Category Archives: exploring

Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day

I’ve been quite naughty and shown the 8 month old the iPad and now she knows it is a window to a whole new world of fun! She is very like her brother and will be tech-happy, like daddy too. We were offered a new iPad app to review and as it combined two of my favourite things – buttons and museums – I said yes.

Clara Button

Following in the footsteps of the hugely successful book published by the V&A, Clara Button and her adventure at the museum has come to the iPad. Using the original illustrations by Emily Sutton and narrated by author Amy de la Haye, this beautiful app features interactive animations, guiding both children and parents through the story with finger tracking animation, hidden interactive elements and portals to audio and visual information about exhibited pieces at the V&A museum.

Clara_Button

Clara Button loves hats, and when her older brother Ollie breaks her favourite, Mum takes them on a special hat day out. While visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum, Clara gets lost and embarks on an exciting journey of discovery. Meanwhile, Ollie is having adventures of his own, with swords and tigers! This is a lovely story and the iPad app is full of special features which really make it come alive. I enjoyed reading it and letting the children explore each page, hopefully we can follow it up with a trip to the V&A soon!

The app has some great features including: voice recording, enabling you to record your own reading of the story; tap to find animations on every page; finger-tracking animation makes buttons appear at every touch; make buttons (and Ollie!) spin by moving the iPad.

Clara Button and The Magical Hat Day for iPad published by Mapp Editions in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum is priced £3.99 and available from the app store.

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Filed under days out, exploring, Tech!

Fun for all the family with Easter Egg Trails

Looking for something fun for all the family this Easter? Cadbury and National Trust are once again teaming up to bring the magic back to the Easter weekend (6th – 9th April) by offering enchanting Easter Egg Trails across 245 spectacular National Trust places throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Set in the grounds of some of the UK’s most beautiful and prestigious locations, Easter Egg Trails are a Cadbury twist on the classic Easter egg hunt. Follow the clues, answer the questions and complete the challenges to find your way to a special Cadbury prize. Each trail is unique to its host and offers fun and games ideal for all the family such as face painting, giant snakes and ladders, sack races and much more.

To join in with the fun, simply visit www.eastereggtrails.com where you can find your nearest Cadbury and National Trust Easter Egg Trail event and details of how to participate, along with tips on how to make the most of the Easter weekend at home.

We’ll be spending our Easter weekend on the Isle of Wight. I was happy to see it featured in the latest issue of Gurgle magazine as a “good old-fashioned bucket and spade destination.” We’ll definitely be enjoying the fresh sea air and beautiful beaches, as well  as making time for the Easter Egg Trail at Bembridge Windmill!

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Filed under days out, exploring, holidays

Review: Baby Sensory

I love being offered products to review but we really really enjoy the opportunity of going to new events where we can learn something or try a different experience! So when we were offered the chance to attend a baby sensory class I was excited.

Baby Sensory provides hundreds of sensory development activities that are great fun for parents and babies to share in the vital first year. The classes include fibre optic light shows, bubbles, bells, musical fun, baby signing, puppet shows, amazing light balls and so much more. Classes are aimed from birth to 13 months with separate sessions for birth to 6 months and 7 months to 13 months.

Classes are held all over the country so we joined our local class in Muswell Hill. The class consisted of about 12 mums and babies and everyone was very friendly. We sat in a semi-circle with our children on our laps and Kaye, the class leader, sat at the front leading each activity. The theme for the class was Mother’s Day and we did lots of different activities which included the Say Hello song with signs, a Mother’s Day tea party with pretend food, ‘dusting’ with pompoms and playing with long ribbons. Socks came off to walk on different textures and we watched bubbles fill the room from a fab bubble machine.

There was lots of music, and the children were encouraged to be active. Edward was a bit bemused and shy as the class obviously knew each other. I enjoyed watching his reaction to the different activities and he loved the music, the bubbles and the opportunity to touch and feel so many different toys and textures. It made me realise that everything is new and exciting for young children and I shouldn’t be afraid to let Edward take his shoes and socks off more often and explore his surroundings.

This is a great class for new parents, a way to meet new friends and get your little one exploring the world around them. I wish I had discovered the classes sooner as Edward is at the top end of the age range. However, Baby Sensory have recently launched Toddler Sense, adventure play sessions for 18 months to 3 years which will hopefully be coming to our area soon.

 

We were allowed to attend a Baby Sensory session for free for the purpose of review.

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Filed under baby, exploring, fun, playing, reviews