Winter sure felt long to our family this year. We saw our first flake of snow the day before Thanksgiving, and the wintery weather continued all the way through the month of March, before it called it quits. Now we're seeing lots of spring flowers pop up, and we're so ready to be outside. Along with spring comes some pretty wet weather so, which puts us back inside every few days. On days that were downright cold and dreary, or warmer days with rain, it's a little bit harder to keep everyone's spirits up. It's so easy to want to plop down and watch movies all day long, which is why my husband and I keep our eye out for fun, interesting, and educational games and activities for our son.

We have been blessed with the opportunity to work with Peaceable Kingdom, which just happens to be one of my favorite names in educational and cooperative children's games and activities. Peaceable Kingdom has been around since 1983 (the year I was born, if that tells you anything), and has been creating and sharing fresh, fun products that educate, stimulate and inspire. With their mission being, 'Make good, Do good, Be good,' it's easy to see why Peaceable Kingdom has become a leader in the industry for their stickers, greeting cards, and cooperative games. Steph and I have both had the pleasure of working with Peaceable Kingdom in the past, reviewing award-winning games, like Feed the Woozle, and Stack Up.

I was recently offered the opportunity to review a new cooperative game from Peaceable Kingdom, and was super excited! Balian really loves the Stack Up Game, which we still play all the time. I knew he'd be thrilled to have a special new game to play.

Special delivery from Peaceable Kingdom! I love that they place a fun sticker right on the shipping box!

B, excitedly opening up the box from Peaceable Kingdom.

'Look, mommy! It's a game for me!'

We received the Sunny Day Pond puzzle game from Peaceable Kingdom. Like other Peaceable Kingdom games, this is a cooperative game, which has the players working together to achieve a common goal, instead of competing or working against each other to 'win.' The game teaches children how to work together, and that playing games can be a lot of fun!

Sunny Day Pond game, in its bright, colorful box!

Simple notes for parents are included right on the back of the game box.

I love the packaging of the Peaceable Kingdom games. They are so bright and cheery, and practically beg to be played with! B was so excited to see what this game was all about, and so was I! We lifted the lid to the game box, and found game pieces and a game board inside. Before we removed the pieces, I was sure to take a look at the inside of the lid to the box, which also had printed notes for parents, tips and instructions, etc.

Inside of our Sunny Day Pond game box... love the little fishy!

Something else that parents will find interesting and will appreciate, is that the game comes with a note about cooperative games, and why they are so beneficial to our children, especially in their earlier stages of learning and development. I enjoy reading about why products are made the way they are. It's important to be that I am fully aware of what my child is playing with, reading, learning about, etc. Another fun tid-bit included in the game box, is what the game itself is made of, like plastic made from corn, the paper used to create the game board and game pieces, etc. 

Extra info lets parents know why the game was made, and what it's made out of.

After I took my time familiarizing myself with the game and all of the extra information that I was glad to see included, I had a sweet little boy at my side, patiently awaiting the words, 'Let's play.' We removed the game board from the box, and placed it on the floor. The game board is divided into four equal squares, each square (except the cloud square), outfitted for holding puzzle pieces. 

Each square has a picture of a new friend- a fish, a frog, a duck, and a rain cloud.

Here are the puzzle pieces that will eventually wind up on the game board.

Additional game pieces were inside of a small paper bag, for safe-keeping!

Once we straightened the game pieces out, we were ready to play the game! Along with the puzzle pieces, the game came with a spinner, and tiny little blue rain drop pieces. The back of each puzzle piece is either purple, green, or orange, to match the colors on the spinner.

Rain drops and game spinner...

To play the game, players take turns spinning the spinner. Whichever color you land on, is the puzzle piece that you place on the game board. For instance, B landed on green, so he picked up a green puzzle piece, and placed it in the appropriate spot in the froggy square.

B, working hard to help me finish the puzzle before the rain drops start being added to the game board.

The goal of the game, is for players to work together to finish the puzzle squares, before the the little rain drops are all on the game board. If a player spins and lands on a rain drop, they must place a tiny rain drop on the board, underneath the rain cloud.

All of the puzzles were completed before the last rain drop was put on the game board, just for fun!

B loves this game, and I'm so glad that he asks to play with it over and over again, instead of asking to sit in front of the television, or ask to have a tablet in his hand. We have played the Sunny Day Pond game many times, and not once have we had any outbursts or upsets over it. In this game, everyone works together, and everyone wins. B loves puzzles, so the fact that this game incorporates puzzle building is an added bonus for us!

Details of the Sunny Day Pond Puzzle Game by Peaceable Kingdom

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold

Ages 3+

2-4 players

Plays in 10 minutes

No reading required

$15.99

Learning Skills:

Color matching

Fine motor skills

Hand-eye coordination

Visual-spatial awareness

Cooperation

The Sunny Day Pond game has quickly become one of B's favorites. We could and sometimes do spend a big part of our morning reading, working on some worksheets, doing projects, and playing these wonderful games from Peaceable Kingdom. 

Here are some other wonderful products we're lovin' from Peaceable Kingdom...

Funny Food Match Up Game & Puzzle

Fish Stix Board Game

Count Your Chickens Cooperative Game

Critter Treehouse Reusable Sticker Set

We love our Peaceable Kingdom games and stickers, and think you will, too! As a work-at-home mom, I have a desire to have the very best educational products, toys and games available for my son. I want the time we spent at home together to include lots of fun and learning, so that when he does begin school, he's ready and eager to learn, and knows how to behave and cooperate with other children. 

Peaceable Kingdom's games and activities make wonderful gifts for children, and would makes great gifts for teachers, as well!

Want It? Buy It!

To learn more about the Sunny Day Pond game, or to browse even more cooperative games by Peaceable Kingdom, head on over to their website. While browsing the site, be sure to watch a few of their game demos, to get a sense of how the games are played, and why they're such a great idea to have in your home or classroom! You can also connect with Peaceable Kingdom through Facebook, and sign up for their Birthday Kids Club!

Special thanks to our friends at Peaceable Kingdom for allowing us to review yet another wonderful, award-winning cooperative game, and share about our experience! We can't wait to see what what PK will come out with next!