Best Educational

Little Touch Leap Pad (Leap Frog) Ages 6 months - 3 years, $34.99   
According to our Mom tester, her daughter "really likes it and gets the concept too."  She liked that you have the option of either music or words and that it fit on her lap.  The only comment she had was that the pages would work a bit better if they were laminated.  If you give this to an infant who is still putting things in their mouth you'll want this to be a supervised activity. She said, " This would be a great gift to give or receive for Christmas."

Play and Learn Fun Fair (Vtech) Age 9 months + Up, $26.99 
A few years ago Vtech came out with a tree in a similar concept, the school that reviewed it didn't think that could be beat.  This toy which features an amusement park  theme has color recognition technology.  There are five ways to play and you can learn colors, counting, music and more! The Ferris wheel turns with flashing lights and 3 rotating seats for balls. The piano keys light up and play music as well as teach numbers. Kids enjoy this turned off as much as turned on.

Talking Farm (Chicco) Ages 1 & up, $22.99   
This great toy is not only entertaining it's bi-lingual.  Let your child learn Spanish while they play.  This toy teaches children how to recognize animal names, sounds, colors and numbers first in English then in Spanish.  According to our Mom tester, "my son had fun practicing words he is learning in pre-school."  This great toy has already won a bunch of awards including "Toy of the Year" from Parents Magazine.

InteracTV DVD System (Fisher-Price) Ages 3 years & up $39.99  
Does your grandchild talk back to Dora while watching the show?  Are you tired of them watching TV non-stop while not learning anything?  Well, with InteracTV it becomes more educational.  Our tester got to pop in their favorite Dora DVD and by using the electronic tablet they get to answer the questions and play along. Our mom tester thought this was a fun way to "look" at TV.  She commented that her son "actually sat still for a while!"  Another cool fact is that 
since the controller is wireless, kids can use it anywhere in front of the TV.  Comes with the controller, one DVD and three activity cards. Additional DVD packages are sold separately. 

Laugh and Learn Learning Home (Fisher Price) Ages 6 -36 months, $59.99
This was reviewed by a new mom and several of her friends kids.  The seven month old was intrigued by all the little items that he could put in his mouth - like the mail.  He also liked the colors and sounds.  The two-year-old that played with it though really used it for all of it's bells and whistles.  He loved crawling in and out of the door and getting the responses from the buttons he pressed.  "It's easy to see why this is an award winning toy" says our tester.  "This is fabulous!" It kept all the kids within the age range entertained at various levels.  The mom really liked that it taught opposites, numbers, colors, shapes and songs.  "It's a great gift for for any child!"  (Winner of the Mom-Tested! Pick Award by Parenting Magazine and Winner for Ages (0-12 months) by Parents Best Toys of the Year Magazine)

Ages 4 - 8 

Vtech V.Smile (VTech) Ages 3-7 years $59.99
"This was a winner the minute it was plugged in," reports our mom tester of two.  Our tester who has a PlayStation commented that she's often discouraged by the lack of educational play in that system and was thrilled that this had the "game" feel, but "educational" properties.  Her daughter, aged 6 commented that many of the games were "too hard" but she was "working on them."  Her youngest child at 4 had difficulty, but is persisting. The system has great controllers that have large buttons and a large joystick, and you even switch the positioning if you're left handed.  There games are on "Smartridges” and are based on popular characters.  The skills involved include language, math, problem-solving skills and much more!  "This is one gift both the parent and child will be thrilled to receive," reports our tester.

Talking Clever Clock (Learning Resources) Ages 5-9 $34.95
"What a great teaching tool to help young children learn how to tell time! There is a nice stand on the back so the clock can stand on the kitchen table, or you can curl up together on the sofa and play with it on your lap," reports our teacher reviewer. The clock is made of heavy-duty plastic with large, color coordinated numbers and features an analog face as well as a synchronized digital display. There are sliding slats on the digital section that can be closed if desired. The hours on the digital clock, hour hand, and numbers to 12 on the clock face are all colored red. The minute hand, minutes on the digital clock and numbers/slash marks for minutes are all colored blue. Children can "tick" the minutes along by turning a wheel on the back and watch the hands and digital numbers move. The clock also comes with an activity guide to give grandparents some ideas to use. Very nice!

Light ‘n’ strike math – (Learning Resources) – Ages 6-11 $29.95

According to the mother of our two testers, "This math game reminded us of the carnival game 'wack-a mole.'  With three levels of difficulty, kids choose their level, read the math equation and then strike the answer once the correct answer lights up.  The tricky part is to wait for the correct answer to light up and to strike it with the foam mallet while it is still lit.  It was an exciting game, with good music that reinforced math skills."

Leapster by Leap Frog (Leap Frog) Ages 4-8, $79.99     
This isn't only a toy, it's a very valuable learning tool.  It takes the fun of a GameBoy and makes it educational.  The screen is large and has good color graphics, the sound is excellent and the games are great.  With some of the cartridges you can even watch educational videos.  Some toys come and go, but this one is being played with all the time.  According to the grandmother of one of our testers "it's the best toy I've ever seen.  My granddaughter brings this with her everywhere, in the car, on our recent cruise and what's more - it's helping her learn!  If you're still not sure, visit Amazon and read all the rave reviews about this product for yourself.  

Time Teaching Watch (Zoobee) Ages 6 +, $16.00  
Our 6 ½ year old boy could not tell time before he received this watch.  His mom reported that "he does have his own alarm clock and knows that when it rings he gets up."  Although he wasn't able to put the watch on himself he was able to easily follow the minute markings in 5’s corresponding to the 1-12 hour numbers and his mother felt they are a clear advantage to helping the child learn to tell time. The color coding is what he remembered and quickly began reading time with the minute numbers rather than the 1-12 numbers. His mother reports that he wants to wear the watch every day, and sleep with it also. He was so excited by the ability to tell time that he didn’t notice the airplane design although when he did notice it he thought it was cool.

Story Reader by Publications International, Ltd. $24.00  makes reading stories easy and fun all the time.  My kids are avid readers (or listeners) sometimes I'm required to read ten books a night, but by the eleventh I've had enough.  This toy does the reading for you.  There is a little chime or special noise at the end of each page that tells the child when to turn the page.  Each book comes with a cartridge (unless you get the three packs which have three stories per cartridge) and the book magically knows what book you're on and when to turn the pages.  

The best thing about this is that they can read when they want to.  They can read in the car, at bedtime or playtime.  The sound quality is excellent and some of the stories like Dora, Blues Clues and SpongeBob have the actual voices of the characters.  For parents and grandparents who might be concerned about the sound there is volume control and it can be used with a headset which makes it perfect for air, car and train travel.  Another big plus, when you shut the book it turns off - saving batteries.  Click here to find all the Story Reader products.

Ages 8 and up

iQuest (LeapFrog)  Ages 10 - 13, $59.99
According to our tester, "the IQuest is great!"  Her mother loved that when her daughter is finished with her homework she wants to "play " with the iQuest. She also said that it is very easy for her daughter to navigate. She felt that the Math section is a great reinforcement for the skills that she needs help with and liked the fact that information is presented in such a way that she thinks it is a game -- constantly trying to get a better score. According to her mother, "if she had to do things over and over for school, she would view it as a chore.  However with the iQuest it's fun!"   Much of the information is in keeping with what she is learning at school. According to her mother "we absolutely love it and would definitely recommend it to others!" 

River Crossing  (ThinkFun) Ages 8 and up, $14.99
This is a great brainteaser puzzle and is super challenging.  My father insisted he didn't see the point in this until he tried to play it.  There are forty cards ranging from beginner-to-expert.  Each card shows you where to place stumps and planks to start each game, and a magnet in our Hiker's feet makes planks move. Just try and find your way across! . Other great games by ThinkFun include Railroad Rush Hour Game,  Safari Rush Hour Game and the simpler Rush Hour Junior for ages 6 and up. (Note: Keep this away from children under 3, who might put the small pieces in their mouths!)