Children are really missing their normal routine during the Coronavirus lockdown.
Every Childs routine is different but usually includes exercise, preschool, hobbies and social activities so we have tried our best to maintain these.
Social development is a really important part of learning and development for children.
They learn to take turns, have patience, and share to name a few aspects.
To continue this we have been Face timing Isabella’s cousin and friends.
Isabella and her cousin Annabelle both love Kindi Kids so they have been using them to play together which has been so lovely to watch and so great for them to act out their emotions.
Maintaining these friendships is also really going to help them return to school.
We have also been trying to keep to the same routine plan, getting up at the same times and maintaining the usual bedtime and meal times.
We do some activities that the preschool have sent us and read stories together.
We also made a little chart like they used in preschool to do the days of the Week, Month, Season and weather.
Moose Toys so kindly gifted Isabella a Rainbow Kate Kindi Kid and the Puppy Petkin Delivery Scooter.
We are always very grateful when we are gifted something and always give an honest review.
I knew these would be an instant hit with Isabella as she already has and loves her Marsha Mello Kindi Kid doll.
We also already have the Rabbit Petkin Shopping Cart and the Kitty Petkin Supermarket which I also highly recommend.
Kindi Kids have made some amazing activity cards which have been so useful for keeping up with our exercise.
I have linked the free activity cards for you to download.
We have been doing these along with our daily walks.
Isabellas favourite activity from the cards has been throwing things into a laundry basket. Perfect for developing her hand and eye coordination. It’s also a really good gross motor activity.
Rainbow Kate and Marsha Mello have been like Isabella’s best friends during lockdown and so we have tried to incorporate them into most of our learning activities.
We love sensory play and Isabella was really missing trips to the beach so we made our very own beach. Complete with water, sand and shells for Isabella and the Kindi Kids to enjoy.
One of our favourite things about the Kindi Kids is the amazing accessories them come with.
Each doll comes with two accessories and they are so detailed. We used the Slushi sparkle drink and strawberry as part of the picnic for the beach activity.
The dolls are absolutely beautiful and have huge sparkly eyes.
I love their cool funky outfits with matching shoes and hair accessories.
The dolls are 10 inches tall so a really good size for playing with. They can also stand on their own or sit.
The clothes are removable which is another cool aspect. Isabella loves taking Rainbow Kate’s crunchy out and brushing her colourful hair.
The Kindi kids Puppy Petkin Delivery Scooter is just so much fun.
I love how all the items are designed so that the dolls can stand alone on them. Each item has been clearly very carefully thought out.
The scooter comes with a compartment on the back to put your accessories in and it also has a little holder at the front to pop the dolls magic cups in.
If you can’t tell already, I’m a huge fan and even I love to play with them. They really remind me of some dolls I had as a child called Little Miss Make Up so bring back some lovely memories of my sister and I playing with our dolls.
I think these dolls are such a great buy and we will certainly be adding to our collection as they also do a Peppa mint, Jessi Cake and Donatina. Don’t you just love the names?
Every year I find it becomes harder and harder to decide on which gifts to get, so I have put together a few ideas of gifts we have tested to help you out!
If you have been following us for a while, you will know that we are massive Lanka Kade fans and we are also proud to be a brand Rep for them.
Lanka Kade make Beautiful wooden Fair-trade toys and we love all the items we have purchased from them.
They are a toys to be treasured and passed on for years, due to their fantastic quality.
I have chosen the Christmas Characters to add as I think these would make amazing stocking fillers or maybe even for an advent calendar if you can’t wait until Christmas.
They also make a lovely gift with a book as a story sack. I have added The Nutcracker story with them and Isabella is really loving finding the different characters in the book.
Lastly you can also use them as a stacking toy so what more could you want.
Isabella loves stories and cuddly toys so this beautiful Little Red Riding Hood from Powell Craft Boutique was a lovely addition to the angel we bought from them previously.
It’s suitable from birth and made with cotton.
The cloak can be taken off and Isabella loves pulling the hood up and down.
I think its an amazing prop for story time but it also looks beautiful sat on her bed!
Every year we always buy the girls a Christmas nightdress or pyjamas, which they then wear throughout the year too.
They are always so excited to put them on the night before we visit Father Christmas and on Christmas Eve.
This year Isabella will be wearing this absolutely beautiful nightdress from Powell Craft and the picture does it no justice as the detail and feel of the fabric cannot be felt.
Its has long-sleeves with appliqued angel and forest scene and braid trims.
I just love its traditional look!
Made from 100% cotton
A percentage of their sales for nightwear sales goes to mobile creches which is so lovely to help other children.
PlayMais is an all natural crafting toy that is 100% biodegradable and doesn’t impact the environment. It’s made from corn grits and water, and colored with food coloring
It works by getting it a little wet from a sponge and then it sticks together, so you can create pictures (as above) or little models with the larger PlayMais.
You can view all the different types of sets available over on DKL Beysal.
Anna Sewell’s classic horse tale, Black Beauty, has inspired generations of horse lovers, and you can get it in a set with a beautiful Breyer Classics Black Beauty horse from DKL Beysal.
The Great Little Trading Company is one of my all time favourite childrens companies and I have been buying their products for years.
Megan and Sophie had a playroom filled with their stuff and they were all such amazing quality, so here I am ten years later buying the same stuff for Isabella as I know they will last. Yes I wish I had held onto everything but we passed them onto a preschool to enjoy.
We have chosen the new wooden ambulance set to share with you. I think it makes not only a fun but beautiful gift for any child.
The push along ambulance comes with 12 accessories, a stethoscope, a digital thermometer, a syringe with plunger, an ear/eye scope, a reflex hammer, a telephone, a bottle of vitamins, a box of plasters , cough mixture, a tube of antiseptic cream and a doctors note pad.
All the toys are a smooth painted wood and of great quality.
Isabella has loved zooming her teddies around in the ambulance and playing doctor with her dolls.
Isabella had her immunisations and even brought her ambulance along with her. We role played the immunisations out before the appointment with the set and when it was her turn she jumped up on the chair and did not have one tear. The nurses commented how by preparing her before hand made such a massive difference!
I truly believe in GLTC’s Moto of “buy wood, buy once” as it really does last.
RRP from Great Little Trading Company £45.00 (although I have noticed its on offer today for £33.75)
I can’t even put into works how easy they make life.
The are the best quality and the most vibrant colours.
No mess, easy to use, and quick to dry.
The have so many varieties, metallic, day glow, chalk sticks and even face paint sticks!
Isabella uses these everyday and we take them out to restaurants too.
You can use them on so many different surfaces, we have tried mirrors, windows, tin foil, and paper.
They even have a paint station now, which comes with chalks and paint sticks. It folds up flat for storage and has a white board side and a black board side.
They are available to buy from Amazon, Argos and Smyths Toy Store.
Little Scribblers’ Busy Bags are self contained educational activity bags that include reusable and engaging activities that your little one can use at home or out and about. They are ideal for keeping little ones entertained when travelling, at a restaurant or if you need a few moments of calm at home.
We love Little Scribblers activity bags.
They are educational and so much fun.
The packs are the perfect size to take out or for travelling to keep little ones entertained.
Im still amazed at home much learning is packed into one bag.
Developed by a mum with many years of Early Years Childhood and Education experience.
This is the new Christmas activity pack, which makes a perfect gift/stocking filler.
Also these are just amazing to keep little ones busy and entertained over Christmas without using screens!
RRP £4.50
Suitable from ages 3 years+
I really hope you enjoyed our Christmas Gift Guide and that it gives you some ideas.
Some of the items were gifted or I used a discount code to purchase but all views are my own and in my own words.
I would only ever recommend something I would buy myself.
Learning Resources very kindly asked us to pick a product to review and the Jumbo Ocean Animals have been on my wish list for ages so we were delighted to choose these.
First Impressions are they are much bigger than I thought which is amazing! They are so easy to grip because of their size. They feel so realistic and I love how detailed they are. You can really see all the prints and lines making them so nice and tactile, especially the octopus and turtle which gave me my first activity idea!
Ocean Animals – Playdough
I made up some Playdough in blue and green to represent the ocean and land or plant life.
I also added some shells and gems.
This created a fantastic sensory invitation play.
Isabella loved making an ocean for all the animals to go in and we pressed them down into the dough to leave impressions of the animals and due to their amazing detail the prints were so intricate.
Isabella played happily with this set up for 30 minutes non stop and gets it out everyday.
Ocean animals – Imaginative Play
Next Isabella decided herself to take them into the bath so I added a little blue food colouring and bio glitter to the water. She could not wait to get in!
Isabella loved making them swim up and down in the water and made cute little voices and animal noises for the. She acted out a game where the shark was chasing the turtle but the octopus saved the day!
I loved watching her use her imagination to create her own stories.
Ocean Animals – Tuff Tray
We all know I love a tuff tray so this was the perfect excuse for me to make one up.
I also decided this was the perfect opportunity to help make Isabella aware of all the plastic going not our oceans.
Yes these animals are plastic but they are not single use plastic and when we out grow them, We will be passing them on to Isabellas Pre school where I know they will get many more years of play due to their durable quality.
So I filled the tray with blue water and added some blue water beads to represent the plastic in the ocean. We acted out the animals eating the beads and then not feeling well. We talked about how they can also get trapped in the plastic.
We saved the animals by rescuing them with our Learning Resources tools and used the pipette to wash them down and feed them fresh clean water.
Isabella really likes these animals and I will definitely be buying more of the other Jumbo Animal sets that Learning Resources do.
Isabellas favourite animal is the baby shark and she takes it in the shower or bath every day and sings the “Baby Shark” song.
They are nice and light in weight for her to hold and she absolutely loves them so we highly recommend this set.
This pack comes in a good quality box containing six pieces
-Whale
-Shark
-Seal
-Octopus
-Dolphin
-Turtle
You also get an animal fact sheet activity guide and some discussion starters.
My First impressions were how well made and sturdy everything was. The slide came in two parts that fold together for easy storage and it was super easy to put together. Isabella loved the seals which are basically seals sat on wheels so, like a push along car. The set comes with two seals, one with a penguin sat on its back and one that’s a seal on an aeroplane.
The slide has two suction pads that stick firmly onto the side of the bath or shower if you don’t have a bath.
Isabella just loved putting each seal at the top of the slide and watching the whizz down the slide really fast and there is a jump at the end so the seals really do fly off the end fast into the water. She thought this was hilarious and so did I !
Isabella also really liked to push the seals through the water and round the side of the bath. Included in the box is a song “The Wheels on the Seals Go Round and Round” and Isabella picked the words up very quick and happily sand it whilst pushing them round.
One thing I really like about this bath toy is that there is no place for water to hide and grow mould in it as I have to bin a lot of bath toys for this reason and it also comes with a handy storage bag which I hung over the taps to drip dry.
Isabella loved this toy so much that she wanted to take it into the garden so I stuck the slide onto the patio door and put some water in our tuff tray to extend her play.
She happily played in the garden with this for over an hour and loved putting on little voices for the seals and using them for imaginary play. So not only is this toy amazing for sensory play but its also fantastic for encouraging imaginations and small world play.
It helps children to learn about cases and effect, watching how far the seals will go and introduces them to STEM learning in a fun way.
I really think this is an amazing toy not just for the bath and would highly recommend it to anyones children that enjoy both sensory and imaginative play.
Its definitely in my top list of favourite toys and Isabella’s.
If you have a child that is not keen on the bath or water then this will be sure to distract them and help them enjoy bath times.
