Sometimes a product comes along that is not only educational but also just plain fun! That's what my family thought of Punkydoodles Die Cut Shapes. Punkydoodles are high-quality die cuts in a huge variety of shapes and three different sizes. They are cut from high-quality, acid free paper, and range in price from $2.19 to $3.99, depending on the set. They are available as individual items, unit packs, project packs, theme combos, or specialty items such as flash cards, door hangers, and blank playing cards. The shapes are available in three sizes: small (2-3 inches, 31 per package), large (4 ½ to 5 ½ inches, 36 per package), and super (8 to 10 inches, 12 per package). We reviewed the following shapes: Five Simple Supers Color It Me, Large Light Green Caterpillar, Large White Astronaut, Large Black Music Note, Large Red Apple, Tooth Tasks Unit Pack, Train Unit Pack, Veggie Unit Pack, Water Critters Unit Pack, Fruit Unit Pack, Small Black Washington, Small Assorted Kite, and Small Assorted Leaf.

First, let me say that I was very impressed with the quality, variety and price of these die cut shapes. As soon as I pulled them out of the box, we all saw visions of craft projects dancing in our heads! My oldest son used the George Washington shapes to decorate our 4 th of July tree, which was gorgeous. My youngest son used the Tooth Tasks Unit Pack to create a collage for the Tooth Fairy, as he had just lost both of his front teeth. There are so many possible uses that it's hard to know where to start. Punkydoodles would be great to decorate a poster, a wall, invitations, a report cover, bookmarks, or flash cards or just for a fun craft. My favorite use, though, is to make wonderful lap books with the various shapes. For example, the Fruit Unit Pack could be used to make a lap book on fruits. Each page could hold a vocabulary word, a small diagram, or a concept that we are working on. Then staple or glue the pages together to form a small book within the lap book. Or use the shapes to decorate the lap book. Or, or, or . . . well, pretty much anything your imagination can dream up! I love that the shapes spark imagination without doing all of the work for the child. And now, if you'll excuse me, we've got some (educational) crafting to do!

Product review by Dr. Anne Margaret Wright, Senior Product Reviewer, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, June 2011