TMNT Half-Shell Heroes Squeeze Em's - Review

C loves his typical preschool shows and characters but as he gets a bit older, he is showing more of an interest in superheroes and characters that would typically be for an older audience - one of these being the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Flair have recently brought out the Half-Shell Heroes Squeeze Em's and C was so excited to get one. Michelangelo was the Turtle that we received and the kids took an instant shine to him. You press his tummy, his eyes and tongue pop out and he says a phrase. The longer you hold the tummy in, the higher the pitch is. C especially likes holding it in as long as he can - possibly to wind mummy up! Both C and E are always laughing at him burping and saying "Pepperoni!" - you can't have a TMNT toy that doesn't reference their love of pizza! He even comes with two nunchucks. You can see some more of his phrases in the video below.


The figure itself is quite large (9 inches tall) and very well made. The sturdy plastic means it's great for little hands and is very durable too - just what you need with young children. The tummy part is a little softer so that you can hold it in easily. In saying that, E who has just turned two, does struggle a bit but I think she'll pick it up the more she tries. 

The Half-Shell Heroes range is designed specifically for little ones aged roughly between 2-4 years old. Both of my children are in this age range and as I mentioned above, they love it. I think it would make a fantastic Christmas gift. The TMNT Half-Shell Heroes Squeeze Em's can be purchased from leading retailers at a price of £24.99.

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

C's First Week at Preschool

Back in April, I wrote about C being accepted into our first choice of preschool. We had a feeler session before the summer where he got to have a play in the room and outside area and see what it was all about. He absolutely loved it and all summer he was constantly asking, "Can I go to school today?" so last Sunday he was super excited to go bed knowing that the following day, he'd finally be going.

His preschool staggered start dates as they wanted to get the older children in and settled because they find that the younger children seem more at ease when they come in after. C was to start on the first day as he would be one of the oldest in the class. He was set to do 9.00-10.30 on Monday and Tuesday, 9.00-11.30 on Wednesday and Thursday then Friday onwards would be a full day of 9.00-12.15.

On Monday morning, we woke him at 7. He loves his sleep so he wasn't for getting up until I mentioned school. He bounced out of bed excitedly and couldn't wait to get his uniform on. When we brought him to school, I fully expected to be in tears but I surprised myself, probably because of how calm and collected C was. We had a little Welcome Pack to fill in with C over the summer, one of the activities was getting him to recognise his symbol for where he was supposed to hang his coat. He spotted it right away and hung his coat and schoolbag up. They had everyones symbols Velcro-ed onto the door and as they walked in, they had to choose theirs and put it in a little pouch (sort of like a sign in system). C took his and looked at us for reassurance which made me feel a little sad but once he put it in and said goodbye, he walked in happily with his teacher.

As he was only in for a short time, Chris and I took a walk to get a hot chocolate and by the time we walked back it was time to collect C. E was being very grumpy and refusing to talk to us as she missed him so much! Apparently he had settled in really quickly and the teacher asked if we'd like to leave him a little longer the following day. He came out with a massive smile on his face and couldn't wait to go back the next day.

The second day was equally as good and we were told upon collecting him that he was doing so well that he was ready for full days already. I couldn't believe it. Again, he came out beaming and told me that he'd played with some Peppa Pig toys and had toast and milk. He had tons of pictures that he had drawn for me too - my mother in law warned me to get a massive box for them all! The rest of the first full week went as well as the first two. He was telling me the names of some of his friends but also let me know that the teacher had told him off for running in the classroom!

We go to my parents on a Saturday so he didn't really miss preschool then but he woke at 6.30 on Sunday morning crying his eyes out because he wanted to go. Yesterday, he had a great day and I was so proud that he was taking to school so well.

When I picked him up today, the teacher obviously saw me but called every other child out to their parents before C so I knew he'd done something naughty. We made it 7 days without anything happening which, to be honest, was pretty good going for him. C isn't a naughty child but he can get frustrated and can blow his top quite easily. She told me that C had got a little worked up today and that he was in the Quiet Room. He had destroyed another boy's sandcastle when they were playing in the sandpit. She had asked him to say sorry but he refused and threw a proper kicking and screaming tantrum including throwing sand at other children. I was absolutely mortified when she was telling me. C told her that she had made him upset and angry which she said was good because he was able to communicate his feelings with her. 

When she brought him out to me, he threw his arms around me and sobbed his heart out and told me he wanted to play outside, obviously because he knew he didn't get to finish his outside time. On the walk home, I explained that he needs to listen and do what the teachers say and also be nice to others. He didn't like being taken away from his friends and toys and that would happen again if he was naughty. He calmed down lots and told me that he would be good tomorrow.

Now, understandably, I am worrying about what tomorrow will bring but I'm hoping that he sticks to his promise!

Peppa's Alphaphonics Campervan - Review

I have introduced phonics to C in the past by flash cards and paper but with him starting preschool at the beginning of September, I was eager to get him back into learning again. We were given the opportunity to review the Peppa's Alphaphonics Campervan and it was perfect timing. C has loved Peppa Pig since he was little so I knew it would be an instant hit as he'd recognise the characters that he loves.

The Campervan has a slider at the top where you can choose to play one of 8 games such as Try & Spell, What's the Letter?, Find the Letter and Copy Me.

When you have the pointer on the first picture on the slider, you can press any button on the keyboard which has a letter and picture of an item beginning with that letter. When pressed, you will hear, for example, "D is for Dinosaur, rarrr!" and similar sounds for the rest of the letters. We started off with pressing all of these as it got C used to what was on the campervan in full. It was also great for encouraging him to remember the sounds and focus on his concentration.

The second task gives you the phonetic sound of the letters and a word that begins with the letter - "kuh as in kiss". I found that having C press these and copy the sounds for himself helped him recognise letters and words and he was able to remember these himself the next time he played.

 
The next few games are a little bit more difficult. Peppa asks you to find a word in one of them so C really had think and pay attention to what we'd learned before. If Peppa asked him to find the van, he had to remember the sound that the word started with then the letter. Finding the first letter of words was probably the hardest for C. I had him repeat what the game asked, specifically sounding the first letter then trying to have him work it out on his own.

I won't lie, C found some of these a little tough to begin with as generally, he expects these types of button-pressing toys to just play music or say phrases. It took me to sit with him and explain what to do but once I'd told him once, he took to it like a duck to water. Some of them he still does struggle with, especially spelling the full words, and needs help with but I think it's a great introduction to phonics. 

 
I love that the campervan has a music button to play the familiar Peppa Pig theme song as it makes it a bit more "fun" rather than just all about learning. There is a repeat button too which C uses quite a lot but it's a great way for me to see that he is really concentrating. The only downsides that I feel the campervan has are, although there is a volume button it is still quite loud on the lowest setting. There also isn't an off switch so if another toy falls on top of it in the toy box, it can be set off then Peppa will repeatedly ask you to pick a button until she realises that it isn't happening and then it goes off on it's own.

All in all, I think that the Peppa's Alphaphonics Campervan is a great toy especially for getting children ready for school. It's recommended for children aged 3 years+ and it retails at £19.99.   

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

 

Look in my Letterbox #70

Last week was busy enough post-wise with quite a few wins! C has started preschool and this week I've been dropping him off when the post comes so I'm coming back to red cards. I'm going to try and get them all redelivered for Saturday when I'll actually be here to get them. It is so frustrating not knowing what they are though.

Anyway, here's what I received last week.

Wins:

Cake toppers

 I won these on Twitter just in time for E's birthday. They are so cute and perfect for my little princesses cake and cupcakes!

Lion Guard toys

 I won these in the Lion Guard Twitter party with UK Mums TV a couple of months ago but they had a problem with stock so it finally arrived. I wanted it before C's birthday which is two weeks away so all is good!

Lion Guard mask

 I won this mask in Disney Junior's Facebook Tea Party. It's just a little cardboard mask but my God, the kids are getting tons of enjoyment from it!

Gruffalo Game

 This was a blog win from Suburban Mum. I've been reading the Gruffalo to C since he was really little so he will adore this.

Jollybrew tea

 I entered Jollybrew's Twitter giveaway for a pack of the Mint Choc tea and won! They threw in the other flavour as a surprise. How lovely!

American candy box

 I won this from A Taste of the States on Facebook. It's actually my first box of a three month subscription. I love American candy and adored this box so I can't wait for the other two.

Toppsta book 

I hadn't won a Toppsta book in a while so I was thrilled to finally get a winner's email a week or so ago. E loves it already.

Cowshed skincare

I won this little bundle of skincare goodies from Glossybox on Instagram. I really need a decent skincare regime so maybe these will help. 

Reviews:

Star Monsters

I'm so excited to be reviewing these. C has spotted them in the supermarket recently and was dying to get his hands on some. Keep an eye on my blog next week for the full review.

Purchases:

Bows

 I left it to the last minute to choose bows to match E's birthday outfit. I went to my favourite ever bow shop, picked colours that would match and rushed the order through. E was watching me on the site and just had to have the black and white kitty bow! I actually have a discount code for www.leahannboutique.co.uk if anyone is interested. Just use rebecca10 at the checkout!

Did you receive anything nice last week?

Ravensburger My First Puzzles - Review

I was an only child until the age of 10 and as a young child I really enjoyed my own company. I spent most of my time reading or doing puzzles and I think they gave me a great start in life, so I knew I wanted to introduce them to my own children at a young age.

Ravensburger have a range called My First Puzzles which are aimed at children aged 18 months+. There are lots of different themed "My First Puzzles" to choose from (including characters!) and 2 year old E received the Jolly Dinos and On The Farm puzzles. Dinosaurs and farmyard animals are two of E's loves so when they arrived she was dying to get them opened to try.

Each of the My First Puzzles have four different puzzles inside one box; 2 piece, 3 piece, 4 piece and 5 piece so your child can start with the easier one of slotting just two pieces together then progressing onto the more difficult ones.

E can get a bit frustrated when she can't do something by herself and tends to throw a bit of a tantrum. When we first tried these puzzles, the two piece ones were easy as pie to her but she needed a bit more help as we moved on. C, my 4 year old, could do every one of them perfectly so he was more than willing to help her on her way. We explained to her what to look for when matching pieces and she really listened and tried.

Now, E does need a little bit of help but she's picked it up so quickly and I love that she seems to enjoy puzzles as much as I do. She enjoys the brightly coloured pieces and the fact that all of the animals have names (Oink, Moo, Cluck and Baa in the On The Farm puzzle and Steggie, Terry, Trex and Tricia in the Jolly Dinos one). The pieces are completely smooth and a great size for little hands to hold.

The Ravensburger My First Puzzles retail at just £4.99 per puzzle and I would definitely recommend them as a beginners puzzle for little ones.

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