September’s edition of The Mr Tumble Something Special Magazine couldn’t have come at a better time. With this change in weather (and so much rain!) I was relieved to have something to keep the kids happy indoors. It’s been lovely seeing them so busy enjoying learning, sticking, glueing, colouring and creating! It’s also perfectly timed for the new school year with ways to help get children ready! (Read our top tips for preparing children for starting School here)

For those of you who haven’t bought them before (or read my previous blog posts about it) the Mr Tumble Something Special Magazines are fun and educational and based on the TV Programme. They are aimed at all pre-school aged children and is particularly useful for those with special educational needs and disabilities.

What do we like about them? 
The magazines are packed full of stories, colouring pages, stickers, activities, crafts and include makaton signing system on every page. They are great fun and very educational. We also love that the magazine promotes awareness of special educational needs and disabilities. 

This Month’s Magazine: September 

Knowledge Learnt:

The Mr Tumble Something Special Magazines are always very educational and help to teach children about interesting topics. 

We loved that this month’s edition focuses on teaching children how to get ready for school/nursery- this is very useful with the new school term just around the corner.

It would be fantastic as a resource to support children who are starting School for the first time too! 

For example, there’s a double spread getting ready reward chart which uses pictures, words and makaton signs to show the key stages of getting ready. Parents can use this to reward their child for successfully achieving each stage. (Find out why we think rewards can be useful here)

There’s also a fun, activity page that takes children through the morning routine of breakfast, teeth brushing and getting your bag ready. This further reinforces Children’s routine and helps them to prepare for the upcoming changes. (Read our top tips on managing changes in routine here) 

…and just to add a bit of humour there’s a funny, sticker page all about getting Mr Tumble ready by choosing his hat! My children loved this! 

Skills Developed:

– Makaton Signs: The Mr Tumble Something Special Magazines are fantastic for teaching and learning Makaton signs. They are brilliant for parents too- with written guidance and photographs of Justin demonstrating the key makaton signs for each magazine. 

 
 – Colouring– We were very impressed with this month’s edition for helping children develop their colouring skills and in turn their fine motor skills. In addition to the usual colouring pages there were also pages like this butterfly colouring page that teaches children specific colouring skills.

This activity develops children’s hand eye coordination to colour in between the lines carefully. It also teaches children to identify colours and patterns and replicate them. 

– Pre-writing Skills–  September’s edition has some really fun ways of encouraging children to develop pencil control in preparation for forming the letters of the alphabet. For example, this activity where children have to try to keep their pencil within the line:

– Scissor skills- If you’re trying to provide opportunities for your child to practise using scissors with supervision, then (like me!) you’ll love the fun spiral snake activity! 

The craft activity of making Mr Tumble’s house to play with is also great for getting children to have a go with scissors. 

Favourite activity 

Our favourite activity in this month’s magazine was the sticker and colouring activity page all about pets; with it’s cute photographs of a cat, dog, rabbit and tortoise.

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Please note this blog post is Sponsored and we also received a copy of the magazine for review. However, all thoughts and opinions are our own.