The Leapster Explorer is the latest and greatest handheld gaming system from LeapFrog, aimed at kids ages 4-9. It’s durable, easy to use, and my five year old daughter plays hers almost every day. Not only that, it’s educational, too. With over 40 games featuring Toy Story, Disney Princesses, Dora the Explorer, and more, Leapster games cover a wide variety of  areas, like math, problem solving, English, geography, and language.

Games for the Leapster Explorer are available on cartridges as well as in Leaplets (game apps, videos and ebooks).The Leapster can detect the learning level of your child in each game, and adjust the difficulty accordingly. Once you connect your Leapster Explorer for the first time, an account is made on www.leapfrog.com, where you can track your child’s progress as they learn. I recommend purchasing a set of rechargeable AA batteries or the Recharging Station, as regular batteries will wear out quickly, at least if your child plays with their Leapster Explorer as much as my daughter plays with hers

The Leapster Explorer has a suggested retail price of $69.99 and includes a free Leaplet download, a USB cable, previews and trailers for current and upcoming Explorer titles and Pet Pad, a digital pet that kids can design, play with, and care for.

The Pocoyo Bump n’ Go Car is a fun toy for infants and preschoolers. Your kid will love chasing around this crazy little toy around the house! Press Pocoyo’s head once, and he will drive off, playing music. If you press his head again, the car and music will speed up. When Pocoyo hits an obstacle, he will stop, do a U-turn, and zoom off in the other direction. This zany toy can be purchased at www.toysrus.com for $24.99.

Pocoyo and his friends Pato (pictured here), Elly, and Loula all come in adorable 6 inch plush toys. They are sized just right for little hands. These four are hard to find, so look for where to buy them at www.bandai.com. For more on Pocoyo, visit www.pocoyo.com.

Chick-fil-A is partnering with the popular children’s series VeggieTales for its upcoming Kids Meal promotion available between March 13 and April 17.  There will be five CDs available, each focusing on building self-confidence in children.

“Children are often embarrassed when they feel different than their peers,” said Angela Savage, Senior Kids & Family Marketing Consultant for Chick-fil-A, Inc. “Our hope is that these CDs will show kids they are perfect just as they are and that it’s good to be unique.”

There will be a new CD in the Chick-fil-A Kids Meal each week.  Children who receive the same CD twice can exchange the duplicate for another CD during the five-week promotion. After the promotion, parents can order CDs online at www.shopchick-fil-a.com as long as supplies last.

The five VeggieTales CD Topics are:

1. “You are a Friend!”

2. “You are Special!”

3. “You are Unique!”

4. “You are  Important!”

5. “You are Loved!”

Each CD includes music that can be played in a CD player or in a computer, fun activities and print-outs, videos with lessons from VeggieTales characters, information for parents, and special promotions.

Sadly for me, we don’t have Chick-fil-A here so I had to turn down the offer of some Kids Meal coupons. Instead, Chick-fil-A sent me two of the VeggieTales CDs.  When my boys were younger, we listened to and watched VeggieTales pretty much every day, so it was as fun for me to listen to the music as it was to introduce Kaitlyn to it! Here are the songs on the two CDs I received:

“You are Unique! “:

Track 1 – An introduction from Larry the Cucumber

Track 2 – “Billy Joe Mcguffrey”

Track 3 – “God is Bigger”

Track 4 – “The Hairbrush Song”

Track 5 – “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”

“You are Loved!”:

Track 1 – An introduction from Larry the Cucumber

Track 2 – “Love Your Neighbor”

Track 3 – “Going to the Promised Land

Track 4 – “The Water Buffalo Song”

Track 5 – “Think of Me”

Look for these great CDs in Chick-fil-A kids meals now through April 17!