With what has been a pretty rainy week in my part of the country, I’m really excited to tell you about the Land of Me.  While I wouldn’t normally be promoting things that encourage much by way of screen time, I am in love with The Land of Me.

The Land of Me is like a ‘create your own adventure’ book, but it is online. It is hypnotic and mesmerising, but not addictive. You’re not going to lose hours of your life playing in The Land of Me. You’re just going to dip in and out, take an ‘adventure’ or two at a time and then do something I’ve never seen in a computer game before: go offline and do something with the supplied activity kit.

The Land of Me is aimed at 2-6 year olds, and while the craft activities are generally too old to keep Ameli (my 20 month old) entertained, she is just as  mesmerised by the characters Eric, Buddy Boo and Willow and we can play in the Land of Me together. That’s another bonus – it’s not plonk her down while I do something else. It’s the perfect lazy rainy day activity. As you go along there are questions you can ask your little ones to encourage them to think and imagine.

(See the box in the top right corner? It says: “Ahhh Bless. He’s really tiny. What do you think his parents look like?” What a brilliant way of stimulating imaginations!)

Here you’ll find bite-sized chunks, where you change elements of the story as you go along – such as the weather, the environment or appearances.  There are six chapters aimed at helping children learn in a fun environment without even being aware of it. In the chapters you’ll learn things like shapes, colours, rhythms, dances and so on.

At the end of each ‘chapter’ there are printable art and craft projects, and all sorts of things to do – from making masks and finger puppets to colouring sheets. And, to add to the educational element there are also video clips of real animals in their real environments.

If what you’re buying isn’t enough, the company also has an incredible blog with regular updates and ideas for craft, food and fun.

While the Land of Me is available as a web download, I’ve actually got myself a copy of the CD so that I can make sure not to loose it. I really can’t wait till Ameli can really get involved in all the activities. The packaging of the CD is just beautifully presented, in a cardboard sleeve which comes complete with a map of the Land of Me. I must tell you, the presentation of this alone just blew me away. There’s such amazing attention to detail.

Competition

The Land of Me costs £29.95 for all six chapters, but Made In Me are offering one Diary of a First reader a copy either by DVD or online.  To be in with a chance to win, just leave a comment here with the name of one of the six chapters.

For ONE additional entry, you can follow The Land of Me (please leave a message on their wall saying I sent you!) AND/OR follow Diary of a First Child.

In the meantime, you can trial The Land of Me free for 7 days.

(And if you chose to buy it for yourself  before the 29^th June,  there’s an exclusive PlayPennies code with which you can get £3 off)

The winner is Christina Massue

You do not have to tweet or share this competition to enter, but doing so helps ensure that I can keep bringing you giveaways! You can subscribe to Diary of a First Child by RSS or email. You can also follow us on Facebook or on Twitter. We hope to see you back again soon!