Let's Go See | Children's Book & App Review

[AD/Gifted - We received copies of the books for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

A few weeks ago, E got a really exciting parcel in the post - a selection of books from Let's Go See!

Let's Go See was created by commercial airline pilot Rob Johnson and developed in conjunction with EYFS consultants. 

We received five books in the series:

• Pilot Ollie & Pilot Polly's Amazing Adventures - London
• Pilot Ollie & Pilot Polly's Amazing Adventures - Madrid
• Pilot Ollie & Pilot Polly's Amazing Adventures - Rome 
• Egypt: A Pilot Polly and Pilot Ollie Adventure
• Pilot Ollie & Pilot Polly's Guide To The Airport

E, at the grand age of six, has unfortunately never been on a plane before. In recent months she has been asking if we can go on holiday somewhere but obviously, due to global pandemic reasons, it isn't possible.

These books have been fantastic to bring her into other worlds while we can't leave the country. The Guide To The Airport is brilliant for teaching little ones about what the airport is like and the 'Adventures In...' books are filled with beautifully imagery relating to the countries as well cultural elements and even pronunciation of languages spoken there.

After reading these, E's list of where she wants to go has gotten even longer! We loved that the books are inclusive too. Did you know that less than 2% of captains are female?

The stories of Captain Rob Johnson's travels have even been made into animations which can be found on YouTube.

The fun doesn't end there! Let's Go See have developed a mobile app using augmented reality to help bring the books to life.

Within the app, you can select a country and see the landmarks pop up in your very own living room! There is a little cost for a few of the countries but it really is a lot of fun.

Children can even have a go playing some games, doing puzzles, flying a jet and much more!

We have loved taking a look at the Let's Go See range and it is perfect for children to learn more about the world around them and what it is like to be a pilot.

You can download the Let's Go See app from the Google Play Store or App Store.

Oregon Scientific SmartGlobe Adventure - Review

I've written quite a bit about how my eldest child, six year old C, is a very logical learner. He likes facts and statistics, always wanting to know why things happen and the history of everything. When we were given the opportunity to review the Adventure SmartGlobe from Oregon Scientific, I knew that it would be something that he'd love, as in the past he'd like to use an old mobile phone to look up places on Google Maps to see where they were.

I was initially really surprised by the sheer size of the globe. It's extremely colourful and you can read all the country names easily, as well as their capitals and some other cities. The globe runs on 3 AAA batteries which are included and comes to life when you press the power button on the attached pen.

You are encouraged to select a category on the globe's base; Continent, Name, Capital, Population, Area, Currency, History, Features, Geography, Language, Highest Point, National Anthem or Amazing Facts. Once you've done that you can touch the pen on any of the 220+ countries and the automated voice tells you a fact. With over 4,000 to learn, it's sure not to get boring! C is like a sponge and absorbs information only to recite it about a month later. I definitely think he'll be impressing his friends and teacher with his knowledge after playing around with his SmartGlobe for a while.

As well as learning facts about countries you can also learn some facts in French and compare the areas and populations by touching two different countries. When you think you've learned a lot you can even quiz yourself by playing one of the 25 in built games, making the globe ask you questions and prompting you to find and tap the correct country. C finds these a little too difficult at the moment but I bet the more he plays and older he gets, this will definitely improve.



C has been completely attached to his SmartGlobe with his favourite areas being finding out each country's National Anthem or comparing areas or populations. He's also decided that his favourite of all the countries is Egypt. I love that the base has a zoomed in map of the United Kingdom and Ireland. My own knowledge of geography is rubbish as I never enjoyed it at school, and living in Northern Ireland means I've been a bit ignorant to where in mainland UK certain towns and cities are. It's been a bit of an eye opener for me!

On the box of the SmartGlobe, there is a QR code that you can scan with your phone or tablet and download the Augmented Reality app. Honestly, my first impression was that the app was pretty big  at 765MB and I found that I had to delete quite a lot off my phone just to install it. 

After installing and signing in, you are able to use your device to scan a certain area of the globe and learn more about that country whether it be what animals live there, the monuments or sights such as the Eiffel Tower or Statue of Liberty or even cuisine. 

It does seem a little glitchy/jumpy when trying to scan but I am unsure if that's down to my device or the app itself. The AR aspect is a nice little addition to learn some extra information. At the end, you can test yourself by doing a quiz on what the AR app might have taught you.

I honestly cannot praise this product enough and I wish I had it when I was a child! C is always wanting to have either his tablet or the PlayStation but he has actually been choosing to play on the globe a lot more instead. I never thought I'd see the day!

The Oregon Scientific SmartGlobe Adventure retails at £59.99 which I think is absolutely amazing for what it does. You can find out more about the range of globes at the Oregon Scientific website.

(We received this item for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Ravensburger Disney Pixar Incredibles 2 XXL Puzzle - Review

July 13th sees the long awaited return of The Incredibles to our screen in 'The Incredibles 2'. C and E are massive Disney fans and C especially is excited to go and see it in the cinema. He's going to have to get in line though, I was 12 when the first movie was released and I loved it so I've been waiting a long time for this!

To coincide with the new release, Ravensburger have brought out a new Disney Pixar Incredibles 2 Puzzle! This one is 100 pieces and recommended for children aged 6+. C turns 6 in two months' time so I thought we'd give it a try and see how he got on. He's never done a puzzle of this size before.

Straight away, C was really excited to see the whole family (and Frozone) on the box and spent some time telling me all their names. Once we'd opened out the puzzle and saw all the pieces, it was a bit like "where do we begin?!" especially as a lot of the colours are similar with mostly reds, blues and blacks. 

Due to the amount of pieces, C did need a little helping hand from me but once we had sussed out the edges, he enjoyed looking at the finished image on the box to gauge where the pieces should go and which order the characters were standing.

The whole puzzle took us around 20 minutes to complete, which I thought was perfect and not too long that C would get bored and want to do something else. He was eager to find that feeling of accomplishment once he'd finished. The pieces themselves are perfect, in true Ravensburger fashion, with a great finish and no sharp edges. Doesn't it look fab? We had lots of fun and it's definitely one that we'll go back to a lot.

You can pick up your own Disney Pixar Incredibles 2 Puzzle from Amazon for only £8.99.

(We received this item for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

 

Educational Play the Schleich Way

I am a huge fan of Schleich products. They are always C's go-to when we enter Smyths as his favourite type of play is roleplay scenarios with figures. Schleich have recently put together a 16 brochure which is designed to be a guide to the best in imaginative play and development and they have included thoughts from renowned child psychologist, Dr Amanda Gummer.

I honestly thought that the brochure would include mostly information that I already knew but it has been a wonderful eye opener for me. We all know how important a balanced diet is for children but they should also have a balanced play diet too. I sort of knew this already but not to the extent included in the brochure. I tend to let my kids watch a little television, C gets 30 minutes of iPad time a day, we do outdoor play and indoor play too. Schleich have also stated that children need Active Play, Creative Play, Social Play and Free Play so they've gone into a little more detail and I really learned a lot and will definitely ensure that my children do these types of playing every day.

The brochure encourages you to stimulate your child's imagination with some game ideas. I have to admit that before I had my own children, I wasn't a kid person. I introduced some of these games with C and to be honest, he enjoyed them so much and I did too! It was a really lovely bonding session for the two of us. You can incorporate and use Schleich figures in all of these games and play areas because they are just so versatile. With Active Play we can take our animal figures outside into the beautiful forests near where we live or with Free Play, C can make up his own little scenarios in his head with his animals and imagine how they would interact. One of my favourite games included is What's The Animal? I would choose one of the animals to pretend to be and when C had guessed which one, he'd hold it up.

Schleich have an amazing range of products from individual figures to big playsets. We received four animal figures: Elephant, Tiger, Sheep and Donkey. They are such a great weight and size and I do think that aids children's learning. For example the Elephant figure is a lot bigger and heavier than the rest - something which is obviously true in real life too. C loves to ask questions so having these figures has encouraged him to ask me more about these animals and I have loved teaching him. The quality is just fantastic and I know we will definitely be picking up more in the future as I'm sure they will withstand lots of fun playtime in years to come. Even C's 22 month old sister is learning too. She had previously never experienced some of the animals but her big brother has taught her how to say them and make the noises that they would make. I love that Schleich have mentioned the fact that girls can like dinosaurs and boys can like dolls and prams because my son and daughter are exactly like that. Toys are not gender specific.

The Schleich range starts at £2.99 per figure and you can pick them up here: http://www.schleich-s.com/en/GB/ or at Smyths.

You can also download the 16-page brochure to help your child's playtime by clicking the image below.

(We received four Schleich animal figures, the brochure and a small payment for this post.)

LeapFrog Mobile Med Kit

My favourite thing about blogging is trying out baby and toddler items and writing about my thoughts. As a mum, I hate to spend a lot of money on an item only to find its a bit rubbish and not really worth it. Christmas is creeping up on us very quickly and C has been having a play with the LeapFrog Mobile Med Kit. 

C is quite a good vocabulary so as soon at it arrived he was very excited to "be a doctor". The Med Kit is is little ambulance (which sort of looks like a bag at the same time) that includes a stethoscope, thermometer, otoscope and syringe. 

The four tools were all ones that C wasn't previously familiar with. The ambulance does say their names so he got to grips with them quite quickly. He loves to practise giving mummy, daddy, E and even his toys check-ups and making sure they were okay. He finds is especially funny that the syringe squeaks when you push it down. Each tool has a space inside the ambulance and he enjoys rolling it along the ground. 

The Mobile Med Kit is great educational toy as your child is encouraged to go on medical missions, learn about body parts and the ambulance even sings 'Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes'. This is a song that C knows well but they have jazzed it up a bit with a new verse that got C excited. 

I definitely think the LeapFrog Mobile Med Kit is the perfect gift to any child aged 2-3 years old. C absolutely adores the role play aspect. 

The Med Kit retails at £17.99 and it can be purchased from the LeapFrog store and all major toy retailers. You can find out more at the LeapFrog website and you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter. 

(Disclaimer: We received this item for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

TOMY Sort & Pop Farmyard Friends

We've worked on a few reviews with TOMY over the past couple of years and their items have always been a hit. They're such a great brand so I was delighted when C was sent one of the Sort & Pop Farmyard Friends sets to try out.

C is at that age now where he is very interested in animals and animal noises so I knew that this would be perfect for him. The truck is driven by a calf (who cannot be removed) and you get three additional animals - duck, chicken and sheep - on different shaped blocks. Your child must put the animal in the corresponding shape for their block and when they do so, you hear a congratulatory sound which is great to encourage your child and give them praise.

After the animals are in their assigned seats, you push down on the calf's head and the truck drives along, playing music. The truck then stops and the animals pop up out of the back and you are ready to go again!

The playset is very sturdy and easy for little hands and minds to get to grips with. C did have a little trouble with the fact that as you're putting the animals in place, you really have to push down hard or else they won't pop. Once I explained it to him, he soon got the hang of it. E was very interested in the music and wanted to be involved when her big brother was playing with it.

C's excited face waiting for the animals to pop - too cute not to include!

The TOMY Sort & Pop Farmyard Friends set retails at around £19.99. You can find out more about TOMY at their website and you can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received this item for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own).