Twirlywoos Big Red Boat Playset

Product Information

Big, blue and a bit of a softy, Great BigHoo has an inquisitive nature. He can often be found investigating new objects and trying to find out how they work. Probably the most cautious of all the Twirlywoos, he is nevertheless always keen to join in the fun. A vibrant shade of red with a yellow and orange crest. Toodloo is a very flamboyant character, often to be seen singing and dancing exuberantly. Toodloo is extremely impulsive and has a tendency to dive head first into situations. Twirlywoos is based on well recognised research into how young children learn. Beginning with children’s own persistent interests (or schemas) – each programme explores a single idea in depth with what happens outside also reflected when the Twirlywoos return to their boat. They play with the new idea they have encountered in the world. This educational underpinning ensures good programme content which matches children’s interests and therefore maximizes the likelihood that children will enjoy and from that enjoyment comes further learning.

Twirlywoos sometimes do things that parents have sometimes seen their own children doing (wrapping up, sliding, twirling) and this gives the children confidence in their own knowledge. We know that children learn through humour and that when children find things funny they are in a position of understanding, so the fun in Twirlywoos is important. Twirlywoos is a child-centric programme – from the opening words in the song ‘me, me, ME!’ – young viewers know more than the characters they see which means they can predict what might happen. Prediction is an important part of beginning reading behaviour. By being able to predict, young viewers can enjoy what they see because they are the ‘experts’. The programme offers space for children to talk with the adults and/or other children they are watching alongside.Dogs on the beach … Dad and Mum apply zinc to Bluey and Bingo’s faces in Bluey. Photograph: Ludo Studio/BBC

Key terms are precisely matched to the focus of the episode – space to talk provides opportunity for the child to fill in the spaces left by the narrator. Ever curious, they seek adventure and fun wherever they go. Whether in the real world or on their Big Red Boat, they love to hide, imitate and be surprised as they discover new things. The show has been developed with a commitment to watching how children interact and develop, and each episode creates spaces for pre-schoolers to make their own connections, which aids their learning. The most delightful show CBeebies ever made. In every episode, lovely, twinkly Bernard Cribbins boards his boat and tells a lovely, twinkly story to his adorably old dog. Not a huge amount happens in the stories – they usually revolve around the local community, which includes Freema Agyeman and Helen Lederer, and younger kids may be put off by the slower pace at first – but it is a great world in which to immerse yourself. Better yet, several episodes were written by Russell T Davies. 10 Dipdap In which Sid Sloane and Rebecca Keatley dress up in the uniforms of various professions then travel magically into their world. By itself, Let’s Play would be a perfectly diverting television show, but what pushes it over the edge is the dizzying number of characters Keatley and Sloane play. There is one episode, set in a courtroom, in which Keatley simultaneously plays a claimant, a defendant, a witness, a member of the jury, two lawyers and an usher. It is astounding – Kind Hearts and Coronets told in 20 minutes. People should have thrown flowers at Keatley’s feet as the credits rolled. 6 Andy’s Dinosaur AdventuresDuring the process of creating the Twirlywoos, aspects of the characters’ design did change, but their thin, stripy legs, flat feet and the big round eyes remained constant throughout. For Twirlywoos we invited Professor Cathy Nutbrown to consult with us about the patterns of thinking from which children’s early learning develops. The concepts which she approved have become the foundations for the programme and all development from it.

There were lots and lots of drawing and discussions with Anne (Wood, the show’s creator). We worked together for quite a while to fully develop the way the Twirlywoos characters look.Justin Fletcher has a whole array of CBeebies shows to his name – there is Something Special, if you need something soothing, or Justin’s House, if you want to feel as if you are trapped in a hellish liminal soft play centre for ever – but Gigglebiz is probably the best showcase of his talents. An all-out sketch show that appeals to children and parents, Gigglebiz earns its place for never pandering to its young audiences. Also, it is a sketch show. Do you know how rare those things are these days? 8 Maddie’s Do You Know? I think the boat looks really friendly; it’s almost as if it is smiling. When we filmed the opening title sequence we used a model boat on real water. Twirlywoos recognises children’s rich capacity to learn and to know at a young age and so the content builds on what we know about how children approach learning in (and about) the world. Key characteristics include: curiosity, persistent patterns of thought and the importance of movement. (The Twirlywoos are constantly on the move – or moving objects – as are young children.) Twirlywoos first broadcast Monday February 23 2015 on CBeebies. The Twirlywoos are four small, bird-like characters who are inquisitive, enthusiastic and always looking to learn something new about the world.

The Twirlywoo Screen - an enchanted drawing wall with an unlimited capacity to create a magical, moving image We made the boat interior as simple as possible; like a minimal theatre set, so painted wooden boards seemed right.Have you ever wondered why the characters on CBeebies shows look the way they do? We quizzed Steve Roberts (Lead Creative and Writer on Twirlywoos) to find out how he went about designing a whole crew of new CBeebies favourites. The Stop-Go Car – a little purple toy car who loves to lead the Twirlywoos in a merry chase and also delivers surprises Children’s own – ordinary/everyday experiences (the park, baking, watching a dog run) – are to the fore – which again grounds the programme into the child’s world using ideas that the children relate to. Hosted by Dr Radha Modgil, Feeling Better was a 2018 series designed to help children cope with the emotions they encounter while growing up. It was tremendously effective, too. Every episode saw Dr Radha attend to a puppet who was experiencing new and complicated feelings, by putting them into context, reassuring the puppet that feelings are normal, then singing a song about it. It was the sort of show that would struggle to be made anywhere else. 18 In the Night Garden As they have no wings, we liked the idea that the Twirlywoos could be lifted up and out of their boat by their crests, which spin like propellers. They’re not in control of their own crests, though, and this was a great device to help with the writing.