Peanut turns three very soon! I really can’t believe it’s been so long! He is getting so big and is really doing great with his learning. We had a party with both sets of Grandparents on Saturday to celebrate…complete with a trip to the zoo during the day. He is getting to be so smart. He can count to 20 by himself, knows all the colors of the rainbow, and is starting to identify letters of the alphabet. He also REALLY loves animals! He is getting really good at recognizing what animals are what and saying their names… or at least trying to say them! I was super excited when we were given the opportunity to try out the new i-Mat: My Animal World from CreativeBabyInc, which he got for his birthday!
This special interactive mat is like no other. Designed to challenge, entertain and delight babies and toddlers alike, the mat is filled with animals from around the world in their respective environments. There is a special 2GB memory voice pen, which is the secret to how cool this thing is. You simply turn on the pen, choose a language…(English, Spanish and Chinese are offered) and then your kiddo can point and touch an animal with the voice pen and it will say it’s name and give it’s sound with some music. For older toddlers and kiddos, there are two interactive games they can challenge themselves with. One game asks where a particular animal is, and the child points and touches to identify. The other game is even more challenging.
It asks what particular animals are a certain color, or what animals live in water, and so forth. As your child grows, the I-Mat gets more challenging. I love this idea because we will get years out of this, instead of like most typical toys where once the child reaches the next developmental level the toy has lost it’s appeal! Babies as well as toddlers can benefit from this too. The I-Mat is super soft and is phthalate, lead and heavy metal free, so babies can enjoy laying on the soft mat and listening to the sounds. When baby is old enough to hold the pen, they are rewarded when they point and get the animal right. It would be a great way to begin teaching young toddlers about animals!
This is a great toy from infant through toddler years! For tots 3 to 6 years old there’s advanced programs for the Voice pen such as interactive talking flash cards, posters, wall decals, stickers, books and more. I also love how big the I-Mat is, which adds to it’s appeal! There are four squares that hook together, and there is lots of room for multiple kids to play. Bug has started rolling from tummy to back and seems to like doing so on the mat! She rolled twice in a couple of minutes. The I-Mat is soft, yet still firm, a great place to roll! And she LOVES looking at Peanut while he plays on the mat! It warms my heart seeing my kiddos almost playing together! The My Animal World is the first mat in a soon to be series of i-Mats. Soon to follow this fall are I-Mat: Under the sea and I-Mat: My alphabet.
As new pads are introduced, parents can connect the Voice Pen to any computer with internet access (with the included USB cable), download the new sound file from Creative Baby’s website to the i-Mat Voice Pen. Then, explore new i-Mat adventures! New pads will be priced from $24.99 to $29.99. The I-Mat with Voice pen retails for $79.99. A pretty good deal considering you will get years and years of play! If you need additional Voice Pens, they are available separately for $59.99, perfect for siblings who want to play at the same time! Peanut LOVES the i-Mat. He loves listening to different languages too! He has played all three modes, although he struggles with the games…lots of room for us to grow! I am excited to see him learn and grow with the i-Mat!
