Your kids will love these Ms. Rachel-approved toys

Not only does this toy look super cute but it has so many learning benefits including colour matching, counting and motor skills. One reviewer said, "I just love this simple sorting game! This promotes colour recognition, matching, counting and fine motor skills and so much more. The set consists of 5 coloured bird boxes with corresponding coloured birds - you can match the bird to the correct box for a sorting game. As an extra learning element, each bird has a different expression ranging from sad, sleepy, angry, confused and happy." However one reviewer was disappointed it didn't hold her son's attention for longer commenting, "in reality it fails to hold our 4 year old's interest for more than 20 minutes per session." We love that the birds all have different expressions too to help kids understand their emotions.

These stepping stone stones can be used both indoors and outdoors to promote coordination and balance. With 10 brightly coloured stepping stones in the pack, kids will have lots of fun setting up balancing challenges. One reviewer said, "bought these for our grandchildren aged 3, 5 & 7, they are thoroughly enjoying playing with their new toy, which is encouraging taking turns, balance, working together, etc.. The stones have been a safe place in a crocodile infested river, amongst red hot larva and who knows what else!" We love that they also stimulate the imagination as well. However, one reviewer did think they could be bigger, commenting, "they are very well made and fun but they are so much smaller than what the picture presented."

This ice cream cart is so much fun and kids of all ages will love creating ice creams either from their own imagination or following the instructions. It is great for encouraging the learning of sequences as children try to follow the instructions of how to make and sell ice creams. Our Commercial Content Writer, Laura Healy, says "this has been a favourite toy for years with both my girls. My older daughter likes to use pretend money and run a (very expensive!) ice cream business, but it does encourage role play, while my younger daughter loves stacking the ice cream and experimenting with different combinations." The ice cream cart has a magic scooper and also plays songs and words. However, Laura did say that it is fiddly to clean with lots of compartments, it can get dusty and grimy quickly.

There's hours of fun to be had with these building blocks and we love how simple they are, made of plain wood. One reviewer said, "these blocks are classroom quality, they will last a long time. Very heavy good quality wood with nice finish. Love that they come with their own box as well." With 60 pieces there are so many creations to make, although some reviewers have said not all are as smooth as they should be and they worried about splinters.

This set includes 6 jumbo toy animals, made of durable plastic and perfect for little hands. They are ideal for small world play and encouraging your little one to tell stories. With a gorilla, elephant and tiger, with one parent and one baby animal, there is lots of scope for play. One reviewer said, "I own all the animal sets from this company. My children love them and are very creative and use their imaginations to learn and play. Easy to wipe clean and they look the same as the day I purchased them." However one reviewer did comment that the animals are not of the best quality saying, "I have so many products from Learning Resources and I have always found them to be good quality, so I was very disappointed when I received these. The animals are made up of two parts which are glued together and the two sides are not aligned properly leaving a ridge and the glue can be seen between, especially on the elephants."

We all love cookies, but these ones will satisfy your little one's appetite for maths, helping them develop their counting skills. One reviewer said, "brilliant. Cannot recommend these enough. You won’t regret this purchase for your little one. They are educational and double up as pretend play cookies." Do bear in mind though that these are small for younger children and one reviewer commented, "the cookie pieces are small enough for a 1+ year old to fit completely in their mouth and choke on, even if they can't be swallowed."

This cute toy will help your little one begin to learn about cause and effect, as well as developing hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and mental activities like recognizing shapes. One reviewer said, "I really like this toy and it has been useful in developing my little one’s motor skills. However, the sound when the animals pop up is quite loud so she jumps a bit in shock! Although another reviewer added, "This game is brilliant for hand eye coordination. Learning object permanence and having fun. I really like to see her play with this. She loves seeing the animals pop up." We love the bright colours which will really appeal to baby, as well as the carry handle to make it more portable.

If your little one loves pretending to be a doctor and making all their toys better, they will love this cute set. It is ideal for role play and features lots of items including a blood pressure cuff, hearing tester, syringe, scissors, tweezers, rolling forehead thermometer, reflex hammer, otoscope, eye cover, tongue depressors, bottles, and a stethoscope. One reviewer said, "such a handy toy to take on a plane or to a restaurant, hours of independent play from this toy and multiple teddies and Dollies got bandages again and again." However some reviewers were disappointed with the bag commenting, "the one thing that really bothers me is the bag. It’s super cheap/thin and flimsy. I wish it had a zipper too." Overall, this is a great kit, with 25 items, for aspiring little medics.

Not only is this incredibly cute but it also sings a sweet song and plays peek-a-boo with your little one. One reviewer said, "bought this for my brother and his girlfriend when they had a baby, and they loved it. It's such a cute toy and the song is great. It also comes with batteries, so they can just use it straight away." One reviewer did comment that it could be more cuddly, saying, "it could do with a bit more padding as it is quite hard and nobbly and the working parts might easily get damaged if dropped." Overall, we love how sweet it is and think it will appeal to all little ones (as well as adults too).

We love jigsaws and so do kids. They are a great way to develop problem solving, as well as entertainment for a rainy afternoon. This set of animal puzzles is made of wood and will keep little ones entertained independently, or will provide a lovely activity for you to do together. One reviewer said, "My toddler loves these. They are good sturdy material, bright eye catching colours and I love they come in a handy little bag. Due to being wooden they’re fairly heavy but we offset this by only taking a few out at a time." These are sturdy and will withstand rough play from little ones and they will also help them learn their colours. We love that they come in a handy storage bag too.

Ideal for learning patterns, matching and sorting, this cute hedgehog toy also helps develop children's fine motor skills. One reviewer said, "my children love this toy. My 20 month old will happy sit and play with this. She loves putting in all the spikes and taking them back out again. The colours are great, it one of her favourite toys." While another reviewer added that her "3 year old had no interest, way too simple," so it might be more suited to younger toddlers and will also help encourage independent play.