Family Fun with Webkinz Plush Toys and Online World

The Lil Divas love to play. They wear me and their Dad out with their constant desire to play with us. Literally, they can't see us sitting down for even a few seconds - it's obviously an invitation to play with them because resting is certainly not something we could need or want when they are around. Right? If you have small kids, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.

I love to play with them but sometimes, I need a few minutes to sit and relax. My days are usually on-the-go from the minute I wake up and by the time I pick them up from school - I am feeling it. So instead of playing endless rounds of hide and seek, every once in awhile I try to sneak in something that doesn't require me to run after them. We will sit and draw, talk, read or play board games but the Lil Divas are imaginative and they are always looking for ways to play that involve more.

One of the things they really enjoy is video games - I can thank their Dad for that. They especially love role play games - whether they take on an avatar, adopt a pet or something similar. Couple that with a love of plush toys and you have a winner in Webkinz.  

We have been playing the free version for awhile and the Lil Divas have been begging to adopt a plush/character.  They love when I sit with them and they can show me all the games, the new things they have earned or have me help them figure something out. 

I knew they would be excited about adopting a Webkinz and a Rocker Webkinz for enhanced play online. They seriously lit up at the sight of these little guys and couldn't wait to get started.

We completed the account set-up and adoption together. I had smiling Lil Divas every step of the way, who were just itching to get started. Luckily, they are entertained watching each other play and enjoy helping each other or there would be lots of fighting about who gets to play first and for how long. Yay, to webkinz for being both entertaining to watch and play.

So,  with all there is to see, play and do in Webkinz World, what are our favorite parts? Well, the Littlest Diva enjoys the many games she can play in Webkinz World. She is getting so good at controlling the mouse pad and her hand-eye coordination is almost as good as mine. It's nice that many of the games are easy enough for her to play and figure out on her own and if she has trouble, Big Sis or Mom is always ready to lend a hand.

The Oldest Diva loves taking care of her pet - she has a horse named Country Cowboy. She spends lots of time decorating and re-decorating his rooms, changing his outfits, etc.  This is by far her favorite part of the Webkinz World. She enjoys being able to bring her toy to life and interact with it online. She is definitely her little sister's go to design guru as well - whether it be for fashion or home decorating. 

The Webkinz World offers so much for both girls to do. I definitely see more Webkinz in our future this Christmas. They are great gifts for anyone who enjoys cute plush toys and/or this type of online play. I must admit, this Mama routinely gets sucked in to the world myself. Until, I am kicked out by whining girls who want their turn back! 

Luckily, Mama gets to play on Facebook whenever I want. I even have my own little cocker spaniel or you can key in a webkinz plush code. Shh, don't tell the Lil Divas or they will want to take over my Facebook account so they can play there too. Luckily, there are also the ipad apps they can easily play while on the go or waiting for their turn on the household computer. So for now, this Mama gets to keep the Facebook play for myself. Until I'm caught!  :)

Do your kids enjoy playing online? Have they tried webkinz yet? What do they enjoy the most?

Happy playing,

Bern

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Webkinz. I received a product sample and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

JumpStart.com - A Virtual World Where Kids Explore, Learn & Play (Review & Giveaway)

A few weeks ago the Lil Divas and I were given the opportunity to explore a paid membership on JumpStart.com by the folks over at Knowledge Adventure. We had previously explored the free version online but the paid membership gave the entire family access to the Jumpstart World, so both Lil Divas were able to create and play along with their own avatars called Jumpeez, which they truly enjoyed.

What is Jumpstart.com & what does it have to offer?

JumpStart.com which launched in 2009, is a virtual world provided by Knowledge Adventure - the creators of many award-winning educational products.  JumpStart.com provides kids aged 3-10 years old (that's the target age group) the opportunity to review and master math and reading concepts by exploring magical worlds, discovering games, viewing videos and reading storybooks all aimed at helping them learn in a fun and interactive way.

Our experience with Jumpstart.com
The Lil divas have really enjoyed playing on JumpStart.com. The games all have different levels so we are able to adjust them to suit their needs which I really like. The more games they play, the more coins they earn. The coins can be used for fun things like adopting pets, purchasing clothing and accessories, etc... 


There is so much to do on JumpStart.com and they are always adding or updating new games and/or features that I am sure we have only touched the tip of the iceberg. Over the holidays there were fun Christmas related activities to enjoy like snowball fights, ice skating, building a snowman and turning into an elf. Now that Valentine's Day is on the horizon there are lots of hearts to be found and a giant chocolate candy box maze to wade through. These little changes offer fun new things to explore often.


The Lil Divas have great fun exploring everything the virtual world has to offer. One of their favorite things has been hatching and training their very own dragon in the Enchanted Sanctuary. The youngest Diva really enjoys MarineLand - an underwater world where she can complete fun missions that are well suited to her age. The Oldest Diva has lots of fun in AdventureLand where she underwent vigorous training to learn how to defeat the pesky Punky Punks!

Want to play?

I am super excited to announce that the kind folks over at Knowledge Adventure are offering one lucky Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas winner a 3 month membership to JumpStart.com. This membership includes access to JumpStart.com with 100's of member only learning games. You also get access to Mathblaster.com (what a perk!) plus 4 downloadable games (an $80 value)! 

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Win It:

**Contest ends on 2/13/12**

 One (1) lucky Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas readers

(US Only!) is going to receive a

3 month membership to jumpstart.com

How to Enter:

Check out the types of games Jumpstart.com has to offer

& let me know which type of game you would 

be excited to let your kid(s) try.

(**This must be completed in order for extra entries to count**)

Extra Entries (Optional)
Please leave a seperate comment for each entry!  
If you have already completed any of the below 

be sure to leave a comment!  It will count as an entry.

1. Follow Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas Publicly via Google Friend Connect 
2. Join our Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas Facebook family
3. Be part of the Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas fun on Twitter 
4. Subscribe to Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas by Email
5. Subscribe to our RSS Feed
6. Subscribe to Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas Newsletter (sent just once a week!)
7. Connect with Jumpstart on Facebook (I'd love for you to tell them @Momto2PoshLilDivas sent you!)
8. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a link - can be done once a day

Win a 3 month membership to Jumpstart.com with @Momto2PoshDivas #Giveaway ends 2/13/12 http://goo.gl/fb/ijI2W 

Giveaway Details:

• This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook.
• In order to enter you must leave your entry comment(s) on THIS POST.
• Seperate comments must be left for each additional optional entry!
• Giveaway ends at midnight on February 13th, 2012 (PST)
• No purchase necessary to win
• Must be 18yrs of age or older to enter
• US residents only!
• Void where prohibited by law.
• Odds of winning are based on total number of valid entries received.
• Winners will be chosen via random.org by 2/18/12 and will have 48 hours to claim their prize.
• If winner does not claim prize within 48 hrs. or forefits, prize will be reawarded at my sole discretion.

Good Luck!
Bern

Disclaimer: I was provided with a JumpStart membership at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products' abilities and give my personal opinions about it. This review is my 100% honest opinion of the product & our experience with it. Please remember that your opinions and tastes might differ from mine. 

Great Wii Games for Beginners

One of the Lil Divas fave gifts this past Christmas has been the Wii! I was excited about getting somehting we could all play and enjoy together but was a bit worried they would be too young to actually do much playing! With a bit of reasearch I found a few games that were geared towards beginners and hoped for the best. We haven't tried them all out yet but I had to share our experience with the games we have played because the Lil Divas are really enjoying them.

The Youngest Diva's favorite Wii game is Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom (rated E - Everyone)



In this game you play "Dora" and help restore color to the Crystal Kingdom by finding all of the color crystals that have been hidden in various locations by a greedy King.

This game has been perfect for a beginner like my Lil Diva who is 3.5 yrs old. and has never played viedo games like this before. It is very forgiving of mistakes and Dora can not "die" (i.e. fall off a cliff) which means minimal frustration and lots of time to master the movements and learn how to play.

The game is divided up into seperate chapters so there are obvious stopping points which I like because it helps to limit game play.

There is also lots of movement in this game. The player is required to get up and move to have Dora climb, jump, etc... The Lil Diva loves it and it's really cute to watch her in action!

I love that she can actually play the game by herself - it has been such a positive confidence booster for her!

Overall. this is a great beginner game & we would recommend it for other beginners!

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The Oldest Diva's favorite game is Disney Princess Enchanted Journey (rated E - Everyone)

This game is perfect for the 4-6 age group! Our youngest can not play on her own like she can with the above Dora game but our Oldest Diva who will be 5 in a few weeks plays on her own, with minimal help every now and then if she gets stuck on something.

In this game you create your own Princess in Training character. The Lil Diva loved choosing the character's skin tone, hair & eye color, dress and accessories to create her own Princess. 

Using the wii remote as your magic wand you visit the worlds of Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White and Princess Jasmine to help them restore order to their kingdoms from the mess the "Bogs" have caused. The Bogs are the bad guys in the game but once defeated they become harmless butterflies - nothing scary here.

The game is divided into chapters (once again great for younger attention spans & perfect for monitoring game play) which increasingly progress in difficulty.  As you go through the chapters you learn the skills required for the next chapter so it is challenging but doable. 

Once all the chapters have been completed you unlock the special Belle Kingdom - we are not there yet but The Lil Diva is looking forward to making it there - we love Belle!

Overall, this game is perfect for your Princess lovers and beginners.  I wouldn't recommend it for really young players as a game they could play alone.  They will definitely need help especially with the harder chapters but it is a great family friendly game. 

We will keep you posted on the other games as we furthur explore playing with our Wii!

Do you have any favorite family friendly Wii games you would recommend?

Bern