.@TeddyOutReady: March 2018

Thursday, March 29, 2018

SMATH Learn Math Though Fun Game | GoliathGames

SMATH

We know about the importance of STEM education and how it is important for children. When it is introduced at early age, STEM proficient students become effective communicators and creative thinkers, they face challenges and develop fast solutions based on the combination of knowledge in technology, math and science.

While math seems a boring subject, when it is presented as a game it is much fun to learn. Recently we had a chance to try one of those games, I am sure every child would love to play.

SMATH is crossword-puzzle type board game that helps children to learn math in a fun way. Designed for ages 6 and up the game is perfect for 2-4 players. SMATH comes with 184 playing pieces, Game Board, 4 game racks, Storage Bag and Complete Instructions. Players use number and symbol tiles in their racks and the ones already on the board to make math equations crossword puzzle style. The player who scores the most points making math equations wins the game.

SMATH game

With every equation players move on in math game, they reinforce math facts and score points. You can start with basic math statements, just addition and subtraction equations and then move to more complex ones which includes multiplication and division. The game has numbers from 0 to 12, so players may not pace two tiles together to make a larger number. While it seems a limitation at first, we realized that it gives more brain work to find the right math equation. Adding parentheses gives more opportunities to create an extended equation. I like that the game always make you think, search and analyze what is the best way to use the numbers.

SMATH Board Game

We had a really great time playing the game. It gives you resources to play and you have to find a solution within those limits. There are 10 tiles on your rack and what is on the board. Players have to use their math skills and create combinations to make an equation. And always remember about the order of operations, it helps a lot in this game! The challenge of creating the longest and most complex statement is accepted, because more tiles you use, more points you get. Overall, I find this SMATH is great math game to develop basic math skills and learn the order of operations. Teddy even stopped playing his computer games to join SMATH. It makes your brain work really hard and I feel hungry after playing the game.

SMATH is very affordable game, you can get it on Amazon and other large toy and educational stores across North America for about $20!
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Monday, March 26, 2018

Kid Food Nation Inspire Canadian Children To Healthy Living

Kid Food Nation Teddy

Kid Food Nation is a national initiative designed for kids aged 7-13 to teach them cooking skills, get excited about healthy food, and give them the tools to live a healthier and happier life.

Aimed at children at Boys and Girls Clubs across the country, and written in consultation with Clubs and Dietitians of Canada, the Kid Food Nation program sponsored by Corus Entertainment and President Choice© Children’s Charity:
  • Teaches children the skills to cook a variety of meals 
  • Encourages healthy choices about the food they eat 
  • Fosters healthy habits for life 
  • Empowers parents and families to plan, prepare, and cook healthy meals and snacks
Your little ones can enter the Kid Food Nation recipe competition, which asks kids across the country to share original, healthy recipes that highlight their culture or their Canadian pride. With the help of their parent/guardian, kids can submit their recipe at www.kidfoodnation.com up until April 1. Winners and their families will attend a gala this fall at the Château Laurier in Ottawa, where they’ll rub shoulders with famous Canadians and have their recipes featured on the gala menu, and they will be published in the Kid Food Nation cookbook!

Kid Food Nation Ted

The 26 winning recipes from the 2018 National Recipe Challenge will be featured in a cookbook that will include food preparation and cooking techniques, information on healthy eating, and a biography and photo of each winner. A printed edition will be published, and an online version will be available for free download.

KFN-2018 Contest

We checked last year the Kid Food Nation cookbook, and I find it is amazing. The recipes are great, easy to follow and every child can follow them and re-create to learn something new about food, cooking and serving. 

Teddy decided to participate in the competition and has his own recipe to try. There is still time to enter the Kid Food Nation recipe competition before April 1st!

The Kid Food Nation online hub (www.kidfoodnation.com) provides access to a variety of content, including games, videos, tips about healthy eating, fun cooking facts, recipes, and more.
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018

LEGO® DC Super Heroes: The Flash DVD | Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.

Tha Flash

Teddy likes playing with Lego blocks, building various structures, inventing new vehicles and spaceships. He also likes watching his Lego friends on the screen. In the recent Lego animated feature release by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment we follow adventures of The Justice League and The Flash. The team tries to save Metropolis from the Joker who is spread laughing gas and wants to climb to the top of the Daily Planet building. The city is in laughing mode, even Batman, The Wonder Woman and Superman cannot handle it. The Flash comes late, on the way to the mission he tries to help and save everyone, from broken bus to catching Captain Cold. Getting a milkshake and a doughnut at the same time does not bother him either, The Flash is fast!

After getting to the crime scene, the Daily Planet building becomes one big clown along with Batman dressed up in colorful clothes. The Flash easily fixes the building, his speed is out of question. He is the city hero, kids and adults like him so much. Everything seems back to normal until The Flash notices blurry Reverse Flash in the crowds.

Reverse Flash manipulates the Speed Force to put The Flash into a time loop that makes him to relive the same day over and over again – with progressively disastrous results, including losing his powers and being fired by the Justice League. The Flash must find a way to restore time to its original path and finally fight his worst enemy before all is lost for The Flash … and the world!

The Flash Lego DC

Lego pets should get a special attention in this movie. Along the route, we encounter new to us characters Ace the Bat-Hound and Krypto the Super-Dog, Batman and Superman’s best pals and Aquaman’s trusted seahorse, Storm!

While watching Superheroes save Metropolis, repeating loops and superpower tricks you can hear lots of funny jokes and laugh at funny situations. Changing bricks can change character's personality, see how it works in movie!

LEGO® DC Super Heroes: The Flash is now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital from Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment and The LEGO Group.
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Monday, March 12, 2018

Healthy Start with Morning Pep Prenatal Vitamins

This is a sponsored post brought to you by Morning Pep. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience. 
 photo Morning Pep_zpsglsqgk9x.jpg

Baby's Health starts before conception. It starts with mom and dad, their lifestyle, habits and food they eat. Besides being active, healthy diet and stress-free environment, mothers should take prenatal vitamins. During my first pregnancy I started taking them before the conception and continued for few months after my baby was born. While there are lots of options for prenatal vitamins, our choice is quality and healthy product because baby's health is at stake.

Currently I am taking Morning Pep Prenatal Vitamins, they are food-based and provide all essential vitamins necessary for expecting and nursing mothers. Morning Pep follows standards to use only high quality natural ingredients in their products. Some nutrients are required in such large amounts during pregnancy that it is nearly impossible to get enough from the diet alone, we need to supplement them. Folic acid, iron, iodine, and calcium are very important.

Morning Pep Prenatal folic acid comes in the form of L-Methyl Folate that easily absorbed. Taking 0.4 milligrams of folic acid helps prevent serious birth defects in the baby's spine and brain. Only one tablet a day is needed. Morning Pep Prenatal multivitamin also offers a special blend of probiotics & enzymes which would be beneficial to both mother and baby.

I did not have many problems with morning sickness and heartburn, but rather change in taste. But for those who suffers Morning Pep Prenatal helps to deal with morning sickness and nausea.

Morning Pep Prenatal

The vitamins are odourless, tasteless and do not contain wheat, gluten,yeast, diary ,sugar, soy, shellfish and eggs to avoid allergies and other reactions. I prefer gel caps and I fist worried that it would be uncomfortable to swallow Morning Pep Prenatal tablets. But, in opposite, tablets were easy to swallow.

Baby’s health starts right here, right now, with every bite of food we eat. Choose the healthiest options to give your baby the best possible start in life.

Morning Pep Prenatal vitamins are very affordable, regular price on Amazon for one bottle (120 tablets) is $19.99. Now expecting parents can save 10% on Morning Pep Prenatal Vitamins 4 Month Supply by getting them here.
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Friday, March 9, 2018

Disney’s "A Wrinkle in Time" Mix of Fantasy & Science Trying To Fit In

March Break is almost here and while it is still winter weather outside, it is time to enjoy all the activities out of school. Movie theaters already prepared a bunch of films for families to enjoy and recent releases can't wait to be watched by the audience.

A Wrinkle In Time Review

The recent Disney release “A Wrinkle in Time” is an epic adventure based on Madeleine L’Engle’s timeless classic directed by Ava DuVernay. The movie hits the big screen today, March 9.

The story follows Meg Murry, typical middle school student trying to fit in the school environment. Four years ago her father, famous physicist mysteriously disappeared leaving more questions than answers. Bullies at school along with teachers use this fact to hurt Meg and write ugly notes. No one believes that Mr.Murray ever comes back except Meg and her younger brother Charles Wallace. While the girl is struggling at school and can't cope with father's disappearance, her brother, little genius, helps her in every step and also wants to know what happened to their father.

With help of Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Meg, her brother and their friend Calvin take a challenge to travel across the Universe and find Mr.Murray. During their journey, they visit incredible, never been before places, which takes years to reach but kids were able to get there fast. Beautiful landscapes, creatures, weird people, creepy situations and strange encounters. Children also have to challenge their fears, go deep inside their souls and find what they really want and determine who they are. In addition to testing science knowledge, children have to follow the intuition to determine what is going on. The evil, that took Mr. Murray, uses creative weapons and targets on to the darkest memories and wishes to fulfill. Tricky situations created to deceive your vision but to offer something to reduce the pain from the past. No matter if it comes from bullies, demanding parents, or disappeared father, the evil knows which buttons to push. In this story every kid needs to learn something about themselves to find Mr.Murray and get back home.

The movie is filled with rich colorful scenes. The costumes changing from one episode to another are fancy and stylish. Though main characters' travel was interesting, I liked some real Earth adventures more. While it looks like great movie with a particular message, I have a feeling that the film needed something more. It looks like a nice fairy-tale but finished very fast.

Overall, I think kids would love to watch this move. Everyone can find something special in it:  love for science, struggles at school, trying to get fit in, loss or finding your self.

 “A Wrinkle in Time” opens today in theatres across Canada.
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Disney•Pixar's Coco Oscar's 2018 Best Animated Feature Now Available on Bluray/DVD/Digital Giveaway | DisneyStudiosCA

Disney Coco 3D

Coco movie gave us a mix of emotions. It is such a heartwarming, family friendly and powerful from one point and sad, difficult for younger kids to understand from another. The movie follows Miguel and his family who about to celebrate The Day of the Dead with other people of the town. Coco is Miguel's grand grand-mother, they love spending time together. The family story when Coco's father, musician and a guitar player left his family and turns Coco's mom to banning everything related to music for generations.

Pixar Coco

On The Day of the Dead Miguel steps into The Land of The Dead where he becomes surrounded by skeletons and the land itself is a huge, vibrant and colorful. The Land of The Dead lives its own life, special and unbelievable. It has own rules, customs, police officers along with holidays, concerts, celebrities and parties. Miguel wants to find out more about his family history and prove that his grandmother and mother are wrong about their rejection of music in their life. He easily finds his relatives and they are happy to help and give their blessing to send Miguel back. The boy wants to find Ernesto de la Cruz, the legendary musician of his town who could be his relative too. In this journey Miguel meets Hector, who turns out to have no one living and remembering him. If nobody remembers Hector, very soon he will completely disappear. So deal is made between Miguel and Hector, Miguel helps Hector be remembered, and Hector helps the boy to get to his relative Ernesto de la Cruz. I think this friendship brings more than just a partnership. Miguel participates in music competition, meets Frida Kahlo during her stage design process and learn about The Land of The Dead.

Miguel was always told to listen to his family because they want only the best for him. In this story despite of the ban of music, his "dead" relatives still show understanding and support. They are dead but have strength to step over the pain being left behind, feel and hear Miguel as their family member, what he wants, listen and perceive. Skeletons, dead people and death do not look scary in the story. The loss, betrayal and the possibility of being forgotten bring a lot of pain and tears. Coco is more than just children story. It is a story about life, family and dreams.

COCO Bluray

The movie Coco has won the Oscar for best animated feature and "Remember Me" won the best original song at the 90th Academy Awards. To celebrate these well-deserved achievements we are giving away a copy of Coco Blu-ray/DVD/Digital to one our Canadian reader. The set includes French version and two hours of bonus features (music, commentary, creation).

For your chance simply fill the Rafflecopter form below and Good Lick. The giveaway ends March 20, 2018!

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Wednesday, March 7, 2018

My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Spring Into Friendship DVD Giveaway | Shout! Factory

Spring slowly takes its turn and while its is still cold outside we are looking forward to have fun during March break and spring holidays. Our friends at Shout! Factory Kids recently released My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Spring Into Friendship DVD to celebrate the season. It includes a new set of adventures of our favorite pony characters.

My Little Pony Spring Into Friendship

This time Twilight Sparkle has to face new challenges and test her friendship ties. She is given only two coveted tickets to the most anticipated event in town: The Grand Galloping Gala! Twilight needs to decide which of her best friends gets to go with her. While she is trying to figure out how to solve the dilemma, every pony tries to treat her like a royalty in exchange for taking one to The Gala. Finally, overwhelmed with choices, Twilight Sparkle finds the best solution.

Two more stories about Princess Twilight Sparkle take us to Summer Sun Celebration preparations. Something strange makes Twilight take her friends to Everfree Forest and find answers to her questions. In Sisterhooves and Social Just For Sidekicks episodes Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy help usher Springtime into Equestria! There are lots to do and they learn so much about friendship, family and true love.

There is a bonus feature Sing-Along song about Grand Galloping Gala, it is not long but very catchy one. The DVD also includes special Egg-Decorating stickers, Teddy had fun decorating and looking forward to Easter holidays to do more.

I like that the stories are simple and interesting to watch. They also carry important messages and teach children care about family and friends, responsibility and leadership, the habit of giving to those in need.

The animation is colorful and vivid, pleasure to watch. Join new My Little Pony spring adventures, it is fun for sure.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Spring Into Friendship available on DVD at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and shoutkids.com!

We are also giving away a copy My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Spring Into Friendship DVD to one our lucky readers to celebrate spring season. The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only and ends March 20, 2018! Good Luck!

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Monday, March 5, 2018

Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and The Bold DVD | Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with free copies of the DVD. 

When characters from absolutely different stories unite from one mission, it is always interesting to watch. The crossover can become successful collaboration or, in opposite, something overwhelming, fans decide. In recent Warner Bros. Home Entertainment DVD release Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Batman joins the Mystery Inc. gang to catch villains wreaking havoc in Gotham City.

Scooby Doo

Super sleuths Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma collaborate with the world’s greatest detective, Batman, when they discover that villains from both of their respective rogues’ galleries have also combined efforts to terrorize the city. With Scooby snacks in tow, the crime-fighting teams encounter classic Batman foes (Joker, Catwoman, Riddler, Penguin, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn) and allies (The Question, Aquaman, Plastic Man, Martian Manhunter) along with a bevy of fiends from Scooby-Doo lore (Spooky Space Kook, Gentleman Ghost, Miner 49er, Ghost Clown).

When the Mystery Inc. gang is solving seems pretty obvious crime, they stumble upon even more mysterious discoveries happened in the past. As it turned out, the series of events are related to Batman and involve science at its best! The Mystery Inc. gang think that The Crimson Cloak is somehow connected to an unsolved case happened in the past and now becomes a threat to the city.

During this sole the case adventures, Batman tries to understand how famous Mystery gang works. What seems pretty normal to Scooby folks, looks weird to others including Batman. But nature of habits, familiar to The Mystery Inc.,  shows who is who is this story. Scooby-Doo and Shaggy would never pass a table with food without trying something as an example.

In this video Teddy shares what he thinks about new Scooby-Doo & Batman collaboration:


Scooby-Doo and Batman: The Brave and the Bold is available now on DVD.
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