Summer holidays are a bit of a mish mash for us, what with work and harvest. The OH never informs me in advance of his plans so knowing when he can have N with him at work and when I need to sort out holiday club is always a mystery. I think this year I may have 3 weeks of holidays off work, and potentially a couple of days of flexi-leave if I can manage the days I’m working well. … Continue Reading “Summer fun bucket list for kids and families”
There are some great benefits to living where we do. The view. Living close to family. Plenty of space for N to play in. The downside is that it’s pretty breezy because there’s no shelter from other houses or hedges etc. The bonus of that of course, is that it’s great for flying kites. When I say kites, I mean easy light ones, not massive stunt kites. I think we’d have to go up our hills to use those. We… Continue Reading “Kite flying and nest building – kite giveaway”
Sometimes as a parent we come across something so simple that our children enjoy and wonder why we’ve never thought about it before. It’s only really been this year that N’s been interested in drawing (last year he discovered colouring was fun, this year It’s drawing and writing). He’ll surprise me by getting out numerous boxes of pens, pencils and other craft bits and pieces when I least expect it. It is annoying when I walk in to find sellotape… Continue Reading “Go lifesize with paper people – kids activity”
Once N gets something that interests him he keeps going on about it. Last term they were learning about dinosaurs and fossils at school. So he’s been wanting to go fossil hunting. So it was lucky we were holidaying in the New Forest and could check out some of the fossil hunting beaches. Fossil hunting at Barton on Sea The only problem is that I know less about fossils than he does. I’ve never been fossil hunting, I’ve never seen… Continue Reading “Walking and fossil hunting in the New Forest”
There’s something special about stationery, and in particular I love pens. N has inherited this love because any new pens that I bring into the house, and he’s nosying trying to use them. With the Chalkola chalk pens I was sent to review, I knew I’d struggle to keep him away. Chalkola are fairly chunky chalk markers which have ink that looks like chalk. They can be used on any non-porous material, including glass, metal, porcelain and more. The variety of… Continue Reading “Getting arty with Chalkola chalk pens – review and giveaway”
We all know that children love to paint and make a mess getting creative, and that giving children the opportunity to do so is good for them. But it’s one of those activities that always takes time to set up, put away, clean up, and the need for different bits and pieces to craft with could be never ending. But really, keeping a small box of craft supplies doesn’t take that much effort, doesn’t cost a lot, and can be… Continue Reading “What to put in a kids craft box for different ages”
Whenever the Olympics comes around, it’s a great opportunity to encourage children into the different sporting activities, especially those more unusual ones. I love the atmosphere of the Olympics (I managed to get to see the Volleyball at London 2012), so I’d like N to get to experience a bit of it on now he’s old enough to understand it. Ok, so we can watch the sports on tv (and if I have my way it’ll be on a lot… Continue Reading “11 awesome easy kids activities for Olympic Games”
It’s such a shame when best friends end up at different schools but in a way does help them find their own way. N had 2 different best friends from his 2 nurseries (not counting his cousin as well). One is at the same school as him, a lucky appeal, and the two of them are inseparable. His other best friend S, from his day nursery, he’d not seen since the summer holidays. I wondered if they’d forget each other,… Continue Reading “Best friends together – ten pin bowling and cycling”
My heart always falls when the weather is horrendous and I’ve got a day planned to go out with N. He’d probably not be too bothered about being out in the rain, but I’m not that keen. So over the break I decided maybe we should give pottery painting a go. Now, of course you can do pottery (or glass) painting at home. It can be pretty cheap if you just want to decorate a mug, plate, tile and you… Continue Reading “Wet weather activity – pottery painting at The Pottery Place”
I know I’m late with my pumpkin post, but I like to take time to reflect! And hey, I’m not yet talking Christmas. N was looking forward to having a pumpkin, so I agreed again we would carve one. We chose a medium sized one this year – much easier to lug around and it was really quick to carve out. Last year, I bought a poundshop carving kit which was rubbish. Then I used N’s kiddycutter knife which was… Continue Reading “How to pimp your pumpkin the easy way – Sharpie pumpkin art”
