Nursery World - Testing times (13)

On behalf of our readers, staff in nurseries and schools around the country have put a wide range of products through their paces to assess their value in the workplace, and given each item a star rating UNDER-THREES

UNDER-THREES

Flower Mosaics (24.95) from Asco ***

Asco Educational Supplies, 19 Lockwood Way, Leeds LS11 5TH (0113 2707070)

Tested by Welwyn Hatfield YMCA Day Nursery

This consists of two baseboards and 96 flower shapes in six different colours (see below) and it is designed to help with colour recognition and patterning. The flowers are 4cm in diameter and the company claims that children as young as 18 months should be able to use them. The studded base boards measure 35 x 26cm. A larger size set is also available, consisting of four boards and 192 flowers (44.10).

Tester's report

The children enjoyed playing with these and they are useful for developing colour awareness and fine manipulative skills. We used them for a small supervised group activity. For younger children, or for those with special needs, I think the flowers need to be bigger and easier to push on the board. Perhaps it would be better if they were magnetic, instead. I would also prefer a variety of shapes and more of them. There are not enough flowers in one set if both boards are being used at the same time.

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