Who? Me?

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Really? Oh WOW!

Or should I say the other relevant three letters here? No, not OMG (although they are highly applicable here, possibly insert another letter in there). I mean T, R and U.

Toys

R

Us

Let me explain myself because I know that I'm wittering, which makes a change from twittering! Ha ha!

A few weeks ago, I saw that the toy giant that is otherwise known as Toys R Us, were running a competition to find new Toyologists. For those in the know you will understand how coveted a role this is. For those who are wondering if I've come over all Beatty ("he's got an 'ology!" Showing my age? Never mind) then I shall explain. A toyologist is an individual or family who are selected specifically by Toys R Us to receive and review several boxes of toys, feedback to the company, and provide advice to other families about which toys are good to play with, and those to avoid. It is an amazing opportunity.

I spent a week or so gathering photos and videos together in order to review The Boy's favourite outdoor toy, and I had it all written in my head. Then the Easter holidays came to an end and I had to go back to work and found myself facing the deadline with no entry! Eeek! I stayed up late that night, completely ignored the schoolbooks waiting to be marked and the planning that needed to be done for the next day ("Class, today we're researching on the laptops" is always a good standby lesson), and managed to get my submission in 10 minutes before the deadline.

Yesterday on twitter I received a tweet saying "Congratulations for being shortlisted!" My head was full of hyperlinks, inserting videos, slide transitions and animations (guess what I'm teaching Year Six at the moment) and so I was a little confused and had to ask for further explanation. I almost choked on my sandwiches when I found out what I was being congratulated for. I've been shortlisted for the TRUToyologist competition! I was completely and utterly overwhelmed, and distracted for the entire afternoon.

It transpires that out of 150 entries they like my review of the Little Tikes Makin' Mud Pies Kitchen enough to put me on the shortlist of 27; ten of us will be chosen. I am beside myself with excitement and anticipation; even as I type this the adrenaline is racing around my body. How amazing would it be to be chosen to represent Toys R Us? Hence staying up 'til nearly 1am last night completing the questionnaire that they sent me. Well I figured it was a lucky time of day to do it after the review success.

Even if I'm not chosen, I truly am honoured to be shortlisted, especially alongside my twit-friends The Crazy Kitchen, Multiple Mummy and EdSpire, Inside The Wendy House; and other lovely mummy-bloggers Mummy of 3 Diaries, Would like to be a Yummy Mummy and Susan K Mann.

Wish me luck; we find out on Monday!

P.S. I really like giraffes!

'What I did on Saturday', or 'Why my feet are still killing me'.

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About a year and a half ago, I joined my local baby and toddler group. I truly believe that it was my saving grace at a time when I think I may have been heading into the slippery slope of PND. Having a group of mummies who hosted coffee sessions three times a week, who told you that it was ok to bottle-feed and not use controlled-crying, and who were there for a laugh and a joke, was invaluable.

Our group is dual-purpose: a social and support community, but we also raise money for local playgroups, etc. Our major fundraisers are the Nearly New Sales that we have twice a year. In my enthusiasm and newbie wisdom, I volunteered for the role of co-ordinator at last year's AGM. Little did I realise what a daunting task it was!

However, through a team of brilliant helpers we had an amazing response from all the people who came to the sale. We had 331 people through the doors in the hour and a half we were open, which broke the record from the previous sale by 90! The queue trailed down the block and around the corner. And I'd been worried about publicity. I've yet to work out if we've broken the record for the amount we've raised, but we weren't left with much to sort out at the end of the day.

I personally managed to bag quite a few bargains: the Happyland space rocket for £4 being the one that I was really pleased with, as a few weeks before I had thought about buying it for £30.

Here is my stash from the sale, total cost? £31.

For me, Nearly New Sales are essential for several reasons:

  • it recycles unwanted toys, meaning there is not more unnecessary plastic in the landfill sites.
  • it acts as a toy-swap shop. Just because the toys are a year old and little Johnny doesn't play with it anymore, it does not mean that it won't be someone else's best loved toy.
  • it helps parents make money out of unwanted toys, clothes and equipment.
  • it raises money for local children's play facilities.

The next time you see a Nearly New Sale being advertised please think about either selling there or popping along and buying, you could be saving yourself a small fortune!

Review: Happyland Puzzles (ELC)

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I popped into Mothercare yesterday to buy The Boy a pair of sunglasses (with the band that goes around the back of the head) and ended up spending £56 on toys in the Early Learning Centre department! They've got a brilliant little wheelbarrow at the moment, which he just had to have, and some other things fell into the trolley as I was walking around. (Whoops, don't tell hubby!)

One of the things that I bought is the Happyland Puzzles, which is a set of 6 puzzles for ages 18 months – 3 years.

I'd become very conscious lately that the only puzzles that The Boy ever does is the inlay designs; this is not helping him develop his problem-solving skills that much. I was especially alarmed when a work colleague had told me that her 2½ year old son had just completed a 25-piece jigsaw. I panicked! I don't think that The Boy has managed more than a 2-piece one that I bought him at Christmas and he struggled with then!

[Please note the image shows a tin and the one I bought came in a cardboard box made from 'forest friendly cardboard'. I know which one I prefer]

Why I particularly like this pack is three-fold.

  1. It has 6 jigsaws in it, some are 2-piece, some are 3-piece and some are 4-piece. It doesn't follow suit that the hardest one is the 4-piece; I actually think that the hardest one is the 3-piece one because of the angles that it has to join in at. Therefore they are of differentiated ability and challenge. As a teacher, this pleases me.
  2. The pictures are of the Happyland range, and we have quite a few of them. Seeing his face earlier as he recognised the merry-go-round was classic. He then upped and pulled open his toybox and yanked it out. He looked back at the picture and even tried to press the button on the jigsaw. The other set that we have that features on the jigsaw is the school, and yes, he tried to open the door on the school and press the bell on the tower.
  3. The pieces are nice and chunky, but small enough for little hands. They're also made of FSC mixed sources cardboard.

This jigsaw set is a winner in this household and at only £6 is a bargain as far as I'm concerned.

No, I didn't get the sunglasses, they're not in stock yet.

Competition: 'Red Dog, Blue Dog' – Orchard Toys

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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:

  • Links with Early Learning Goals
  • Develop personal and social skills
  • Encourage observation.

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!


—

While I received this game free of charge to provide an honest review, I have not been offered any other reward for my opinion.

Review – Pally Pirate Noah

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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.

[nggallery id=5 class="shutterset_%GALLERY_NAME%"]

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.

Wee-waa, wee-waa!

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One of The Boy's current favourite toys is a wooden fire engine he received from hubby's parents for Christmas. When he was little, I used to demand that his toys were not bright plastic with flashing noises and lights. I wanted him to have quality wooden or material toys. Easier said than done: a) it's difficult to find quality, attractive and interesting wooden toys; and b) actually they're quite pricey!

So I completely understand how easy it is to fall into the plastic trap; batteries are good, lights and sounds make The Boy happy! Happy Boy = Happy Mummy! I do try and limit the environmental (and financial) impact of all these toys by buying them from my local baby and toddler group Nearly New Sales. Luckily, we normally comes up trumps and I can spend £15 and come home with over £100's worth of toys. Money for mummies, new toys for the Boy, good for the environment.

I've digressed haven't I? How unusual for me…

We are fortunate that hubby's parents always manage to produce the goods when it comes to finding really good quality wooden toys for their grandson. They have an independent toy store locally whose stock they are working their way through. I'd love to plug them, but I've forgotten their name. Bless them, they bought him a fabric Noah's Ark which was really adaptable, but he's never been that interested in squishy toys. However, the latest addition to his toyshop collection is this:

It's called an I'm Toy Fire Engine Work Bench and is fabulous. If we're going to someone's house for a visit (e.g. my parents' or sister's) it's the toy we take with us. There are so many 'bits' to it that it can keep him amused for ages. And it's going to last him for a good while yet because while he thinks the nuts and bolts are fab, he can't co-ordinate them at the moment. He gets the idea of how to use the screwdriver and spanner but he just points them at the nuts and bolts and thinks that makes them work. The hammer is extremely popular! Any hammer is extremely popular, which is why we're not showing him where we keep the key to the shed! He's completely got the idea of sorting the shapes through the holes and inserting the pegs into the holes.

Look at the concentration!

It is an excellent 'Boy's Toy' and if you've got a baby boy, I thoroughly recommend getting it. I've got to say that the range of toys available from I'm Toy are fantastic, quality toys that last. You can find a comprehensive range of I'm Toy erm, toys available through @Toyjeanius. What's pretty fab about her toy-shop is that she's a mum to 3 children who had so much fun playing with her children's toys that she decided to open up her own shop! How cool is that? Her rather gorgeous shop can be found here.

I have a special discount code for ToyJeanius which gives you 10% off your purchases! Simply type in TheBoyandMe at the checkout.

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