Cbeebies Swashbuckle Magazine

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Fiona Martin

Swashbucklers, a children’s game show on Cbeebies is one programme that both my children love to watch. They enjoy watching the challenges and always stand up to join in with the Swashbuckle Salute which they know and love.

Launched today is a fantastic new magazine, Swashbuckle, aimed at children aged 3-6, jam packed full of piratey fun!

The magazine has all the characters from the program, Captain Sinker, Gem, Cook and Line and 4yr old Mister B couldn’t wait to get stuck in and complete the activities inside. Firstly he was eager to open the gift on the front of the magazine, of which there will be a different gift on each issue. Issue 1 includes a pirate hat, game spinner and a treasure chest with five coloured gems. I think the free gift is brilliant and has had brought much entertainment to Mister B as he hides the jewels for his sister to find.

Inside are pages packed full of activities along with a sheet of 70 stickers. There is so much to do and we sat down for a couple of hours and still didn’t reach the end. There are sticker pages, questions, matching activities, stories, colouring and much more.

Some of our favourite pages that we thought were a bit different were looking through the telescope to see the octopus and learning all about octopuses. We also downloaded the free Blippa app to our iPad which allowed us to scan certain pages where we saw the Blippa icon and it brought up a video clip for us to watch such as Gem doing the Swashbuckle salute or a real life octopus swimming about in the ocean.

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed Swashbuckle magazine and can’t wait to see the next issue. With so much to do, and a pirate theme, this is sure to be a hit with most kids and great value for money too!

All reviews are my own opinions and I received the magazine in order to review.

Woolly & Tig Books – Review

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Fiona Martin

Woolly & Tig has been a firm favourite in this house since the first series aired on CBeebies, so I’m pleased to see a range of books have now been published by Random House. They have a good selection, covering story books and activity books which include wipe clean and sticker types.

If you haven’t met Woolly & Tig before, they are a young girl called Tig and her toy spider, Woolly. The shows aim to explore new experiences that young children face such as the first time going swimming or being afraid of the dark. Woolly encourages Tig to try new things, not be afraid of things and learn lots of new activities.

We received a couple of story books, Woolly at Nursery and I Love Mummy. They are both high quality books, with thick glossy pages and bright pictures.

I Love Mummy discusses the relationship between Tig and her mummy, how much her mummy loves her and all the things she does for Tig. It then shows Tig how she should help her mummy and understand that sometimes her mummy has to do things and can’t play but it doesn’t mean she loves Tig any less.

Woolly at Nursery explores the fun Tig has at nursery until she accidentally bumps into a little boy one day. They both blame each other and she no longer enjoys nursery. But by learning to share her worries and concerns she is happy to go back to nursery. Both these books build on experiences and we have enjoyed reading them. They make good talking points if your child has come across similar issues.

We then had a look at the activity books. The Wipe Clean book is excellent for little ones who are just starting to hold a pen and get to grips with making marks on paper. This is perfect for 3 yr old Mister B who could follow the lines, dots, shapes with the pen. It also has simple words to copy which he struggles a bit with, but this makes the book a bit of a challenge and gives him something to learn from. He is the ideal age for this and has really enjoyed doing it.

The sticker books are all of a high quality, with lots of colourful stickers for little ones to add to the pages. There are lots of other activities such as mazes, counting, colouring in etc. plenty to keep little ones occupied. We’ve had great fun with these and it’s perfect to sit down with Mister B and do. He’s really enjoyed them.

If you are looking for activity books for your young children, then I’d definitely recommend trying out the Woolly & Tig books from Random House.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write the review.

Mr Tumble’s Big Book of Counting – Review

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Fiona Martin

Mr Tumble has undoubtedly been one of my children’s favourite television stars. They have both sat glued to his television programmes and love joining in as much as they can. Miss M has started to grow out of him but is keen for her younger brother Mister B to have the same fun with Mr Tumble that she has enjoyed over the years.

Mr Tumble’s Big Book of Counting, a new lift the flap book from Egmont arrived for us to review, and Miss M’s eyes lit up as she showed Mister B through the pages, seeing if he knew his numbers.

The book teaches children to count up to 5 with each number spanning a double page with a flap that opens out to make a triple size page. Each page contains a large number image with traceable finger lines, a little rhyme and bright colourful pictures with items to count relating to the number on the page. The book also makes use of the different Tumble family characters to include, Fisherman Tumble, Grandad Tumble, Aunt Polly and more.

Mister B, who is 3, enjoyed the book and was able to recognise the numbers and enjoyed counting the objects. The flaps proved a hit too as he was intrigued to see what was underneath. This a large hardback book with thick card pages. With it’s bold, bright illustrations it’s perfect for any little Mr Tumble fan out there and a great way to get to grips with numbers!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received a copy of the book in order to write the review.

WIN The Adventures of Abney & Teal: Faraway Island DVD – 5 copies up for grabs

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Fiona Martin

135

The Adventures of Abney and Teal has been one of those CBeebies programmes that both my children have always enjoyed, although we often miss it being on around bath time. So this DVD from Abbey Home Media is a great idea containing lots of lovely episodes including Faraway Island.

Abney and Teal live on an island in the middle of a lake,in the middle of a park, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the big city. They share their island home with a group of friendly and hilarious characters, and together they are always ready for an adventure.

Featuring 8 episodes:

Faraway Island
The Porridge Party
The Star Stick
The Storm
Stuck
The Radio
The Poc-Poc Hunt
The Train

The DVD is released on 9th September 2013 and can be purchased from all good DVD stockists.

For more information can be found on the Abbey Home Media website or their Facebook and Twitter pages.

To win 1 of 5 copies of the new The Adventures of Abney & Teal: Faraway Island DVDsimply fill in the form below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Open to UK entrants only
Winners will be emailed and will need to reply within 5 days or a new winner will be drawn
Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

Chuggington Chugger of the Year DVD – Review

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Fiona Martin

One thing that any little boy loves is trains, and a programme that both of mine have always loved watching is Chuggington on CBeebies. It always keeps them amused watching Brewster, Koko, Zephie and the other trainees going about their tasks so when we were sent the new Chuggington Chugger of the Year DVD to review, both their faces lit up and they couldn’t wait to watch it.

The Chugger of the Year DVD features seven exciting episodes that kept my two thoroughly entertained. They watched all seven straight through, both glued to the television excited to see what happened next. And once it was over they asked to watch them again – a sure sign of good entertainment!

The episodes included on this Chuggington Chugger of the Year DVD are:

Hoot V Toot
Stop the Press Emery
Babysitter Brewster
Chugger of the Year
Chug of War
Gold Wheels
Chug o Flage

Also included with the Chuggington Chugger of the Year DVD is a fabulous die cast train “Speedy McAllister”, which was a huge hit with Mister B. He’s loved pushing it along, in fact he has taken it everywhere with him this last week. Little does he know but mummy has a Chuggington train set put away for later in the year – can’t wait to see his face when he can add Speedy to the other trains and play with them all on the roundhouse and track!

Speedy is a great little addition to this DVD and something that is sure to be enjoyed by all little Chuggington fans. The DVD has been a huge success with my children, and been watched many times over already – it’s great to entertain them on rainy days or in the morning before breakfast.

We’d definitely recommend it – a big hit with us!

“Chugger of the Year” is available from Sainsburys, ASDA, HMV, Amazon and the BBC Shop.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

Mister Maker: Watch & Make Vol. 5 DVD – Review

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Fiona Martin

Mister Maker: Watch & Make Vol. 5 DVD is the latest collection of episodes from Mister Maker released by Abbey Home Media and hasn’t failed to disappoint. From a splattered space picture to bubble wrap pictures and crazy carnival shakers, this DVD is jam packed full of ideas and inspiration for little ones to not only to watch but to try and replicate at home themselves.

Join in the fun with Mister Maker and his friends in his magical art studio. Watch and make along as he transforms everyday objects into fun pieces of art!

5yr old Miss M and 2yr old Mister B are always drawn in when Mister Maker comes on the tv and can’t wait to see what he makes out of the pile of crafty objects he gets prepared on his table. This DVD was no exception and they have watched it again and again.

The first thing that Miss M spotted to make were straw powered rockets – a very simple one minute make within one of the episodes on this new DVD. It literally consisted of two rocket shaped pieces of paper stuck together around the edge with glue and then push a straw up between the two pieces. The novelty with this was that if you blow through the straw, the rocket blasts off into the sky!! Miss M kindly made Mister B a rocket too and the pair of them had much excitement blasting their rockets off around the front room keeping them occupied for the rest of the afternoon.

We really enjoyed this DVD, have watched it over and over already and even made a couple of things therefore thoroughly recommend it for pre school crafty fun!

The DVD is out now and can be purchased from all good DVD stockists.

For more information about Abbey Home Media can be found on their website or Facebook and Twitter pages.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

WIN Mister Maker: Watch & Make Vol. 5 DVD – 5 copies up for grabs!!

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Fiona Martin

134

Anyone that watches CBeebies will know and love Mister Maker – my 2 children are huge fans as they love to make things, get their fingers in gloopy glue and stick googly eyes on things! So if you have some aspiring little artists then this is definitely the new Mister Maker: Watch & Make Vol. 5 DVD to watch.

Join in the fun with Mister Maker and his friends in his magical art studio. Watch and make along as he transforms everyday objects into fun pieces of art!

The new Mister Maker: Watch & Make Vol. 5 DVD contains over 20 fun makes including:

A splattered space picture, noisy coin clackers & hilarious worms in a can!
Splattered stencils, an incredible ice cream cone game and wobbly eggs!
Bubbles, a fabulous fish with shiny paper & space skittles that are out of this world!
Brilliant bubble wrap picture, a straw powered rocket & crazy carnival shakers!
Transform everyday objects into incredible insects, torn paper & a space age city!

The DVD is out now and can be purchased from all good DVD stockists

For more information can be found on the Abbey Home Media webite or their Facebook and Twitter pages.

To win 1 of 5 copies of the new Mister Maker: Watch & Make Vol. 5 DVD simply fill in the form below.

Entry -Form

Alphablocks Phonics Next Steps Volume 2 DVD – Review

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Fiona Martin

Knowing how much my two enjoy watching Alphablocks on CBeebies I was delighted to be sent the new Alphablocks Phonics Next Steps Volume 2 DVD from Abbey Home Media to review. The DVD contains 86 minutes of entertainment ideal for preschoolers – both my 2 and 5 year old will happily sit down watching this.

For those who are new to Alphablocks:

The Alphablocks are 26 living letters who fall out of the sky and discover that if they hold hands and make a word, it comes to life. When words are magic and anything is possible, it’s an adventure, songs and games all the way!

My children love watching Alphablocks and it always keeps them entertained. The episodes are full of brightly coloured images that are fun to watch. With 5 yr old Miss M in her first year at school she already know her phonics but uses this as a way to practice them and says the phonic sounds as she sees them come up on the screen. She also loves saying as many words as she can think of that start with the letter on each Alphablock as they appear.

What I like about the Alphablocks Phonics Next Steps Volume 2 DVD is that it introduces some of the harder sounds to really help children recognise all of the phonetic alphabet along with simple word formation.

Two year old Mister B loved imitating the sounds made by the Alphablocks and was encouraged by his big sister to really take in what he was seeing – a fun way of learning without realising it for younger ones.

We really enjoyed watching Alphablocks Vol 2 DVD and would definitely recommend it!!

The DVD is out now available from all good stockists.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

WIN – Alphablocks Phonics Next Steps Volume 2 DVD – 5 copies to giveaway!!

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Fiona Martin

131

Following on from the first Alphablocks DVD, Abbey Home Media are releasing a NEW Alphablocks Phonics Next Steps Volume 2 DVD. As it’s not released until next week we haven’t yet had a chance to view it but if the first one is anything to go by, my two will love it just as much and want to watch it over and over.

Phonics Next Steps builds the alphabet skills that children are taught at school, helping them to recognise all their letters and sounds and make simple words. With repeat viewing, children can boost their phonics skills and reading confidence while having lots and lots of fun!

We love the Alphablocks and think it’s a wonderful pre school learning programme that both entertains and encourages little ones to pick up sounds. Look our for our review in the next week or so, but in the meantime if you want to win one of 5 copies that I have for my lucky readers, fill in the rafflecopter entry form below.

The new DVD is available from Monday 6th May from all good DVD stockists.

To find out more about Abbey Home Media check them out on Twitter or Facebook!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms & Conditions
Winners selected at random
If a selected winner has not fulfilled the first entry criteria or any others to which they have said they have will be disqualified
No automated entries
If a winner does not make contact within 48 hours an alternative winner will be drawn
UK only
ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

Woolly and Tig – First Day DVD Review

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Fiona Martin

When Woolly and Tig first started on CBeebies, I have to admit I never took much notice of it but I kept noticing Miss M mention it and get all excited, telling mummy to be quiet as it was one of her favourite programmes. So when we were sent a copy of the new Woolly and Tig DVD by Abbey Home Media to review I knew it would be a hit.

It follows a young girl called Tig and her cuddly spider Woolly who go about their day doing different things. Woolly is always there to support and encourage Tig in things she does like when she doesn’t want to wash her hair, won’t share her toys with her friends or has to learn how to adapt to a new baby brother being in the house etc.. Definitely lots of lessons to be learnt here in a fun, friendly way.

My two have loved watching this DVD over and over – I’m quite surprised at how many any times this DVD has been played but if it’s sending out good messages and they enjoy it, then it’s fine by me! I would say the ideal viewing ages for this are between 2 and 5.

The NEW Woolly and Tig – First Day DVD is available to purchase now from all good DVD stockists.

Find out more at www.abbeyhomemedia.com
You can also catch up with Abbey Home Media on Twitter or Facebook

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.