Tales of the unexpected with The Boy, my pride and joy.
The Boy has been slow to learn how to deal with stairs. He crawls up and down them, he can walk up them holding onto our hands but not independently. Coming down them is a big area for development; he hasn't worked out how to bend his knee and lower himself. Today we went to the park and this was big progress for him! Even if he did want to take two steps at the same time!
I’ve recently been sent the game ‘Red Dog, Blue Dog’ by Orchard Toys to review with The Boy. The game is a first colour match lotto aimed at 2-4 players and children from 2-5 years and priced at £9.25.
When he first saw the box, The Boy was extremely excited and eager to ‘ope’-n it up, he then spent ten – fifteen minutes examining the four different lotto boards, identifying the pictures on them, and then popping out the lotto cards from the punched-out templates. He took a shine straight away to the card with the blue spider on it, and spent much of the remaining morning carrying it around clutched in his hand!
We’ve brought the game away with us on our mini-holiday as I decided that far from the madding crowd would be a good place to help us concentrate and test the game out. The players comprised of mummy, daddy and The Boy, with Oliver Monkey refereeing to ensure fair play.
We haven’t played the game strictly according to the rules as the game is aimed at 2-5 years and The Boy is only 21 months; he doesn’t completely understand the concept of taking turns. However, this shows the adaptability of the game.
We started by sorting the cards into colours, he was able to help us do this quite easily and it was quite reassuring that he could do this as he hasn’t always put the right name to a colour, but in doing this he showed us that he was aware that they were separate and that he could sort. I chose to do this because there are six different coloured objects on each board, but there are not six colours of each object (as there are only four boards).
Next we took it in turns to choose an object from the board for him to find; I am extremely pleased that whether we were asking him to find a blue spider or a red spider, he was able to identify the colours. So even though he can’t remember the names at the time, he does know what the colours are. Playing this game will help consolidate his knowledge of colours. He thoroughly enjoyed finding the game, and I could see his eyes flitting between the cards as he was trying to identify the card he needed.
My husband and I were discussing other uses of the game afterwards, and I suggested that we could use the cards to play ‘Pairs’ or as a colour sorting game. As both a parent, qualified nursery nurse and primary school teacher, I think that this is an extremely adaptable and suitable game for toddlers and infants. A feature that I like on the box is the Orchard Toys’ Educational Guide, which suggests:
I would agree with those educational outcomes but also feel that it will help to develop children’s pre-mathematical and reading skills (identification of shapes and colours, plus the objects’ names are written on the cards).
Definitely a winner in this household!
Tidying up is part of the game!
To be in with a chance to win your own copy of 'Red Dog, Blue Dog' either follow Orchard Toys on twitter (@OrchardToys) or 'Like' their Facebook page
Extra entries are available through:
– tweeting the following: I want to win an @OrchardToys 'Red Dog, Blue Dog' with @TheBoyandMe https://www.theboyandme.co.uk/?p=1197
– following me on twitter (@TheBoyandMe)
– subscribing to my blog.
Don’t forget to tell me what you’ve done, or you’ll only receive one entry!
Competition ends Thursday 31st March 2011 at 8pm.
Open to UK residents only.
Winners will need to reply to my notification e-mail by 8pm on Saturday 2nd April 2011, or I will draw another winner.
The winner of the competition is Jenny Paulin. Congratulations Jenny, a new baby last night and now an Orchard Toys game for new baby's older brother to play with!
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While I received this game free of charge to provide an honest review, I have not been offered any other reward for my opinion.
I'm hoping that he's going to cook that pasta, or I'll need a good dentist!
I recently wrote about one of The Boy's favourite toys; the I'm Toy Fire Engine Workbench. When Jean from @ToyJeanius read my review, she offered to send me a similar toy that she thought The Boy might like to play with and review. I was only too happy to accept her offer as I am a big fan of the I'm Toy range, many of which Toyjeanius stock.
From the very first moment that you hold an I'm Toy box in your hands, it is obvious that this is special; a quality toy, possibly even an heirloom. The packaging is extremely attractive; corrugated natural cardboard with a full-colour sleeve illustrating the product and the different ways it can be played with.
The Boy was as eager as I was to 'ope(n)' up the Pally Pirate Noah, and he had great fun pulling out all the different parts and figuring out how they fitted together. Here's what's brilliant about the Pally Pirate Noah; there are so many different parts to the toy which can be used in different ways. Mount the ship onto the pull-along base, insert the masts and sails and you have a pirate ship. Remove the sails, wheel, cannon and treasure chest, add the house, roof and animal pegs, swap over the red pirate for the green Noah and you have an ark instead!
Or you could do what we did; take the ship off the base and assemble the pirate ship. Then flip the base over to insert the animal pegs and Noah. Then, we had a battle at sea between Noah and the pirate. Noah won, what with having God on his side, but the pirate put up a good show.
The Pally Pirate Noah is advertised as suitable for 24 months and up, however The Boy is 20 months old and actually got a great deal from it. Admittedly he may not have been able to play with it as imaginatively as an older child, but that's part of the appeal; I know he will enjoy it in different ways with each new stage of play development. He is outgrowing so many toys that are supposed to be suitable for up to 3 years old purely because they don't do enough, therefore they don't stimulate him. I'm very happy that this toy will last him for a good few years. The pirate ship/ark is great fun and he loves the treasure chest into which he always pops the pirate. Oh, and well, um he may used the masts as drumsticks, but then he's developing his creativity.
Another winning toy from I'm Toy and supplied by the lovely and traditional Toyjeanius!
Toyjeanius are offering a 10% discount using the code TSUK10! Have fun shopping!
Whilst provided with this toy for the purpose of the review, I was not given any other reward and my reviews are, as always, honest.
24 hours is a variable time. I know that seems daft, but just think about it. 24 hours of labour seems to last forever; every second punctuated by yet another contraction. Yet 24 hours on a weekend absolutely flies by!
When Tara set the challenge of a theme of 24 Hours, it was going to take some careful planning otherwise we'd end up with some wasted hours of sleep (don't you think that sleep is a waste of time?). It had to be a day in your life: "Any day… share 24 hours of your life with us."
So my 24 hours spans from 6pm on Saturday evening to 7pm on Sunday evening. Yes I know that's 25 hours, but it's called artistic license and it's my blog! The start and end location is the same: my parents' house. In between we fit in a variety of activities, some will be obvious, some you'll have to work out. Either way, it was our weekend.
And we had, in the words of The Boy, fun.
