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Flair Feltastic Peppa Pig
by jrh2
Peppa Pig is a much loved character by most preschool aged children so this Peppa Pig felt board is very popular among our children.
The set includes a felt board and varying felt pictures. The felt board is 37cm x 31cm which is a good size, plenty of space for the felt pictures. The board is covered in felt with a picture of ... a hill. This is a nice starting point for pictures as I believe Peppa's house is on top of a hill.
There are twenty six felt pictures of varying sizes. They are made from soft felt and have the image printed on the front whilst the back is white. They are very strong and we haven't had any break. The largest picture is of Peppas house whilst some smaller ones are Peppas cuddly toy and Georges ball. The smaller ones manage get lost as when the children drop one on the floor they don't pick it up again. Well unless it is Peppa as the characters are the most popular pictures. They include three Peppa Pigs, three Georges, one Mummy Pig and one Daddy Pig. It is nice that Peppa and George are doing activities like jumping in mud and riding a bike as it helps the children make up stories.
The felt pictures cling well to the board and rarely fall off, even when the board is upright.
The pieces are kept in a thick plastic packet which can be opened and closed multiple times without it breaking. Our packet has broken down one side but that's more because of rough handling rather than the quality of the product.
This toy is recommended for children over the age of three because of the small parts.
This is a fantastic felt board which the children love. They are always wanting to play with it but only one or two children can use it at a time. I like to use it in a group as they each get a chance to make a story together. They like the idea it's their favourite characters.
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Tinsel Pipe Cleaners
by jrh2
Pipe cleaners are surprisingly useful for childrens crafts and after thinking up a craft idea for a preschool craft I found it was not that easy to find decent tinsel pipe cleaners.
I wanted gold pipe cleaners only but found I had to get a variety of colours because the only gold ones had 10 in a pack for £2. As I needed two ... each for forty children it was not cost effective.
My favourite metallic pipe cleaners are from Paperchase. The packet has ten each of gold, silver, red, green and blue. They bend really easily and I have never bent a pipe cleaner which has broken. The ends are not too sharp but are still not recommended for children under 3. I have cut these but it is quite hard so I don't use my best scissors. Unlike other brands the tinsel stuff doesn't fall off and cover the floor with shiny plastic. They are 29cm long which is a decent size but it doesn't always feel long when it is bent a lot. It is a standard size for a pipe cleaner though. They are sold in a clear plastic packet of 50 for £1.50. I always use these at home but for preschool, as we don't have Paperchase I had to buy Craft Planet as it was the only option.
I ended up buying Craft Planet for around £1.30 for 50. They are the same colours as the previous ones and the only difference is the length of the tinsel stuff on the wire. I would have much preferred Paperchase as they are much better quality.
I have used pipe cleaners to make arms and legs on angels at Christmas, stars for christmas decorations, shapes for cards and I am currently using them for wheels on a carriage.
I would definitely recommend these for childrens crafts. It's surprising how much use you can get from a bendy piece of wire.
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Crayola Beginnings 24 Jumbo Crayons
by womble1985
When my son first started taking an interest in drawing as a toddler I started looking for some chunky crayons for him. I came across these Crayola Jumbo Crayons, they were more expensive than I wanted to spend at the time but there were no other chunky crayons on sale in the shop I was in, so I purchased them.
They come in a ... tub of 24 colours. The durable plastic tub has a re-closeable lid so you can always store the crayons in it. Far more practical than some of the ones that come in cardboard boxes and they wear easily and tear.
They are chunky and are brightly coloured, fantastic size for toddlers as they are easily gripped. They come with one slightly 'sharpened' end and they are flat at the other end. They are great for travel as I always keep a few of these in a mini pencil case with a small colouring book in our changing bag in place of chunky toys I once needed to take with us.
We have had one pack of these now for several months and they are still a very god size with not that much wear. Two of them have been broken in half as they were dropped from table height on to a hard floor and they snapped (but still usable) but I would imagine most crayons would break with this impact.
The colours are great but there are a few (mainly the greens) that all come out at pretty much the same colour. There are 3-4 shades of green and 3 of them draw a very similar colour even though the crayons all look quite different.
I bought these priced at £4.99. I thought that was quite a high price at the time but on reflection they have lasted a long time, there is 24 of them and Crayola is a well known brand so actually this price seems quite fair.
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