Halloween Crafts - Spooky Halloween Faces

Happy Halloween!!!! We have had such a good fun for the build up to today. Making spooky potions, monster pictures and then finally making some spooky halloween faces to stick up as decoration. 

These are so easy to make and Lily really enjoyed making them. 

The instructions to make these are so simple its going to be mostly pictures you see. 

But to start you need to get some paper plates, paint, glue, a felt tip and coloured foam. 

Firs thing you do is choose your characters. You can make all sorts of spooky characters. We decided to make frankenstein, a witch, a pumpkin, a devil, and a cat. 

Get your paints ready and then paint the entire paper plate the colours you need. So we did 2 green, one orange, one red and one black. Lily really enjoyed painting these. I also quizzed her on somethings, like asking her "what colour are pumpkins" which she replied orange. 

After they are all painted, you will need to leave them to dry before doing the second stage. 

When they are dry, its time to decorate. 

You can be as creative as you want with what you stick onto the faces. You could do smiles, frowns, fangs, big eye brows, small eye brows and so on. 

For this part, I did the cutting and Lily did the sticking but if your child is a little older they will be able to cut the shapes for themselves. You may also want to draw on the foam to give the shapes more details, like teeth. 

Lily is quite good at knowing where to stick the eyes and mouth but needed a little direction for a few things, such as the witches spot on her nose (that I drew) and the bolts for Frankenstein. Lily did most the sticking on the faces but got a little bored to the end and I finished off the cat. 

After they were all stuck down, they made such great faces. We had so much fun making these and they were so quick to make with little resources needed. 

After you have finished the faces, you could do what we did and attach them to string so they can be hung up on the wall. I used tape but a few days later and they have all fallen down. So you may need to re think that one as they may need something stronger.

Which of the faces do you like?

What face would you make? 

Spooky Potion Making With Learning Resources

Its Halloween tomorrow! We are so excited that we have already been doing some spooky activities. 

As you know, Lily's Little Learners is not just about having fun, it's all about children learning through play. We often work along side Learning Resources and their toys to help make this possible. So when Learning Resources gave us the challenge to make a spooky witches potion while using their Fine Motor Tool set, we got out our cauldron and rose to the challenge. 

The Helping Hands, Fine Motor tool Set is made up of 4 tools. They are all different so children have to figure out how to use their hands to make them work. By squeezing, pinching, scooping, dropping, grabbing, this set will really help with fine motor skills and hand and eye co-ordination. 

The set includes - 

• A Gator Grabber
• A Handy Scooper
• A Twisty Dropper
• A Squeezy Tweezer 

The first thing I did was get everything out for Lily. I filled her cauldron with some water, some leaves and some plastic spiders and snakes. I then got her some flour, and I made some blue water with food colouring. 

Lily was so excited to be making a potion, she had also been wanting to play with the fine motor tool set since it came. Which shows that children do and can get really excited over educational toys. 

The first thing she wanted to do was place some spiders into the potion. I encouraged her to use the Squeezy Tweezer for this. It took a few attempts but soon she got really good at it and managed to pick things up and grab the objects and pop them into the potion. The tweezers are the perfect size for Lily's fingers and squeeze quite easily. This tool is really good for developing hand and eye co-ordination.

After the spiders and snakes had gone in. Lily wanted to add some of the flour to the water. I encouraged her to use the Handy Scooper for this. I was quite impressed with how well she knew how to use this. She held it correctly and managed to scoop a decent amount of flour into it. She then understood how to let go of the flour so it fell into the potion. This tool is such a great one for working on pre-scissor skills. 

Next she added some leaves to the potion. I crunched them up so then she could try and use the Gator Grabber. Out of all the tools, Lily found this to be the most difficult. It confused her that she needed to squeeze them to make them open and then let go to close them back up. She soon got the hang of it and with my help, managed to get some leaves into the potion. This tool is really good for developing the pincer grasp which is the one they need to learn for writing. 

The last thing that she added was the blue coloured water. For this we used the Twisty Dropper. Lily had never used anything like this before so didn't understand how to use it. I had to show her that you squeeze and then let go, and all the water goes up into the tube. Then you squeeze it back out into the potion. Lily quickly learnt how to do this and it ended up being her favourite tool to use. Soon we had lots of the blue water into the cauldron and it was looking very potion like. This tool is really good for strengthening the muscles in the hands and fingers.

I gave Lily a spoon to stir the potion and we chanted a magic spell to finish it off. She then tried making me drink it, luckily pretending sufficed or I may have felt a little ill. Over all it was such a good activity and the four tools really helped make potion creating become lots of fun. 

You can buy the Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set from Learning Resources for £7.55

What would you put in your potion using these tools? 

My Sunday Photo - 29/11/17

Mummy and Me October 2017

This month I decided to get Lily and I booked into a studio to get some photographs done. I'm a professional photographer so I decided that I would take the photographs myself. Not only did that mean I got back as many photographs as I took, but it also meant that Lily was much more comfortable. She is still quite shy of strangers. 

The main reason for the shoot was to get some photographs of some clothing we were reviewing but that also gave us the opportunity to get some nice photographs of ourselves. 

It was very tricky to photograph Lily and even when I was in the photographs with her she didn't always want to play game and would pull moody faces. But as I took the pictures using a remote that was in my hand, sometimes she didn't know the picture was being taken and I got some nice natural ones of us. 

So here are my favourites from the shoot. 

Festive Bedding from the Happy Linen Company - Review and Giveaway

It's the end of October and I am about to say one thing that some people love to hear and some people dread to hear. 

It's nearly Christmas! In just under 2 months time that wonderful day of the year will be with us again. Are you excited? Have you started getting ready for it?

I have been. I have been buying presents already, planning where we will be eating Christmas dinner, talking about getting a real Christmas tree this year. Its all so exciting. I bet secretly you have all been thinking about the same things, but have you been thinking about getting you bedroom ready for Christmas yet? No? Well here is where you can start. 

The Happy Linen company have brought out a range of christmas bedding to make your bedroom feel more festive. They have a really good range of bedding to choose from. You can go full out festive with bedding with santa and snowmen on it or settle for something a little more subtle.

When the Happy Linen company offered me a set to review. I decided to go a little more subtle and I chose Festive Scandi in grey and white. 

I really liked the design of this. I felt like I was being festive without the risk of my partner not wanting to sleep in the same bed as me this christmas. (The humbug) 

The bedding design has so many christmas patterns on it. It has reindeers, christmas tree's, stars, reefs, baubles, holly, and christmas flowers. Its so nice that they have thought of all the things of christmas and put them together to create such a nice design of bedding. 

The bedding is also reversible. So in a way you are getting 2 bed sets for the price of one. I did prefer the grey side to the white side as with a toddler, white sheets can get dirty quickly. 

The set comes with 2 pillow cases and the duvet cover. It is made from a blend of high quality natural cotton and polyester and can come in single, double or king size. We needed a kingsize for our bed. 

We did find that the sheets were slightly loose on our duvet, but It would also depend on the tog of the duvet that you are putting it on. It would be perfect if we ever wanted a thicker duvet on our bed. 

I did find that the sheets were of a nice quality though and quite soft to sleep in. Im quite picky with the materials I sleep on but this was fine for me. 

In the photo I took the bedding looks quite creased because it had literally just come out the packet but by the next day all the creases had fell out and wern't visible. 

Over all i'm quite happy with my bedding and can't wait to use it more often when it is Christmas time.

You can buy your festive bedding at the Happy Linen Website for the following prices. 

Single - £12.71 

Double  - £15.71

King Size - £19.46

Super King - £23.96

To really get you ready for Christmas, The Happy Linen Company is giving you the chance to Win a set of bedding from the Christmas Range. 

Enter below on the Gleam app to win! Ends 26/11 

Win a Christmas Bedding Set

5 Tv Series to Binge Watch this Halloween

I do love a good Tv series, I must say I have watched quite a lot of them too. When it comes to which Tv series that are appropriate for Halloween, the list isn't short. You have plenty of  shows about Vampires, Zombies and Monsters and all the rest to keep you going. 

But I thought I would choose 5 of my favourite series that I thought would be perfect to watch this Halloween. 

So here they are - 

1. The Walking Dead 

So we have just reached the 100th episode. So if you haven't started watching this yet, it may not just entertain your Halloween but also your entire November too. Of corse the title gives away this series. It's all about surviving a Zombie apocalypse and wow does it show survival at it's best. It's grim, gory and so action packed that if you are not hooked after the first series then i'm not quite sure what is wrong with you.

2. Lucifer 

Ahh the devil of my dreams. For me this series doesn't only show devilish behaviour, action and some class detective work, but it also has some very nice eye candy. Tom Ellis who plays Lucifer certainly gets me hot under the collar and I could quite happily watch the 2 seasons of Lucifer that are available now, all day long. Season 3 has just started on Amazon Prime and i'm hooked. The storyline is about lucifer abandoning hell and residing in Los Angles. Here he meets a detective who he is quite fond of. He then decides to become her partner in helping her solve crimes with his devilish powers. 

3. Santa Clarita Diet  

So far theres only one season on Netflix so this one will be easy to binge watch. This is a zombie comedy series with Drew Barrymore taking the lead. They are a normal family until one day Sheila starts to go through some changes. Before they know it she realises she is a zombie and craves the flesh of humans. This isn't like your normal zombie series though and has comedy while her husband rises to the challenges of having a zombie wife. I really enjoyed this series and thought it was a refreshing change to most zombie shows. I would definetly give it a try this Halloween. 

4. Grimm

When this first came out. I wasn't sure, but I thought I would give it a try. It started slow but I kept on with it and now i'm hooked. Grimm has just finished with its final season, season 6. (Which I have not been able to see yet). This is a detective show with a twist. The lead character is what's called a Grimm. A little like The Brothers Grimm, he hunts monsters. He soon finds out the town he lives in is full of them and his detective position at the police station helps him find and hunt the monsters. The show is full of lots of twists and turns and to be honest, it's unlike any show I have ever seen. Totally new and different. Although I love Grimm myself, I have heard of others not enjoying it so it really is one where you either love it or you don't. I would definetly give it a try and stick with it until the end of season 1 and hopefully you will be as hooked as I was. 

5. Being Human 

This is quite an old series but it is a good one and one I think I may end up watching again. What more could you ask for at Halloween than a show all about a Ghost, Werewolf and Vampire. The series shows the 3 trying to live out their lives as normal as can be without letting the monster get the better than them. Which is easier said than done. I really enjoyed this show for the lighthearted but slightly freaky appeal to it. It has blood and guts but also a little comedy to lighten it up. If you haven't seen this show then its definetly one to try. Especially if your a fan of Vampires, Werewolf's and Ghosts. 

Which of these series have you seen?

Which one do you think you will try this halloween?

Toffee Moon Personalised Blanket Review

I have loved Toffee Moon ever since we reviewed their clothing back in July last year. Lily is a little big for their clothing now as it only goes up to 2 years old, but I just could not wait to review their new personalised blankets. If the quality of the clothing was anything to go by, then I knew that these blankets would be just as amazing. 

Toffee Moon let me choose a blanket design from their website. They have so much choice of colours and so it was really tricky to choose. But in the end I chose a pink and cream striped blanket. The blankets can be personalised with up to 20 characters over 2 lines. I just went with a simple 4 lettered word though and chose to have Lily's name put on it. 

I love how nicely presented Toffee Moon items arrive. There little label which says "For your precious one" on it is such a nice touch. My blanket arrived in a really nice organza drawstring bag tied with ribbon. The bag is another nice touch and the perfect way to display the gift inside. 

These blankets make the perfect gift as they are presented so nicely. Perfect for Baby showers, Christmas presents, Birthday presents, Christening gifts. I would be delighted to receive such an item for my child and the good thing about blankets is that children always need them and they are great for any age. 

The personalisation is embroidered onto the blanket and is done so nicely and with a really nice delicate font. You can also choose the colour of embroidery you want to make it stand out more on your blanket. Before even getting the blanket out of the packaging I could tell that it was going to be a lovely quality and thickness. 

The blankets are knitted with pure natural and breathable cotton which make a warm and cosy blanket for your baby or child. 

I was really happy with the quality of this blanket. It is really soft and knitted to perfection. I would say they are the perfect thickness to keep a child warm and snug and I was really happy at the size of them. The blanket measures at around 90cm by 90cm. 

The blanket is so nice that I almost don't want Lily to have it incase she gets chocolate on it or spills her juice like she almost always does. But luckily it is washable at 30 degree's. So I guess I can let her have it. She did really enjoy snuggling up with it while watching Tv and it will look so nice on her bed at night time. 

Now it is getting close to winter these are a must buy and i'm so happy to have one for Lily to keep her nice and cosy. 

The blankets are £32 without personalisation and £40 with it. They are well worth the money if you are looking for quality as I can guarantee you will be impressed with them. 

Head here to buy yours now. 

As Winter is coming, Toffee Moon have kindly offered to give away one personalised blanket. You can choose the colour of the blanket, and the colour of personalisation with wording up to 20 characters. For your chance to win, enter on the Gleam App below. 

Ends 24th November 

Win a Personalised Baby Blanket from Toffee Moon

Lily's Birthday Competition

In just under a months time on the 18th of November. Lily is going to be 3 years old! I can't believe she has grown so quick. It really doesn't feel like 2 moments since last year when I was preparing for her 2nd birthday. 

Last year for her Birthday on the blog. I did a Twitter party and a week of giveaways. Well, we still are going to have a week of giveaways and some amazing companies have given us some brilliant prizes to enter for. But instead of the twitter party I thought I would do a little creative competition. 

Lily and I love getting creative and making pictures, and when it comes to peoples birthdays we love making our own cards. 

So, to Enter....

I have a prize of a £10 Smyths Toy Store Voucher to give away. 

I would love you all to make Lily a Birthday Card for her 3rd Birthday

It is compleatly up to you what design you put on your card, how big, how small you do it. My only regulation is that is is made from paper, or card. No digital cards will be accepted. 

Then please take a photograph of the card. Would be lovely to see who made it for her. Also no age restrictions here but would be nice to see some kids get involved. 

Then tweet it to @lilyslearners with the #BirthdayCardForLily, OR pop it on Instagram and tag @lilyslittlelearners with the HashTag #BirthdayCardForLily OR Enter it on this Facebook post. 

The Competition will end on the 17th of November. 

So you have a bit of inspiration, here are a few of Lily's favourite things... 

• Paw Patrol
• Chocolate Cake
• Minnie Mouse
• Animals
• The Park
• Balloons
• Stories 
• The Moon and Stars
• Trains, Cars, Aeroplanes
• Fireman Sam 

We look forward to seeing your entries.  

My Sunday Photo 22/10/17

Lily loved all the leaves this week. So much fun throwing them into the air and letting them fall onto her head. 

Our Photoshoot and Review for Me&i Clothing

Me&i Is a Swedish clothing company that makes clothes with a unique design and a comfortable fit. 

I love buying clothes for Lily, and of corse love shopping for myself. So when I got the chance to head to the Me&i website to pick out an outfit for us both, I was really happy. 

The website has lots of choice and all the designs are so different. I did spend quite a while trying to think of what to choose for Lily and I but in the end I settled on something. 

Soon after, the clothing was sent to us and we were ready to try it on, wear it out and also do a fun photoshoot with it. 

My first impressions were that I loved the designs. I chose a grey dress with spots and a pair of leggings. I am quite a fan of these type dresses are they are perfect for wearing leggings under and the length keeps you nice and warm. They are also so easy to move around in as with a child you do end up on the floor a lot and a short dress is not ideal.
For Lily I chose a tunic that had alligators on it holding handbags. I loved the colours on it as I do enjoy buying clothes for Lily that aren't typically girly. 

We put them on and our outfits looked great toggether and it was really nice to have new clothing to wear. I had rented a studio for the day and I set up my camera onto a tripod with a remote ready to do a fun shoot. 

The sizing of Lily's tunic was 2-3. Lily is nearly 3 but seems to fit better into 2 to 3 clothing. This tunic fit perfectly. Was the right length in the arms and the right fit in the body. It was really stretchy too so looked like it would be really comfortable on her. Lily was really impressed with her new dress. She loved the fact it had alligators on (Though she thinks they're dinosaurs) and kept telling me that she had a new dress with dinosaurs on and then going rawrrr. That made perfect for the photoshoot as I got a good picture of her rawwring in her new outfit. 

The material was also really nice and soft and you can tell it is good quality. Lily's leggings were our own but you can also buy lots of leggings that match perfectly from the Me&i store. 

Lily's tunic is £25.95 and you can head here to the website to take another look at it. 

The first thing I must say about my dress is how comfortable it is. Im a size 8 and the fit was a little bit big on me but that just gave me more room to move around, which is something you do often with a little child. It was a little bit baggy at the chest area but that said I am very skinny at the top and wide at the hips, so I think it would probably fit someone who was an 8-10 a little better than it fits me. The material was really soft and also nice and stretchy. Again to me, it felt like it was a really good quality piece of clothing.
The leggings I got in a size 10. They fit perfectly, leggings can be touch and go with me to if they fit nicely, but these wern't to tight on me and were a really good length. Also they were really soft and wern't to thick or to thin so perfect for the autumn days we are having at the moment. 

The dress is a price of £49.95 and the leggings are £29.95 and you can buy them here on the Me&i Woman's section of the website. 

The prices do seem quite high but what I do like about Me&i is how important the quality of the clothing is to them. Also how important it is that good working conditions are kept for their workers. Read more about this here in there pricing section of the website. 

What do you think to the Me&i Clothing range? 

How much do Tv shows influence our children?

Okay, bad parent confession alert!!!!

I probably let Lily have way much more Tv than I should. 

Lily has always been a little hard to distract, and sometimes the only way to get a job done is by putting on the Tv and letting her watch one of her favourite shows that she is compleatly addicted to. Of corse Lily doesn't only have TV time. I fit in plenty of activities and outdoor time during the day but I have started to think about minimising the amount of Tv she gets. 

The first thing that has made me think about this is how much I notice her copying things from the Tv. She will start to talk about things or do something and i'm wondering, where on earth is she getting that from. Then I realise its something that has happened on one of her Tv shows. 

For example, Lily suddenly started to tell me that her tooth was loose. Im thinking, can't be, she isn't even 3 yet. Any way I check and of corse it isn't loose. I tell her it isn't but she insists that it is. At first I think that maybe one of her older friends had been telling her about her tooth being loose but then one day I was sat watching Paw Patrol with Lily (because as you know, I love paw patrol Ha) and there was an episode where one of the pups has a loose tooth but doesn't want to go to the dentist!
It clicked, thats where she is getting the idea her tooth is loose from. 

So while things like her using her imagination from things she has seen on Tv doesn't bother me, there are times I wonder if the TV she watches can have a negative effect on her. 

I have been watching a few of the things she watches lately and been taking note on things that are happening in the shows. I wanted to see if some of the things she see's on Tv were having an effect on her. 

The first thing I noticed was that she was starting to tell me she was scared of ghosts and all of a sudden she wants the bedroom door being slightly left open. I know exactly where the ghost thing has come from and again its from her favourite show Paw Patrol. The episode that she will have got this fear from has a ghost in and the pups are all scared of it. It all ends well when they find out that its not really a ghost and just one of the pups dressed up. But it seems to have left Lily thinking about and talking about ghosts. I now have to remind her that they are not real and that like in the episode, its just pretend. 

Mummy's brave and clever words of wisdom are usually believed by Lily and that sorts her out for the night and she does go to sleep. But it just shows you that a few moments of an episode can have a big effect on a child. 

So this leads to me thinking about her behaviour. If she is picking up on things like make believe ghosts, and its making her behaviour scared then what else is she picking up. 

I have always taught Lily good behaviour. Im not overly strict, but its important Lily has manners, and behaves nicely to others. One program Lily has started to watch lately that I am not keen on her watching is Caillou. This show is all about a 4 year old boy and his family. It shows all about things that happen in general day life, like playing at the park, having a sister or having a friend over to play. While the show does show Caillou being creative, adventurous and learning new things, it also shows him being a down right little (dare I say it?) BRATT! 

Caillou struggles to share, play nicely, and he seems to demand all the time. In fact I have barely heard him say please or thank you. A lot of his sentences start with "I want" and a lot of the time if he doesn't get his own way he throws a wobbler on the floor and cries or folds his arms in a huff. Sometimes his behaviour has been compleatly unacceptable like for example the episode he pinches his baby sister because he says "he doesn't like her". 

Caillou's parents always tell him whats right and wrong, and do always make him apologise. But of corse its a Tv show and on a Tv show they can't be to strict with him. But an action like nipping I believe needs a little more of a discipline action than "thats not nice". I think if they can't show the parents disciplining him then they should not be showing behaviour like nipping. 

Another thing Caillou is constantly doing is whinging and whining. "Mummmmmmy this, Mummmmmmy that, Boo Hoo Hoo". I realise that they have based Caillou on what a child can act like, but again its not great behaviour for a child to be watching.

I have noticed that Lily has got very demanding lately and very whiny. I recently said to her " wow your demanding", which her reply to me was "Im not Mandy, Im Lily" as Lily doesn't really know what demanding is.
It does make me wonder how much she takes from a show like this and how much it influences her to act up, or is it just her becoming a 'threenager'?

Caillou hasn't been banned from our home, but I am wanting her to watch it a little less now. I can't remove it compleatly as she asks for it every day and its on the front screen of Netflix where she see's it and asks for it. But I am really trying to persuade her to watch other programmes as not all Tv shows will have negative repercussions and there are a lot of positive role models on Tv. 

What do you think about Tv influences on our children? 

Do you think that children can pick up Negative Behaviour from what they watch?  

Adventure Belt Review and Giveaway

A few weeks ago we attended the Baby and Toddler show and I was very happy to meet More 2 Explore and see their brilliant Adventure Belt. 

The belt is not only designed to be fun for kids, but to keep them safe too!

We walked away from the stand that day very excited to be taking one home to try out. 

So, the adventure belt is a new design of reins. It is totally different to most children's reins that you see out on the market. There are designs that are backpacks, ones you can put around there wrists, or ones that you strap around their body which is what we used to have. Usually these all have a lead sort of system which has a loop at the end for you to hold. 

The big thing that makes this rein different to others on the market is that instead of you holding onto it, you strap yourself to it by putting it around your waste as well as your child's. 

This I think is a much safer option, you don't have to worry about having that extra hand to hold onto them and there is no worry of accidently letting go. I also think it looks less like a lead and definitely more like a safety device.  

Both belts are adjustable and the strap part connecting you and your child to the belt is adjustable too. 

Lily and I have tried on both belts and we did need to tighten them both to fit us. 

I haven't used reins on Lily since she first started walking. She has never really left my side and always held my hand, so I have never felt the need for using them. But I definitely would use these ones if I was at somewhere like the airport, or somewhere up high where she could fall. I haven't had the opportunity to use the reins yet seen as the places we have been, Lily stays by me holding my hand. 

But we have taken the belt out and I put it on Lily so she could get used to the idea of wearing it. She was really excited to put it on and happily walked around with her new belt. We headed to the local park where we could use the little pouch that is on the belt. 

Lily didn't realise at first that the pouch opened up but she got so excited as soon as she did. She started collecting twigs and leafs and putting them inside. 

The pouch is such a great idea, perfect to collect nature when out for a walk, or perfect to put things like her money in for when we go to the shops. Lily usually loves to put the money into her pocket so I know she will love to put it in the pouch. 

Another great thing about the pouch is the label that is inside. It has an area where you can write your phone number and also if the child has any allergies. So if your child wasn't wearing the reins that are attached to you, and got lost, people can help the child find their way back to you. 

We really loved the panda design on the front and this is the perfect unisex choice. But you can also buy it in pink and in blue. 

You can buy the adventure belts from the More 2 Explore website at a price of £14.99. 

What do you think about the Adventure belt? 

Where would you wear yours? 

More 2 Explore have kindly let me give away one of these belts to one lucky winner. For your chance to win, enter on the gleam app below. 

Win an Adventure Belt

Orchard Toys Games Compendium Review

We are a big fan of games and a big fan of Orchard Toys. So when we got offered this Games Compendium which contains 4 games in one box, we could hardly say no to reviewing it. 

The box was a little bit bigger than normal Orchard Toys games, but still had its trusted handle on the top making it so your child can take it anywhere with them. As always the front of the box was colourful, and inviting. We couldn't wait to get it open and play some games. 

The fact it has 4 games in one box is great. Perfect to take to a grandparents house or to get out on a day of bad weather.

The 4 games that are included are - 

- Red Dog Colour Game 

- Monster Dominoes

- Jungle Snakes and Ladders

- Old Macdonald Game

There is also a instruction leaflet in the box. 

The first game we decided to play was the red dog colour game. This one looked the most simple game for Lily to play. 

The game comes with 4 playing boards with colourful animals on them. On the animals there are little coloured circles. You also get 24 coloured disks and 1 spot coloured dice. 

To play the game you spread out all the disks, roll the dice and take it in turns to place a disk on your board. If you roll a colour you already have, you miss a turn. The first person to get all the colours on their board wins. 

This game is perfect for Lily's age and she understood how to play. She really enjoyed this and is already great with her colours and so did really well. 

I would say that this game could even be played with a child younger than 3 years old. This would of been perfect to help Lily learn colours when she was doing that at 2 years old. 

The next game we played was Old Macdonald. For this game you need the 1 playing board that comes in 2 pieces which you fit together. The 24 coloured disks (the same disks you used for the first game) 4 playing pieces and the coloured spot dice. 

To play, you place out the coloured disks onto the table and place the playing pieces on the starting place. You then take it in turns to roll the dice. You then move to the coloured circle that is the same as on the dice. If you land on red, you then pick up a red disk and place it in front of you colour side up. If you land on a spot with a picture of a gate on it then you need to return one of your disks back to the other disks on the table. 

On the other side of the disks are animals. At the end of the game when the first player reaches the end of the board, you can then turn over your cards and count up how many animals you have. The winner is the one with the most animals. 

Lily enjoyed this game and we managed to play to the end. It wasn't to difficult for Lily to understand and with my guidance she did really well with it. 

The next game we played was Monster Dominoes. Lily already knows how to play this game as we have an Orchard Toy Travel Dominoes set already. The game is really easy to play. Place the coloured dominoes into a pile facing down and the deal 7 to each player. You then take it in turns to place them down one after the other, matching the monsters as you go. Lily was more interested in the other games, but I think that is because we have played dominoes many times before. The game is super colourful though and the monsters are so child friendly. 

The last game to play was Jungle Snakes and Ladders. To play this, you set up the 2 piece board, and then you need the playing pieces and the number dice. The playing pieces get placed onto the start square and then you roll the dice to see how many places you move. This game is like any other game of snakes and ladders. If you land on the head of a snake, you slide down, and if you land on the ladder then you go up. The one to reach the end, wins. The board design is really cute, and super child friendly with all the smiling animals. 

Lily did play this game with me, but mostly got carried away with climbing the ladders and sliding the snakes. She didn't understand that if she rolled 4 then she could only move 4 spaces. In the end she sat there for ages just moving her play piece up and down the snakes and ladders.
So I think this game maybe for when she is a little older than 3 years old. I think when she is older she will really enjoy playing this classic game. 

Overall these games are such good quality and they are made from a really nice hard board. You can tell that these games are made to last. 

I think Lily enjoyed the Red Dog Colour game the most and that will be one the one from the box that we will get out often. 

The Compendium Box is RRP £15.95 and is aimed at children ages 4-6. It can be bought from the Orchard Toys website. 

Which of the 4 games you would like to play?