Back when I was a kid in the ’80s, the Smurfs were all the rage.  If you would have told me that in the year 2011 I would be virtually dancing with them, I probably would have giggled and said, “No way, cool!”.  It’s the year 2011, I’m now a 30-something and what am I doing?  Virtually dancing with the Smurfs.  Kinda funny how that works.  The cartoon characters I loved when I was a small child are now dancing across my television screen and my two young daughters are dancing right along with them.

Above: My daughters, Hailey and Teagan, dancing with Smurfette

Can I just tell you that when I danced along to some of the tracks on The Smurfs Dance Party, I was getting a serious workout? Awesome! I’m making this a daily thing. It’s fun and energizing. I love the video games of today where your entire body gets a workout, not just your thumbs!

Ubisoft is a world-wide leading developer/distributor/publisher of video games and just judging from The Smurfs Dance Party, I can see why. This is our first experience with one of the interactive dancing games for Wii and overall, I’m very impressed.

Pictured above: My daughter, Hailey, dancing along with Smurfette

I recommend checking out The Smurfs Dance Party if you were ever a fan of the little blue people as a youth.  I can pretty much guarantee your kids will love moving and grooving with them!

Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft.  I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.

Most of us have seen a fair amount of snow this winter, more specifically, in the last week.  As much as I’d love to get outside and hit the slopes, it’s just not in the cards with two young, sick kids.  The next best thing to keep busy on these wintry days are some winter games on the Wii.

Family Party: 30 Great Games Winter Fun is currently in rotation in the Wii console at our house.  It’s fun being outside in the cold, without actually being outside in the cold.  These games are a great pastime while we wait for the weather to warm up.

Go skiing, curling (yes!), speed skating and snowmobile racing (which is much safer done on the Wii than what the guy in my backyard is doing).  There are a lot of other fun and exciting winter games included that will hopefully help chase away the monotony of blustery, gray days.

A couple of other great Family Party releases from D3Publisher are: 30 Great Games and 30 Great Games Outdoor Fun.

One afternoon, my preschooler and I were mapping out the plans for our Phineas and Ferb Chain Reaction when a package arrived on our doorstep.  “What is this!?”  I exclaimed.  We took a break from our evil scheming…I mean…planning, to open the package.  Much to our delight, inside of the package was the brand new Nintendo DS game, Phineas and Ferb Ride Again.  The timing was impeccable, I must say.

As much as we wanted to finalize our Chain Reaction, we had to sit down and check out this brand new game from Disney Interactive Studios.  This family loves Phineas and Ferb.  We were hooked from the very beginning.  Our 14 month old even rocks out when the theme song comes on and she knows just when to yell “mama” at the end, almost in unison with Candace’s attempt at busting her brothers.

We broke out the old DS and popped in the game.  My oldest daughter is just shy of age five, so I helped her with the game by reading the prompts whenever we came upon a character along our path.  The game is pretty easy to play and quite entertaining for the kids (Ok, ok, the adults too).

There are a variety of mini-games to explore, which score Phineas and Ferb the tools they need to build different rides (like on the show).  If you have a character preference, you can switch between Phineas and Ferb as your lead character (Ferb has a drill!)

If you have a Nintendo DS, or if you’re planning to get one in the near future, Phineas and Ferb Ride Again would make a great stocking stuffer this holiday season.

Oh, we did end up finishing our Phineas and Ferb Chain Reaction.  Our video didn’t make the cut on the Disney site but we wanted to show you anyway.

Hey.  Where’s Perry?  Oh.  There you are.

Congratulations to our winner, commenter #125, Eileen!

What you see pictured above is MobiGo, the brand new hand held touch learning system from VTech.  I was sent a MobiGo to check out and talk about here at ParentSphere.  What you read below is completely my opinion.

There is a July 2010 release date for MobiGo (MSRP $60) and it’s going to be a load of interactive fun for your 3 to 8 year old.  My daughter is 4-1/2 and when I introduced MobiGo to her the other day, she was hooked.  She’s at that age where she can follow instructions and has a basic understanding of electronics; in this case, fun, learning activities.  I’m predicting it’s going to be a big hit this holiday season.

MobiGo has a touch screen, much like mom and pop’s smart phone.  The screen slides back (with a smooth transition) to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard to get your son or daughter familiar with using a computer.  I am so digging this.  Here is Hailey playing some games from the Touch and Learn game cartridge:

Using the QWERTY keyboard:

Using the touch screen:

As you can see from the videos, this new hand held learning system is right on par with today’s high-tech gadgets.  A feature included is connecting online to share scores and track progress.  A+ in my book.  That’s what I’m talkin’ about.  I am highly anticipating the other titles (11 to start) soon available for MobiGo.  You can order your MobiGo online at ToysRus, where you can also view a list of the current software titles.

View more images of MobiGo:

We are fortunate enough to be able to offer a brand new VTech MobiGo to one of our readers.

Enter our VTech MobiGo giveaway!

I will choose a winner from the comment section of this post (using Random.org’s number generator) on Friday, June 18th.  Giveaway open until midnight PST (you must be located in the continental US) to enter.

You can do any or all of these things to enter.  That means, you have four chances to enter.

Entry chance option 1:

Leave a comment on this post letting us know if  you own any other VTech products.

Entry chance option 2:

Tweet about this giveaway. Then, come back to this post and leave a comment with the link to your Tweet and your Twitter “handle”. I’ll make this part easy, you can copy and paste the following text for your Tweet (it fits, I checked):

I just entered to win a MobiGo touch learning system from @vtechtoys and @ParentSphere http://bit.ly/cnygMF

(Just make sure you mention @vtechtoys and @ParentSphere in your Tweet!)

Entry chance option 3:

Follow VTechToys on Twitter. Come back to this post and leave a comment letting us know you and VTechToys are Twitter buddies.

Entry chance option 4:

Become a fan of VTech on Facebook. Come back to this post and leave a comment letting us know you’re a fan.

*Make sure each of your entry comments on this post are separate or they will only count as one.  Good luck!

By the way, there are a TON of MobiGo giveaways happening right now.  Just check out the list of sites hosting them on VTech’s Facebook page.   (If you enter any of the other giveaways that request leaving a comment on VTech’s Facebook wall, please note they have a special giveaway discussion board, instead of flooding their wall with giveaway feedback.)

LeapFrog’s Math Adventure to the Moon DVD (MSRP $14.98) was released recently and we were given a copy of it to watch and talk about here on ParentSphere.

Well, my 4-1/2 year old completely digs this thirty-eight minute long DVD.  She loves the story and she’s so proud of herself for her ability to count along with Tad and Lily, the beloved LeapFrog frogs.  Tad and Lily take a mathematical adventure to the moon where they count, sort and add.  Edison, the firefly, gets the viewer (your kids) involved in the math fun.  Throughout this educational adventure, we learn that math is everywhere.   The target age range for this DVD is 3-6 years.

Our daughter will be 5 in October.  She sings along with the counting songs and plays the interactive games using our TVs remote control.  Here is a video of Hailey playing The Sorting Game, one of the three games on the DVD:

And here is Hailey proudly counting by 10′s, which she learned from this DVD:

Hailey follows along with LeapFrog’s: Math Adventure to the Moon and learns to count by 10s

*Please note, this DVD may or may not have the same effect on your child.  Mine just happens to be very, very bouncy.

In addition to Math Adventure to the Moon, there are three other LeapFrog DVD titles to choose from; Let’s Go to School (3-6 years), Letter Factory (24 mos to 5 yrs) and Talking Words Factory (3-6 yrs).  All priced under $15.00 from leapfrogdvds.com

We’re big ‘ol LeapFrog fans in this house and have very good reason to be, they have the best educational products for kids.  Trust us.  We have a ton of LeapFrog products and make very good use out of all of them.  You will too.

I’m a sucker for electronics that keep me connected.  Speaking of products that keep you connected, the brand new Nintendo DSi is here.  It retails for $169.99 and it’s pretty sweet.  Why I like it: it has a built in camera (and an SD Card slot), you can connect to the internet wirelessly (I’ve already “Twittered” from my DSi), you can download games from the DSiWare shop and play your other Nintendo DS cartridge games on it.  It comes in two colors: matte black or blue.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m a parent now or what but I like the “get-away” concept of hand held gaming systems.  It’s easy to slip this portable gaming system into my purse and head out the door.  Never a dull moment.  When it comes to these little systems, Nintendo is and always has been tops on my list.

Nintendo DSi is available at retailers on Sunday, April 5th (Hello?  That’s less than TWO hours, CST!)  I have had my DSi for just over a day and already highly recommend it.

This won’t be the last time you’ll hear from me about the brand new DSi.

Wanna know where to get the new Nintendo DSi?  Here is a list of retailers:

Amazon.com
Best Buy
Target
GameStop
ToysRUs
Sears
Walmart

Honestly, I have not taken this game out of my Nintendo DS Lite for months.  These puzzle games were a savior on the restless nights during my first trimester.  I’m a big fan of puzzle games in my old age.  Neopets Puzzle Adventure by Capcom is fun and I recommend it.

I’m not so much into playing the game in Story Mode but instead, I jump right into the Instant Action.  I pick one of the four games: Battle, Forging, Training and Quick Draw.  My favorite, by far, is Forging.  Man it’s addictive.  You can play it online and see for yourself:

Neopets Puzzle Adventure is also available for Wii and the PC.  Definitely check it out!

Our winner has been notified via email

We’ve been playing around with the V-Motion for several months and have lovingly deemed it our “Vii” or “Wii for kids”.  This educational gaming system is geared toward the 3-7 year old age range.  Our three year old easily grasps the concept of moving the controller up and down or side to side to get the characters to move where she wants them to go.

It’s all pretty simple, really.  Place one of the Smartridges (over 40 popular titles to choose from) into the V-Motion, start up the game.  Watch your child move and play.  When he or she is done playing, take the V.Link (like a USB flash drive) and plug it into your PC’s USB port.  Track your child’s progress and scores and access more online games at VSmileLink.com.

We’re giving away a V-Motion along with two popular game titles: Wall-E and Wonder Pets

To enter: leave a comment on this giveaway post (comment section is located below the post, under “Category” and “Tags”.  In your entry comment, let us know if you own any VTech products and if so, which one(s).

A winner will be chosen at random and emailed the day after the giveaway closes.  Last day to enter is Friday, December 12, 2008 at midnight PST. Be sure to check your SPAM folder so you don’t miss the email notification.  This post will also be updated with the winner’s name and blog/website (if provided).

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*Take me back to the Holiday Giveaway Guide so I can enter more giveaways!
*Hosting a giveaway or posting a gift guide at your site?  Make sure you link to it on Mr. Linky HERE
*Do you “Twitter“?  We’d just adore you if you would “Tweet” about this giveaway!

Our winner has been notified via email

I have anxiously been awaiting this game to arrive on store shelves and now it’s finally here!  Similar to Guitar Hero, this game lets you play along to your favorite pop songs like; See You Again by Miley Cyrus, Since You Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson and It’s Not Over by Daughtry just to name a few (more than 50 songs included).

PopStar Guitar retails for about $60 and comes with the “AirG”, a peripheral that turns the Wii Remote™ into an air guitar.  Here is some more info about the game:

PopStar Guitar features a single player Career Mode and two-player Co-operative Mode, along with single player and multi-player mini-games.  The game takes the player on a musical journey that starts with forming a garage band to playing at 25 unique venues and eventually performing in the worldwide “Battle of the Bands” contest. Twelve playable characters are featured in the game and can be customized to give the band its own unique look. PopStar Guitar features over 50 pop songs, including several masters performed by the original artists.

We’re giving away a PopStar Guitar bundle for the Wii system.  The bundle includes two AirG peripherals.

To Enter: Fill out the giveaway entry form below and click “SUBMIT”.  If you have successfully entered, you should get an auto email response (Check your spam folder).

A winner will be chosen at random and emailed the day after the giveaway closes.  Last day to enter is Friday, December 12, 2008 at midnight PST.  Be sure to check your SPAM folder so you don’t miss the email notification.  This post will also be updated with the winner’s name and blog/website (if provided).

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*Take me back to the Holiday Giveaway Guide so I can enter more giveaways!
*Hosting a giveaway or posting a gift guide at your site? Make sure you list it HERE
*Do you “Twitter“ ? We’d just adore you if you would “Tweet” about this giveaway!

Our winner has been notified via email

I’ve “played” with enough LeapFrog toys over the past three years to tell you my honest opinion of this brand.  I think they make phenomenal products.  Any LeapFrog product that we have owned has more than exceeded my expectations for children’s toys.  They have been made with quality craftsmanship and I love that as my little girl grows, there is a LeapFrog product that she can grow into, year after year.

We are entertaining the LeapFrog Leapster2 right now but the next gaming handheld (for school-aged kids, 1st through 4th) is the LeapFrog DIDJ (ages 6-10).  What do I love so much about LeapFrog’s handhelds?  They make educational games for them!  Fun and education, hand-in-hand.  As a parent, I like the ring of that.

We’re giving away a DIDJ gaming handheld system of the winner’s choice, along with these three games:

The brand new Hannah Montana custom-learning game (8-11 yrs), the brand new Indiana Jones custom-learning game (7-10 yrs) and the brand new Nicktoons Android Invasion custom-learning game (7-10 yrs).

To enter: LeapFrog’s Learning Path is an online experience that lets you see and shape your child’s learning.  Include the answer to the following Learning Path question in your entry form:

“What are the three steps of LeapFrog’s Learning Path?”

(Hint: Click HERE)

Fill out the giveaway entry form below and click “SUBMIT”.  If you have successfully entered, you should get an auto email response (Check your spam folder).

A winner will be chosen at random and emailed the day after the giveaway closes.  Last day to enter is Friday, December 12, 2008 at midnight PST.  Be sure to check your SPAM folder so you don’t miss the email notification.  This post will also be updated with the winner’s name and blog/website (if provided).

–
*Take me back to the Holiday Giveaway Guide so I can enter more giveaways!
*Hosting a giveaway or posting a gift guide at your site? Make sure you list it HERE
*Do you “Twitter“? We’d just adore you if you would “Tweet” about this giveaway!