Tuppence a bag...

One of Honey's first words was bird and Ace loves anything that can fly, so agreeing to review Nick Baker's Window Bird Feeder distributed by Interplay UK Limited was a no brainer.

The feeder came in a compact box (simple to wrap up as a Christmas present FYI) which was easy to open and required no extra equipment to get in to. The feeder came with an instruction booklet which is broken into clear, easy to follow steps. Each step accompanied by an annotated diagram which is great if you prefer to follow visuals. 

Following the instructions, it took around 5 minutes to put the feeder together. During this time, I was able to chat to Ace about the different shapes and colours of the various components and ask him to find parts that matched my descriptions, which he loved doing.

The finished article is a good looking, neat product which wasn't at all obtrusive once added to our patio door. We added some seeds and hoped for the best, but unfortunately, our garden is a wildlife free zone most of the time and even after a week, we didn't spot any birds. 

Honey, Ace and I had a chat about why birds might not be coming to our feeder and their ideas were:

- They don't like the food.

- They don't like the garden.

- They're scared because they can see us playing inside.

After our chat, we decided to move the feeder to the playhouse window, as Honey thought that they could hide behind the curtains to peek at any feathered friends who may decide to visit. Ace wanted to try offering the birds some bread instead of seeds so he grabbed a crust and tore it into more manageable chunks. Alas, still no birds after a few days of waiting (and some optimistic trails laid out by Ace), but I guess that's the peril of having an artificial lawn and only one (barely) living plant in the garden! It's great for year round play and is incredibly low maintenance, but it's not very attractive for animals.

The instruction booklet also includes some suggestions about they types of food that can be used to attract birds, as well as ideas for positioning the feeder to try and get the best results. Our next step is to take the feeder round to my parent's house as they already have a well established bird feeding station and plenty of yummy looking (if you're a bird of course) bird food options.

Another great feature of the instruction book is the glossary of birds (complete with fact file and pictures), so you can extend the learning beyond the garden and spot different species when you're out and about too! Honey wanted to tick off some of the birds we saw in the park and in town and we also chatted about some of the birds we were unlikely to see at the moment and why that might be. 

My only very slight niggle with this product, was that each piece came in an individual plastic bag which seemed unnecessary as we just opened everything all at once and laid it all out on the floor so we could see it more clearly!

We will let you know how the feeder gets on in its new home, oh and a little bird (groan) tells us that some of the other products in the My Living World range from Interplay may suit our little garden down to the ground... Snail World was made for us as we have always, inexplicably had an abundance of snails here and Honey is just desperate to keep them as pets!

*Although we were gifted this product in order to write a review, all thoughts and opinions within this blog are my own.

Ace wears... Dinosaur top by Blade and Rose @ Cotswold Baby Co

Faith and Trust and Pixie Dust...

Ever since Honey first saw the advert for My Fairy Garden on kids TV a couple of years ago, she has spoken about them constantly (ok, I exaggerate, but sometimes it feels like that's the case). I knew she would be over the moon to receive one of her very own, so I held on to it for a few days after the parcel arrived, to make sure we had the time to put it all together there and then!

Needless to say, Honey couldn't believe her luck and was ecstatic to receive such a fabulous gift. I explained that we would have to test the Fairy Garden and let other children know all about it, which she took very seriously and nattered the whole time about ideas for this post. Honey and I spent a (mostly) happy hour putting it all together, she definitely needed some adult help as some parts feel a bit brittle and Honey can be heavy handed so would have broken them without intervention.

As a primary school teacher, it's hard to let go of searching out the educational value of a toy coming into the house, but when I was offered the chance to review the Fairy Light Garden, I googled Interplay and the first thing I read was 'STEM toys' which was positive! While we put the garden together, lots of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) chat naturally occurred. We discussed 2D and 3D shapes, symmetry and the seed growing process. Honey commented that the soil pilfered from our solitary plant in the garden was cold and probably needed some water to soften it so the seeds would be able to bed in. She also reminded me when we needed to water the seeds (I needed reminding, I cannot keep plants or flowers alive to save my life). After a few days, the grass hadn't started to grow, so we had another conversation about why that might be and what we could do to encourage growth and together, we decided to move the garden to a sunnier location. Bingo, grass shoots!

Growth Mindset is a huge deal in education at the moment and putting the kit together required plenty of perseverance and resilience on Honey's part. She was keen to get on, so didn't read the instructions at first and accidentally connected a couple of pieces incorrectly. This annoyed her, but after a little pep talk, she went back to the drawing board (instruction booklet) and tried again. She also put her fine motor skills to the test by tying knots, peeling stickers and folding the bunting. The age guide states 'for ages 4+'. Honey turned 5 in May and has just started year 1, so I'd say the the age advice is accurate, if your children will be supported by an adult. 

Once she had finished laying the gravel path, assembling and attaching the bridge and sprinkling the fairy dust, Honey was really chuffed with what she had created. She loved the sounds and once she got the hang of how to turn it on and off (blow like a candle), the light was a hit too. 

What you will need to be able to put together the Fairy Light Garden:
A pair of scissors to aid unpacking.
A small cross head screwdriver.
2AAA batteries.
Some soil or compost.
Roughly a tablespoon of water.

The Fairy Garden would be even better if...
The toadstool house was secured on top of decking. At the moment, it is really easy to take off and play with separately but it slides around if they try to play with it in place. Perhaps velcro or a clip could be used so you still have the option of removing the house.

The manufacturers used less packaging. The kit came packaged in lots of different plastic bags, most of which could have been avoided, as the first thing Honey wanted to do was spread all the pieces out on the table so they ended up jumbled together anyway! 

Overall, the Fairy Light Garden is a hit in this house. I am happy with the balance of traditionally educational and free play opportunities the garden opens up and Honey is thrilled to own a much longed for toy. Even Ace asks to put the nightlight on when I put him to bed, which is super cute! The Fairy Light Garden is available from Interplay UK Ltd and while its not exactly a pocket money toy (this set retails at £29.99), I would definitely purchase it as a Christmas or birthday present. 

Honey wears... Rainbow sweatshirt from Next 

*Although we were kindly gifted this product in order to write a review, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.