Trackside Fun with Bigjigs #PlayPatrol

We are huge fans of the Bigjigs road and railway sets.  The beautifully crafted wooden pieces are the tools to unleash a child's imagination as they create their own miniature world complete with tracks, roads and vehicles.  Like tiny town planners, children can make a fully functional transport network, add houses, shops, zebra crossings, bridges, roundabouts and even recycling plants!

Freddy received a Bigjigs Trackside Accessory Set to test out for his latest Play Patrol mission.  The set contains 34 wooden pieces such as workers, shoppers, farm animals, vehicles, houses and trees.  It makes the perfect addition to his road and railway sets, as he can use the figures and vehicles as props for adding an extra element of story telling to his games.  The fireman, the policeman, the nurse and the builder become the everyday heroes in Freddy's little world, while the cars, ambulance, fire engine and police vehicle whizz around the roads on their travels.  An imaginative story unravels as he explores the day to day adventures in his Bigjigs town.

Freddy used the accessory set alongside his figure of eight road set.  The extra people, buildings and vehicles added to the play value, allowing Freddy to make an elaborate set up.  He enjoyed making up a story involving a pig that got run over by a car that came flying over the bridge (typical Freddy). The policeman, the nurse and the fireman came to the rescue so it all ended well!!

The wooden accessories develop a child's dexterity and coordination and spark creativity and imagination through play.  The figures and vehicles are also great tools for counting, matching, comparing and for encouraging conversation.  A child's vocabulary can be enhanced by discussing the various animals, the jobs done by the characters, the shops and the types of vehicles.  There is so much to look at and talk about in the busy town set up.

Freddy's verdict on his new toy was that it was "awesome!"  He loved being able to extend his play and enjoyed arranging everything exactly how it wanted it.  The scope for imaginative play was increased by having the extra accessories to use in his games.  He made a tower block out of the individual shops.  He used the people as skittles, knocking them down with his cars! He made some of his characters into superheroes flying over his town and he raced the cars against each other.  He had so much fun!

The Bigjigs Trackside Accessory Set is available on the Bigjigs website for £20.49 and is compatible with all road and rail sets from Bigjigs and other major wooden railway brands.  It's a great add on set to engage young minds for hours of imaginative play.

Freddy the Weatherman - Bigjigs Play Patrol Mission #1

My little Play Patrol Agent Freddy was delighted to be picked by Bigjigs to carry out a series of secret missions over the coming months, where he will be trying out a selection of their toys and putting the fun to the test!

His first mission was to test out the Bigjigs Magnetic Weather Board. On Sunday we had a wonderful family barbecue to celebrate Freddy's 5th birthday, which is next week.  Once everyone had left, Freddy put his new toy to the test in the garden.  Donning his new uniform of baseball cap and T-shirt he took on his Play Patrol Agent role very seriously. Being outdoors was the perfect location to see exactly what the weather was doing.

The Bigjig Magnetic Weather Board is a lovely, educational toy, perfect for the bedroom, playroom or classroom.  The large wooden framed structure helps children to learn about the seasons, the weather, time and dates, all within the context of a yearly calendar.  The wooden magnetic pieces can be positioned into the relevant spaces, allowing children to record what they did, when they did it and what the weather was like.  A clock face with moveable hands also allows little ones to record the time.

Each of the date, year, season, day, month, activity and weather pieces are made of wood with a magnetic back allowing them to be stuck onto the board.  The colours and designs are appealing making this a fun activity for children to enjoy.  The clock face has words as well as numbers to assist the learning of terms such as half past, quarter to and o'clock. Freddy has always enjoyed playing with toy clocks and seeing how the hands go round.  This will hopefully help him to take his time-telling to a new level!

Being magnetic allows little ones the chance to be creative and explore the different combinations of dates and times through play.  They can learn letter and number recognition, practice counting skills, enjoy colour matching and also learn the spellings of the days, months and seasons of the year.  Older children will enjoy filling out the daily record, making them more aware of time, the weather, seasonal changes and the calendar.

It is a great starting point for discussions about weather and time related things.  For example it prompts children to think about why it rains or what causes the wind to blow, sparking their quest for scientific knowledge.  It also gives them an opportunity to understand how days, months and seasons fit together within a year.  

Freddy has been enjoying having his Weather Board to record his days on.  It is a lovely toy to go alongside his enquiring mind. It has the potential to last for years (and as it includes pieces for the years up to 2020 it will literally last until then!)  It will grow with him as his ability to tell the time and read the words improves. 

                            

The handle allows the Weather Board to be easily carried, while the magnetic pieces stay safely attached to the board.  So Freddy had some fun in the garden putting the fun to the test up the slide, on his climbing frame and on the grass.  This proves that Bigjigs Play Patrol agents can have fun anywhere!!

Using his Weather Board up the slide!!

I love the traditional and highly educational toy.  It aids concentration and dexterity in children aged 3 and over.  It's a real classic piece with lots of play value.  As with all Bigjigs toys it is made using responsibly sourced materials and conforms to EU safety standards.

Telling the time out on the lawn!

I'm sure that Freddy will enjoy this for years to come in lots of different ways.  He has already invented his own game which involves throwing the pieces at the board to try and make them stick.  He thinks it's a great laugh...but what he doesn't realise is that he is learning all about magnetism too!!

Carrying his new toy on his climbing frame!

Filling in the 'Today' section on the Board together is a chance to chat about the child's day with them, which is a lovely way for them to recount what happened and consolidate memories.  Communicating with children is vital for their language development, and boosts their self-confidence too. It's a lovely activity to share at the end of a busy day.

You can find out more from the other Play Patrol Agents on the Bigjigs Facebook page and browse their beautiful range of toys at www.bigjigstoys.co.uk.

Bigjigs Play Patrol - Freddy Reviews Safari Blocks

My little boy Freddy and I are delighted at being shortlisted to become one of this year's Bigjigs Play Patrol Agents.  We have loved being ambassadors for the brand, as we genuinely love the company's ethos, their beautiful toys and the sense of humour that runs through their social media, so we are honoured to get through to this stage.  Thank you Bigjigs!

  Freddy has been given a very special mission to review a set of Bigjigs Wooden Safari Blocks.  As toys suitable for babies from 1 year old, I was worried that he would not be very interested in them.  Oh how wrong was I!!??  He LOVES them!

It just goes to show that traditional wooden toys are timeless classics with masses of play value.  When toys rely on imagination instead of batteries, the scope for play appeal is unlimited and long lasting.

The Bigjigs Safari Blocks are a collection of thirty two colouful, wooden bricks, which come with a handy drawstring bag for storage.

The blocks include pieces to make six fun animals, a sun, moon, flowers, bushes and trees.  They are completely child friendly making them suitable for toddlers from a year old.  They are the perfect size for little hands to manipulate, but still solid and chunky.

The Bigjigs Safari Building Blocks encourage and develop a number of skills in children.  Freddy displayed lots of these skills as he played, developing and learning as he put the fun to the test!  

Learning through play is the best way for little ones to explore the world around them, laying down the foundations for their future development. These blocks are fantastic tools for the following skills:

Dexterity - stacking the blocks helps develop the ability for children to use their little hands and practice those all important fine motor skills.  Hand eye coordination is improved as little ones manipulate the pieces to create the animals or build towers.

Balance - making towers that stay standing requires a good sense of balance.  Then knocking them down teaches them about cause and effect....plus it's totally fun!

Imagination - bricks can be built into anything, limited only by a child's imagination.  The cute animal characters lend themselves to being the stars of many role play games.  This aspect of play is something that Freddy really enjoys as he acts out wonderfully elaborate scenarios using the blocks as props for his storytelling.   From building huge towers to making a safari adventure, there are lots of things to be built, encouraging spatial awareness and creativity.

Vocabulary - animal names and sounds, colours, shapes, size, prepositions (such as above, below, next to, on top of) etc. can all be learned through playing with the blocks together.  Interacting with your child as you play together opens up a fun and engaging dialogue, encouraging children to chatter about what they are doing, improving social skills, confidence and teaching new words.

Problem Solving - For little ones, working out how to make the animals is a lot of fun.  Older children can work out how to fit together the circles inside the semi-circular spaces to make stable structures or work out ways to build the tallest towers, all the while testing their problem solving skills.

Matching - children will enjoy sorting out the blocks by size, shape or pattern and  matching up the pieces of the animals.  And of course, mix and match creatures are fun to make too!

 Shape Recognition - with rectangles, semi-circles, circles and squares, little ones can learn the names of shapes. This activity can be extended for younger children who could draw around the blocks to make shape pictures. Freddy was able to name the 3D shapes such as cubes and cuboids, counting their faces and matching them by size.

Number Skills - Freddy counted the animals and the number of bricks in his tower.  He also used the blocks as an aid to counting on, learning the basics for early maths skills. Blocks are really handy when children begin to learn simple addition and subtraction problems.  You can use them as a resource to help solve simple problems, making maths much more fun, hands on and practical!

Encourages Tidying Up - The drawstring bag made clearing up much easier and Freddy loved that it was in his favourite colour; light blue.  This fact made him positively eager to tidy the bricks away after he had finished playing.  This is a great social skill for little ones to learn (and it makes my job as a mum easier, giving me less mess to put away at bedtime!)

Watching Freddy play made me realise the value of these traditional toys.  I expected him to build the animals and create a safari play scene, build towers and knock them down.  But I was surprised at just how much fun he's had with them.  He has had them out everyday since they arrived, and has come up with some seriously entertaining ways to play. His sense of humour and imagination has shone through: 

• He has made his own funny jokes using the bricks as props...he made lots of mix and match animal characters including a 'two headed cat' which he thought was hilarious, then proceeded in doing his best Annoying Orange impression as he gave us a running commentary and laughed at his own gags!

• Freddy made himself a 'Minecraft World' with the blocks and played out some exciting Minecraft action with the animal heads as TNT!  He gave a running commentary on creepers, pigs and chickens as he brought the online game into real life with a colourful and fun Bigjigs twist.

I love his quirky way of unleashing the fun from toys, discovering ways to play that I would never have imagined. This it what I love most about Bigjigs toys.  The play value is unleashed through the imagination of the child and is not pre-decided for them. Being free from the constraints of expectation allows that imagination to soar. How much fun must it be to be a 4 year old!

As ever, Freddy played hard and the blocks are withstanding his rough and tumble approach to playtime perfectly, without a dent or scratch on them.

Take a look at the blocks (and Freddy) in action in this video:

                                 

It really was eye opening to see how much these blocks sparked his imagination and how many ways he found to play with them.  Buying these for a younger child would be a great investment as they will last for years, with the play value growing and changing over time.  The blocks can be added to or combined with other sets of building blocks, so the fun keeps growing.

Priced at just £11.99, the Bigjigs Wooden Safari Building Blocks are a great value toy that little boys and girls will love.

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