Toyology!
I couldn't believe my luck when an email arrived a few weeks ago from the Toys R Us Toyologist team, asking me whether the Cookson family would like to be involved in their new project. How could I refuse such an offer? All we had to do was play with lots of toys, write a review on what we thought about them and have the super cool job title of being "Toysrus Toyologists". As you can imagine, there was mucho excitement in the Cookson house!
We were contacted by Geoffrey Giraffe, a very friendly chap, who introduced us to lots of other lovely Toyologists and even invited us to a Tea Party, but as we couldn't make it to that this time, we all sat and smiled at the photos instead and looked forward to being a part of it all.
Our box of goodies arrived within days. The kids were bouncing around the house with excitement. It is a fairly strange situation to be in when so many goodies turn up for no particular ocassion. It isn't Christmas, or anyone's birthday, so we told them that they were just super lucky and that we were helping Geoffrey out with his toy testing! (which they were absolutely fine with!)
So.....let the testing begin!!!
Our Toyologist Tots (from left to right above, right to left below) Lucy Cookson, aged 5, Callum Cookson, aged 6 (nearly 7) and Anna Cookson, aged 8 (nearly 9)
Our box contained the following:
Ben 10 Alienforce Motorbike
Pig Goes Pop Game
Magic Science
Gr8 Art Magic Fabric
Studio Sprayza Airbrush Kit
Thinkfun Tipover Crate Game
Remote Controlled Mini Robot
Painting by Numbers Pictures x 5
Girls Only Emma Doll
Construction Moonsand
Geoffrey Giraffe Soft Toy
We had lots of appropriate toys, as the girls (and Callum to a certain extent) are very arty/crafty. The girls both picked the Painting By Numbers to play with first and even more appropriate thing was that Anna adores anything at all to do with cats, so chose the cat painting by numbers and Lucy loves Manga, so she was chuffed to bits with the Manga painting by numbers! Callum picked the R/C Robot.
REVIEW NUMBER 1
Painting by numbers: Mixture of Ages
I think if this is your thing and you enjoy art then it would be ideal. If you aren't that arty then it may prove to be a bit of a 'faff'. The girls loved the painting by numbers. It kept them busy for ages. Lucy has just turned 5 so maybe theoretically a little young for the complex detail but she thoroughly enjoyed it and it kept her interested for quite a while. Anna's was a bit more complicated but she still managed to follow the colour guide. She is a bit of a perfectionist by nature so it took her longer and eventually we had to clear up to make room for supper, but I expect she would have carried on all night! Callum had a go at a Manga one but lost interest quite quickly.
The kit comes with one picture, a brush and an assortment of water based paints. My only comment there would be that the pots of paint are tiny and easily spilled so it could potentially get quite messy.
A thumbs up from the girls.
Overall Verdict: 8 out of 10
REVIEW NUMBER 2
R/C Robot: Callum made a bee line for the robot. It needed two AAA batteries, which was a bit of a pain as we couldn't find any and he was getting slightly impatient, but the DVD remote was raided so all was well in the end!
From an adult point of view this toy didn't particularly appeal, it is small, noisy and when Alan (dad) had a play he complained that it didn't really do a lot. It only goes forward and around in circles and at first is quite tricky to control.
But....from a Callum perspective he loved it! He very quickly figured out he could make it knock the girls paintings and make his minifigures ride on the top of it and because it was slightly 'crazy' to control it added to the fun. I don't think I would have chosen to buy this toy for him but it certainly kept him entertained.
It's a thumbs up from Callum, but I'd probably recommend it as more of a stocking filler type toy.
Overall Verdict: 7 out of 10
REVIEW NUMBER 3
Ben 10 Alien Swarm Motorbike: Aged 4 +
Callum also seemed quite excited about this one as he is a Ben 10 fan. It is a small motorbike which you fill with water and it then squirts out as you push it along.
The Ben 10 figure doesn't actually stay sat on the bike for long as there is no way to attach it on, it just kind of balances on the seat, which I found quite irritating to be honest. It didn't seem to bother Callum in the slightest though. We couldn't figure out where the water went, or where it squirted out from either but Callum and a friend figured that one out for themselves.
Although I had my reservations on how long this toy would last before it got forgotten about or abandoned in the garden somewhere I have to say, it has been Callum's favourite toy. He has played with it constantly, it has been shopping with us, he's played with it in the bath and he even takes it to bed with him!
Again, a big thumbs up from him.
Overall Verdict: 8 out of 10
REVIEW NUMBER 4
Pig Goes Pop: 2-6 Players, Aged 4+
This game looks really good. The packaging is very colourful and appealing, so the kids were looking forward to trying it out. Once out of the box it was equally as appealing in colour and character but the actual game play was slightly dissapointing. The aim of the game is "to feed the pig, watch him get bigger until.....POP!"
It doesn't have too many bits and is very straight forward to play, which is a bonus as it means the kids can play on their own without adult help. All they have to do it to take it in turns to pick a hamburger (which has a number on it) up, feed it to the pig and push down on his hat however many times the number on the hamburger was. We found though, that despite the excitement of wondering who was going to make the pig pop, when it did eventually pop, it wasn't so much a pop as a wheeze! His stomach inflates with every push of his hat but rather than a popping, make you jump kind of pop, his belt just kind of unclicks a bit, infact we weren't too sure if it was working properly or not.
So...suffice to say they lost interest quite quickly. It's a shame though as I like the fact it is a simple, fun group game and that a 4 yr old can play along with older children and not feel left out.
Bit of a let down :0(
Overall Verdict: 5 out of 10
REVIEW NUMBER 5
Moon Sand Construction Set: Aged 3+
I have heard mixed reviews of Moonsand. Some parents think it is great, others find it a nightmare! I have yet to find a child who doesn't like it though. A friend of mine has a little moonsand fan and as a birthday suprise we invited him round to be our toyologist Moonsand reveiwer. Felix is 5 and was so excited he didn't even get his coat off before getting stuck in!
This really is a fantastic toy for all ages. Callum had just as much fun as Felix and the girls all had a go too.
It doesn't dry out, it doesn't stick to hands/carpets/tables etc. and it gets packed away in no time at all.
The only downsides I can think of are that the two shades of grey mixed together very quickly so the boys couldn't make the different brick patterns and that the orange box it came in just wasn't really big enough for more than one child to get around which meant the sand escaped!
Overall Verdict: 9 out of 10
Community Woodland Project
My home village has a community woodland group, of which I sit on committee. The group is made up of local residents, all with the desire to create a community area for both recreational and educational use. The 30 acre woodland is called "Coed Dolgoed" and is owned by the Forestry Commission Wales.
Project 1: Hardcore Path
The hardcore Path has recently (Feb 2010) been laid by the FCW, which has opened up the woodland and created an easy access track through.
The path starts at the bottom of the woodland with a carpark area just off the main Abbey Road. It then leads right up the hillside to another carpark area, although it isn't anticipated vehicles can access the road so it may be ideal for a picnic area in the future. It has helped create a sturdy and easy walk path as the track before the road was muddy and very overgrown.
Project 2: Bird Boxes
The committee decided it would be fantastic to create and erect bird and bat boxes throughout the woodland. We applied for a grant to purchase the timber and clubbed together to get the timber cut and have metal hole plates and rubber hinges made for each box. We then took the boxes, in kit form, up to the village school to allow the local children to be involved in the project. 34 children each made a box and put their names on each box so they would be able to recognise the box they had made once they were in the woodland.
Box kits waiting for the children to construct.
Here are some of the helpers...hammers at the ready!
The children thoroughly enjoyed the banging!
All done!
Project 3: A Pond
It was also decided by all of the committee that a pond would be a fantastic addition to Coed Dolgoed woodland. Not only would it attract a wide range of flora and fauna, it would also provide the local community with a beautiful area to visit. It would also be a perfect educational resource for the village schools.
The pond has been dug out by FCW and is located at the entrance to the woodland.
