Fisher Price Musical Croc Block Wagon

As a House Party host, I was given the inside scoop on five of Fisher Price's hottest new baby toys. For those of you who aren't able to attend my Perfect Playdate, I'm sharing insider details on these great new products. Be sure to watch for my reviews on the final toy I have waiting for you, and check out my review on the Laugh and Learn Learning Kitchen, the Stride-to-Ride Dino, and the Spinnin' Sounds Speedway!

The Fisher Price Musical Croc Block Wagon

smiling in the box

initial impression:  When I first saw this in the box, I thought it looked sweet and engaging. Wagons are always big fun with kids - anything they can use to haul toys from point A (typically the bedroom) to point B (typically the living room) tends to be a hit. I was thinking that this toy was probably the most babyish of the five toys I had been sent, which is not a bad thing considering I have a baby. I was imagining my little guy was really going to like chowing on all of the blocks that came with the wagon.

packaging : Still haven't been disappointed with the packaging on any of the toys. All I needed was my trusty pocket knife, and a slice through one piece of tape and two plastic loops and the entire thing was out of the box. The plastic covering the blocks came right off as I was removing the wagon. No assembly was needed; this came already put together and with batteries, ready for play.

fresh out of the box

basic overview: The Musical Croc Block Wagon is an enticing, musical wagon made for ages 6-36 months, with an assortment of six happy, chunky block people who pop up and down (mechanically using your hands) and can stack within the wagon, and along its handle when laid flat. The croc's mouth opens and the blocks can be dropped in and retrieved from the opening lid on the wagon's back. It also has one stacking base at the rear of the wagon that squeaks. Opening the croc's mouth and interacting with the wagon brings on music and words of encouragement. The wagon can be played with as a traditional pull toy with handle out, or the handle can be folded into place underneath. The sound plays at 2 volumes or can be turned off entirely via a small switch under the wagon.

with handle engaged, ready for adventures

pros : This wagon is definitely designed for babies. It is sized for babies and young toddlers, and allows them to pursue their favorite activities : chewing and bashing. The block people are cute and simple to stack, and as an added feature they are sold in other small toy packs if your baby loves them. What's especially nice is that the sound can be turned off on this toy and the switch is of the hidden, parent-activated variety (the little black ones) so if your baby is scared of noises or you want to limit sensory overload, you can skip the music and sounds. I also like toys that are easy to store, and since the wagon's handle can fold underneath and the blocks can be tossed into the croc's mouth, this toy fits the bill. I would imagine this to be a big hit with the early walking crowd, and it is sized just right for a child of 12-24 months to pull around. 

finally a toy I get to play with!

a toy that elicits a rare smile

the Hobie gnaw of approval

cons : Of all the toys I've tried, this one seems the most age-limited. I think this would be terrific as a gift for a first birthday, but not as much of a hit for a second birthday and certainly past its prime by age three. I also think the handle would be too short for a comfortable pull by an average toddler past a second birthday, and the wagon is too small and space-limited to ever be used as a regular, stuff-hauling cart of the big kid years.

The Musical Croc Block Wagon will be a cute addition to our nine-month-old's favorite toys!

See more information and purchase the Croc Block Wagon directly through Fisher Price!

*Note: I received the Wagon free of charge through the partnership between House Party and Fisher Price. I am not being further compensated for my review*

Day 19

I am cautiously optimistic that we reached a breakthrough! Two big things changed for Ibis between yesterday and today; the first was the decision that her daddy will be spending some special time with her in the evenings as much as possible. She has very few interests in life and has no real activity or toy that really captures her attention. Ibis loves to do three things : help with cooking, play ball, and swim. So, they will try to do one of these things every evening as long as her schoolwork is completed. Second, I let her choose the order in which we go through her subjects each day. Traditionally we were starting with math, followed by language, and finished with (depending on the day) science, social studies, or art. Her planner is written out so she can see the day's activities and now she is old enough to decide what she wants to tackle first. This morning we did social studies, and then math, and then the dreaded grammar, and finished with spelling. She had an amazing attitude and there were no fights or refusals. I am *really* hoping I continue to see this nice, engaged little girl I know she can be.

Alexei, Grade 4
math p 110 & 112 : Ch. 3 test
writing : edit and revise final copy of vivid description
read for 15 minutes
social studies p 58-65 and homework book p 16-17 :  the economy and types of business

Ibis, Grade 2
math p 53-56 : comparing tens and ones
spelling p 12-14 : words with ee and ea
grammar p 13-16 : naming and telling parts of sentences
social studies p 74-83 :  read about North America, label and color map of North America

Coral, pre-K
color and glue a donkey craft
color patterns (in workbook)
paint a paper traffic light
read together Hurty Feelings by Helen Lester

attachment in an unattached society

So it's 9pm and all of the kids are mercifully, miraculously in bed. I should probably take a shower and climb into bed myself, but here I sit eating a bowl of Chocolate Moose Tracks ice cream for my dinner and musing over a blog post. Life's been pretty challenging lately; with our recent move, and juggling four kids and homeschooling and all the crazy antics that go along with that, I have a full plate. Throw in some struggles with kids number 2 and 4, and I start feeling like I've reached my breaking point. But hey, at least he's cute, right? Nature's idea of self-preservation. The biggest troublemakers are always the cute ones. And *all* of my kids are cute.

see, I told you

I was lying on my bed this afternoon, nursing a headache (no pun intended!) and trying mightily, vainly to lull the baby to sleep. I started thinking about being an attached parent, and how it makes me feel and how easy and difficult it makes my life. We live in a society where being a smart, independent leader is of high value. Most of us want to see our kids grow up to be happy self-starters with successful, meaningful lives. So we steer them towards that goal from birth - sleeping in their own cribs, learning to master their own bottle or cup, baby playdates, sports and classes of every variety from 6 months old, preschool, and then suddenly there they are, five years old and graduating kindergarten writing paragraphs. I'm pretty sure *I* didn't even know what a paragraph was when I was five.

But sometimes I think that with all of our well-meaning intentions, we're actually pushing our kids away from us. Instead of fostering independence through a secure attachment to parents (knowing hey, mom and dad will always be here for me), we're terrified of spoiling our children so we keep them at a distance. We don't want to be the lady who can't leave her 9-month-old home with someone else, ever, because he'll cry frantically. We don't want the toddler who clings with a death grip to our legs every time we go someplace new. It's scary knowing that there's a little creature out there who is so reliant on you. We worry that our babies will become whiney, helpless children if we always cater to their every whim. But what's a healthy level of attachment?

Attachment parenting is one of the most misunderstood concepts I think I've ever seen in the parenting world. Attachment parenting is not a tactic used to spoil a child; it is not so-called "child led" parenting. It is not teaching your child that he is the center of the universe and all of the planets revolve around him. I like to think of it more in the terms of "instinctive parenting," because when you look at the principles of attachment parenting from their source, you'll see that they are pretty much how a "wild" human would parent. So easy a caveman could do it!

It actually has its origins in the likes of Dr. Sears. You can go on the Dr. Sears website and read a ton of great info on attachment parenting, including scientific research that backs it up. For a quick overview, the seven attachment tools are listed as follows:

1. birth bonding
2. breastfeeding
3. babywearing
4. bedding close to baby
5. belief in the value of baby's cry
6. beware of baby trainers
7. balance

If you look at the seven "Baby B's" as a whole, they really are just what you or I would do naturally if we were wild animals. If we were like any other creature out there, we would keep baby close after birth. We would breastfeed baby because that would be the only way baby would survive. We would wear or otherwise carry baby close to us, to keep baby safe from predators. We would likewise keep a sleeping baby right next to us. We wouldn't let baby's cries go unnoticed because that would attract predators. We certainly wouldn't follow a program that went against our natural instincts. And finally, as in the wild, we would maintain a balance in our lives. We wouldn't let ourselves starve or neglect our families for the sake of the baby.

So how do we cope as attachment parents in an unattached society? In a country where more babies are fed by bottle than breast and women are frequently too scared of public opinion to nurse; wearing a baby in a sling or even a Snugli often is admonished with cries from the older crowd of, "You're spoiling her, you'll never be able to put her down!" and babies are expected to sleep in their own cribs in their own rooms, and by some crowds peacefully through the night, at a young age; how do women even find the courage to be attached to their children?

When did everyone become such an expert over Mother Nature?

Day 18

Exhausted = Me. I was late to bed last night, up on and off all night nursing the baby, and then up in the morning to choke down breakfast (cereal and juice for the kids and Pop Tarts and Coke for me, I set such a fine example for my children). I threw diaper laundry in the wash as the Pop Tarts were toasting merrily away, and then headed straight to the school room, baby under one arm, Pop Tarts in the other, an icy can of Coke freezing my armpit. We plowed through an hour of lessons and then it was time to stuff all the kids in the car and head out for our homeschool playdate at the park.

This was our first regular playdate with our new homeschool group, and I hadn't been to this park in ages. I mean, I was still a mostly-sane mommy with just 2 little kids to chase after the last time we were at this park. The park is located between a large community college and a city-run pool. I was feeling pretty cool with myself on the ride over, but started losing that calm and collected feeling when I pulled in amongst the hundreds of cars in the college overflow lot next to the park's lot, and saw the road cones blocking the park's driveway. Now what? There was a security guy directing the massive inflow of traffic, and he was nice enough to point out that a huge parking lot was hidden behind the pool. So we zipped back out and around the park and I managed to find the access road to the back lot without too much bumbling. I'm not sure the kids even picked up any new vocabulary words.

Long story short, the kids all had fun at the park and made some new friends, and I got a couple of hours to get out of the house and - if you can believe it - actually talk to other real, live adults. It was hot as usual but there were shade trees scattered about and a decent breeze had kicked up, so we merely sweated instead of fainted from heat stroke. Got back, I played short-order cook on the daily round of "What's for Lunch?" and then we settled back in to finish schoolwork. Overall it was a good day; the baby only ate a little bit of red modeling clay (nontoxic), and I noticed in the car before we left the driveway this morning that Coral had absolutely nothing on under her dress. But hey, I noticed it AND we were still here!

What's that you say? Only two out of three kids finished their schoolwork upon our return? What a surprise! I really need one of those head-hitting-desk emoticons. How Ibis can sit here and breeze through 5 pages of phonics practice, cooperative as you please, and then have to write ten measly spelling words in two columns and just shut down like a factory at 5pm, is beyond me. She can read the words. She can spell the words. She can write the words. She understands the directions. She knows the words. She simply chooses not to write them. Do I sit on her and sing at the top of my lungs until she writes them? How do you make a child do something they've decided not to do, when no offer of reward or consequence matters to them? That sounds like a riddle. One I'm still trying to solve.

Alexei, Grade 4

math p 104-105 : times tables

writing p 14-19: learn about adding vivid details and emotions to a description, and draft a vivid description

reading practice p 10-11 : imperative and exclamatory sentences

read book of choice for 15 minutes

science p 60-61 : Ch. 1 test

Ibis, Grade 2

math p 50-52 : comparing ones to groups of ten

phonics p 25-30 : words with ee and ea

reading practice p 22-25 : words with ee and ea, and main ideas with details

science p 56-63 : read about how animals are classified, and journal about an animal and its classification

read book of choice

Coral, pre-K

color and glue a dinosaur craft

color patterns (from the workbook)

read together Bubbles, Bubbles by Mercer Mayer

drive different types of toy vehicles through clay to compare wheel tracks

Fisher Price Spinnin' Sounds Speedway

As a House Party host, I was given the inside scoop on five of Fisher Price's hottest new baby toys. For those of you who aren't able to attend my Perfect Playdate, I'm sharing insider details on these great new products. Be sure to watch for my reviews on the other two toys I have waiting for you, and check out my review on the Laugh and Learn Learning Kitchen and the Stride-to-Ride Dino!

The Fisher Price Spinnin' Sounds Speedway

waiting on us in the box

initial impression : I had kind of a hard time picturing what this toy was going to do. It looked cute on the box but it seemed really odd to pair the idea of a car track with a toy suitable for an infant. However, I could recall how much my oldest son loved toy cars as a toddler - he had Hotwheels LONG before the recommended age of 3 and up - so I had high hopes for this speedway.

packaging : Simple and sweet. All I had to do was open the box and all of the track pieces fell right out. The two race cars were held in with wire, but unlike the toys of yesterday the wire Fisher Price used was twisted around little plastic trees. It took just seconds to painlessly unwind (I go on and on about this, but we have assembled countless toys and baby products over the past ten years and some of the packaging has been downright ridiculous!) All of the assembly was accomplished in a few easy snap-together steps, no screws required. I did need a small screwdriver to install 4 size C batteries, and was surprised to see that the battery compartment door, located on the bottom of the speedway, has a rubber seal. This is the first I have seen of a rubber seal on a child's toy. I'm assuming this is to prevent corroded batteries from potentially leaking out of a toy later in its life. Very curious!

what was inside the box

basic overview: The Spinnin' Sounds Speedway is designed for babies 6 months and up. It features a spinning, light-up racetrack that even the youngest of hands can turn on via a large gearshift. The baby-friendly cars can be dropped down a ramp, and will spin on the track and be sent down an opposing ramp via centripetal force. The outside of the speedway contains several different baby-friendly toys that spin and turn, and the toy cars contain large spinning balls that rattle. The speedway ramp also houses a button that lights up the speedway and plays music, and does not activate the spinning track. It plays at 2 volumes.

assembled speedway and two cute little cars

pros : My kids LOVED this toy. Not just the baby, not just my pre-schooler, but ALL of my kids. My oldest kids, almost 8 and 10, loved this toy. The eight-year-old neighbor boy from across the street loved this toy. I wasn't sure the baby was even going to get a chance to try it out! The speedway is full of activity that captivates kids (and I caught my husband playing with it too!) The cars are very baby-friendly; not only are they the perfect size and weight for little hands, but the paint is mostly encased underneath clear plastic, and the cars can roll even if they are completely upside down. It takes almost no skill to operate, and although my nine-month-old did not yet understand the concept of racing the cars down the ramp, he thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the speedway and cars. I love that he was able to climb halfway onto the spinning track and the track stopped spinning entirely until he was off of it. This toy has moving parts but feels very safe. I also spied on the packaging for this toy that Fisher Price makes additional cars (including pink versions) which I think will be a must-have in our house!

Hobie was captivated by the speedway

and so was the whole neighborhood!

I love this one - it's like he's saying, are they ever going to let me play?

cons : The speedway is not a quiet toy by any means. If you absolutely can't stand loud noises, or have an extremely noise-sensitive child, this may not be for you. The spinning of the track is Hungry, Hungry Hippos loud, and to not engage the track sort of defeats the purpose of the whole toy. This is part of what captivated my kids - the raucous, crazy, light-up spinning cars and action is why they wanted to keep playing even after the baby went to bed for the night.

The Spinnin' Sounds Speedway will definitely be a daily feature in our house.

See more information and purchase the Spinnin' Sounds Speedway directly through Fisher Price!

*Note: I received the Speedway free of charge through the partnership between House Party and Fisher Price. I am not being further compensated for my review*

Day 17

Hallelujah, we managed to get completely finished with school with all three kids by lunchtime today! I don't know quite how it happened, but I am not complaining. All three kids earned their reward dollars today - maybe there is still hope for that idea. Now if only I could get the baby to take a nap, it would truly be a record-breaking day. But I don't plan on getting too excited about that one happening!

Alexei, Grade 4
math p 98-103 : multiplication tables
reading practice p 7-9 : prepare to read story
reading p 54-73 : read Mighty Jackie : The Strike-Out Queen by Marissa Moss
social studies p 50-57 and homework p 14-15 : United States government

Ibis, Grade 2
math p 43 and 45 : Ch. 2 review and test
reading p 108-110 : read poem "Dogs" by Marchette Chute
writing p 20-25 : write a description of a favorite room using main idea and colorful details
social studies p 66-73 : read about maps and color a map with a map key

coloring a map using a map key

Coral, pre-K
color and glue Doctor Dog Alphabuddy
color a simple pattern (workbook)
learn the letters of her name and color a name train
listen to poem "Dogs" as read by Ibis

Coral's name train - helps distinguish a capital letter at the start of a name

click and save for a template (add/subtract cars for your own name)

Day 16

The best part of the day : we found some new chairs for the school room. The kids were dragging our chairs from the dining room table into the school room every morning, and they'd migrate back again come dinnertime. Until we get our new dining room table (we need something that better fits a family of six), this will be a great solution! The chairs were on clearance for $4.98 at Target and the kids picked their own colors. My only regret is that we bought 3 instead of 4; it looks a little weird having 3 chairs around a table. I don't expect them to last forever, but we'll enjoy them while they're here.

our new school chairs, not bad for less than $5 each!

Now let's play Good Idea, Bad Idea. I've been struggling for awhile with an appropriate incentive and discipline strategy for schoolwork. Last year we tried incorporating the marble jar, which in spite of its name was actually a set of two plastic Ziploc twist-top containers filled with glass beads. Necessity is the mother of invention. Each of the older kids had a set of containers and 100 beads, and the object was to move all of their beads from container 1 to container 2 through good behavior and attitude both in school and daily life. A full jar was redeemed for $5. That worked so-so; Ibis at age 6 I don't think really quite grasped the concept of good behavior = reward, because it took about 2 weeks to move all of the marbles an earn the $5, and because money didn't have a lot of meaning for her. On the flip side, Alexei at age 8 lived and breathed money and there was entirely too much expectation (i.e. everything was done for money instead of out of kindness or because he just should have been doing it).

This year I really felt like I had an epiphany. I was, of all places, looking online at our local public school's website (dreaming a bit, perhaps?) and there was a blurb on there about their School Store and that children were given reward dollars to spend at the store. Of course that's not a new concept; I have memories of one of the elementary schools I attended for the fourth grade, and our school principal had a store filled with little doodads like erasers, pencils, and little pencil pets. I can clearly remember being the first kid in my class to learn all of the times tables up to 12 x 12 (I went home the first night and memorized them, I was such a nerd!) and going to his office to pick out a bendy rubber kitty pencil pet. The thing about school stores is the reward is more tangible and doesn't involve real money, so I was hoping this might be the key to motivating my kids for a happier and less stressful school year.

our reward dollars (feel free to click for full size and print for yourself)

the school rewards menu so far, still thinking about ideas for the bigger-ticket items

Coral was the first today to earn the first ever school reward dollar. Alexei followed shortly, after a morning of no complaining about his work and - shockingly - a pleasant attitude toward reading. Alexei also receives grades on his work with a separate incentive plan every six weeks; this new plan is bribery solely to keep a smile plastered on his face. Being the oldest, he definitely sets the tone for the entire classroom. I was feeling *really* good about the morning and my new plan, and Ibis kept an admirable pace through her math lessons. We were ready for her reading practice pages, followed by reading a story and a science journal entry. She sailed right through the word box on the first reading page, and then she slammed on the brakes. She informed me, in no uncertain terms, that she wasn't going to do school today. She *will* be doing her school lessons, but she will *not* be earning her reward dollar for the day, and I will be researching other strategies. I really thought I had her with this one.

*Update - she finished her work in the evening after our 4-H meeting. I was considering not letting her go, but I guess she and her daddy had a long discussion and she swore she'd do better tomorrow. I can only hope.*

Alexei, Grade 4
math p 95-97 : relating addition and multiplication
spelling p 7-10 : words with long vowels
grammar p 5-8 : imperative and exclamatory sentences
read book of choice for 15 minutes (new book, Ice Drift by Theodore Taylor)
science p 48-55 : read about vertebrates and invertebrates, and draw and journal about a sample of each

Ibis, Grade 2
math p 37-40 : using adding to subtract
reading practice p 19-21: prepare to read Henry and Mudge
reading p 92-105 : read Henry and Mudge : The First Book by Cynthia Rylant
science p 42-47: read about plant needs and journal about a plant and its needs

the wonder of workmats and counters to help understand 2nd grade algebra

Coral, pre-K
color letter Dd template
trace and color squares (from her Mead workbook)
sing and act out The Wheels on the Bus
read together Very Busy Barbie by Barbara Slate