Playing outside is an essential part of a child's development. From making mud kitchens, to getting to know nature, learning and playing outside will help little learners form key developmental skills such as physical health & self-confidence!
Name of tester: Kerri HibberdTitle: Class TeacherSchool name: Woodside AcademyAge of child: Three years oldAge of school class: Reception; ages four and fiveProduct Testing: Alphabet Acorns Activity Set “Kerri has been a teacher for 11 years. She is currently the phonics co-ordinator at her school and works part time. The rest of the time she is at home with her 3 year old daughter.â€
Ratings:
What were your first thoughts when the product arrived?
I was impressed with how colourful it was. My daughter was very excited and she couldn’t wait to get it out of the box.
How did you use the product?
With my daughter at home, we first found all the matching objects for each letter. She enjoyed using the resource so much that we used it every day for the next week. To extend her learning we tried to use the resource in different ways. We matched upper and lowercase letters and then found all three matching parts, the uppercase letter, lowercase letter and object. I also used this resource for phonics teaching. I chose a letter and asked her to find the object beginning with the same sound and then did this the other way around by choosing an object and asking her to find the matching acorn parts. As she is young and doesn’t know all her sounds yet she needed a little support.
How did you use this product in the classroom?
Within the classroom I used this resource in two different ways, first as an exploration activity for independent learning. I set it up with other outside objects and allowed the children to explore. Some children used it as a matching activity and matched the upper and lowercase letters while others tried to find the matching objects. As a teacher focus I used it as a matching the initial sound and object activity and was also able to assess the children’s phonic and letter knowledge.
What are the educational benefits of the resource?
There are lots of benefits to this resource as it can be used in different ways such as letter and grapheme correspondence, initial letter sounds, matching upper and lowercase letters and even sorting colours. There’s even more ideas in the box!
What did you like/dislike about the resource?
To make this even more appealing for schools I think an alternative ‘qu’ should be added. This will enable the resource to be used for phonic activities as well as alphabet activities. I loved this resource and it was very appealing to my daughter and children at the school. I liked the bright colours used and that the letters on the front of the acorn, lid and object all matched in colour so younger children, like my daughter, or less able children, could be told to look for a blue object that matched or a red top etc.
What is the long term appeal of the resource?
Very good as it also fits in with different topics and stories so can be linked to learning in lots of different ways.
Is the product unique?
The acorn idea is unique and appealing but there are otherproducts on the market for matching objects and letters. #LoveLearning
Tried and Tested: Alphabet Acorns Name of tester: Kerri HibberdTitle: Class TeacherSchool name: Woodside AcademyAge of child: Three years oldAge of school class: Reception; ages four and fiveProduct Testing: Alphabet Acorns Activity Set “Kerri has been a teacher for 11 years. She is currently the phonics co-ordinator at her school and works part time. The rest of the time she is at home with her 3 year old daughter.â€
Ratings:
What were your first thoughts when the product arrived?
I was impressed with how colourful it was. My daughter was very excited and she couldn’t wait to get it out of the box.
How did you use the product?
With my daughter at home, we first found all the matching objects for each letter. She enjoyed using the resource so much that we used it every day for the next week. To extend her learning we tried to use the resource in different ways. We matched upper and lowercase letters and then found all three matching parts, the uppercase letter, lowercase letter and object. I also used this resource for phonics teaching. I chose a letter and asked her to find the object beginning with the same sound and then did this the other way around by choosing an object and asking her to find the matching acorn parts. As she is young and doesn’t know all her sounds yet she needed a little support.
How did you use this product in the classroom?
Within the classroom I used this resource in two different ways, first as an exploration activity for independent learning. I set it up with other outside objects and allowed the children to explore. Some children used it as a matching activity and matched the upper and lowercase letters while others tried to find the matching objects. As a teacher focus I used it as a matching the initial sound and object activity and was also able to assess the children’s phonic and letter knowledge.
What are the educational benefits of the resource?
There are lots of benefits to this resource as it can be used in different ways such as letter and grapheme correspondence, initial letter sounds, matching upper and lowercase letters and even sorting colours. There’s even more ideas in the box!
What did you like/dislike about the resource?
To make this even more appealing for schools I think an alternative ‘qu’ should be added. This will enable the resource to be used for phonic activities as well as alphabet activities. I loved this resource and it was very appealing to my daughter and children at the school. I liked the bright colours used and that the letters on the front of the acorn, lid and object all matched in colour so younger children, like my daughter, or less able children, could be told to look for a blue object that matched or a red top etc.
What is the long term appeal of the resource?
Very good as it also fits in with different topics and stories so can be linked to learning in lots of different ways.
Is the product unique?
The acorn idea is unique and appealing but there are otherproducts on the market for matching objects and letters. #LoveLearning
READ MORE
Name of tester: Kerri HibberdTitle: Class TeacherSchool name: Woodside AcademyAge range of children: Year 1, age 5-7
How important is programming in the primary classroom?
Due to today’s digital society it is very important that children get to grips with programming at a young age.
How did you use the product?
While most of the children were on computers working on moving a robot I used this resource with one group at a time on the carpet. At first I asked the children what they thought we were going to be doing with the resource and after sharing ideas I told them that we were going to be making a maze. I explained that we had to collect and bring back the robot but we had to use the coding cards to give instructions. The children then explored making simple mazes and we worked as a group to create the code. Next we tested to see if our code worked with one person walking on the maze tiles.Let’s Go Code!™ Activity Set
What are the benefits of the resource?
I liked that this resource was practical. This enabled the children to walk a set of instructions that had been made by the group and helped the children amend the code as they walked it themselves. For example, the children had planned a right turn when in fact they needed to turn left and they only noticed this mistake when a peer walked the code. After some discussion about why our code didn’t work the children were able to come up with the resolution themselves. Â
What did you like/dislike about the resource?
I like how practical this resource is and how it can be used in different ways like cooperative play and team play with the added benefit of adding objects like blocked path. Â
Did the children enjoy using the product?
Yes and they are looking forward to using it again independently. Â
How would you rate the long term appeal of the resource?
Coding is now very important so I think this resource will have long term use appeal. I can also see it being used with reception and year 2 children in different ways. Â
Do you currently have any similar products within your setting? Please provide details.
We have programmable robots and a matching computer programme but no resources like this. Â
How cost effective do you feel the resource is in terms of the results it delivers?
A good affordable resource for £30. Â
Is the product unique?
I haven’t seen any products like this on the market.
How important is programming in the primary classroom?
Due to today’s digital society it is very important that children get to grips with programming at a young age.
How did you use the product?
While most of the children were on computers working on moving a robot I used this resource with one group at a time on the carpet. At first I asked the children what they thought we were going to be doing with the resource and after sharing ideas I told them that we were going to be making a maze. I explained that we had to collect and bring back the robot but we had to use the coding cards to give instructions. The children then explored making simple mazes and we worked as a group to create the code. Next we tested to see if our code worked with one person walking on the maze tiles.Let’s Go Code!™ Activity Set
What are the benefits of the resource?
I liked that this resource was practical. This enabled the children to walk a set of instructions that had been made by the group and helped the children amend the code as they walked it themselves. For example, the children had planned a right turn when in fact they needed to turn left and they only noticed this mistake when a peer walked the code. After some discussion about why our code didn’t work the children were able to come up with the resolution themselves. Â
What did you like/dislike about the resource?
I like how practical this resource is and how it can be used in different ways like cooperative play and team play with the added benefit of adding objects like blocked path. Â
Did the children enjoy using the product?
Yes and they are looking forward to using it again independently. Â
How would you rate the long term appeal of the resource?
Coding is now very important so I think this resource will have long term use appeal. I can also see it being used with reception and year 2 children in different ways. Â
Do you currently have any similar products within your setting? Please provide details.
We have programmable robots and a matching computer programme but no resources like this. Â
How cost effective do you feel the resource is in terms of the results it delivers?
A good affordable resource for £30. Â
Is the product unique?
I haven’t seen any products like this on the market.
READ MORE
In March 2015, our school (Parkfield Community School), which is located in one of the most deprived wards in both Birmingham and England, was honoured (and more than a little shocked) to win the National Pupil Premium Award for 2015. This award was presented to our school due to the attainment of our pupil premium (disadvantaged) children and the innovative approaches we adopted – using our pupil premium funding - to help all of our children to fully achieve their potential.With this prestigious award also came a substantial amount of extra funding. This money could have easily been allocated to lots of small scale projects/resources, but we wanted to do something really special with it that would create a long-lasting, inspiring legacy for each and every child at our school both now and for those that will join us in the future. As an outward-facing, innovative school, and after much discussion within the leadership team, we came up with the idea of creating Parkfield’s Young Engineers’ Academy (YEA) where children could specifically work on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) projects in a vibrant, dedicated space and have a wealth of resources which do this. This we believed would be quite unique for a primary school, and would inspire our children, our staff and the wider community, as well as providing the children with some of the skills that led to Birmingham’s proud history of innovation and manufacturing and which are still very much in demand today with key employers, such as BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover in our city. Each half term, our children visit our YEA for a full day. Here the children tackle a bespoke scenario, that provides the children with an opportunity to explore the links between and develop skills within the STEM subjects (in particular engineering, which is unfortunately given a low priority within many primary schools), in practical, real-life and fun contexts. Our key aim with the YEA is to inspire and excite our children and to infuse them with a sense of awe and wonder about education generally, but specifically within the STEM subjects, so that hopefully more of them will have the passion and drive to continue pursuing these subjects further beyond their time at Parkfield. The YEA provides experiences which the children would probably not get at home. It also develops those skills which will be crucial for both their education and for the workplaces of the future, such as: creativity, ingenuity, risk-taking, resilience and teamwork.In the past, we have found that many of our children have demonstrated low aspirations when they start thinking about their options for the future. Unfortunately, this often occurs due to cultural factors present in our community context, particularly amongst our girls. In addition, national evidence shows that many girls become disinterested with the STEM subjects at secondary school. This is something that we proactively try to address. One way that we do this is through the use of our Young Engineers Academy, by trying to capture the children’s interest in these areas from an early age. We also promote positive role models for all of our children to aspire towards, using pioneers from the present and from throughout history.As somebody with a real passion in these areas, I found myself designing the curriculum for the YEA. Although I had quite a few ideas, I quickly found myself turning to every teachers’ best friend - the internet - for inspiration. To my surprise, although there are lots of websites out there with possible ideas for lessons, I struggled to find a commercial company that produced quality resources with suitable lesson ideas that we could use. That was when I stumbled upon Primary STEM in Action.After browsing their selection of resources, the Earthquake Technologies Challenge Project immediately caught my attention (having always been fascinated by earthquakes myself) and I ordered a set to take a closer look at, which promptly arrived in school a few days later. The first thing that caught my attention were the wealth of teacher’s lesson plans that were provided within the teacher’s guide and children’s resource sheets. Although I’ve never been somebody who follows commercial lesson plans to the letter, these provided me with the inspiration I had searched for and with a few tweaks to the lesson plans/resources here and there, I could immediately see the potential of how this pack could be used with primary aged children to tackle various aspects of the STEM subjects, in an engaging way, within the context of looking at structures and earthquakes. I quickly found myself ordering multiple sets of this to use with a full class.For our children, they found using the K’Nex type materials to initially construct any structures quite challenging. This was because this was a completely new and alien construction material to our children. However, after some initial experimentation (which after all is what STEM is really about) the children’s confidence quickly began to grow and they began assembling all sorts of constructions, which were tested using the ‘dreaded’ Wobbletop Shake Table.During the full day that each class used these materials for, the children learnt about: the science of earthquakes; problems encountered by engineers (including monetary constraints – through being limited on the resources the children could afford to use); number computational skills; the construction of 3D shapes; problem solving; working as a team and much, much more. These were all skills were identified by the children when we evaluated the day. For me though, the richness of the discussion that could be heard as the children used these resources, the thought processes that were travelled (particularly when constructions were not as successful as hoped) and the engagement of the children throughout were fantastic.After the success of this project, we also purchased the STEM in Action Wild Feet Exploration Project, which we felt linked perfectly with a Year 2 topic concerning animals. This again, with the occasional tweak to personalise this to our school/topic, was equally as successful and popular with our children.The need for our YEA and for all schools to generally provide a higher priority to the STEM subjects is very clear. Although nearly all of the valuable skills developed by children through engaging in STEM sessions and through studying the STEM subjects are transferable (and are the kind of skills all employers are searching for), engineering is still key to the UK economy, especially in the post Brexit era we are about to enter. For example, “in 2014, the engineering sector contributed an estimated £455.6 billion (27.1% of the UK’s GDP). It is estimated that engineering employers have the potential to generate an additional £27 billion per year from 2022, if we meet the forecasted demand for 257,000 new vacancies in engineering enterprises inthe same timescale.â€
“Failing to meet our engineering workforce requirements will not only damage the UK economically, but it will also have a detrimental effect on individual employees’ prosperity and the economic sustainability of engineering employers. What’s more, failure will impact on engineering’s role in providing a lasting legacy for future generations through ensuring the supply of food, clean water and energy – a tough challenge against a backdrop of climate change and ageingpopulations. The single biggest threat to success lies with education: to meet demand, we need enough young people to study STEM subjects at schools and colleges.â€
Engineering UK 2015 – The state of engineering Through our current and future planned work with our YEA and through other school’s giving the STEM subjects a higher profile (particularly in primary schools), hopefully we can inspire and equip our children with the vital skills they will need to succeed in the future, thus ensuring that our future workforce and country continues to lead the world in creativity and innovation.#LoveLearning Discover STEM in Action™ at BETT – it’s free to attend! Find us on stand B78, Hall N3.www.steminaction.co.uk
In March 2015, our school (Parkfield Community School), which is located in one of the most deprived wards in both Birmingham and England, was honoured (and more than a little shocked) to win the National Pupil Premium Award for 2015. This award was presented to our school due to the attainment of our pupil premium (disadvantaged) children and the innovative approaches we adopted – using our pupil premium funding - to help all of our children to fully achieve their potential.With this prestigious award also came a substantial amount of extra funding. This money could have easily been allocated to lots of small scale projects/resources, but we wanted to do something really special with it that would create a long-lasting, inspiring legacy for each and every child at our school both now and for those that will join us in the future. As an outward-facing, innovative school, and after much discussion within the leadership team, we came up with the idea of creating Parkfield’s Young Engineers’ Academy (YEA) where children could specifically work on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) projects in a vibrant, dedicated space and have a wealth of resources which do this. This we believed would be quite unique for a primary school, and would inspire our children, our staff and the wider community, as well as providing the children with some of the skills that led to Birmingham’s proud history of innovation and manufacturing and which are still very much in demand today with key employers, such as BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover in our city. Each half term, our children visit our YEA for a full day. Here the children tackle a bespoke scenario, that provides the children with an opportunity to explore the links between and develop skills within the STEM subjects (in particular engineering, which is unfortunately given a low priority within many primary schools), in practical, real-life and fun contexts. Our key aim with the YEA is to inspire and excite our children and to infuse them with a sense of awe and wonder about education generally, but specifically within the STEM subjects, so that hopefully more of them will have the passion and drive to continue pursuing these subjects further beyond their time at Parkfield. The YEA provides experiences which the children would probably not get at home. It also develops those skills which will be crucial for both their education and for the workplaces of the future, such as: creativity, ingenuity, risk-taking, resilience and teamwork.In the past, we have found that many of our children have demonstrated low aspirations when they start thinking about their options for the future. Unfortunately, this often occurs due to cultural factors present in our community context, particularly amongst our girls. In addition, national evidence shows that many girls become disinterested with the STEM subjects at secondary school. This is something that we proactively try to address. One way that we do this is through the use of our Young Engineers Academy, by trying to capture the children’s interest in these areas from an early age. We also promote positive role models for all of our children to aspire towards, using pioneers from the present and from throughout history.As somebody with a real passion in these areas, I found myself designing the curriculum for the YEA. Although I had quite a few ideas, I quickly found myself turning to every teachers’ best friend - the internet - for inspiration. To my surprise, although there are lots of websites out there with possible ideas for lessons, I struggled to find a commercial company that produced quality resources with suitable lesson ideas that we could use. That was when I stumbled upon Primary STEM in Action.After browsing their selection of resources, the Earthquake Technologies Challenge Project immediately caught my attention (having always been fascinated by earthquakes myself) and I ordered a set to take a closer look at, which promptly arrived in school a few days later. The first thing that caught my attention were the wealth of teacher’s lesson plans that were provided within the teacher’s guide and children’s resource sheets. Although I’ve never been somebody who follows commercial lesson plans to the letter, these provided me with the inspiration I had searched for and with a few tweaks to the lesson plans/resources here and there, I could immediately see the potential of how this pack could be used with primary aged children to tackle various aspects of the STEM subjects, in an engaging way, within the context of looking at structures and earthquakes. I quickly found myself ordering multiple sets of this to use with a full class.For our children, they found using the K’Nex type materials to initially construct any structures quite challenging. This was because this was a completely new and alien construction material to our children. However, after some initial experimentation (which after all is what STEM is really about) the children’s confidence quickly began to grow and they began assembling all sorts of constructions, which were tested using the ‘dreaded’ Wobbletop Shake Table.During the full day that each class used these materials for, the children learnt about: the science of earthquakes; problems encountered by engineers (including monetary constraints – through being limited on the resources the children could afford to use); number computational skills; the construction of 3D shapes; problem solving; working as a team and much, much more. These were all skills were identified by the children when we evaluated the day. For me though, the richness of the discussion that could be heard as the children used these resources, the thought processes that were travelled (particularly when constructions were not as successful as hoped) and the engagement of the children throughout were fantastic.After the success of this project, we also purchased the STEM in Action Wild Feet Exploration Project, which we felt linked perfectly with a Year 2 topic concerning animals. This again, with the occasional tweak to personalise this to our school/topic, was equally as successful and popular with our children.The need for our YEA and for all schools to generally provide a higher priority to the STEM subjects is very clear. Although nearly all of the valuable skills developed by children through engaging in STEM sessions and through studying the STEM subjects are transferable (and are the kind of skills all employers are searching for), engineering is still key to the UK economy, especially in the post Brexit era we are about to enter. For example, “in 2014, the engineering sector contributed an estimated £455.6 billion (27.1% of the UK’s GDP). It is estimated that engineering employers have the potential to generate an additional £27 billion per year from 2022, if we meet the forecasted demand for 257,000 new vacancies in engineering enterprises inthe same timescale.â€
“Failing to meet our engineering workforce requirements will not only damage the UK economically, but it will also have a detrimental effect on individual employees’ prosperity and the economic sustainability of engineering employers. What’s more, failure will impact on engineering’s role in providing a lasting legacy for future generations through ensuring the supply of food, clean water and energy – a tough challenge against a backdrop of climate change and ageingpopulations. The single biggest threat to success lies with education: to meet demand, we need enough young people to study STEM subjects at schools and colleges.â€
Engineering UK 2015 – The state of engineering Through our current and future planned work with our YEA and through other school’s giving the STEM subjects a higher profile (particularly in primary schools), hopefully we can inspire and equip our children with the vital skills they will need to succeed in the future, thus ensuring that our future workforce and country continues to lead the world in creativity and innovation.#LoveLearning Discover STEM in Action™ at BETT – it’s free to attend! Find us on stand B78, Hall N3.www.steminaction.co.uk
Throughout 2016, multiple judges have put our toys and games to the test! We are delighted to have received several prestigious accolades that have recognised our toys for their quality, durability, educational benefits and fun factor. Discover what toys have scooped awards this year below.Â
Awards DescriptionThe Code & Goâ„¢ Robot Mouse Activity Set is part of Learning Resources’ STEM range and provides a basic introduction to coding and programming.  This fun set challenges players to programme Colby the Mouse to navigate through a custom built maze and find a block of cheese! Designed for children aged five and above, it supports the development of a variety of skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication skills, programming and self-correction. Judges Comments“Children wanted ‘just one more go’ with this - a sign of a great purchase.†– Toy Talk Awards“The STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set would encourage children to build hands-on coding skills in a fun and enjoyable way. It was very easy to construct and represented excellent value for money!†– ERA AwardsÂ
Awards DescriptionImagination has no limits with Plot Blocks™! By combining a multitude of different settings, characters, objects and actions, children create a truly unique story with just the roll of 6 cubes. The set includes 18 picture cubes (six each of who, what and how), six double sided setting mats and four transparent setting mats for children to create their very own story setting. Pick a setting, roll two of each cube and let the endless stories begin! Judges Comments“Children of all ages enjoyed playing with the Plot Blocks. The bright colours of the blocks are great for the young children whilst the older children enjoyed the variety of setting cards. The cubes are of a good size and the game is easily stored in the box. I think it is fantastic that the game encourages creativity.†– Primary Teacher Update Awards
 AwardDescriptionGive little ones a kick-start into beginning astronomy with this real working telescope! Built specifically for growing minds, the comfy two-eye goggle piece and nose cut-out guides keep your child’s eyes focused on exactly the right spot. The telescope is focus free: no adjustment needed! The 10x magnification provides fantastic views of the moon, while keeping the field of vision wide, which is essential for young children’s understanding of magnified views.Judges Comments“A fascinating starting point for small children to enjoy viewing the night sky†– Right Start AwardsÂ
AwardDescriptionColourful puppy friends snap together and pull apart to make a variety of rhyming words. Great for reinforcing fine motor skills, the set includes ten heads and ten tails that can be mixed and matched to make over 55 rhyming words. Start by matching colours and identifying letters, then move on to building three letter words and rhyming. Judges Comments“A simple education resource which was engaging and did its job well. The children enjoyed the idea of pups and made the activities fun particularly as they pretended to be pups and one point. Some could blend the words together fairly quickly and others needed practice but all improved after just a few play sessions. A very useful resource for children just beginning to blend words together , but familiar with letter sounds which encourages literacy, communication and language skills.†– Practical Preschool Awards
AwardDescriptionA new spin on learning for the youngest of engineers! Hands-on construction and colourful underwater pals provide a fun way to build fine motor skills. Big, chunky play pieces fit easily onto large gears, providing endless mix-and match play. This friendly set encourages creativity and allows children to explore cause and effect, Set includes board, eight large gears, seven sea creatures and a chunky handle. Judges Comments“Great toy, fun looking, nice bright colours and well made†– Bizzie Baby Awards“I really liked this product and so did mason as has never stopped playing with it, very bright colours which is attractive to younger kids.†– Bizzie Baby Awards
AwardDescriptionThis illustrated set of 21 double sided activity cards teach patterns and sequences, sorting, grouping, early arithmetic, size recognition and positional awareness. The set also includes a 1-20 number line. Â The wipe-clean cards can be used individually by the child or supported by a teacher. Activity guide included with even more activity ideas to use with the cards. The cards are designed to be used with our All About Me Family Countersâ„¢ Â (sold separately).Â
AwardDescriptionIntroduce and explore six simple machines as you make amazing discoveries, design solutions for real-world problems and conduct your own investigations. This colourful set includes a lever board, wedge, pulley with role and hook, card with four removable wheels, Archimedes screw, four barrel weights and ten double sided activity cards to build early engineering and problem solving skills.Â
AwardDescriptionTactile learning is a bag full of fun with Teaching Tac-Tiles™! Colourful, engaging pieces with rich textures (smooth, bumpy, ridged and rough) engage a child’s senses and strengthen fine motor skills. Children aged three and above learn shape identification while building vocabulary and early maths skills. Includes 20 pieces in five shapes and four textures plus 10 activity cards.#LoveLearning
Throughout 2016, multiple judges have put our toys and games to the test! We are delighted to have received several prestigious accolades that have recognised our toys for their quality, durability, educational benefits and fun factor. Discover what toys have scooped awards this year below.Â
Awards DescriptionThe Code & Goâ„¢ Robot Mouse Activity Set is part of Learning Resources’ STEM range and provides a basic introduction to coding and programming.  This fun set challenges players to programme Colby the Mouse to navigate through a custom built maze and find a block of cheese! Designed for children aged five and above, it supports the development of a variety of skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication skills, programming and self-correction. Judges Comments“Children wanted ‘just one more go’ with this - a sign of a great purchase.†– Toy Talk Awards“The STEM Robot Mouse Activity Set would encourage children to build hands-on coding skills in a fun and enjoyable way. It was very easy to construct and represented excellent value for money!†– ERA AwardsÂ
Awards DescriptionImagination has no limits with Plot Blocks™! By combining a multitude of different settings, characters, objects and actions, children create a truly unique story with just the roll of 6 cubes. The set includes 18 picture cubes (six each of who, what and how), six double sided setting mats and four transparent setting mats for children to create their very own story setting. Pick a setting, roll two of each cube and let the endless stories begin! Judges Comments“Children of all ages enjoyed playing with the Plot Blocks. The bright colours of the blocks are great for the young children whilst the older children enjoyed the variety of setting cards. The cubes are of a good size and the game is easily stored in the box. I think it is fantastic that the game encourages creativity.†– Primary Teacher Update Awards
 AwardDescriptionGive little ones a kick-start into beginning astronomy with this real working telescope! Built specifically for growing minds, the comfy two-eye goggle piece and nose cut-out guides keep your child’s eyes focused on exactly the right spot. The telescope is focus free: no adjustment needed! The 10x magnification provides fantastic views of the moon, while keeping the field of vision wide, which is essential for young children’s understanding of magnified views.Judges Comments“A fascinating starting point for small children to enjoy viewing the night sky†– Right Start AwardsÂ
AwardDescriptionColourful puppy friends snap together and pull apart to make a variety of rhyming words. Great for reinforcing fine motor skills, the set includes ten heads and ten tails that can be mixed and matched to make over 55 rhyming words. Start by matching colours and identifying letters, then move on to building three letter words and rhyming. Judges Comments“A simple education resource which was engaging and did its job well. The children enjoyed the idea of pups and made the activities fun particularly as they pretended to be pups and one point. Some could blend the words together fairly quickly and others needed practice but all improved after just a few play sessions. A very useful resource for children just beginning to blend words together , but familiar with letter sounds which encourages literacy, communication and language skills.†– Practical Preschool Awards
AwardDescriptionA new spin on learning for the youngest of engineers! Hands-on construction and colourful underwater pals provide a fun way to build fine motor skills. Big, chunky play pieces fit easily onto large gears, providing endless mix-and match play. This friendly set encourages creativity and allows children to explore cause and effect, Set includes board, eight large gears, seven sea creatures and a chunky handle. Judges Comments“Great toy, fun looking, nice bright colours and well made†– Bizzie Baby Awards“I really liked this product and so did mason as has never stopped playing with it, very bright colours which is attractive to younger kids.†– Bizzie Baby Awards
AwardDescriptionThis illustrated set of 21 double sided activity cards teach patterns and sequences, sorting, grouping, early arithmetic, size recognition and positional awareness. The set also includes a 1-20 number line. Â The wipe-clean cards can be used individually by the child or supported by a teacher. Activity guide included with even more activity ideas to use with the cards. The cards are designed to be used with our All About Me Family Countersâ„¢ Â (sold separately).Â
AwardDescriptionIntroduce and explore six simple machines as you make amazing discoveries, design solutions for real-world problems and conduct your own investigations. This colourful set includes a lever board, wedge, pulley with role and hook, card with four removable wheels, Archimedes screw, four barrel weights and ten double sided activity cards to build early engineering and problem solving skills.Â
AwardDescriptionTactile learning is a bag full of fun with Teaching Tac-Tiles™! Colourful, engaging pieces with rich textures (smooth, bumpy, ridged and rough) engage a child’s senses and strengthen fine motor skills. Children aged three and above learn shape identification while building vocabulary and early maths skills. Includes 20 pieces in five shapes and four textures plus 10 activity cards.#LoveLearning
