Christian-Parent.com

Archive for the ‘Product Reviews’ Category

by Rachel Paxton

I am now a big fan of Pillsbury ready-to-bake sugar cookies.

I still love to make homemade cookies, but you really can’t beat these cookies, especially if you don’t have very much time to bake. With three young children, and my entire house boxed up for the past two months anticipating a move that has yet to happen, I am more than not in the mood to dig out all my baking supplies.

I first tried these cookies at Halloween. They had some sugar cookies with little pumpkins on them that were really cute. For Christmas they have Rudolph, Christmas trees, and Frosty the Snowman.

If you love your house to smell like fresh-baked cookies you have to try these. All you do is set them on a cookie sheet and bake them for 9 minutes. That’s it! They don’t last long because my family devours them as soon as they come out of the oven.

They are easy to find, I’m sure you can find them at any grocery store in the refrigerated section. I have seen them at Target and Walmart for about $2.

Note: Today we tried the Pillsbury ready made peanut butter cookie dough to make the little peanut butter cookies that have Hershey’s kisses in the middle for the holidays. The instructions are on the cookie dough. Delicious!!

by Rachel Paxton

Puzzles are great for preschool-aged children. We started out with the 24 piece jigsaw puzzles recommended for ages 3+. My 4 1/2-yr-old boys quickly graduated to 50 and 60 piece puzzles. Not all children will be really interested in puzzles, but if your child does show an interest, don’t be afraid to get harder and harder puzzles, even if the puzzle says it is for older children.

My boys’ great-grandma recently brought them a magnetic puzzle. It is not a jigsaw puzzle in that it does not have interlocking pieces, but the pieces attach to a board magnetically. This is nice because the pieces don’t fall off. Your child can do the puzzle in his lap, and it travels well, which makes it a great car and travelling activity.

This particular magnetic puzzle is a map of the United States. It is recommended for ages 4-8. This puzzle is a great way to introduce geography to your preschool-aged child. My boys really enjoyed doing the puzzle. We thought it might be too hard for them, but they had no problem putting it together. Besides learning the locations of the states, they also learn things like what a state is known for. It doesn’t take them long to recognize apples come from Washington, oranges from Florida, etc. It also comes with a book with more statistics and facts for each state.

The only real drawback of this puzzle is that it has several very small pieces. Just make sure to keep away from very small children.

Purchase or read more reviews of the The 50 States Book and Magnetic Puzzle Map at Amazon.com.

Have any favorite geography puzzles to share? Post your thoughts below.