Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way
If you want to have fun with real toys in a virtual world, you can’t miss this Pebli Town! This is a new pre-school toy from ToysAlive and comes with characters and four exciting interactive game modes to interact with a device. Even though Mr K and Ms C are seven and six respectively, they both had fun playing with it especially the Story Creator mode! This is a great way to get children to engage physically and virtually!
As an ex-nurse, I have always believed that everyone should learn the basic first aid principles as it is an essential life skill which could be very helpful to people around you. That belief has deepened since I became a mother as I realised that it is essential for every parent/carer to learn baby and child first aid. Babies and children are so accident prone – I have lost count how many times I have needed to apply first aid for both of my young children.
Did you know that you can learn first aid with British Red Cross (BRC) online and through courses around the UK? If you would like to learn more about the app and courses (suitable for parents who have kids aged between 0-12 years old), click on the link here.
As a Chinese family living in the UK, it can be easy to lose touch of Chinese culture especially during the Chinese New Year times. So it is very important for us to teach and enlighten our children on our Chinese culture. Each year when it is near CNY, I would teach my children CNY crafts and also the story/meaning behind it. I am really pleased to come across this app called Miaomiao’s Chinese New Year (iTunes £2.29).
Earlier this week, we downloaded Toco Kitchen 2 via the iTunes store and my children loose on it. They instantly took to it and love that they are able to cook for their customers and also tease customers by adding a lot of peppers and chilli sauce.
Little Galaxy has marked 1 million downloads with its biggest ever update on Tablet and Mobile devices for iOS and Android. The app is suitable for children and adults alike. Follow the adventures of a young boy with dreams of living on a far-away galaxy by jumping from planet to planet.
Argos have launched an app for children called My Christmas Wishlist. The app is aimed at children aged between 3 to 7 years old and is available for iOS and Android devices. It is an app to allow young children to choose the toys they want for Christmas and send it to Santa (aka mummy or daddy’s inbox).
After downloading the app, parents should register their email address in order to get the wish list from their children. You can also adjust how many toys the children can choose within a certain price range. I didn’t set this and let my children add as many toys as they wanted. What a big mistake! I had to go back, adjust it and get them to reselect.
In this Argos Wishlist app, there are five little cute helpers: Mo, Squidge, Fly, Gil and Stik. Once you have selected the helpers, it will ask you to take a selfie and add your name. You can have one profile for each child. Once your photo is taken, you can simply create your own wish list. It is divided into a number of categories: LEGO, Skylanders, Disney Infinity, Minecraft, Furby, Bear, Bicycle and many more. They are the best of the best toys for Christmas 2014.
Read with Biff, Chip & Kipper are one of the more commonly used reading books in primary schools. Both my children are using them as their take back homework to read each night. The books start from level 1 to 6 and gradually increases in numbers of words and complexity by level. Some of the books are with phonics.
Myra’s Birthday Surprise is a FREE eBook that is available on iTunes and Amazon App store for Android to download. Today is a special day in Mooshka Village. It is Myra’s birthday, and her friends have planned to surprise her with presents, cakes and songs. But the magic of the Mooshka friendship has an even more adorable surprise in store for them all!
Boj is a new animation in Cbeebies with Jason Donovan voicing the ‘Pops’. Boj is a bilby with a unique perspective on things. He and his family burrowed to Giggly Park with Mimi and Pops and there’s always something to discover and problems to solve using his unique, upside-down, inside out, topsy-turvy way of seeing the world.
Currently they have two AppBooks on the iTunes AppStore. ‘Boj – The Collector’ and ‘Musical Mayhem’ were released to accompany the CBeebies show, ‘Boj!’ the books take an interactive lead on the first two episodes aired. The books are narrated by Jason Donovan.
The Collector
Today, 26th June 2014, you can download Dr Panda’s brand new Hoopa City game at: Apple App Store, Google Play Store & Amazon App Store for Android for £1.99. I think this is very reasonably priced! This is another fun and educational game from Dr. Panda. This time, you learn to plan and build your own Hoopa city! This app is suitable for children aged 5 to 8.
Going on holiday? Want to send an epostcard? With this Tickety Toc: Card Maker Time! app, your little one can create and send Tick Tocktastic “postcard-style” messages to family and friends via email. The app is available on iTunes, Amazon Appstore for Android and for NOOK devices for £1.99.
When I first came to the UK, the first current bank account that I opened was with NatWest and I have stayed with them throughout. Being their customer for 10 years, I’ve had a lot of good experiences with them. I have no doubts I will stay with them for the foreseeable future. They might not have the best interest rate but their customer service and online banking are what continues to impress.
Mr K is a big fan of gaming and when I downloaded HEXBUG Havoc, he couldn’t wait to try it out. This is a free app that is designed to download on both iPhone and iPad. Click here to download to start playing.
Dr. Panda launched toy cars app! As I mentioned before, both my children enjoy all Dr. Panda apps as we have all their apps on the iPad like Beauty Salon, Hospital, Supermarket, Handyman, Daycare, Restaurant and Restaurant 2. I cannot speak highly enough of their apps. They give my children so much of fun! They are educational, creative and teach basic life skills to the children.
Last Friday, I went down to London to attend Maynards Discovery Patch event in London Zoo to learn about developing children’s imagination and met child psychologist Dr Amanda Gummer and the team of Imagination Ambassadors.
