It seems as though summer has been flying by. I have seen so many posts and photos on social media, celebrating children heading back to school, and I can hardly believe that it's already time for the new school year to begin. School doesn't start around here until later in August, and for B, preschool doesn't start until September. So for us, summer isn't quite over. We still have a few weeks left, and while we're still having summer fun, we're also using our time wisely by preparing B for entering the classroom for the very first time.

 

I have been following homeschool Pre-K curriculum with B for the past year, in hopes that when he walks into the classroom, he will have a good understanding of the material, and he'll already know how to sit quietly and be still, while working on a lesson, or listening to a story. Part of our everyday at home learning involves a lot of play time, and to me, it's always been important for us to have wonderful educational toys, puzzles, and books on hand to further B's development through play.

We were able to work with The Learning Journey International a few months back, and I am so pleased that we were able to team up with them again, for a special Back to School feature. The Learning Journey is well known for their award-winning educational products for children. Products made by The Learning Journey have a purpose- encouraging learning and developing confidence, as they enhance a child's potential. All of these wonderful products are designed to build on the necessary skills children need to be prepared for school and the years beyond.The Learning Journey opened their doors in 1995 with a simple mission: to provide quality educational toys for children that their parents could afford. Every parent should be able to have access to affordable educational tools and materials for their children, to give them the head start that they deserve.

The wonderful team over at The Learning Journey International suggested a couple of products that they thought B would enjoy, so they sent those on over, and we couldn't wait for them to arrive!

B, ready to check out his special surprise from The Learning Journey International.

Whoa! What a bright, colorful pair of boxes!

We received the Techno Kids Marble Trax Under Sea Adventure set, and the Puzzle Doubles Create a Scene Construction Puzzle.

B was beyond excited over the Techno Kids Marble Trax Under Sea Adventure Set, and couldn't wait to open up the box, and put it together!

The Techno Kids Marble Trax Under Sea Adventure Set is so much fun! Even I really wanted to get the pieces out of the box, and put it together! B has a couple of small marble tracks, which sort of fall apart quite easily, and wind up leaving B pretty frustrated. This marble track set is geared toward younger childern, ages 4+. 

The box is incredibly colorful, and shows a few step by step photos of how easy it is to put the track together, which was encouraging to me, as I'm not so great at putting things together.

The box is large, perfectly holds all of the contents, and makes it easy on the parent or teacher, as there is a built in handle on top of the box.

When we were finally ready to set up the Techno Kids Marble Trax Under Sea Adevnture Set, we cleared a space on the floor in the dining room, and opened the box. We found that all of the brightly colored pieces were packaged in groups, and protected by plastic. I removed all of the pieces from the plastic, and laid them out for B to see.

The contents of the Techno Kids Marble Trax Under Sea Adventure- lots of pieces!

Step by step instructions...

This marble track set came with a fold out instruction booklet, with big, brightly colored pictures, and step by step instructions. I am pretty visual when it comes to following directions, so I found this incredibly helpful. It also allowed B to follow along in the instructions with me, and tell me what was supposed to come next, as we put the set together.

First, we put the base together...

Next, B gathered all of the blue standing pieces...

...and inserted those into the base.

Here's the landing area for the marbles.

Piece by piece, we built the track...

B added height to the columns as we went along.

It was fun to see the track get taller, and longer as we built it.

I truly enjoyed watching my soon to be four-year-old take the lead on putting the marble track together.

B impressed me, by staying focused as we built the marble track.

Within about ten minutes, the Techno Kids Marble Worx Under Sea Adventure track was put together. We just had a few more decorative pieces to add on, and then we'd be all set and ready to play with it!

Here's a look at the almost finished track... isn't is colorful and fun?

B added the colorful toppers to the columns...

...and then we added these fun stickers to the oval pieces, and inserted those into the columns for a little underwater decoration!

After everything was all set, it was time to race our marbles! The set came with three colorful marbles- purple, green, and a silver colored marble that has a flashing light inside of it! One by one, B released the marbles onto the track, and watched them fly down to the bottom! We had so much fun switching up which order the marbles would go in, watching the flashing marble, and cheering each color on, as they swirled around the track! 'Go purple, go green, go flash!'

'Go, go, go!' B, cheering the marbles on as they zip down and around the marble track.

B, so very proud of himself for putting the track together, and feeling super awesome after enjoying this fun and creative learning toy for the first time.

We have played with the Techo Kids Marble Worx Under Sea Adventure several times since it arrived on our doorstep. We truly love it, and it's a great addition to our daily Pre-K lessons at home, as well as a fun rainy day activity. We had several rainy days in a row, not too long ago, and this wonderful marble track provided hours of fun for our entire family!

Features of the Techno Kids Marble Worx Under Sea Adventure

Techno Kids Marble Trax Under Sea Adventure will inspire your little one’s creativity with even more components to build their marble run masterpieces. This fun underwater themed construction set includes more than 50 colorful and easy to put together construction pieces. The sturdy pieces offer unlimited building options for your kids to explore their inventiveness and imaginations. 

Colors may vary. Ages 4+ years.

$39.99

We also received the wonderful Create a Scene Construction Puzzle!

This puzzle was also packaged in a brightly colored box, with wonderful photographs on it. 

B loves puzzles, and he couldn't wait to try to put this one together!

50 puzzle pieces, plus- a special surprise!

Little did B know, this giant floor puzzle is actually a 3-in-1 activity! The puzzle contains 50 large, colorful puzzle pieces. We followed the picture on the box, and had a lot of fun putting the puzzle together, watching a fun contruction scene come together before our eyes! There are a couple of really neat features about the Puzzle Doubles- Create a Scence puzzles from The Learning Journey International. The puzzle pieces are reversible. One side of the puzzle is black and white, which presents a new challenge for your little one. The puzzle also turns into a coloring activity, as the child can color in the black and white puzzle pieces, creating a custom puzzle!

The puzzle also came with 24 reusable cling stickers, which your child can add to the finished puzzle scene for added fun and creative play!

B was eager to get the puzzle together, so he got to work on it right away.

I helped B when he asked for help, but he mostly put the puzzle together on his own. The pieces are large, and easy to grasp, and fit together easily, too. I appreciate that the pieces are sturdy, and don't bend and break apart, like so many other puzzles do. B put this puzzle together without frustration, enjoying the challenge, and problem solving on his own.

Coming together- one corner at a time...

The scalloped edges created more of a challenge for B to figure out which puzzle pieces belonged on the outside.

One B had the puzzle put together, he was excited about being able to place the construction themed stickers directly onto the puzzle!

The puzzle featured large, colorful stickers, which are mess-free, and reusable!

B had a blast placing the stickers onto the puzzle... and then changing his mind, and repositioning them until each one was in the perfect spot.

Wow- what a busy scene!

We enjoyed putting the puzzle together, and has a lot of fun with the included stickers, as well. When the puzzle was finished, we looked at it together, and talked about the different things we noticed. We used the stickers to create silly scenes, and talked about things that were out of place, and then we moved them to the correct places.

B, very pleased with his work!

B decided that he isn't quite ready to color in the black and white side of the puzzle just yet, but that will be an activity that we can work on over time, as there are 50 pieces to be colored in and put back together, to create a scence, colored by us! I have truly enjoyed seeing B have so much fun with this unique puzzle. He has been so easy-going and good natured about putting the puzzle together, whereas he used to be come frustrated when  pieces wouldn't fit the way he thought they ought to. I am so proud him!

Features of the Puzzle Doubles- Create a Scence Construction Puzzle

Puzzle Doubles Create A Scene Construction combines a puzzle with additional activities to create a fun and interactive learning experience for your child. After assembling the puzzle, children can create their own scenes and stories by placing the reusable static stickers on the surface of completed puzzle. Then turn the puzzle over for a big coloring activity! The bright illustrations encourage parent-child conversation. Each 50-piece puzzle measures a giant 3' X 2' (91.44cm X 60.96cm)! Ages 3+ years.

$14.99

We love and have been having so much fun with both of these wonderful learning activities from The Learning Journey International. I certainly look forward to building our personal collection of learning toys, puzzles and activities, and experiencing the joys of learning with my son, right at home. 

There are many other products from The Learning Journey International, which we would love to try and experience...

Puzzle Doubles Find It- USA

Match It- All About Me

Touch and Learn Mathematics Bot

Magnetic Spell and Learn Board

Match It- Rhyme

We love all of our fun and educational products from The Learning Journey International, and hope to add even more puzzles and learning activities to our collection soon. B has a birthday coming up, and I am letting all of our family and friends know just how much he loves their puzzles and such. Products from The learning Journey International make wonderful learning tools to have on hand at home for your children, would make wonderful gifts for special occasions or the upcoming holiday season, and would be wonderful assets to the classroom!

Want Them? Buy Them!

Head on over to The Learning Journey International to check out all of their wonderful educational puzzles, games, and activities! Don't miss out on updates and special promotions from The Learning Journey International- be sure to sign up for their e-newsletter! The Learning Journey International is social, and would love to connect further with you, through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

Special thanks to the fantastic folks over at The learning Journey International for allowing us to review and share about these wonderful products. We're so excited that B is headed to Preschool, and we know that thanks to having these awesome products in our at home classroom, he'll be all the more prepared!