Mr Tumble's Christmas Party album out on November 4th

This festive season will be made even more magical as little ones will be able to listen to Mr Tumble's first ever album, Mr Tumble's Christmas Party. Featuring twenty much loved Christmas classics, children will be able to sing along to favourites such as Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frozen's Do You Want To Build a Snowman. Each track has a Mr Tumble twist, keeping little fans enthralled and entertained. Each track has been newly recorded and sung by Mr Tumble and his popular friends, Justin, Lord Tumble, Aunt Polly and Grandad Tumble!

Justin Fletcher, the man behind the CBeebies character Mr Tumble, has previously enjoyed chart success and already has a gold selling album to his name! I'm sure Mr Tumble's Christmas Party will be equally well received by pre-schoolers, and will make a brilliant stocking filler.

Justin's distinctive voice and child-friendly delivery is instantly recognisable on the tracks. Little ones will really enjoy spending Christmas listening to these familiar and much loved characters and will know a fair few of the songs too. It'll be perfect for Christmas parties, get togethers or for listening to on car journeys, building the excitement of the season. It is an album designed with the youngest audience in mind and they will love it.

Mr Tumble's Christmas Party album is released on November 4th and is available on Amazon for pre-order priced at £9.99 for the CD (correct at time of writing). It's also available to download. So get into the festive spirit, sing along and have a Something Special Christmas Party with the family!

Tracklist:

1             Here Comes Santa Claus

2             Do You Wanna Build a Snowman

3             Santa Claus is Coming to Town

4             Winter Wonderland

5             Frosty the Snowman

6             It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

7             A Sleigh Ride Together with You

8             White Christmas

9             I Can't Wait for Christmas

10          Silent Night

11          Let it Snow

12          Jingle Bells

13          All I want for Christmas is My 2 Front Teeth

14          Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

15          Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

16          12 Days of Christmas

17          Little Drummer Boy

18          The Xmas Song

19          Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmas Time

20          We Wish You a Merry Xmas

This Week It's Our Something Special Party

This Thursday at 4pm we are hosting a Something Special Twitter party for UKMums.tv.  We will be trying out the new range of Something Special toys, playing games and eating yummy themed food.  Whilst we are enjoying ourselves, we will also be live tweeting using the hashtag #somethingspecialparty. There are loads of prizes to be won, so it's well worth joining in and following @ukmumstv on Twitter.  You can also follow me @wendymcd83 so you don't miss what we're getting too!

We've been sent a lot of goodies to treat our party guests, including the Something Special toy range.  Take a peek at some of the toys in the video below.  They are going to be a huge hit with Mr.Tumble fans this year!

                            

I have a lot of cooking to do, making Spotty Cupcakes, Pizza Spots and Spotty Bowtie Biscuits ...do you detect a theme?!  We'll be playing Pass the Parcel, Stick the Red Nose on Justin and What's In Mr.Tumble's Spotty Bag.  It's going to be a lot of fun.  i hope you can join us on Twitter!

Join the Something Special Twitter Party!

Golden Bear will be launching the full new collection of Something Special toys this autumn. The exciting new Mr Tumble toys and accessories, inspired by the hit CBeebies show will be a hit with any little fans!

Something Special features the much loved presenter Justin Fletcher, together with his alter-ego Mr Tumble. The show encourages children to explore the world around them and incorporates the use of Makaton, a recognised form of communication using signs and symbols, as well as rhymes and songs, to encourage and develop language in a fun and exciting way.

In autumn 2013 the full new collection of toys will be available for all to enjoy and will include some wonderful new products. New additions to the range include the Something Special Mr Tumble Textured Spotty Bag and the Aunt Polly Tea Party Puzzle, which comes with eight brightly coloured chunky pieces..

Also new for 2013 is the Mr Tumble Interactive Toy with special features including a light up nose, opening waistcoat and spotty bag. Children can also press Mr Tumble’s hand to hear fun phrases and sounds. The Mr Tumble Soft Toy interacts by responding to the child with a series of Mr Tumble noises and recognisable phrases. The Mr Tumble Pick ‘N’ Match pairs game and Mr Tumble Stick-on Felts will also be available.

Each toy in Golden Bear’s Something Special range comes in packaging with Makaton signs that relate to the product. If they wish to, parents can also use these signs with their children to further enhance the toy and the Something Special experience.

Stockists of Something Special toys includes Tesco.com.

On Thursday 12th September,  UKMums.tv will be hosting a Something Special Twitter Party and everyone is invited to join in the fun!  We are very excited to be taking part! 

The Twitter Party will begin at 4pm with myself and other bloggers hosting and live tweeting our very own Something Special parties, and there will be lots of freebies up for grabs on Twitter until 6pm.

Simply follow @ukmumstv and join in using the hashtag #somethingspecialparty. 

You can find out more by visiting www.evolutioncomps.co.uk/somethingspecial

BBC launches CBeebies Playtime app

The BBC today launched CBeebies Playtime, a mobile app for the BBC’s youngest audience and their parents, available for free on Android, iOS and Kindle Fire devices in the UK. The app features four fun games based on some of the most-loved CBeebies shows, all designed to aid child development in a safe and secure offline environment.

Yesterday, we were lucky enough to visit the CBeebies HQ at Media City in Salford, to be among the first people to have a go at using the new app!   CBeebies presenter Cat joined the kids as they played with the app on various devices.  My Tiny Tester Freddy loved the new app instantly and was able to play straight away, setting up his profile and playing on all the games.  The app is very user friendly for little people and bags of fun!

CBeebies Playtime is the perfect companion for young children, allowing them to play along with favourite characters whenever and wherever they want, including the Alphablocks, Octonauts, Tree Fu Tom and Something Special’s Mr Tumble. Parents can also join in the fun through the dedicated ‘Grown-ups’ area. Here they can record special messages for their little ones, find out about each game’s learning benefits, and access useful tips to help their children get the most from the app.

Profiles can be created for up to four children, allowing them to collect CBeebies bugs as rewards for their progress, and listen to messages left by their parents. Each profile features a hot air balloon that children can personalise, which transports them into the CBeebies Playtime world where they can choose to play one of four games.  The balloon can be made into a variety of shapes and decorated in a variety of patterns.  You can even take a 'selfie' and use the photograph to decorate the balloon!

Alphablocks Word Magic

Alphablocks Word Magic helps young children develop confidence in reading and writing by learning how to spell a range of words. They simply tap on a picture of an everyday object and spell it out by choosing the right Alphablocks, in the correct order. The words get progressively more difficult as the game goes on.  It is a great game for early readers and writers and will be perfect to help Freddy as he starts school in September.

  

Octonauts Cadet Training

Little ones get to help the Octonauts in a variety of missions to rescue sea creatures who have gotten themselves into trouble. Shaking the device to remove rubble and calling out to lost Orcas are just some of the ways children can help them out. It develops listening skills and teamwork, as the Octonauts guide players through a series of underwater adventures, as well as finding out more about the world around them. It also gives kids a host of fun facts about the underwater animals they help which is a nice feature.

Something Special Paint Pop

Play along with Mr Tumble and his friends, who need some help decorating their clothes and accessories. Children can colour them in by tapping the screen to pop paint bubbles as they pass over the items. This game is suitable for all children, including those with special needs, allowing them to have fun and develop confidence.  Freddy had some fun with this game and enjoyed decorating bow ties and welly boots with the paint bubbles!

Tree Fu Tom Chuckleberry Chase

It's harvest festival day after the Mushas have stolen all of the chuckleberries. Children can cast the super speed spell with Tree Fu Tom and help him race through Treetopolis to catch the Mushas and save the day. The game allows children to practice fine motor skills as they tilt the device to catch the berries and avoid obstacles in their path.  It is a quick paced, action packed game for little Tree Fu Tom fans.

Freddy loved the app.  It had the right balance of educational content and fun gaming action to keep him enthralled and entertained.  The app has the same quality and visual appeal of the TV shows that little ones love and even the youngest CBeebies fan will recognise the characters.

I love that the app doesn't need the internet to play it, which means it will be brilliant on car journeys or when out shopping.  I know it is completely safe and as it is absolutely free we can put it onto all our devices without the fear of running up any unexpected bills.

I think this app is a brilliant new addition to the CBeebies brand joining the TV shows, the radio station and the website to entertain our little ones!

Something Special

CBeebies star Justin Fletcher is a household name in any home that includes a toddler or pre-schooler.  No-one could fail to be charmed by his larger than life personality and infectious grin!  His hit show Something Special  encourages children to explore the world around them and uses the internationally recognised sign language Makatron to enhance communication. Justin's alter ego Mr Tumble sends things for Justin to find in his magical Spotty Bag and adds laughter and surprises to this colourful and fun-filled show.

Golden Bear are launching a brand new range of Something Special toys aimed at fans of the show.  Children can now have their very own Mr Tumble toys and interact further with his on screen antics. Freddy received a selection to see what he thought of them!

He received a cute and cuddly Mr Tumble Activity Toy that has a smart waistcoat and bow tie.  Press his hand and he speaks one of six phrases.  His nose also lights up with a rosy glow!  Freddy enjoyed cuddling his new friend.

The Pick and Match Pairs Game consists of 36 different pairs of large size, sturdy cards.  Each pair includes a picture of a character, icon or object from the show along with an illustration of its Makatron sign demonstrated by Justin.  The cards can be used to play match pairs using an appropriate number of paired cards to suit the ages and ability of the child.  It is a great memory enhancing game that children can play with their parents.  Freddy enjoys finding matching pairs (even though a little bit of peeking goes on!)  The cards can also be used to teach Makatron signs and improve vocabularly.

The Mr Tumble Phone is a snazzy yellow spotty mobile with three different character discs that can be inserted into a slot in the handset to allow the different characters to talk.  They speak different phrases allowing the child to interact with them.  Freddy chatted to Mr Tumble and accepted an invitation to go for tea and cake with Aunt Polly and Grandad Tumble!  The discs can be stored in the back of the handset and their is a handy clip to attach the phone to a child's pocket.  The volume on demo mode is quite loud, but removing the plastic tag reduces the sound level to protect little ears.

As you can see from the photos above, Freddy loved playing with the Something Special Toys.  He recognised them as being Mr Tumble and immediately interacted with the toys.  I wish I could have had the cuddly Mr Tumble when he was younger.  It will be a lovely toy for a very young child to have.  His plush body, woolly hair, textured fabric clothes and opening waistcoat are really tactile and the light up nose and spoken phrases make it perfect for multi-sensory play.  For an older child, he is a fun companion to hug!!   The phone is great for pre-schoolers, offering scope for imaginative roleplay.  The cards are excellent for language development, memory skills, learning Makatron and for playing games.  They are very versatile.

Golden Bear has done a great job in bringing the fun, colour and humour of the show to the range.  Something Special fans and fans of Justin alike will love these toys.  I'm sure they will be very popular and find themselves on a lot of Christmas wish lists this year.

www.goldenbeartoys.com