Posts

Showing posts from February, 2012

Toyday's Gift Wrap & Delivery Service

Image
Let u s wrap and deliver your gift to a UK address for just £5! We now offer a great value gift wrapping service for all of our toys, which you can have sent directly to your recipient. Simply choose the gender that the present is for, the celebration style and the toy you would like gift wrapped. The present will be wrapped in the appropriate gift wrapp ing paper, tagged with your message and finished with curled ribbons. Order online at www.toyday.co.uk or pop into one of the shops. Next Day & International delivery also available. Email us at customerservice@toyday.co.uk or visit www.toyday.co.uk for more information and prices.

Can a Toy Gun Hurt?

Image
Having just read a very anti toy guns blog I felt the need to write my own. Whether we like it or not children will find out about guns and weapons from the TV, Video games, books, fairy tales , the list goes on. For them it is as simple as goodies and baddies and the weapon of choice can be as simple as fingers. We learn many things from play and the difference between imaginary and reality is an important lesson . By not letting a child have a toy weapon are we making them want one more? Well I guess that depends on the child and like with all parenting there is no rule book you have to do whats right for you and your child. Personally I think whether we choose to let our children play with toy guns or not, the important part is educating them about the harm they can do. They will not turn in to sadistic serial killers just because they played with a toy gun as a child. To behave responsibly is something we teach them.

I spy with my little Eye

Image
It was my day off on Monday and I joined my daughter, granddaughter and grandson for a walk around Siblyback lake, our local reservoir. Anyone who knows Siblyback will know that it is a cold place to be and even in the summer there is a chill out there with it being so high up on top of the moors. My granddaughter, 7, thought it was going to be too cold and sitting watching television on the settee was a better option. My grandson, 5 who was trying to persuade her it would be fun remembered some binoculars they had both been given by a relative at Christmas and he wanted to try them. This did the trick and before long we were parked and donning coats, scarfs and gloves for the trek around the lake. It seemed a good idea to play the old game that everyone must remember called 'I Spy'. I must admit trying to s pot something that they could see about a mile away wasn't easy and they didn't always know what letter it began with and how silly was I because I didn't know

Air Drying Clay is fun whatever your age

Image
It seems air drying clay is a craft idea that never grows old.... In this picture on the left is a pot I made at school when I was about 7 or 8, I think we were studying Aztecs or something, it's around 23 years old now. The pot on the right is one I made with Blake when he was 2. Both are made with air drying clay. Mine was done by rolling the clay into long worm and then spiraling it around into a pot. We made Blake's by pushing the clay around a small plastic pot. He then pushed pasta and lentils into it to decorate it. This Candle holder was made by Blake at preschool the other day, he is 4 now. They have pressed clay around a tea lights for Chinese new year. We love it because it reminds us of the candle holders we saw on holiday in Iceland. May have to have a go at making a ruff and ready candle holder myself. We made some beads by rolling balls and piercing them with a skewer. When they wer e dry we painted them with some shiny pink paint that we had left over after

How To Play Pairs on Wheels

Image
In the shop I often have people come in and ask for Children's card games. A popular choice, especially for boys, is Pairs on Wheels . The rules are as follows: The aim of the game is to gather as many pairs as you can. Any player can start with the others following playing in a clockwise order. Taking it in turns, each player turns over two cards. If they turn over two matching cards then they take them and continue by turning over two more. If they turn over two different cards then they are turned face down in the same spot. It is then the next players turn. The game continues like this until all the cards on the table have been used. The winner is the player with the most pairs. This game is perfect for children over 4 years and 2 or more people can play.

History of the spinning top - How does the spinning top work?

Image
I received a lovely letter this morning from the year 1 pupils at Highters Heath Community School in Birmingham, that are currently studying toys from the past. When I opened the letter, it contained many letters mainly asking how a spinning top works, and does the spinning top contain a spring? In an attempt to settle these curious minds, let me tell you a little bit about the history of the spinning top, and then how a spinning top works. The History of the Spinning Top The spinning top has been in existence for thousands of years. Like many traditional toys, such as marbles, the earliest spinning tops are made from clay, and were discovered in the Middle East as early as 3500 BC, although it is likely that children would have been spinning small rocks or acorns long before. Later wooden spinning tops emerged in around 2000 BC, and early spinning tops made from bone have been found in Europe.  These spinning tops would have been much simpler than many tops found in old fashioned

The Half Term Holiday

Image
At last it feels that we are over the lull after Christmas and the New Year and January was the usual quiet time here in Looe but most of the schools break up on Friday for half term. It will be lovely to see the town busy again and it will feel as if it is the start of the season for us. One of the main roads into Looe was going to be closed for 3 months from January for pipe laying for a new housing development just on the outskirts of the town but there has been a change of plans after consultation with the Looe shop keepers and residents and the road will stay open to every ones relief. It was the last thing the town needed with the expected influx of visitors coming here for the holiday week and all we can hope for now is that the weather remains fine and dry which is how it was this morning when I too k these photographs. Here's hoping for a busy week and if you are in Looe on holiday or just visiting for the day than do pop in and as usual you will find a welcome in the shop

Totnes Events in February

Image
February looks set to be quite a chilly month, but there seem to be some good events in and around Totnes this month to take your mind off the cold and keep you busy. Saturday 4th February Story telling hour at Totnes Library 11am - 12noon. Bring your favourite story or poem to read. Saturday 11th February South Devon Railway Totnes to Buckfastleigh Steam Trains. Take a trip on the steam railway this February Half Term. Saturday February 11th 2012 - Sunday February 26th 2012 Sunday 12th February Daniel Brazier is at The Shops in Dartington creating fun and mayhem with his comedy juggling show. Saturday 18th February The Saturday Creative Club (free taster session) for Children aged 5 and up. Painting, dancing, crafts, puppetry, drawing, sculpture, junk modelling, writing . Saturdays 10am-12 noon. At Bridgetown Community Hall. £8 per session, 3 sessions for £20. To book call 01803 862821 or email: emma@emmacapper.co.uk

The Solar System

Image
At one of the local schools they are having a project involving the Solar System so I have been asked about some of the items we stock on that line. One of them is a Solar System Mobile Making Kit which contains a complete set of Solar system planets, a glow paint stick, stencils for applying the glow paint and the complete hanging structure along with detailed assembly instructions and loads of fun Solar System Facts. When it is assembled, hang it from the ceiling and watch it glow in the dark when the lights are out. There is also our Solar System Planetarium Model which when assembled represents the planets within the solar system and their orbits. This also comes complete with glow in the dark paint for special effects and an informative wall chart of the Solar System. Still on the same subject, I would be interested in making these next two items myself and seeing how they work. One is a Green Science Solar Rover kit . A excellent little kit where the instructions and parts are