I hate to admit it, but even though I am a stay at home mom, I often find myself having to pull away from work related e-mails, updates, and other stuff to spend time with my toddler. The whole point of me being at home with him, is to spend time with him, and educate him, myself, instead of relying on someone else to do it. At just twenty-two months old, Balian has an incredible vocabulary, and quite the personality.

Part of the reason why B is so well-spoken, and can even read a few words, is because we spend time reading, counting, reciting, singing, playing action games, etc. As a mom, it's important to me that my son learns these things early on. I ask him a lot of questions, and give a lot of praise for great jobs, and good tries. There are tons of books on parenting, but to tell you the truth, I haven't read a single one, and don't plan to. I'm just lucky to have an arsenal of great books, learning games, and entertainment for my son.

 

One of our favorite new games is considered to be a 'first game' for babies and toddlers. I connected with Christina at ThinkFun, a super cool company that comes up with amazing learning and discovery games for kids of all ages. I was happy to hear that they had an educational game for babes as young as 18 months.  Christina gave me some information on ThinkFun's Roll & Play game, and thought it would be perfect for Balian. She even noted how much fun it would be for Balian, to play this game with Steph's B & S. If only we lived closer to each other.



'Mommy, open it!'

When our ThinkFun package arrived, Balian was itching to get into the box. Every time we receive something I know is for him, I let him 'open' it. We removed the brightly packaged Roll & Play game from the box, and Balian was interested in it, right off the bat. The bright colors are very attractive!

I removed the actual Roll & Play game from its box, and was excited to see all that came with it. The Roll & Play game from ThinkFun, is a plush, six-sided square. Each square features a different color: yellow, orange, blue, green, purple and red. The game comes with a set of  'playing cards,' and instructions.



Roll & Play comes with 1 plush rolling square, and a set of playing cards.



'Not without my new plush square!'

Balian loves anything that is plush, so I wasn't surprised that he picked up the square and began hugging it. I laid all of the elements of the Roll & Play out on the table, so B and I could look at them together. I gave the instructions a quick read through. Players take turns rolling the plush square. Whichever color the square shows on top, is the color of the card you play from. You pick up the coordinating card, and then do whatever the card suggests.



This particular card asked us to roar like lions! Balian was all for that!

We've been having a lot of fun, rolling the square, and calling out the color on top. Balian has been slower to learn colors than letters and numbers, so this game is a huge help to me! He's not as into the action cards as I'd hoped just yet, but he's changing every day... so that won't last forever. He mostly enjoys the cards that tell us to make animal sounds, clap, or dance. I love the cards that challenge us to find something of a certain color!

Features of the Roll & Play game by ThinkFun

 * 1 Large Plush Cube
* 48 Cards – 8 in Each Category
* Storage Pocket for Cards
* Parent’s Guide

* Young children practice colors, shapes, animal sounds, emotions, and actions through play.
* Teaches game play patterns (taking turns, following rules)



ThinkFun has some really cool games for kids of all ages.
Check out some of these other great games...



Bug Trails for Junior Learning




Zingo- Number Bingo for ages 4 & up




Brain Teaser- Zig Zag Knot


ThinkFun has a wide range of games for kids, and the entire family. They also have a selection of Mobile Apps for fun on the go! ThinkFun's website is worth checking out- it's very informative, and has a great section for parents, teachers, and even a special needs section, which shows a selection of ThinkFun games that have been recommended by therapists, and are broken up by a skills matrix.


ThinkFun is a great place to find a special game for a birthday present, Christmas gift, to help with learning math, to use in the classroom, or to keep at home for family game night. I loved family game night as a child, and I hope to start the same tradition in our house, very soon. Roll & Play is a great first game for Balian, that he can play with mommy and daddy, can take to grandma's house, or play with his cousins.

Want It? Buy It!

You can browse ThinkFun's awesome selection of games on their website, or purchase on Amazon. ThinkFun would love for you to connect with their online communities, too! Like ThinkFun on Facebook, follow ThinkFun on Twitter, and follow ThinkFun on Pinterest to stay up to date on the latest ThinkFun news and deals!

Want It? Win It!

One lucky reader will win their very own copy of Roll & Play to enjoy with their family, or to give as a gift! Just use the Rafflecopter entry form below to enter for your chance to win this great learning game!

Special thanks to Christina at ThinkFun for allowing us to learn and play, with Roll & Play, and for offering this wonderful giveaway for our readers.

Good luck!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
Disclosure: Other than the above mentioned product, which I received free of charge for review purposes, directly from this sponsor, I was not compensated for facilitating this review. All opinions expressed are my own. Your experience may differ. MBP is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment.