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ELC Who Knows Whose Nose Game
by loopylou1234
My daughter was bought this for her third birthday last year by her friend. It is a game from the Early Learning Centre and it is called 'Who Knows Whose Nose'.
== Packaging ==
The game is packaged in a brightly coloured, sturdy cardboard box. On the front of the box it shows the contents of the game and a nice ... picture of a boy and a girl playing the game together. On the side of the box it lists the contents on the box, which are as follows: 10 x plastic cards, 10 x plastic noses, 1 x cotton bag and the instruction sheet.
== Price and Availability ==
This is available from the Early Centre's website and it is £10.
== The game itself ==
The game is aimed at ages 2-6 years and is for two or more players. The 'proper' way of playing the game is simple. You have to shuffle the cards and place them face down in a pile. Then take it in turns to take the cards until there is none left. All of the noses get put into the cotton bag and you have to then shake the bag up. The players then take it in turns to choose a nose from the bag, if the nose matches one of your animals you fit it into the hole onto the correct card. When all of the noses have been taken out of the bag, it is the player who has the most cards with the correct noses who is the winner!
== Alternative uses ==
If I am totally honest, we have only played this game correctly a few times. The rest of the time, my daughter and her friends make funny faces with the animals. On the side of the box it lists more playing tips and ideas. This is one of them, 'Crazy Faces', seeing which animals look funny with the wrong noses. Crocodile with a cow nose or an elephant with an elephant with a bird beak, and it then suggests trying to make what noise that animal would then make. 'Snap-Moo' 'Trumpet-Snap'.
It tends to be a game that my daughter and her friends grab to play when they come over.
== Durability ==
I think when toys are designed they should be sent to our house for durability testing. My daughter has an incredible talent for taking things apart/breaking bits off/losing things from sets and then the world ends (for her) when it no longer works!
However, I am pleased to report that this game is very well made, the cards are made from thick plastic with the pictures printed on them. The plastic is very durable, none of them have broken and are still in very good condition. Our youngest daughter (who was 1 in February) likes bashing the cards together and chewing them. They are easy to wipe off and keep clean, which is essential in our house!
== Educational? ==
It does say on the box that is great for learning all about animals, naming the animals and discussing what noises they make. Matching up the trunks and beaks. The child also is playing with their friends and learning to take it in turns.
== Overall Summary ==
I wasn't sure what to expect to be honest in the beginning but I am suprised at how well this game has lasted. I thought at first it was an expensive game to buy but considering how much it has been played with (and bashed about), it was worth it. I would recommend this.
I also like the fact that it is a 'unisex' game, it is aimed at both boys and girls which makes a nice change. We have so many 'pink' toys, which people keep buying us, it is good to have a neutral toy for everyone to enjoy.
Thanks for reading.
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ELC Giant Alphabet Flash Cards
by Whizz11
I've had these cards for a couple of years now and call me a pushy parent, but I really want my little girl to read early and understand her letters and what words they make. I hold the philosophy that the sooner you start teaching them, the better. I have heard that children learn better when they can see a combination of shapes, ... letters and pictures as well as the word to accompanying them so I was quite excited to start playing with the cards and make learning a fun thing for us to do during regular play time.
At first I was purely using them as flash cards and just showing them to my little girl now and again to see the letters and start to become familiar with them. They have nice pictures on them as well so it was a bit like looking at a story book.
These cards are from The Early Learning Centre and I think they are really well made. They are just made of flexible paper but they have a wipe clean surface to them so they are shiny and fairly robust although most of our have creases and a few rips in them after playing with them for a few years now. The box they come in is only thin cardboard so its almost fallen apart now which doesn't keep the cards very protected either.
The cards cover all 26 letters of the alphabet and what I like about them is that on the front they have a word beginning with that letter and also a picture of a word. SO for example, on the front of the k card is the word kite and then a nice picture of a colourful kite. On the back of the card you will find the letter k written in dark black and then underneath there is just a dotted line outline of the letter k which allows your child to write the letter themselves and get practise at writing it because the pen marker can be wiped off over and over again to allow them to do it again. The cards come with a wipe clean pen which is handy. What I like is that most of the letters features pretty common first words that a child should learn such as e for elephant, o for orange and r for rabbit to name but a few. All the letters are written in lower case letters.
On the back of the box The Early Learning Centre give you some advise for ways to play with these cards. They say, "first, teach your child how to write each letter by following the arrows on the grey dotted lines. Next, ask your child to trace the letter underneath by following the black dotted lines. Finally teach your child to write the whole word on the back of the card. The photo will reinforce and speed up your child's learning process."
If I remember rightly this set cost me just £4 from The Early Learning Centre and is a great way of introducing the alphabet.
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