PS3: Wonderbook (Review)

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I was recently sent a copy of the new augmented reality game for the PlayStation 3: 'Wonderbook – Book of Spells'. Set in the Harry Potter universe, the 'Book of Spells' is designed to be a handbook for wizard students but as it's set before the the books/films it doesn't feature him. Augmented reality is a bit bizarre, the game is turned into a 3D and interactive experience: very bizarre, very addictive.

I'm handing this over to Mr. TBaM to review.

When the first Harry Potter novels appeared, more than one reference was made to my rounded glasses, haircut and general appearance resembling images of the eponymous hero. It's fortunate that nobody could see the slight scar I have on my forehead, mostly covered by a fringe (yes, really!).

Although this did give me hope that I stood a chance of being cast as an adult Potter one day (before Daniel Radcliffe discovered that he could simply stop shaving for a few days) my actual magical abilities were still firmly rooted at "squib" standard. Until now…

'Wonderbook: Book of Spells' is the first game to use the new PlayStation 3 "Wonderbook". On the face of it, the Wonderbook is a simple hardback book covered in hieroglyphs, but combine it with the Eye camera and Move controller and you are given an impressive augmented reality view of what's in front of you. Within seconds the television becomes a mirror, with the plain book transformed into Miranda Goshawk's Book of Spells and the Move replaced with your very own magic wand!

book of spells

The game is more of an interactive story, with plenty of new content written by J K Rowling, than a simple game. You are guided through twenty different spells, with tasks associated with each giving you the chance to use them in "real" situations. The Boy was particularly taken with using Winguardium Leviosa in herbology! (Or 'Nevenosa' as he calls it!)

Although set in the Harry Potter world, the book is from two hundred years before the present day and thus no mention is made of Potter himself. This is no bad thing, as it allows the player to concentrate on the magic, whilst also making it accessible to those – including the Boy – with no prior knowledge of the world of Potter. The fact that you see yourself performing the spells adds to the illusion, and it is very easy to lose track of time once immersed in the stories behind each spell.

Overall, an extremely impressive immersive experience. The Boy was hooked and grasped the concepts far faster than we'd expected him too, and TBaM and I did have a sneaky hour or two on it after he'd gone to bed!

This is a brilliant game and one which spans generations; my father, us, The Boy and my nine year old niece all really enjoy playing it.

I'd say the optimum age for Wonderbook: Book of Spells is six years or over, although The Boy as three and a half really did enjoy it with guidance.

I was sent this product on loan for review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

'My Jolly Phonics' Kit (Review)

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For the past six months, The Boy has shown an immense interest in reading and is able to recognise 80% of the alphabet and pronounce the sound (or phoneme) correctly. He astounded us a few weeks ago by leaning over Mr. TBaM's shoulder and reading a simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) word correctly, and then floored us when he continued to read the next ten words correctly by sounding them out (segmenting).

The 'My Jolly Phonics' kit we've been sent to review has come at exactly the right time!

Jolly Phonics is the most widely used programme in schools for teaching children how to read. It splits the 42 phonics into progressive groups to learn, and addresses them in a fun manner.

Inside the beautiful storage bag is:

  • a parents' guide;
  • Jolly songs;
  • activity books;
  • Jolly Stories;
  • Jolly Phonics games CD;
  • Jolly Phonics DVD;
  • a packet of coloured pencils (in an outside pocket).

The parents' guide does a brilliant job of explaining the different stages to reading using the method of 'synthetic phonics'. In this case 'synthetic' refers to 'synthesising' the letter sounds together to create words using techniques such as segmenting and blending. It's an incredibly well explained guide and one that helps to understand the process of learning to read a lot better.

Every phonic in the Jolly Phonics programme has a character and action associated with it. Jolly Songs is a brilliant resource for helping children to learn these, and because it's a CD it can be played while doing another activity and through sheer osmosis, the actions and sounds are learnt. The accompanying booklet has suggested games for parents to supplement the songs.

Inside the kit are seven activity books; one for each of the seven groups of phonics. The activity books are really good quality; full colour with a good mix of stories, discussion points, sticker activities, practical games to play, physical activities developing both gross and fine motor skills, and notes for parents. I think the activity books are one of the best resources that Jolly Phonics producs.

Jolly Stories is a hardback story book with seven stories inside; one for each group of phonics. The pages are thick, colourful and have a large focused letter on them which the child can trace with his finger to develop formational skills. The stories focus on the characters and Jolly Phonics actions in context, and are a great way of consolidating the relevant phoneme.

I had some trouble installing the Jolly Phonics Games CD and had to put it on my school laptop as it wouldn't load onto my own machine. Both are running Windows 7 so I'm not sure what went wrong (The CD can be installed on both Windows and Mac machines). During the setup it's possible to select either precursive or print letters, and suggests that in the UK we install the precursive font, which I did anyway because that's what I use in the classroom. There are three levels of play; easy, medium or hard, with plenty of activities and games within each one. I would like to point out that it's worth reading the manual because some of the games (even in the easy level) rely on understanding how to blend phonics together, and this would cause children trouble unless they've got a firm grasp on the basic phonics of that level first.

The Jolly Phonics DVD features episodes from the 1995 television series which, as they are 17 years old, aren't of a brilliant recording quality. However the content is just as relevant. It actually reminded me a little of Fingermouse from my own childhood and the characters, props and images are bright and attractive. The only thing that jarred my professional nerves slightly was the inconsistent pronounciation. The first episode focuse on 'S', 'A', 'T' (the first collection of phonics taught), yet pronounciation ranges from 'sss' to 'suh' and 't' (blunt ended) to 'tuh'. This 'uh' sound, the schwa, is avoided at all costs in phonics teaching nowadays as it gives a false phonics awareness. I think the variation in the way the phonics were said sends mixed messages to young children learning to read.

As a parent I have found this set invaluable, as a teacher it was just as helpful. I specialised in teaching junior aged children who can invariably read by the time they get to my class. I've never been taught how to help a child read, and it's only through common sense, and now my own practise with The Boy that I really appreciate the different processes involved. However, many parents who don't know where to start when supporting their child in learning to read are scared of 'getting it wrong' (rightly so) and this starter kit is a great toolkit for exactly this purpose.

Overall it's a really good resource and I would recommend it.

I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion as a parent and teacher are honest and unbiased.

Orchard Toys: Shopping List

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If you don't have a copy of one of the most popular Orchard Toys games ever made then you need to get it. And soon.

Shopping List is an essential game for children aged 3-7 years because of the way that it takes an everyday situation that children are incredibly familiar with, and provides them with the opportunity to play it at home learning about the different foods available.

Orchard Toys Shopping List

The original game (for there are two booster packs) contains:

  • four cardboard trolleys;
  • four shopping lists with pictures and written names of groceries;
  • 32 grocery cards

The basic idea of the game is that each player takes a trolley, chooses a shopping list and then must fill it with the relevant items on their shopping list, taking it in turns to find them from the muddled, upside-down pile in the middle of all the players. If the grocery item card they pick up is one of theirs they can put it in their trolley, if not the must return it to the middle for someone else to take it. Play continues until one person has filled their trolley.

orchard toys shopping list

Only because we have a three year old who likes everyone to win (you just either win first, second or third) then we play it that rather than return it to the middle, we give it to whoever has it on their list. And yes, it does work which is the beauty of Orchard Toys games, they are adaptable for the needs of the child.

There are two Booster Sets available:

  1. Fruit & Veg
    • Containing two trolleys and shopping lists, there are 16 grocery cards each with an item of fruit or vegetable on it. The fruit and vegetables chosen show a range of everyday foods that the children should be familiar with: pears, potatoes, leeks, melons, cherries, kiwi fruits, asparagus, etc. This is a great opportunity to discuss healthy eating options and where the foods come from or how they grew.
  2. Clothes
    • Like the Fruit & Veg pack, this Booster Pack is designed for two players, this time containing 16 clothes cards showing clothes from different seasons like; shorts, vest top, watch, scarf, flip flops, trainers, jumpers, sunglasses, etc. It provides an opportunity to discuss the clothes that are worn at different seasons (or in this country, the same season but different days!)

Whenever we go away for the weekend this is the one Orchard Toys game that comes with us, having carefully selected the lists we The Boy wants to take; the booster packs are interchangeable with the main game. We've had this game for quite some time now (I'm ashamed to admit how long) and it is the single most played game in the house!

Educational guide:

  • encourage observational and memory skills
  • develop personal and social skills through role-playing and questioning
  • language development (modelling questioning and discussion)
  • healthy eating – PSHE

Shopping List is priced at £7.50 and each of the Booster Packs are priced at £4.50 each.

'Dear Zoo' (Review)

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A few months ago, the wonderful children's modern classic 'Dear Zoo' by Rod Campbell celebrated its 30th anniversary. I am of the age group that would have only just missed this enchanting book when it was first published, however it very firmly sits in my Listography of Top 5 Children's Books and I defy any parent of a toddler to resist it. As it has sold over five million copies in the past thirty years, I'm pretty sure not many parents do resist it!

There are a number of different variants of the classic book in the 'Dear Zoo' range, including an Animal Shapes 'buggy' book, a Little Library, a pop-up version, a Noisy Book and even an iPad app, but I want to share two new additions:

Dear Zoo Touch and Feel

This is a brilliant version of the book for the younger child who is still discovering the world through touch. With a range of different textures throughout, the materials definitely help to make it more of a sensory book to explore. (RRP £7.99)

The Dear Zoo Activity Book

This activity book (priced at £3.99) has a huge range of activities which I feel are best suited to children aged four years and over. The activities encourage fine motor skill development through dot-dot and follow the line, and for the younger reader there are sticker activities. However quite a lot of the activities involve some degree of reading or writing which children younger than four are almost certainly not capable of. For someone who has treasured the book then this won't daunt them.

I was sent these products for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Barefoot Books (Review)

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The Boy has recently been sent two books from Barefoot Books to review. Barefoot Books publish books celebrating art and stories from a range of different cultures, sharing the world's diversity.

The Beeman (by Laurie Krebs and Valeria Cis)

In 'The Beeman', a young boy explains about his Grandpa and his hobby of keeping bees. Using prose, it explains the different clothing needed and how Grandpa looks after his beehives in order for them to produce honey which is then sold to the people of the town. At the end of the book is a visual glossary explaining some of the different processes and terms used throughout the book.

The illustrations in this book are full colour with soft tones used in every picture. Every page is adorned with beautiful drawings and they really engage the reader, and the child. I liked that the story was written in simple rhyming prose, which made it more interesting to read and listen to. The visual glossary at the back is a good idea but more suited to older children than The Boy at three and a half years.

'Driving My Tractor' (by Jan Dobbins and David Sim)

'Driving My Tractor' is a delightful book with an accompanying CD, which tells the story of a farmer who drives around his farm collecting the animals up on the back of his trailer. As he moves from page to page, the seasons change which provides a brilliant opportunity to discuss seasonal change and look for the similarities and differences in nature.

The book also allows for mathematical development through the progressive number of animals that need to be collected. At the very end of the book is a visual glossary to help explain some of the machinery and crops that can be found on a farm.

Both books are very appropriate for under-fives; 'The Beeman' shows life in another country (albeit in a familiar style), but 'Driving My Tractor' is the one that most children in the UK can equate to as many will have visited a farm and it therefore draws on experience to help explain.

I was sent these products for the purpose of this review, my opinions are honest and unbiased.

'New Year's Eve' DVD

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And so at 11pm on New Year's Eve, 2012 I am about to settle down with Mr. TBaM to watch a DVD, mainly because there's nothing on television (what a surprise), but also because I can't think of a better time to watch a film called, fittingly, 'New Year's Eve'!

I have traditional films that I like to watch over the festive period, some of them are schmaltzy, American, Hallmark style films, but the main one is 'Love, Actually'. I adore this film, not only because of the brilliant storyline and clever writing, but because of the plethora of celebrities throughout and trying to work out how their stories tie together. Another film which is good at linking many people's lives together is 'Valentine's Day,' and 'New Year's Eve' has been created by the same people.

With a huge ensemble cast (Halle Berry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Katherine Heigl, Jessica Biel, Ashton Kutchen, Hector Elizondo, Robert de Niro, Jon Bon Jovi, Zac Effron, and oodles more) and the promise of Times Square on the biggest night of the year, what's not to love?

Amendment (New Year's Day):

We thorougly enjoyed this DVD. 'Valentine's Day' was a little bit of a let down, a touch too schmaltzy and the storyline was predicatable. However, the acting and storyline in 'New Year's Eve' was a lot stronger; less predictable and not everything turns out happy and twee. The acting from Robert de Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer is clearly strong, Hilary Swank is a bonus addition, and the male leads are not the main focus. I think the production team have learnt from 'Valentine's Day' and this film is a lot more memorable.

I was sent these product for the purpose of this post.

Garden Games Cannonball Drop, Or Giant Kerplunk! (Review)

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A little while ago I was asked if I'd like to review a game or piece of equipment for the garden. As it was October at the time and the weather was just about to turn, I wasn't sure what to choose but the instant I saw Cannonball Drop I knew that was the game for us.

Designed to be played in the garden, Cannonball Drop is effectively a giant version of Kerplunk. Standing at just under a metre tall, it's a perfect game to be played by a group of people, particularly for children. The tower comes in four, robust parts which stack neatly inside each other for storage, but cleverly and easily slots together. Even a three year old can do it! The third section has holes around it allowing for coloured thick straws to be pushed through, creating the 'web' that the balls rest on. The balls go in through the top yellow section, rest on these straws and fall through to the blue base which has a 'doorway' cut out of it to retrieve them.

garden games cannonball drop

This is quite frankly one of the best games we've played in ages, it's fun, friendly and easy that crosses generations and has been a staple form of amusement this Christmas.My only criticism is that the straws seem to be a little brittle as we've had four or five shatter since we've had it, but I imagine replacements are easily available.

I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.

Dr. Beckmann Stain Removal

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I knew when The Boy came home from nursery one day with yellow paint on his red and blue striped t-shirt that I was going to need to invest in some form of stain removal. Cursing and rubbing doesn't seem to scare the marks away unfortunately. He's getting to the age now where I can't keep putting a bib on him all the time, neither can I have him panicking about dirty clothes:

"What does mummy say? Clothes are meant to get dirty and then I wash them!"

Over the Christmas period when we will have greasy food, radioactively coloured sauces and quite possibly some more yellow paint, I know I'm going to need some serious stain removal to help make the laundry a lot easier! Clothes need to be easily cleaned because I am not spending ages chained to the washing machine. This is where Dr. Beckmann stain removers and colour and dirt catchers will come in handy!

I was sent these products for the purpose of this post.

Galt Mega Marble Run (Review)

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One of The Boy's favourite toy that he has is a simple Marble Run. He adores creating different routes down to the ground, often drawing in a side table or his stool to create platforms, whereas Mr. TBaM will sit there trying to engineer routes that allow for multiple possibilities or use every piece. With the set we have, it's not possible though.

However, we've been sent this rather amazing Mega Marble Run.

marblerun

It has; 3 vortex drops, 3 paddle wheels, a wiggly bell chute (which marbles chime as they roll past), a 'staircase', 180 degree turn and most importantly a two way chute which means that the marbles have a choice of routes. It also means that Mr. TBaM is happy and his eyebrow can stop twitching with frustration.

For the sheer variety of different parts included and the possible routes down to the ground, this is the best marble run around (aside from the one in Techniquest which stands 6 foot high and 10 foot long) and for the price of £29.99 I think that it's brilliant value and allows for hours of entertainment.

I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.

Orchard Toys: 'What's Rubbish?'

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I've got a little bit of an eco-warrior on the sly, he's keen to put rubbish in the bin and is most insistent on knowing whether he can recycle the items or if they go in the compost bin. Very rarely does it occur to him that the rubbish may go in the 'normal' bin, and I'm quite proud of him for this.

We were recently sent the Orchard Toys game, 'What's Rubbish?' to try out and it has gone down a storm (it's even knocked 'Crash, Bang, Whallop' off the top spot, and Inever thought that would happen!).

'What's Rubbish?' is a fun recycling game which features a board with interweaving paths on, four counters, a 3D wheelie bin, four recycling bank player boards (two of each type: metal, bottles, paper and clothing), a spinner, and a selection of 'rubbish' cards.

Orchard Toys

  • Each player chooses two different coloured recycling bank boards.

  • The corresponding small cards are placed face down on the table. If four people are playing all recycling bank cards and corresponding small cards are used, remove unused recycling bank cards and the corresponding cards for fewer players.
  • Choose twelve small cards and place them on the pathways all over the playing board.
  • Choose a playing piece/counter and place this anywhere on the board.
  • The youngest player spins the spinner and moves that number of spaces in any direction across the board. The aim is to pick up as many small cards on the board as possible to fill up your own recycling bank.
  • If the spinner lands on the litterbug section then a small card is taken from the table and added to the main playing board.
  • When you land on or pass a card, pick it up and see if it is one of your materials. If so add it to a space on the board, if not return it to another space on the main playing board.

  • Occasionally there are 'litterbug' pieces which are picked up. When they appear, everyone must return one of their materials from the recycling bank to the table upside down. That litterbug card is then put in the wheelie bin.
  • There are also some small cards which cannot be put on a recycling bank card, like a broken tv, alarm clock etc which are put into the wheelie bin.
  • Each time a material is added to the recycling banks, or is put in the wheelie bin, then a replacement small card must be put onto the main playing board.
  • The winner is the first person to fill their two boards.

'What's Rubbish?' is a really fun game to play as a family; it does involve some form of strategy when playing (for example Mr. TBaM and I are very careful to ensure we lay the small cards down on the board in our counter's path – or The Boy's if he's losing), but likewise it's purely chance as to whether a litterbug is picked up and pieces are lost. Even The Boy has started to realise that he needs to think carefully about the path he takes while playing.

Aimed at 5-10 year olds, I actually think that a child younger than that and capable of logical processing would be able to play this as well as The Boy does. As always,Orchard Toys games aren't just about having fun (although that is the primary aim!):

  • develop strategic thinking
  • encourage personal and social skills (turn-taking, etc)
  • linked with National Curriculum Maths (counting, number recognition, shape and colour recognition.
  • scientific development (identifying different materials and whether they can be reused or not – a tricky concept)
  • moral and spiritual development (taking care of our world).

This is one of the entire family's favourite games from Orchard Toys; it's fun, educational and allows for a little bit of devilment whilst playing it with other adults. Excellent games and top marks from us!

I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.

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