Sometimes...

Sometimes...

When the laundry is all clean...

And I'm putting away my socks...

I pretend like I'm Donny Osmond.

Little Tikes Review--Grey Sports Touch 'N' Go Racer

 I have received this product from MGA as part of their toy tester program.

 

Recently I was invited to become a member of Team Little Tikes. Since I'm a grandma, or an adopted grandma, to quite a few little ones, I thought this would be a perfect chance to test out some new toys. I've always thought Little Tikes Website toys were not only educational, but fun and sturdy as well.

The first toy Little Tikes Website sent me was the Grey Sports Touch 'N' Go Racer. I think I was just as excited as the grandchildren to see how this speedy racer worked.  When I showed up with a toy in hand, none of the three could contain their excitement.

I showed 5-year-old Chunk how to remove the tab that protects the batteries (which were provided--yay!) from being drained before actual usage. He mastered that easily enough. Then he helped me remove the car itself from the packaging. I loved that the car was attached by means of blue twisty paper in a figure-8 shape. Two small twists and the car was out and ready for play! No assembly required. (That was important to me when I had three small children waiting for action!)

Easy Access!

Both Chunk and 4-year-old Pixie got the hang of it immediately and had fun pressing the various buttons to make sounds, that of an engine starting, a horn honking, and the engine revving. The most fun though was pressing that "Go" button to see the car take off on its own, 15-20 feet down the length of a cement porch! We finally had to make the children take turns because all three were so excited to make that car go. 

Zoom!

 The package was marked for 2+ Years, but our 2-year-old Miss Baby Elephant had a little trouble. She couldn't seem to comprehend that she needed to press the "Go" button and then let the car go on its own. She held on to the car after pressing "Go" until the wheels stopped spinning, then threw it to make it "go."  No amount of tutoring helped her to get the hang of it. (Her mom thought maybe she was just trying to keep the other two from getting the car!) The sturdiness of the car amazed me, as it survived quite a few of her "tosses."

Toddler-Proof!

We took the car inside too, to see how well it did on an area rug, and it soared across the living room floor just as well as it did outside. It wasn't long before they wanted to take it back outside so they had room to watch it fly!

The Little Tikes Grey Sports Touch 'N' Go Racer provided over an hour's worth of outdoor play for these three kids that evening, and is still going strong a few weeks later. I think that Chunk's shirt says it all!  

**Become a member of a fun site where you can share your love for all things Little Tikes--Join Team Little Tikes

#spon: I'm required to disclose a relationship between my blog and MGAE. This could include MGAE providing me with content, product, access or other forms of payment.

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Sarah’s Gift  

Madonna Dries Christensen 

October is Down Syndrome awareness month. With an economy of words, and two photos, here’s one view of enlightenment.

        My 10-year-old granddaughter, Sarah, has Down syndrome. She’s a social butterfly; at school nearly everyone knows her by name. She’s loving, thoughtful, sympathetic, compassionate, and given to serious tears when she believes she has hurt someone’s feelings. It’s also apparent that Sarah is aware of other people’s specific needs.

        Sarah’s seven-year-old brother, William, has autism. He sometimes socializes with his two sisters, but he’s easily distracted into doing something else. William is nonverbal and uses pictures to communicate. Although he loves school and riding the bus, a new classroom and other changes in routine cause stress. Carrying pictures of things he likes is comforting.

        Sarah understands the comfort of familiar things. Her doll, Inga, accompanies her most everywhere except to school. One morning while William waited for the bus, Sarah drew a picture of some of his favorite things: A school bus, a stop sign, wheels, a shoe, and eyeglasses.

        This simple drawing brought not only a moment of socialization between siblings, but William communicated recognition of the gift by touching Sarah’s arm.   

 Photos by Jill B.

[For information about Down syndrome, see www.ndss.org. To learn about autism, see www.autismspeaks.org]