Learning to Tell the Time with Easy Read Time Teacher - Review

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

At the age of 6, almost 7, part of C's curriculum is learning to tell the time. He owns a few watches too which he loves to wear but he'd always ask me what time it was.

Easy Read Time Teacher got in touch to see if we'd like to try out one of their Rainbow Past & To clocks and I jumped at the chance as it would coincide well with C's school learning too.

The clock takes one AA battery and setting the time is easy enough using the toggle on the back. We had it ready to hang in two minutes.

The face is bright and colourful, perfect for any child's room, and the second hand doesn't tick so it doesn't annoy them in the night.

The Easy Read Time Teacher makes it simple for children to be able to read the time themselves. The big hand will point directly to a number which is the first part of time telling, they then have to check which side they are reading from (the red side which is "minutes to" or green side which is "minutes past") then the smaller hand points to the hour. You also have quarter, half and o'clock displayed too.

C really likes this as everything is there for him, it's just like reading. The first few days that the clock was in his room, he'd be constantly running upstairs saying, "I'm just going to check what time it is!"

The longer we've been using it, the more confident he is getting and doesn't have to think as much when reading. We still haven't mastered telling time from a watch or other clock without the "cheats" but we'll get there in no time, I'm sure.

It's been a great addition to our lives because C knows what time we usually do things such as go downstairs for breakfast at 7.30 so he can read that he still has x amount of time to play in his room.

C has autism so when I say things like "give me five minutes" he gets a little frustrated because he can't physically see five minutes. With the Easy Read Time Teacher, I can tell him we can do something at a certain time and he'll know himself when that will be and can count it down.

The Easy Read Time Teacher is perfect for children from the age of 5-12 and retails at £24.95. You can find our more about their range of watches and clocks on their website.

 

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.)

Ladybird Tales of Adventurous Girls - Review

One thing that I've always wanted to instil in my children is that they can do anything or be anything that they want to do or be. Nothing should be out of bounds because it's seen for a specific gender, C will happily play with E's "stereotypical girly toys" and E loves superheroes as much as her big brother. She's even told me that when she's older, she'd love to be a firefighter or a police officer. 

When I heard that Ladybird were publishing Tales of Adventurous Girls, I jumped at the chance to get my hands on a copy as it's something I'd like both my daughter and son to read. We aren't stuck in the 50's anymore and I want to teach them from an early age that women are just as important as men in this world. Girls can save the day too!

Ladybird Tales of Adventurous Girls is comprised of six different stories; Gretel and Hansel (a huge grin appeared on my face upon realising that the Gretel's name was first for once in this popular Brothers Grimm fairytale), Tamasha and the Troll, Tokoyo and the Sea Serpent, Chandra and the Elephants, Sea Girl and the Golden Key and The Snow Queen.

All of the short stories are wonderfully different, but the theme is the same throughout. The heroine. The female characters who are so inspiring and empowering. C and E are 6 and 4 and they listened silently to every word, absorbing the words and meanings. It will definitely be a book that we will read a lot. I was only familiar with Gretel and Hansel so I even enjoyed reading this myself.

In addition to fantastic fairytales, you are taken aback by the beautiful illustrations that accompany each story, all of them being drawn by six wonderful female artists. I was particularly excited about the introduction being written by Jacqueline Wilson. I owned all of her books as child and she has always been an inspiration to me. She questions why the princesses in the typical stories always have to have a handsome prince rescue them, why can't they save themselves? E loves her Disney Princesses, I won't lie but it's been lovely to introduce her to something different and teach her that she can do anything she puts her mind to.

Ladybird Tales for Adventurous Girls would make a fantastic Christmas gift this year and is suited to children aged 4-8 years old. You can purchase your own copy here.

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

 

Peppa's Laugh and Learn Laptop - Review & Giveaway

Peppa Pig is one of those shows that I don't think has been off my television for a single day since I became a parent six years ago. Kids are just drawn to the show and, I'll admit, she's grown on me a little. My four year old daughter E loves Peppa so we were excited to receive the Peppa's Laugh and Learn Laptop and it was perfect timing with E starting nursery.

E began nursery at the start of the month so we will be focusing a lot on her numbers and letter sounds at home to go along with what she's doing at nursery. The four game modes focus on colours, numbers, letters and word recognition so it sounded fantastic.

The laptop is full of bright colours, as well as an image of Peppa on the front, perfect to pique a small child's interest. It also has a little handle so it can be carried around easily. 

Upon opening, you are met with a whole host of buttons and E couldn't wait to see what everything did. Along the side, there is a slider to change activity; Discover, Quiz, What Can You Find? and Music. It's really easy for a young child to choose their activity by themselves and E happily played around with the buttons to see how they'd changed for each different one. 

When in the Discover mode, pressing one of the six buttons in the centre corresponds to one of the images on the backlit screen eg. telling you that there were "three red clocks" - great to teach both numbers and colours. The Quiz activity asks questions such as "What is the first letter of the word 'coin'? At 4 years old, E did need a little help with these but I definitely feel that when she gets playing more and more, it will teach her a lot of things that will get stuck in her head and aid her learning.

What Can You Find? is similar to the Quiz mode but will ask questions based on sounds, so it will play the sound of an aeroplane taking off or a clock ticking, then the child has to choose the correct button. E loves this setting and it would be great for younger children too. The Music mode transforms the main six buttons into piano sounds so when they are pressed, you can create your own tune.

The six buttons along the bottom add a little extra to each activity. Whether it be musical sounds from the bongos, recorder or saxophone or just telling you the character names of George, Danny Dog or Suzie Sheep.

I think this is a great little toy for children aged 2+. I love a toy that is both fun and educational and the addition of a well loved character helps. The Peppa's Laugh and Learn Laptop retails at £19.99 from all good toy shops.

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

Want to win one for yourself? Just enter via the Gleam widget below. Good luck!

  Peppa Pig Laugh and Learn Laptop

T&C's:

• This giveaway will run from 13th September until 30th September
• One winner will win one Peppa Pig Laugh and Learn Laptop
• Open to entrants aged 18+
• UK residents only
• One entry per person
• No automated entries  

 

 

Mrs Wordsmith Social Journey Subscription Box - Review

I am fortunate enough to be able to bring you a lot of reviews from toys to homeware products and very rarely do I come across something that I fall in love with instantly, but that's exactly what happened with Mrs Wordsmith's Social Journey.

Mrs Wordsmith Social Journey is a subscription box suitable for children aged 2-5 years old and its aim is to develop deeper social and emotional intelligence through introducing new vocabulary on the basis of words that the child will already know.

Instantly, anything with the word "social" in it, and I am like a moth to a flame. One thing that I haven't written much about on the blog yet is the fact that C has been officially diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder which really affects his ability to interact socially. Before receiving our one month's subscription to the Social Journey, I thought that it would be a great way to help him add to his vocabulary (even though he is at the higher age range and will be 6 next month) and maybe help him verbalise his feelings and emotions better. I went into this review with positive thoughts and it has completely blown that out of the water and excelled my expectations.

Inside your box you receive:

• Instruction booklet
• A Picture Book
• Word of the Day Activity Book
• Word of the Day stand
• Word Cards

The first thing that you are instructed to do is read your picture book. Inside that book there are five sets of words and for this month's box, they were: Self-awareness - hungry words (hungry, peckish, starving and thirsty), Resilience - eat words (eat, nibble, gobble, gulp), Creativity - make words (make, invent, design, concoct), Communication - funny words (funny, silly, hilarious, hysterical) and Community - share words (share, collaborate, include, together). Each set of words begins with a short explanation of the types of word you are going to learn about then each individual word has its own short story and beautiful illustration. You are also prompted to ask your child a relevant question at the end of each story.

C absolutely loved the illustrations and found himself in fits of giggles at some of them (mostly the bubble beards in the 'Hilarious' story). The stories were well suited to his age and he understood them all. It was really lovely to see the same characters throughout the book as it held it all together. Involving your child at the end with a question is a great idea. A lot of the time, C would just say "I don't know" but once I pushed a little more, he really thought about it and gave me some great answers. For example, in the 'Invent' story, you are prompted to ask your child what they would invent if they could invent anything. After a few seconds of thought, C replied, "A robot that would do all of the things that I don't like doing."

Once you have finished your picture book, next up is the Word of the Day Activity Book. This book contains a sheet of paper focusing on each of the 20 words that your child has been introduced to in their picture book. You place your activity book on the stand with the first word displayed for a day or two so that your child can soak up the meaning.

Each word has three activities: Say It (where you will read the word aloud and encourage your child to repeat it, focusing on the pronunciation), Trace It (having your child trace around the outline of the word. This is configuration and will help your child become familiar with it and be able to recognise it when it's in a longer text) and Pencils At The Ready where you rip off the activity sheet from the book and do one of four activity types.

• Letter jumble - circling the letters which appear in the word to recognise letters and identify letter shapes
• Colouring - colouring the illustration to boost the retention, develop fine motor skills and improve concentration
• Free writing - practising forming letters independently
• Drawing - encouraging your child to engage with and interpret their newly learned word

This is a great way to get your child learning. C has had so much fun doing these that it doesn't even feel like he's learning. After we have finished our word for the day, we put another up on display until the next morning, where he can't wait do his activity sheet. The fact that it's one a day for 20 days is a good thing as I feel like he has enough time to take in and remember what he's learning, rather than being bombarded with a lot at once.

Finally, the Word Cards. These come in their sets and, as you can imagine, each of the words that your child will have learned previously has it's own individual card with the word and accompanying image from the picture book. There are different tasks that you can do, depending on how difficult you want it to be.

• Peek-a-boo - look at the card and read the word aloud. Cover the word and see if your child can remember the word based on the picture.
• Storytime - see if your child can tell you a story based on the picture and you can help by asking a question that is relevant.
• One player game - set all the cards out and see how fast you can put them in the right category
• Two player game - place the cards in a pile face down, each player draws one card each then race to see who can get their card into the correct category first.

I loved doing these with C and truly felt like it was a little bit of a bonding moment. One thing he really struggles with is losing a game so the two player game is definitely one we will be playing a lot of to try and get him used to it and not have a meltdown. I've also discovered that he has a eidetic memory and the covering of the words is simple for him!

I honestly cannot recommend this enough and I would go as far as to say that it is probably my favourite thing that I've reviewed to date. For someone like C with ASD, visual stimulation and learning is fundamental but your child doesn't need to have ASD to really benefit from this. It will be amazing for starting school and if you begin this early on, they'll be flying when they do eventually go into school. I've since overheard C ask his little sister if she is feeling peckish and telling her that he is starving. It is really nice to hear him using his new words and putting them into context.

The Mrs Wordsmith Social Journey is £21.95 per month but you can choose one bulk payment of £233.40 which works out at £19.45 a month and they also ship throughout Europe and the US.

You can find out more about the subscription at the Mrs Wordsmith website.

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

E, you are three!

Two weeks ago my darling daughter E turned three. I know I say this every time I write an update on the children but time has honestly flown by and I can't believe that she's officially not a baby anymore. I think it's a bit more bittersweet because although I'm loving watching her grow up, it's hard because she is my last baby.

For the first two years of her life we co-slept and absolutely loved it but now she successfully falls asleep herself in her own bed, we've potty trained and she doesn't take a bottle or dummy anymore. Nope, I definitely can't get away with calling her my baby but I'll still do it anyway!

Personality-wise, she is amazing. When she was born, her older brother C was just turning two and I remember thinking, "He is just so funny. No other kid is going to compare." Then E came along. She is forever pulling funny faces, putting on accents to make us laugh and even the lines she comes out with have us in stitches.

Chris and I make an effort not to push gender stereotypical toys on our children and we let them play with what they like. E is a massive girly girl in the sense that she is obsessed with Disney Princesses and loves to do her hair and make up in front of a mirror. As much as she likes donning a dress, she is happiest in a pair of trainers and leggings or jeans, and pretending to be Wonder Woman or Maria Hill to her brother's Nick Fury. Yep, she's a Marvel and DC Comics lover too.

She is very much a diva and can throw a tantrum like no other. I see her huffy face 85% of the day and I've lost count of how many times she told me that she's not my friend anymore. She can be a grump but she is very cuddly and always tells us that she loves us. She and her brother are constantly fighting and bickering but I know that she loves him really and her little eyes light up when he gets out of school and she can't wait to speak to him. E is very into her family. She will always be asking to visit her grandparents and having a cousin who is four months older than her is fantastic. They are like two little old ladies when they get together and it's adorable to watch them interact. They'll always be swapping shoes and holding hands.

E has a brilliant imagination and can keep herself occupied quite easily. Even on car journeys, she'll give each of her hands little personas and make them have conversations. She won't really sit still long enough to read a story which is something that I want to try and work on with her but she has a great vocubulary, understands everything and can speak well. I just want to encourage her a bit more before she starts nursery next September.

I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

 

BRIO Classic Figure of 8 Train Set - Review

We absolutely love reviewing for BRIO. Their toys are fantastic quality and the children always ask for them to be set up to play with. A lot of the sets that we have reviewed in the past have been a bit too old for two year old E as she can be a bit rougher than her big brother. If there are any high parts, she'll easily knock them down accidentally whereas C knows to be more gentle.

The Classic Figure of 8 Train Set is the perfect starter train set. The set is comprised of:

• 14 equal length rounded track pieces
• 1 connector crossing bridge train piece
• 3 wooden trees
• 1 wooden station
• 1 three-part wooden train

As the end result is a figure of 8 track, it is super simple to put together - I didn't even have to look at the instructions. As long as you start with the connector crossing bridge, the rest is pretty straightforward. The others pieces (trees, station and train) can be placed anywhere.

E loved how quickly it was set up because as a two year old, she has patience for nothing. In typical BRIO fashion, the pieces were perfectly made, sanded and painted and E had no problems in pushing the train around the track. Each train part is connected by a magnet so the only thing she did have a little moan about was when she pulled the train apart, then couldn't get it back together again as she had the wrong sides of the magnets facing each other! 

She was great with using her imagination and would pretend that there was a little driver inside, shouting out to the people at the station as the train passed. Usually when E attempts to play with her brother's train sets, she'll easily knock the tracks apart but this hasn't happened with this set as the 8 shaped route is easy to follow and it's all flat on the ground. It definitely makes for a brilliant train set for beginners.

The BRIO Classic Figure of 8 Train Set is recommended for children aged 2 years+ and it retails at £37.99. You can find out more about the range at the BRIO website or you can follow them on Twitter.

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

 

How Peppa Pig Helped Us with Potty Training

My darling daughter E will be three in four weeks time. We only potty trained her brother C last March when he was 3.5 years old but because her language and understanding was fantastic when she turned 2 last September, I decided to introduce her to C's old potty.

She was having absolutely none of it and would scream and cry anytime I suggested using it. I didn't give up but I also didn't pressurise her. I would just suggest trying again every other week but it was always met with the same crying and squealing. With C finishing preschool at the end of June, I was determined to train over the summer. Everyone says that summer is the best time to potty train so I was willing to give it a go.

We received a fabulous bundle of Peppa Pig potty training goodies and because E is a big Peppa fan, I hoped it would sway her a little bit. Usually when she'd see C's old potty, she'd run away from me. I got her to open the box herself and seemed really pleased with the contents. We received a Peppa Pig Steady Potty (RRP £9.99), Peppa Pig Training Seat (RRP £8.99) and Peppa Pig Step Stool (RRP £8.99) - all of which have images of Peppa dressed as a princess on them (another of E's loves!) - as well as a copy of the Peppa and her Golden Boots book (RRP £5.49) and some Peppa Pig Hand and Body Wipes (RRP 75p per pack).

I left the potty sitting out for the first day and she surprised me by sitting on it with her clothes on to get used to it.  I felt like this was a breakthrough in itself so I was happy enough to go forward with proper training the following day. I cannot believe how well she is doing and I have Peppa to thank! Right now we have been using the potty for around a month and E is completely dry during the day with no accidents. We are yet to use the insert and stool because I think she's a little afraid of the big toilet but there is no doubt in my mind that they will make the transition from potty to toilet easier for her.

The Peppa Pig toilet wipes have been great for giving her independence and she's happy to wipe herself, help me flush the contents down the toilet then wash her hands afterwards. She seems comfortable when sitting on the potty and she has now sussed exactly what way to sit so that nothing spills out. The feet of the potty, feet of the stool and edges of the insert are non-slip too so that puts both of us at ease. The Peppa and her Golden Boots book helped in the early days because she was able to sit and flick through the pages whilst sitting down and trying to go - it now gets read a lot a bedtime!

If you're struggling with potty training your little one, I definitely recommend character themed training sets. They are even available in George Pig style.

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

Helping to Introduce Your Baby to the Bottle

There are many reasons why you might consider introducing your baby to a bottle. You may want to start feeding your little one some expressed breast milk; or, knowing that you will be returning to work, you want to ensure that they have some milk whilst you are away from them.

Whatever the reason, this guide will help with how to go about giving your child their first bottle, top tips in the early stages of introducing your little one to a bottle and tactics that you can use when your child refuses the bottle.

How to give your child their first bottle
The common issue for babies being introduced to a bottle is that they will need to use a different sucking action compared to when they were breastfed. It will take them time to get the hang of this new feeling.

To help, try to give your child their first few bottles when they are relaxed and happy as opposed to instances when they're hungry and more likely to want fed by a method that they are used to. It could also be wise to offer your baby a bottle in the evening once their regular feeding has ended - you don't have to give them much milk, as it will be more about getting your child used to the feeling of the bottle's teat.

Another tip is to get someone else to give your baby their first few feeds from a bottle - their dad or a friend or family member - as that way, your baby will not be near you and smelling your breast milk. It may also be best if the mother is out of the house while the baby is being bottle fed, as many babies can smell their mothers even from a distance. You only need to do this a handful of times until your child is used to drinking from a bottle.

Refrain from forcing your baby to feed from a bottle too much, and only feed them enough milk until they let you know that they've had enough. This needs to be a smooth transition, so your child will be more likely to refuse if they aren't enjoying their bottle in the early stages.

What to do if your baby is resisting 
If you are struggling to get your baby to make the transition from breast to bottle, there are some techniques that can help.

You should take the time to find a suitable product for your baby. A bottle with a nipple-like teat that is similar to your child's dummy will likely make it more appealing to your little one, for instance. A slow-flow teat can help if your child gags due to regular teats delivering them too much milk at once.

A First Sippee Transition Cup from Tommee Tippee ticks all of these boxes, not to mention the fact that they are specially designed for a baby's first sips and has a super soft spout that is gentle on your child's sensitive gums. These cups may be well known to you, following a dad's desperate search last year to find a replacement cup for his autistic son. The plea received over 12,000 retweets and the full story can be read on the BBC website.

It's not just the design of the bottle or cup that can help your baby with the transition. Your baby may start sucking from the cup or bottle's teat if you place some breast milk on it and your child recognises the familiar taste.

Let your infant get used to their new bottle or cup in their own time too. Don't be too quick to take it away and give up if they begin to just chew on the teat - let them do this for now as they may switch to sucking on it once they are familiar with the feeling.

Babies may also feel more comfortable drinking from a bottle or cup when they are held in a different position to how you breastfeed them. Feed them from a bottle or cup when they are in a semi-upright position in a car seat, for example, or by having them on your lap but with their back to your chest.

Hopefully with this advice, your baby will be reaching for their bottle or cup for their feed before you know it!

(This is a sponsored post.) 

 

How Reading Helps Young Children Learn

When I was a child, my parents read to me from a young age. As I grew older I developed a love for reading books myself and although I don't get as much time to read now that I have children of my own, it's still one of my favourite ways to relax. I always knew that when I did have children, I'd introduce books early in their lives. I read to them both since they were days old and I still do so every night, four and a half years later. As braggy as this may be, both my four and two year olds speak well and have an amazing range of vocabulary which I truly believe is down to reading. My four year old son can even recite his favourite books from memory.

Bright Horizons nursery, a day care in Twickenham, have put together a really fun infographic which is packed tips for reading to children in baby, toddler and pre-school stages. It even includes some book titles to try out.

What age were your children when you introduced them to books?

(This is a sponsored post.)