Story Stacks - Fire Station, By HeyDoodle - REVIEW

Nature/ Type:          Innovative silicone colouring mat in room-arrangement theme 

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Recommended age:  3 year-old ++   

Who would love this: Colouring and Art & Craft lovers. I love how HeyDoodle incorporates story-telling and design layout elements in the set! 

“Story Stacks - Fire Station” is a creation that is uniquely HeyDoodle. It inventively explores 3D visual concept using silicone colouring mats. We found this refreshing, fun, like nothing we had ever seen before! 

Why I love ❤️ this set: 

(1) 8 Room Tiles -You get 8 silicone room tiles; each in a shape of modular hexagon. The room design gives a three-dimensional visual space from a two-point perspective, which reminds me of an interior-designer portfolio with meticulous details. We had marvellous time admiring the room; there is a vehicle storage space with fire truck, “changing room” with firefighter garments and gears, brigade training room, firehouse gym with fitness equipment, dorm room with bunk beds, lavatory, and a food pantry. Best of all, there is a tile with an “empty space” for you to design your desired space for the firefighters! 

(2) Create & Arrange - This is an activity where two or more kids (or adults) can collaborate design ideas. I LOVE working side-by-side with my girl, filling-out the rooms with colours that make us happy. I love arranging the room in different layouts. We have interesting discussion about what is the BEST way to build a functional fire station that can respond to an emergency quickest (perhaps fire truck should place right next to the changing / equipment room, but the girl thinks it’s a great idea to have the food pantry next to it too - “just in case anyone needs to grab a banana for a quick “energy snack” while on the way to the fire!”). 

(3) Character Tokens - The set includes 8 double-sided character tokens to encourage kids to “give lives” to the rooms. One side of the tokens shows the characters in their firefighter gear, the other side shows us the “everyday normal” appearance of these characters. My girl immediately dived into her story-telling mood, sharing a story about Penny and Sammy the firefighters who saved the day. I love the female representation in a commonly male-dominated career. 

(4) Wipeable - Also included are 12 HeyDoodle fine-tip and non-toxic markers. These Story Stacks are reusable, washable, and wipeable with a slightly damp cloth. I also LOVE the travel-easy metal storage tin case. 

# gifted in exchange for review 

Where to buy this: 

https://heydoodle.com.au/products/storystacks-fire-station

Enjoy the video! 

abc - When I Grow Up, By HeyDoodle - REVIEW

Nature/ Type:          Reusable colouring mat with FUN abc-learning theme    

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Recommended age:  3 year-old ++ 

Who would love this: Kids and adults that LOVE the calming fun of colouring activity 

If you have not heard of HeyDoodle , you really should check out this clever mat! I previously wrote about “abc - Aussie Icons” (thanks The Kid Cave for introducing us our very first HeyDoodle!). Today, I’m going to talk about our latest addition - “abc - When I Grow Up” from HeyDoodle . 

Why I love ❤️ this toy? 

(1) Wipeable Mat - Each set comes with a silicone colouring mat, 9 marker pens, and a travel pouch. I love that HeyDoodle mat is reusable, washable, wipeable, and it keeps kids engaged for hours! It’s like a tablet screen with a “reset” button - with just a damp cloth and a gentle wipe, we get to repeat the colouring process over and over! We love how HeyDoodle makes a traditional colouring activity paperless. I also love that the mat is wide enough (40 x 30 cm) for two kids to share the colouring fun side-by-side whilst giving the parents some precious me-time! 

(2) Learn About Career Choices - I LOVE the careers theme in alphabetical order. I love how it includes popular options and other “not so popular” career choices that invite interesting questions from the curious kids. The kids got excited about Astronaut, Veterinarian, Investigator, Yoga Instructor, and Zoo Keeper. They were eager to find out more about “Quantity Surveyor” and the importance of cost estimation in a building project; They think “Urban Planner” is really cool - “like a “Lego City” designer in a big people world!”. The kids get to trace the alphabet letters in lower case and learn new spelling for words like “researcher” and “electrician”. 

(3) FUN design - We love the pictures with a little touch of humour. The kids giggled seeing the zoo-keeper tending a crocodile,  a musician with gigantic saxophone, a “web designer” painting the computer monitor with paintbrush and palette, and a gardener watering a ginormous flower! 

(4) New Press Seal Pouch I love the brand new “press seal” pouch - a GREAT improvement from the older version with easily come-off “zipper head”. I also love the slightly larger pouch in this new version. I love how organised, compact, light weight and portable it is! 

(5) Safe Material - The mat is made of food-grade silicone and free from harmful substances. Highly recommended, 100%! 

# gifted in exchange for review 

Where to buy this: 

https://heydoodle.com.au/products/abc-when-i-grow-up

Enjoy the video! 

abc - Aussie Icons, By HeyDoodle

Nature/ Type:          Wipeable silicone colouring mat 

Rating:                     ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Recommended age:  3 year-old ++ 

Who would love this: Colouring & Art lovers! 

Great News, all toy lovers! The Kid Cave online store is launched, and you REALLY should give its account a follow if you haven’t done it yet. 🌈 The Kid Cave has recently provided us with a HeyDoodle abc - Aussie Icons for review, and It is INCREDIBLE! 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Reusable, Washable, Wipeable- HeyDoodle elevates the traditional colouring activity to a whole new eco-conscious level. Each set comes with a HeyDoodle Mat, 9 HeyDoodle Markers and a travel pouch. HeyDoodle Mat is no ordinary mat. It’s reusable, washable, wipeable. It’s like having an invisible “reset” button, we get to “do it again!” - over and over. All we need is a damp cloth to “restart” the colouring process repeatedly! It’s a stress-free and paperless activity that keeps kids enchanted. The size of the mat is wide enough for two siblings to share the fun side-by-side whilst giving the parents some precious zone-out time. 

(2) Unique Aussie Icons- “Zooper Doopers” in frozen fairy floss flavour, closed toasted Aussie “Jaffle” with baked bean, anyone? I’m in LOVE with the Aussie Icons design that generates so much conversations! We got our “Vegemite” bottle and “Weet-Bix” box out from pantry to compare and confirm the “right” colours; We talked about what “Didgeridoo” is made of, the secret of “Uluru” and its ever-changing colours, and the magnificent wonder of “Great Barrier Reef”. There are also stars of Australian flags scattered around the mat for some searching fun. 

(3) Lower-Case Learning- This is also a lower-case alphabet learning toy, with a cheeky sense of humour. “a” is for “Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi”, “n” is for “No Worries Mate”. The all-time Aussie favourite snacks “Iced Vovo”, “Tim Tam” and “Meat Pie” took up i, t and m, together with our Aussie landmarks Harbour Bridge, Opera House, and Flinders Street Station for h, o and f.

(4) Convenient- This flexible mat can be easily rolled or folded-up, and stored in a convenient pouch together with the markers. I love how organised, compact, and handy it is! 

(5) Safety- The mat is made of food-grade silicone, free from harmful substances. 

Loving this!!! 

# gifted in exchange for review 

Where to buy this: 

https://www.thekidcave.com.au/

Enjoy the video!