• Family Life

    Garden fun with Gazillion bubbles

    We are so excited that it’s half term. Normally we would try and visit family but this year we are having a staycation! We are all looking forward to relaxing at home, watching lots of films and playing outside in the garden. The weather was lovely today, if a little windy, but we got the chance to introduce our puppy to bubbles! The children love playing with bubbles and we have always had a fun collection of traditional bubble toys. We were recently gifted some items from the new Gazillion range to try at home. Gazillion Bubble Rush Introducing GAZILLION…

  • Family Life - Hillingdon - Local Review - London

    A trip to Cranford Country Park, Hillingdon

    Last week we were able to visit Cranford Park, another Green Flag award winner (in 2002 and every year since then) in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The weather was amazing and we were all excited to visit somewhere new. We took the puppy and were excited to learn something new about the borough we live in. Cranford Park, Hillingdon Cranford Park was the former seat of the Berkeley family, and is now the surviving remains of a former country estate easily accessed from the M4 motorway. The 144 acre (58 hectares) park features a number of historical relics including a…

  • Crafts for kids - Crafts for tweens - Earth Day crafts

    Simple Earth Day mosaic craft for kids

    Today we were learning about Earth Day. This is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970 and goes from strength to strength each year. We’re heard some amazing stories about how the world has been changing with the world in lockdown. These include air pollution dropping around the world, the water in the canals of Venice looking cleaner than ever and birds nesting earlier (can you tell we’re big fans of Steve Backshall’s Live Lessons on Facebook every Wednesday morning ?). Simple Earth Day mosaic…

  • Crafts for kids - free printables

    Free Roblox colouring sheets for kids

    I don’t know about your children, but mine love Roblox. They both enjoy playing games online with their friends, and Roblox is one that they are playing during this period of lockdown. Roblox has been around for a while and I thought an offline activity would be good for when they’re not playing online. Our free Roblox colouring sheets for kids will keep them occupied for a while. Free Roblox colouring sheets for kids STEP 1 Print out our free printable Roblox colouring sheets for kids. Just right click on the Roblox colouring page for kids link here to print this…

  • Build Your Own Brand Ambassador - Family Life - STEM activity

    STEM fun with the Build Your Own Plane Launcher Kit

    We were recently sent a Plane Launcher kit, one of the new kits from Build Your Own who make sustainable toys with less plastic. My children are of an age when they really want toys which can be used again and again. They love a toy which challenges them, and the Plane Launcher kit has certainly done just that! Build Your Own Plane Launcher Kit The Build Your Own Plane Launcher is suitable for children (and adults!) aged 8 and up. It uses visual perception and thinking skills and makes a great STEM toy (one which utilises science, technology, engineering…

  • Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List: Life in Lockdown {Week 8}

    I love to start the week by writing the Monday Happy List. It’s a chance for me to sit down and reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures. It’s usually a post I love to write but obviously life has changed considerably for us and everyone else in the UK over the last few weeks. Life is strange at the moment for everyone but I still want to try and record some of our happier moments. Monday Happy List {Week 292} Like the previous weeks of…

  • Family Life - Hillingdon - Local Review - London

    Exploring Ickenham Marsh

    The major benefit of life right now is the chance to explore our local area. Living on the edge of London means the best of both worlds – a quick hop on the underground into town, and fields and woods on our doorstep. Over the last 2 months we’ve been exploring all the paths and byways around our village. We’ve kept the kids busy with geocaching and collecting leaves and flowers to press when we get home. Hillingdon Trail We live in the middle of the Hillingdon Trail, a 20 mile path though Hillingdon’s countryside from Cranford in the south…

  • Crafts for kids - London - London crafts

    Crafts to celebrate the RHS Chelsea Flower Show

    I’ve always wanted to visit the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. It takes place every year in May at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. It opened in 1862 and has been a fixture of the gardening world every year, except during the First and Second World Wars. As mass gatherings are currently banned the 2020 RHS Chelsea Flower Show has been cancelled and a version of it has gone online instead, RHS Virtual Chelsea Gardens. Although we’re hopeless at growing anything, we love flowers. Flowers have inspired our crafting so many times from making sun catchers from petals, to using…

  • Family Life

    How to take part in the 2020 Summer Reading Challenge

    The Summer Reading Challenge is always a highlight of our summer. We love the summer holidays but this year will obviously be totally different for everyone. Home learning gives shape to our days at the moment and I’m not quite sure what we’ll do come the summer holidays. I don’t think we’ll be going away anywhere which means 6 long weeks to fill, without the weekly routine of our timetable from school and online classes. Thankfully it looks like we will be able to rely on the Summer Reading Challenge to keep us motivated with our reading! The 2020 Summer…