Learning ResourcesMini Muffin Phonics Activity Set

This is a gem! I bought this for my 3 yr old, learning basic math skills. What a treat. The pieces are so sturdy, well constructed and so bright and colorful! Muffins are adorable and a great size for little hands. These pieces are not tiny! And they are solid, not hollow. The dice are large, soft and colorful. The versatility of ways to play, match, sort, count is wonderful. The little cards and dice direct the child to group the muffins into the cups in various ways, or make patterns. She even stacked the muffins (into a pyramid sort of pile) which was a delight to watch. Oh, and the squeezy tweezers! Even I want to use those things!! I was so pleased over all and she is having a blast. I HIGHLY recommend this gem of a product. For learning to count, color sort or just play. I would buy again and again! Now I have to go help her create an oven...because as an added bonus, she's "making me muffins" for breakfast.

The game comes with an instruction booklet. There are suggested games detailed in the booklet. However, there are many more ways in which it can be used.I purchased this for my 3 year old daughter. She loves it - it has become her new favorite toy. She thoroughly enjoys learning through play - so any toy which stimulates her brain is a fantastic choice at this stage. I didn't have to show her how to use the Squeezy Tweezers - she immediately figured it out on her own (she's at the phase - I can do it myself). I opened the package and gave her some time to play freely while I closely observed her before I introduced her to the different suggested learning games/ activities.I've seen improvement in her motor control skills, ability to quickly sort colours, identify numbers and she's only used it about 4 times thus far. I've used this to teach her patterns, counting, identifying numbers and colours, sorting colours.It's my first time purchasing a Learning Resources product and I must say, it is fantastic. I am currently recommending to others and I'm searching through other products by Learning Resources to purchase as Christmas presents.

I'll start by saying the game pieces are really high quality. The colors are really bright and fun. I like the easy to follow instructions provided with the kit as well as the many ideas for different ways to play the game. I also love how open ended these pieces are, allowing children to make their own rules and play together or individually.I purchased this as a sorting activity for our 2.5 year old hoping it could translate into a game her and her 9 year old sister could play with together. So far, both girls love this. As a sorting game, the 2.5 year old likes to play independently and is also learning to take turns with the colored die while the 9 year old likes to have a race to see who can pick up the muffin pieces fastest (we use small kitchen tongs so players can race). 9 year old has also used it occasionally to practice math.Both girls have used the set to have a tea party with mini muffins and a small tea set.So far, we are very happy with this purchase. Any time I can get use out of a toy or game for both of our children, I consider it a win!

I have two feisty granddaughters. One of them is 3.5 years old and has multiple disabilities. The other just turned 2. The girls are best friends and sibling rivals. The younger one is learning sign language along with the older child and the older works doubly hard to learn to stand and walk in order to keep up with the younger.The girls go together to the older child's 3 therapists and about a dozen doctors. One of the therapists used this toy as a resource to help with fine motor skills and cognitive progress. The girls fell in love with it, so I purchased this one for them to keep.When I dropped it off, everyone at their house was feeling ill, but well enough to be bored. When I returned to drop off dinner, those 77 pieces were scattered everywhere. The girls had been busy all afternoon, learning and playing. The toy works well because one of the girls loves to take things apart and scatter parts while the other likes to put things together.We are all very happy to have found this toy.

The dice and cards make this game versatile. I can see my daughter playing with it for years to come.She is 2 years old and likes using the "forcep/scoops" to pick up the muffins. She doesn't quite get the let go to close the forceps, since with most forceps you have to squeeze to hold/pick up things. I would not leave any child with oral fixations unsupervised with this toy, the muffins are a choking hazard.We are using this for color matching right now. I love that the cards have colors with numbers on the back for when she gets older. You can also roll the dice to decide what colors to retrieve, and how many. We probably play with this for about 5-10 minutes every other day right now depending on her attention span.