Amazon are selling this Leapfrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket for £14.73 instead of its usual £19.99 full price, so just a little saving to start off the day.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Leapfrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket

This LeapFrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket comes with 14 pieces and is suitable for little ones aged six months or older; together you'll be able to explore shapes, colours and manners - a toy that addresses manners, now that's something new!

There are 30 audio responses, which are in a British voice rather than an American one, and there's a wonderful, WONDERFUL volume control feature on it too.   It's bright, colourful and cheery and I have to say, the forks look rather cute!

I'm not usually a fan of plastic toys (if you're a regular PlayPennies reader you'll know this already), and I'm definitely not a fan of plastic toys that speak, sing, play tunes or have flashing lights - I can't help it, I'm a good old-fashioned traditional wooden toy girl.

BUT, I can go with plastic, talking and singing toys when they're made by LeapFrog - their educational element, fun factor and quality overrides my inner wooden toy snob!

Thanks to luckyluby at HUKD

Argos are selling this Leapfrog Scout Text and Learn gizmo for half-price - £9.99 instead of £19.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Leapfrog Scout Text and Learn

I wrote about this Leapfrog Scout Text and Learn way back in 2010 - I wasn't sure what I thought about it back then and was rather 'worried' that something dubbed text and learn would be teaching a generation of youngsters how to talk and type in text speak; I loathe text speak!

But having watched my youngest play with apps on his iPod Touch and on his dad's iPad (he hasn't got one of those yet, but he's working on it!) I'm pretty confident that toddlers text-speaking as a result of playing with the Leapfrog Scout Text and Learn is remote.

SO, the Leapfrog Scout Text and Learn  has a full Qwerty keyboard which will help them become familiar with its layout; fight it all we like, keyboard skills is something which will serve them well.

It has three learning modes so your child can practice with letter names and sounds, they can also exchange messages with their puppy pal scout (three year olds texting, I almost feel I should go and wash my hands!).

The LeapFrog Scout Text and Learn Messenger comes with the 3AAA batteries it needs and you can either arrange to collect your Leapfrog Scout Text and Learn in-store or, if you can't get there for whatever reason, you can pay £3.95 and have Argos deliver it to you instead.

Thanks to E-way at HUKD

The Early Learning Centre are selling this LeapFrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket for £14.99 instead of £19.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at the LeapFrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket

I'm not usually a fan of plastic toys (if you're a regular PlayPennies reader then this won't be a revelation to you), and I'm not usually a fan of plastic toys that speak, sing, play tunes or have flashing lights - give me good old-fashioned traditional wooden toys any day.

BUT, I can go with plastic, talking and singing toys when they're made by LeapFrog - their educational element and quality overrides my inner wooden toy snob.

This LeapFrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket comes with 14 pieces and is suitable for little ones aged six months or older; together you'll be able to explore shapes, colours and manners - I've not come across a toy that addresses manners before!

There are 30 audio responses, which are in a British voice, and there's a wonderful, WONDERFUL volume control feature on it too.   It's bright, colourful and cheery and I have to say, the forks look rather cute!

There are plenty of LeapFrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Baskets in stock and standard delivery is freeeee; hurrah, but the 3AA batteries that are needed aren't included, BOOOO!

Happy shaping and sharing!

Amazon are selling this heart anatomy model for £5.56 instead of its usual full price of £12.99

• Click HERE to beat your way over to Amazon and take a look at the heart anatomy model

I love all things anatomy and could wax lyrical about the heart ad infinitum - it really is the most amazing piece of biological engineering.

I was recently lucky enough to see my daughter's heart again when she had a detailed heart scan performed as part of her army selection - I hadn't seen it since she was 20 weeks old on the inside - and it was just amazing to watch and hear it beating away, along with the colours of the Doppler blood flow added on top of the images.

Away from PlayPennies I do a lot of health and fitness work and writing and deal with resting and working heart rates a fair bit; the other day I measured my youngest son's heart rate - he was fascinated to be able to hear his heart beating away and is now thoroughly interested in all things cardiology.

Once you've built your 3D heart model you'll be able to learn all things 'heart', play the heart game and take the quiz on the accompanying interactive CD Rom that features a total of 10 heart related activities.

I do love a good learning activity, especially one we can all relate to and marvel at.

Thanks to dudebar at HUKD

If you're on the lookout for simple wooden learning toys, then you'll want to take a look at these 26 wooden play and learn blocks that Asda have up for grabs for £3.

• Click HERE to see the wooden play and learn blocks

I'm a huge wooden toy fan; I also love toys that have educational and skill development value, so these 26 wooden play and learn blocks really do appeal to me, and if I had a child young enough to get value from them they'd already be in my basket.

They are made from 100% ethically sourced wood  that has FSC approval and each block features two letters of the alphabet and four pictures, which are carved into the wood, of things beginning with the corresponding letters - you just know there's going to be a cat accompanying the letter C!

You can teach letters, shapes, names of objects, colours (as the letters and block edges are colour coordinated) and your child will also be able to develop their basic spelling and word recognition through ordering their blocks to form simple words.  Fine motor skills can also be developed through stacking the blocks too.

I think these are truly fabulous and a bargain for just £3 - you can collect your 26 wooden play and learn blocks for free from the Asda store of your choice, or you can pay an additional £2.95 and have them delivered to your front door.

Happy playing and learning 

Argos are selling this Early Learning Centre Shape Sorting Bus for half its retail price - £7.99 rather than £16.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Early Learning Centre Shape Sorting Bus

I don't know what it is, but if there are things to sort I'll volunteer to sort them; it must satisfy some inner 'something'.  It doesn't matter what it is either - jigsaw puzzle pieces, kitchen cupboards, socks in the laundry even, but sorting shapes and putting them into a shape sorter still does it for me even as a grown-up.

I'm not exactly the target market though, so it's a good job kids love things like this Early Learning Centre Shape Sorting Bus.

The big red bus has six activity blocks to sort out and push through their corresponding holes in the roof, they have rattles, mirrors and beads inside to make them just that little more interesting too.

Shape sorters like this arly Learning Centre Shape Sorting Bus are great for helping to develop young hand eye coordination, shape recognition and vision and sound awareness; lots of lovely learning to be done and all without the need for any batteries, flashing lights, bells and whistles - hurrah!

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD

Boots are selling this Vtech Bounce and Ride Giraffe for £17.50 instead of £35.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Vtech Bounce and Ride Giraffe

I'm not, as some of you know, a fan of bright plastic toys but I can just about make exceptions for VTech toys - their quality is good and the educational/developmental elements to their toys are worth overlooking the plastic-fantasticness of them.

The VTech Bounce and Ride Giraffe has rather a lot of features and modes of play - five modes of play in fact: Music, Challenge, ABC, Animal Pals and Racing.  The Racing sounds rather fun, you have to pedal as fast as you can to catch up with the other animals on the LCD screen.

Along with the LCD screen there are eight light-up animal buttons which will introduce your little one to numbers, objects and the alphabet.  There are three sing-a-long songs to join in with, eight melodies, a twist, slide and bounce switch, rewarding phrases and all sorts - I think that's enough to be going with, don't you?

You can arrange to collect your VTech Bounce and Ride Giraffe from the Boots store of your choice, but unless you add something else to your order to bring the total over £20 you'll pay £1.95 for the privilege, or you can pay £2.95 and have it delivered to your home instead.

Thanks to bjay at HUKD 

Amazon are selling this JCB My First Laptop for £9.90 rather than its full £24.99 price.

• Click HERE to take a look at this JCB My First Laptop 

This JCB My First Laptop looks rather fun and will introduce shapes, colours and numbers to your little one.  There are six backlit sections representing a different object with a colour, shape or quantity and four game modes: Discovery, Quiz 1, Quiz 2 and Music.

It's suitable for youngsters aged two years and over and one little boy, who was bought one, loves it...

"I bought this laptop for my son who just cannot put it down!. The laptop teaches shapes, colours and numbers and provides lots of amusement."

The official blurb states that batteries aren't included but there's no other information to clarify which and how many batteries you need or whether there's a mains power adaptor  included - so your guess is going to be as good as mine at this point.

All of the usual Amazon delivery options apply - you won't pay anything with the SuperSaver option and will need to wait for it for three or so days, or you can pay a little bit to have it delivered sooner.

Thanks to dudebar at HUKD

My heart always jumps for joy when I come across a great jigsaw puzzle deal; if I were to write a Top 10 kid's toys list, jigsaw puzzles would be right up there  near the top.

This Where In The Wood puzzle has SO many benefits, aside from just puzzle-putting-togethering - in fact, I'm going to buy it for my youngest son so that we can do it together.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Where in the Wood puzzle

SO, 150 pieces make up a detailed woodland scene and there are a whole host of animal images in the jigsaw border - your task, once you've put the puzzle together, is to FIND those animals in the picture.

There is so much else you can talk about too - how many toadstools are there? Is it summer or winter in the wood? What colours are the flowers?  I mean, really, the list goes on and on and will very neatly shoehorn plenty of learning, observation and literacy skills into something that's fun.

Can you tell I'm a fan? The usual price for this Where in the Wood puzzle is £9.75; if you're quick, and Amazon leave the price alone for more than five minutes, then you can pick one up for £5.32 instead; marvellous.

Thanks to wishihadadonkey at HUKD

I'm completely in love with this Lamaze Octivity Time toy and at £12.88 rather than £16.99 you can love it for less money, and as it's an Amazon Deal of the Week the price is guaranteed until 11.59pm on Sunday.

• Click HERE to take a look at Lamaze Octivity Time

I don't just love this Lamaze Octivity Time octopus, I love almost everything Lamaze and with good reason: their toys are all designed to easily engage with babies of various ages, bring out their natural curiosity to discover things and, in the process, help to develop a range of skills and stimulate senses.

There are 10 activities for your little one to explore with their Lamaze Octivity Time - from crinkly textures, to soft and velvety tenticles, rattles, bells and squeaks.  It also features a mirror, teething ring and clicky rings too.

Suitable for little tots aged six months and over, here's what some existing owners have to say about their Lamaze Octivity Tunes...

"This is my first ever review but felt i had to submit since this is one of the best presents we ever got for our baby. Since he was 6 weeks old he loved it and now at 5 months the novelty doesn't seem to be wearing off. it is much brighter then in the photo. you won't be disappointed."

"Lots of colours and activities. My baby is only 3 months so a bit young for this toy yet, but I love it."

"I bought this for my 5 months old girl and she absolutely loves it. I can really recommend this. Great buy"

Well, there's not much I can add to those other than happy Lamaze crinkling and rattling!

Amazon are selling this Brain Anatomy Model, with interactive CD, for £5.59 instead of its original £12.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at the Brain Anatomy Model

My mum has a love for science and, as a result, I was brought up to be inquisitive about anatomy, of both plants and animals, and remember trips to our friendly butcher to pick up sheep eyes, and one time an ox heart, for disection...just because it was something interesting to do!

I've done the same with my children and, the older two at least, were totally enthralled and engrossed (rather than grossed out) by the televised post mortems carried out by the rather fabulous Dr Gunther von Hagens - he properly looks like the sort of guy who'd try to put together his own monster a'la Dr Frankenstein.

Should this sound a bit like your household, or someone in your extended family, (mine can't be the only one interested in science, biology and anatomy) then you might want to take a look at the Brain Anatomy Model.

You'll build your own 3D brain model, watch the accompanying video clips and undertake the 10 activities outlined on the CD ROM, along with playing the Catch the Robot game which will help to improve your short term memory.

I think this sounds pretty awesome, which leads me to ask:

Is my family the only one that thinks dissection lessons in the kitchen are a rather cool way to spend an afternoon or weekend morning?!

Thanks to wishihadadonkey (not for dissection purposes!) at HUKD

The reviews are so good for this Leapfrog Scribble and Write that even paying only just a little bit less than the full retail price is worth it.

• Click HERE to look at the Leapfrog Scribble and Write

The usual Leapfrog Scribble and Write price is £19.99, Amazon have taken 17% off which brings the price down £16.51 and it's appropriate for children aged three years and over and the three AA batteries it needs are included.

If you're looking for an educational toy that provides just as much fun as learning, then you really won't go wrong with something from Leapfrog and this Scribble and Write looks just the ticket for little ones getting to grips with writing.

To 'play' with the Leapfrog Scribble and Write all your child needs to do is trace the lights and practice drawing simple shapes and pictures.  When they've mastered those basics they can move on to learning upper- and lowercase letters with step-by-step guidance from the Leapfrog Scribble and Write.

There are also fun learning games to help reinforce letter recognition and pencil control skills and the Leapfrog Scribble and Write is nice and portable so you can take it out and about with you without feeling like you're going out with everything including the kitchen sink.

Thanks to NRE123 at HUKD

Home Bargains - my new favourite store (well, for some things) - are selling this Chicco Count With Me Teddy for £14.99 instead of £29.99.

• Click HERE to count with Count With Me Teddy

This is the sort of electronic toy that I can cope with - no flashing lights, interactive and educational all packaged up in a cute teddy that almost every child will find impossible to resist and not fall in love with.

Chicco Count With Me Teddy will help teach your child their first numbers and first words in English and French.  When they press the bright buttons on his tummy, he'll sing nursery rhymes, count and reveal names of various fruits and animals. He has interactive buttons on his paws too and if Chicco Count With Me Teddy is turned upside down he'll giggle.

Chicco Count With Me Teddy is suitable for littlies aged six months and older and will need three AA batteries; I can't see whether or not they're included, so be prepared and make sure you have some to hand on Christmas morning!

You can collect your Chicco Count With Me Teddy for free in-store or pay for home delivery, which won't be any more than £2.95.

Happy counting!

This isn't the cheapest I've seen this Vtech My Laptop being sold for, but it is the cheapest around at the moment; if you want to take back ownership of your computer/laptop, then this might be worth having a look at.

• Click HERE to go over to Debenhams

Computer, laptops, iPads, iTouchs, anything starting with i  in fact, are no longer the just the play things of grown-ups. The trouble with living in a world where children are very savvy with all things tech', is they want what you have!

I've lost count of the number of times I've handed over my laptop, in the past, to my youngest son so that he can do his best digital Jackson Pollock impression in Paint. Then he'd move on to a bit of Cbeebies online and play games on the Thomas and Friends website - I considered myself lucky if I was 'allowed' two minutes to quickly check email.

If all this is sounding familiar then a Vtech My Laptop could be your knight in shining plastic and microchip.

With it, your child will learn early computer skills which, like it or not, is necessary these days; age-appropriate curriculum, including phonics, numbers, logic and all sorts of other things like pattern recognition.  It has a mouse too that's not right-hand biased, so if you have a little' lefty' then they won't find it awkward.

It's suitable for little computer boffins aged between three and six years and is powered by three AA batteries; no mains power option by the look of it, which is a bti rubbish.

To bring the £12.50 website price down to £11.25, simply enter code LM93 into the promotion box in your basket; standard delivery is free as is in-store collection, if you'd prefer.

Thanks to Haylhoo at HUKD

I wrote about this Vtech Playtime Bus with Phonics last week.  It was on sale at Argos, but is back to full price with them now - so, just in case you missed it, here it is now on sale at Debenhams.

They've reduced it down from £25 to £15 (you'll need to enter the promotion code I'm going to give you to drop the price to £12.45) and, having had a quick scout around, that seems to be the lowest price available at the moment - Play are the closest with a selling price of £17.20 and Amazon are selling it for £24.95.

• Click HERE to go over to Debenhams

With big chunky alphabet buttons this Vtech Playtime Bus will help your child get to grips with their letters and phonics; if they're not quite ready for that learning curve just pressing them will teach cause and effect.

When the passenger buttons are pressed they say funny things and there are other sounds too, that kids will love - a horn, brakes and revving engine noises, along with music and all that usual malarkey.

The Vtech Playtime Buss takes 2 AA batteries, which Vtech have very kindly included, and is recommended for kiddies aged between one and three.

To drop the price down to £12.45, simply enter code: KG92 into the promotion code box in your basket; delivery to your local store for free collection will take four days.

Now, see what you make of this - having just read the Debenhams delivery page, it would seem to suggest that all deliveries within the UK and NI are free (excluding items from certain departments); YOU have a read and tell me if I'm understanding it correctly or just going mad: Debenhams delivery info.

Thanks to missgem at HUKD

I've written about this cute LeapFrog My Pal Scout before; I've never seen him this cheap though! He usually sells for £19.99 but Amazon are currently letting him go to new homes for £9.99.

• Click HERE to go over to Amazon

If ignore my loathing for electrical toys that beep and sing a me, then I can safely say that I'm a bit of a fan of LeapFrog toys; you really won't go wrong with anything Leapfrog if you're looking for a present for someone little.

Their educational value is fantastic; their fun value is just as good and their build quality and value for money is excellent. Here's what the Leapfrog My Pal Scout has to offer whoever you're thinking about buying this for...

My Pal Scout is a rather adorable little interactive puppy who connects to the computer; you can tailor him to the desires and wishes of your child through music customisation and personalise learning by programming My Pal Scout with your child's name, favourite food, animal and colour.

Leapfrog My Pal Scout comes with five, pre-loaded songs. If your little one is a bit of a music fan for whom five songs just isn't going to be enough, you can download more learning tunes and lullabies from an online list of 30 songs. His learning skills include first words, daily routines, early number sense, feelings and emotions, and animals.

Leapfrog My Pal Scout has icons on his paws which indicate what each one does. There's an activities paw - Scout will talk to your child about their favourite things, count hiccups and play pretend games. One paw plays daytime music and another the night time lullabies (My Pal Scout will play up to 10 minutes of these to lull your child off to sleep) and the last paw is the power off paw.

My Pal Scout speaks with a British voice, comes with the 3xAA batteries he needs and is recommended for children who are six months or older.

Thanks to kibr1ya at HUKD

Argos are selling this VTech Playtime Bus with Phonics for half price - £8.49 instead of £16.99.

• Click HERE to go over to Argos

This Vtech Red Playtime Bus will teach very small children cause and effect - push the buttons and something happens, and as they get older it will help teach them phonics, letter names and numbers.

The passengers on the side are big chunky buttons too, when they're pressed they say funny things and there are also other sounds that kids will love, such as: a horn, brakes and revving engine noises, along with music and all the usual bells and whistles we all expect from VTech.

All little children love busses - which makes this VTech Red Playtime Bus with Phonics perfect for both boys and girls - and will help them to get to grips with phonics, letter names and numbers.

The VTech Red Playtime Bus is available for online reservation and in-store collection; if your local Argos stores don't have any stock it's also available for home delivery but that's going to set you back a whopping £5.95 (well it is whopping when you compare it to Play and Amazon and Co, which is FREEEEE - it's about time Argos and the other expensive delivery suspects caught up!).

Thanks to jojotall at HUKD

This is a fabulous price for these Lamaze Stacking Rings - £12.99 instead of £21.99 - and is, by far, the cheapest around at the moment.

• Click HERE to go over to Amazon

If you've got a very young one in your family to buy for this Christmas then I strongly recommend taking a look at these Lamaze stacking rings.

You won't go wrong with anything Lamaze - kids love it, adults love that their kids love it, it's just a shame it's often at the more expensive end of the educational/developmental toy spectrum, so it always pays to keep an eye out for deals and take advantage of them when they crop up.

With these Lamaze stacking rings your child/grandchild/niece/nephew/whoever will thoroughly enjoy getting to grips with the chunky rings and feeling the different textures, and when the rings are stacked in the correct order they'll spin round and play music - the rings that is, not your child!

All of these things combine to help develop the senses and motor skills, along with pattern recognition and problem-solving, all wrapped up with a musical reward at the end.

The Lamaze stacking rings are suitable for little people aged nine months or older, comes with the three required AAA batteries included and has an on/off switch too; hurrah.

It's also an Amazon Deal of the Week, so their £12.99 price tag is guaranteed until 11.59pm on Sunday.

Thanks to andywedge at HUKD 

Use this Just Childs Play promotional code to get 15% off your order. The site specialises in educational games and toys. And it is really quite a treasure trove of wonderful ideas.

Click here to use your Just Childs Play promotional code

• Discount: 15%
• Promotional code: JCP15
• Expires: 30th October 2011

To use this code, click on the View Basket link and enter it in the Promotion Code box. A line in red will appear under your order, showing how much of a discount you will get.

I tested it out on this really cool Brain Anatomy Model. Not a bad price in my opinion at £11.99. My son has a very strong interest in anatomy, particularly bones, and I spent  a lot of time last Christmas looking at these sorts of models. The code took an additional £1.80 off that price.

Thanks to djmetsandy at HUKD!

I've written about this Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Cookie Shape Sorter before, but £8.49 has been the cheapest I've seen him at; he should be £17.99.

• Click HERE to get sorted with this deal

I don't know what it is, but if there are things to sort I'll volunteer to sort them; it must satisfy some inner 'something'.  It doesn't matter what it is either - jigsaw puzzle pieces, kitchen cupboards, socks in the laundry even, but sorting shapes and putting them into a shape sorter still does it for me even as a grown-up.

I'm not exactly the target market though, so it's a good job kids love things like this Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Cookie Shape Sorter too.

I think this little guy is just adorable and he has a feast of features to keep your little one amused.  He's suitable for those aged 6 months onwards and will introduce them to the world of shapes, colours and numbers.

There are five soft brightly coloured shapes which trigger fun sounds, phrases, sing along songs and lights when your child matches the right shape to its corresponding opening.

There is also a volume control setting to enable 'quiet' play - I really do appreciate it when toy manufacturers add this feature to their 'requires batteries' products, talking of which this one needs 3AAs which are included.

The Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Cookie Shape Sorter is, currently, available for both in-store collection (freeeee!) and home delivery (not freeee! £5.95 in fact).

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD