The aquadoodle is a great product, it has teached my 4 1/2 year old autistic son the beginning stages of drawing. It's safe. The water pens are really not that great, so we have him put his hand in a bowl of water & just draw with wet fingers. Unfortunatley it does take quite along time to dry, so it's not something you can really use repeatedly through a day. I love the stamps that you can buy as an accessory. Pad also has ABC's & 123's right on it. This is a great space saving solution if you live in a small place. Pad is machine washable if something other than water gets on it. Overall just a GREAT invention.

kmfalls

Bangor, ME

The aquadoodle is a wonderful invention! Keeps kids busy, inspires creativity, and no mess! My daughter (3) recieved one as a gift last Christmas and still plays with it frequently. She has the original, basic mat and we purchased accessories for it. Now there is a rainbow mat and she has been asking for Santa to bring her that one.

pjm129

Menomonie, WI

My son received this as a gift for his first birthday. At the time, he didn't really understand it and just wanted to chew on the pen. But as he has grown older, he has had more fun with the Aquadoodle. He is starting to be more creative and is starting to enjoy drawing more. I like that he is developing his fine motor skills while doing something fun for him as well. I also love that I can leave my son with the Aquadoodle and not constantly be watching to make sure he doesn't draw on the furniture, walls, carpet, etc. The water pens do not make any messes and are still really fun to use. There are extra pieces/pens you can buy for the Aquadoodle to make it even more fun, but they are kind of expensive. We lucked out and found a package of extra pens on clearance so now others can draw right along with my son. We've had fun drawing many different kinds of pictures as well as the alphabet and numbers. It's also pretty easy to store since the mat rolls up and doesn't take up a lot of space.

bechug

Littleton, CO

When I first saw this advertised and in stores, I thought it looked really stupid. My girls really wanted it, but I didn't give in!  But Grandma did, and they got it for Christmas. My three year old daughter will sit there and color the entire thing in with the paint brush to make the ocean. By the time she thinks she's done the other side is nearly done.  It's hard to do any kind of fine drawing on it but that isn't really a problem for them. I love that it just uses water. It's not a problem to clean up any spills and it's not a problem to find and reuse any of the materials. In fact, they can even really help clean up by themselves which is great for me!  I also love that it can be folded and put away in a small bag or box for easy storage and portability.  I wouldn't hesitate to get other aquadoodle products after our positive experiences with this one.  I'm not sure how much it cost, but I do think it's better than, say, the Crayola Color Wonder that is also a "no mess" toy but is expensive and you have to keep buying refills.

teachermissy

Plover, WI

Children and adults of all ages will love this aquadoodle mat! Between my three children, we have gone through three of these mats because they were used so frequently. The first one that we had died an early death that was my own fault because I must have folded it up and put it away before it was fully dry. As a result, it got moldy. So, remember to make sure that it is fully dry before you put it away. Other than that, the aquadoodle mats have been played with for hours and hours in my house. You fill the pens with water so it doesn't make any kind of mess if the kids accidentally color on something else. Even adults find it quite addicting to write, draw, and color with water and their pictures magically appear. The mat magically erases itself as the water dries, however, it stays around long enough that it doesn't frustrate the children by disappearing too soon. I have given this product as gifts many times and the receiver always enjoys it too.

bartleby1

Oak Ridge, NJ

Aquadoodle allows my daughter to be able to draw and scribble without any threat of mess.  This has been great so she can have the mat on the carpet and lay down on her stomach and scribble away.  It is a very smart idea.  The only drawbacks are that the pen needs to be refilled often and it is hard for a preschooler to do this on their own.  We also misplaced the pen a few times and then the mat is basically useless.  There is not a great way to store this besides back in the box.  So you have to fold the mat which leaves creases in it and perhaps a velcro holder would be good to keep track of the pen.  It would also be nice to somehow incorporate color into the mat somehow.  Overall, this is a great toy for my toddler that helps her build fine motor skills but more creative options could be added to make this toy even better.  We received it as a gift but I'm not sure if I would choose to buy one on our own.

Fast9

Lincoln, NE

The Spinmaster Aquadoodle is a great toy for a wide range of children.  My daugther used it for the first time when she was 1 1/2.  My sister that doesn't have any children introduced it to us for the first time, imagine that!  Anyways we were staying at here house on vacation and my daughter was getting into everything, because the home was not babyproof and my sister brought out the aquadoodle and my daughter loved it!  It's so much fun, my sister and I even had fun coloring with it.  It uses water so there's no mess, which is great for kiddos because when you give them regular markers, you will have a mess everywhere.  No mess here and the drawings will slowly fade, making room for you to continue to draw for hours.  It's also a great toy for a wide range of ages.  My daughter is 2 1/2 and still loves to use it.  We purchased one for our neighbor for his 4th birthday and he uses it all the time!

mamabradley

Broomfield, CO

This toy is always a time killer in the car and he is learning stuff. My son who is 4 is learning to read and doing really well with it. So when I saw this Tag item I knew it would be a great gift for him for Christmas. he just loves it so much. He also loves to connect words with pictures and similar things to their partners.I felt it's a good  product for my family.

bluewatercc

Santa Ana, CA

What an amazing product!! Kids gets to draw over and over and over again with no mess! This amazing mat comes with a plastic pen that has an absorbent tip. You simply unscrew the cover, fill it with water, screw the cover back on and you're ready to go. Just draw until your hearts content. The picture will stay for awhile and eventually evaporate and fade away/dry away. The mat can fold up to 8x11 size, so it's very portable. I would recommend purchasing some of the accessories like the stampers for added fun. I wish this product came with more pens and a larger variety of stampers. Also, the pad that comes with the stampers absorbs water so well, that it has to be refreshed pretty frequently. The only mess is if the kids overfill the stamp pad and water drips on the floor. This is a great product for grandma's house or anywhere you go where you don't want to make a mess. There are some educational icons around the perimeter, but those usually get ignored. Lots of fun!

Rayndrop4u

Upton, MA

We have a couple of aquadoodles and my son loves this one best.  It's a great way to have fun with out the mess.  It comes with a mat and a pen.  You can purchase separate pens and stampers to go with it.  I did buy the stampers buy my little one doesn't use them.  We also have the Thomas set which I wouldn't recommend either.  It comes with a pen/roller that makes tracks that a train follows along but it really doesn't do a good job.  We got frustrated with that one.  In my opinion the regular aquadoodle is basic but the best one to get.  It does take a little while for the mat to dry if you write heavily.  The pen you need to unscrew and fill with water.  It is fairly small so you have to refill it often.  My guy is 3 but he can't open the pen.  When you are done you can fold up the mat and store it away.  I think it would be nice if it came with an extra pen because my little one looses it.  I've also bought this as a gift and it was a big hit!  

kelleyb70

York, PA