Hopefully your family hasn't been hit with the nasty head cold going around. My girls were sick the past couple weeks, and now my husband and I are trying to kick it. It seems cold season has started early this year, so try and stay healthy, so you don't find yourself down for the count. As you know, parents never get a sick day...and, it always seems that when the kids start feeling better, is when parents start feeling sick, and have to muster through to keep kids entertained, while fighting illness.
We were supposed to host a “Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie” in-home screening with a few of the girls' friends, but due to illness and not wanting to get others sick, we ended up having to postpone until a later date. The girls were really looking forward it, as they love Thomas & Friends, especially the movies. To help brighten their day, I ended up setting a fun little “Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie” party for them to enjoy, with Thomas & Friends games liked memory, BINGO and a few others.
Last week we were sent a fun oversized cardboard suitcase filled with Thomas toys and party supplies, to help celebrate the new “Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Series”, which debuted on Sept. 17th.
The girls couldn't believe their eyes when they opened the box and pulled out the three layers of toys and tracks. They spent hours after putting together track setups to play with...
If you have a Thomas & Friends fan in your house, did you catch the new movie on Sept. 7th, or the new series, which debuted on the 17th? If not here is more about both -- which are must sees for fans of Thomas & Friends...
"On September 7, Thomas the Tank Engine will leave the Island of Sodor to explore the world in his all- new movie “Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!”--and he wants YOU to come along! Thomas will travel further than ever before, making new international friends, learning new ideas, and discovering new cultures.
About the new “Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie”:
"When a mischievous little rally car called Ace passes through Sodor on a race around the world, Thomas is inspired to embark on his own ambitious trip. Travelling full steam ahead across five continents, Thomas discovers magnificent new sights and experiences exciting places and cultures. Along the way, he makes friends with an inspiring and fun Kenyan engine called Nia. With so much for Thomas to learn about the world, will Nia be successful in teaching him a lesson about the true meaning of friendship? Featuring a world of wonder, curiosity and amazing animal friends, join Thomas on an epic adventure, fulfilling his dream of seeing the world!"
Mattel had the unique opportunity to collaborate with the United Nations and their 17 Sustainable Development Goals to incorporate several of these goals into the new Thomas & Friends movie and series. These goals along with the life lessons, hopes to inspire the next generation of global citizens and produce meaningful conversation and learnings between children and parents. The Goals encompass everything from health, gender equality, to education. And to get everything right, the team at Thomas & Friends enlisted the help of The UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women who not only advised on the character of Nia, but also went line by line through the script of each episode where Nia is featured to make sure it was sending a positive message of gender equality to preschoolers."
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My girls were excited to see more girl engines added to the popular Thomas & Friends season, and really enjoyed this new series, which does an amazing job at teaching young children how to become global citizens and help protect the environment and planet so that future generations can live and thrive. We have been fans of Thomas & Friends ever since the girls were little. Savannah went on her first Day Out With Thomas train ride at two years old, and we haven't missed a year since. And, she just turned 8 in July, and shows no sign of not wanting to stop going. Both of my girls enjoy the fun train ride each summer, and when they aren't counting down to this fun summer adventure, they love tuning into to watch new Thomas & Friends episodes, or watching one of their many DVDs we have acquired over the years.
Since the girls have been sick for the past couple weeks, there has been a lot of resting on the couch, and watching some of their favorite shows and movies. And, Thomas & Friends has been top on their viewing list.
In addition to being sent a suitcase filled with Thomas toys and party supplies to host our in-house Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures screening, I was also given access to watch nine new episodes in the new “Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Series”. If you follow my blog, then you know I homeschool my girls, and am always looking for fun ways to incorporate shows and movies in our learning. This year the girls are doing US and World Geography, and when I heard about the new “Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Series," which would have Thomas traveling the world, I knew this was perfect for incorporating into our school. The first episode we watched was NUMBER ONE ENGINE (CHINA) (episode 513), which has Thomas travelling to China, where me meets another blue engine, Hong-Mei. They end up racing, and Thomas loses. But, he wants a rematch. Thomas takes a different rail which leaves him stranded on the mountain due to a rock on the rail. He feels lost and alone, until Hong-Mei shows up to help. This episode had many lessons to talk about and share with children including, making new friends, teamwork, never giving up and even gender equality.
We continued watching other episodes in this new series, which touched on the following topics:
- Gender Equality
- Life on Land
- Quality Education
- Responsible Consumption and Production
- Sustainable Cities and Communities
I was very impressed with these topics and how they were incorporated into this popular series, that both boys and girls enjoy watching. My girls were able to pick up on many of these important lessons, which made for great conversation after viewing.
Even though we weren't able to have a party with the girls' friends, it was still nice to have an impromptu Thomas & Friends party for our family, and having the whole family together watching the fun new movie, as well as episodes from the new series. I loved seeing my husband and daughters down on the floor setting up their train tracks and playing with the toys we were sent, as well as dumping out bins of their old Thomas & Friends toys. And, while they were playing, they were talking about their favorite parts in the movie and new series, and the talk of saving the planet, as well as the new engines - Rebecca, Nia and Hong-Mei, made for great conversation.
Hopefully in the coming weeks when everyone is better, we will be able to reschedule our Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures, and have a fun afternoon watching the movie and a few episodes from this new series. My girls can't wait to watch more from this series, and are hoping for new toys to be added so that they can add to their growing Thomas & Friends toy collection. :-) They keep saying, Christmas is around the corner, and I am expecting Thomas & Friends to be top on their wish lists. :-)
Disclosure: I was sent promotional product in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.
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