Product Tested By Samantha Turnbull – Scarlett and Eliza – 7 & 4 Years
Samantha Awarded Creative Steps Magazine 5/5
I thought they looked appealing and inviting. I think it’s an excellent idea, it can be hard to think of creative ideas sometimes and children always love to craft! The front cover designs are very appealing and both children were keen to pick them up. Scarlett was particularly interested in the summer edition. My children are big fans of crafting and it’s nice for them to see the finished idea first so they can chose what we make. We haven’t attempted any of the outdoor activities as yet but there looks lots of ideas we can make and do for outside. I thought the fun facts were an excellent addition to the magazine. It’s educational but because they’re kept short they hold the children’s interest. I learned some animal facts I didn’t know so it benefited myself also! The magazine has some great competitions and who doesn’t like a freebie? I shall be entering the latest giveaway as there are some great prizes on offer! We were sent 4 issues and they are good quality photos and it is well laid out. Being 4, Eliza has quite a short attention span but Scarlett (age 7) was quite happy to spend longer looking through them and pointing out things she would like to make and do. I do agree this is a good quality educational magazine. it has fun and seasonal related activities and information which holds your interest. The age appeal is listed as 0-11 years and I agree there is definitely something for everyone and I like the way the magazine is laid out so it is clear which age group the activities are suitable for. In Scarlett’s words “They are filled with bright colours and easy to understand.” I like how they are clear which parts of the EYFS and beyond they are related to. I am returning to childminding next month so these magazines will be so useful when planning my activities for the children. After the initial read we’ve dipped into them a couple of times a week before deciding what to do at craft time. It’s definitely a good quality product as well presented. I do think it is pretty good value, I think it could be priced slightly lower to make it more appealing. I think I’d definitely consider buying it again as a single issue. I would recommend as I have a lot of friends with children in this age group. Definitely a great magazine, lots of thought and well laid out. A great magazine that offers inspiration and can be used again and again! Samantha Turnbull – Scarlett and Eliza – 7 & 4 Years
Product Tested By Nikola Caswell – Emilia 3 Years
Nikola Awarded The Creative Steps Magazine 5/5
I thought they were very well designed and something I probably would have seen and bought from a shop for my daughter. I think it’s brilliant. It’s so easy to do the same things all the time with your children so it was a really good magazine to help us do new things whilst learning and recycling. the covers were great they gave a sneak peak of some of the things you could make in the magazines. she is always collecting leaves, flowers shells and stones when we go out for walks so she enjoyed these magazines, especially as we were able to find things around the house to reuse. We try to be outdoors as much as we can so these magazines were great to add something a little different to our usual activities. she’s a bookworm herself so she loved the reviews and also picked a couple of books from the reviews that she’d also like to read. Personally whenever we buy magazines we don’t enter any of the competitions, however I know some other mums that always enter them so they are definitely a good thing to have in the magazines. The quality of these magazines is very good. The print was a good reading size and clear, the page quality was also good. Not cheap feeling and no ink transferring onto your hands. These magazine certainly kept Emilia entertained. We had a quick flick through them all on the day we got them and she was so excited she wanted to make everything right away. We paced it out and did one magazine at a time and she really enjoyed it. These magazines are definitely educational as they teach them about nature, getting creative, using their minds, recycling and so much more. A great educational tool. I feel these magazines are ideal for 3 years plus as my daughter is 3 and the magazine is perfect for her she really enjoyed it and understood most of the content, but my son who is 1 I would say is too young for it. My daughter enjoyed everything in the magazines but she did love the making side of the content the most. I really liked that it was something different, not just another crafting magazine or comic. I enjoyed the magazines just as much as my daughter and that it was something we could do together. We would have a read every couple of days and she would pick out something to make so that way we had the time to find the materials etc that we needed. Its brilliant, a really good magazine for all the family to get involved with. Great content and definitely good value for money. I would definitely buy this magazine again either as a subscription or as a single issue. I would recommend as me and my daughter really enjoyed these magazines and we have a few friends with children around the same age and I believe they will enjoy them just as much. A great magazine, great content and very enjoyable and educational. We have really enjoyed these magazines and all their content. We have found a couple of favourite makes in the butterfly mask (the first thing my daughter wanted to make from seeing it on the cover) and also the pizza box scene! We love this and love that we can change the scenery with the seasons. My daughter was a November baby and loves all things Halloween and Christmas so we are looking forward to making more things from these issues. A fantastic magazine.
Product Tested By Elisa Miles – Oliver 4 Years
Elisa Awarded The Creative Steps magazine 4.4/5
My first impression was that they seemed to be more aimed at the parents than the kids as it seems a more grown up front cover than a kids one. I like the idea of it and it did bring up conversations when doing the activities. I feel the front cover is really more geared towards adults with lots of writing and a picture of a child rather than any of the things you can make or do. Oliver has a very small concentration span so I had to pick crafts that were reasonably quick and easy to do but he seemed to enjoy them. We have not tried any of the outdoor activities included in the magazines due to shielding. Unfortunately Oliver was not interested in the book review section and fun facts but I think he would at an older age. Competitions featured in the magazine are good but you have to send of vouchers to enter them which seems very old fashioned now rather than doing it online. The quality seemed good but didn’t like the toy reviews/ads that were nothing to do with crafts as we have enough of that everywhere else. The content did surprisingly hold Oliver’s attention as he does have a short attention span. When we are able to get out to buy items (still shielding) then we will prob do more of the activities and as he gets older. I do agree these are good quality educational magazines and certainly created some conversation on the various topics like the hedgehogs and where they live etc were discussed when doing that activity. I would say this magazine is more suitable for 4 years plus and maybe even older depending on the child. I can see Oliver getting into it more in a year or so. Oliver had no interest in looking at these magazines and I think this was because the pages are packed with so many words. I picked what to make and we did them. I liked that the ages for the activities were sectioned up. We would check out the magazine and look through to see what we could do with the stuff we have in the house. It’s a good quality magazine with plenty in it and I think it does what it sets out to do. These are really good value as I have seen magazines for a lot more with a lot less content in them. I would consider buying these magazines in about a year or so when I think Oliver would get more out of it. I would recommend as I think it is a good magazine with lots of ideas and activities to do in it. I think it’s well laid out with lots of ideas and pics to show the finished product. There was a lot to do with household object if you have them in your house. I feel the magazine is very much aimed at the parents rather than the children, or at least to much older children with the amount of writing rather than pics in it. All the activities are written steps rather than picture step by steps so have to have adult input. I also think all the writing put my son off looking. The activities did start conversations about certain topics like animals and space etc. Elisa Miles – Oliver 4 Years
