We first had an Aquadoodle mat years ago when Mr Z was only about 18 months old. It was really well used and loved and I had been thinking of getting a new version for the younger boys to play with so I was really happy to be sent the new Aquadoodle Jungle Magic Sounds mat to review.
The concept of Aquadoodle is great for mess free mark marking. I do still find with my younger two that I have to watch them quite closely if they have pencils or felt tips out as we have light coloured walls and they have been drawn on on a few occasions! With Aquadoodle, the pens use water to make marks on the mats and will not mark any other surface.
My children always seem to find the idea of drawing with water on their magic mats really exciting and it keeps them well entertained.
The Jungle Magic Sounds mat is 75cms x 75cms which gives plenty of space to draw but is still easy to fold up and store without being too bulky. The Jungle Magic Sounds mat has four different animal sounds integrated and a special pen holder which helps to activate the sounds.
The four sounds are at each corner and they are the monkey, the snake, the tiger and the bongo drums. It is easy to see where to put your pen to activate each new sound and Mr R grasped the concept easily once we showed him. You just place the end of the pen holder onto the sound circle to activate each one, so this does not require too much precision and is fine for a young toddler. Mr R loved to listen to the sounds as he was drawing and it definitely added some extra excitement to the activity.
The Aquadoodle comes with one pen to fit inside the pen holder. We do have spare pens already so that all the boys can join in at once, but obviously only one would be able to activate the sounds at once. There is enough room for a couple of children to join in and draw on the mat together though. The pens work universally on all of the aquadoodle mats and mini mats so if you have a few different products you can mix them up all. (We also have Thomas and Chuggington mini mats which are great)
The pen holder takes 2xAAA batteries which are not included, but it is easy to unscrew the side and place them in. The pens are very easy to open and fill up with water, and they don’t leak at all. If you lose your pen or need more you can buy extra separately – they do last very well though so should not need replacing.
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Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
It is great isn’t it – my two love theirs
I remember when 6yo had her aqua doodle, she had great fun with it
What a great idea, the lovely bright colours, animal sounds and music. Whilst an area for the children to be creative with their drawings.