Carmel ThomasonOur 9-year-old reviewer tries out four toys from Huckleberry to encourage your little explorers to get closer to nature and enjoy some time outdoors.
Huckleberry Grass Whistle, £5
Made out of eco-friendly bamboo the whistle works with magnets and a freshly picked blade of grass to create the grass whistle sound. It takes a bit of time to get the knack of this, and it sounds more like a kazoo than a whistle. But having a go is all part of the fun, and we had lots of laughs trying to get the whistle to make a sound.
Huckleberry Morse Codes Light, £15
It’s hard for children to imagine a world without the instant digital communications we have today. The retro Huckleberry Morse Codes light is a fun way to explain how telecommunications has changed as well as being a fairly robust torch for use on camping holidays.
Huckleberry Make Your Own Pressed Flower Frame, £7
Making your own pressed flower frame is a craft that appeals to the child in all of us. Research suggests that just looking at flowers can help reduce stress and this is part of the appeal of this activity. Plantlife has a number of spotter sheets to help you identify wildflowers growing at different times of the year. Both choosing and arranging the flowers encourages creativity. Children will need some help with this activity, and the card needs trimming to work as a background. If you write on the date and where the flowers came from, it makes for a nice memento of a day spent outdoors together.
Huckleberry Pop Up Net, £10 from Kikkerland
This was perhaps our little reviewer’s favourite of the four activities. The net folds into a small pouch, making it easy to carry on adventures. We took it to the beach, where it was used to find and gently examine some of the sea life in rock pools, before returning them safely back to the sea.
Huckleberry toys are available online from Kikkerland.
Steve Timms
Reece Donlan
Jemma Christie