Now in its sixth year, Star Wars Reads, a celebration of Star Wars and reading, has returned with a month-long campaign throughout April. Last year I wrote a post about my son. The only books he would read were Star Wars related, with a few Angry Birds and Minecraft books thrown into the mix. I really thought a year later I would not be writing this post but guess what? He’s still the same. Slightly bigger perhaps but still only reading Star Wars books on his own. Together we have managed to read a few Roald Dahl books, we’ve just finished reading Matilda. And…
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Have you ever read any of the Alfie books by Shirley Hughes? I remember reading them when I was younger and now my children love them too! I’m so excited to be able to share this brand new book with you – Alfie and Dad from award winning writer and illustrator Shirley Hughes. This wonderful collection of heart-warming short stories celebrates the special relationship between Alfie and his beloved Dad. Alfie and Dad by Shirley Hughes Alfie’s Dad Simon is always there for Alfie and his sister Annie Rose. He reassures Alfie during a sleepless night, he rescues favoured toy Flumbo when…
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Spring is in the air and we’ve packed away our Easter decorations for another year. Thankfully there are plenty of Spring crafts on our to do list. We recently received our latest Bostik Bloggers box which was stuffed full of crafty pieces to make a fun Spring bird-themed craft. We raided our own craft stash to make a really fun paper plate bird craft for kids. Paper plate bird craft for kids We used: paper plates brown and red tissue paper feathers googly eyes Bostik Glu Dots How to make paper plate birds The basic idea is to fold your…
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I can’t lie. A small part of me was glad that the children returned to school and the husband to work this morning. I really enjoyed our Easter holidays but the days were just so busy and sociable. I missed my quiet time. We’re not blessed with any family anywhere near us so it’s pretty hard to do anything as a couple. For the last 7 years we’ve been a family and I love our family days out. But occasionally we remember our child-free days of going out after work, lazy weekend lunches and the hottest tickets for the latest…
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Every year on April 22 people across the globe celebrate Earth Day. Earth Day is an annual event marked across the world to show support for environmental protection. The aim is to encourage people to do things that will benefit the Earth, such as recycling more, using solar power or plant trees. The first Earth Day took place in 1970 and now it is celebrated in 192 countries across the world by around one billion people. Easy Earth Day hand print craft tutorial To celebrate Earth Day we thought we would make an Earth Day hand print craft. It was one of those lovely…
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We’re really keen to use our National Trust membership more this year. Whilst we spent a few days in Wiltshire over the Easter holidays we were able to visit a couple of properties which had been on our wish list for a while. The first was Lytes Cary Manor in Somerset. Lytes Cary Manor Lytes Cary Manor is an intimate medieval manor house with a beautiful Arts and Crafts garden. Originally the family home of Henry Lyte, where he translated the unique Niewe Herball book on herbal remedies, Lytes Cary was then lovingly restored in the 20th century by Sir Walter Jenner. The garden…
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I can’t believe our two week Easter holiday has flown by. Today we are driving back home and the children are back at school tomorrow. However we have been busy planning the Summer holidays which should help get us through the Summer term. Monday happy things {Week 133} We started the week with a visit from my sister and niece who stayed with us for a few days. We stayed pretty local, enjoying BBQs in the garden, and a trip to the cinema to see Boss Baby which was very funny. It got us super excited for some films which…
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My 5 year old daughter *loves* pirates. She dresses up as a pirate, she acts like a pirate and talks like a pirate. I blame all those episodes of Captain Jake and the Neverland Pirates she used to watch before she started in Reception. I knew she would love to see a copy of Pirates: Dead Men’s Tales, a new title from Carlton Kids. Pirates: Dead Men’s Tales is a lovely book containing facts, maps and true stories about life on the high seas. It is aimed at children aged 9 and over but we always read together at bedtime…
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With our Easter holidays drawing to a close I must share one of the toys which have kept the children busy – Magic Tracks! Magic Tracks is a new track set system that is just hitting UK. Suitable for children from age 3, the set launched in the US last year and ended the year as one of the top ten toys in the country. We were super excited to try the Magic Tracks Starter Set out! Magic Tracks – what’s in the box? The Magic Tracks Starter Set included a cute little red car, sheet of stickers and 220 pieces of…