U-Play Mat - The Perfect Gift for young children or Mom-to-be! Review & Giveaway!

A little bit about the company and the product:
Play This Way Every Day was founded in 2008 with the goal of enhancing interactive floor play between toddlers and parents. Although there are many wonderful educational toys on market, very few provide guidance for parents and caregivers on how to play together. All products are designed by Dr. Jen (a pediatrician) with consultation from speech or occupational therapists in order to assure optimal design and instructions for use.

U-Play Mat

The U-Play Mat is a U-shaped mat with 15 clear pockets on its surface. The mat is 4 feet wide, and 3 feet deep. The innovative "U" shape allows the child to sit inside the opening of the "U" with full access to the 15 pockets. The child has full visual and tactile access to the whole surface, without having to crawl atop the mat. Child-safe see-through pockets allow fifteen theme-based cards to be secured to the mat surface. This patent pending design allows for the caregiver to sit across and engage the child in a variety of exercises using the adorable theme-based card decks. The pockets are designed to be slightly larger than the cards, allowing for the cards to be placed and removed easily.

The U-Play Mat comes with an accompanying tote bag. There are eight pockets allowing for all available card decks to be easily carried with the U-Play Mat in the tote bag. The tote is lightweight, surface washable and (if we do say so ourselves) absolutely super-cute!

What we thought about the U-Play Mat Starter Set:
My youngest son (2 years old) really loved the attention he received while playing and taking the time to learn the animals and foods.  The pictures on the cards are bright colors but he would have loved photographs too since he had a hard time figuring out a couple animals since he's used to seeing them in person at the zoo.  I don't think this is a negative to the U-Play Starter Set but more an enhancement to future sets of cards.

We started using the animals or the foods and now mix the two cards decks together.  We've also used the Play Mat to remember family members that we don't see that frequently by associating their pictures with their names as we do with the animals and foods.  It's been a great educational toy for him and I love the play ideas included in the downloadable book.  The U-Play Mat has definitely enhanced his vocabulary by using animals and foods that are common to a child's everyday activities.  This would definitely be a perfect activity for younger children as well that are just learning speech!

Buy It:

You can purchase a U-Play Mat Starter Set ($49) or Professional Edition Online ($84) through the Play This Way Every Day Online Store.

Win It, Giveaway Details:

One reader will win a U-Play Mat Starter Set!  This giveaway will end on December 12th at 10:00PM Central.  I'll email the winner who will have 48-hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.  This giveaway is open to US addresses only.

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Visit Play This Way Every Day and let me know why you'd love to have this for your kids or who you'll be giving this to!

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Disclosure:  We received a U-Play Mat Starter Set for Review in exchange for our honest opinions.  No additional compensation was received.