The overwhelm of having children home for an unknown length of time is some what real, within the space of a few days I have gone from one child in year one and one in pre school - to home, full time, education my responsibility, my job on pause (albeit for a very good reason). It is a lot. They want to go see their grandparents, they want to go to the swimming pool (something we did twice a week) the library, asking for pre school and their friends. It is going to be a long few weeks/months. Whilst I cannot fill your feeds with happy little faces tucking into cake, or sleepy newborns, all squishy and new, I hope to bring you some fun activities to break up the day - educational slants so you can fill their homework books, but most importantly, you can create memories of this time together. No matter the situation, I am focusing on this time with my babies. I am being realistic though, it wont be perfect, I will no doubt shout at times, there will be tantrums and there will be tears - but there will be cuddles, and laughter, smiles, there will be activities in the garden, growing food and flowers. As I type this my son is on my lap, giving me snuggles and despairing at how unfair it is that his sister is doing school work on my iPad!!!

I have made a list of activities to try. I hope that most of them are using things around the house, so and I have avoided anything with dried pasta or rice where possible!!! :)

I would LOVE it if you can share any images of your kids doing these activities with me - I will have my camera out a lot in the new few weeks, so it would be amazing if you can grab some photos too <3

• Create a hopscotch with bits of cardboard, paper, paper plates - great for number recognition and for older children you can get them to jump to number using sums.

• Hoop toss using kitchen roll tubes and paper plates with the centre cut out. Great for motor skills, paint and decorate the ‘hoops’ for fun with colours too.

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• DIY scavenger hunt! List toys you can see on the floor, mark out a space or get a toy box for them to fill with the treasure, get them to race around and see who can complete their list first! Tidying up need not be a battle!

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• Create a dice with cardboard - give 6 exercises/instructions “Jump 5 times!”, “spin in a circle”, “flap like a bird”…great for burning a little energy!

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• Finger print art - what can you turn painty finger print into?! Bumblebees, lady birds, aliens, sweets…create a story with your little creations!

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• If you have a cardboard box, cut out arm holes, with the open side facing away from your child, get them to reach in and guess an object that you place inside! You can use toys, fruit, explore texture, cold items from the fridge, soft, hard!

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• Empty milk cartons? Excellent!! Cut the bottoms off, use them as scoops in the garden, in the bath, use it to catch balls in the garden, the possibilities are endless!

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• Spare balloons and a spatular can create a great game of tennis!

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• Create rainbows or pictures using cut up magazines and newspapers, try to get your little one to sort colours for an educational element!

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• Empty loo rolls can become skittles! So can plastic cups left over from a party!

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• Packets of chalk are brilliant! Create a hopscotch of instructions, they have to jump from instruction to instruction, “roar and stomp!” “touch your toes” You can get them to throw a beanbag if you have one!

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• Cover the end of a plastic bottle with a sock, dip in water and washing up liquid and blow for a bubble snake!

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• Use decorating tape or masking tape, create paper/card arches for the kids to roll balls through and around, get them to use wooden spoons, their feet.​

• Salt dough is an all time favourite in my house, the basic recipe can proved great entertainment, bake it and then they can paint it for an even longer activity!

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• Create magic wants with lolly sticks, stickers and craft supplies!

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• Build bridges with cups and lolly sticks for toy animals to walk along!

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• Beads and pipe cleaners can create fab counting and colour based activities! Cut out some kites and attach the pipe cleaners to the base, number them and get your child to add the correct number of beads, colour the kites and get them to thread all beads of the matching colours, write sums on the kites for older children! Make sure you don’t leave little ones alone with beads!! Pegs and a coat hanger is a fab alternative to this :)

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• ​Colour hunt! Grab some paper of different colours - or just uses pens - get your child to find objects inside or out that match!

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• Got some baking soda in the cupboard? Sprinkle a good layer into a baking tray, using food colouring in vinegar and call syringes make a fizzy colour experiment!

Don't forget to share some photos with me - please! I need to see other faces soon ;)

Stay safe, and sane... Parents, check out the self care blog I did - you need to look after yourself in all this!!!

Cx

The summer holiday's are here!

This is my first summer holiday with children, my daughter finished her second term at Pre-School this morning, the childminder is on holiday and my weeks have grown in length (and my night time work load!!!)

I have found I have been scribbling notes of ideas, things to do, places to visit to keep the Threenager amused so the tantrums (her's and mine) are kept at bay - wishful thinking??

I thought I would share - if you have any cool ideas, please do comment! The days are long ;)

Bookable/scheduled events:

Lark in the Park
This is walkable for us, and opens 22nd July - 6th August. A variety of FREE activities for a range of ages - I am going to pop along tomorrow to check the itinerary so will try to update! You can pre register for these, but last year we turned up for some.

Pets at Home
Pets at Home have 'My Pet Pals' workshops running, again, free. The link is for the store at the Nugent, Orpington. You have to register for these.

Whilst at the Nugent - Hobby Craft
This is exactly my cup of tea and you will find me at these, 100%. Love a good craft! Telescope and dream jars anyone? I can't see a way to book, so think its a turn up jobby!

Odeon have their kids clubs running over the summer - great if there is a rainy day....it's England after all. £2.50 showings, I can't comment on how much it will cost you in pick'n'mix!!

Under1Roof have a wonderful schedule for the Summer! Make sure you check their booking system. Again, great for that Great British weather!

I also have a list of things to do at home...here are my favourites:

Garden Treasure hunt - I have loads of stars cut from my cake smashes, so I plan to hide these around the garden and my 3 year old can have a hunt around!

Make a den - we love a den, inside or out, bedsheets get dragged out, blankets, pillow's galore, we can be hiding from Mor'du (I have a red head...she loves Brave!!) exploring a cave, bust out the slumber buddy and look at the stars!

Bubble painting - I love pinterest for crafty ideas, it is a wonderful source of inspiration!

Chalk on the patio...and up the garage wall...and probably on the studio!!

Baking - whilst Super Chunk naps we can get some tasty treats made, I am thinking flapjacks!

A Nature Walk/Scoot - now, we are SO lucky in this area, Swanley Park, Scadbury Nature reserve, Jubilee Park, Petts Wood, Chislehurst Common, Oxleas Wood, Danson Park to name just a tiny selection of all the wonderful outdoor spaces on our doorstep!

Coolings Green and Pleasant, a firm favourite in this house! Great price (and have an annual pass too) and so much fun for the littles. They have birds of prey now too so check out their events section on the website.

Make a Fairy/Elf garden! Those of you who have been to my studio recently have seen that we are making big changes to our family garden, so this could be my chance to add a bit of fun out there!! Maybe I won't tell the husband about the glitter I've already ordered....Pinterest has a lot to answer for!!

I shall have to blog about our adventures this Summer...Let me know any ideas you have!