Playful Learners

Baby Play: Water Play

2013-06-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

Make a water tray for your baby to play with once they are able to sit up in high chair or Bumbo. Great for encouraging your baby to explore and interact!

With the weather improving I have been trying to get the whole family out side to get more fresh air. Tinnie has been loving this and it has been a perfect opportunity to get him involved in some more sensory play activities. I thought that since he has a real love for baths we would start off trying water play.

I set up the water tray by using a cat litter tray (don't panic this is brand new and I do not own any cats). I filled the tray with warm water and changed the colour with food colouring. As you can see I added balls to the water for Tinnie the move around and try to catch using both hands.

I expected that Tinnie would be splashing like crazy as soon as I placed him in front of the tray. This was not the case as he was more interested in the grass surrounding him. When starting to try activities like this with babies its quite a good idea to sit at their level and support them in exploring the sensory material. I splashed the water and little and moved the balls from side to side. This encouraged Tinnie to do the same he began to move his hands under the water from side to side.

Links to EYFS for 0-11 mths

Personal, Social and Emotional Development-

Laughs and gurgles

Shows a range of emotions such as pleasure, fear and excitement

Physical Development-

Makes movements with arms and legs which gradually become more controlled

Understanding of the World

Repeats actions that have an effect, e.g. kicking or hitting a mobile or shaking a rattle

Tomy Bumbo Floor Seat Review

2013-06-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Tinnie is now five month's old and is no longer satisfied to just have cuddles or tummy time. Instead he would like to have a clearer view of what is sister and brother are up to and to make it easier for him he needed a way of sitting up. I had originally tried his bouncer chair but the angle frustrates him. I had thought about getting him a Bumbo Floor Seat which aids baby in sitting up once they are able to support their head.

We were recently sent a Bumbo floor seat and play Tray to review and I had exciting plan's on how the Bumbo could be used to test it out with Tinnie.

Bumbo Floor Seat Features:

The Bumbo helps your little one to sit upright once they are strong enough to support their own head, allowing them to engage with their surroundings and develop their posture.
The secure and moveable seat means that you can get on with jobs and still have baby beside you.
A detachable Play Tray is a perfect platform for your little one's toys and can be purchased seperately.
Easy to wipe clean, the Bumbo is great for using for eating or activities.
Suitable for babies 4-12 months, but use should be determined by baby's physical development.
New restraints mean that baby will not fall out of the Bumbo.

My plan was to use the seat to involve Tinnie in his older siblings play, whether it be free play, messy or sensory play activities with me. I was a little bit unsure at first about using the seat to start with as Tinnie can not sit unaided and when looking at the website Bumbo.com I found the information and guidance very reassuring.

I find Tinnie still leans forward a lot in his seat so I have not been using it too often yet. I have however used it for messy and sensory activities. Now he is getting older I will be trying lots of the activities out with Tinnie and the Bumbo Floor Seat has made this a lot easier.

Tinnie loves to throw toys across his tray and bang on it with his hands. I plan to use the seat a lot more in the future once Tinnie is more used to it. I love the fact that the seat now has a little seat belt for extra safety and it is so easily cleaned after our messy activities.

For more information on Bumbo Floor Seats check out the website and visit Emma’s Diary for latest offers on the Bumbo

Disclaimer: We were sent a Bumbo and Bumbo tray to review however all opinions are my own.

How To Make A Tin Boat

2013-06-05T11:00:00.001-07:00

This week I got together with some other bloggers in a Google + hangout to discuss how to make a toy boat. Home made boats are a great way idea for making your own resources for the water tray children love test the out once their master piece is finished. I thought that it would be a nice idea to revist an old craft where we made tin boats.

Resources

Tin pie cases,
Play dough or plasticine,
Straws or lollipop sticks,
Card
Cellotape
Crayons or pencils

Step 1. Stick a ball shaped piece of Plasticine in your tin case roughly the size of a marble.

Step 2. Cut your straws to 10cm

Step 3. Cut out your rectangles by scaling them according to the straws.

Step 4. Decorate your sails using the crayons. You can pick any pattern you would like.

Step 5. Cellotape the sails onto the top of the straws then stick them into the play dough and your finished.

Once made we filled our baby bath with coloured water and added a collection of fish and shells.

The children enjoyed tapping the little boats around the bath and taking them on adventures. Little man put on the voices of pirate and P enjoyed hiding objects underneath the shells.

Maggy from +Maggy Woodley is always bursting full of fantastic ideas for crafting with children and this week she shared two great ideas for making your own boats, Walnut boats and some amazing Tug boats made from junk modelling.

This week +Ali Clifford showed us paper boats which Maggy had originally taught Ali's son. After showing all his friends how to make these paper boats this crafts holds a lot of memories for Ali.

+anthea barton from Zing Zing Tree shared a fantastic craft for making boats using chip containers she found on holiday.

+Crystal McClean from Crystals Tiny Treasures had a great idea to use kitchen rolls as boats. I love any craft which involve toilet or kitchen rolls as our house is always full of these.

The lovely +Kelly Innes from Domestic Goddesque had a very frugal idea using every part of a child's juice carton.

+Rebecca English from Here Come The Girls made a great boat using egg boxes. I love that the little people even have there own little seats to sit in.

Keeping Children Safe Online

2013-06-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

This year we were able to attend the Cybher conference and this was partly thanks to a wonderful company TwoTen. I first heard about Two Ten through a friend and began speaking to their virtal duck Peepus on Twitter. I love the idea of finding ways for children to safely use technology with out any risks and that's exactly what what Two Ten seek to do. P is always using the internet through our tablets or the laptop to play educational games but I'm sure it will not take longer for her to start wandering onto different sites.

This is what Two Ten say they have to offer..

TwoTen is an online protection and guidance service for younger children - sort of a web filter only cleverer. You don't have to install any software and there's almost nothing to configure. TwoTen technology can protect a child whether they are browsing the Internet with a PC, a netbook, a smartphone or a tablet - if it can browse the web TwoTen can protect it.

TwoTen's approach is fundamentally different to other web and Internet filtering systems you may have seen; we believe the protection and boundaries should be absolute and that younger children (that's who our product is for) need guidance as much as they need protection. We're also pretty sure that many parents and teachers are not technical experts and those that have technical skills are too busy to learn a new complex tool. So TwoTen guides children as well as protects them, while being incredibly simple to use for parents and teachers.

If your interested in finding out more or would like to sign up click here.

We hope to do some more work with Two Ten over the next year and will keep you up dated.

Cybher 2013- A Day To Remember

2013-06-03T02:02:00.000-07:00

Cybher is a conference held for bloggers once a year in the centre of London. Filled with inspirational and friendly women who would not have jumped at the chance of attending?! Well this year I was lucky enough to be able to attend thanks to some advertising on Playful Learners and a fantastic sponsor, TwoTen.

I was lucky enough this year to spend my time with a couple of lovely bloggers, Laura from Rocket and Bee and Fi from Childcare is Fun. Planning to attend with a friend is probably the best thing I could have done as it gave me a lot more confidence on the day. It was nice to meet some other bloggers that I had spoken to on line or read their blogs such as +Joy Jackson and @mytwomums whose little boy I quite easily could have taken home as Tinnies play mate! I also bumped into some of the blogger's which I do hangout's with on Goggle + such as +Maggy Woodley and +Anna Ranson. I think seeing people you speak to online was what made Cybher really special for me.

Before Cybher I had already planned out the sessions I wanted to attend. I was particularly keen on the talks about Google +, Pinterest and Going viral. This meant that I would get the most out of the conference for blogging and our business (Chaos Protein). I'm not sure really where things went wrong but I managed to miss all 3 of them which was a real shame.

I spent a little while down stairs with Mollie Makes in the Home Barn hangout attempting to crotchet and it's some thing which I am going to continue learning as I did not get past the first chain thanks to Tinnie. I am quite determined to make a blanket for next winter so fingers crossed.

The day was amazing I learnt so much and left with a lovely to do list from Sian and Claires session even though I'm not new to blogging. I'm feeling really motivated to carry on with blogging when I return to work and to build my readership as much as possible. I can't wait for next years now!!

Stokke Lovin- A Stokke Scoot Review

2013-05-31T00:30:00.000-07:00

Since having Tinnie we have come to realise that choosing a stroller or pushchair is a huge decision. Not only can a stroller set you back a tidy sum but it is something which we expect to last us a long time. To meet this need it's important to choose a good brand and spend time researching the features each stroller has to make sure it suits your needs. Not every stroller will suit every family, we learnt this the hard way.

So this is what we are looking for in a stroller?

Comfort- The stroller needs to offer a laying back as well as a sitting position. Ideally the sitting position should not be too up right. Tinnie has colic and always seems comfortable slight resting backwards.

Size- Our house is not particularly big nor is our boot space once daddies gym gear has taken up over half the room so a stroller which collapses into a small package would be ideal.

Quality- While out and about the strollers job is to give our little one a safe and comfortable ride. Making sure the stroller can do it's job safely and will last until Tinnie is too big for it is an important to me.

We seem to have had a lot of hassle this year with baby products and when we were offered to review the Stokke Scoot I was very excited to give it a try. I have been eyeing up the Xplory for some time even though daddy never liked the style. Bloggers have always described the brand as the best on the market and after reviewing the Tripp Trapp and new born seat I could not wait to give the stroller a go.

Stokke Scoot- The Compact Connection Stroller

The Scoot is described as a lightweight stroller with out comprising comfort and ease in use.
Available in 7 beautiful colours- brown, red, dark navy, black, beige, purple and lime green.
Suitable from birth up to 15kg.
RRP £549
Parent and front facing options for parent and child bonding.

When our Stokke Scoot arrived I tried to get G to film me while I unwrapped it and put it together but this went horribly wrong as for half the time the camera was facing the radiator as she was too excited about the colour I had picked. Putting together the stroller only took five minutes. The frame was in one piece so only the seat and wheels needed adding. Since I did not get to add a video of the stroller being unpacked, here is one from a few days later. I am aware that I have pronounced Stokke wrong so here's a link on how to say it correctly https://audioboo.fm/boos/664665-how-to-say-stokke. (Slapped wrist for me from the Stokke Lovers)

I thought I would go into as much detail as possible on the strollers features and if I have missed any thing out please feel free to leave your questions in the comment section below.

Stokke Scoot Hood

The Scoot hood is attached to the stroller using a zip which allows you to move the hood even further forward depending on the angle of the sun. The hood it's self also allows you to move it backwards and forwards in several positions to suit the weather.
The hood also has the extra feature of a zipp on visor which I have left on the hood as it can be easily flipped backwards inside the hood.
There is an additional zip across the hood which opens up displaying a small strip giving extra ventilation or a way of keeping an eye on your little one if they are facing front ways .

Stokke Scoot Basket

The basket is low down which according to Stokke means that the stroller will be more stable when filled with shopping.
The basket is also described as deep. I found that although the basket is large it could do with more netting at the front to stop things falling out. When going shopping I can usually fit two bags of shopping underneath which I think is a good amount.
There are hoops at the front underneath the seat which allows you to attach a Stokke changing bag. This is currently on my shopping wish list as my Pink Lining bag currently takes up the whole basket.
The basket is accessible for all sides of the stroller making it easy to access.

Stokke Scoot Seat

The seat comes with a 5 point harness ensuring baby is safely secure while in the seat.
The straps which go over babies shoulders also have pads for extra comfort when baby is small. These can be removed when taking the straps off of the seat it's self. We did this to tighten the straps for Tinnie. As he gets older I would not need to remove the straps to do this but as I needed them so tight it was necessary the first time.
The seat sits high on the frame making it easier for eye contact with parent or carer. The height also makes it easy to use as a high chair when out and about which we tried out while on a day trip to Thorpe Park.
The seat cover is easily removed for spot cleaning or to adjust the straps using a zip at the back of the seat.
The seat can be both parent facing or front facing. This is easily switched by using the white button on each side. We have not tried forward facing but will probably switch from when Tinnie is a year old.
While in the rest position baby is enclosed within the stroller. This keeps baby safe and secure helping baby to sleep while in this position. Tinnie loves to sleep in his Scoot especially on the school runs. I have also lined our's with a sheep skin liner which helps regulate his body temperature but help add to the comfy ride.
While in the active position he is in the perfect angle for me. Slightly resting back Tinnie is able to see me clearly but also see what is going on around him. This position is normally what I will use if he has just had his milk due to his Reflux.
To switch between the two positions you simply pinch the two circles on the back of the seat making sure you hold the back of the seat to recline or lift slowly if your little one is inside.

Stokke Scoot Footrest

The main foot rest sits at the front of the stroller. This foot rest is low down for when a toddler is using the stroller but is also sturdy enough for little man to use as a step to get into the seat.
The Scoot also comes with an extra foot rest which can be also be placed in two different positions at the front or back. This means that as Tinnie gets older the extra foot rest will support his feet rather than leaving them to dangle down.
The second foot rest is easy to moved using two button's which you pull out to release the foot rest.

Stokke Scoot Handle

The handle can be adjusted from 39 inches to 42. The handle is easily adjusted using a switch on the inside of the handle on each side. I use the lower of the two settings and I am 5ft5 where as daddy uses the higher setting and he is 6ft6.
A large part of the handle is covered in a firm foam which helps grip the handle when going up kerbs and pushing the stroller. Unfortunately our handle as cracked slightly in a few places. This was down to me placing my Pink Lining bag over the handle when out and about. Needless to say the bag is now band from coming out with us now!!
There is a section in the middle of the handle to add a cup holder which is available to order separately.

Stokke Scoot Wheels

The Scoot is a four wheel strollers and each 7 inch wheel is made from foam helping toward a smooth ride.
Having swivel wheels at the front of it can be a little difficult when getting out of the house but once you are used to it you just need to give the stroller a little wiggle and the wheels will move into place.
When using in snow or rougher terrain the wheels can be locked to make it easier to use.

Our Stokke Scoot out and about

Since having the Scoot we have been on many a school run together. I have found my self struggling to get up kerbs as I am used to pushchairs where you could push on the handle to help get up the kerb. I have found with the Scoot I am unable to do this and instead need to retrain my self to use my foot to help get up the kerbs instead.

While out and about there's no denying that the Scoot is an eye catcher. Many people have stopped me to ask my about the stroller and I love to show them all the features. We have also used our Scoot on the bus and found that the stroller is easy to maneuver around the poles and fits in nicer with a second stroller.

The rain cover has been used a lot already thanks to our beautiful English weather. I love that the rain cover goes right back and when not in use can be folded back over the hood. The rain cover is secured by using to poppers which makes it extremely easy to put on in a rush.

The Scoot also fit's nicely in our boot, we have a Audi A4 which has a big boot but we found that even with all daddies work bits we could still fit it in with room to spare. We have also tried it in a Focus but have yet to try it in nannies Ka. It's great that when placing it in the boot we do not need to take the seat off of the frame which is a great time saver.

So does the Scoot tick all our boxes? Completely. The quality of the Scoot is brilliant, I must admit I kind of treat it like a forth child as I love it so much. The Scoot fold's down nice and small to place in our porch or the boot and will fit nicely in the nurseries buggy cupboard. Tinnies seems to love his new pushchair and always falls asleep with ease when needed. I would highly recommend the Scoot to other mums and have done at toddler groups and in the school play ground.

Disclosure: The Stokke Scoot was sent to us for review purposes. However all opinions and views are my own

Fun Kids Costumes

2013-05-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

Playful Learners is all about sharing activities to do with children in the home or in an early years setting. I love to think up new idea's to share with my readers around my children's interests and listen to your ideas on how these ideas can be extended. With my new job starting this month I am hoping this will mean I am able to share even more ideas and even Publish some ebooks.

I recently came a cross a post with some beautiful homemade dressing up outfits. You can tell looking at the outfits that these mums have put a lot of effort and time into these costumes. This instantly made me think how am I going to find time to make my children's outfits! In nurseries there is always an excuse for a dress up day and I love to look like I have slaved away over their costumes especially for Halloween. In my last year at nursery I used the material of a black umbrella to make two bat wings and attached them to a black top. Simple but an easy solution!

With Pinterest on my side I'm pretty sure that I will be able to make full use of my evenings. There are some fantastic ideas to be found and many come with detailed instructions on how to make them. Making DIY costumes are a lot of fun and can give themes more meaning when covering a topic at school or nursery if children are taking part.

My eldest two love to dress up and every time they play role play games the dressing up box has to come out. Just this morning the children were playing with three big boxes. They disappeared off to the bed room and came back dress in there swimming gear, had a straw poking out of the mouths and glasses on. They explained that they were off scuba diving and the boxes were their submarines. I love the way they come up with such great ideas and how one object can represent another. If you are looking for inspiration for DIY costumes you could try ivillage. Even though Halloween is along way off it never hurts to have an idea or a plan in your head.

Granted, the costumes that people share are far more creative and add a unique edge as opposed to a lot stuff you see online, but it’s really good to have a standby place online if you feel like you won’t have the time nor the creativity to make your own.

Just look at lovely little ensemble that I found in Fancy Dress Ball’s Halloween section…

PR Collaboration.

Baby Weaning: First Tastes

2013-05-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Tinnie has now been weaning for four weeks and things seem to be going very well. For the first two weeks we started Tinnie on solids by introducing him to baby rice. Baby rice is a good food to use as a starter because of it's smooth but bland taste. This was a challenge at first I found that even with the tinniest of spoonfuls he would be happy for it to be in his mouth but gag when he needed to swallow it. Tinnie was sitting in my arms which made it easier to comfort and interact with him when needed. This was because he needed to get used to swallowing something thicker than milk. Within a week Tinnie was getting used to the texture and trying to dive forward for his spoon. So after two weeks we took the plunge into introducing fruit and vegetables.

It was important to me that Tinnie was comfortable and calm while trying new food's. I was worried that with Tinnie's reflux he would experience more pain while eating and become distressed. I choose to sit him in his Tripp Trapp new born seat which he still fits. This meant he would be at my height and I could sit and feed him comfortably. I have found that after milk feeds his Tripp Trapp kept him at a great angle to stop him bring milk back up and the acid in his chest rising.

When introducing fruit and Vegetables I like to start with individual flavour's. This helps to introduce more flavour without overwhelming them. During the following 2 weeks we tried

We have also since tried apricot, parsnip, apple with cinnamon, cauliflower and banana.

With the vegetables, these were steamed until soft but you could boil them if not. The apple and pear were both peeled and the boiled for two minutes to soften them up. If they became a bit watery I then added a little baby rice to thicken these up. When making the apricot puree I use dried apricots which can then be stored for longer. I took three or four and placed them in a bowl of water over night to re hydrate then blended them down.

Tinnie is now doing great with his food and seems to be putting on a healthy amount of weight again. I plan to now start doing mixtures of fruit and veg and will be sharing these soon with you on the blog.

Baby Weaning: Preparing To Start

2013-05-29T04:45:00.001-07:00

Tinnie is now five months and we recently started weaning with him. I had originally planned to wait until he was six months old as I wanted to give baby led weaning a try. We decided to start him on weaning a little early because his milk consumption was becoming less and less at each feed. His weight was also starting to drop on his scale and so I decided it was time to try him on food. Within a week of starting him on baby rice he had started to drink more milk which I found strange but was happy that things were back on track.

Having a nice experience in weaning your little one can be helped a lot through being prepared and taking things slowly. Here are some things to think about before you start.

Equipment for weaning:

Before diving into weaning make sure you have the right supplies for the job. It is important to make sure that any thing you use for weaning is sterilised before use. Here is a list of the equipment I have stocked up on.

Small bowls,
Soft tip spoons,
Wash cloths for after eating,
Plastic back bibs,
A good blender,
Plastic tubs/ ice cube trays/ sandwich bags for freezing fresh food,
A masher
A clean cloth to tidy up
Plastic sheeting to save your carpet
Comfortable seating for your little one whether its a high chair, bouncer, bumbo or Tripp Trapp new born seat.
Sippy cup, now your weaning it is important to keep your little one topped up with water to. This will stop dehydration.

Patience:

Weaning can take time to get used to for you and baby. It may take baby a while to get used to something which is thicker than their milk and different textures can sometimes be a challenge. Try to be patient and put a side a good 30 minutes to start with so that you can take your time when feeding.

Environment:

When you start to introduce your little one to weaning consider the environment. Babies can be easily distracted by what is going on around so little bit of quiet music or a peaceful environment is always best to start off with although not always possible when siblings are about.

They should be in a comfortable seat suitable for their age so that they are able to feel relaxed and calm. This may mean using a bouncer if you little one is unable to sit in a high chair and this is perfectly fine as long as they are not laid back too much, this could be a choking hazard.

Organisation:

When out and about plan a place suitable for meal times. Most high street cafes now refuse to heat food and milk so take a pouch or a flask of hot water can help solve this problem. Others may have a microwave and bottle warmer available for parents to use themselves so it is worth planning a head. When feeding at home make sure you have every thing around you so you do not need to leave baby unattended.

Recipes:

I used a few recipes I had collected when little man was little and the rest were from memory from my nursery days. Once baby is settling into weaning you can explore mixing different flavours however to start with individual fruits and veg are a great start.

Trusting your own judgement:

When I started Weaning Tinnie I did not explain my decision to my Health visitor and I felt I knew what I was doing now that I am on my third child. The current government guidelines are to start weaning at six months however this has never planned out with my three. I think as a parent you know your children and their needs best.

I plan over the next few weeks to share some posts on weaning recipes and to share reviews on some of the equipment we are using to make our life easier.

Playful Learning Can Cost Nothing

2013-05-28T01:50:00.002-07:00

Slip on those rose-tinted spectacles and cast your mind back to your childhood. What do you see? We see making dens, playing with cardboard boxes and acting as if they were spaceships, shadow-puppets, kiss catch and tag - all such wildly different adventures and games which kept us stimulated, happy and engaged with the world. They all have just one thing in common: they didn’t cost our parents a penny.

In this age of iPads, Xbox 360s, smart-phones and bmxs, we seem to have collectively fallen prey to the illusion that our kids need all the latest gizmos and gadgets. It’s typical of parents of our generation to get sucked in by the idea that our children need all the latest, plushest, costliest toys and devices to be the best they can be, but did Albert Einstein have a Gameboy DS? What about Leonardo Da Vinci, Virginia Woolf? We think not.

Play is all about learning how we interact with the world, so as a matter of fact, the more back to basics we go with it, the better children will learn about their relationship to people, objects, plants, animals, everything... Here are a few tips for some great play activities that’ll banish any thoughts of games consoles with a side helping of debt management to the shadows

In the garden - There are countless opportunities for your kids to learn through play in your own garden! See what insects, birds and flowers they can name, let them plant some seeds and teach them how to be gentle with nature - they say you can tell a lot about a person from how they act towards animals. Don’t have a garden of your own? Why not take your child to a local park or community gardening project?

Pets - Pets teach kids a great deal about life, the universe and everything! There are loads of animals great and small in desperate need of a good home in RSPCA centres and other charitable facilities up and down the country. A pet is one constant playmate and companion that’s never going to lead your son or daughter astray!

Make believe - There’s nothing more important to your child’s development than the nurturing of their imagination. Encourage your youngster to pretend to be different characters, dream up and write stories, make dens and act out their zany imaginings. Make believe is the best possible way to foster creative thinking in a child at a critical stage of the brain’s development. Whether it’s charades, shadow puppets, role play or writing stories, getting those cogs whirring is a great and economical way to have fun.

Thorpe Park on Review

2013-05-23T03:12:00.001-07:00

Over the last few weeks the children have been very excited over a planned day trip to Thorpe Park. It was an opportunity for a fun day out and a chance to see the children's nan and grandad who live very close by. Thorpe Park is a place filled with childhood memories for me. Having lived only five minutes down the road as a child we would usually visit the park on every school holiday. Our eldest two are now just at the right age to start going to theme parks so on the lead up to our trip I described the park and the rides the used to be my favourite as a child.

The night before the trip the children fell asleep surprisingly quick leaving me lots of time to pack. The weather was forecasts as rain and a little sun shine so I stacked the children's clothes up ready to go including plenty of layers so they could strip off if needed. I made sure we had spare clothes packed for the older two and plenty of extra bits for Tinnie ( for once I managed to remember every thing that we needed).

When we got to the park in the morning G explained the park as 'amazing' and 'just like Disneyland'. She was ready to burst as we came through the dome into the park, she scanned the park and straight away wanted to run off and explore. We waited around a little while for Nanny and Grandad and then we got started working our way around the park.

Favourite Rides:

Before we went to the park we were quite worried Moley (aged 3yrs 8mths) would not have many rides to go on but we were wrong. Once there we were able to measure him against each of the rides and this helped him to understand which rides were OK for him to try. His favourite ride was the X. This involves going on a roller coaster in the dark which is made more exciting by a light and sound show as you whizz round. I spent the whole time on this ride with my eye closed however Moley (who we now know is a real thrill seeker) was crazy about the ride.

G (aged 8) preferred the water rides. To begin with we struggled to convince her to try out the roller coasters but after explaining to her it's best she tried those before Tidal Wave she finally gave them ago. Her favourite ride would have the be Tidal Wave as she loved the huge drop down into the water and getting soaked. After that I would say it was the rapids. Luckily the weather was so nice in the end that we didn't need to use the heated pod's which cost £2 a go but G took any opportunity that should could to get wet even if it meant tricking nanny into getting wet as you can see below on the video.

The grown up's in the family enjoyed the X mainly because it was the biggest of the rides daddy could fit on. Being a strong man definitively has its down side when it comes to family trips involving rides. I think he was more disappointing the he let on but unfortunately he could not close the harness down when sitting in the seats as his shoulders were so big. However even the grown ups had a nice time going on the children's rides and didn't mind being pulled on 4 times in a row and we stayed at the park from 10am until 6pm so there was plenty to do through out the day and I think the children would have happily stayed at the newly opened Crash Pad and done it all on the following day. As you can see from the photo's we had a great time!!

Refreshments:

We took a picnic with us on the day to save on the cost of food. As you go around the park there is a wide variety of places to eat. There are plenty of places to sit around the park and if it rains there's also a few shelters. The food and drink is expensive but no higher priced then I would expect on a day out. When needing to heat up Tinnies bottle we needed to return to the first aid centre to have it heated as the shops are not allowed to do this. It was not too much hassle as we were constantly walking near this area.

Tips:

Don't bother with the lockers these are over priced and there are plenty of places to leave your bags while on the rides.
Parking is costly so make sure you bring some change.
Make sure you do plenty of toilet trips with the little ones, theres nothing worse then getting to the front of a que and then they need the loo.
Take a spare change of clothes or wear layer in case you get wet.
Pack swimming costumes for the mini beach.

Would we go again? Yes definitely!! The park is costly for a day out but there are ways to save money and it really is a great day out.

Looking for ways to save?

Pick up a Frijj to take advantage of a 2-for-1 coupon offer when booking tickets. More information can be found on their Facebook page
Alternatively you can Book tickets 7 days or more in advance to save 30% – adults from £30.24, children from £23.52 (under 12). Handy if your planning for the school holidays in advanced.
Get 2-for-1 tickets courtesy of Coke
If travelling by train, head to South West Trains to get online discounts on entry
Feel like one day isn’t enough? Thorpe Park now offer over-night stays at the park in our newly opened ‘Crash Pad’ accommodation from £64 per person which includes 2 days at the park and breakfast!!

Disclosure: We were sent Thorpe Park Tickets to review however all opinion's are my own.

Making Marks With Play Dough

2013-05-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

We love to play with playdough in our house because it's a great open ended play experience. I make a big batch of easy to make play dough and the children pick out the materials or toys they would like to use with it. I usually make a fresh batch at the beginning of the week and keep it until the following weekend. Its stored in the fridge every night in a plastic container and may just need a little bit of water adding to it each day.

This week Little Man picked red play dough ( this is his favourite colour at the moment) so I made it up and placed out the duplo bricks to get him exploring making marks in play dough. Normally as I said before I would not lead the children's play in picking the resources but mark making is a skill Little Man is just discovering and I thought it would be a fun way to involve mark making.

Little man loved pushing the brick down into the play dough and watching the marks that the different size bricks made. He then began piling the play dough up and seeing what difference this made to his playdough when he pushed the playdough in again. It's lovely to see how he extends his own play by experimenting.

He then rolled out the play dough either side of the pattern he had already made and counted them up to eleven and higher with help. He noticed that the pattern looked like a computer key boards and started playing with it as though it was a computer.

The next time we do mark making with play dough I will try resources like combs, cotton wool buds and plastic knifes.

Development Links

Maths: Looking at shapes and counting with or without assistance.

Physical: Developing gross and fine motor skills through use of tools and manipulative materials.

Creative: Use of imagination in play to mould and adapt into objects for play.

Garden Theme Bedroom Part 1

2013-05-16T04:32:00.003-07:00

We moved around a year ago to the house we're now in and when we first did so I promised my self that I would make this house feel like a home as the last house never truly felt like a home. The most important rooms to me were the children's room's and since the eldest two were sharing I thought I would attack their room first. P and Little man moved into the same bedroom to give Peanut his own room now that he is old enough.

The first thing we needed to do was come up with a theme that they could both agree on and would last until Peanut was old enough to share with his big brother. They decided on the theme of the garden as it is something that could suit both boys and girls. So mini beasts for the boys and butterflies and flowers for the girls.

I think this process will be a long one. The main thing which I wanted to cover was to get the theme clearly seen when you walk through the room and I think we have done that.

The next big important thing to me was that they had enough storage. We used some large box units we already had and then purchased some boxes for inside and on top from Vertbaudet for all of their toys. This is also where we purchased the lovely shaggy pile rug from which makes a great environment for P's fairy play.

A bit of a fuzzy photograph but this beautiful tree was sent to us by Dotty Frog Decor. The lovely tree filled a large section of the main wall in their bedroom. Living in a rented house we are unable to paint the walls, using wall stickers has been a great way for us to put our own touch on the children's room and can be easily removed when we decide to change the room's around again.

We still have a lot more planned for the bedroom including curtains with hand sewn details and art work picture frames so that's why this is only part one. Do you have a beautiful themed children's bedroom? I'd love to see a photo and you can add them to our Facebook page.

Disclosure: Dotty Frog Decor sent us some wall stickers to review however all opinion's are my own.

Making Smoothies With Actimel

2013-05-15T12:23:00.001-07:00

Fruit and Veg has been one of those things that bother me. The whole family completely lack fruit and veg in their diet and I know this lies down to me! So this summer I'm on a mission to squeeze as much of it as I can into every day. Because this is a life style change I plan to introduce it to the children in many ways to get the children learning more about healthy foods. We have started to plant our own veg and will be doing plenty of cooking with the apples which grow in the garden each year.

Last week we were sent a lovely little package of goodies from Actimel. The box was packed with fruit and yogurts from the new Actimel range which we were to use to make a smoothie. I thought this would be a fantastic way to introduce more fruit to the children by using the smoothies as a snack with they could even help make. Actimel comes in a variety of 14 flavours including fat free. Suitable for children from 3, each bottle of Actimel contains at least 10 billion L. Casei live cultures and Vitamins B6 and D - a perfect way to start the day!

So we set up the little smoothie maker and got blending a variety of smoothies using the recipe cards Actimel sent us as inspiration. I say we but Little Man was the chef and took to work excited cutting up the fruit carefully with a safety knife.

As Little Man placed every thing in the smoothie maker we tried the different fruits and discussed their tastes.
We came up with new words for him to descibe foods such as sharp, tangy and smooth. Little man explained that his favourite was a berries and that we needed lots of these in our drink. We went for a tasty smoothie made with banana's, mixed berries, passion fruit, mango and a bottle of Actimel mango and passion fruit.

Once blended down Little man noted the change in colour and was excited to pour it into a cup and give it a try. He described it as tasting like ice cream and I must admit it does remind me of my favourite ice cream. As part of my current diet I drink a smoothie (normally green) every lunch time and this recipe has to be my favourite so far and I'm excited to give the others a go.

Disclosure: Actimel sent us some Actimel drinks, fruit and a blender to create some smoothies with. All opinion's are my own.

Our Garden Wish List

2013-05-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

Looking out the window into the back garden you would think that the house had been abandoned and the garden left to over grow. Our plans for the garden this year do not really seem to be taking off and I really need to get my bum in gear as I won't have time when I return to work. I have pictures in my head of a bright and vibrant garden that's inviting to the children and a great place to entertain friends. So far it is looking like any thing else BUT that. There is a lot of work to do but with the nice weather on and off I can't bring my self to go out there and do gardening.

After a bit of online browsing I came a cross some gorgeous garden accessories from John Lewis which would really bring our garden come to life!

Wooden planters- we could do with a few of these for the herbs which are currently taking over my flower beds.

A bird bath is some thing we are missing from our nature area. The plan is to grow lots of plants and berries which will attract the birds, bees and maybe even a few squirrels.

Oil cloth bunting

tea light candle holders for when the kids are in bed

Fairy lights would come in handy when we choose to have friends over for a BBQ and would like to stay our there when the sun has gone down.

The collection at John Lewis really gets me in the summer feeling but first I need to go out there and wrestle the weeds and grass before hubby will let me shop for the garden.

Have you started on revamping your garden for the summer?

How To Make Home Made Fudge

2013-05-08T03:16:00.000-07:00

I was told a while ago that fudge was an easy way to bake with the children. I loved the idea of doing this because we usually make biscuits or egg free cakes so this was some thing a little different. Making fudge was a great way for Little Man to discuss the changes he noticed as the ingredients as they were heated through on the hob.

Ingredients:

225ml Water
1kg Sugar
125g Butter (unsalted)
350ml Condensed Milk
1 Teaspoon vanilla essence

Recipe:

1. Place the Water, sugar and butter into a saucepan
2. Boil the ingredients for about 10 minutes on a high heat until the sugar has dissolved

3. Add the condensed milk while continuing to stir every minute.
4. Stop stirring and boiling once the mixture begins to obtain a light brown colour and begins to thicken on the side of the saucepan
5. Add vanilla essence
6. Once cooked poor into shallow baking pan lined with grease proof paper

7. Leave the fudge to set or pop it in the fridge

Product Review: Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game

2013-05-04T01:11:00.000-07:00

Learning Resources manufactures a wide range of award-winning toys and learning aids for children from two to twelve years. The UK based company are passionate about the products they produce in helping children development.

They explain on their site 'during the last 16 years Learning Resources has become The Brand Teachers Trust supplying teachers with educational products for early years education, maths and literacy learning, phonics (letters & sounds), reading, science, personal, social & health education (PSHE), and English as an Additional Language (EAL).' I have to agree with this, as a Nursery Manager the company was also my first point of call when looking for resources.

We were recently asked to review the Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game by Learning Resources. We have a lot of board games in our house however most are aimed at school age and Little Man doesn't have many which are age appropriate so I thought this would be great for him.

Learning Resources describe the board game as a 'Distinctive board game helps to develop colour matching, strategic thinking, hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills. Winner of the Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards 2011 this squirrel themed game is suitable for children over three years and can be played between 2-4 players.' So the game was perfect to help him develop his knowledge of colours and understanding of taking turns and sharing.

To play the game every one is given a log to collect their acorns in. You have to do is take it in turns to spin the spinner if you land on a colour you then use the squirrel to grab the matching colour acorn. The winner is the player who fills the log first. Sounds easy right? But you could also land on the sad squirrel and miss a turn or land on the wind blowing all your acorns back onto the tree.

Since the game arrived it has been Little Man's favourite toy and he has not been able to put it down. His favourite part is using the squirrel to try and pick up the acorn. His able to name all the colours and waits patiently for his turn which he would never have done before.

Not only has this game been great for Little Man but it has worked with P too. I have found lately she has been forgetting to share and play nicely with her brother so this game has been a nice reminder for her too. I have started to try and introduce board games as a way for calming down before bed time and this game is great for that.

So the game is a hit in our house as you can tell. The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game is the perfect educational toy and learning aid for preschoolers and helps to develop colour matching, strategic thinking, hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. The quality of the game is good but not great, the squirrel is very robust and just the the right size for Little Man to use however I have noticed that the paint has started to come off slightly on the acorns.

The game includes a set of Squirrel Squeezers, 20 coloured acorns, 1 game spinner and 4 stumps.

The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel game is available to purchase from the Learning Resources website for £19.99.

You can visit Learning Resources at: www.learningresources.co.uk
You can follow Learning Resources on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LRUK
You can like Learning Resources on Facebook: www.facebook.com/learningresourcesuk Where you will find their latest competitions and offers.

Disclosure: I was sent a Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game for the purpose of this review but all views are honest and my own.

Haba 75th Anniversary Review: Lucky Sock Dip

2013-05-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

The idea of the game is similar to snap, The sock card are scattered over the table and the first player to find 5 match pairs of cards and grab the sock monster is the winner. They are then rewarded with a sock monster card and the game continues until all the sock monster cards are used up and the winner of course is the one with the most sock monster cards.

This pocket sized game was great fun for the children, it's lovely to sit and watch them play this game as the giggles and loud laughter is such delight to hear. It took Little Man a while to get the hang of the game and because his 4 yrs younger than his sister he does tend to loose but with help from mummy or daddy we can make it a lot fairer.

The game has come in very useful for filling the gap before dinner or even when we are out and about as the box is a handy pocket size and doesn't take up much room in my changing bag.

If you'd like to find out more about the HABA toys you can check out their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter .

Haba 75th Anniversary Review: Shopping Net Fruits

2013-05-02T02:54:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the fact that HABA has been around for 75 years, 75 bloggers are taking part in reviewing a selection of HABA products. When we found out that we had been selected as one of their 75 I was very excited to try out their products. When checking out their website the toys seemed to be great quality and there were so many items I knew my three would absolutely love.

The first of the toys we choose to review was the 'Shopping Net Fruits', which is made up of 2 apples, 3 pears, 2 strawberries, 3 plums.

I loved this collection of fruit. The colour's were beautiful and vibrant which excited the children straight away. Being wooden the fruit was nice and robust for when Little Man decided it would be more fun to watch the fruit roll down the stairs then to play shops.

Since having the fruit it has been used to have a picnic in the garden, playing supermarkets and cooking dinner for nanny and grandad. It has since been added to the play food box in the kids room. I have notice a few marks in the paint since we received it where the paint has come off but it still has a lot more use in it.

If you'd like to find out more about the HABA toys you can check out their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter .

Four Maxi Dress Styles to Give Your Summer Wardrobe a Boost

2013-05-02T02:47:00.001-07:00

Flick through the pages of any fashion magazine this summer and you’ll discover that maxi dresses are still big news – and for very good reason. As well as being flattering and fun to wear, maxi dresses strike the perfect balance between modish and modest, which makes them the ideal dress for almost every summer occasion.

Invest in one great maxi dress and you’ll breeze effortlessly through the season, so let’s take a look at four of our favourite ladies’ maxi dress styles that will take pride of place in your summer wardrobe.

Punchy Paisley

Whether it’s a summer wedding or simply Sunday brunch with your friends, a paisley print maxi dress is a fun and fashionable piece that looks great on every woman’s figure. Go bold by the beach with summery shades of cerise and orange, or enjoy muted elegance in the evening with hues of aubergine or teal. Accessorising your paisley print maxi dress is easy too - simply add a smart blazer and open-toed pumps to take your dress through to the evening.

Animal Instincts

Although not for the faint-hearted, animal print maxi dresses are one of the must-have summer looks for this year, and what’s more they’re incredibly easy to wear! Go wild in a flowing leopard print maxi dress or be subtle and sophisticated with David Emanuel’s jungle print maxi dress for Bonmarché . The design combines leopard print and a striking fuschia leaf print in a strapless style with a knotted bust that will flatter all figures, plus the affordable price means it could soon become your favourite summer piece of all!

Long and Ladylike

A floral chiffon maxi tea dress will instantly make any woman feel like a true lady, particularly if you choose one with a pretty pastel floral print or beaded details that will make you wish you were enjoying afternoon tea at the Ritz. If floral prints are too twee for you, look for classic block colours like red or blue and accessorise your tea dress with cork wedge sandals, long necklaces or a chunky belt to help disguise unwanted curves. When the summer weather begins to turn cooler, add a long cardigan over your maxi tea dress to take it through to the next season.

Abstract Accents

A more interesting take on the maxi dress trend are those adorned with abstract prints, which never fail to make a statement, particularly in striking monochrome. Zig-zags and art-inspired patterns were part of almost every designer’s collection on the summer catwalks, but relaxed maxi dresses make them wearable, especially if you accessorise with a block-coloured blazer and a wide belt to break up the silhouette.

Gardening Adventures

2013-05-01T00:30:00.000-07:00

It been a very hectic few weeks here at Playful Learners. We've been concentrating on my hubby's health supplement business and I've been prepping for job interviews for my return to work but the plants are coming on really nicely and this weekend we are preparing to move them all into larger pots before we transfer them to the garden.

Over the next few weeks I plan to make a journal with the children which will incorporate all areas of learning but will also make a lovely record to look back on next year. This month I will be sharing some of the links added for April's Garden Adventures. It was lovely to read what stage every one was at with their gardens and how they involved the children in the gardening.

Brennda Phillips shared their idea for exploring what a plant needs to grow.

KC EDventures linked up 30 ideas for gardening with children from planning how to use their space to recording the plants growth and making a journal

Teach Beside Me shared an idea on how to make your children their own watering can! I love this idea, I'm always looking for ways to use our junk modelling materials in a different way.

Gardening Adventures

On the 1st of every month Playful Learners, And Then All I Thought About Was You and Here Come The Girls will be hosting a Link up where you can add a link to your latest fun garden activity with the children. You can fine this month's linky below.

Haba 75th Anniversary Review: On The Farm Large Play Set

2013-05-01T00:00:00.001-07:00

To celebrate the fact that HABA has been around for 75 years, 75 bloggers are taking part in reviewing a selection of HABA products. When we found out that we had been selected as one of their 75 I was very excited to try out their products. When checking out their website the toys seemed to be great quality and there were so many items I knew my three would absolutely love.

The first of the toys we choose to review was the 'On The Farm Play Large set'. This was my favourite item of the one's we were sent. The whole set comes in a fold out box which transforms into the farm house. The objects them selves are beautifully painted figures that balance nicely and are just the right size for Little Mans toddlers hands.

When setting the farm up with Little Man I placed a green mat underneath to represent the grass and Little Man placed the animals around the farm using the lovely images to help him work out where they could be placed.

He explained to me that this area was for the animals to eat the grass.

Meanwhile back in the farmers house Little Man put the farmer to bed with his dog and a chicken.

The box its self was filled with beautiful details which he used in his play too. Such as the hose to wash down the very muddy pig who had been rolling in the mud.

If you'd like to find out more about the HABA toys you can check out their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter .

Transporting With Diggers

2013-04-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Last week we were inundated with parcels turning up at the door. Our living room was starting to look like box city which would have been fine if I didn't need the boxes because the children would have had a great time crawling though them. Two of the children we were able to keep were a perfect tray size and low enough for us to use for some play.

Schema's are something I have been meaning to do more research on because I find it really fascinating Little man loves to transport thing from one area to another and also to line things up. The idea with schema's is the once you have recognised that your child has a schema this interest of theirs can then be used to help them learn through play.

This activity was very simple to set up. We used two boxes and filled one with packaging, the other was filled diggers and trucks able to transport the packaging. So I then set Little Man the challenge to move the packaging from one box to the other.

To begin with he played with it for roughly five minutes and then went off to play in the garden but that night he returned to the game and was able to move all the packaging. He was happy making the noises of the trucks or diggers and I used the opportunity to mention simple number by asking how many he had in the digger or how many he could fit in. He mentioned the weight of the packaging and that it would be easy for his trucks to light.

Saving for a rainy day, why is it necessary?

2013-04-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

When I was younger my opinion was always to live in the now and enjoy your money while you can. We would spend our money on days out, take-away's and clothes. To be honest my view hadn't really changed until Little Man was born and we decided I would be come a stay at home mum. By then it was really too late we had no savings and had to manage just on hubby's wages every month regardless of any hiccups along the way. Looking back even now I am disgusted at the amount of money we wasted when putting the money in a cash isa would have meant that we now could have been a lot more comfortable now or in the distant future as we have not even started a pension yet.

In a few months time I am planning to return to the world of working in childcare and I plan to use our money a lot more sensibly. My main priorities is to start the children on swimming lessons, open a cash isa so we have some saving should we need it and save for a mortgage.

Looking back at how we used our money has made me think about the children and after a chat with hubby we have started to give them pocket money. This pocket money is earned by simply doing a chore or two a day, such as making their bed or clearing the table for tea. They will then be encouraged to use this money to save it up in their money box for a toy they would like to buy. The idea behind it of course is to teach them the value of money, with hope that when they get older they will continue to understand this and maybe even continue to save their money for a rainy day.

10 Ideas For Outdoor Play With Toddlers

2013-04-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

With summer soon upon us I've been thinking of how we could use the garden more and have already got a brand new sand pit and sensory tray ready for some exciting outdoor activities. I've been brainstorming what thing's we could try and the children have been helping to come up with activities they would like to do. This year we are planning on planting a lot more vegetable using grow bag so the children have easy access to watch them grow as well as making our own nature area. This years all about getting out of the house for us!!

Last year the children were able to experience their first Summer with their own garden. It was lovely to watch them play outside and Little Man to become the little explorer I knew he would be, digging in the mud and searching for sticks to collect. I thought before it would be a nice to share with you what we got up to last year before this years outdoor play ideas.

Towards the end of the summer we made the children a digging area. Little man loved transforming it into an area for his dinosaur's to live in.

We looked at ways we could help develop P's literacy through out door play, I wrote a post sharing the ideas we implemented many of these were one's which Little Man could join in too.

During the Olympic's we took the paints out side and rolled out a huge roll of paper for printing. The children loved painting on a big scale.

We used plants and objects from around the garden to create an ocean for the children's fish to explore.

On hot days we prepared ice blocks for play to help cool us down. We hid item's in the ice and the children were really excited when the flowers or animals started to brake free from the ice.

We were given a bag filled with brushes of all sizes by our local council on a Childminding Course and these were added to the children's water play box. They loved using these to wash the cars, bikes and windows.

Mark making in the garden added a new way for P to explore her favourite media's, while Little Man was able to work on his hand eye coordination through using larger tools.

At the end of Spring the children helped to plan the flowers we should grow in the garden. We used magazine cuttings to make collages of the colours we wanted to use.

Through out the summer the children played a huge part of what was grown in the garden and this included the planting and watching plants grow.

Alright we didn't quite have ten so here is an activity we did this year. We went around the house and through the recycling bin to find things which we could use as planters. P loved being responsible for washing out the yogurt pots which was a great way to get her involved in the recycling.

So what do we have planned for this year? Wait and see :0)