My 5 year old daughter is obsessed with the weather, whether it's going to be a sunny day, or if it's raining or heaven forbid snowing; she is also really interested in the seasons and is always saying that she wishes it could be summer every day. She also often pesters me to know how many sleeps it is until a particular day, or how many sleeps it is until we do this or that etc. And since she started school she has become very much aware of the days of the week - with Saturday and Sunday being her favourites! So when I saw this calendar whilst browsing for Christmas presents last year, I didn't hesitate to buy it knowing it would be something she would enjoy, and be able to keep track herself of what day it is, what season we are in and what the weather is like!

***My First Magnetic Calendar***

This is a calendar with a difference; it is designed specifically for children. The calendar is a thick board which can be hung on the wall and is about 40 x 30 cm in size. On the board you will find numerous chunky magnets for your child to move around each day in accordance with the weather and what day of the week and month it is, and also what season we are in.

On the left hand side are the months of the year, down the right hand side are the days of the week and some numbers for the date. Along the bottom are the 4 seasons and 6 different weather types (partly cloudy, sunny, snow, cloudy, rain, sleet). These are all magnetic and can be moved about the board with ease. Down the centre of the board are the spaces for you to position your magnets for the day - at the top is the day, below is the date, below that is the month and then you have the weather, and finally the season. So there are 5 different things for your child to change each day.

***Appearance***

The calendar is really brightly coloured so very attractive to look at - the months are done in blue, green, yellow and orange; the days of the week are multicoloured and the seasons & weather are as you would expect - grey for rubbish weather and yellow and blue for good weather. So as you can imagine, looking at the calendar you see a vast array of colours.

***Ease of Use***

As I have said earlier the magnets are very easy to move around the board. Each magnet is very lightweight and has a very slim magnet on the back with a soft spongy covering and then a glossy picture on the top. These are very easy to pick off the board and although the magnets seem quite weak, they have never fallen off (which was one of my initial fears after reading various reviews). I think the manufacturers have got it just right because it is obviously aimed at children so the magnets should not be too strong otherwise there is the potential for a child to knock everything out of place while they are trying to extract a magnet. And obviously they shouldn't be too weak because it is essentially a wall calendar so there is the fear of them falling off if they don't grip securely enough. But they don't fall off or even slide out of position - they are just the right strength for this particular calendar; they are also easy to slide about if the child has not positioned it straight, they can just nudge it a bit and it can easily be moved into the correct position.

***What Did My Daughter Think?***

When she opened this on Christmas day, she was not particularly interested, partly because she had about a billion other presents to open. But when the Christmas excitement had died down, she wanted to look at this calendar and see what it was all about. So we hung it in her bedroom, at the right level so she can adjust it herself each day, and I'm not going to lie and say that she religiously changes the day, date and weather every single day, but it is something she has an interest in when she has the time and inclination.

She loves to look out of her window in a morning and decide what the weather is going to be like, but she is fed up of the season being stuck on winter, and sometimes if it is a sunny day she thinks she can change the season to summer! She has never really known about the months of the year, so this calendar is an introduction to that and she now knows that her birthday is in January, and that we are going on holiday in July, which is also in summer. So she finds it interesting to count down the days of the month and learn about what happens in each month and what season they are in because this is something she has never really been aware of before.

So yes she does really like this calendar, but it is not something she thinks about every day, but perhaps that is my fault and I should encourage her to change the day, date etc more often - but I have often have other things on my mind like getting everyone ready for school!

***Final Thoughts***

I think this calendar is a great idea; it is educational as well as fun and interesting. I think it can really encourage a child to think about the passage of time, about the days of the week and just about life in general. It kind of gives them a timescale to work from and begin to understand that there are things we have to wait for and things that are just around the corner. For example, we have been on half term this week and my daughter has been counting how many days she has had at home, and how many days it was until she went back to school - so it kind of puts things in perspective for them and the first day back at school did not creep up on her, she was prepared for it (but still went back with a long face!)

The other great thing about it is that it educates them on the days of the week and the months of year, as I said earlier, my daughter was completely clueless about the months of the year, but now she has a clearer understanding of them, and it is purely down to this calendar. She already knew about the days of the week, but for a child who doesn't, this is great learning aid. And although my daughter is still only in the beginning stages of learning to read, she can recognise the days of the week now through 'reading' them on this calendar.

So this calendar comes highly recommended from me and my daughter. I would suggest it is good for children aged 4 and upwards.

Available on Amazon for £14.99.