On a recent trip to London Zoo the kids got to see some amazing animals up close and it got me thinking about how many species won't actually exist in the wild when they are my age. It makes me feel really sad that some of these beautiful creatures will no longer be roaming the planet and that is largely down to the human race. I'm always trying to encourage the children to be interested in animals and now Virgin Money are also helping to encourage childrens' interest in conservation and the protection of endangered animals by partnering with the WWF. With every Virgin Money Young Savers Account opened from the end of April this year a 12 month WWF animal adoption pack will be given to the child. There are 11,000 packs available and they will be given away on a first come first served basis.
Isla already has a Virgin Money Young Savers Account, so we would have missed out of this fabulous adoption pack which includes: a cuddly toy, a certificate of adoption, stickers, bookmarks and a fact book and a quarterly update. Luckily we are being sent one, so now we need to think about which animal we want to support! Which would you choose from the Tiger, Hawksbill turtle, Adelie Penguin, Mountain Gorilla, Borneo Orang-utan, Bottlenose Dolphin, Amur Leopard, Giant Panda, Snow Leopard, Polar Bear, Black Rhino, Asian Elephant? I'm not sure which animal the kids will choose, I have a sneaky suspicion it might be the Giant Panda, in view of their love of King Fu Panda! Sadly official figures say that there are less than 1600 Giant Pandas in the wild, now that really is heartbreaking.
I'm as keen for Isla and Noah to learn about money and looking after it for their futures as I am for them to learn about looking after the world around them, it's never too early to be educated on these kinds of things. I want her to grow up in a world where all these animals still exist, not one where the only place we can see them is in the zoo.
This is a sponsored post.
Recently Isla and I had a fab girls day out to London Zoo to watch RIO, the new movie about two Macaws! I was really looking forward to the day and I'd told her what we were going to do and she was looking forward to it too - especially about getting her face painted!
The morning took a bit of a turn when I had to decide to ditch nappies for the first time at Isla's request and I felt that this new development could marr our day but it didn't, and we did have a fab time!
We arrived at London Zoo and went to the mummy blogger private showing, where there was a face painter - Isla asked to have a goat (yes, she's quite stuck on goats since our farm holiday!) but was very satisfied with the beautiful Blue Macaw. She was also really enamoured with the plush toys of Blu and Jewel that she received! And now on to the film....
RIO is a high-flying animated comedy for the whole family. Blu is an exotic pet bird who believes he's the last of his kind. But when his owner learns about Jewel, Blu's female counterpart in Rio de Janeiro, they set out on the adventure of a lifetime. Even though he's never learned to fly, Blu befriends a group of wise-cracking city birds who help him find the courage to spread his wings and follow his destiny!
I loved it because I'm lucky enough to have been to Rio on holiday a few years before we had the children and the film really captures the spirit of such a fantastic city - I particularly loved the scenes in the Sambadrome - we had an amazing time there at Carnival!
Isla was brilliant - she loved the film and was riveted to the chair while it was on (only one trip to the loo!) and she was dancing to the samba soundtrack at the end. My worries about her not being able to sit in a cinema set up were upfounded! The final treat was when Roberta the Macaw came to see everyone. What amazing birds they are - such beautiful colours and brilliantly behaved considering she was faced with a room of excitable children.
We reckon this movie would make a fab Christmas Stocking filler!
Rio is released on 24th October and "Angry Birds Rio" has joined the home entertainment release celebration and is adding to the fun! Consumers who purchase the Rio Blu-ray and DVD can download 15 all-new exclusive levels of this most popular application of all time. These new levels are all PC, MAC, tablet and mobile phone (Apple/Android) compatible.
In addition to the Blu-ray Triple Play (£24.99), Rio is available to purchase on DVD with Digital Copy (£19.99) and Blu-ray 3D (£29.99).
Here are a couple of fun Rio related games for your enjoyment:
http://www.birds-vs-monkeys.co.uk/
http://www.rio-in-a-row.co.uk/
Click to View some RIO Activity sheets and games
