• STEM fun with the Build Your Own Plane Launcher Kit
    Build Your Own Brand Ambassador - Family Life - STEM activity

    STEM fun with the Build Your Own Plane Launcher Kit

    May 19, 2020 - By 

    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…

  • exploring Ickenham Marsh
    Family Life - Hillingdon - Local Review - London

    Exploring Ickenham Marsh

    May 17, 2020 - By 

    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…

  • Summer Reading Challenge Silly Squad
    Family Life

    How to take part in the 2020 Summer Reading Challenge

    May 15, 2020 - By 

    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…

  • Slimelicious Soda Shop review
    Family Life - STEM activity - toy review

    So Slime DIY – Slimelicious Soda Shop review

    May 10, 2020 - By 

    We’ve had a lovely three-day weekend. We enjoyed walks with the puppy, homemade cake and playing. I have to say weekends are so much easier than trying to homeschool my youngest right now! Thankfully we were gifted a new product from the So Slimelicious DIY to enjoy at home. My daughter adores playing with slime. It’s really therapeutic for her to play with it and she loves to sit watching a film and plying with her slime. We’ve reviewed the So Slime DIY Slimelicious Case before and my daughter really enjoyed making her own slime. Slimelicious Mini Shop and Collectibles…

  • Looking for the Battle of Britain House, Ruislip
    Family Life - Hillingdon - Local Review - London - Ruislip

    Looking for the Battle of Britain House, Ruislip

    May 9, 2020 - By 

    We’ve lived in Ruislip for a good few years now and were intrigued when we heard about the ruins of a house in the heart of Ruislip Woods, where agents of the Clandestine Operations Division were trained for secret operations in occupied France! Doesn’t that sound like an amazing story!? We’ve wanted to look for the ruins for years and finally found the time. I wrote a little about Ruislip Woods a few weeks ago. There are numerous paths through the different woods and we’ve had fun exploring them over the weeks. This is my favourite time of year and…

  • Blogger Board Game Club: Concept
    Blogger Board Game Club - Family Life

    Blogger Board Game Club: Concept

    April 30, 2020 - By 

    We love being part of Asmodee’s Blogger Board Game Club and were delighted to receive Concept board game to review. We were so pleased to have a new game to add to our collection and Concept has been a huge hit with the whole family. In Concept, your goal is to guess words through the association of icons. A team of two players choose a word or phrase that the other players need to guess. Acting together, this team places pieces on the available icons on the game board. To get others to guess “milk”, for example, the team might place…

  • How to celebrate 75 years since VE Day
    Crafts for kids - Family Life

    How to celebrate 75 years since VE Day

    April 30, 2020 - By 

    Our Early May Bank Holiday was moved this year to the 8th May to commemorate 75 years since VE Day. VE Day – or Victory in Europe Day – is marked on 8th May and commemorates the Allies accepting the surrender of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Events were planned over a 3 day weekend to mark this anniversary but sadly they’ve all been cancelled due to the pandemic. We were looking forward to a street party and events at school. How to celebrate 75 years since VE Day The VE Day anniversary will be another event that…

  • Yayoi Kasuma Covered Everything in Dots and Wasn't Sorry {book review}
    Family Life

    Yayoi Kasuma Covered Everything in Dots and Wasn’t Sorry {book review}

    April 25, 2020 - By 

    Back in October half term 2018 we were lucky to get tickets to the London Yayoi Kusama installation, a free event at the Victoria Miro gallery near Old Street. I’ve always admired Yayoi Kusama’s work and was excited to introduce the kids to her work. We loved the Infinity Mirrored Room, the giant pumpkins, paintings and installations. It was a really inspiring event for the whole family. We really loved the pumpkins covered in dots and tried to re-create them at home on painted rocks – it was so much harder than it looked! Yayoi Kasuma Covered Everything in Dots…

  • The best place to see bluebells in West London
    Family Life - Local Review - London - Ruislip

    The best place to see bluebells in West London

    April 24, 2020 - By 

    I’m not sure if Spring came early this year but two weeks ago we came across the best place to see bluebells in West London. We are fortunate that Ruislip Woods is our go to place for our state sanctioned daily exercise. We might be a little biased, but I think it is the best place to see bluebells in West London. The best place to see bluebells in West London Ruislip Woods is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserve covering 726 acres in Ruislip, Hillingdon. The woods became the first national nature reserve in an…