With William now almost four months I am loving introducing him to different play. I especially love watching Florence playing with him. We’ve been sent some really adorable soft play balls for the children to play with from Dooballs from BabytoLove and over the last few […]
Over the last week or so, I’ve been busy behind the scenes making bits and bobs for the littles’ Easter gifts. Today I wanted to share with you these unbelievably simple DIY sensory Easter eggs that I’ve added to William’s Easter basket ready to play […]
It’s been a long time since I shared any of our tuff spot play, but today I thought I’d show you one of the Christmas play activities we’ve been loving throughout Advent. This morning I created a winter wonderland tuff spot using the SnoBall Play kit from Zimpli Kids and it provided hours of fun and play for Florence and really got us both in the Christmas mood. We even had a Christmas playlist playing in the background.
*The SnoBall Play kit used in this activity was sent to us by Zimpli Kids in return for this review. We’ll be working with them over the coming weeks on some more toddler play ideas, so keep an eye out for those!
Making the SnoBall Play couldn’t have been easier. In the box, you get two 25g bags of powder which you mix with water following the instructions on the side of the box. You need about 1.4l of water per 25g bag which when mixed together makes a small mixing bowl of ‘snow’. The snow itself is of a sort of granulated jelly consistency when ready.
I poured the ‘snow’ out on to the tuff spot and it covered around half of it. I did consider making up the other packet but once Florence was playing it meant that she could sit on the dry patch bit while playing with the snow in front of her. 
I added some of the Christmas characters from Florence’s HappyLand advent calendar along with the tea pot house for Santa’s grotto, fir trees and some little wooden houses to make a Christmas village. I used a blue plastic plate to make a little lake where the whale & penguins could live.
Florence loved picking up the snow in her hands and sprinkling it over the buildings and the animals and stomping around in it too. She seemed to like the texture and the coolness of the ‘snow’ in her hands and squelching it in between her toes.
The snow is mouldable and so we played at making snow castles using some stacking shapes exclaiming ‘WOW!’ every time we lifted the shape up. We also made ‘snow angels’ using cookie cutters, watching as the snow stayed in the shape formed. 
Most of all though, Florence loved shovelling! She scooped up the snow and moved it from pile to pile, filling the different cups as well as the house up with snow and then sweeping it all out again. 
The kit, as the name suggests, is actually intended to be used to make indoor snowballs for snow play, but as Florence is younger this is just one of the alternative ways you could play with it. SnoBall Play is available to buy on Amazon, along with the rest of Zimpli Kids range here for just £3.67. 
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I’ve teamed up with one of my favourite toy brands to share my thoughts on their top picks for Christmas for babies & toddlers as part of my toy review series. Hape are the worlds largest producer of wooden toys priding themselves on their use […]
Over the next few weeks, as we all busy ourselves with Christmas shopping and preparing for the most wonderful time of the year, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on some of the many toys out there on the market for babies & toddlers. I am […]
I always love this time of year. The change of season always seems to inspire me to get organised and plan new ways to play and this Fall I’ve got a whole bunch of activities planned to keep Florence busy. I thought I would start by sharing the contents of our Autumn book box as much of our play will be inspired by the stories and characters we’ll be reading about. Just a quick heads up, the links in this post contain affiliate links, so if you click and buy any of them, I get a percentage from Amazon.
The adorable little duo, Hattie & Horace are two of my favourite children’s characters and we see them play in the woodland as the seasons change from Summer to Autumn in this little tale, hiding and seeking each other and the other creatures among the pine cones & toadstools as they try to work out why the leaves are falling from the trees. It’s great for playing spot the hedgehog with little one’s and also identifying all of the new changes outside that Autumn brings. You can buy it here
We are big fans of the That’s Not My series, and the Hedgehog version is our latest addition to our collection. Florence loves the touch & feel elements on each page and I’m a big fan of the way each of the books encourage learning about the animal subject as well as different textures too. You can buy it here.
This charming little board book is one of four in the Tales from the Acorn Wood series by Julia Donaldson. The story follows the tale of poor Mr Fox who has lost his socks and his efforts to find them around his home, with the help from Mouse. Each page has a little lift the flap which hides a different item of Fox’s clothes. Florence says ‘there it is’ every time we find another piece! You can buy it here.
Ah the old classic! This was one of my favourite books growing up and I have fond memories of acting out the story. Obviously Florence is a bit young to do that however, we’ve been reading this book and using it to inspire our outdoor adventures and play as the seasons change. We’ve walked through the swishy swashy grass, we’ve splashed & sploshed in puddles and we’ve squelched in the mud in the garden. Not to mention how much she loves the bear! It makes a lovely little bedtime story and the potential for inspiring imaginative play is huge! You can buy it here.
Anyone else remember this story from when they were young? It’s absolutely beautifully illustrated and follows the three baby owls as they wait for their Mother Owl to return home after a night of hunting. The owl sound is one of Florence’s most recent sounds and so she ‘Twoo’s’ as you turn each page. Very cute! I love how this book explores the roles of each of the siblings and their reactions to their mother not being there when they wake up. I think it’s a really gentle story to tell children whose Mum’s are maybe going back to work or are going away for a period of time — Mum always comes back! You can buy it here.
This short and sweet tale tells the story of a Hedgehog called Ned who is searching for his home on a cold and dark night. He visits the homes of the other woodland animals before finally finding a home for himself. Florence loves looking at the different animals throughout the book and making their animal sounds. It’s also a lovely way to start teaching little one’s about where different animals live.You can buy it here.
Another super simple story following a family as they head apple & pumpkin picking. We will be doing both of these as a family this Autumn so it ties in nicely with our own play & activities for the season. You can buy it here.
Probably aimed at children slightly older than Florence – Preschool age maybe? – Herbie’s big Adventure is all about a little Hedgehog whose Mummy tells him it’s time to go and adventure by himself and so as he does, he finds there is a whole world full of fun and friendship as he explores the big wide world before making his way back to his Mum. Along the way the story does subtly discuss the differnt seasons and the things that change as they do too. Florence loves looking at the pictures and pointing out the trees and the leaves and flowers. You can buy it here.
A slightly different take on the traditional tale of Goldilocks & the Three Bears, this lovely little story make me feel all warm inside! Florence loves pointing out the bears and pulling a very cute shocked face every time the porridge disappears.
Gruffalo Growl has been one of of Florence’s favourite since she was very little – I used to read it to her every morning! It’s a shortened, simpler version of the classing The Gruffalo and is complete with a noisy growly button. She likes to look through this one herself, again making the animal noises as she turns each page and will happily ‘read’ it for ages! I hope to introduce the full version at bedtimes as we change our evening routine again as I think it’s the perfect story to wind down with in the evenings. You can buy Gruffalo Growl here.
What are you reading with your toddlers this Autumn? I’d love to know any of your recommendations.
With the weather outside so incredibly hot at the moment (I’m not complaining, love the sunshine!), we’ve been taking refuge indoors during the warmest times of the day and so I’ve been looking for ways to keep Florence entertained and calm at the same time. […]
Not so long ago, I told you all about our plans to transform our garden from a drab and swampy mess into a toddler friendly play space for Florence to take advantage of through the summer. While I have planters across the middle of the […]
