Staying indoors Activities and Rio2 Giveaway

pinkoddy

10 years ago

With the School holidays coming to an end we have decided to stay indoors and wind down a bit. We have been really busy outside of the house but now it’s time to just relax. Here are some of our favourite things we have been up to, they are all great rainy day, or pyjama day ideas too. I think they are going to come in handy for the October half term and Christmas.

Dressing up with Fafu

We love dressing up, regular readers will know that is me too! I think joining in and playing with my boys is SO important. I love how dressing up can inspire the imagination and really help develop interaction. What I really love about the Fafu collection is that it isn’t a type of outfit – it is a way of encouraging creativity. One set can become so many things – only limited by your children’s ideas. I thought the purple shapes looked like duck’s feet – but my son automatically put them on his hands! One size fits all, and there’s no gender stereotyping issues. You can pretend to be anything or anyone, Or use the pieces to be something – the sea, grass, a bag, a boat. The possibilities are endless. Take this one sheet with so many ways to attach it to itself to create many things with it.

I love the adorable cotton bag that they come in – making it easier to keep together and take out on your travels.

Fafu is a small company who are serious about play. Designs are based on research into how the brain grows and develops. Environmentally friendly natural materials like organic cotton, silk and wool made by a fair trade producer in Nepal.

Find them on: Facebook Google + YouTube and Twitter

Toto’s Treehouse App

Toto’s Treehouse App is a great way for children to show their parents that they can care for a pet before they buy the real thing. They start with a newly hatched turtle called Toto who needs looking after and playing with. Read Toto’s facial expressions and thought bubbles to determine how he feels. Then feed him (with sandwiches and ice-cream), keep him clean, play with him (use the tyre swing, jump rope, bubbles or make him dance).

But make sure he doesn’t get too tired, he needs plenty of sleep.

It is simple to use and understand what Toto’s needs are (from the visual clues). Find the places on the map where he needs to go and selecting the objects that he needs. There are some in app games that help with thinking and development. I like how it is your turtle and it starts from where you left off when you open the app up again.

The app costs £1.99 and TribePlay are working with the World Wildlife Fund to support their ‘Adopt a Turtle’ scheme by purchasing turtle adoptions for Toto fans.

University Games – The Gruffalo Word Rhyming Game & More

We love to have family games night, it is good to get the family together around the table for something other than eating. Our youngest is only 5 years old and has special needs so it is nice to find games that he is able to easily join in with.

You may know that we love the Gruffalo. It is one of favourite stories and we have found him in the woods, met him in person, and seen a special version of The Gruffalo Live. So what game could be more perfect than The Gruffalo Word Rhyming Game & More. Beautifully illustrated with our favourite characters from the Gruffalo. The set fits neatly into a compact box and describes how to play two games, but they could be adapted to play many more – such as snap and pairs. With different colours as well as the characters names (or parts depending on the set) to help those who are unable to read yet. This set is perfect for my son going into year 1 as it encourages him to find words that sound the same (snake/lake/cake; eye/butterfly/sky; knee/tree/flea; claw/jaw/paw). There’s also bonus Gruffalo and Mouse cards too. Age 4+. SRP £5.99. Available at Amazon and Tesco.

Despicable Me 2 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle from Ravensburger

The Despicable Me 2 500 Piece Jigsaw – well who can resist those adorable Minions? This puzzle requires some patience – the Minions are all quite different but look amazingly similar when trying to find the right pieces! I was always taught to sort out the edge and corner pieces first – but even trying to do that took me a while.

The pieces are of good quality and fit together well. There are a variety of shapes – so you wont find yourself trying to force the wrong pieces together. I think this is an ideal Christmas present for an older child or adult – and certainly something to sit down and do on Christmas day. Ideally I would make it in a place where it can be left and come back to.

Rio 2

Of course a good way to relax and treat the kids is with a movie. When you do not want to leave the house, or you simply want to save some money why not have a film night at home. Buy some sweets and popcorn and get a film that the whole family will love. Save money further by buying and selling your movie at Cash Generator.

Rio 2 is the 3D computer animated musical adventure sequel to the 2011 Rio. Set in the Amazon rainforest following on the story of the Macaw Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and his wife Jewel (Anne Hathaway). Now with their 3 kids music-loving Carla (Rachel Crow), book smart Bia (Amandla Stenberg) and mischievous Tiago (Pierce Gagnon). It is due to Blu’s former owner, Linda (Leslie Mann) and her husband Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) being on an expedition in the amazon that it is discovered that the rare macaws are in trouble. Blu reluctantly goes to the Amazon with Rafael (George Lopez), Nico (Jamie Foxx ) and Pedro (Will.i.am). Luiz (Tracy Morgan) tries and fails to go too. Big Boss (Miguel Ferrer), the leader of an illegal logging group, finds out and tries to stop Linda and Tulio. I will not spoil any further for those who have not watched the film about whether they succeed.

A film with many famous names we also see the return of Nigel (Jemaine Clement) the cockatoo, who wants revenge on Blu and his family. His helped by two minions – Charlie (a non-speaking ant-eater) and Gabi (Kristin Chenoweth).Also in the film is Jewel’s long lost father, Eduardo (Andy García), his older sister Mimi (Rita Moreno) and childhood friend Roberto (Bruno Mars); the head of the Scarlet macaws Felipe (Philip Lawrence). Other characters include Fernando (Jake T. Austin) – the adopted son of Linda & Tulio; Rafael’s wife Eva (Bebel Gilberto), a news anchor (Natalie Morales), Dr Monae (Janelle Monáe) a veterinarian, Kipo (Jeffrey Garcia), Tiny (Kate Micucci) and a logging foreman (Randy Thom).