Bigjigs In The Garden - Play Patrol Review

Bigjigs In The Garden

Bigjigs Flower Press and Twigz Gardening Tools Review

Our recent delivery from BigJigs arrived at the perfect time for us to enjoy over a sunny weekend in the garden. 

Last year Dad painted a shed and decorated the inside of it to turn in to a playhouse for me and Lottie and on one side we have built a bug hotel and on the other side we are making a little flower and vegetable patch so we were thrilled to recieve a box of Twigz My First Gardening Tools.

 


The Bigjigs Flower Press and
Twigz My First Gardening Tools



The tools are really nice, they are quite strong and there is a good selection- we had a bucket, gardening gloves, a spade, a fork and a mini rake so were able to do everything we needed. We started by planting some tomatoes up in growbags and then did some work digging in our little patch of the garden. We both had a potato from a growing competition at school to plant so we have done that and we have also got the area ready to plant some flowers we have chosen at the farm shop.

 

I really liked the tools, they are easy to use and worked well, I think these are great for getting kids interested in getting out in the garden.

We were also sent a Bigjigs Flower Press. I didn't get much of a look in with this as Lottie loved it so much she just wanted to press everything she could find! It was quite easy to use- just pick some flowers, leaves or petals and put them inside a folded sheet of paper. We found it worked best when we left the flowers for at least a week to dry out but I liked the fact that you could add several different sheets of paper at the same time to dry lots of different flowers.

 

Being allowed to look at the flower press
under Lottie's strict instructions!



When we unscrewed the press and took out the flowers we just gently took them off the paper- they were very fragile to handle but dried really well. These looked really nice so we decided to do something with them- we found a plain jar and covered it with glue and then stuck the flowers on carefully and then glued over them and it worked really well to decorate it.

 



The flowers immediately after
opening the press

The flowers after removing from
 the paper in the press

 

    
I thought this looked really effective and now we have had a practice I would like to try some other pots- we would probably press them a little longer and also try ones without the stems as they stuck better. I would choose brighter colours than Lottie did next time to see how they come out. I like the idea of making a bookmark using leaves too. 

 

Making good use of our artwork
 to store treats!

Our first attempt at decorating with the
pressed flowers

Lottie loved the flower press and I think there are lots of fun craft projects you could do with it at different times of year.

 

 

Dr. Seuss book reviews and a chance to win!

Dr. Seuss book reviews and a chance to win!

As you may already know we love a Dr. Seuss book in our house- I really don't think you ever get too old for them and there is something quite fun about getting to grips with the rhyming and tongue twisting.

We were very pleased to be sent copies of Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat In The Hat and Fox in Socks to share and review. My favourite is The Cat In The Hat which we used to read at bedtime when I was little and Lottie really liked Green Eggs and Ham because she hadn't heard it before- we think our baby brother, Sam liked that one too as he clapped every time he heard the words 'Sam-I-Am' but that could have been that he just liked hearing his name over and over again! We also really liked Fox in Socks and had fun making Mum read that one over and over again as it is a real tongue twister.

If you haven't read the books they all all well worth a try- they are all good for reluctant readers or children who are just starting to get confident reading, Lottie is trying to read Green Eggs and Ham out loud while we write this and she is just about managing, so they are good for new readers as well as being fun for older children.

Fox in Socks is all about how the Fox in Socks teaches Mr Knox some of the quickest, slickest tongue twisters in town- it is so funny to read and slightly confusing but really good.

Green Eggs and Ham is all about trying something new- Sam-I-Am wants his friend to try Green, Eggs and Ham and he doesn't want to take no for an answer, his friend is certain he doesn't like them and won't try them anyway at all but eventually he gives in and to his great amazement actually likes them. This is another great Dr. Seuss book which teaches you a bit of a lesson- if you try something new you might like it.

The Cat In The Hat is about when The Cat In The Hat comes to visit Sally and her brother and basically makes a huge mess of their house while their Mother is out which then needs sorting out...they just don't know if they should tell their Mother.

The stories themselves are great for children of all ages but probably best suited for 4-8 year olds and the illustrations are awesome too, they really make the stories jump out. 

If you are looking for a good book for a new reader then I would recommend you take a look at any of the Dr. Seuss books.

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Countdown to Fruit Shoot Mini Mudder

Countdown to Fruit Shoot Mini Mudder!

In just 7 days I will be going to bed early to get ready for a very exciting day out but before that I am getting in training! Next weekend grown ups across the Midlands will be taking part in the Tough Mudder Mud Run and at the same time kids get to take part in the Ultimate Obstacle Adventure- the Fruit Shoot Mini Mudder. The one mile course has 10 obstacles and I can't wait!

The Fruit Shoot Mini Mudder Course at Henley April 2016

Being an 8 year old boy I don't mind getting mucky but I think the Mini Mudder will take that to a whole new level! The obstacles look awesome but I am a bit nervous to see how difficult they are. The course is designed for children age 7 to 12 who are at least 3 ft 5 tall so I don't think it will be too easy and it looks like we will need to work as a team to get round but it will be fun to meet some other people and see if we can manage the challenge.

I am going to be part of the Adventure Squad and the people at Fruit Shoot have sent me a great goody bag to get ready for the event- I have cones, beanbags and markers so am going to have lots of fun creating challenges in the garden this weekend to get in practice and I dragged my Dad out for a run round the nearby lakes this evening - it was very cold and blowy but not really muddy enough!

I can't wait until next weekend!!

The Fruit Shoot Mini Mudder is taking place at several locations from now until September and you can find out more here

There are some amazing photographs from the Henley event the other week and I will be back to share my own pictures after next week- Mum isn't looking forward to the washing though! 

Wish me luck!