Fractiles-7 Review and Giveaway from Toys and Games Online

When my friend Sara said she could use some extra help to write reviews for Sara's Toy Box, I jumped at the opportunity. I have been a huge fan of her blog for a few years now and my boys and I absolutely love toys. The boys are a bit less particular than I am, but that does not stop me from trying to find beautiful, useful, educational, and safe toys for them to play with.

For my family’s first review, I selected Fractiles-7 from Toys and Games Online.com. I actually selected the large Fractiles-7 set($39.95) and the Fridge Fractiles set (only an additional $10.95) since I have two little boys and I knew there would be some fighting over this toy once they figured out how cool it was.

Fractiles-7 is basically a magnetic puzzle. But it is also more than a puzzle. Fractiles consists of versatile flexible diamond shaped tiles that can be combined and recombined into an infinite number of designs. The large Fractiles set has 192 tiles and a 12”x12” textured black steel board to easily create your geometric designs. Fridge Fractiles has 48 magnetic tiles and does not come with an activity board as it is meant for your kitchen refrigerator. This is great for my family since my boys love spending time with me in the kitchen while I prepare dinner and I am always scrambling to find activities to keep them occupied so I have the time and space to properly prepare said dinner.

Toys and Games Online.com shipped my order very quickly, and I was very pleased when I found my package on the front porch. I loved the minimal packaging of my Fractiles sets. The large set is packaged in what is basically an old-fashioned album cover which makes clean-up and storage of the set very easy. There are tons of colorful examples of Fractiles designs as well as some information on symmetry and the basic geometry behind the diamond shapes that make them fit together into endless combinations.

I love the educational aspect of this information even though I feel the concept is a bit above where my boys currently are in their math comprehension. After all, one is only in kindergarten and the other is in his first year of pre-school. Even though I may not share the information with them explicitly, they really are learning the concepts by simply playing around, copying or making their own designs with this toy. I couldn’t wait to take a closer look at the new toy and decided to open it while the boys were still in school. I have to admit, once I opened it and discovered that the tiles were all stuck together in a large piece, I was a bit disappointed. I examined the pieces and it didn’t appear to me that they were pre-cut, so I pulled out the scissors and began cutting.

Luckily, it did not take me long to discover that the pieces actually do easily bend and pull apart and I was able to put away the scissors and decided to save even the taking apart of the tiles as a project to work on with the boys. Pulling the Fractiles tiles apart is a great work for developing fine motor activity in little hands and my boys happily helped me pull apart and sort the tiny magnetic tiles.

The boys were immediately engaged with the Fractiles sets. Both the large set and the fridge set come with a lot of images showing so many creations you can make with the tiles. This is a great way to build confidence in using the set for younger children who aren’t sure where to start with the Fractiles. I encouraged the boys to choose something they liked from the pictures on the sleeve and try to copy it. It wasn’t long before both my boys were trying out their own creations with the tiles and this is where the real fun began. My younger son will make something new and can’t wait to show me. Once I take a look, I get an explanation of what his creation represents and it almost always ends with the question, “Am I the coolest artist-invention ever?” (By the way, "artist-invention" was not a typo. This is his actual quote). I am especially enjoying Fridge Fractiles in this aspect. I come into the kitchen and frequently find a new design. It is fun trying to guess which of my little “artist-inventors” created the new masterpiece.

We are very happy with our newest toy! Both boys will sit and play with Fractiles with dedicated concentration for quite a while and feel a sense of pride when they have created something. I feel happy because they are subtly being education on patterns and symmetry which are two important concepts for geometry. Fractiles are also made in the U.S.A. and are lead and phthalate free. We love this toy so much, we are definitely planning on getting a few of the Travel Fractiles sets from Toys and Games Online ($24.95) to give as birthday gifts for classmates of my kindergartner.

Now, the really fun part! Sara's Toy Box is giving you an opportunity to win a $25 gift card (perfect for Travel Fractiles) from Toys and Games Online. Simply go to toysandgamesonline.com to view their great selection of educational toys and games. Then come back here to Sara's Toy Box and leave us a comment about which toy you would select along with your contact information. You can also enter by sending us the toy selection in an e-mail or a message on Facebook.

Science Kit Review and Giveaway from Toys and Games Online

Hello all! My name is Donna, and my crew and I are looking forward to helping out here at Sara's Toy Box with reviews and fun -- I have four little girls who are all curious and creative ladies.

Recently we had the pleasure to review the Space Exploration Kit ($31.40) from Thames and Kosmos that was sent to us from Toys and Games Online


As a homeschooling family we're always on the look out for interesting, fun and easily accessible science kits that are also reasonably priced! The prices at Toys and Games Online for this science kit were similar to what I'd found elsewhere.

We are already familiar with the brand Thames and Kosmos and their science kits because we ordered their Chem 2000 kit for our oldest daughter's chemistry lab this year. She's starting 6th grade and she needed some serious science – that science kit is going to work out GREAT for her and for her sisters as they get older. I can tell already that it's well worth it.

The Space Exploration Kit is recommended for kids aged 8 and up.

We had to do this review over the course of a few days because there are just SO many things to do in this kit. There's still more we need to cover, but we're going to have to wait until it gets dark earlier so we can see some stars before bedtime!

Today you'll get to meet my twin daughters ... they are goofy 8 year olds who aspire to be on Mythbusters when they grow up ... Rachel and Mara -- this was their favorite constellation they learned about ... Gemini, the twins.



We began our cool science kit by reading some directions. They're rather easy to follow but there are a number experiments that require adult supervision. And, if left to their own devices my girls might not actually learn WHY something happens; it's all the better if I'm there to get them to listen to an explanation as well.

We put together a simple telescope and tried it out – learned about how the lenses work …



Then we put together a pretty nifty model of the solar system that now hangs in the girls' room below the ceiling that already had glow in the dark stars all over it … We talked about the phases of the moon and watched it changed in by putting together a little flip book.



A few days later we got some free time to open up the kit again, this time we got to learn about rockets, which I couldn't get a good picture of – that little thing really took off! The girls also loved being able to go check the time on the sundial and learn about some constellations – we've hung the pictures of them in their window and they're hoping when they can have a nice starry night they can find some constellations all on their own!



Want to go back to school with your own space exploration kit? Sara's Toy Box is giving away a $40 gift card to Toys and Games Online. To enter, go to their website and pick which awesome educational games or educational toys you'd get for the little scholar in your life. Then come back here and tell us what you would pick and why; add some contact info in your comment and we'll choose a winner next week! If posting your contact info makes you uncomfortable, you can also enter by sending us an email or a message on Facebook.

Buzz Buzz: Plan Toys Bee Hive

This is very exciting. We love Plan Toys. They make reasonably priced, natural baby toys and preschool toys out of old rubber wood trees. Eco-friendly and fun! So when Plan Toys contacted us about reviewing one of the new wooden toys that will be in stores this spring, we practically shouted "Yes, please!".

We reviewed the Plan Toys Bee Hive. This developmental toy consists of a set of six bees with matching bee hive cups and a pair of big wooden tweezers. This simple combination makes a great educational toy (and imaginative toy) for toddlers to kindergartners.


First of all, the bees can be used to learn about colors, sorting, matching and for developing hand-eye coordination. My lovely assistant Arielle will demonstrate:

Pick a bee up with the tweezers...



and drop it in the appropriately colored hive.


You can change the arrangement to make the game a little more complicated.



Can Arielle sort the bees without moving the cups? Yes, she can.


It was more of a challenge for Linnea. She's three, so she's still working out the tweezers. It's nice to see her challenged.


Despite the tweezer challenge, she had a lot of fun lining the bees up and making them "talk" to their friends.


When they were done, they flew off to their hives, and she tucked each in the appropriately colored bed.


Then Arielle has an idea!


She drew flowers. Now Linnea had to make each bee fly out of the hive and to the correct flower.


She did it! Yay!


The toy is absolutely cute, but what I love that this is a learning toy that inspired creativity. The girls looked at it, figured out what it is for, and went beyond that. That is what you expect from an open-ended learning toy.

Next they took out blocks to build their own beehives..... the bees were so happy, but my camera battery died. Maybe next time.

The Plan Toys Bee Hive will be available at Plan toy retailers later this month and on the Plan Toys website.

Thank you, Plan Toys!!!