The description for Loony Quest was the most intriguing game description I've heard. Suitable for 2-5 players aged 8+, a physical game with cards and other equipment, but which behaves as a video game, requiring you to gain points and progress through a series of levels in order to reach an end target. It's a very different and quite bold concept, and does it work?


Well actually it does, and it works very well. In fact we've played this game several times now, and we haven't used even 1/3 of the cards, nor have we had any chance of learning them - but we have got better at playing, and we've laughed a lot.

Yesterday I posted our review of the Wiplii Pirate Ship, and so today I am truly thrilled to be able to offer one of my readers the chance to win a Wiplii cardboard model of your own.

Some of you might be a bit glad to hear that the Wiplii Cardboard Tepee is a little smaller than the Pirate Ship, but still plenty big enough for a couple of native Americans or wilderness campers...
The Wiplii Cardboard Tepee stands at 1 metre tall and the footprint is 1460mm x 1230mm. Just like our Wiplii Giant Cardboard Pirate Ship, it is suitable for age 3+ and is assembled completely from recycled card with white facing. There are no glue or staples, and we found assembly of the Pirate Ship was amazingly simple - a stunning 12 minutes!

If you'd told me 2 months ago I would have a 7 foot tall cardboard model pirate ship in my house I'd have laughed, however I do and it's brilliant! A playhouse, a den, the best place to eat your sandwiches and the starting point for a million stories and games - and my boys can even colour it in or paint it however they like...


I asked my boys which Wiplii cardboard model they preferred and although secretly I really hoped they'd choose the Castle, they chose the Pirate Ship. I knew that our Manchester weather doesn't really allow for playing outside with cardboard very much, so the ship would be indoors for now at least, but I still didn't appreciate how big it was going to be - it's super impressive!

Today we had a special job to do as my 6 and 7 year old boys had been asked to review Vietnamese Street Food at Pho in Manchester Corn Exchange.  They were going to be on film talking about the food, and I was a little worried about what reaction they were going to have...and possibly also just how sensible they'd be for the camera lady... I was also a bit concerned about how well vegetarians were catered for, as 2 of us don't eat meat or fish.


Thankfully I needn't have been concerned, my small boys ate absolutely loads, as did we all. Vegetarians are very well catered for, but be sure to mention it to your hosts, as they will omit fish sauce from your meal.

This post is written by Andrew Burgess

Is There a Separation of Government in Homeschooling?

There are many reasons that parents choose to homeschool their children. Some families move around frequently, so parents want to provide some kind of stability. Some want to provide their children with a safe learning environments. Still others believe that the government is too involved in the public school system. While there is some separation of the government in the homeschooling setting, it can't be completely avoided.

Some jobs are just plain fun, and being asked by SleepyPeople if I could share my fort-building skills was definitely something that appealed on a rainy afternoon during Easter break - as my 6 and 7 year old boys ran past screeching at the fleeing cat.

I may not have the neatest or best fort-building skills, but after 22 years as a parent I'd hope I can put together something suitable, and SleepyPeople sent new pillows and duvets to work with. They proved an instant hit...

Yes it's true. The long wait is over and Game Of Thrones: Season 6 starts on Monday 25th April. The public have been listened to, and it will be broadcast simultaneously with the US at 2am GMT on Sky Atlantic and then repeated at 9pm. Plus the Catch Up episode will be available from around 3am. You can find out if Jon Snow is going to come back at exactly the same time as everyone else on your Facebook friends list. Spoilers may be a thing of the past...

My youngest child is a climber. It wasn't a complete shock to me, his older sister was a climber too and had fallen off the dining room table and split her head open by the time she was 12 months. Her 2nd glue-job was when she was still under 4. Thankfully so far those are the only trips to hospital with small people who have fallen, however that is some sort of miracle.

Aged around 18 months she climbed barefoot to the top of our 8 foot tall wooden garden fence. Sadly no adult is able to climb up a fence like that, and I actually had to leave her up there and run into my house , go all the way upstairs to fetch a stepladder and not trip up on the way back to get her down. She thought it was hilarious, she could see the neighbour's dog and she liked dogs. And cats....(I don't have a picture of a dog and I've heard cats attack you in the night if they think you are the enemy).


We knew our youngest was inquisitive, and more than a bit lively, from very early on. A walker by 11 months, he had already learned how to undo stairgates by twisting the two bottom supports until they were loose, and then just pushing the gate to crawl under it. It was no coincidence the gate at the top of the stairs was screwed completely to the wall.

The FabLab Metallic Tattoos kit from Interplay has over 120 temporary tattoos in gold, silver and black. Recommended for age 8+, I can think of a few adults who would get a lot of fun out of this kit - including myself as it turns out...


The kit has everything you might need including the 4 sheets of tattoos, plastic scissors, a big piece of sponge which you can cut to a manageable size to help apply your tattoos and an instruction leaflet.


The tattoos themselves are lovely designs! Really varied, there definitely is something for everyone, and a lot are really very generic and could suit almost any potential temporary tattoo buyer.

Updated to add Minecraft Vloggers and other TV and internet stars and celebs! - see the end of the article!

This October the first ever Digital Kids Show will take place at Event City in Manchester. A 2 day event bringing to life digital entertainment in a fun a friendly format for children and their grown ups. Six different zones will ensure there is something to interest everyone - I'm just now sure how long we'll be spending at each!

I get tons of press releases each day and I read them, but mainly I don't have time or inclination to share, however when it's really relevant to my audience and something I think is pretty awesome, then it's great to be able to tell you about it.

The long-standing Children’s TV duo Dick and Dom will kick off proceedings - which is enough to get my teenagers giggling and wanting to go...hmmm...

The six zones will include:

Gaming and Retro Tech - well, what more do I need to say, this is one of our favourite things. The very best retro and next generation computer games and tech, everything from Mario to Minecraft. There will also be some of the latest VR gaming and gadgetry.