Review - Count me in 1 2 3 number chums app

Clydesdale Bank have launched a Count Me In 123 numeracy programme, designed to help engage pre-schoolers with basic maths in preparation for their transition to school. The campaign, through parents, carers, nurseries and libraries, will give children access to a range of educational resources including worksheets an interactive website and tablet app.

The number chums are three cute, fun animals... a white bunny rabbit, a cheeky looking monkey and a crocodile (or maybe he's an alligator - I forget how to tell the difference). Anyway, the cartoons are brightly coloured and I love the clean & clear graphics. Very appealing to kids (& grown-ups too!).

I like that there are printable activity sheets, so this programme is not all computer based. My kids do love their tech, but equally we love to draw and colour so the worksheets are ideal.

Screenshot of Big and Small activity sheet

As well as the activity sheets to print out, there is an online story book about Monkey's birthday party to read. For a long while we didn't own a tablet device, so it's also great that the game is accessible on a computer. Plus if you use the computer version there is a printable certificate!

Page from the Story

We downloaded the Count Me In 123 Number Chums tablet app and tested it out. 

The app is really easy to use and the kids could use the game and follow the instructions without any input from myself. The characters take you on a journey of numbers, shapes and sizes. Every time my daughter got an answer correct, there was some positive reinforcement... "yes, well done!" or "that's right".

I personally loved that it was a Scottish accent doing the talking. In the past I've downloaded a few educational apps on my phone and the accent was rather confusing, especially when trying to learn the alphabet.
 

My daughter in particular loved the game. She was able to answer every question correctly. However she eventually commented that it was  "a bit too baby-ish". Yes, my daughter is four (and an all important half), going on fourteen! She's definitely ready for school!!

What's missing for me is being able to advance through levels of difficulty as my two were able to whizz through the questions and did eventually get bored. Hopefully more levels will be introduced with the next upgrade.

 Overall I'd give the app a big thumbs up. I think the Count Me In Number Chums are perfect for children just starting out with numbers and for those looking to practice their skills.

We received an iPad mini from Clydesdale Bank in exchange for an honest review. As always, opinions are our own.

Parenting - Computer Games

The nursery told us that my son's computer mouse skills weren't great; reason being that he didn't get to use the computer at home. Following their feedback, I subsequently let him start using it and he's literally become obsessed. He is now a huge fan of computer games! Even when he's running about outside, he turns playing into levels and points... He also draws computer games too on paper.

I've restricted his use to weekends only and I time how long he is on the computer so that he's not on it for too long. I do however notice a change in his behaviour when he's been on it, and not for the better. But computers are now part of everyday life and are a life skill we need to learn. He gets computer classes already in Primary 1! At my house he only plays games on Lego.com (sometimes CBeebies) and his favourites are Lego Creator, Lego City and the Star Wars games.

I sometimes wonder where he gets it from, but when I think back to my childhood, my sister and I were massive fans of computer games. Ali more so than me, but we spent a lot of our spare time playing on our PC. My mum was keen for games to encourage our computer skills and so a few of our games involved typing commands of some form. A lot of the time we played together taking turns to be either the typer or the controller of the arrow keys. Our favourites were Leisure Suit Larry and Heroes Quest. Crazy to think though that we were aged 9 and 11 years when we completed Leisure Suit Larry. What were our parents thinking!?

{Heroes Quest}

{Leisure Suit Larry}

We also loved Theme Hospital, Lemmings, The Sims and Prince of Persia.

{Lemmings}

{Prince of Persia}

We never owned a console and I'm personally not keen on them at all. Guess that's just down to my own experiences though. I have never owned a laptop or tablet either. I do now have a laptop for work but that's all it's used for. I also have a Kindle Fire but the kids are not even aware of its existence! I think if we had a tablet device with games on it then there would be even more fights!

My son has recently been asking when we can get an iPad and eventually I guess I'll need to buy a tablet device of some form. He's been drawing an iPad on paper & making up games in his head...

What are your thoughts on gaming for youngsters? What ground rules do you set and what games would you recommend for little ones?

{Children and Technology}

I was at a BBQ in Aberdeen a few months ago with the kids. I had arrived prepared with a handful of Lego & sticker books to keep them amused as I wasn't sure how old the other children would be. My kids are happy to make conversation with grown ups and they sat beautifully at the table with my sister & I discussing Star Wars, Lego and computer games with us and the other adults.

My son asked my permission to go and talk to one of the other slightly older boys at the party. He went over & said Hi and tried to strike up a conversation about Star Wars. The boy was wearing a Star Wars jacket you see. 

But my son was ignored a bit :-( and the other boy wasn't interested in playing.

There was a group of the older kids, maybe 6-9 years old, and they were all silent...too busy playing on their iPads. None of them were making conversation and I thought it was so sad. 

By the end of the evening my son was sat next to the boy in the Star Wars jacket watching him play Minecraft over his shoulder. The conversation was one-sided though.

{image source}

When I was 9 years old our game of choice when the grown-ups were partying at BBQs or other get togethers was hide n'seek in the dark. The person that was 'it' wore a pair of sunglasses with lights on them so those that were hiding could see when they were near and it kept us amused for hours on end.

My faith was restored though when we went to another BBQ, this time it was outside Edinburgh. My son found a boy that was about 7 and the two of them hit it off. They spent hours running around, doing role play & making up silly games. No technology in sight. 

Don't get me wrong, I think iPads or other tablet devices have their place, but I can't help but feel it's had a massive negative impact on communication (not just the children I might add!!).

I own a Kindle Fire (that the kids still aren't aware of!) and I don't have a laptop. I'm keen to keep it that way, for now at least.

{image source}

What are your thoughts?

{There's an App for that}

This week I was on a business trip to Stockholm.

Ready for dinner in Stockholm

I flew with British Airways, and had downloaded their iPhone app which allowed me to keep track of my scheduled flights, of which I had 4 - Glasgow to London City to Arlanda and back!

Anyway, I'm amazed at how easy it was... It's been 4 years since I was last on a plane, and things have changed since then.

I didn't need to print any documentation - my boarding card was on my phone and it was scanned at the desk. Simple! (I didn't trust the system on the way out, so still printed the hard copy, but solely used my iPhone app on the way back!). I didn't have any luggage to check in, as I was literally there for an evening meal and then a day of meetings before coming home. I went straight from the taxi to security to the gate to the plane. Hardly any queues and limited hanging around. Result!

I also didn't take any currency with me. Usually I'm faffing around trying to get a good exchange rate etc etc., but because I wasn't there for long and the taxis in Sweden accept credit cards... that's all I needed.

And then when I landed back in Glasgow (when it was permissible to use mobile phones again), whilst still on the plane I used the Hampden Taxi app to book my taxi so that when I walked out of the terminal building and across to the car park, the taxi was there and I didn't have to hang around.

The only thing that I wasn't impressed with was the food. Yes, my flight from London City to Arlanda was only two hours, but this was the measly sandwich we were given. It was tiny!

I can't get over how useful my smart phone is, and how did I ever manage without one!!

What other apps would you recommend that I check out?

{Giveaway: Microsoft's Great British Type Off}

On average 45% of us start typing on our devices before 9am each day!

(I probably start around 7am, and can sometimes even been found tweeting at 2am if the kids are up!)

Microsoft's Great British Type Off lands in Glasgow on Saturday 7th December at Curry's Braehead, Glasgow. The tour is hitting 20 UK locations, so don't worry if you're not in Glasgow! Follow the tour on Twitter with the hashtag #GBTypeOff.

At the event, some of the newest keyboards will be exhibited which are designed to aid and improve typing speed and comfort. You can even test and try them out to discover what kind of typer you are. Plus, there will be some great prizes including a luxury holiday.

It's not a holiday, but the lovely people at Microsoft have gifted me a Sculpt Ergonomic keyboard & mouse to giveaway to one of my lovely readers, with an RRP of £99.99. You just need to follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below.

Microsoft Sculpt Desktop

I can't make it along to the event unfortunately, so took the test at home. Turns out I'm the PERFECT TYPE!

The Ergonomic keyboard is ideal for me based on my answers, and I was sent the keyboard above to try. I think it will take some getting used to, but after just a quick shot (I was keen to get this post live!) I can tell it's going to be much better for my wrists than my current one. I'll keep you updated with how I get on!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UK entrants only please.

There is only one prize and no cash alternative is available.

The giveaway ends on Sunday 8th December.

Good luck :-)

I was given a complimentary Microsoft Sculpt Desktop for myself as well as one for the giveaway as part of this blog post. Opinions are always my own and are honest. 

{Guest Post: The Winter Blues}

Today's guest post touches on the topic of a previous post of mine, technology and the impact it has on playtime. Karen's children are obviously older than mine as she talks of texting and Xboxes, but I agree that being inside because of miserable weather does not need to mean boredom. As my kiddies get older, I love the idea of starting a tradition of family game night... I also have lovely memories growing up of doing puzzles with my dad before bed. I picked up this game at the supermarket recently. We're yet to play it, but I thought with the penguins it was perfectly themed for winter! 

Penguin Pile Up Game from Sainsburys, £4.99

Anyway, enough of my blabbing... over to Karen:

Getting most kids’ out of the home during summer time is not a big deal. With the sun shining, ice creams vans parked on every corner in the UK, fun activities, music blaring and long days you don’t even need to give them that nudge they sometimes need! When winter arrives it seems harder and harder to keep them active as they would rather sit in front of the heater than pop down to the corner shop to get that desperately needed loaf of bread. As a parent of two, during winter I have to admit that after a long day at work all I want to do is curl up in bed and switch the telly on...but then where does that leave my children? Most of their winter is spent in front of the T.V, playing games, texting...just about anything that will reduce their boredom.

Family Movie Night {image source}

When I do have the energy I find that my short winter days are spent nagging them to do something productive and get out for a while. I get them off the T.V so they get their phones out. I take away their phones so they fire up the Xbox. I demand they switch off the Xbox and I wave my arms towards the front door like a mad woman and I can see their scepticism as the rain and wind darkens the skies and batters the window. At that moment I asked myself ‘Would I really go out in that weather?’ I think that every parent reading this will know what my answer would be.

It finally dawned on me that I had to change my attitude towards winter so I could teach my kids’ something. I thought back to my childhood winter days and knew what I had to do. No amount of pushing them out the door was going to do it. I understood that winter is opposite to summer in physicality and in the spiritual sense. The idea that both summer and winter balance each other out led me to make very small changes in our lives...without stepping out the door.

Changes began with simple conversations. After work rather than allowing everyone to escape to their individual rooms I would try and get them to sit down together at dinner and ask questions. After a few times filled with tired responses and moody faces I was delighted to see my kids were actually enjoying our little time together! Baby steps led to our winter being completely transformed and I started to look forward to the end of work to finish off that ongoing game of monopoly or that television series we were watching together.

Family game night {image source}

Thinking back I realise it was the small changes that brought me closer to my children during the winter. It finally dawned on me that it wasn’t my children that had to be taught a valuable 'lesson'...it was me. I made the effort to make my kids winter just that little bit more magical and maybe one day they will carry on the small traditions I introduced to them with their own children. So, to all parents out there have a happy family winter!

Author Bio

Former British Airways cabin crew member, Karen Rayner currently lives in Warwick with her husband and two children, Charlotte and Jack. She is the founder of Childrens Funky Furniture, an online furniture store which provides imaginative and creative furniture items that appeal to young children. Karen also writes extensively about how to create artistic and vibrant bedrooms that children can relate to and enjoy. Follow Karen on Google Plus.