{Review & Giveaway} STRIDER bike ~ Balance bike, training bike the no-pedal way to learn confidence in riding!

STRIDER™ balance bikes are industry-leading training bikes that help
children as young as 18 months learn to ride on two wheels. STRIDER
balance bikes focus on the fundamentals of balancing, leaning, and
steering without the distractions and complications of pedals or
training wheels.



The STRIDER’s simple, no-pedal design builds confidence and
eliminates fear by allowing kids to have their

feet on the ground and
progress at their own pace. This unique design teaches young children
balance on two wheels right from the start, avoiding developmental
delays typical with tricycles and training-wheel bikes.

Genuine STRIDER balance bikes are the lightest balance bikes in
their category, have the lowest seat height (for the youngest starting
age), and are tested to the most stringent safety standards.
Frame-integrated footrests, proprietary components, and the ability to
easily adjust to a growing child, make the STRIDER the only bike your
child needs to develop their riding skills and successfully transfer
onto their first pedal bike without training wheels.



Review:

My youngest has been scared of riding her big kid bike without training wheels, but is more than old enough to learn.  When I received the STRIDER bike for review - they thankfully sent an additional seat with a longer/taller adjustment for her to use since she was 5 when she first started riding her STRIDER.  After just a few weeks of riding around in our driveway and down our street on the STRIDER, she asked if I would help her ride her big kid bike.  She started pedalling within just a few moments of my help and now rides like a pro!

It only took her one afternoon of practice and she was off down the street on her own.  All it took was a little time on the STRIDER learning to balance, and get the confidence she needed!  I love this STRIDER bike and highly recommend it for all young ones to start riding on.  I wish we had used one much sooner as I honestly believe she would have been riding a pedal bike much sooner if she had first learned on a STRIDER instead of training wheels!

• STRIDER bikes are ultra light weight and easy to control.


• STRIDER bikes increase balance, coordination, and confidence.


• STRIDER bikes allow children to focus on learning balance first.


• STRIDER bikes are free of chains, pedals, and protrusions that can harm a child.


• STRIDER bikes provides a safe, smooth, and natural transition to a pedal bike.

Now, she has just today moved up a size of bike and is tearing up the neighborhood with her sister and friends and has even asked when our family can all go on bike rides together.  I now have a hard time keeping her home, she is always off on her bike somewhere - Thanks STRIDER!



Check out STRIDER on  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Youtube  ~ Instagram

Ready for the Giveaway?  

SUPER!  

Winner must be 18 or older and from US.  Winner will have only 48 hours to reply to email to claim prize - Winner will receive his or her choice of COLOR of STRIDER bike sized for 18 mos through 5 yrs of age.  Mom Loves 2 Read is not responsible for prize shipment - Sponsor - STRIDER - will ship out prize within 4 to 6 weeks of receiving winner's mailing information.

Entry-Form

Disclosure: I received free the item(s) mentioned in this post in exchange for my honest review. Regardless ~ All my reviews are my honest and personal opinion. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”.

{Review} Lots to do in Line at DISNEY ~ the perfect entertainment for waiting in line!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links:

 

How many times have you had to wait in line with kiddos, only for them to turn from "perfectly behaved angels" into cranky little terrors?  Not to mention how aggravating it can be for adults to wait in line patiently, but then to deal with bored and frustrated kiddos can turn a fun family vacation into a nightmare.



Well, author Meredith Lyn Pierce has come up with a unique and fun way to entertain not only the kids but the adults too while waiting for a ride at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.  She has taken the annoying

waiting in line and turned it into a fun adventure just waiting to happen just by
using Disney’s own visuals to create two books packed full of games for every ride
line in each park.  And the games are made so that even younger children can play along!

Lots To Do In Line Disneyland 2nd Ed.



contains 1,100+ engaging questions that
will have the whole family hunting for the answers. There are 90 in-line
hunts for hidden queue treasure buried deep in the wait plus park-wide
scavenger hunts for each of the parks. If you run out of questions in
a line, there are even 22 collections which will have you scrutinizing
your surroundings and even fellow guests to gain points. You need not
have a vast knowledge of Disney Trivia to play. In fact, if you can
recognize Mickey and Minnie you are all set. All of the answers can
be found only in line at Disneyland.








Lots To Do In Line Walt Disney World 



contains 1,282 questions including 109 in-line
hunts listing over 1,850 items to find. Each of the four parks also has a park-wide
scavenger hunt. There's even a "still growing" list of animals on the Tree of Life with 138 entries.
Again, if you run out of questions in
a line, there are 22 collections for points anywhere. You need not
have a vast knowledge of Disney Trivia to play. In fact, if you can
recognize Mickey and Minnie you are all set. All of the answers can
be found only in line at Disneyland. 





It is unfortunate that my family's Disney trip this year had to be cancelled, but I'm still hopeful that in the near future I can still manage to take us all to Disney World - so I'll be hanging on to these books for that future time - and even better - there is also an APP that can be downloaded right to your iPod or iPhone so you don't have to pack the book along if you don't want!  But I love that these books are just the right size to fit in a backpack and are great to entertain the whole family in those long lines or even just taking a break from the busy day - there are even games that can be played while eating or resting along the way!  



Not only that but instead of each kid playing electronic games or listening to music with earphones, the whole family can participate and enjoy the games together - after all that is the point of a family vacation - to spend more quality time interacting together!  You can even have teams - kids against adults - boys against girls - or mix it up with Dad/daughters against Mom/Grandma/sons - there is a ton of ways to creatively have fun even during the not-so-fun moments!



Here are some great links to find out more about Lots to Do In Line: Walt Disney World  ~ Lots To Do In Line Disneyland and author Meridith Lyn Pierce:

Disclosure: I received free the item(s) mentioned in this post in exchange for my honest review. Regardless ~ All my reviews are my honest and personal opinion. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”.

Historical Conquest Review - A journey through time and a blast to play!

 

About the Game

Historical Conquest: The Journey Through Time is an
adventurous card game where players can create personalized societies
with key players from history and battle them one against another;
anyone, anywhere, anytime. Each card is complete with: fantastic
illustrations of people, places, events in history; abilities in the
game according to the abilities they had in real life; and a full
summary of their actual history. Eric the Red can help the Mongol Army
conquer Argentina during the Black Plague. Albert Einstein can live
peacefully in Japan under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln during World
War I. The possibilities are endless, as is the fun!

If you can
imagine a game played with actual heroes and villains worldwide from
throughout history, you understand the concept behind Historical
Conquest. The first edition was printed a few years ago and has grown a
following; everyone who has played it loves Historical Conquest.
Unfortunately, due to certain limitations we were not able to mass
produce it… UNTIL NOW!

How to Play

Historical Conquest was created a few years ago by Zack Edwards as a
college project. He was joined by three aspiring artists to create the
first edition. To promote the game, Zack wrote a novel based on the idea
behind Historical Conquest, whose release information will first be
available here on Kickstarter..

Now Zack has been joined by additional partners and artists who
believe in this game and are excited for the second print. But to launch
the game we must raise an additional $5,000. Printing a quality second
edition is proving expensive and that is why we have come to you… JOIN
US.


Some of the changes we have made since printing the 1st
edition include: thicker card stock,higher quality printing, editing a
few errors, larger print, adding more than a 100 new characters, more
realistic/adventurous illustrations (less “cartoonish”), and simplifying
the rule book…

Here are a few of the over 100 new cards available in the 2nd edition.

This guy makes Genghis Khan look like a school yard bully...

Think of him as America's First Black Super Spy...

Check out the new game that mixes fun and learning -Check it out HERE!

Now for our REVIEW!

My son (who turns 12 next week) did not want to play this game with me.  I had to bribe him to play with me.  We started out reading the directions - which at first confused me a bit.  After reading through and trying to understand, he ended up figuring it out quicker than I did so we started playing.  It didn't take me long to get frustrated when he ended up taking some of my cards, but after a while I got the hang of it and began winning (big time).  I conquered many of his countries, converted his people to my side and ended up winning several battles!  Ah HA!  Mom Rules!  BUT, did he get mad? frustrated? throw his cards and admit defeat?   NO - he wanted to play again - - and again - - - and again!

He loves this game, and even more important, he remembers many of the historical characters and countries that the cards tell about!  At least twice a week he begs someone to play it with him.  This really is a great learning game for kids that is also a lot of fun!



We also love that you can purchase booster packs to add to the game - now we can play with lots of his friends and family!

I just received this information in an email from them!  So exciting!

The boosters, Revolutionary War and Roman
Expansion, are wonderful; this time with improved illustrations, more
captivating history, and better writing. Thanks to the questions and suggestions
of our passionate players and supporters, we have enlisted the help of a third
part editor, who has done some wonderful things editing these new cards. The
Revolutionary War Booster Pack focuses on just the first day,
Lexington and Concord, and tells the stories of the most important events on
that fateful day. The Roman Expansion Booster Pack covers the 500 years
of the Republic: the wars, betrayals, and destruction of Rome at that time. The
deck includes centurions, Caesar Augustus, battle elephants, and different
weaponry. These will boost the interest of any young person to learn more. Here
is the site (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fastfacts/historical-conquest-the-booster-packs
) where you can make these and any other orders for all products we provide at a
huge discount. This site doubles as a fundraiser for new boosters. Orders start
as low as $4 and there are only 3 days left.

In addition to our new editor for the cards, we have also
hired a professional gaming technical writer to re-write the rules and we have
had people remark that the new rules answer every question they could think of.
The rules are now laid out in a very simple and understandable format that
everyone can read and helps them play right away, even if they have never tried
a game like this before. Please check the new rules out on our site: http://www.historicalconquest.com/rules.html.

I received free the item(s) mentioned in this post in exchange for my honest review. Regardless ~ All my reviews are my honest and personal opinion and are not influenced nor reviewed by the sponsor prior to posting.For more info, see my FTC disclosure or Review Policy.

Illinois Friends ~ Rockfords Discovery Center Museum has a great FREE admission offer for you!

What is
treasure? How do people hunt for treasure? What do YOU treasure? 



We like to Treasure our local Museums - especially when the weather is hot and humid and the pool is filled with people.  I like to take my kids to a Children's Museum for the day to explore, have fun and enjoy themselves while learning about new and exciting things!



The
science, technology, history, and thrill of treasure hunting are explored in the
fantastic traveling exhibition Treasure! The Hunt Has Just Begun. This
joint project of Burpee Museum of Natural History and Discovery Center Museum in Rockford IL, features 5,000 square feet of artifacts, hands-on
activities, videos, biographies, and tales from around the world. 



The
traveling exhibition opens May 25 and runs through September 2. 

Delve
into the technology employed by treasure hunters and focus on the people and
personalities lured by the promise of prosperity. Be enticed by shipwreck and
treasure site artifacts, and learn to use the tools you'd need to find a
fortune. Dig for treasure and pan for gold. Operate a Remote Operated Vehicle
(ROV) in a tank of water. Use a metal detector. Use maps, compasses and clues to
locate treasure. Learn how to geocache. You can even try your hand at cracking a
safe!




Treasure!
can be uncovered in the Woodward Exhibit Hall. Admission: $2 for Members; $4 for
Public + general Museum admission of $8/person. Parking is
free.



Make sure
to check out Discovery Center Museum on Facebook!

My
readers can get FREE admission to Discovery Center Museum with one paid general admission!

Coupon:
http://www.windycitykidsguide.com/coupon.php?bid=11022&lid=13689&dealid=1103®ionid=261

Mom Loves 2 Read is an affiliate or ambassador for one or more products/websites listed or banners posted throughout this blog.  If a personal review is written, I have either received that item free in exchange for my honest review or may have received monetary compensation for the post. Regardless ~ All my reviews are my honest and personal opinion.