Simply woof-tastic: Shelby's Snack Shack Game

When it's dull and raining, you can either sit and complain about the fickle British weather or count it as a blessing and an opportunity to stay indoors and play. We have just received a box of Shelby's Snack Shack Game (Educational Insights) for reviewing, so Eddie and I opened our box with great interest.

While Eddie was taking the things out and asking "Mama' what's that? Mama, look, bones!", I quickly read the short instruction guide.

"Shelby needs help finding her buried bones! This unique counting game encourages players to spin the first spinner to determine play then spin the second spinner to see how many bones they collect using the Shelby Squeezers. The player with the most bones at the end of the game wins. Develops number, counting & fine motor skills and is suitable for children ages 4+!"

What's inside the box? A game board, a Shelby squeezer (dog-shaped squeezer to pick up the bones), 4 bowls, 40 bones, a double game spinner and an instruction guide.

Eddie is almost three, and is learning to count, so I thought this educational game would be a perfect opportunity for him to hone his counting skills (so far he can count up to 12). 

We liked the whimsical image: the pug is absolutely adorable.

The box acts as the game board itself, and has cute illustration of the beach scene inside which reminded us of the lovely days spent by the seaside in Cornwall.

What will your child learn while playing this game?

- recognizing the numerals from 1 to 5

- counting

- taking turns

- hand-eye coordination

- early addition and subtraction

The game is for children aged 4+, but you can play it with a younger child as well. Eddie enjoyed spinning the wheel and was eager to move the bones. He found the squeezer a bit tight for him, so perhaps that's the only disadvantage of being younger. But he understood the concept perfectly well and we both had fun.

I love educational games when children play and learn at the same time. That is surely the best way to learn.

The weather might be miserable but we are glad to stay indoors and have a hoot playing.

Simply woof-tastic!

If you think your little ones would enjoy playing this game, hurry to enter a competition from Learning Resources to win 1 set of 5. Competition closing date: 9 July 2013

Good luck!

Scentastic Smencils

You should have seen the smile on my son's face, when I opened a pack of Smencils and waved them under my nose to smell the pencils. He found it incredibly funny, and was copying my, sniffing at the pencils like a little overexcited puppy and laughing with me. 
Yes, you read it right, we were smelling the pencils. They are a special kind of pencils and they come in a whole orchard of lovely smells.

These aromatic pencils brought back memories of the sweet smelling erasers I had as a child. I think they came in two flavours - banana and tutti frutti, and they were also imported (which for a child growing up in the Soviet Union was bordering on an illegal pleasure). I remember vividly how wonderful they seemed to me, I carried one in my pocket and felt they were way too good to be used for erasing. Now that was a trip down the memory lane. It is amazing how some smells bring long-forgotten memories, but for me smells always work that way. I could be walking in the street and passing by some bloke with a cigarette, and some particular smell would remind me of my late Dad who was a smoker. The perfume of the lime blossom takes me back into my childhood again, in the school courtyard, and me climbing on the lime tree. And don't even start me on the kitchen smells and aromas, I could write a longer novel than Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time.

Back to our Smencils. What are they exactly?

Smencils are gourmet scented pencils. We received a pack of 5 in five Fruit Shoot™ flavours: apple, orange, tropical, summer fruits and blackcurrant & apple.
I don't know how close they are to the original Fruit Shoot flavours, as I don't buy Fruit Shoots (my older son drinks only Volvic touch of lemon, and my little man is happy with milk or blueberry and apple juice).

Eddie and I sat for a drawing and colouring session, I did a couple of quick drawings for Eddie to colour in, as this is one of his favourite activities. The Smencils we received are the graphite variety, but there are also Smencils which come in coloured varieties.

Smencils can rightfully boast that they are the world's only scented pencils made from 100% recycled newspapers and are environmentally friendly.
Each Smencil stores in its own biodegradable tube, guaranteeing freshness for two years.
I would also like to "draw" your attention to a competition run by Learning Resources on Facebook, you could win one of ten sets of Fruit Shoot Smencils for your children. Competition closes on 14 September, and you are invited to come up with a new Smencil flavour.

Learning Resources suggests that Smencils are perfect for birthday presents party bags stocking fillers Reward good behaviour Encourage children to write Fundraising With so many flavours to choose, you will surely find the one that you like.