I start math education early around here. Most parents do, they just may not realize that’s what they are doing. Counting, sorting, and matching games are perfect for teaching valuable skills that will help kids learn more advanced math later on. Pizza Mania from Learning Resources is a great game for kids ages 4 and up that teaches early math skills, including basic addition and subtraction, listening skills, and matching.

Pizza Mania is a fun little game that will entertain kids so much they won’t even realize that it’s educational. The little pizza chef is batter operated and shouts out commands to his tiny pizza chefs in training to let them know what they need to add or take away from the pizza.

The game comes with cute little pizza toppings, including pepperoni, peppers, olives, and mushrooms. Sometimes the pizza chef tells you to add toppings to your pizza and sometimes he tells you to take some of them away.

At the end of the game, the pizza chef tells you what toppings you should have on your pizza. The whole thing is very upbeat and fun for kids. My 4 and 6 year olds love it but even my 8 year old isn’t above getting in on the fun. This is a great little game to play together with your kids or they can easily play it on their own if you need something to occupy them for a few minutes.

This is one of those things that is so much cuter if you see it in action.

Enter to Win

Learning Resources is giving away one Pizza Mania game!

Want to be notified when we post a new giveaway? Be sure and join our mailing list so you don’t miss out on anything.

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Welcome to Winning Wednesday for 2-1-12! Anyone know what it’s called when a word, phrase, number, or other sequence can be read the same forward or backward? (pause for those of you who need to hit up Google) That’s right – a palindrome! Today’s date is a palindrome. Just thought I’d put that bit of geeky goodness out there.

Today I would love to hear from you in the comments after you post your giveaway links. We’re glad you come here every week to promote your giveaways, but maybe you can give some help to others and tell us:

where else have you found success listing giveaways online?

Together with your combined knowledge and resources, maybe you can help another blogger find a new way to promote their giveaways online. Thanks for your help!

We’re happy to be back after standing in solidarity last week with those sites blacking out over the SOPA/PIPA legislation.

We’re back in full swing and happy to provide you a place to list and enter giveaways!

Remember, if you want your giveaway featured here (in addition to the regular linky listings), please email Stacey@BusyMommyMedia.com.

Sorting and matching activities are some of my favorite ways to teach pre-math skills to preschoolers. I was so excited to find the Super Sorting Pie from Learning Resources because it can be played in so many ways and each activity is so tactile which is perfect for preschoolers with short attention spans.

The little rubber counters that are included in the Super Sorting Pie are adorable. They are really solid but have a softer surface that feels great in your hand. They even have some great detailed like textured surfaces on the oranges. There’s a great assortment of fruit and each fruit comes in two colors so you can sort by type or color.

We have several sets of counters because we can use them in so many activities (like this great pre-writing activity). For younger preschoolers you could even practice basic counting with these and work up to patterns.

The pie itself comes with 3 double sided activity cards that are really easy to switch in and out. My 4 year old is working on his counting skills so we’ve loved the activity card that includes numbers and wants your preschooler to count out the correct number of counters to put in each pie slice.

The jumbo tweezers that come with this set are perfect for helping kids practice their small motor skills and the way kids hold the tweezers actually helps them practice for holding a pencil correctly down the road.

Enter to Win

Learning Resources is giving away one Super Sorting Pie! This is one of my favorite things that they make and it’s so durable that it’s going to last for years.

Want to be notified when we post a new giveaway? Be sure and join our mailing list so you don’t miss out on anything.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

On a recent Winning Wednesday post, I mentioned the great luck I’ve had winning giveaways posted especially for or exclusively on Facebook and Twitter profiles.

There is another new social networking site now being used to see and advertise giveaways: Pinterest.

Pinterest can best be explained as “a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.”

An example of a site using Pinterest to promote giveaways is Fabulous Fun Finds, which uses vast boards to showcase items included in its massive holiday giveaway events. Below is a screenshot (showing just a very small portion!) of the pinboard for their 4th Annual Sweetheart Giveaways, an event that runs on January 31 & February 1.

If you enter or list giveaways on a regular basis, you might want to look into the benefits of using Pinterest in your endeavors.

*Note: Pinterest is currently an invite-only network, but you can easily request an invite from the website itself or from a friend who is already a member.

This Week’s Giveaways on Busy Mommy Media:

• Time Tracker Mini from Learning Resources, ends Jan 17
  

Now, it’s your turn! List your giveaways here…

Welcome to Winning Wednesday! Yes, I just caught myself when typing the date into the blog title above. Yikes – it’s 2012! We hope you had a fabulous New Year.

For some of us, a New Year means new resolutions. For others, it means predictions for the coming year. Jennifer James of Mom Blog Magazine shared her 15 Mom Blogging Prediction for 2012, and included this thought: “You will continue to see more product reviews and giveaways on mom blogs throughout 2012.” This is great news for us!

We hope you continue to visit Winning Wednesday through 2012 to see featured giveaways from around the web and to promote your own giveaways. Happy New Year!

Don’t forget this giveaway on Busy Mommy Media:

• Time Tracker Mini from Learning Resources, ends Jan 17

With the holidays over, whether you are sending your kids back to school or getting back into a homeschool routine, getting over the holiday high can be tricky. I can’t really blame my kids for not being in the mood to work after so many fun filled weeks when I’m grumbling about it as well. When we’re having a rough day, timers are the best trick I have for staying on task. The Time Tracker Mini from Learning Resources is a great twist on the standard timer and with visual and auditory cues it’s perfect for keeping you on task.

The Time Tracker Mini has some really great features for such a small unit. My personal favorite is the fact that you can set a warning timer to go off (with whatever time value you’d like) so that you know when the time is getting short. I know when I’m in the middle of a task I appreciate some advanced warning before it’s time to move on (otherwise I’m constantly looking at the clock to check for myself) and with kids that little extra transition is essential.

Since every child is different, I love the fact that you can choose to use just the visual indicator with the light on top or visual and auditory indicators. There’s also a volume control that you can adjust based on what your current need is (and for us that changes depending on the activity we are working on).

We use timers for just about everything around here – cleaning, schoolwork, breakfast if we’re having an especially slow day. I rarely clean without a timer and my kids have gotten into the same habit. It’s a great way to motivate them to get things done without having to nag them. Our schoolwork is often timed, especially when my kids are having a rough day and aren’t excited to get going because they hate letting the timer win so they have to finish before it goes off.

The Time Tracker Mini is a must-have if you have kids who struggle to stay on task.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to be notified when we post a new giveaway? Be sure and join our mailing list so you don’t miss out on anything.

Welcome to Winning Wednesday!

Are you on Twitter or Facebook? Do you know that companies hold specific giveaways just for their Twitter and Facebook followers?

In the past two months alone I have won an iPod Nano (from @RedRover, an app that helps you organize playdates and meet ups) and an LG Nitro HD smartphone (from @AudreyMcClelland and @ATT), just for playing along with some of their spontaneous giveaways held or listed on Twitter!

I absolutely recommend following your favorite companies on Facebook and Twitter and keeping an eye out for these great freebies.

And now it’s time for YOU to list YOUR freebies and giveaways here! Good luck to all who enter and list giveaways this week!

Welcome to Winning Wednesday! Is it me, or are things getting quiet around the internet as people begin celebrating their winter holidays? Yesterday was Hanukkah, Christmas is on Sunday, Kwanzaa begins next Monday. Whatever holiday you are celebrating at this time of year, we hope you and yours are happy and well!

Many people do take a break from being online during this time of year, but others find it the perfect time to catch up on blog reading and entering giveaways! Make sure to check out the few we have featured here, and then list your own. If you would like your giveaway to be featured on Winning Wednesday, please email stacey@busymommymedia.com

Featured Giveaways from around the Web:

Gift Cards/Credit

Products for Babies and Children

• Little Tikes Big Adventures Fire Station from Growing Your Baby, ends 12/22
• Learning Resources Pretend & Play Bakery Set from Second Time Around, ends 12/27
• Chuggington’s Let’s Ride the Rails Playtable from Mama Buzz, ends 1/4

Hello friends! Welcome to Winning Wednesday – another chance to link up your giveaways and enter to win some that look good to you! There are a lot of gift card giveaways still going on, and several fun children’s products up for grabs. Really, there’s a little something for everyone! We wish you success with your giveaways and luck with those you enter. Remember – if you want your giveaway featured on our Winning Wednesday, please email stacey@busymommymedia.com.

Featured Giveaways from around the Web:

Gift Cards/Credit

Products for Babies and Children

• Richard Scarry’s Busytown Town Hall Deluxe Playset with DVD from The Suburban Mom, ends 12/17
• Caillou Toy Prize Pack from Five Dollar Shake, ends 12/16
• Kiddy Adventure Backpack from Mama Loves Her Bargains, ends 12/22
• Learning Resources Pretend & Play Bakery Set from Second Time Around, ends 12/27
• Chuggington’s Let’s Ride the Rails Playtable from Mama Buzz, ends 1/4