Disclosure: I was given a product in exchange for a review. All opinions are 100% my own. Some links may be affiliate links. What’s that?

I’ve recently just started tot schooling my youngest and am always on the lookout for fun, yet educational toys. Lakeshore, a leader in creating innovative learning materials for elementary schools and homes nationwide for over 60 years, just debuted a brand new line of products. The 2017 Gifts for Growing Minds product line invites kids to discover the wonder of learning through play. The items that Lakeshore items are exactly what I’m looking for.  I was invited to try out an item of my choice and I tried to choose something that would be perfect for our curriculum. In the end, we chose this cool Magnetic Creation Station.

It comes with a base, 35 pieces, and a design book. I loved how each piece had its own slot. It made it that much easier to clean up.

The magic happens when they start building and stacking on the magnetic base. They can use the design book or totally build anything they wish. The possibilities are endless!

Following the instructions in the book may have been a little too advanced for my 3-year-old daughter, but she still loved building whatever she liked. Plus, it was the perfect opportunity to learn her shapes and colors.

Not only is it a great educational toy for her, but my 5-year-old and 7-year-old can join in on the fun!

The kids had a chance to go through the 2017 Gifts for Growing Minds catalog, and have already started their Christmas wishlist. Here are their top choices.

• Alpha-Bots –  A cool toy where the alphabet meets Transformers. My eager little Kindergartener thought these little letters and numbers that transform into robots were the coolest thing ever. What a great way to enforce letters and numbers!
• Don’t Let the Bugs Fall! This Jenga-type game has been revamped with cute little bugs on them.
• Design & Play Poseable Figures – Action figures rule our household, and this set gives kids the option to make their own using clay and molds. When they’re done making their own superhero, they can snap the poseable joints together.
• Fairy Land Playset – This super adorable playset includes four poseable fairies, plus the cutest little house and accessories.
• Dinosaur Adventure Backpack – I have a house full of dinosaur lovers so they went nuts when they saw this playset that included 8 dinosaurs. The best part is they can zip up everything and it becomes a backpack that they can take anywhere on the go. This would be perfect for traveling!
• Build & Play Dinos – Are you surprised they picked another dinosaur toy? This one is pretty neat. They are given a kid-safe drill and are able to build two dinos. They even roll on their feet!

Why Lakeshore Learning?

• Designed by teachers. The 22 brand-new products were designed by a team of educational experts―all of whom are former teachers. By applying their years of real-world classroom experience, they come up with products that enforce learning, yet is still fun! In fact, every product goes through about 100 hours of development & testing!
• Safety is important. All products are held to a higher safety standard than legal U.S. requirements
• They give back. Lakeshore will donate $1 from every Gifts for Growing Minds order to DonorsChoose.org, an award-winning nonprofit that supports classrooms in need resulting in more than $328,000 for public schools over the last four years.  Other past programs include collecting over 11,000 donations that helped fund over 150 projects from 140+ schools reaching 8,000 students.
• Offer exclusive products. Lakeshore has been developing its own products, you can’t find anywhere else, which make up more than half of what it sells in-store
• Make a positive impact on education. From teacher clubs to professional development workshops for teachers to free community events like crafts for kids every Saturday, Lakeshore gives back to its community and teachers

Bottom Line:

As a mom, these products are everything I would want in a toy. They are educational, high-quality, but most of all FUN! My kids had a hard time choosing only a few favorites because they wanted everything! If you’re looking for fun educational gifts, take a peek at Lakeshore’s Gifts for Growing Minds catalog for ideas. I bet you’ll find something your little learner will love!

 Stay tuned for my picks for favorite toys in my holiday gift guide. You bet I’ll be including a few Lakeshore Learning toys!