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This day I love.......

Reading is such a wonderful gift, and one I love to share with my children.  During the day Little Man and I love reading a book together and he has now got to the age where he will crawl to the book shelf and point at his books.  Whilst he may not understand the story, what he does understand is that the book means a cuddle together and sitting close listening to his Mum.  It means quality time to him and something he loves.

Parragon books have a beautiful range of books, Little learners which is aimed at this precious age group, babies and toddlers.  The range has recently gone through a re vamp and we were delighted to take a look.

Little Learners box

Our Little Learners book box contained 5 titles:

Mummy and Baby - A beautiful book with different surfaces for baby to touch and explore.  

Cow Says Moo  - A book with finger holes for the farm animals

I can Say please - A Really fun beek a boo play book

Mummy and Me - A finger puppet story book

Twinkle Twinkle little star - Light and sound story book

Parragon books Little learners books

Little Man rushed in to take a look in the box.  He began exploring each of the books, picking them up and looking at them.  Opening the books, testing them in his mouth and putting his fingers through the holes.

Little Man exploring books

His favourite though was 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'  The sounds and flashing lights I think drawing his attention.  Although it could have been the fact that each of his sisters would give him a cuddle and sing the song to him too!

Reading with his sister

The Little learners books are really popular with Little Man and his sisters.  My youngest who is at the start of her phonics journey picks the books up to read to her brother and my eldest will sit and sing the songs with him.  It is wonderful watching them all interact together and share the gift of reading.


Thank you to Parragon for sending the Little Learners books mentioned in this post, all words are my own opinion. 
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My eldest has wanted to ride her bike without the training wheels on for quite sometime.  I struggled to support her whilst pregnant and since having Little man have found it difficult to juggle her request of learning to ride a bike.  We came across a local facility that can help children to learn to ride a bike.  I booked the girls in for today and we left the house early this morning with both girls very excited.

To begin with they were given tricycles to ride in order to asses their pedalling ability.  My youngest needs to work on her leg strength and to stop looking down so she was left on the tricycle, whilst my eldest was given a two wheel bike.


I watched the girls go round and round the track.  My youngest loving the freedom to ride and my eldest gaining in confidence.  I lost count of the number of times the girls went round but the smiles never left their faces.  Both girls were awarded with medals for their improvement and bravery, my youngest fell off but she got straight back on and continued riding.


On the final lap just as we were about to leave my eldest did this


I am so incredibly proud of her.  She still has a little way to go to master riding as she is a little wobbly but I am so impressed with what she has accomplished in a day.  Both girls have asked when we can go again as they really enjoyed themselves

This day I love the day the training wheels came off

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Can you entertain the children in the school holidays for £20?

Can you entertain the children for the majority of the school holidays on £20 and get them ready for school?

The answer is yes with Poundland!

Most of our summer holidays has been spent indoors due to the rain.  On the days were it has been nice we have got out and about or played in the garden.  Poundland has provided the tools I have needed to keep the girls entertained.

Chalk sets to play hop scotch, draw or create outdoor games, craft supplies and paint for indoor paint and stickers and treats for rewards.  We have even bought baking supplies to make cakes and buns, or even to make home made play dough.  Messy play, outdoor play, craft and baking have all been done this summer holiday with thanks to Poundland and so far we have only spent £20 on supplies and have enough left to last us these last few weeks.


Here are some of the things we have been up to with our Poundland supplies


 I have also been very conscious of my daughter forgetting what she has learnt and so have tried to incorporate some learning into our summer holiday.  Nothing excessive but enough to help her and to keep it fun.  Poundland have some great learning resources in store which my daughter has enjoyed selecting.



See what we bought on our latest visit to Poundland as I get the girls ready to go back to school



I was sent £20 voucher for Ponndland and set a challenge to see what we could buy.  All words are my own opinion 
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Did you know that 57% of children aged 7-11 in the UK cannot swim?

With the summer holidays just around the corner most children will be wanting to go to the pool or beach and take a dip in the water.

On our recent holiday to Portugal all my girls wanted to was swim.  Although at first my youngest was not too sure, her confidence grew as the holiday progressed.  I think the confidence was there due to her feeling safe with her armbands, ring and float

swimming

The Swim Shop are launching a learn to swim campaign and have some great ideas for helping kids confidence in the water.  They are offering two of this day I love readers the chance to win armbands and a float to help with water confidence.

To be in with a chance of winning following the instructions on the widget below, where full terms and conditions can be found.



Learn to Swim
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My eldest is learning to read and as a result her younger sister is i king up on words and letters. I wanted something for her to help her learn her ABC, so she can feel just like her big sister.

I am aware of lots of DVDs on the market to do this, but they all seem pitched at learning phonics, or the alphabet and most don't seem to have much of story behind it, this means my yougest gets up and walks off because she cannot engage with the content.

I put the DVD on for the girls last night and sat with them reminiscing my childhood watching Sooty. Sooty was one of my favourite characters as a child and I think I still hold a soft spot. The DVD follows Sooty, Sweep, Soo and Richard embark on a letter learning adventure. Sooty ABC also supports the early years curriculum whilst encouraging a fun story.


The girls sat quietly and watched the DVD. They then started giggling, the big belly giggles. They become engrossed by the DVD and story, especially when Richard has a b on his head. This has become a joke in our house now. The girls watched the whole DVD, laughing away and saying the alphabet.

Watching Sooty

If you are looking for a DVD to help your children learn the alphabet, and letter sounds whilst having fun then I can highly recommend Sooty ABC. It would make a wonderful alternative Easter gift.

I have a copy of Sooty ABC on DVD to giveaway.  The giveaway closes on 19th March 2015at midnight GMT.  Entry is open to UK residents only and full terms and conditions are on the widget.

Sooty ABC



We were sent a copy of Sooty ABC to review, all words are my own persona opinion
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Learning British sign language is on the top of my wish list. It is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. When the girls were little I took them to baby sign and we had a basic introduction to British sign language BSL.

FlashSticks are a new way to learn a language. They are a fun and effective way to learn a new language. In partnership with post it notes, FlashSticks provide the prompt you need to continue learning. The FlashSticks can be stuck anywhere.

The girls and I have been sticking FlashSticks around the house.  We have walk stuck on the front door, and eat and drink are stuck on the fridge. They act as a constant visual representation of the words we are trying to learn, even sub consciously we are constantly learning the words.

BSL FlashSticks

FlashSticks come in a selection of languages and colours. The colours help to represent the masculine and feminine words, this was always something I struggled with when learning German and French at school. I can see them being very useful when my daughters start learning languages at school too as it will aid their learning.

As well as the notes there is also the free app. The app is brilliant for bringing the FlashSticks to life, which is key for understanding how to sign. The girls love scanning the FlashSticks with my phone and watching the sign demonstration.

The girls and I have decided to learn a word a day and so far things are going well. To keep track of our progress follow us over on Instagram and Facebook where I post regular updates.  I will also be keeping track of our progress over here on the blog.

We were sent FlashSticks free of charge to review.  All words are my own personal opinion
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With my eldest at school she is wanting to practise her handwriting as much as she can. My youngest has also started showing an interest, I think she wants to be like her sister. A new range of books from Cambridge university press is able to meet the needs of both my girls.  The Penpals at Home series is aimed at 3-5 years old.  Whilst Penpals is a leading brand in UK primary schools this is the first time the books have been published for parents to use with their children.  


What is unique to these books, or at least I have never seen it before, is that they are wipe clean and they also can be used alongside an app. Wipe clean is great because my youngest can use the book for practising using a pencil and it can then be wiped clean for her to do the exercises again. This means we can re use the book as many times as needed. The app also adds an extra dimension by taking learning away from the book but keeping continuity.


The books have clear instructions and colourful pages. Exercises are laid out well giving enough room for children to practise. This clarity makes learning fun, as pages are not too busy and there is plenty of space. The exercises are also pitched at an appropriate level and are aimed at pre school. A perfect addition for those learning to write.


We were sent the books for the purpose of review, all words and opinions are my own
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My youngest is learning her colours at the moment.  She knows all the names of the colours, it is just the matching up to the right colour that can sometimes be a bit tricky.  I like to make learning fun for her and so we often play games to help reinforce different colours.

Early this week my youngest and I played Petanque with a set from Plan toys.  The idea is that each team has a coloured ball, with Plan toys set this is a Brown Monkey, Blue Penguin or Orange Tiger, you throw your balls towards the smaller green or red ball and the team closest wins.  We played a little different.


I put the small green and red ball on the grass.  Then asked her to throw a brown or blue or orange ball towards either the green or red ball.


My youngest and her baby did really well.  They stood inside a circle and threw the right balls in the right direction.  The wooden balls are really brightly painted and just the right weight for a two year old to pick up.


I love the little cheeky patterns of the animals faces.  It was a lovely game to play with my youngest and a great way to have some fun whilst learning her colours

I was sent a Plan Toys Petanque set to review.  All words and opinions are my own.
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My eldest daughter is really wanting to learn to write.  She asks what the different letters are in words or whenever she sees them.  She has favourite letters to write, I am not sure why maybe they come easier to her.  We were sat having our breakfast when she showed me she had written a letter E.  She has been able to write this for a while, but she then asked me to write a little 'E', so I did what I think we all would do and wrote 'e'.  This then sparked a 'No Mummy, not an eggs in a pan [I am guessing this is phonics?], like this Mummy'

big E little E

Yes she wanted me to write an 'E' like she had done only smaller, silly Mummy!

This day I love little 'E'
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Today is the official launch for the Jump up Join in #JUJI app.  The app has been developed by David and Carrie Grant along with Egmont UK and is currently available for ios.  The girls and I came across the #JUJI range when we read the book 'Lions Speedy Sauce', both girls love this book and the CD which accompanies is a favourite in the car.

We were very excited to be invited for a sneak peak at the app.  The girls love trains and I know this because of this face

happy train face

I managed to keep the girls occupied

books on the train

But they did make a bit of a mess

making mess on the train

We arrived at Egmont UK and I have to say a big thank you to all the staff who were all so welcoming and really looked after us, also to apologies for my youngest who decided to see how much mess she could make, despite my best efforts of trying to tidy up after her.

just making mess

It was time for the big reveal.  Carrie and David introduced the app and explained what they wanted to achieve.  I have to agree with the ideas they had.  I have struggled to find a way to make music really fun for the girls.  I learnt to play piano at 5 and the lessons, if I am honest, where never much fun.  My eldest is showing a very keen interest in music and I want to help her pursue it without pushing her. 

David and Carrie Grant

I have tried to find apps to help but either the sounds are out of tune/key and often the wrong noise or a noise you would not associate with that instrument comes out and its rather off putting/annoying.  The way that #JUJI works is that there is a segment for everyone.  A story, which really engages my 2 girls, games to play, the more serious but still fun side [like scales and rhythm] and making instruments.  The app reflects this.  

The app costs £2.49 and when I first heard this I did think to myself, that is a lot.  Actually though now I have seen the app and played with it, its really well priced.  The app consists of an interactive story.  The girls can click on characters within the story and they animate and make noises.  It makes reading fun and engages them to want to do more.  All the time they are learning whilst playing. 

#juji app

The story can be narrated or read yourself.  This is great as my eldest sits and puts the story on for herself to listen to.  There are two fun musical sections, you can play the bongos or climb the musical stairs.  The bongos teaches rhythm and the stairs the scales.  Both sections you can freestyle, which my girls love, or you can play the games.  The games involve listening to a sequence and repeating and as the levels increase the difficulty follows.  It does get quite hard.  What is great is that no matter how great you perform you still get a star, bronze - gold.  I like this because I believe that encouraging children to try and not to see failure as a bad thing but more to learn from it is how we can become better and develop that given skill.

girls having funeldest navigating app

 The final part of the app is where you Jump up and Join in.  You can select a face or take a picture of yourself.  Add an outfit and a backdrop and then record yourself singing along to the Jump up join in theme song.  The video is then saved and you can add it to facebook, or any where else you want to.  I was kind of dreading this part of the day as I have been told many times in the past I cannot sing.  I therefore know I cannot sing and am rather embarrassed at doing so in public.  It takes me a lot to sing in front of the girls, so far they have not judged me so I am OK.  

We have had a lot of fun with this part of the app, the girls like watching themselves dance to the song.  It is such a great way to encourage little ones to enjoy music and have fun whilst learning.  Both my girls youngest is 1 and eldest almost 3 love this app and I can see it growing with them as they start to engage more with the games.

Playing again

A beautiful day out and a great app for the girls to play with.  I have found, at last, an app that can help my daughter develop her love for music and have fun at the same time. 

We paid our own way to attend the event.  We were provided with ta code to download the app for free.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.





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About me

About Me

Welcome to This Day I love.

My name is Leyla, also known as Mum to my 3 humans and dog Mum to J. I have a passion for the outdoors and love to run. I can often be found off road exploring the trails and fells and covering distances all the way up to 50 miles. As a family we love travelling and discovering new adventures, as I try and run around the world!

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