Category Archives: Featured

Tips for Starting a Food Delivery Service

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coronavirus, is food safe, is coronavirus on food, can I catch coronavirus from food? takeaways.Starting a food delivery service in this climate is quite a savvy move. 

After all, food delivery was always incredibly popular, but the pandemic has sent things surging to brand new heights. The Guardian highlighted that even dry cleaning services have turned to dropping off groceries for a profit due to a lower than usual demand in their own trade. There’s a lot of stiff competition, but there’s plenty of room for success and innovation too. 

Keep reading after the jump to learn some tips for starting your very own food delivery service. 

Understand the Legal Procedures

You can’t get started until your plans to begin or resume a food business are on official record. 

For all your licencing and registration needs, you should consult gov.uk, registering at least 28 days before your opening. 

Food hygiene procedures also need to be followed to the letter. There is no cutting corners here, so proper cooking practices, cleaning methods, and temperature control all need to be properly maintained and regulated. When you tick all these essential boxes and have a plan to action, you can then put your best entrepreneurial foot forward. 

Consider Insurance

Food delivery will obviously require a great deal of time spent transporting goods, so a suitable car or van will be needed to make the trips. 

However, a standard insurance policy won’t cover you for these trips – you’ll need courier van insurance or courier car insurance instead. In fact, if you deliver food and you only have a standard insurance policy in place there’s a good chance that policy could be invalidated because you’d be breaching the terms of that policy, so the right courier insurance really is a must.

Define and Tailor Your Service 

The broader your objectives are, the more you will struggle to keep up with supply and demand at the very start of things. 

Everyone wants food, and that’s a universal truth. However, if you don’t steadily pace the growth of your operations, you will find yourself tripping over your own feet incredibly soon. Customer guarantees fall through, reputations are whittled away, and ultimately you will receive more work than you know what to do with. 

To kick things off, start by more acutely defining the following: 

  • Who you serve: Will you specialise in delivering food to the disabled or elderly, who need your service is a lifeline? 
  • What you serve: Do you provide people with their groceries in the morning, or provide takeaway quality foods in the evening? What markets are oversaturated in your area?
  • Price points: Is the service a cheap and affordable alternative to patrolling the local supermarket, or are you offering the finest quality foods in town? What are your profit margins?
  • Where will you deliver: What is the maximum distance you are willing to travel with the food? Are you serving in an affluent area, or a smaller and humbler town? 

It’s important to be specific with what you are offering from the outset. Humble origins enable you to build things up slowly, well within the confines of your capabilities, finances, and resources. By starting locally, you can also steadily build up a loyal customer base and community, becoming a homegrown business with a loyal following instead of being a faceless, vague entity.  

Flourish Your Appeal

Once the broad strokes of your food delivery service are well-defined, it’s time to flourish the broader appeal of your venture. 

There are many ways to add value to this particular sphere of your operation. You can contemplate lines of enquiry like: 

  • Fair trade: Does your business practice ethical trading methods? Do you source homegrown, local supplies?
  • Public eating habits: Last year, the BBC reported that vegan diets were steadily rising among the masses, which could yield interesting business opportunities. Could the trend towards healthier eating be worth tapping into?
  • Customer service details: Are potential employees friendly and personable? 
  • Marketing signatures: Is your brand sufficiently recognisable? Will you pay for advertising privileges in shop windows, or develop SEO marketing strategies online?

There’s a great deal to cover here, but for many businesses, each one of the points above adds depth to a dynamic service. There are many food delivery services out there, but yours needs to be a cut above the rest to be truly worthwhile. Examine all the areas of your operation where you can add some finer touches to make your offerings more niche and unique, and more customers will gravitate to your services. 

 

Collaborative Post.

 

How to Keep Your Child Motivated to Learn at Home

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homeschooling, home learning, lockdown, lockdown three, lockdown 3, remote learning, schooling, education, coronavirus, covid 19, After parents stepped into the shoes of a teacher in the first lockdown, there was a sigh of relief as children were finally welcomed back through the school gates in June.

But, as the virus has rapidly spread over the Christmas period, millions of primary school children will not return to education until after the February half-term, meaning it’s time for parents to re-tackle home learning once again. 

The Office for National Statistics found that the majority of British children struggled to learn from home during the first lockdown, with three-quarters of parents giving a lack of motivation as the reason why. So how can we keep our children focused this second time around? 

The team over at Essential Living have worked with Counsellor Kerry Quigley on this handy guide for parents to help keep your children motivated whilst learning from home. Kerry Quigley has been a counsellor for over 17 years, here she offers tips on keeping children mentally engaged and helping them to learn under difficult circumstances. 

 

Start and stick to a routine

 

A routine is extremely important, as not only does it give structure to your day but is also mentally beneficial. A recent study found that children feel safer and more secure when their lives have a predictable routine. 

 

Having a routine can also have a positive impact on mental wellbeing, no matter what your age (cause we’re still talking about kids here right).

 

Counsellor Kerry Quigley, who is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy said: “Children learn better in a structured routine. Where possible maintain a consistent sleep pattern, meal times and regular breaks. This will help to support your child’s concentration and energy levels.”

Your routine should be similar to a normal school day, including going outdoors, different types of skills learning and regular breaks. Here is an example you can follow: 

Or if your child’s school uploads tasks for them to complete every day, ensure they know what they have to do and that they have the equipment to complete them.

Create a rewards-based system

 

A rewards system is a great motivational tool used by teachers to encourage children to do something they may not enjoy by rewarding them for hard work and good behaviour.

 

 

Not only does it motivate but also helps improve behaviour. By deducting points for bad behaviour, this is a good alternative to another form of punishment like being sent to the naughty step. All this does is interrupts your routine and distracts workflow.

 

Counsellor Quigley believes, “It is important to remember to praise and reward their achievements. This will build upon your child’s self-esteem and encourage independence.” 

 

Unsure where to start? Here is a tutorial example with parental tips for creating a rewards system for your child: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQqGUCguWyY&feature=emb_logo 

 

Young children can benefit from sticker charts and it’s a good idea to get them involved with creating and keeping the chart up to date. Allow your child to decorate a piece of paper themselves to use as their own personal rewards chart. Let them choose different coloured stickers and give them a target to achieve per day. Giving daily targets will help increase a sense of self-confidence and motivate them to reach their goal. 

For older children, try offering other types of incentives such as an extra hour of television or a small gift for their efforts.

Introduce cooking

 

Younger children love to help out around the home, and take pride in seeing something they have helped to create. So, take pride in seeing something they have helped to create. 

 

Often we focus on one learning area like maths or science, but we forget that we can choose activities that incorporate several learning concepts.

 

Choose a recipe every day including different ingredients like flour or eggs. Use scales and ask them to weigh out different measurements. This will help them to understand concepts such as weights and fractions.

 

Through cooking, you can also teach a number of other skills such as:

  • Hygiene skills issues such as the importance of washing hands 
  • Reading labels for nutritional information
  • The importance of a balanced diet and the different food groups
  • Basic safety skills such as preventing burns from hot pans and the stove
  • and making sure food is not spoiled or contaminated by reading the labels

 

Counsellor Quigley believes: “Whilst it is important to give clear instructions and expectations, this will help motivate your child and build upon your child’s self-esteem and encourage independence.”

 

Here are some Lockdown friendly recipes for kids to help you get started: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kydl6dQIBk&feature=emb_logo

Encourage your children to stay connected to the outside world

Your child mustn’t become too disconnected from the outside world. During the first lockdown, parents became increasingly concerned that not attending school or social events would hold back their child’s development at such an early age. If your child is still struggling to adjust to this new, isolated environment reassure them that it is temporary. 

 

To help provide normality, allow them to interact online with peers. Try scheduling regular calls with a school teacher or a member of the family to discuss the progress of learning and other activities during their day. Knowing they will be speaking with someone on the outside world can give them that boost they might have needed. 

 

Counsellor Quigley said: “By empathising with your child’s feelings this will help them to feel heard and understood, and also support a positive relationship between you and your child.”

 

For any more advice or guidance from Counsellor Quigley, you can contact her through the Glister Counselling website: https://glister.uk.com/contact-us/

 

Thanks to Essential Living: https://www.essentialliving.co.uk/

 

My Writing Process Helen E Field

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The Mystery Shopper & The Hot Tub , Helen E Field, writing, writer, how I write. My mother once told me that when I was 10yrs old I informed her I was not going to have a ‘boring life.’ Well, I guess I must have succeeded because according to most people I know, I have led a very interesting life. Important for a writer I think. To me, I’ve just lived it exactly how I wanted – a free spirit if you will. ‘work hard, play hard’ could well be my motto. I started writing funny poems about all my classmates at school from the age of ten and I haven’t stopped writing them ever since. I have a business writing bespoke funny poems for and about people and I used my ability to write these funny poems to publish a range of greetings cards. I also began a journal at ten and nearly 50 years later I am still writing it – I have an old sea chest full of them! At school I was often picked out by my English teacher to stand up in front of the class and read the essay I had written; the one that I recall even now, was entitled ‘The Goldfish Who Could Speak.’  The class were in stitches!

I left school at sixteen and worked in retailing and hospitality. I started my own hospitality training consultancy in 1998, training managers and staff all over the UK, Europe and USA and speaking at conferences. One strand of the business was to design and implement mystery shopper programmes. It was the trigger for my debut novel ‘The Mystery Shopper & The Hot Tub.’

I have three incredibly talented grown-up children and a saintly husband! Pre-Covid, we embarked on some serious travelling around the world – clearly curtailed for the past ten months but we’ll be off again as soon as we are permitted! 

What you have written, past and present.

I have had numerous professional articles published in various hospitality publications over the years. One article in particular when published was deemed ‘an important academic paper’ which thrilled me, given I’d never gone to university. I wrote the entire article in one hit of 8,000 words in one evening and they didn’t change a single word! 

I completed The Mystery Shopper & The Hot Tub last Autumn and am currently writing the second book in the series, which I hope will be out by late Spring.

What you are promoting now.

I am promoting my debut novel The Mystery Shopper & The Hot Tub, for which I also wrote a free download called ‘The Big Dilemma’ that readers can access at the end of the book. It is women’s humorous fiction. I would say that you have to have a sense of humour and not be overly politically correct to enjoy it!

I do not have social media – my choice – which makes promoting a bit more challenging. I’m a face-to-face kinda gal and would much prefer to talk about the book in person or on the radio, but Covid has put a stop to that.

A bit about your process of writing. 

I don’t honestly think I have a process. I just write when I feel like it for as long as I want to. When I’m really in the flow, I can write for hours at a time without stopping. If I don’t feel like it, I don’t write. It’s pointless. When both my brothers were diagnosed with prostate cancer and my mother developed Alzheimer’s all in the same year, I was very flat and exhausted. I just couldn’t write ‘funny’, so I left my manuscript for a year and went back to it, when I felt more in control of things.

Do you plan or just write?

I would say I was more of a ‘seat of the pants’ writer. The only thing I could remotely describe as planning, is that I decide what I want the ending to be and kind of work out how to get there! My stories are very visual – a number of readers commented that they thought the book would make a great TV/film. I often think of ‘scenes’ that I know I want to include – particularly the mystery shopping assignments, which have been based on real life assignments that I have actually done myself or been de-briefed about by an assessor. They are very funny, not least because they have actually happened.

What about word count?

I never even considered word count when I started writing my first book. I literally just wrote it exactly as I wanted. When I finished it was around 120,000 words. I discovered afterwards that that was a lot of words for a book of my genre. I had to do some ruthless editing that made me weep as I removed whole chapters and chunks of writing to get it down – even now it’s around 105,000 and 443 pages long.

This has provided me with a problem I hadn’t anticipated.The print cost of a book of this size is significant, but to sell at a price similar to ‘competing’ novels I will be making very little money indeed on paperbacks.

Big lesson for me for book number two – keep an eye on word count!

How do you do your structure?

I am a story teller and I think my book reflects that. I never sat down and thought ‘how am I going to structure this novel?’ I just wrote the story it as it came to me. I would get to the end of a section and think, OK so what would be really funny to happen now? Then I wrote it. On editing, I made a few changes if I thought that the flow of the story wasn’t quite right, but really nothing major.

What do you find hard about writing?

I really don’t find anything about writing hard. I genuinely don’t understand writers who say they sit at their laptops struggling to get words out. I write so prolifically and easily it’s a mystery to me.

What do you love about writing? 

I love making up stories. It’s a bit like being a child again I suppose. In the real world we can’t pretend, but in stories you can create whatever crazy characters and wild incidents you like. It’s like creating escapism for yourself and for others to enjoy and I do like making people laugh.

Advice for other writers. 

My genuine advice to other writers is likely to get me into trouble from the many organisations that offer writing courses, advice, manuscript assessment etc etc. It is easy to forget that it is in all these people’s financial interests to tell you your writing isn’t good enough. For me there is only one group of people who have the authority to tell me that and that’s my readers. No-one else matters.

I can truthfully say that if I had read all the articles and advice about how to write before I started my book, I would never have written it. I would have been paralysed by indecision over absolutely everything. Never in my life have I come across such contradictions, nonsense rules, imposition of politically correct notions or subjectivity,  in an industry. This became the main reason I decided to go down the self-published route. 

I came across a quote many years ago, which I had printed on cards and gave them to my children as a good rule to live their lives by. It’s not a bad one for writers either.

“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” 

Leonardo da Vinci

The Mystery Shopper & The Hot Tub is out on the 14th of January and is available from amazon.co.uk

 

 

Pura Baby Wipes and Nappy Review

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There is a lot of guilt when it comes to parenting but thankfully, I can stop worrying about baby wipes thanks to Pura. They also do eco nappies. Yes and yes! We reviewed them both so read on.

pura baby wipes and nappies.


Pura make the most environmentally-friendly nappy possible, without compromising on nappy performance. I love the feel of the nappies and they do not have that chemical smell a lot of brands do. They do not leak and look comfortable (if only babies could talk). I was impressed with the nappies in all areas: look, feel and performance. Pura nappies contain no nasty chemicals, perfumes or allergens.  The materials they are made from include soft sustainable organic cotton for baby’s comfort and a super absorbent core made with certified natural plant fibres.

This is what Pura say: “Our nappies are created with 100% green electricity and no production waste, and our super absorbent core is made with certified natural plant fibres. Wrapped in recyclable packaging, our nappies have been awarded the coveted EU Ecolabel.

Every day, in the UK, 8 million disposable nappies are thrown away. Going the extra (greener) mile, we’re working with the UK’s only nappy recycling company NappiCycle to keep these nappies out of landfill and repurpose the material for use in affordable housing and in notice boards for nurseries, schools and businesses. So, relax and use these nappies knowing you’re striking the best possible balance between a happy planet and a happy baby.

As for the perfect nappy? We’re working on it.”

Pura baby wipes have changed my life. I can now wipe bottoms, or anything else, without plastic and guilt. They do not smell and they can even be flushed down the loo. Pura baby wipes are 100% plastic-free, 100% biodegradable and 100% compostable, made from sustainable plant fibres
· Each Pura wipe contains 99% water and organic aloe vera and no perfume, alcohol or chlorine
· Pura baby wipes are available in flushable, with the Fine to Flush accreditation, and non-flushable options. The baby wipes are suitable for sensitive and eczema-prone skin, certified vegan and are accredited by the British Skin Foundation, Allergy UK, the FSC and the Soil Association
· Pura is the most accredited baby care brand on the market, with a unique, simple labelling system listing the product’s eco-credentials for parents
· The first baby wipes in the UK with a Fine to Flush stamp of approval, and an ambition to be the first Carbon Neutral baby care brand
· The only baby brand to be teaming up with the Woodland Trust to help support the sustainability of the UK’s natural environment
· Pura’s baby wipes are approved by midwives and are dermatologically and clinically tested

We at Frost applaud this and cannot recommend them enough. Frost loves.

Go to  my pura to get yours.

 

 

What I Have Been Reading By Catherine Balavage

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michael connelly the night fire

Michael Connelly The Night Fire. 

Michael Connelly is without doubt one of the best crime writers ever. He makes it look easy to write a crime novel because his books flow so well. More fool anyone who tries to imitate him. This one from his Harry Bosch series is a novel to really get your teeth into. An epic thriller. The prisoner's wife. maggie brookes

The Prisoner’s Wife by Maggie Brookes.

This is an absolute triumph of a book. It is based on a true story of a Czech woman who posed as a man in a Nazi prisoner of war camp to stay with her British husband. It is riveting and the stuff of Hollywood films. It is well-researched like all the best historical fiction. It can be heart-breaking, but it is also a story of courage and hope. michael connelly fair warning Fair Warning by Michael Connelly. 

Another Connelly novel. This one I loved more than the other. It was sleek, smart and just perfect. It throws up interesting questions about DNA ancestry sites too. Connelly is a master of his craft and his novels are absolute perfection.
when you see me lisa gardner,

When You See Me by Lisa Gardner.

This is the first book I have ever read by Lisa Gardner and now I am wondering if I have been living underneath a rock. Wow. Just wow. What a writer, what a novel. I don’t usually read crime novels – I am a of a nervous disposition- but I will be seeking out Lisa’s other books now. It is no surprise Lisa is a New York Times bestseller. She sets the scene perfectly and her characters have so much depth. I also love that the FBI agents are female and their husband, also FBI agents, are taking care of the kids at home. Lisa Gardner is a much needed female voice in the world of thriller writers.
this time next year sophie cousens,

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens

This is a beautiful and brilliant novel. A romance novel with no hint of cliche. It has plenty to say and characters who are impossible to not fall in love with. Set in a 2020 where Covid 19 did not happen, this was the future we all deserved. I loved this book so much. It is so clever and pitch perfect. Sophie Cousens is one to watch.

a wish for the shipyard girls

A Christmas Wish for the Shipyard Girls by Nancy Revell. 

A perfect historical fiction saga novel. Like a warm hug on a Sunday evening. Make yourself a cocoa and dive in. Brilliant.
debbie macomber a walk along the beach,

A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber. 

Debbie Macomber is a New York Times bestseller and an author of over 100 books. There is a reason for her popularity, she is a master of her craft. This heart-warming tale of the love of two sisters has its sadness, but ultimately it is a story of love and beautiful rewards.

Alex Dahl, playdate

Playdate by Alex Dahl. 

Wow is what I want to say about this tightly wound thriller. The plot has you hooked all the way to the last page, your brain working the entire time. It is set in a sleepy Norwegian town, a perfect and atmospheric setting. I usually avoid books where a child goes missing like the plague, but this book is the perfect thriller. It captures the complexity of human behaviour so well. Sometimes you do not know who you should be rooting for.  Impossible to put down.

A Girl made of air, Nydia hetherington

A Girl Made of Air by Nydia Hetherington.

What an imagination Nydia Hetherington has. A Girl Made of Air is an outstanding novel. It has to hard know how a story about a circus funambulist is going to work and yet, it does. This is a vivid tale of regret and redemption weaved into a magical book of literary perfection. What a first novel, I cannot wait to see what Nydia Hetherington does next. She truly is one to watch. The unwanted dead by Chris LloydThe Unwanted Dead by Chris Lloyd. 

This is the first in a new WW2-set crime series. It is brilliant, rip-roaring stuff. Vividly written and pitch perfect. A great historical crime novel.

Books are available from waterstones.com, amazon.co.uk, dauntbooks.co.uk and independent book stores.

Frost Loves Toolally Handmade Statement Jewellery Made in The UK.

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I love finding a new brand to fall in love with. So be still my beating heart: Toolally make the most gorgeous statement jewellery. They are perfect for Christmas and beyond. To make things even better they are handmade in the UK. Love and love. Treat yourself or a loved one now. There is a reason the brand is featured on Strictly Come Dancing so much: they add glamour in abundance to any outfit.

Catherine Balavage, Toolally, jewellery, statement, earrings, arrowheads, Maisie Smith ,Arrowheads

Maisie Smith looked sensational on Strictly Come Dancing Halloween special wearing the Arrowheads in black and gold glitter.  toolally

The earrings are available here.

My Writing Process Alex Knight

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Howdy, all! I’m author Alex Knight — best known for my genre-warping fiction whose popularity commonly crashes global markets. Also, my humility. I used to be a ghostwriter for romance novellas and science fiction novels, but these days I write my own books, primarily in the genres of Fantasy and LitRPG. 

What I’ve written, past and present?

Aside from my ghostwriting work — which I can’t legally talk about — my work includes the Nova Online trilogy, a sci-fi, LitRPG adventure we like to bill as “Halo meets Ready Player One.” If you’re into science fiction, RPGs, and coming of age tales that pit their protagonists against tyrannical, dystopian governments, then you’ll probably dig it. Did I mention it takes place in the real world and a video game? I like to think it’s a lot of fun.

What you are promoting now?

Most recently, I’ve taken a pivot into Fantasy with my debut fantasy thriller, The Far Wild. It’s a classic adventure story about skyships and expeditions gone awry in the most dangerous wilderness known to man. It’s full of beasties with too many teeth, bombastic characters, and beasties with too many teeth trying to eat bombastic characters. Of course, there’s a bit of espionage, too, and no story is complete without a dose of looming societal upheaval, right? I grew up loving Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park and The Lost World, and The Far Wild is my love letter to those stories. It’s been released as an Audible Original, which means it’s an audiobook and Audible brought in an incredible cast to voice the main characters. I wrote the words, but my goodness did the narrators bring them to life!

A bit about your process of writing?

Consistent. Simplistic. A gift to all humankind — just a few descriptors I wouldn’t use to describe my writing process. Realistically, writing is a wild process and how I do it changes every couple of months. Some things stay the same (butt in chair, music up loud, world ignored), but I’ve found if I write in one place for more than a few weeks my creativity fizzles up. I like to bounce between writing on a desk at home, on the couch, out on the balcony. Or, better yet, in libraries and cafes. Of course, that hasn’t really been an option with Covid, so I’ve taken to placing a camp chair in different, odd places around the house and pretending I’m somewhere else. It’s amazing how well you can tune out your surroundings with the power of noise cancelling headphones and loud, loud music.

Do you plan or just write?

You know, I’ve experimented with both ways. When I was a ghostwriter, I had to plan ahead of time so the client could understand and write off on the story. With practice, though, I’ve found that planning too much ahead of time stifles creativity in a story. I now much prefer to write out a loose plot, then follow it vaguely as I write and make sure I let my mind go where it’d like. That’s where the magic is found in writing, in my opinion. Right on that line between what you planned and where your creativity wants to take you.

What about word count?

I aim for 2,000 words a day, which is a reasonable, sustainable rate for me, and track my progress via a project tracker spreadsheet. Lately, though, I’ve been finding it easier to simply paste chapters into a manuscript first draft document as I write them. This way, I have it to refer to for an up-to-date word count, chapter word count, and it’s super easy to make control + find changes. 

How do you do your structure?

I learned pretty much everything I know about structure and plotting from 1. reading books I enjoy and 2. K.M. Weiland’s website. There’s a bunch of great resources there and I recommend it for every aspiring author. There’s a particularly useful chart on the site that outlines the basic three act structure most stories follow. I like to put my own spin on this by weaving a lot of questions into the story, then answering them bit by bit as the plot progresses. This helps me keep the story moving quickly and make it satisfying as we’re on a constant drip feed of answers.

What do you find hard about writing?

The desire to do it as well as I can. There’s always that voice inside saying “you could do this better,” or “you should have written this this way.” Silencing that voice is key to finishing, well, anything you write. There’s always a compromise you must find between quality and speed. You could blaze the book out in a month or you could take forever doing edits and rewrites. The sweet spot lies somewhere between those, and finding it is a unique journey for each book.

What do you love about writing?

The act of doing it. Creation. I love nothing more than sitting down, cranking the music, and diving into a fantasy world to find out what happens next. Fingers tapping on the keyboard, cursor flying across the page — that’s what I live for. When you’re at that perfect spot between a tight plot and a loosely planned story, magic happens. You surprise even yourself, watching the plot unfurl in unexpected ways. In that way, I, as an author, get to experience the story in a fresh way. It’s much better than knowing every twist and turn ahead of time.

The Far Wild by Alex Knight is available exclusively on Audible now.

 

Pre-school educational games to boost months of lost learning.

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This year has been a tough year for our children’s education. Thankfully help is at hand, here is toysandbears.com’s pick of the best pre-school educational games.

writing school, learning, educational, toys writing school, learning, educational, toys

My First Words Game £12.99 Self-correcting puzzles allow children to learn as they play. Encourages reading and learning letters, logical thinking, fine motor skills and independence

Numbers and Sums £12.99 Learn to count with the animals of the Savannah. Helps with numbers, early maths, logic, shapes, colours, fine motor skills and independent play

Writing School £19.99 Help pre-schoolers learn to read, write and draw with this progressive learning program of 16 worksheets to develop hand-eye coordination and improve manual dexterity

montessori , toys, toy, educational,

Montessori My First Desk £29.99 Fun, colourful desk packed full of Montessori method activities. Stimulates sensory development, reading, writing and independence

Funny Labyrinths £14.99 Practise pre-writing skills. Improve fine motor skills, develop hand-eye coordination, and help children to prepare for writing.

Educational Games Collection – Pirates £17.99 3D pirate ship game. Four brightly coloured educational games in one. Improve fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, curiosity and observation skills

Also available in “Farm” with a 3D farmhouse scene

Carotina Baby Memory Game – Animals £5.99 Self-correcting memory game made from thick cardboard tiles.

Carotina Baby 9 Progressive Puzzle Puppies £8.99, 9 self-correcting animal puzzles.

Carotina Baby Plus My First Feelings, £7.99 Puzzle to match feelings to the scenes, teach children to acknowledge feelings