Happy 5th birthday to The Lexicon

Karen Neville

Posted on

children

Bracknell’s fabulous shopping centre is celebrating and you’re invited to join them

Celebrate The Lexicon’s fifth birthday with forest giants, seedling sprites, night forest theatre and a special birthday proms taking place in the town centre from August 24th to September 4th.

The Bracknell Giants, so popular last year, will return with two new friends. Bracknell Forest Guardian Elderma and the adventurous Will Wildwood, boasting an integral slide.

Also new for this year is The Night Forest theatre show, where younger visitors and their families will meet five fabulous forest creatures. Using holographic technology, these characters will appear to come to life as part of this interactive show. Places to attend The Night Forest Show can be pre-booked, with all proceeds going to The Lexicon Charity Fund.

Younger visitors and their families will meet five fabulous forest creatures

There’s also a Seedling Sprite Trail to follow, pick up a trail sheet and unlock the secrets for the chance to win some wonderful prizes, a host of fun entertainers, giveaways, a special birthday Proms taking place on Saturday, 3rd September and much much more.

The birthday proms will feature performers giving away birthday badges, tote bags and cupcakes.

From Monday, 5th September The Lexicon will be giving away five fabulous prizes donated by Beaverbrooks, Pandora, Marks & Spencer, Wagamma and Primark so keep your eyes on their Facebook page!

They will also reveal which local community groups have been awarded £5,000 each from The Lexicon Charity Fund.

Bracknell Forest Council and The Lexicon have teamed up to create the Bracknell Forest Festival so make sure that you put a note in your diary now.

Find out more

Find out more by visiting www.bracknellforestfestival.com

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

What’s your favourite local park?

Round & About

Posted on

children

Love Parks Week runs from today until Friday 5th August, organised by Keep Britain Tidy.

The charity wants us all to enjoy our green spaces, whether it’s walking the dog, picnicking with friends, or pushing our little ones on a playground swing.

There are lots of events going on and the week is also set up to celebrate and support the efforts of the volunteers who maintain and protect our green spaces.

Buckinghamshire has so many wonderful parks to enjoy, including Guildford’s Loseley Park, Frimley Lodge Park in Camberley, Lightwater Country Park and Gostrey Meadow in Farnham… Which is your favourite? Make sure to share it on social media #LoveParks

We’ve also teamed up with Keep Britain Tidy to call for dog-owners to bag and bin their pooch’s poop!

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

What’s your favourite local park?

Round & About

Posted on

children

Love Parks Week runs from today until Friday 5th August, organised by Keep Britain Tidy.

The charity wants us all to enjoy our green spaces, whether it’s walking the dog, picnicking with friends, or pushing our little ones on a playground swing.

There are lots of events going on and the week is also set up to celebrate and support the efforts of the volunteers who maintain and protect our green spaces.

Surrey has so many wonderful parks to enjoy, including Guildford’s Loseley Park, Frimley Lodge Park in Camberley, Lightwater Country Park and Gostrey Meadow in Farnham… Which is your favourite? Make sure to share it on social media #LoveParks

We’ve also teamed up with Keep Britain Tidy to call for dog-owners to bag and bin their pooch’s poop!

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

What’s your favourite local park?

Round & About

Posted on

children

Love Parks Week runs from today until Friday 5th August, organised by Keep Britain Tidy.

The charity wants us all to enjoy our green spaces, whether it’s walking the dog, picnicking with friends, or pushing our little ones on a playground swing.

There are lots of events going on and the week is also set up to celebrate and support the efforts of the volunteers who maintain and protect our green spaces.

Hampshire has so many wonderful parks to enjoy, including Eastrop Park in Basingstoke and Bramshot Farm Country Park in Fleet… Which is your favourite? Make sure to share it on social media #LoveParks

We’ve also teamed up with Keep Britain Tidy to call for dog-owners to bag and bin their pooch’s poop!

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

What’s your favourite local park?

Round & About

Posted on

children

Love Parks Week runs from today until Friday 5th August, organised by Keep Britain Tidy.

The charity wants us all to enjoy our green spaces, whether it’s walking the dog, picnicking with friends, or pushing our little ones on a playground swing.

There are lots of events going on and the week is also set up to celebrate and support the efforts of the volunteers who maintain and protect our green spaces.

Wiltshire has so many wonderful parks to enjoy, including Langford Lakes Nature Reserve and Penn Wood in Calne… Which is your favourite? Make sure to share it on social media #LoveParks

We’ve also teamed up with Keep Britain Tidy to call for dog-owners to bag and bin their pooch’s poop!

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

What’s your favourite local park?

Round & About

Posted on

children

Love Parks Week runs from today until Friday 5th August, organised by Keep Britain Tidy.

The charity wants us all to enjoy our green spaces, whether it’s walking the dog, picnicking with friends, or pushing our little ones on a playground swing.

There are lots of events going on and the week is also set up to celebrate and support the efforts of the volunteers who maintain and protect our green spaces.

Oxfordshire has so many wonderful parks to enjoy, including Oxford’s Shotover Country Park, Radley Lakes, Abbey Gardens, The Ridgeway and Stonor Park…Which is your favourite? Make sure to share it on social media #LoveParks

We’ve also teamed up with Keep Britain Tidy to call for dog-owners to bag and bin their pooch’s poop!

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

What’s your favourite local park?

Round & About

Posted on

children

Love Parks Week runs from today until Friday 5th August, organised by Keep Britain Tidy.

The charity wants us all to enjoy our green spaces, whether it’s walking the dog, picnicking with friends, or pushing our little ones on a playground swing.

There are lots of events going on and the week is also set up to celebrate and support the efforts of the volunteers who maintain and protect our green spaces.

Berkshire has so many wonderful parks to enjoy, including Wokingham’s California Country Park, Windsor Great Park, Reading’s Forbury Gardens and Beale Park near Pangbourne… Which is your favourite? Make sure to share it on social media #LoveParks

We’ve also teamed up with Keep Britain Tidy to call for dog-owners to bag and bin their pooch’s poop!

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Toot-Toot Drivers Airport review

Round & About

Posted on

children

Vtech’s Toot-Toot Drivers is a big hit in our house. My son, Joshua, loves to build and play with cars, so the brightly coloured interlocking track pieces and musical, light up vehicles are always his go-to toy. He will happily spend a couple of hours creating elaborate cities and roadway systems – which makes Toot-Toot a hit with me too!

When the Toot-Toot Drivers Airport arrived for review, Joshua was very excited and couldn’t wait to rip the box open and get stuck in. The airport requires some assembly, but the instructions were easy to follow so Joshua was able to help me build it and enjoyed putting the stickers on.

Included in the set are two mini jets along with a larger SmartPoint Toot-Toot jet that plays three songs and six melodies. There are four SmartPoint locations around the airport that work by activating different phrases and sound effects when a Toot-Toot vehicle drives over one. I really like this feature as it provides even more interaction and helps with early language development.

Once Joshua was ready for take-off, he used the flip-up launcher to send the Toot-Toot jet speeding down the runway and the spinning cloud attachment on the control tower to fly it in the sky. Toot-Toot is great for imaginative play, and it was a joy to see Joshua flying the plane on the cloud telling me that he was going on holiday to Spain where we went on our last family trip.

Toot-Toot Drivers Airport also comes with several pieces of track, a roundabout to ferry passengers around, and spinning radar, wind meter and runway lights. As a standalone set, the airport offers enough features to keep any toddler / preschooler engaged, however the best feature is that all the Toot-Toot play sets connect together so the airport can easily be added to an existing collection ready to build the ultimate city.

A well-made and durable learning toy, Toot-Toot Drivers Airport is suitable for ages 1-5 years and is priced at £34.99.

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Summer reading challenge

Round & About

Posted on

children

Meet the Gadgeteers and get involved in science at Alton Library this summer

This summer, children aged four-11 can visit Alton library to meet the Gadgeteers and to get involved in a science and innovation themed Summer Reading Challenge.

Through taking part in the Challenge, children will be able to join six fictional Gadgeteers. The characters – brought to life by children’s writer and illustrator Julian Beresford – use their curiosity and wonder to understand the science behind a whole range of interests, from fashion and technology to cooking and music.

The Gadgeteers will help to spark children’s curiosity about the world around them and encourage them to feed their imagination over the summer holiday. They will be boggled by brilliant facts, gaze at the stars, and be inspired by tales of creativity and invention whilst earning rewards along the way.
With plenty of great options across picture books, early readers and middle grade books, there’s lots to keep children busy at Alton Library. Read six books and collect a medal and certificate to mark the completion of the Summer Reading Challenge.

Since 1999, the popular Challenge has encouraged children to read for pleasure over the summer holidays, building reading skills and confidence and helping to prevent the ‘dip’ in reading skills while children are out of school. By providing fun reading activities, the Challenge will support families and teachers by providing free-to-access recreation and learning resources – all created to keep children inspired to read.

Alton Library is open: Monday 9.30am-1.30pm and Tuesday/ Thursday/ Friday/ Saturday 9.30am-5pm.

The library will also be holding children’s activities on Thursday, 11th August 2-4pm and Tuesday, 23rd August 2-4pm.

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter: