Exploring imagination - Maynards Discovery Patch sweets and app.

* I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® community. This Maynards Discovery Patch #shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. All words and opinions are my own *

Whilst we endeavour for Bug to have a healthy diet we are not against him having the odd sweet treat. As Bug has a healthy appetite, devouring and enjoying balanced meals and healthy lunchboxes, we do not see the harm in him enjoying chocolate, sweets or other ‘naughty’ treats on the odd occasion.

Whilst we give Bug a little sweet treat to munch on in moderation once in a while as an enjoyable treat we do try to carefully select what sweets and chocolate treats we do give him. We try to select healthier sweets, picking sweets and treats made with natural colours and flavours, and those made with no artificial colours or additives.

Being a fan of sweets that are made with natural colours, when we recently went to our local Tesco to do our weekly shop and pick up a little sweet treat for Bug to enjoy as a thank you for being such a good and patient boy at all of mummy’s boring and long antenatal hospital appointments, I picked up a pack of Maynards Discovery Patch sweets.

The Maynards Discovery Patch sweets made it into our shopping trolley not just due to the fact that they are made with natural colours, but also because they have a fruity flavour which Bug enjoys in his sweets and the jelly texture was sure to satisfy Bug’s craving for a chewy, jelly sweet.

Another appealing bonus to the sweet packs was the fact that they featured a learning element thanks to the ‘Explore, Play & Discover’ experience offered by the Discover Patch packs.

Being a parent who appreciates products that provide fun and an educational benefit for my child, I was delighted to notice the learning element that the Maynards Discover Patch sweets offer with their augmented reality sweet packs and complementary free to download smartphone app.

Armed with two packs of the Discovery Patch fruit-flavoured sweets - Animals and BodyBits - along with the Discovery Patch app downloaded from the Google Play store we gave Bug his sweet treat to enjoy after a long hospital visit with mummy so that he could enjoy a tasty treat and have some learning fun at the same time.

To help mummy know how to use the app – Bug seems to need no-help thanks to being a very young and keen techno whizz-kid – the app had a handy How To? section.

After nibbling on a sweet or two, Bug commandeered mummy’s smartphone to explore the app.

Giddy with excitement, being more than a little interested and eager to see about what fun the game would provide, Bug scanned the packs with the app.

As Bug progressed through the app he had lots of fun on a journey of exploration and discovery.

Entering the Discovery Patch world Bug set about selecting a silhouetted body part/animal (each pack unlocks two variants) to continue on his journey of exploration and discovery as he prepared to interact with 3D animated characters.

The clever app splits each shape into five parts that little discoverers hunt for to discover more about it. Using the smartphone to search around the room and hunt out animals/body bits, Bug’s delight at the game came to an all-time high when animated character pieces magically appeared on the smartphone screen.

Once Bug found shapes in his environment he was given the chance to answer relevant questions. Whilst he could not read them on his own due to his age, with mummy’s help he eagerly attempted to answer the questions, learning fun facts as he explored and discovered the shapes. Another element of the app he enjoyed was the fun animations of the animals/body bits he found.

Another bonus of the app that I appreciated as a parent is that I could check out the ingredients and nutritional information for the different Discovery Patch sweet packs using the app.

Whilst the Discovery Patch sweets will not be an everyday treat they are a hit with Bug thanks to their fun shapes and delicious taste. Mummy also likes them as not only are they made with natural colours but they along with the fun and educational app have kept Bug entertained and happy whilst waiting for mummy’s long hospital appointments, making for a less stressful experience.

Even though the sweets may not make a regular appearance in our household, being only for the odd sweet treat, I know the app will be a regular favourite with Bug. I love the fact that the unique and imaginative Discovery Patch is a great way for children to combine technology with imagination in a fun and educational way. Being a techno whizz-kid who most probably navigates around mummy’s smartphone better than I do, Bug loves a fun app to play and the Discovery Patch app most definitely satisfies his desire for fun and interaction whilst also encouraging his imagination and teaching him at the same time.

We have been exploring imagination with the Maynards #DiscoveryPatch app, why don’t you explore, discovery and play too!