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By Little Mummy, May 17, 2010 1:07 am

PlayMais is a children’s modelling material made from corn, water and non-toxic dye.

On opening the box and finding several sheets of cardboard cut-outs I was less than impressed, especially as said cut-outs weren’t marked so I was left to figure out which bits went where, not good when you’re suffering with ‘flu-like symptoms’.

Nevertheless after a bit of husbandly help we were well on our way and it wasn’t long before we had the main structures built.

Armed with a plastic knife and a wet cloth we began to fashion roof tiles, walls and even a hen.

On the box there were pictures of pigs and cows too, we didn’t try them. The pieces of playmais looked like packing peanuts but smelled like those wotsit type crisps, very odd.

I was pretty sceptical if I’m honest but once we started to get into it, it was actually quite fun and Erin (4) managed to do lots of bits herself and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The results weren’t as good as the examples but we had a few successes like the roof and the well, and a few fails like the window surrounds. I’ll leave you to decided which category my hen falls into

A standard box of PlayMais starts from around £6.99.

Comments (13)

By Little Mummy, May 5, 2009 9:15 am

I arrived back yesterday to an excited daughter, a relieved husband and a large box. What could it be? Mickey Mouse? No, too small plus he has a really nice pad in Disneyworld. I’ve become accustomed to lovely treats over the past week so I immediately thought it would be something good and it was.

We’ve been sent two sets of Lego Duplo, a police themed set and a polar bear set with penguins and a slide! Erin doesn’t have anything Lego-like so she was thrilled with it all, she particularly liked the light and sound police van and the polar bears complete with iceberg-style bricks.

At the moment we’re playing with the sets seperately and her imagination is running wild with stories of police chases and penguin playgrounds, can’t wait to see what happens when we mix the sets together, naughty penguins spending a couple of nights in the slammer? Policemen skiving to go play with the polarbears at the zoo? I’ll let you know.

In the meantime you can check out the Lego Duplo Blog for
more reviews.

The Giveaway

I have two sets of Lego Duplo to giveaway. All you need to do is sign up for my newsletter and you’ll receive an automatic entry.

Once you’ve signed up, leave a comment on this post for an extra entry.

Giveaway is only open to UK residents.

Random draw will be made on Sunday 10th May 2009.

Oh! and if you win, you too can have a box to play in, kids and boxes eh!

Comments (6)

By Little Mummy, July 23, 2008 12:32 am

Wall:E is the latest ‘kid’s’ movie from Disney Pixar.  The plot, from what I’ve gleaned from the game seems to be: The world has been gripped by consumerism which has resulted in it looking like a rubbish dump.  Wall:E a kind of rubbish crunching and sorting machine has been sent to Earth to sort out the mess.  The aim of the game is to move through the levels and save the world, i believe there’s also a little romance later on.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to ‘later on’.  Wall:E is a platform game, for those not in the know, it’s the kind of game where you move through the game via levels a bit like Sonic or Alex the Kid (showing my age).  Once upon a fifteen years ago I was OK at these type of games, not now, I suffered from extreme lack of patience and as would become obvious, problem-solving skills.  I gave up during the first level, yes, the FIRST level when I couldn’t figure out how to get up on a ramp…

Alex took over, which gave me a chance to see the game ‘from a distance’.   It’s a decent game, challenging and fun with a good background story (it’s whetted my appetite for the movie).  The graphics are amazing, unlike the cockroach which is just plain irritating.

Thanks to Hill and Knowlton for sending me a copy to test out.  I’d recommend this game for 7-10 year olds.  In fact we are going to give our copy to a friend’s son who is seven, he’ll definitely give it a more rigorous testing than us!

Comments (15)

By Little Mummy, March 15, 2008 5:19 am

Last year I did a short round up of what I thought were the most appropriate gifts for a one year old. Here is my new version, especially for two year olds. I realise that I only have a girl’s eye view on the subject so jump in with extra ideas, especially for boys.

1. In the Night Garden Characters & Figurines

One commenter recently had a go at me for promoting these items, arguing that there was nothing educational about a babbling character toy. I beg to differ.

The said commenter argued that children in Erin’s age bracket should be learning colours, shapes and numbers. Indeed they should, however, one of the most important (and undervalued) types of play is ‘imaginitive play’. This is any game which involves the child using their imagination to act out scenarios through toys or themselves. This can include playing ‘house’ with cups and saucers, ‘mummies and daddies’ with dolls, or various scenarios with in the night garden characters. This sort of play is highly creative and helps children deal with a variety of emotional situations.

2. Vtech Laptop

This winnie the pooh version is ideal, there are about a dozen games including spelling, basic maths and finding the odd one out. Erin isn’t using it to it’s fullest potential yet, but come the summer I think she’ll understand it a lot more. However, I have heard her imitating the phonics game which is encouraging.

3. Books

It’s old but true, you can’t go wrong with a nice book, or if it’s a special occasion a book collection. We’ve both bought and received the Angelina Ballerina set, which is lovely.

4. Paints

Erin loves painting. I like to find new and interesting (read: CLEAN) ways for her to exercise this hobby. These paint wands are good fun.

5. Play Doh

A big tub with play doh and all manner of tools is a great choice for a two year old. Santa bought one for Erin at christmas and she loves it.

6. Tent/Wendy House

I love watching kids playing ‘houses’ or ‘mummies and daddies’, it’s the cutest. Any tent or wendy house can act as home/shop/vets clinic/doctors office/army bunker/and anythingelse our kids care to think up. You can’t beat imaginitive play – we’ve had plenty of use from our ninky nonk already.

7. A Play Phone

Heard yesterday ” ehlo….yes……kay…..juice….toys…..byeeeeee”. My two year old daughter taking a phone call from whoever…iggle piggle perhaps??

8. Baby Dolls (and accompanying paraphenalia)

Two year olds make suprisingly good parents…until they accidently drop baby, while trying to carry two balls, a boat, a handful of play food and a tombliboo.

9. Personalised plates, bowls and cutlery

If you want to buy something ‘sensible’, plates, bowls and cutlery are always handy.

10. Musical Instruments

This is a long standing favourite. A piano and stool have been the latest addition to the collection.

Comments (6)

By Little Mummy, March 22, 2007 12:07 am

I bought this magnetic sketching toy to put away for when Erin is a bit older. But she loves it!

At first she waggled the pen around not making a mark, but now she scribbles away and has learned that only one end of the pen works. She manouvres the pen in her hand to get the best grip and control for her ‘drawing’. I have noticed Erin’s fine motor skills are really improving because of it.

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