Play To Z Sensory Tales - "We're Riding on a Caravan" Review

I first came across Play To Z at the Christmas in July event that I attended earlier in the month and was immediately drawn to the Sensory Tales packs.  Their display was full of interesting sensory toys aimed at developing the child's sensory needs.  In the Sensory Tales packs, you get a lovely written and colourful book in a well-made sack along with accessories and trinkets in the theme of the story.

We received the Sensory Tale pack "We're Riding on a Caravan" to review and one week into the school holidays, it has been read repeatedly and in various places!  Snuggled on the couch all together, in bed as a bedtime story and in a "den" of dining chairs and blankets in the dining room!  In the pack you get the story book, coconut shells for the clippity-clop of hooves, "diamonds" (big and small!), cinnamon sticks, silk purse, silk worm cocoons, a soft plush camel and 2 wooden camels. 

The story is written as a rhyme which I think helps to engage the children better whilst listening and learning as it strikes up a memory of what comes next - why else do we "sing" our times tables!  The language used in the main text was easy enough for my 8 year old to read and the repeated chorus on each page encouraged my 5 year old to join in too. The useful map near to the end of the book helped to visualise the journey that the story is based around - the adventures along the way are described in language simple enough for children to understand but still expanding their knowledge.

The artefacts in the pack were used during the story telling and also as a start point for other discussions.  We used the pack in a family situation but I think they would be fantastic to use in a nursery or child-minder setting too.  You also get an Activity Booklet to help you extend the learning with your children.  It covers areas such as numeracy, literacy, arts/crafts, RE, seasons and time.  This would be valuable in lesson planning but we also used it to further discussions with both of my children.

My niece came to visit and so out came the Sensory Tales pack - my children had fun showing her the story and taking turns with the sounds effects and actions.  It was nice to sit back and observe them explaining the reasons behind the journey and using their own creativity to expland on the story themselves.  We also went the extra mile and made our own "desert" with sand from the beach!  It was contained within a cardboard tray to avoid an indoor sandpit! 

There are 7 other tales in the series - I especially like the look of "Babushka", a unusual Christmas adventure which will take me back to my primary school days when my younger sister played the part of Babushka in the alternative Nativity play that year!

The packs retail at £45.00 - for a reusable and well-made gift with excellent educational sensory resources, this is a reasonably priced investment for any family or nursery, especially to use for valuable family time, time and time again.

Pop over to the Play To Z Facebook page here and keep up with the fantastic products they have available!

Also as a side point, both of my children struggled with pronouncing the word "caravan", saying instead "cavaran" but after reading the story combined with the rhyme, they now can successfully say "CARAVAN"!

Millie the Space Dragon

Today I had a lovely surprise when I picked my daughter up from school.  She came proudly out of class clutching a book, "Look Mum, we wrote this book at school!".  And sure enough, the children from my daughter's class had written a chapter in the book about Millie the Space Dragon!

In their chapter, Millie has a bit of an accident with a flagpole and has to find a replacement... which ended up leaving the school with no electricity as she "borrowed" part of the wind turbine!  But in the end, all's well and Millie even manages a trip round the harbour in a fishing boat!

The children in my daughter's class at school are part of Project 21 - a project delivered by Wales Millenium Centre in Cardiff.  Through the project, the children have had really good creative opportunities; from music workshops to metalwork and tapestry work with reputable artists including Cefyn Burgess.

The book will be something that we will treasure as it's not everyday you get your name in print!  My daughter and her classmates should be (and are!) extremely proud of what they have achieved up to now with the project and also with what's to come until their 21st birthday.  My daughter is now aspiring to be an author..... however last week she wanted to be a teacher and the week before a nurse - so let's see!

What made you smile today?  This certainly did .... but so did this when it popped up on my Facebook feed....

"Cool 2 Cook" Recipe Book

Everyone loves a freebie, especially something that you can use time and time again.  I picked up a free recipe book at a community event last year and have used it ever since!

"Cool 2 Cook" is a great child-friendly recipe book with healthy and nutritious meals which are easy to get the children involved in the preparation and cooking.  We have made each recipe numerous times - my personal favourite is the Welsh Lamb Tikka Wraps - the Fun Mini Pizzas are a firm favourite with my children!

The recipes provide plenty of opportunities to get the extra vegetables and fruits inside your children's tummies - I only know too well this can be difficult to achieve at times!  It is also bi-lingual Welsh/English, so as a Welsh-learner it gives me the opportunity to expand my vocabulary - I'm not quite ready to follow a complete recipe in Welsh; missing a vital ingredient would probably be the most likely outcome in that instance(!) but every little helps!

Another great point to make about the book is that the pages are wipe-clean... no matter how much of a tidy person you are, cooking with children always results in a splash or spillage or two!  For me, I always say that so long as you start off clean and tidy and clean up afterwards, the inbetween "messes" are all part of the fun!


You can download or request by email the recipe book here - it is produced and promoted by HCC Meat Promotion Wales promoting the use of Welsh Beef and Lamb.

I think this book will become a cookbook that is passed down and used for years to come.  I have some of my Mum's cookbooks that she doesn't use anymore - some more well read and well used than others but the best are the ones containing the quick and easy family recipes that I remember from growing up!

What about you, do have an old family recipe that you still use?  Don't worry - I won't be asking for the secret ingredients!