AD The first summer holiday after my eldest started school she refused to do any school work. By the time she had returned after 6 weeks holiday she had forgotten a lot of what she learnt in Reception including many of her letters. Since then I am always on the look out for ways to encourage my children to learn without them really realising. The Redan Fun To Learn magazines are a great way to do this.

Learning made fun

Encouraging Children To Learn With The Hey Duggee Magazine

At times my children love to learn; in one of their school reports it described it as "growth mindset", but like most children they aren’t always in the right mood. They are much more likely to use an educational app, play a game or look at a magazine than anything they consider work so the Hey Duggee Official Magazine is a great way to entertain them Hey Duggee fans and it is helping my daughter to practice and develop skills.

Suitable for around age 3 to 5 there are activities that help improve fine motor control, observation and creativity. The magazine comes with stickers which are used both in the activities and for rewards and a gifts on the front (unless you subscribe) so you can have a treasure hunt because issue 1 is all about earning your Treasure Hunt Badge.

The middle section is a workbook with more educational themed activities

Stickers are used throughout the magazine

The toys on front fit in with the Treasure Hunt theme of Issue 1

Hey Duggee Say What?

If you aren’t familiar with Hey Duggee it’s a preschool programme which has been showing on CBeebies since 2014. In each episode Duggee (a large dog) helps the Squirrels to earn a badge in a similar way to Scouts or Beavers if they were lead by an oversized canine who appears to be the only animal in the programme who can't speak English. The Squirrels are a random collection of animals called: Tag, Happy, Betty, Norrie and Roly. Each episode ends in a Duggee Hug (a group hug), but the adventures differ each time. They are always entertaining (even for adults) and contain memorable moments like the Stick song (or rave) which will get all children dancing and is an ear worm that you will love or loathe.

Working through the magazine children can get their Treasure Hunt badge by colouring, going on a treasure hunt, playing games, completing a work book (focussing on the letter “t” and treasure) and making a treasure map pizza. I particularly like that in this magazine the story goes all the way through it with the activities as things to do on the way to get the badge at the end because it feels like an adventure.

There are lots of activities across the 36 pages of the Hey Duggee Magazine

The activities are all themed and perfect for Hey Duggee fans aged 3 to 5

Buying the Hey Duggee Magazine

Fun To Learn Hey Duggee Magazine Issue 1 is on sale 21st July 2021 in all good newsagents and leading supermarkets and Issue 2 (where they can earn their Pizza Badge) is on sale 25th August. It is also available to pre-order online or on subscription (UK & Eire Only). Subscribing is a great option if you would like to cut down on plastic because it comes without the toy on front.

Children can get their Treasure Hunt badge in Issue 1