Both of my girls, Miss A, who is 4 and a half {as she would proudly exclaim}, and Baby C who is now 20 months old LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to dance. Seriously they do all sorts of styles anywhere, in the tub, in the kitchen, on their beds/cribs, on mommy’s back, so much so that I often will have to ask them to take a break so they don’t choke-break-something-break-someone-get-dizzy-and-so-on.

I have found the perfect game(s) though. Thanks to Ubisoft we can have our cake and eat it too with Just Dance 3 and Just Dance Kids 2. Personally I think these are amazing gifts for anyone who likes to dance, young, or not so young. If you haven’t picked up a copy or sent yours yet it makes a great Christmas present or even upcoming birthday presents too, and if you like to dance it’ll give you and the recipient a good excuse to play together.

What I like about Just Dance 3 on Nintendo Wii:

• Variety – 45+ songs by various artists and several different play modes, make it easy for you to be choosy
• Non-Stop Dancing - Just Dance 3 has a great non-stop mode that allows you to “dance your heart out” without the interruption of song selection or point tallies.
• FUN! – With great songs from hot artist like Katy Perry, Cee Lo, Jessie J, I get to have fun dancing around the livingroom.
• Calorie Burner - Depending on the song you choose and how “into it” you are you can really work up a sweat which is always a plus, right?

I personally didn’t love all the songs on this game, but you’d probably have to be a pretty eclectic person for that to happen anyway. Also, there are some songs on the game that I wouldn’t want my girls to hear, and the game is rated E+10, meaning best for everyone ages 10 years old and up. Depending on your parenting style this age recommendation may vary, but again there are some “safe” songs you can choose and dance with your kids to.

It seems like Just Dance 3 is pretty hot right now, and I would definitely recommend it for purchase for yourself or as a gift.

Just Dance Kids 2 for Nintendo Wii left this impression on me:

• GREAT for kids of different ages - even Baby C gets her own controller and dances away
• Classic songs that are both fun and help kids learn {left and right, numbers, etc}
• Trendy songs – from great children’s artists like The Wiggles, Imagination Movers, Yo Gabba Gabba and more.

All the songs are kid-appropriate based on lyrics, I love that they have their own game that’s more their age. In addition, this game offers classic kids songs like “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and “The Hokey Pokey” in several languages. We love promoting learning other languages in the B household, do you??

Both games can be purchased for use on several game platforms like the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3. Head over to Ubisoft website here: http://shop.ubi.com to check out more details and make your purchases for the dancers in your life and if that person is you, have fun and happy dancing!!

I received both Just Dance 3 and Just Dance Kids 2 in order to give my thoughts on these products for this review. The above thoughts are my honest opinions, however yours may vary. 

We asked all the moms to dress their kids in green in honor of LeapFrog colors, and made some tasty treats to share with our friends.

Not only did we get to play cool games like, “Frog, Frog, Toad” (like, “Duck, Duck, Goose”,((which the kids loved!!)), but we played, “Tad Says” (kids always enjoy any version of “Simon Says”, plus it tires them out and helps them to get ready to listen too!), and most importantly, kids and moms got to use the new LeapFrog LeapPad™  learning tablet, LeapFrog Tag™  Reading System, and the LeapFrog Tag™ World Map.

Here are some pictures of the party, snacks, activities, cute kids and all:

A handful of the attendees already owned a LeapFrog Tag™, but for those who weren’t familiar with it found it to be a great choice for children learning to read, I always suggest this product for children who are a little more cautious with their belongings, since the pages in the book are made from paper and can be torn if not careful, {or if you’re like our family and have little ones who like to grab everything aka Destructo.}  One lucky mom left with a brand new LeapFrog Tag™ for her daughter just for attending this awesome event.

At the LeapFrog Tag™ World Map table, some of the children were able to explore the world with their moms. This interactive map not only helps learn geography, but it also teaches your child about the people who live across the world, different languages, explains about each culture and has lots of fun learning games. It is one of my new favorite LeapFrog products because we want our girls to know that there is a whole world full of amazingly different people out there and what better tool to do it?!?

The majority of the kids were drawn towards the LeapFrog LeapPad™, of course, it’s like mom’s tablet or a cool video system with a large screen that interacts through touch and movement. The kids loved the video and picture function of the LeapPad™ as they built their own stories. They also got to check out some well-known character based learning games and I kid you not, it was very hard to get the children to share this one {which is a good thing}, but I was able to pry it away occasionally to let those who hadn’t tested it out have a chance.

Here are my thoughts on LeapFrog products:

All-in-all the party was a great opportunity for moms got to watch their children interact with these toys in a non-store setting, at their own pace and many of them left the party saying these LeapFrog products were on the top of their holiday shopping list. And the B family fell in love with LeapFrog a little more that day.

I’ll leave you with this cute picture of the kids giving me their best, “surprised” faces. Aren’t they cute!!!

I received free LeapFrog products in order to host a Learn, Create, and Share Party. LeapFrog did not influence my opinions expressed in the above post.

I have previously reviewed My Baby: First Steps here: http://www.mommybknowsbest.com/my-baby-ds-review/ and was very interested to see if the two were different and how they compared to each other.

I was delighted to see that My Baby 3 and Friends was significantly different than it’s predecessor. The goal of this video game is similar, you teach “your child” skills that you would in real life, however taking care of “baby” is very different. If you are looking for a game where you bathe, diaper, and do general baby duty then you’ll want to stick with My Baby: First Steps.Miss A helped me test the game, she’s in love with the Nintendo DS because it’s a lot like her LeapFrog Explorer. First thing first, when it comes to game like these you set up your character, in My Baby 3 and Friends your character is baby. You get to pick their look, clothes, and name.

Once you get playing there are certain tasks that you will help your baby accomplish, like learning how to play on the playground, meeting a new animal and interacting with puppy, and typical baby motor skills like puzzles and stacking. You can go shopping for decorations, clothing, and toys too, and while you don’t actually perform/play baby care you do get to watch a mini-clip of your baby being fed, changed, bathed, and put to bed. In this game there are also the typical My Baby contests in this game where you submit photos of your baby in the required clothing. And Miss A’s favorite you can give your baby lots of loving, hugs and kisses are free!

My Baby 3 and Friends is great for all ages and through some quick research I’ve found children from ages 3 to adults love this game. So, it’s great for a number of audiences and has some re-playability since you can change your character, but that’s pretty much it. I guess you could always trade-in this game for credit towards the latest of the My Baby line since they’re always coming out with newer versions.

The graphics are the usual for this line of games, nothing that will, “wow” you, but not horrible either. If you like simulation games or the My Baby game line then you’ll really enjoy My Baby 3 and Friends.

What’s your favorite video game???

First off, it’s very easy to use, Miss A, who just turned 3.5 years old, just pressed the power button and away she went, reading up a storm and playing reading comprehension games using the Tag Reader. We love how versatile Tag is, you can read word by word, sentences, or have the entire page read to you. It’s great to have options for children on different levels of reading. They can share, plus who doesn’t want a book read to them once and a while, especially with great narration?!?

We really like  are the “themes” of Tag Books. Most of the stories are based on popular movies but books also include television shows and even some great LeapFrog originals. Check out some of these book sets that we like:

This Learn to Read pack gives your child the tools to learn how to read on their own.

We love fun movies and these two book are spin offs of some of our favorites:

The Tag Reading System focuses on fun and reading but also Language and Literacy, Learning for Life, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Not too shabby for a book!

Tag has real pages, unlike any of their competitors, so your child gets the mechanical experience of using both a pen and turning pages. (I tried to do a head-to-head comparison review but neither VTech nor Fisher Price contacted me). One thing I love about the pages are the beautiful, vibrant illustrations. I also like that Miss A doesn’t have to use her Tag Reader at all with the books, she can just take one to bed and read away. One thing I don’t like about the paper pages though is that, being the Type-A mom that I am, I do worry a little that Miss A might rip one of the pages.

I love sitting down with Miss A and “working” with her, but for parents who are more hands off children may not get as much out of this system as a parent who is willing to take the time to explain, and make sure their child is understanding the words they are reading for comprehension. Often times Miss A will try to zoom her Tag Reader through the book and it will skip words, obviously it’s not intended for this use but I can see many other children doing the same thing. So these are good books, but in my opinion you’ll want to read them with your child, or at least semi-supervise for maximum learning.

Another thing that I love/hate about LeapFrog is LeapWorld. This is an online forum, if you will, where children can redeem the points they earn learning on the Tag Reader/playing games on Tag and play more games, design an avatar, buy clothing, furniture for their online world. The reason I love/hate it is because the Tag and other products remind us to “hook up your Tag to get your points!” And if we’re in the middle of a book it is a little distracting because all Miss A wants to do is hook up the Tag right then and there. The reason I love LeapFrog world is that it’s another outlet for learning. Miss A has learned how to create different types of weather, understanding what is heavier and lighter, and even recycled.

All-in-all I give the Tag Reading System an A. We’ve already seen Miss A read words that she didn’t know before Tag, in fact she read Princess for the first time, with no help, and no pictures. Pretty cool for a 3.5 year old, if you ask me, plus she loves it and it’s not “work” for her.

So are you ready to buy your Tag Reading System?? For your, more than 40 books and activity sets, check out LeapFrog’s great deals at their website: http://www.leapfrog.com. For the best value, go to their Build-a-Tag Bundle and Save option where you get to pick your style Reader pen, and get a discount for each book you add, the more books you get the better the discount!

What’s your child(ren)’s favorite book to read??

LeapFrog is giving one lucky MommyB Knows Best reader a chance to win a Tag Reading System of their own.

Here’s how to win:

Using the ENTRY FORM directly below this post (NOT the comment form), submit your name, an email address that you check regularly, and the entry/entries you are submitting all at the same time. There is no need to fill out separate entry forms for each item you complete. *Please note the Mandatory Entry MUST be typed into the form BEFORE you can qualify for additional entries.

Giveaway ends January 3rd @12:00 am. The winners will be chosen at random, verified, emailed, and announced in a Winner’s post. The winners will have 48 hours to respond to the email from MommyB to claim the prize, if the prize is not claimed within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen at random. You must be a US resident and 18 years or older to enter.

Those who have played the game before may be happy to know that this new version also contains a new ending (which I will not be giving away, of course). Also new to Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill – Remastered are 3D characters; Enhanced Sleuth Kit; new puzzles; more clues; and something “new age,” a cell phone.

The 3D characters are a nice addition, you can walk up to these Paneo Del Mar High School characters and are presented with a list of questions to ask them. So in a way it’s a little choose-your-own-adventure-esque. Each piece of information you gather from the characters aid in solving the mysterious murder of Jake Rogers.

The Enhanced Sleuth Kit helps you track clues with a journal noting everyone you come across and important numbers and notes you are directed towards along the way. There is also a task list to keep you on track to your goal of finding the killer.

Along with solving the crime, there are also more challenges in Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill – Remastered than the original. Some of the puzzles can be hard to figure out because there is little to no clues or advice given to aid you. Many may end up, as I did, staying on task with the main mystery so as to avoid the extraneous (and annoying) extra puzzles.

Graphics are as to be expected in a remastered version of a game. Nothing special, but not horrible either. If you are not a Nancy Drew fan, and don’t like a little retro in your remastered gaming then you probably won’t be interested in this title.  I can, however, see fans picking up this 80th Anniversary copy to commemorate Nancy Drew and their love of women in murder mystery.

Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill – Remastered is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB for Violence, and Drug Reference. This game can be found on Nintendo Wii.

What’s your favorite PC game??

Read more: http://blogcritics.org/gaming/article/pc-review-nancy-drew-secrets-can/#ixzz15bBFd9h6

The great people at The Hub sent me two exclusive My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic coloring pages that I’d like to share with you. Click HERE to download and open to print.

Hub Shows a Familiar Face

Our household is super excited about the “new” programming. There are a few shows coming on that we’re already familiar with. Either it’s something that DaddyB and I grew up watching or fun shows that we’ve discovered for Miss A as she’s getting more into television shows.

Miss A loves Strawberry Shortcake, and we have 2 of the new CGI DVDs, which she loves and also at the Type-A Conference I was given a children’s book featuring the new, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic show. The funny this is that the animation of My Little Pony reminds me a lot of The Power Puff Girls.

If you’re old and  nostaligic like me, you’ll love; Wonder Years, Fraggle Rock, Transformers Generation 1, GI Joe (the original 80s version), and Doogie Howser M.D. And even if you never watched these shows growing up I guarantee you’ll still enjoy them! (As a side note some of Discovery’s current programing will be on The Hub as well.)

Here comes HubBub

Lucky for us Time Warner Cable’s On Demand feature gave us some previews of shows to come on HubBub, the preschool section. From what we were able to watch I really liked the WotWots and so did Miss A. It’s a very cute show about these fuzzy aliens and in the episode we watched they were learning about animals and had a silly slurpie moment. We were also able to watch In the Night Garden which really reminded me of the Teletubbies, which I am not really a huge fan of, but Miss A really liked the show, either that or her cold medicine was kicking in.

My only concern with Hub is that some of the shows are a little scary, (in my opinion for Miss A who’s 3). I’m not really worried when watching HubBub because the more intense shows aren’t on HubBub, but when we watch The Hub for our other favorites I’m a little nervous about commercials for the aforementioned shows. Crossing my fingers that there aren’t too many graphic commercials for those cartoons.

So basically, we’re very excited about The Hub and it’s great programming and know that it’ll be something that everyone in our family can enjoy, okay well maybe not Baby C, but she loves chewing on the McDonald’s Strawberry Shortcake crew, so we’ll take that as a Hub approval.

Be sure to tune in with me on 10-10-10, this Sunday, for The Hub’s network launch, fun giveaways and make it a point to come back to this post or my facebook, twitter, or all three, and tell me what your favorite show or moment during The Hub’s launch is. I can’t wait to watch and hear from you!

In the meantime you can find more information on The Hub here: http://www.hubworld.com/ and here: http://www.facebook.com/hubtvnetwork and here: http://twitter.com/HubTVNetwork PS watch out for the fun games on hubworld.com Miss A has already made lemonade, found some cutie marks, and chomped veggies.

Using 1 of 13 characters, navigate your way from neighborhood to countryside completing fun tasks to get ready for the big celebration. Use your Build-A-Bear friend to plant and water flowers, collect berries for yummy desserts, and even build houses. Build-a-Bear Workshop: Friendship Valley also has tons of mini-games and side activities like skateboarding and basketball.

This interactive game starts off with two modes, in Adventure mode you pick your character, name then and receive your backpack and first task. Your backpack will be very important as it not only holds important materials, but also holds your camera to take fun pictures for tasks and your own collection, and most importantly the backpack holds your map.

Here’s one hint that I learned through trial and error: When I first started playing, I didn’t realize you could use the map to “transport” you to different Build-A-Bearville locations, instead I just ran in and out of each location to complete my tasks. This became very monotonous, so definitely use your map when possible to go from place to place.

Have fun with your own style by creating different looks when you change your Build-A-Bear’s clothes and decorate your house. Or play seriously and collect medals from mini games, get awards from Bearemy, the town’s mayor. Or get down to business. Each furry friend that you meet along the way has a different number of hearts, once you complete each of their tasks you become friends. You can also unlock special codes for virtual gifts on the Build A Bear website.

Graphics aren’t really impressive but for the audience it’s geared at, I don’t think they’ll mind too much. Controls are very easy, my 3-year-old and 13-year-old sister were playing using the controller and nunchuck and had a great time.

There were a few small issues I personally had with the game, one being that sometimes I would take forever to complete a task and realize after a while, that I was doing it wrong. Some of the tasks are not very specific so it’s easy to get confused. I did find though that often there will be a very small exclamation point in red and yellow to “point” you in the right direction. Another small detail is that sometimes the game direction arrow, that helps you get around Build-A-Bearville doesn’t point in the exact direction, so if your little ones are playing they may need a little help, otherwise they may just be running into building walls all day.

Overall, Build-a-Bear Workshop: Friendship Valley is a great game for those ages 12 and younger, (rated E for Everyone) especially if you are a Build-A-Bear fan.

Article first published as <a href=’http://blogcritics.org/gaming/article/nintendo-wii-review-build-a-bear/‘>Nintendo Wii Review: <i>Build-a-Bear Workshop — Friendship Valley</i></a> on Blogcritics

What’s your favorite Wii game?

The weather has warmed up and the snow has melted, but if you’re still craving the icy winter fun, Family Party 30 Great Games Winter Games may help satisfy your desires.

D3 created Family Party: 30 Great Games Winter Games a Nintendo Wii party game for up to 4 players, claiming to take family fun to the next level. With basic graphics and a decent variety between sports and entertaining games, I think this game is suitable for the general Wii user. If you are a gamer this game will bore you, but if you are new to the Wii and don’t have a lot of games already Family Party: 30 Great Games Winter Games is comparable to any generic Wii specific game, like Wii Play, Wii Sports and similar games.

With a long list of 30 winter games, you can try your hand at bobsledding, snowboarding, skiing, ice hockey and more. This is a game where you will not tire from the variety. I also liked how there were a good mix of classic winter games as well as fun mini games that were more like party games than versus games. I did however find that some of the versus games were a little monotonous with their judging rounds especially if you are playing with 4 players, it’s a lot of playing then waiting for person #2, #3, and #4 then doing it all over again for 3 or more rounds. If you are playing with a group of people be prepared to do something while you wait for the others’ turns, perhaps cheering them on, or maybe even haggling them a little bit.

Some fun things about this game are that you can choose your own player, pick from several different characters ages and dress. By earning medals during normal play you can also unlock characters, and costumes. Before each game you have the option to play the game or to see tips which give you the list of control commands to complete the task. I enjoy that the control commands are simple enough for any age Wii user to follow.

In all, I enjoyed Family Party: 30 Great Games Winter Fun although I’m not sure it will fit everyone’s Wii taste level. So, if you’re a beginning Wii user this would be an appropriate game. It’s affordable and will last you a good number of plays before you’ve touched on each game.

Family Party: 30 Great Games Winter Fun is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB for Comic Mischief.

What’s your favorite winter game?

Ever wonder what it would be like to nurture your own 12-month-old cyber-baby? My Baby: First Steps gives you the opportunity to dress, feed, diaper, wash, and teach your very own computerized offspring.

Nobilis and South Peak have created this innovative game which allows you to make a number of choices to help your baby develop and grow. I chose a baby girl, because, well I’m pregnant with my second daughter.  I love that I got to pick out her name and decide what color eyes, hair, and skin tone she’d have.  It feels as though there are just enough options to choose from without it being overwhelming.

There are many opportunities for customization in this game.  Things like scenery in the nursery, clothing and hair, and even what you do with your baby can be changed to suit your whims.

Taking care of your baby is hard work, but this game makes it fun. At each level/month of life, the pediatrician gives you two main tasks to complete (aside from your normal basic needs.)  Some tasks are verbally focused while others are more physical.

Verbal tasks are accomplished by the player saying actual words to the baby or by touching her body so she can say the word that correlates the body part touched. For the physical tasks you use your baby’s favorite toy to teach them how to walk, run, and climb. Varying the types of involvement the game requires with the physical and verbal tasks adds a wonderful level to the game.

Each task you tackle will either result in small accidents or mistakes for the baby, but also some great accomplishments. When you and your baby complete a task you’re rewarded with baby blocks that add up to fill your baby meter for that month of your baby’s life.  Little extras like cooling the baby’s food, changing both poopy and pee-pee diapers with a risk of being peed on, (yes it happened to me twice,) and curing diaper rash help make tasks a little more real.

Along with diapering, feeding, and changing the baby’s clothes you can also go shopping in the baby boutique. The boutique not only carries cute clothes for your baby but also toys, hairstyles, and sale items. You can earn money by taking photos of your baby when they are happy.  I never got more than two bears (bears being the rating system for how much money you can earn with the photos.) There are apparently, of course, various cheats available to increase one’s cash reserves.

The graphics in this game are actually pretty impressive. While the baby does not look true to life, the food, (eggs especially), bath bubbles, and unfortunately the dirty diaper contents are all good (graphically speaking), and help add to the atmosphere of this game.

Being a real-life mom, I can attest that one thing that does not align with true babies in this game are the baby milestones. In the 18 months you take care of the child they learn to walk, talk, climb, but they don’t necessarily do it on the same timeline as the average child.

Generally, My Baby: First Steps helps teach responsibility and while the player can still shut the game off, it definitely shows how needy little ones really can be when you’re the one taking care of them.  So, if you’re looking for a game that will keep you busy with baby chores and a lot of choice then you’ll love My Baby: First Steps, just make sure you realize it’s not the real deal. In general, a fun, once and a while, game to play.  The tasks, while interesting, do get repetitive, thereby decreasing the amount of time one will want to play it in a single sitting.

My Baby: First Steps is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB. This game can also be found on: Nintendo Wii.