The Mascots that I was unsure of now sit on my sofa, we all have Olympic t-shirts, flags that we wave as we watch, bunting around the children's room...all we needed was a track and some athletes?
ELC and Happyland to the rescue! We love Happyland in our house and have been collecting it for the last 4 years. It is fantastic for developing imagination and each time we get it out I can guarantee a different game. I was not surprised then to find they had produced a 'Race Track Sports Day'.
To begin, there was a lot for your money. It sold at £20 and there was a lot in the box:
8 piece track, which forms the track
medal podium
4 hurdles and a highjump stand and bar
8 characters (3 runners, 3 paralympians, photographer and a judge)
It was all boxed up well...but not too well that you couldn't take it out of the box. We took the track pieces out first, and whilst Joshua was putting it together to make the track, it gave me enough time to take out the rest of the set.
There are endless opportunities to be had with this toy, and as mentioned earlier, each time we play with this, it's a different adventure. Joshua has been watching the athletics on TV and then re-enacting the races on his track. Sometimes, we even re-enact the races ourselves in the garden. The podium was a great success and we had great fun with our own medal ceremony. It gave us time to look up different countries, find their flags and also to research their national anthems. The educational elements were amazing and so many extension ideas.
This is a very well made toy, and after having an 18 month old test it too, it is very durable. The characters were thrown and chewed and still look as good as new! The track is made of a very sturdy cardboard and wouldn't bend easily.
Joshua is made up with this set, and the only criticism from him is that there are no medals! (We did make our own)
You can also buy an athletes set, which extends the fun even more! All we need now is a swimming pool, veledrome, football pitch...the possibilities are endless!
Here are our final scores (using a 5 star system):-
Educational Factor (Mummies view)
Fun Factor (Joshua's view)
