Bellz Magnetic Game Review ~ Tested by Jess & Bodhi

Spin master have made a wonderful travel size family game, The game is simple ( or so it seems ) picking up bells with a magnet how hard could that be right ?

The answer to that ? pretty hard ! The magnet want is really strong and if you are not careful then you will end up with more bells then you need , The aim of the game is to pick one of the four colours and to only pick up these if you pick up any of the other players colours then you turn is over ! 

The game comes with play Matt / x40 different sized coloured bells and the magic magnet want. The game Matt folds shut with a zip so you can keep the bells inside making this a perfect travel game no batteries or plugs or Wifi needed! only thing i would worry about is losing the bells. 

We played this game as a family of 3 Bodhi who is nearly 5 enjoyed playing but he took a few goes to get the hang of only picking up 1 or 2 bells at a time rather then trying to get loads in one go ( reminds me of the tortoise and the hard story ) 

We also played " who can get the most bells " with out worrying about the colours this could be a good way to play with younger children. Hubby is keen to play this game on a games night with friends and turn it into a drinking game ( men don't ask me ) 

over all i found this game fun and we all enjoyed playing it and it would suit a family based play or a older group of children its aimed at children 6 and over and this is the right age if they are playing without adults. 

we are looking forward to playing this over Christmas when we have family over, It would also make a perfect gift for a family or friend you can buy it from amazon for £17 ( price may change  ) 

We have been sent this game to play an review for spin master but all views and words are that of my own. Thank you to Spin master for the game.

mavel mashers my perfect toy !

As a blogger mum the summer holidays have really hit me hard !!! trying to find time to sit down and write/edit/upload it really hasn't happened much over the last 6 weeks. I normally do my blogging work while Bodhi is at nursery and to be fair i get a lot done in my 3 hours a day, But i have a toy that will always give me an hours peace !

These toys are marvel mashers !! I bloody love them ( as does Bodhi ) they are made by Hasbro and pretty much are 6 inch action figures that come in the marvel super hero range. you can buy them in all toy shops on line and in supermarkets, I often pick them up when they are on offer and can pick them up for around £7/9 think the RRP is around £11, you can take off the limbs / heads / etc and change them over with other mashers.

You can also get star wars and Jurassic world range these also mash up with the marvel range. They are aimed at ages 3+ and for 4 1/2 year old Bodhi they are perfect, He will take everything apart ( and i mean everything ) then mash them all together and then they have to battle.

He will sit and play with this toy in his room and i won't hear a peep out of him for at least 45 minutes , So thank you Hasbro ! not only can i shower on school days i can send emails and do work in the holidays !!

what is your child's favourite toy ? 

kao kao club petz Review

We love all things cute, cuddly and animals so when we had the chance to review another animal from the club petz range how could i say no? This time we was sent out our very own baby koala bear named Kao-Kao. As you can see from my youtube Bodhi was over the moon with his new 'pet' and couldn't wait to look after her and to take care of her. 

She is a interactive bear has a built-in sensor and makes a noise when you enter the room. You can feed her  a eucalyptus branch and she’ll smell them and then and them have a nibble.  She loves her bottle, she can get the hiccups A few pats on the back will make her burp! Bodhi loves this Give her a cuddle and stroke her head or back this  will make her fall asleep.

• Sensor technology so he makes a noise when you enter the room

• Interacts and makes noises with food and bottle

• Able to get hiccups and burp

• Falls asleep from stroking head/Back 

You can buy Kao-Kao from most online toy stores or amazon and the RRP is £49.99 this may seem like a high price, But the toy its self is huge ( as you can see in the photos ) and will give your child hours of play and fun. If Bodhi had asked for this toy it would have been saved for a main Christmas gift or birthday. You will need x4 AA batteries for play and you can turn Kao-Kao off when not being used. Bodhi loves her as i knew he would and she is very well looked after. This is a great toy for families that can't keep pets due to what ever reasons and it also really promotes image/ Role play ideas. Bodhi loves to play koala family and uses Kao-Kao as is baby sister ( Yes i am mummy koala ) 

Thank you once again to IMC toys for sending us this product to review and keep. 

#ToddlerApprovedTuesday ( simple sand play )

Sometimes the best play ideas are they most simple ! now the weather is starting to play ball and we have some lovely sunny afternoons. All i did was to dump some of Bodhi's play sand ( you can get bags of this play sand from pretty much every shop going even pound land sells small bags ! ) onto his tuff spot tray, I added a few rocks from the garden and also some rose petals, I places his big trucks on top of the sand to start his imagination going.

Once Bodhi was home from morning nurseery the weather had really picked up so was a perfect time to go and play with the sand, i sat with Bodhi ( who is 4 1/2 ) and we played all sorts of pretend games, we played builders / dinoursars with rock eggs / castles and monsters / digging for treasures

                                       

                       

Linking up with  #ToddlerApprovedTuesday some times its just best to keep things simple , less is more as they say! Body has really enjoyed this no set up sand play afternoon in this tuff spot tray.

Half term ideas

I'm pretty new to this half term lark, Bodhi only spends half the day at school in nursery the idea of spending the whole week together is at first a lovely one that soon turns into fear.... Bodhi is four and half and very active and always wanting to play/learn/make and do ! This is normally filled in his three hours while at school. So last night I came up with a few idea of things we could do together that one won't brake the bank and that also mean we spend some time together. ( also the weather is shocking this week so that's really rubbish as I had planed a week of playing in the garden ! )

Build a bed cave/den - this we have done this morning , we have had breakfast and read books under the covers of my bed
Play Lego/playdoh/etc - play like this is great for popping in and out so you can still do the house work and have a hot cuppa and play eith your child
Arts & craft - use what you already have in at home to save a few ££ make art work for local family then go visit them with said art work
Baking - again just have a look at what you have in and get making ( can always look on Pinterest for help )
Netflix / DVD - great way to get some cuddles and I have sometimes even grabbed a little power nap while the boy watches toy story 3 for the 1000 time
Library - most will having events/story telling on within the holidays best to check out and find out what's on
Leisure centers / soft play - great when the weather is rubbish but may be very busy with every other child from your area
Shopping - it's a weekly thing that we all need to do , if you are taking your child with you make it fun for them or you will both get stressed, shopping lists , I spy, etc and if all else fails a bribe of a treat at the end of the shop always works for me !!
Poundshop - give your child a few ££ and let them pick a few items I really do love the poundshop can pick up a new book , DVD , toy and a snack for under a £5 ! They have lots of garden play items in stock now always if the weather improves.


If the weather improves then get out and about while it's nice !! Trips to the park on scotter/bike walk in the woods just getting some fresh air will feel great after a few wet house days, pack a picnic and make a day of it.

Meeting up with friends is also a good idea, either having a play date or meeting up at a local farm or play place. Mums can have a grown up chat while the kids run wild.

What ever you do over half term , take a deep breathe and remember they will soon be back to school !!

worm world Review for interplay / my living world

When asked if Bodhi and myself would like to review a product from interplay's my living world range it really was a no brainier, Bodhi loves all things creepy and crawly , when i was a child i used to spend my summers filling empty ice cream tubs with lady birds and setting up snail farms ( we even held snail races in out back garden )

Now i knew i was being sent the worms with the worm world by post ( live worms are an add on of £3 ) it was still a little bit of a shock finding a tub of soil with live worms in and yes i did squeal just a little bit !

set up so very simple and Bodhi really enjoyed helping getting the worm world ready for the worms, the set comes with everything you need apart from soil ( no big deal ) we had fun digging in the garden for this part of set up

      

we have also enjoyed watching the worms before bed as this is when they are most active ( worms don't like bright lights so will stay hidden in the day time ) Bodhi is amazed at the tunnels and the disappearing leaves ( the worms drag them into the soil to eat them )

I am very impressed with the worm world , i feel it is something that could work well in a classroom or playgroup. Bodhi is loving having pet worms in his bedroom and has asked for a butterfly kit and the ant farm next !! ( maybe Christmas? ) the age range is just about right ( marked at 5+ ) this isn't something id have left Bodhi to do by himself but this would make a prefect gift for that hard to buy for age of child between 5-8 years

watch our youtube video of set up and unboxing of the worm world below




Thank you to Interplay for sending the worm world for review

Dino garden - perfect summer play idea - #ToddlerApprovedTuesday.

 #Toddler approved Tuesday for this weeks post i am keeping it REALLY simple. we are in the middle of decorating our living and play space so poor Bodhi hasn't had much space to play so when i saw that summer dry weather was on its way i dragged out this plastic dinosaurs and got making a small world space in the garden,

For this i used items we already had in our garden, i found a shaded spot by our shed and added rocks/sand/and bark chipping down for different zones for the dinosaurs to live and play, i also placed an empty seed tray for Bodhi to add water to for either a bath or lake, this was all done while Bodhi was at morning nursery , Once we got home we headed into the garden i didn't tell him about the Dinosaurs, didn't take him long to find them, he so really pleased to have a game to play out in the garden, for a little while we just lay in our long grass ( yes i know it needs cutting ) and watched the Dinosaurs pretending we was at a ( in Bodhi's words ) " Dinosaur Zoo " 

Bodhi spent well over an hour playing with this simple set up ( i know this as i got to put washing on and out on the line with out a little helper ) we stopped for lunch and then i let him play with the water, we don't have an outside tap , but we do have a water but, he loves nothing more then filling and pouring water soon all of the dinosaurs were all in the 'sea' having a lovely time! 

I have just ordered a kids Tuff spot tray from Amazon for £14.99 i am sure something like this would be a perfect play idea for a tray ( but doesn't have to be ) i am looking forward to spending many an afternoon out in our little garden having fun and playing pretend games together. 

Simple Bird feeder cups #kidsinthegarden

I am linking you with the lovely LarabeeUK for a blog hop with 13 other bloggers each sharing a great kids in the garden post, we love spending time in our garden and lets face it we could all do with a little less screen time and more fresh air time!

If you would like to read the other #kidsinthegarden blogs please pop over to LarabeeUK blog to check them all out, it kicks off with dinosaur plant markers and my blog is day 5 !

Bodhi has been asking me for a few weeks now to feed the birds in the garden as he often sees our next door putting out bread on her grass. i really don't like doing this as we have a lot of cats in our road and the often catch the birds when they are eating from the ground, so we came up with the idea of making bird feeder cups.

what you will need - 

paper cups

garden string 

lard ( yum )

bird seed 

nuts

dried worms 

jug

scissors

spoon 

Now i let Bodhi play and mix all of the dried parts together on our kitchen table but this is up to you and how OCD you are with cleaning and mess! Body loved this and really wanted to try a worm! ( crazy boy ) 

1 - get your paper cup and make a small hole on two sides, thread the garden string to form a handle and a stand for the birds. 
2 -  mix all the dried parts into your paper cups
3 - ( grown up help needed ) melt the lard in a jug ( I just put the while block in for 2 mins and it was melted, it will smell !! ) 
4 - pour the melted lard over the dry mix and stir well
5 - leave overnight to full set 
6 - hang in your garden and enjoy bird watching. 

smart-doh review

*** sorry i keep calling it play - doh !! *** this is so much softer and nicer to play and shape with the PD !

Once you’ve gone Smart, You’ll never go back!

A super‐squidgy, fun, therapeutic dough that teaches children through play and helps to unleash their inner creativity and imagination. Watch them mould, pummel and knead the soft, silky dough into a variety of different masterpieces, while working their little hand muscles to improve their fine motor skills, coordination and concentrating ability.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/smartdoh

https://www.instagram.com/smart_doh/

https://www.facebook.com/smartdohltd

we was very kindly sent this gift by the maker of smart-doh and i will be placing an order for more soon no doubt, the colours , smells and textures are amazing! I've made my own doh in the past but its always been a little bit naff! the huge range of colours and smells i want to get them all ! i am full of cold this week but even i could smell the mint doh its lush! Bodhi and i spent most of this afternoon playing and shaping with the cutters/roller and play mat we was also sent along with the x3 tubs of doh.

Smart Doh contains natural oils that are absorbed through the skin and moisturize whilst being handled. My play dough range is extensive and includes a wonderful smelling collection of dough infused with organic certified pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils.
Smart Doh provides a reassurance to concerned and caring parents knowing what their child is playing with is all natural and chemical free unlike the play dough available on the market which contains kerosene and boraxParents are now more concerned than ever before about what comes into contact with their child’s skin. I want to make chemical free play dough widely available and aim to provide assurance that the dough is suitable to handle for strict vegans, vegetarians and peace of mind so parents need not worry about their children handling or touching food after playing with this dough.Smart Doh is 100% non‐toxic and fully complies with EN71 safety legislation. Suitable for ages 3 and up, it is available in fun, assorted colours.



Please go and check these guys out they are just starting out and who doesn't love a tub of lovely soft smart - doh !

Prices start from just £2.50 for a tub and you can also buy cutters/rollers and play matts all from http://smartdoh.com