!

10 - Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Jungle Crew Lab Set
This is one of the neatest lab sets for preschoolers that we've seen so far! Each component of the lab kit has an animal associated with it! So, you can say - "Grab the "Lion Test Tube" for the next experiment" and your little one(s) will know exact which item you would like to use next! You can store this in a small plastic box for reuse later! Out of 387 customer reviews, the average score for this toy is 4/5 stars!



Have a great week and plan for the weekend!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Follow Us! 
Instagram/Twitter/Periscope - @WeekendsCount