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What the Ladybird Heard

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As you probably already know we are big fans of Julia Donaldson. In the summer we went to see A Squash and a Squeeze and Room on the Broom, so we were delighted to be offered the chance to see What the Ladybird Heard today at the Town Hall Birmingham. We had a truly wonderful morning and the show is on until January 10th and tickets are £11.50. I would recommend it to anyone with young children.

Having read the book I did wonder how they would turn this quaint story into an almost hour long performance. Well, there is lots of music as usual and audience participation, and the whole start of the show is about getting the show started. You probably need to see it to understand.

The animals are fabulous and imaginative, even the little ladybird is captivating. The actors are great fun and extremely talented. The story is really brought to life and is totally enchanting.

I went to the show with Daddy and the three littlies aged 8yrs, 6yrs and 3yrs. Maybe eight is a little old but she really enjoys anything live like this with lots of singing, dancing and joining in. The six year old was really captivated and enjoyed every moment. The three year old went from being captivated to fidgety to a little tired and back again…nothing new there then!

Just in case you are unfamiliar with the story of What the Ladybird Heard, it’s about a couple of bungling thieves, Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len, that plan to steal the farmyard’s prize cow. However, the ladybird hears their plan and with the help of the other animals such as the woolly sheep, the fat red hen and the hairy dog, she works out a plan of her own to the foil the thieves.

On January 10th there is a relaxed performance especially for children on the autistic spectrum, with learning disabilities or a sensory or communication disorder.

We were given tickets for the purpose of this review. All words and opinions are my own.

Dream Toys for Christmas

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Less than three weeks to go to the Big Day! Is all your shopping done yet? With my little hiccup of a week in hospital with Star I’m now falling behind with quite a few things on my shopping list to get. I’ve been checking out what is popular with the kids this year as mine can’t seem to make their minds up and I came across this fantastic list of Dream Toys Here at Argos.

I’m surprised at how many toys come around again. I remember Eldest Daughter having a Furby first time around. She loved it, but I think at the time I played with it just as much as her.
Now you can get the fabulous Furby Boom, bright and colourful and incredibly interactive. The more you your child plays with it, the more it learns. Not only interactive but addictive!

Furby Boom

Another interactive, and one that’s definitely on my girl’s Christmas lists to Santa is the Teksta Puppy, available in pink and blue. It has over 100 interactive play features and comes with a ball and a bone.

Teksta Puppy Pink

How about something for the boys? Lego is always a big hit and this is Lego City Coast Guard Patrol is bound to be a Christmas favourite.

Lego city Coast Guard Patrol

Kids too young for their own Tablet, then the Leappad and Innotab3 are fantastic alternatives with loads of learning opportunities and colours to suit both boys and girls.

Innotab3 and Leappad

Still not found something suitable? Then pop over to Argos and see the rest of their Dream Toys for Christmas right here

Do you have a list of anything related to Christmas? Come and join our Christmas List Linky.

Soft Play, Free Fun from Bassetts Soft and Chewy Vitamins

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Today I took the Little Man along with a couple of friends to soft play. My friend commented that there was nothing like soft play around when we were young and she’s right, that got me thinking how about how excited I would have been as a child. Of course, these days I have to help Little Man climb around, and go down the bigger slides with him, it’s a tough life but someone has to do it. (No, honestly, it’s tough, I was shattered at the end of it!)
For me, soft play means giving the children an opportunity to get some exercise and have fun while being indoors. Great for winter days out. It’s also a chance for me to catch up with friends while our children have fun. If I’m honest though, I prefer soft play centres when they are quiet and full of younger rather than older children. The older children do tend to go a little crazy, and sometimes the noise levels are astounding. All my children love soft play, although the Little Man is only just getting to grips with climbing. Star sometimes gets worked up if there are too many children or it’s too noisy, but mostly she just joins in and enjoys herself.

Here are some photos of today’s venture, although not very good as it’s difficult to take decent pics of children rushing around especially on your phone.

Our soft play session today was paid for by the vouchers you can collect with Bassetts Soft and Chewy Vitamins. A recent survey by Bassetts showed that 71% of mums in the Uk enjoy treating their children to a soft play day because it is guaranteed high-energy entertainment that can be enjoyed whatever the weather.*

Bassetts Soft and Chewy Vitamins come in a range of flavours for children to take one-a-day to support a healthy lifestyle. We tried out the orange and strawberry flavours and the children liked the flavours and the chewy texture.

Each packet of Bassetts Soft and Chewy Vitamins comes with a Free Soft Play Sticker. By going online to https://www.bassettsvitaminssoftplay.co.uk/ you can enter the code and print off a voucher. You then need to stick the sticker off the pack onto the voucher and then take it along to your soft play centre of choice. With half term coming up it will be a great way of entertaining your child for free.

I received two packs of Bassetts Soft and Chewy Vitamins to try along with the free soft play stickers. All thoughts and opinions are my own apart from the survey statistics.

*Bassetts Soft and Chewy Vitamins research study of 1,000 mums of 4-10 year old children carried out between 25/06/13-27/06/13

Please Note: Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied diet and healthy lifestyle.