We Met Mike the Knight at Warwick Castle

Yesterday we were lucky enough to be invited to the first of the Mike the Knight weekends at Warwick Castle.  We were blessed with glorious sunshine, and it was the perfect day for Freddy, my own little knight in training, to learn all about Mike the Knight's chivalrous code with the motto "Be a Knight, Do it Right!"

The setting for the event is just perfect.  Warwick Castle is a fabulous Merlin attraction which is easily accessible from junction 15 of the M40.  It is a great family day out with lots to see and do including live combat shows featuring the Warwick Warriors, the Flight of the Eagles show, the Kingmaker exhibition and actor led tours of the State Rooms and Great Hall.  Families can have fun in the Castle Courtyard and explore the ancient Towers and Ramparts or enjoy wandering around the beautiful grounds beside the river.

During the special Mike the Knight weekends there are also a range of medieval missions for pre-schoolers to embark on.  (These activities are all free of charge and included in the Warwick Castle entry price.) They can practice their archery skills with Mike's Target Test.  Jump on a trusty steed and race in Gallahad's Gallop. Go on a voyage of discovery with Sparkie and Squirt in the Dragon Egg Hunt.  Build a wall for the Glendragon Castle. Make a Mr Cuddles in the Colour and Craft Tent. Cast a magical spell at Evie's Workshop and even get their faces painted with a special Medieval Mike the Knight design.  Each task is rewarded with a sticker and when the missions are completed, the little knights receive a small gift for their hard work.  Little ones will learn a whole host of chivalrous lessons such as listening skills, good manners and helpfulness along the way.

Freddy had an excellent time taking part in all the activities, helped by his big sisters.  They met up with their cousins, Addy and Dyl, who were also attending the event with their family.  Together they embarked on  the quest to find the dragon eggs which lead us around the grounds of the castle.  They loved it!  We visited the Mill, the Peacock Gardens and the Birds of Prey before ending our adventure at the top of the Mound.  It was a great way to explore and discover new things.  Freddy was slightly disappointed not to see a real live dragon hatching from the final egg, but we explained to him that it had flown away!

In front of the castle is a brilliant sand sculpture depicting Warwick Castle, Glendragon and Buckingham Palace.  The 5m x 6m structure weighs in at over 30 tonnes and brings a taste of the seaside to Warwick.  There is also a sandpit for children to try to create their own sandcastle and enter a competition to create Britain's Ultimate Sandcastle.  Kids can also get to meet and greet Mike the Knight himself and have their photo taken with the CBeebies favourite.  The queues to see Mike can get quite long, but at the end of the day we didn't have to wait too long at all.

We really had a wonderful day.  There was so much for us all to do, and it was lovely to see Freddy join in with all the fun activities on offer. He is so much more confident these days and loves seizing every opportunity to have fun!

The next Mike the Knight weekend is the 6th and 7th July.  

A new series of Mike the Knight is due to air this summer on CBeebies.

Find out more about Warwick Castle at www.warwick-castle.com

Keep up to date with Glendragon news on Mike the Knight's Facebook page or visit the website at www.miketheknight.com or follow Mike the Knight on Twitter @MiketheKnightUK

Woolly and Tig Toys

Woolly and Tig is the smash hit CBeebies show that has found a place in the hearts of pre-school children across the country and  Golden Bear is about to launch some cute new Woolly toys so little ones can have their very own Woolly friend!

The series follows 3 year old Tig, and her toy spider, Woolly. Each episode explores the feelings that children have when faced with new experiences, such as a first day at nursery school, where uncertainty and anxiety are replaced with fun and laughter when Woolly comes to life.  Woolly allows children to express their emotions and he gives sage advice that little ones will take to heart such as you can get to sleep by counting kisses or having a haircut makes you feel shiny and new!

We were sent some of the Woolly toys to try out.

• Woolly Soft Toy
•  Poseable Talking Woolly
• Jumbo Bedtime Snuggle Woolly
• Woolly Pick n Match Pairs Game

The Poseable Talking Woolly is the perfect comfort toy and the ideal companion for little ones who love to take a friend on the go! Kids can press his head to hear some of his most popular phrases and bend some of his legs to position Woolly. He’s great for giving little ones a confidence boost in new situations as he is always on hand for a reassuring cuddle.

The Woolly Pick n Match Pairs Game consists of 16 pairs of cards each depicting a different emotion.  Happy, Sad, Proud, Shy and Frightened pictures of Woolly are some of the feelings featured.  Not only are these cards good for matching or games of pairs, they also open up dialogue with your child as you can discuss the pictures and talk about the different ways your child might be feeling.  Great for helping them understand their emotions.

The Woolly Soft Toy is a cute little comfort toy, suitable from birth.  It is a lovely little companion for children to carry around and love.  The attention to detail and the likeness to the TV character will make little ones fall in love with their very own Woolly friend.

Jumbo Bedtime Snuggle Woolly is Freddy's favourite of all the Woolly toys.  He is big and soft and adorable. Perfect for cuddling, this toy is a perfect bedtime companion and can help with the bedtime routine.  Children need things to bring comfort to them at times, especially if they feel insecure or afraid, so this snuggly Woolly will soon become a firm favourite when an extra hug is needed.

Woolly and Tig is a perfect springboard for parents to discuss emotions with young children.  This makes dealing with common worries that children have that much easier, giving a focus and providing fresh ideas to approaching problems with positivity and fun.  These toys offer an extra aid in this process, bringing a familiar and cuddly companion into the proceedings.

Melody Xylophone Review

Plan Toys is an eco-friendly brand that really believes in the environmentally friendly methods in which their toys are produced. For more than thirty years they have used innovation and creativity to manufacture  products in the greenest, most socially responsible way possible, minimizing their impact on our planet.  Their toys are both beautiful and durable.

Freddy was sent a Melody Xylophone to try out.  It produces musical sounds true to pitch from the eight brightly coloured bars. Musical sheets are also included featuring popular songs that children can learn to play.  It also helps children to recognise colours as they learn to play the colour coded notes on the sheets, and familiarises them to the concept of written music.

I love the beautifully simple, curved wooden design of the Xylophone.  There are no fancy embellishments to distract from this fabulous starter instrument.  It provides a great introduction to playing an instrument, teaching pre-schoolers auditory and musical skills and developing their fine motor skills.  It is a true classic and a wonderful addition to the toybox.

The wooden mallet fits neatly and securely into the back of the xylophone in a clever little holder for storage, which I think is a brilliant idea, keeping it all together between uses.

Freddy had a go at following the coloured notes and understood that the solid colours were one beat and the   notes that were just outlined were two beats.  He liked listening to the pitch of the different coloured bars as he banged them in order from low to high and back again.   But most of all he enjoyed free styling and rocking some crazy improvised xylophone tunes!

Plan Toys are available to buy on Amazon.

When Messy Play Meets Baking

As this Easter holiday is so very chilly, our activities are tending to take place more indoors that out.  There is  always a danger that this can end up in nothing more than TV viewing and video game playing, so I am determined to give Freddy some more structured activities to avoid an over-dependence on technology!

Today, Freddy had a fabulous time when he was set loose in the kitchen with 16 plain homemade sponge cakes (that we made together), three tubs of icing, sprinkles and some broken-up leftover Easter chocolate.  He had a totally multi-sensory experience as he sniffed, licked, tasted, touched, mixed and spread icing liberally!  He thought about the smells of the strawberry, chocolate and vanilla; the feel of the icing and the sprinkles between his fingers; the texture of the icing as he spread it and touched it; the shapes of the different sprinkles but mostly the flavours as he chomped on the chocolate and the Hundreds and Thousands!  He made a complete mess but loved every moment of his time.  He even enjoyed washing-up afterwards splashing in the warm, bubbly water and using different shaped vessels to pour water from one bowl to another.  There is so much for him to learn through playing and exploring his environment independently.

If you plan on embarking on some similarly messy play, I recommend using a tray to catch all the dropped sprinkles and smears of icing.  It was much easier tidying up afterwards with the mess contained.  The apron kept Freddy clean (ish!)  I often find it hard not to intervene and take control of activities that I do with Freddy and so it was really nice to take a back seat and simply let him do his thing.  I watched, listened and took photos of his antics and let him explore, completely unhindered by any grown-ups with our pre-conceived ideas on what constitutes fun!

What a lovely way to spend a day!

Thanks to Nick Jr for the chef's hat and silicon cupcake cases that they sent us so Freddy could be one of Dora's Little Cooks! Take a look at this recipe from Dora to bake up some delicious treats that are easy for little ones to help with.  You can find lots of other activities to keep the kids entertained this Easter holiday with Nick Jr online.

Learning to Read with Reading Eggs

Freddy is 3 and a half years old and eager to learn.  He isn't very keen on writing or drawing, but he loves playing educational games on tablets, phones and laptops.  So when I heard about Reading Eggs, an online program that teaches children to read, I was very interested in giving it a try.

Reading Eggs makes learning to read interesting and engaging for children, with great online reading games and activities which are fun to play.  It is suitable for children aged 3-7.  (Older children aged between 7 and 13 have Reading Eggspress which takes reading to a new level.)  There also apps available for little ones to play and learn on the go.

I was given a free trial to Reading Eggs (anyone can sign up for a two week trial to give the site a go with their child) after that it costs £39.95 for annual subscription which gives you access to games, activities and printable activity sheets, plus it monitors the child's progress and calculates their reading age.

Reading Eggs has a host of fun characters that lead the child through the lessons with songs, sound effects, praise and amusing graphics.  Children also have access to a great Playroom where they can enjoy some games to improve their skills.  The accent used in the speech throughout the game is British which is something that I was very pleased about.  A lot of phonics based games and apps are American and I find that it can confuse children to hear the letters and words pronounced with an American accent.

Both lower and upper case letters are included as children explore the sounds, picking out the letter from words and finding it on a wordsearch grid.  They can even make their own virtual letter book featuring words beginning with each letter.  As they progress, children begin to explore first words, building the foundations for reading.  There is loads of unlockable content to work towards which keeps the game fresh and challenging.

Freddy has taken to Reading Eggs with enthusiasm   He is very good at using the touch pad to drag and drop, click on and draw letters.  He loves the Playroom games and can explore the site map independently.  It is very user friendly, intuitive and safe.  Parents have their own area where the child's progress can be monitored.  Freddy loves the characters and really enjoys working through the lessons.  It is definitely helping with his letter recognition and it is lovely seeing him take these first steps towards being a confident reader.

Reading Eggs are offering readers of Inside the Wendy House the opportunity to extend their free trial from 2 weeks to 5 weeks if they sign up now using the code UKB24MBT.  I would definitely recommend it.

Find out more and sign up for a free trial at Reading Eggs.

We Made Muddy Puddles!

A Fun Activity for Pre-Schoolers

Freddy loves getting messy in the kitchen!  He also loves eating yummy things.  At his nursery, Freddy had made pirate coins using melted chocolate and was so enthusiastic telling me all about it that we adapted the activity to make our own choccy treats.

So we got busy and made Muddy Puddles!  The mud is made of molten chocolate with dried fruit as the rocks and stones.  This is a super easy activity for pre-schoolers who will be able to decorate the Muddy Puddles all on their own.

You need:

1 bar of milk chocolate
An assortment of dried fruit (we used raisins, sultanas and chopped apricots.)

What you do:

Melt the chocolate in the microwave and pour puddles onto a silicone baking tray or onto greaseproof paper. (This is obviously a job for the grown-ups, but after this little ones can take over!)
Use a spoon to swirl the melted chocolate to the required shapes.
Then decorate with dried fruit. (You could also use cake sprinkles or cereals like Rice Krispies too.)
Pop in the fridge to set, them remove from the silicone to enjoy.

This is such a quick and easy activity to do with your children.  It gives you the opportunity to talk about the science of melting the chocolate, changing its state from solid to liquid when heated.  It's never too young to learn about science!

Freddy loved arranging his dried fruit on top of his Muddy Puddles.  We used a healthy topping to offset the fact that it was on a chocolate base!

Freddy loved eating a Muddy Puddle after his lunch and said it was 'delicious'!  He also had a lot of fun getting busy in the kitchen with me.

Wow! Meet Tow Truck Tim

We were so thrilled to be sent another brilliant Wow! Toy to add to Freddy's collection.  This is a brand that we hold in very high esteem.  The colourful, imaginatively designed, robust, chunky toys inspire great imaginative play and withstand the demands of a hard playing toddler or pre-schooler. 

We received Tow Truck Tim and Rolling Ray, a fabulous lorry and car combo.  It has thirteen features including a retractable tow rope with magnetic coupling for recovering the car onto the back of the truck.  The windscreens lift up to let the drivers in and a button launches the car down the ramp.  It has fun sounds, motorised movement and  comes with two figures.  As with all the Wow! Toys it requires no batteries.

Freddy absolutely loved Tim from the moment he saw the box.  The toys are so friendly looking and oozing child appeal.  Little hands can explore everything without the worry of pulling anything off or breaking something.

I was so interested to see how the way Freddy played with this toy differed from how he first played with his Wow! toys.  He instantly created a story with the female tow truck driver rescuing the business man in his car.  The figures interacted with each other, collecting tools, rescuing the car and whizzing off together.  His imaginative play has gone to a new level.  It was a joy to watch him. The Wow! vehicles and characters inspired him to engage in a fantastic role play scenario that kept him engaged.  Any toy that does this gets a big thumbs up from me.

I love how the hero of the story is the woman saving the man!  I love even more that Freddy does not question this scenario!

Daddy, is a huge fan of Freddy's Wow! collection and calls the range "genius".  He thought the button controlled retractable tow rope was an excellent addition to the toy and spent quite a long time 'testing' it!  

Wow! Toys really do allow play to evolve.  Toddlers will adore them as much as pre-schoolers will.  The type of play changes as the children get older and the games get more imaginative, more involved and incorporate more role play.

Here is a quick video of Freddy playing (excuse the lack of trousers!)  He doesn't much like being videoed so I had to sneak this little clip but it gives a little glimpse into his world of play.

Find out more about Tow Truck Tim who is available from Amazon for £27.99.

The range is just perfect for presents for both boys and girls. Wow! Toy's don't break their promises!

Chameleon Crunch Review

Mattel's Chameleon Crunch is bound to be on the wish list of many children this Christmas.  The cute, blue chameleon whizzes around the floor in a circle, stopping to open his mouth or burp out bugs.  Players have to feed him their coloured bugs and the one who has the most bugs in his mouth at the end is the winner.  We were sent one to try out.

The walking, talking, chomping lizard is ready to gobble up the colourful bugs.  The game comes with four kinds of bugs in four different colours so children can learn about colours and shape matching.  The bugs themselves are the ideal size for little hands and are detailed in their design.  Freddy didn't like feeding the butterflies to the chameleon as they were too cute to be food!

The game requires two AA batteries which are easy to insert.  He then scuttles round in a circle in search of dinner.  The bugs are placed in a circle and as the chameleon stops, players have to race to find their colour or type of bug and toss them into his mouth.  Occasionally he will burp them out, so anyone can win keeping younger players in the game.

The chameleon worked well on our laminate but I don't know if he would work as well on shag pile!  You also need a space with a 5 ft diameter turning circle or he will crash into the furniture.

The sound effects are really funny and the chameleon keeps the kids giggling as they attempt to feed him the bugs.  The educational aspect of counting, colour and shape matching is great for pre-schoolers who will be learning through play and having fun.  Thankfully, the chameleon seems quite robust and can withstand being held down and force fed his body weight in colourful bugs.

This will definitely be a big hit with young children and will result in a lot of laughter!

Fun With Poppy Cat

Poppy Cat continues to be a much loved character in our house with the gorgeous books and the Nick Jr TV show, so when Freddy was sent a Talking Poppy Cat Soft Toy he was most pleased.  Voiced by Joanne Page, the orange cat with the lilting Welsh tones is a favourite among pre-schoolers who love sharing in her fantastical adventures, so it is lovely that they can now have their very own Poppy Cat to play with and interact with.

The talking Soft Toy says five fun phrases when her tummy is pressed.  One of the phrases is Poppy Cat counting down "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" which generally results in her being blasted off into space by the power of Fred's best throwing arm!  Her chirpy chatter encourages children into imaginative role play as Poppy urges them to "Come On!" and says "That was a great idea!"

Being quite a small toy, Poppy Cat is perfect for a pre-schooler to carry around as a new best friend and give big hugs to.  Poppy is really soft and cuddly and looks so cute with her patchwork scarf around her neck.

This is just one in the range of fabulous Poppy Cat toys that will give young fans lots of extraordinary adventures and will make perfect Christmas gifts for any child.

RRP: £9.99 - available at john Lewis, Amazon, Play, The Entertainer, Boots and more.

Freddy Test Drives A Kiddie Bike

Kiddie Bikes is an award winning online business selling safe, fun, lightweight yet robust ride-on trikes for pre-school age children. The trikes, in the shape of motorbikes, are manufactured in Hungary to EU quality and safety standards. The two fixed wheels at the back give extra stability while the steerable front wheel makes it very easy to manoeuvre. Kiddie Bikes help children improve their balance, coordination and steering skills, and give kids hours of active fun. They are compact, easy to carry and designed for both indoor and outdoor use.

Freddy was sent a Maxi Silver Kiddie Bike to test out.  It was waiting for him when he came home from nursery and he was keen to jump straight on and get riding...indoors and out!

Freddy really enjoys this bike.  He is a bit nervous riding on two wheelers but too big for sit 'n' ride toys so this bike bridges that gap perfectly.  Having the two wheels on the back makes the bike quite stable, but without making it look like a traditional tricycle.  Freddy loves the motorbike design exclaiming that it is "so cool"!  He likes the stick-on speedometer on the handle bars and enjoys whizzing down the gentle slope of our drive with his feet up going at "super speed".  

The fact that he can ride his bike indoors is a bonus.  He can manoeuvre it up and down the hallway and round the living room safely and so can use his bike whatever the weather.  It will definitely help improve his confidence and his balance to make the leap to a two-wheeler much easier for him.   I really like how lightweight and compact it is making it easy to carry, transport and store.  The bike arrives fully assembled and runs purely on kid power keeping little ones fit and active.

Kiddie Bikes sell a Midi Bike for ages 1-3 for £24.99 and a Maxi Bike for ages 2-4 for £24.99, both with free UK delivery.  They come in an assortment of colours and really do look funky.

Find out more at  kiddiebikes.co.uk

Trampolining For Little People

As the days of good weather get fewer and further between, the opportunity for enjoying the outdoors is getting a much more precious commodity.  Whenever the rain abates, Freddy is eager to go and play in his garden and his favourite activity is trampolining.

We have had the trampoline for a couple of years now and Fred has been bouncing on it ever since he was first able to walk.  He is a bit of a natural with great balance and confidence.  His latest trick is the perfected seat drop.  He has copied his sisters and uses his arms to propel himself back onto his feet in one impressive move.  I tried to catch a seat drop on camera but he was too quick for me.  Instead I got lots of before or after shots, each one with an etched look of concentration on Fred's little face!

I love that he is getting fresh air and exercise and having loads of fun. The trampoline has been worth its cost ten times over for all the play value it has given my kids!  

Bob The Builder Playsets

Bob The Builder Let's Go To Work Playsets from Character

Bob the Builder is one of the most well known of children's TV characters.  My little boy loves him and sings along to the theme song, watches his Bob DVD and wears his Bob hard hat.  So he was delighted to receive two playsets from the Bob The Builder - Let's Go To Work range: The Building Site and the Supplier's Yard from Character to play with.

The playsets are sturdy plastic bases complete with a figure and accessories, which allows a child to get busy and help with the job in hand.  At the Building Site they can help Bob collect concrete in the wheelbarrow or drill out the tiles with the pneumatic drill.

The Suppliers Yard is where Bob can stock up on supplies.  Charlie can load up pallets with planks and other building materials for Bob to collect.  There is an opening pair of doors and a workbench.

The playsets attach together with simple interlocking tabs and build up into a bigger playset which can be added to and expanded with additional playsets and vehicles.  However, they do stand alone so you don't need to spend a fortune to have fun!

The sets are aimed at children aged 3-5 years old.  There are a lot of accessories, tools and little pieces included, so I think this is definitely for the older pre-schooler.  Freddy is 3 and enjoyed playing with all the movable parts, wheeling the wheelbarrow and piling the planks on the pallets.  The tiled floor is a good feature encouraging dexterity.  It fits together like a puzzle and the pieces can be removed using the end of the drill.  

The attention to detail on the playsets is impressive and there is a lot to explore.  They are the perfect inspiration for some great imaginative role play.  The characters are articulated, but the hands can't actually  grip the tools. Freddy tried in vain to get Bob to hold the shovel!

I judge toys by how much my children enjoy playing with them and Freddy really has had a lot of fun with these two playsets.  I really like how the two sets attach together making a really interesting toy with lots of play value.  You can't go wrong with Bob the Builder!!

Freddy Loves Bob The Builder!

Let Your Children Create-A-World

Creative Play For Boys and Girls with Create-a-World

As a child, one of my favourite toys was Fuzzy Felt which consisted of a board onto which cut-out felt shapes could be stuck.  I used to get a new one every Christmas and excitedly waited for the newest themed set to add to my collection.  I have very fond memories of my Fuzzy Felt.  I was therefore very excited to see that the concept has been brought bang up to date in the exciting soft imagination game Create-a-World  from Simply Good.

Freddy was a very eager and willing volunteer to have a play with the Create-a-World set with an additional ABC kit  sent to us from White Step....and I was equally eager and willing to join him in a fun creative play session!

The large felt board can be wall mounted or used on the floor or on a table as a base for your child's creativity.  Colourful, hand-made felt pieces can be easily stuck, removed and moved around to create a unique scene.  Animals, fairy tale characters, bugs, vehicles, roads and people are among the 60+ playing pieces, which allow the child's imagination to run wild.  The additional ABC set includes 51 colourful handmade letters, each featuring an object or animal that begins with the letter it is printed on.  This creates an even richer creative experience, allowing young children to discover the alphabet and spell out simple words.

Create a World

Lovely Letters

Playing with the set encourages children to express themselves in many different ways with art, storytelling and imaginative role play.  Language, problem solving and number skills can be developed.  The letters allow  early phonics and letter recognition.  Concentration levels can be improved. And all this learning is cunningly disguised as play!!

The best way to demonstrate the Create-A-World playset with the additional ABC kit is in a video.   So here is Freddy playing with his new favourite toy!

Other noteable features are that the Create-a-World set comes in a handy bag making it easy to tidy away and perfect for taking on holiday.  It is a mess free creative activity...no scissors, glue or paint required.  Everything can be packed away quickly and cleanly.  So it can really be played with anywhere and anytime. It is all beautifully made and will grow with your child.  Older children can use the pieces to play out stories or could even use them in stop-animation.  They are a great educational resource.

The Create-a-World with the ABC set is available from whitestep.co.uk for £58.95.