Posts Tagged ‘Music’

Even though the Ground Hog is predicting six more weeks of Winter, we’ve been encouraged this week to get moving and get out and explore nature thanks to award-winning, internationally acclaimed family music artist Farmer Jason’s latest kids music cd/dvd combo! No doubt in my mind that this collaboration is sure to get kids moving and prompt a lot of excitement in exploring nature a fun humorous way with songs about exploring caves, canoing on the river, taking a hike in the woods, observing animals, and so much more!

Farmer Jason and Buddies Nature Jams  has 16 original songs on CD and includes a bonus DVD that features four fun music videos! The booklet that comes with the CD is very colorful and features really colorful eye catching illustrations for every song! Many guest artist sing along with Farmer Jason such as REM’s Mike Mills, Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson, Iris Dement, Alison Brown, Suzy Bogguss, Brandi Carlile, Terrance Simien, Webb Wilder, Todd Snider, Tommy Ramone and Hank Williams III, and more!

Farmer Jason and Buddies Nature Jams has  been a huge hit with my children ages nearly 4 years old and a little over 1. My son loves the song Dison the Bison and whenever it plays he’ll go round and round in circles. And my daughter keeps asking when we’ll be able to go hiking at one of our local parks again. I admit I’m itching to get back out explore nature more myself too. The songs are fun and I really like that before each song plays that a background information discussion is added which is a great education aspect!

I encourage you to check out Nature Jams for yourself and pre-order your own copy today! And while you are at it, check out Farmer Jason’s newest record label  myKaZootv, which just launched [http://www.mykazootv.com], a new 24/7 interactive kids’ entertainment channel. myKaZootv features hundreds of kid-friendly  music videos, including several from Farmer Jason and his buddies. We invite you and your family to enjoy the fun, day or night, at: http://www.mykazootv.com.

**Fun fact: This CD has just won a Dove Foundation “Family Approved” seal and “five doves” -www.dove.org! **

-Win it!-

I’m excited that two of my readers are going to get the chance to win the following things;

A copy of Farmer Jason’s brand new CD  Nature Jams  (Value: $15)

One official MyKaZoo kazoo! This quality blue metal kazoo will provide kids with
hours of play-along fun, and it sports a myKaZoo logo (Value: $5)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this product review.

Christmas has come and gone. I’ve been resting from such a long month and my children this week have happily been playing with their new gifts this week. And though of course we don’t celebrate Christmas for the gifts but to celebrate the birth of our savior it’s always nice to share with others in what was given and received.

Our Christmas day was stress free, calm, and very restful. The children slept in till almost 10am being extremely worn out from Christmas Eve church service and visiting family the day before.  They are usually up out of bed around 6-7am. So this means I got to sleep in for as long as my body would let me ( a very welcome gift).

What toys did my kids receive from us that they loved and have been playing with daily since they were received?

Owen’s Loot

A Green Toys Recycling Truck. This truck is the second in his Green Toys truck collection as we also have the Dump Truck! He loves this truck so very much and I do too! It’s made in the USA, durable, educational, engaging, interactive, and lots of fun! Not to forget to mention that these toys  as they contain no BPA, PVC, phthalates, or external coatings keeping my little guy safe ( A huge deal to me in the toys my children have. ) I’ve taken video that I plan to share along with a short little review soon!

My Big Animal Bookby Roger Priddy. Owen loves books and the more eye catching like this book, the better. It’s the perfect book as it’s durable, bright, bold, and very engaging! I like the photographs of all the different animals from exotic, zoo, farm, and more. It’s a great book for picture, sound, and word association. I’m hoping to collect more books by Roger Priddy.  Owen’s obviously a fan and has been quacking every time he sees a picture of the duck in the book. Other  titles include books about cars & trucks, abcs, 123s, and much more!

Schylling Ambi One Man Band (New Years Gift to ring in the New Year)- The One Man Band by Ambi Toys incorporates many musical novelties into one sweet and goofy character. Kids can use the Ambi Toys One Man Band to play a song with drumming, whistles, shakers and bells. The One Man Band features a swinging tie and head that turns, as well as a whistle that plays two sounds and a ringing bell hat. It’s a great toy that encourages  musical expression. This toy is of high-quality and it’s made with brightly colored recyclable PVC-free plastic. Owen likes this toy, especially the whistle part!

Melissa & Doug First Shapes Jumbo Puzzle- Owen’s first puzzle and it’s perfect for him with it’s extra-large knobs make it easy for small hands to remove each brightly colored piece. He was quite taken with these sorts of puzzles at our local science museum so that’s what prompting me to get one. His sister’s puzzles are really worn out and the pieces aren’t as durable as this one. This will be a great way to teach Owen his shapes and colors! I love the super sized pieces and the fact it’s made out of solid wood. It’s a a fun educational toy that’s built to last!

I’m happy that he’s interested in everything we gifted him and no worries from me about products are potentially unsafe or could be on recall list in the future.  Toys that are all battery free, imagination friendly, and to be well played with and loved for years to come!

Melody’s  Loot…

Melissa & Doug Alphabet Puzzle Book- Since Melody has taken quite an interest in learning to read. I prompted to find a fun gift that would help give her a boost in that area. This is a fun little puzzle book. It features both upper and lower case letters followed by a corresponding word picture such as Aa is for Apple and underneath the apple piece is the word Apple spelled out. It’s a great little puzzle book as it’s colorful and has great educational benefits. I do wish that the magnets in the book were a bit stronger. They sometime tend to fall out when turning the pages. I’m thinking about knitting a little bag to put this in so as to keep everything together when it isn’t being played.

Melissa & Doug Deluxe Magnetic Calendar (New Years Gift) – This calendar reminded me of one I shared with my sisters as a kid. We homeschooled so we always got really cool things for our classroom. Well Melody has taken an intrest in wanting to know how calendars work. I figured this would be a great gift and learning tool! There’s nothing I don’t like about this product…in fact, I highly recommend it! It’s very colorful, includes 134 magnets depicting most holidays and childhood activities and  the board it self can be used with dry erase markers. It’s currently hanging up in our kitchen. And we’ve every morning gone in and had a discussion about what day it is and what’s coming up soon like New Years and Baby Brothers  1st Birthday! A great learning tool for children ages three and up!

Schleich Figurines- My daughter loves her Schleich collectable figurines!  She plays with them almost daily and loves them so much that occasionally whenever people come over she brings them out and shows them every single one. We could be collecting these till she goes to college and far beyond on that. These awesome hand painted one of a kind creations are durable, life like, great for learning, and nice to even just display.  Melody’s recent additions include the Emperor Penguin, Zebra Foal, and a Panda Cub. I know she’s hoping for some dragons, unicorns, and even some of the fairies for her birthday and even before that. I’m the kind of mom that doesn’t put off giving gifts for specific celebration. It is okay to give something any other day of the year too. Life is short, so why wait?

And last but not least, Melody received a Casio SA-76 44 Key Mini Keyboard. She had been asking about one for several months now. And was thrilled when she received it! I know a little bit about playing but I’m basically a guitar player so I’m not as much help there as I’d like to be. We are thinking of signing her to take piano lessons next fall. I am so happy that she’s shown such interest in a musical instrument.

There’s a trend in the gifts I pick out for my kids… something musical, books, puzzles,  and something they particulary enjoy like the truck and the figurines. Also I purposefully did my best to  pick items that are eco-friendly, made in the USA, and are built to last.

Where there any presents that you or your kids got that you didn’t like? Any favorites? I’d love to know.

Air Guitarist can rejoice because playing legendary licks  has never been  easier thanks to  Air Picks. This fun new motion activated toy gives you the opportunity to flat out jam with an item that is literally small enough to fit in your pocket.

Air Picks are pretty neat. They are shaped like an actual guitar pick just slightly larger. Currently there are three picks to choose from Classic Rock, Rebel Rock, Rolling Stones. Fans will rejoice in being able to play songs such as Jumping Jack Flash, Satisfaction, Born to be Wild, Smoke on the Water, and Sweet Home Alabama to name just a few.

Users can select which song they’d like to strum in rhythm with on the back of the pick itself. There’s also a whammy bar button on the back to really mix things up. It’s not completely full proof, you have to “play” correctly in order to really rock out releasing the chords at the right time.

There’s no volume control but I found this not an issue as it’s not too loud or to quiet. I liked that there’s a clip that you use to hook to a belt loop or backpack though can easily remove it too if you so choose. Batteries for this toy are included which is a plus as well. No body likes receiving a battery operated gift and not having the batteries at the ready to use it, especially  during the Holiday.

Overall this toy would totally make a fun stocking stuffer this year for kids ages 6 to 13 years old, especially if they like music too. Air Picks retail at $11.00 each and can be purchased in numerous places such as Think Geek, Amazon.com, Target, and at the at the Ohio Art Toy Store - www.world-of-toys.com!

Disclaimer: I was sent the above product mentioned for review. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this product review.