Tech will Save Us // Electo Hero Review

Computers are playing a bigger role than ever in our lives and introducing them into play is an obvious move.  We were recently sent an Electro Hero kit from Tech Will Save Us to try out and it combines some of Archie's favourite things - playdough, electricity and Hulk Smash.

The kit is simple and self explanatory and you need access to the internet and playdough alongside everything in the box.  The kit we were sent is superhero based and came with 3 different themed activities.

To start off, you need to either purchase or make 'electrodough'.  There is a recipe on the website but I hadn't seen this before we started so I did use existing playdough we already had.  On the site you can choose which of the three missions to try and you are guided through step by step.  I let the boys try it out together for the first time and Dylan (6) could then read all the instructions.  The moulds for the playdough are colour co-ordinated for your task and the instructions were simple enough that a six year old could follow without help.  The boys built a series of bricks which they lined up on the Hulk mission card and then a big Hulk fist too.

The circuit for this task involved the sound option and when you bring the fist down on the bricks, the playdough conducts the electricity and you hear a Hulk smashing sound.  The boys thought this was absolutely brilliant and it led them to try different shapes  and ways of connecting the wires.  Once you have completed the mission, the app prompts you to try different things like seeing if you can conduct electricity through different materials.

As well as Hulk's challenge, there is a Captain America one and an Iron Man one, both of which are more complex and have different levels, encouraging children to experiment and learn about circuits.  I think this is a great set for children and I can see how even after they have completed all the challenges in the box they can start creating their own as they understand the science behind it and they have all the materials to try something new.

Archie and Dylan are 5 and 6 and I would say they are the perfect age for this game.  The box says 4+ and I think it would be ideal for 4-8 year olds.  It is priced at £24.99 which I think is reasonable  and this would make a great gift for a boy or girl.  This is just one of many kits and I definitely think we will consider one of the others for Dylan's birthday.  There are different levels for children 4+, 8+ and 12+ etc

I love how this game involves technology but in an active and interactive way and it really sparked some conversations with the boys.  They have asked to get it out several times since we initially played with it (and that was only a couple of days ago) and they both give it a big thumbs up!

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This post is in collaboration with Tech Will Save Us

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Summer Family Bucket List

This beautiful Bank Holiday weather has made me so excited for summer and six weeks of having all four children at home! I have started making our summer bucket list full of things to keep us occupied over the warmer months.

1)  Go to the beach - This one is a bit of a given for us and I am hoping to go at least once a week but it needed to be included.  Obviously every beach trip should involve ice cream.

2) Paint rocks and hide them - I love the rock hunting craze and we have been on plenty of hunts but we still haven't managed to decorate our rocks yet so this is on our list!

3) Go camping in the back garden - for the first time we have a garden that we can pitch a tent in and the boys are excited to have garden sleepovers with their friends.

4) Go on a nature 'treasure hunt' in the woods.  We have bug hunting and bird watching books, leaf identification sheets and magnifying glasses and we are all set to go exploring outdoors!

5) Spend the day at a local festival - There are a few we want to go to including a local folk festival that we attend every year.

6) Go paddling in the outdoor pool - There is a big local paddling pool that I have somehow never taken the children to . . . until this summer.

7) Pick Strawberries - It will never just be strawberries, but they are definitely the tastiest fruit to pick! I want to pick apples and plums too.

8) Fly a kite - We have a kite that we just never seem to find the time to take out but living so coastal means we are never short of wind!

9) Climb trees - Muddy knees and scuffed shoes are just part of the summer and we have a favourite park with 'climbing trees' as well as a great den to hide out in.

10) Feed the ducks - I know you are not supposed to feed them bread so we will take peas and sweetcorn and hope the kids don't eat it all before we get there!

There is so much more we want to do, but these are 10 things that are getting me so excited for those 6 weeks off! I was recently sent some super comfy sandals from Strive Footwear which have biomechanical footbed technology which fits the natural contours of my feet and helps relieve stress on my body and reduces aches and pains.  Plus they are shiny and gold which means I have a very jealous child whose favourite colour is gold! They are perfect for looking after my feet on our summer adventures and you will see them cropping up in lots of pictures! I had their boots over the winter which were so comfy and these are just the same.

What have you got planned for the summer? What should we add to our list?

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What the Kids Wore // Little Green Radicals

It has been a week of potty training here, with lots of naked time in the house, but cabin fever has caught up with us and we have needed to venture out.  We were sent a few items from the new spring summer collection at Little Green Radicals and I fell in love immediately.   You may have noticed that yellow is my favourite colour and I love the co-ordinating pinafore and shorts.  The prints are all fun, colourful, childish and playful and they are so easy to wear.  Everything is 100% organic cotton too so you don't need to worry about chemicals.

There is the smallest woodland area near to our house that is just beautiful to explore and ideal for hide and seek and that is where most of these photos are taken.  Cora is wearing a beautiful patterned top that I want to pair with shorts next time as it looks so beautiful on its own too and a pinafore dress that has an adjustable waist and straps meaning it fits all shapes and sizes and has lots of growing room!  Finn is wearing a printed tee and yellow shorts that also have an adjustable waist. 

In the second set of photos Cora has a beautiful summer dress which we layered with a plain yellow top underneath, and Finn has the same t-shirt on but with the star joggers which look super comfy! You can find all these items and more on the Little Green Radicals website.  Both children are also wearing Bobux sandals.

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These outfits were sent to us by the lovely folk over at Little Green Radicals

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Rookley Park on the Isle of Wight Review

We have just come back from a weekend at Rookley Park on the Isle of Wight.  Rookley Park is situated in Newport in the centre of the island which means you are never more than half an hour away from anywhere.  The holiday park has recently been taken over and is in the process of a huge revamp with the aim of making it the first luxury holiday park on the Isle of Wight.

Our first impressions of the park were that it was definitely a work in progress  and my children's favourite thing about the place was watching the diggers.  They weren't disruptive or in the way and most of the renovations were either already done or planned for the future.  There is a variety of accomodation including lodges, cottages and caravans.  We stayed in a three bedroom caravan a short walk from the main building.

Our caravan was modern and clean with a spacious living room.  We often choose caravan style holidays as it means we can put the children to bed and still have a living area to stay up and have adult time in but  as Cora is still so little and still in a cot, she had to sleep in the living room as there was no space elsewhere.  We usually choose caravans with a decking area outside so we can sit out there but there was none available at this park.

Unfortunately we visited the sunniest part of the UK just after a day of rain and the concrete area our caravan was situated on didn't dry out completely even two days later (ideal for puddle splashers but not great if you stupidly forgot to pack your own wellies and only have sandals!).  The grass had been recently mowed but there were clumps everywhere which made it difficult to keep the caravan clean.

The park has a newly refurbished clubhouse with a bar, restaurant and function rooms.  There was also a small arcade, an activities room where the kids clubs were held, an indoor swimming pool and a playground outside.  The park was situated around a fishing lake which was fun to watch although the children were very tempted to get stuck in when they saw unattended fishing rods!  

We did two of the activities that are charged as an additional extra.  The clay craft was £4.50 per child and the children were each given a lump of clay to create into whatever they fancied.  Both of my bigger boys took part in this but after about five minutes they had created their creatures and were done.  Some of the older children seemed to be making much more intricate creations so I think this is one for the creative kids!

The second activity we did was the tie dye which both boys loved.  It was £7 each and they could take away the t-shirt or tote bag they had made for that price.  It was a very hands on experience and better suited for one parent to one child (which we found out after Archie covered his clothes in fabric paint!).

The arcade room is in need of some updating and there was nothing for little children like the 2p machines.  For older children there were driving machines and a couple of the grab a toy ones.  The playground outside was definitely aimed at over 3s, however there were 3 rockers out there too which Cora loved playing on.  

The swimming pool looked clean and every time we went passed it was empty.  We didn't manage to try it out as we do struggle to take all four swimming but for anyone not crazy enough to have 4, it was centrally situated and open from 9am until 6pm every day.

On the Saturday night there was a children's disco in the entertainment lounge and it was one of the highlights of our stay at Rookley park.  There were games like musical bumps and statues where prizes were given out for the best statue or the fastest bump rather than children going out which we loved as it was really inclusive for the smaller ones.  We could order meals and drinks in the room and the children loved it.  There was evening entertainment at the bar each night with vocalists and musicians which started at 8pm in the main bar.

We loved that Rookley Park made a great base for exploring the island and we spent an afternoon at Carisbrooke Castle and a day at Blackgang Chine (Post coming soon).  The Isle of Wight is such a lovely place with so much coast and natural beauty and we will definitely return there.  Rookley holiday park grew on me during our stay, but I would say that there wasn't a lot for under 3s and the park does need more work to be at the standard they are hoping to achieve.  I am looking forward to watching their progress!

I have an exclusive 20% off code valid for the Summer Holidays! Use code TMA20 at the checkout*


Terms & conditions: Online bookings only. For new bookings only. Subject to availability. Cannot be combined with any other offer. For stays at Rookley Park only. Valid for stays between 1 June 2018 and 31 August 2018. Must be booked by 31 May 2018. Offer code TMA20 must be quoted with booking. These terms may change at any time without notice.


We were provided with our accomodation and ferry crossing in exchange for our honest opinion.

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What the Kids Wore // Maxomorra Summer

The weather keeps changing its mind about whether summer is on its way or not but we have been enjoying checking out Maxomorra's summer collection.  They sent us an under the sea print t-shirt for Finn and a rainbow spaghetti strap dress for Cora.

I love the rainbow print, although I was initially dubious about the straps on the dress as Cora is still quite petite.  They work really well though, staying up and elasticated and comfy.  As the weather wasn't quite summer warm we layered it with a vest and leggings.  The cotton is soft and everything is organic.  The dress is sized 86/92 which translates roughly as 18-24 but Cora is very petite for her age and so it was quite long.  I would say the sizing is probably quite accurate.

Finn's t-shirt is also super soft organic cotton and we love the bright print.  The red trim makes it look great and the size 98-104 (roughly age 2-4) fits him perfectly as he is an average sized just turned 3 year old.  

The collection is full of fun and playful prints and I have bought quite a few bits for the children already! Both prints are available in a variety of items from underwear, pyjamas, jumpers and trousers and the entire collection is organic.  

If you look at the bottom of the Maxomorra website you can see the full collection and also which retailers are stocking your favourite items.

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Carrisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight

We visited the Isle of Wight last weekend for the second time as a family and decided to explore the English Heritage site 'Carisbrooke Castle'.  Set in Newport, in the middle of the Island, the castle was once a military fortress, a king's prison and a royal summer residence.  We didn't know much about it when we turned up but it fitted our criteria of looking interesting to explore and having space to run around in.

The boys' favourite thing about the castle was the opportunity to walk around the castle wall taking in the sights of the island.  We could see for miles and we walked around almost the whole outside.  Inside the castle there is a museum which we didn't manage to see, some donkeys who you can see turning the wheel if you pop by at the right time, a little passage into the front wall where you can find dress up costumes and Princess Beatrice's gardens amongst other things.  There was a small tea rooms which is an essential for a family day out and fields to explore with giant cannons which the boys could not resist climbing on.

It was a great place to spend an afternoon and it reminded us of our love of exploring places like this enough that we purchased a membership for the English Heritage sites, so we will be visiting lots more castles over the coming year!

Here are a few photos from our afternoon

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