Play Fest families got together and came up with some really stimulating play ideas for toddlers on Twitter and Facebook. We’ve captured the ideas to share back, so you you’ve always got a handy point of reference to come back to if you ever find that you are stuck for an idea or two.

What is like life with a toddler?

We asked Play Fest what life was like with a toddler to which there was a general agreement that it’s exhausting, hilarious, maddening, hectic, busy, frustrating, rewarding, manic and stressful, yet the most amazing experience. Bearing all of this in mind, how on earth do you keep one of these entertained?

Play Fest gave it’s top tips for stimulating your toddler through play:

• give them opportunity to learn through discovery e.g put objects in a box & reach in without looking to feel it
• Little ones like to imitate what you’re doing. Even if it’s just stacking bricks
• Don’t put in too much effort – inevitably they’ll be fascinated with the thing you least expected!
• Everything breakable moves up a shelf
• Make it simple but fun. Think outside the box

Play Fest families shared favourite toddler play ideas that you can try for yourself:

• Toddlers love play that involves textures; glitter & foam and playdough
• Games like duck duck goose & traffic lights are great for introducing taking turns & coordination
• Messy activities – as young as possible
• Reading
• Building
• Cook lots of spaghetti and put it in a washing up bowl and cut it up. Add food dye to make it more interesting.
• Role play
• Crafts with pasta shapes and making texture pictures
• Pretend play e.g. play kitchens
• Playing games like i-spy when out and about to learn about surroundings
• Food play with jelly, angel delight, pasta, noodles as well as the usuals like water, paint and cornflour
• Baking is great for experiencing tastes, smells and textures
• Simon Says, hokey cokey, head shoulders knees and toes, if you’re happy and you know it, old mac donald – singing games
• Simple jigsaws
• Shopping list game memory game
• Matching pairs game
• Jumping in puddles
• Make things from old cereal boxes, toilet rolls…anything from the recycling box.

spaceship stations, from old cereal boxes, toilet rolls, well anything from the recycling box

Toys and Toddlers

Play Fest discussed a distinct lack of good quality engaging & stimulating toys for 18-24 mth group that they can learn on their own. Many have to introduce older toys under supervision.

Any toys that help children learn colours and shapes are great, but introducing textures is even better.

Finally science play for young ones was a product idea challenge.

Al Boxall-Gordon

I am the founder of IzziwizziKids.co.uk and the Play Fest.

Kate Pollard Yummy Mum to 2

http://whatmeandtheboyssay.posterous.com/
I have been married for nearly 9 years to Luke and am a mum to 2 little boys (4 and 6). My ‘proper’ job is a Primary School teacher where I have been teaching in KS2 (7-11 year olds) for 9 years but from September have had a change… same school, but in reception!
I started blogging about a year ago with a blog called ‘Girlsdietdiary’. This was a mix of posts about my diet (that didn’t quite go to plan) and also some recipe ideas and tips. I stumbled upon Izziwizzikids and embarked upon my first Vlog review… and since then haven’t looked back!

I very quickly realised that things were taking a turn for reviewing products either by Vlog or written blog post , with an emphasis on toys and family items, so I took a leap and set up whatmeandtheboyssay…
Since then, my very first Vlog for Izziwizzi turned into a successful application to be a Toyologist for ToysRUs… and I have had wonderful opportunities to blog and vlog for a wide range of people.
Along the way I feel I have learnt an awful lot… so here are my top 10 tips!

Kate’s Top Blogging Tips

‎1. Do what you feel is right for you and be yourself… blog about the things that get your juices flowing as these will be the more natural posts. As you go along you will develop your own style either by finding what you like to do, or through people’s comments. At the end of the day, it is YOUR blog!

2. Be creative – I write poems, take LOTS of photos and use video in as many ways as I can! I have been known to attach my FlipVideo to a car and stand it up in the road to get different shots!

3. Honesty is the best policy – be constructive, but tell it as it is!

4. Let the children help out… they are the best testers, creators and demonstrators – so as long as you don’t mind posting pictures and videos of them on your blog, they are a great asset to show play in action!

‎5. Share your links… you have taken the time to write so put it out there for others to read, and let people (and companies) know about it! Tag them in your links on facebook and twitter too!

6. Experiment with vlogging – If you have never done a video review, give it a go! I was really apprehensive, especially about going on YouTube… but I now really value the platform and exposure it gives my work!

7. When writing or videoing just go with the flow… don’t spend too long analysing or preparing, just get on with the task in hand… you can always edit later! Be prepared to spend some time at it though… a video review from start to finish and posting can take a couple of hours!

‎8. Go for a good mix – a range of videos, photos and writing about different things will add variety to your blog. Readers like a mix of content…

9. Keep it up to date… you don’t have to make it a full time job, but aiming to do a post a week will keep readers coming back and keep it up to date and relevant as well as being manageable! Taking on too much at once will just add pressure!

10. Believe in yourself and your work!

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Al Boxall-Gordon

I am the founder of IzziwizziKids.co.uk and the Play Fest.

Danielle G Parker of Blog by Baby

http://www.blogbybaby.com

Danielle’s Top Blogging Tips

1. maintain a good relationship with PR’s. remember they may look after other clients and projects.

2. start off small, small acorns grow into big trees!

‎3. think what you would like to know about something when you write up your own.

4. try and inject some of your personality into what you’re writing, (i’m a bit useless at that, buti try!)

5. Dont accept things that you wouldn’t use, its a waste of your time and the PR’s and probably the people reading it too!

‎6. don’t get bogged down with what others are doing, try and be different. I personally like to think people might see something new and exciting on my site

7. Make posts visual, add pictures and even a video, a big block of writing could put people off

8. ‎Don’t be in a major rush to get something up immediately, use it, see what you actually think of it. Chances are if you spend time with a product you will learn more about it and will have more to say about it.

‎9. remember it’s not life or death if you don’t like something, a lot of companies are happy for feedback about what could be improved.

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Al Boxall-Gordon

I am the founder of IzziwizziKids.co.uk and the Play Fest.

Lauren Goodchild of The Wonderful Adventures of Spud and Spike

http://spudandspike.co.uk/

To start with about a month prior to starting The Wonderful Adventures of Spud & Spike my husband had told me that I was no longer allowed to spend any money on Prams. A few competitions kept popping up to become pushchair testers so I added a few reviews of products that I owned as examples of what I could do. It paid off and I have reviewed for Mamas and Papas, Quinny and Pushchair Trader. I absolutely love my Blog, it is my home away from home. It gives me a break from busy family life but enables me to write about what I love. I never thought it would take off it was a hobby giving me something to concentrate on other than housework and even now 9 months after starting I am shocked that strangers read and enjoy it. Positive feedback totally spurs you on.

Lauren’s Top Blogging Tip

1. Relax and have fun, no child preforms on demand. My best videos have been unscripted.
2. Use good video editing software. Even Windows Movie Maker that is free to download is so simple to use but it helps to make video reviews flow and more interesting to watch.
3. Be concise. It is so hard to fit everything in to such a small space of time but shorter videos are kinder to watchers!
4. Turn a mobile phone camera sideways – it stops youtube from cutting the sides off!
5. Use spell check, all blogging platforms have one and I think Blogs look a lot more professional when words are spelt right!
6. Be picky – don’t write of vlog about things just for the sake of it, you will lose your passion
7. Engage your readers – when sharing posts and videos
8. Make friends – some of my closest friends have been made through Blogging and it certainly helps get your blog out there
9. Share and share alike. If you get a good lead share it with your friends and karma (usually) means you will get good leads through them.
10. Have Fun!s
 

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Al Boxall-Gordon

I am the founder of IzziwizziKids.co.uk and the Play Fest.

Laura of the Yummy Mummy Flabby Tummy Blog

http://yummymummyflabbytummy.blogspot.com/

Laura started blogging about 2 and half years ago about a month after Miss C was born. She stumbled upon an old friend from school who wrote a blog and thought that is a really good idea. Her family live all over the place and don’t see the kids often so having an online diary gave her the opportunity to share their news, development stages, milestones etc with them and it went from there. Laura blogs most nights, but does have a break cause she thinks she’d get bored otherwise.

Laura’s Top Blogging Tips

1. Do it because you enjoy it

2. Do it when you want to not when you feel you have to

3. Don’t worry about stats etc but engage with other bloggers by commenting if you want to build a readership

4. Make your blog fun with pictures and videos 5. Be honest!!

5. Be honest!!

6. In terms of reviews, try posting your own reviews of stuff you have at home, toys, books..whatever takes your fancy and hopefully off the back of that you’ll be approached to do reviews

7. Build relationships with companies/PRs – follow up when you receive something, let them know when the review is live, let them know they can contact you should anything else become available

8. Take part in blog-hops, join Britmums, twitter, blogger.ed…Playfest of course, that gets your blog out there and noticed

9. Be yourself always!

10. Enjoy it! Your blog will be there to share with your kids, grandkids etc etc which is what I love the most about blogging and cause I have a rubbish memory!

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Al Boxall-Gordon

I am the founder of IzziwizziKids.co.uk and the Play Fest.

Claire Curran of The Lazy Girl Blog

http://www.20somethingmum.blogspot.com/

Claire came into Play Fest as an experienced blogger who is heavily involved in the promotion of Do something yummy week Clic Sargant Campaign.

Claires’s Top Blogging Tips

1. Do Something Yummy has allowed bloggers to join in with prompts each week, for the last 3 weeks. This has reached 110,000 tweeters last week alone, with 99 posts written in the last 3 weeks, linking up with the Typecast blog and Mums Panel and via the Hashtag #dosomethingyummy

2. Blogging with a charity is a great way to help raise awareness of your favourite charity of choice. The charity will geneally be more than happy to help, so why not get in touch online? They may even tweet your link for you

3. Vlogging to prompts can also help those who are new or unsure about vlogging (Video blogging). It can give you a subject to talk about, rather than simply sitting in front of the camera and talking without planning it!

4. Vlogging also helps grow your audience- you can easily set up a Youtube channel, linked back to your blog. When you post a video piece, make sure to use your url link in the description.

5. New bloggers should forget about their stats  for at least the first 3 months, and concentrate on finding their own unique voice. Stats are not as important as most people think, and if you are blogging as a hobby, they shouldn’t detract from the enjoyment you get from writing

6. Use Twitter to find similar writers to yourself and engage with them. Remember to tweet your link to your blog posts and/or Youtube chanel- you need to grow your audience and engagement is the best way.

7. Look at your 3 favourite blogs. Whilst it’s not a great idea to steal ideas directly, if there is something in these 3 blogs that are similar, consider your own blog and see what changes you can introduce to make it better.

8. For anyone interested in helping out with Do Something Yummy, the last prompt is Survival, with a link up on Thursday. And on Monday, I will have a topic at my blog as part of a week of writing, quizzes and tweets for Oxfams #GetTogether events for International Women’s Day.

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Al Boxall-Gordon

I am the founder of IzziwizziKids.co.uk and the Play Fest.

Charlotte Everiss of The Mummy Blogger

http://www.themummyblogger.co.uk/

Charlotte started blogging back in 2003 about cars and then in 2008 took it from a hobby to professional and started her own social media business. For 3 years she used blogging and social networking to meet amazing people. Then in 2011 she setup the Mummy Blogger.

Charlotte’s Top Blogging Tips

1. Research your product before you blog; spend time looking at positive and negative features to give a well rounded review

2. Where possible try to feature helpful links so that others can buy the product if they wish from trusted websites; but don’t forget your link disclaimer about going off site

3. Look at your blog audience. Review products they will like and engage with. If you’re post gets comments then this will help with SEO

4. Find innovative ways to make your blog unique e.g. through making videos, photo still videos using tools like animoto.com this will make your blog stand out

5. Research your keywords. Google the product you are talking about look at keywords and phrases other bloggers have used to get top positions online.

6. Keep the review short; ideally 600 – 800 words is sufficient to entice your readers to interact with you.

7. Think about setting up a YouTube channel to promote your video reviews on as well as through your blog; double the chance of showing in search engines.

8. Be honest – there’s nothing worse than a fake review and they can be spotted a mile off. If something is awful then tell the PR company and tell your blog readers.

9. Give your images proper names. If you want to rank in Google’s image search make sure you give images proper names rather than 231109.jpg. Call it what it is e.g. Milky The Bunny Review from The Mummy Blogger

10. Make sure a link to your RSS feed is available above the fold. Subscribers are the lifeblood of any successful blog make sure people can see how to subscribe to all your fab new posts.

11. Interact with your audience. If someone takes the time to comment. Thank them and reply to their engagement with you.

12. Make sure you mention the products and the brand you are promoted appropriately; I often check with the company if they have additional product shots & specific links they wish to have highlighted in the blog.

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Al Boxall-Gordon

I am the founder of IzziwizziKids.co.uk and the Play Fest.

Kelly Brett of Writings, Ramblines and Reviews

http://writingsramblingsandreviews.wordpress.com/

Kelly Brett is a wife, mum (to two little uns) a full time worker and blogger at writings, ramblings and reviews. Kelly started blogging when she was on maternity leave as somewhere to keep the brain going and keep things she wrote and real life ramblings. Real inspiration for Kelly’s blog is her family, hubby and two children Legs and mouse. Posts are relevant to Kelly’s life.
Kelly also loves being able to give information to others, especially around family life, children and toy recommendations.
Her first vlog was a review for Izziwizzi Kids and was so nervous, but it got easier. Kelly now really enjoys them. Kelly blogs fo fun and claims to be by no means a professional. She is always learning and loves it!

Kelly’s Top 10 Blogging Tips

1. Be yourself – Find your style, don’t try to be anyone else. People want to see you!
2. Be honest – People want to know what you really think when reviewing things.
3. Be original – Do your blogs, vlogs how you want to. If you have an idea, go with it! You don’t have to be professional.
4. Make it colourful – (Not your language). Use propos in videos, different voices, or pictures in blogs. Brighten it up!
5. Involve others in your vlogs. Adults as camermen, assistants, cameo parts, show kids playing and get them to talk.
6. Variety is the spice – Don’t just always do one kind of play/toy, post or video. Include real life reviews and ramblings.
7. Respect for all – for bloggers (no stealing others work) Companies (they want honesty) and yourself (you are important too)
8. Value partnerships – whether it’s companies, other bloggers, campaigns, whatever, give as much if not more than you take.
9. Promote your blogs / vlogs – It’s good to talk!
10. Keep it nice and simple and have fun!

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Al Boxall-Gordon

I am the founder of IzziwizziKids.co.uk and the Play Fest.

Izziwizzi Kids is all about ‘Changing the World of Toys and Play…Together’. The emphasis here is ‘together’. So in addition to launching a brand new episode of Izziwizzi Kids Play TV every Friday, you can join in the fun and have your say in your weekly Play Fest Party. When the kids have gone to sleep you can come online and play. This gives you a huge amount of influence and input into the world of toys and play.

So How Does it All Work?

Imagine you are invited to a friends party but this is not the sort where you drink too much and regret it, or the sort where you get together and end up spending too much money. Our parties have a twist. We talk about a specific aspect of play that feeds in to up and coming Izziwizzi Kids Play TV episodes.

We team up with companies to bring you opportunities to do product reviews, make product recommendations, receive special offers, take part in competitions and have your say.

It’s a whole lot of fun and everyone is welcome to join in!

And best of all…you no longer have to wait to see what the the TV spits out at you for play and toy inspiration for your kids! Find out what other mums are doing, find out what Izziwizzi Kids is up to, explore what companies have on offer for you and this way you get buckets more inspiration.

Join Us on Twitter

If you are familiar with Twitter this will make perfect sense. If you are not on Twitter or new to it and want to find how to get involved then I’ll give a bit more explanation in just a moment.

Join us on Twitter every Tuesday between 8.30pm-10pm (new extended time). Just follow and use the hash tag #PlayFest or follow @izziwizzi.

If Twitter is new to you then you need to:

a) Setup and account with Twitter and write all sorts of nice things about yourself in your profile. Just Google how to setup Twitter account and you will get help.

b) The trick then is to register with an external free Twitter application such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. These tools enable you to track conversations amongst a whole lot of other useful stuff. Whichever you choose you need to setup keyword tracking for the term #PlayFest. Once you have this in place then you will be shown every tweet that contains this keyword / hashtag.

c) Start tweeting. Everything you say has to be in less than 140 characters. Just make sure that you leave enough space to include #PlayFest if you want everyone at the party to like what you say.

d) Please do not be affraid to ask questions during the playfest if you are unclear about anything. We are all in it together. You can just hit reply to any conversation.

e) Have fun!

Join Us on Facebook

Join us on Facebook every Thursday between 8.30pm-10pm (new extended time). Just follow our fan page (click the like button) and the party updates will start feeding into your news feed.

We think that more people are familiar with Facebook, but if you would like further help to get up and running with this, then please feel free to drop us an email to help get you up and running.

Al Boxall-Gordon

I am the founder of IzziwizziKids.co.uk and the Play Fest.