Diary of a First Child

We’ve been working through the year 2 English curriculum recently, as a sort of a guide for things for Ameli to learn, her being very keen to learn it all. I have to admit that looking at the curriculum I’m shocked and mildly appalled at what 7-year-olds are expected to learn! But as long as Ameli enjoys it, we’ll keep going.

We’ve been reading Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter – a short story that doesn’t take very long, but is filled with all the examples of things the kids are learning in Year 2. Graphemes, apostrophes, suffixes – well, if you have a child who’s been through this curriculum, you’ll know!*

Year 2 English With Peter Rabbit

Childcare And The Working Parent

Home / Mama Stuff / Childcare And The Working Parent

July 9, 2017July 10, 2017 by Luschka

I recently asked a question on a Facebook group about babysitters, and whether people use them at all. The responses were a very mixed bag with everything from ‘yes, all the time’ to ‘no, never’.

As a working parent, and more specifically a work-from-home parent, I often find myself with a different need: someone to be at home with the children, while I’m there, but working. It can be really hard to get in the ‘flow’ of work when you’re constantly interrupted for a glass of water, or because someone looked at someone else for a second longer than was acceptable! Having someone who can keep the kids busy, do art and craft with them, and generally just fill my role for a few hours a day or week, makes a huge difference.

Childcare And The Working Parent

Results Are In! Grow Your Own Potatoes Project

Home / 5-6 years / Results Are In! Grow Your Own Potatoes Project

July 6, 2017 by Luschka

This year we’ve once again participated in the Potatoes for Schools – Grow Your Own Potatoes project, whereby they send you potatoes and instructions, and you have to grow your own. As part of the project you’re supposed to keep an eye on your potatoes, soil them up from time to time, and generally follow their progress. We measured them intermittently, and made sure it was slug free and so on, but we did fail miserably at the seed potato – the one you’re supposed to plant in such a way that you can actually see the root system. I know we planted it in a jar, I just have no idea what became of the jar! We did, however, do the same with a pumpkin seed and a sunflower, and were able to watch their root systems stretch towards water. It was all very interesting. But back to the potatoes…

“Word Has It!” Game Review

Home / 6 - 7 / “Word Has It!” Game Review

June 27, 2017June 27, 2017 by Luschka

Another game review today as I’ve been really slack in getting these games online, even though we’ve been playing them for weeks! Today’s game is super for anyone who loves word building games – the game is Word Has It! by University Games, and it’s best suited to those who can actually read.

The idea of Word Has It is to build the longest word you can within the given time limit, the given starting letter and the given category. So to start, you choose a category card – say ‘something that grows’ – then you spin the spinner and get a letter – say “F” – then hit the timer and you have a few seconds to come up with a word, find the letters and stack them to create a word. The winner is the person who has the longest word in the given time. "Word Has It!" Game Review Read more: “Word Has It!” Game Review

“Yeti In My Spaghetti” Game Review

Home / Good Stuff / “Yeti In My Spaghetti” Game Review

June 25, 2017June 23, 2017 by Luschka

I realised a while ago that while toys are all fine and well, games are a really good way to get the kids to play together and sometimes, having actual rules to play by is a bonus too, as there’s less bickering when the rules of play are actually written down (by someone else, not me!) So one of the games the kids have been playing a lot lately is Yeti In My Spaghetti from University Games.

Yeti In My Spaghetti is a modernised version of pick-up-sticks, basically, and you follow more or less the same rules, with the main difference being that you now have a Yeti that you need to keep out of the bowl.

"Yeti In My Spaghetti" Game Review Read more: “Yeti In My Spaghetti” Game Review

Understanding the Different Types of Diabetes

Home / Misc / Understanding the Different Types of Diabetes

June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 by Luschka

Diabetes is a growing health condition in the United States and the rest of the Western the world, and in many cases it is something that could be prevented. Because of this, it’s a good idea to understand the different types of diabetes, and what causes them.

Type 1 diabetes is generally associated with young adults and children. This type of diabetes cannot be prevented and is usually caused by genetics. It only accounts for 5% of all diabetes cases and can be treated with insulin.

Type 2 diabetes is most common in adults. This type of diabetes is preventable, usually being caused by obesity and food choices. Treatment for type 2 diabetes involves implementing a diet and exercise routine. Sometimes insulin is prescribed as well.

Finally, gestational diabetes is experienced by pregnant women. Again, this is treated with a combination of diet, exercise and insulin. Recent studies have found it to be preventable.

Find out more about diabetes from the infographic below.Read more: Understanding the Different Types of Diabetes

“Eye Found It” Game Review

Home / Good Stuff / “Eye Found It” Game Review

June 21, 2017June 21, 2017 by Luschka

Sunday is National Unplugging Day and one of the ways to go gadget free as a family is to stack up a bunch of board games and spend the day lazing about playing as a family. One of the games we’ve been loving recently is a Ravensburger game called I Found It.

Eye Found It is a fantastic game! "Eye Found It" Game Review Read more: “Eye Found It” Game Review

Camping Toys and Games For Any Weather

Home / Good Stuff / Camping Toys and Games For Any Weather

June 19, 2017June 19, 2017 by Luschka

On Monday morning I woke up, looked out the window, and decided we were going to spend the week camping in a field rather than cooped up in the house, so that was precisely what we did! Of course, in a climate like the UK, the weather can be changeable, so we packed a variety of wet weather, cold weather, and warm weather toys and activities to take along.

As compared to a foreign holiday where we want to see and explore as much as possible, camping out on practically our doorsteps means we can leave the cares of home life – laundry, cleaning etc – behind, and just chill out without having to be anywhere or do anything.

While we didn’t have all of the below toys and games with us, but they are easy to find in a store such as The Works, and we think they are toys and games that will be great camping in wet or sunny weather:

Water & Bead Play With The BABY Born Interactive Bath Tub {Review}

Home / Good Stuff / Water & Bead Play With The BABY Born Interactive Bath Tub {Review}

June 14, 2017 by Luschka

We’ve had three camping trips, visitors, sickness and all sorts over the last couple of months, and while it’s been fun (and not) one of the things that’s suffered a fair bit has been any sort of ‘blog schedule, and with it, some of the things I’ve been promising to write about – like the BABYBorn Interactive Bath Tub my girls received months ago now!Read more: Water & Bead Play With The BABY Born Interactive Bath Tub {Review}

Create A DIY Space Light With #BostikBloggers

Home / Bostik Bloggers / Create A DIY Space Light With #BostikBloggers

June 13, 2017 by Luschka

We were very excited this month when we received our #BostikBloggers box and found it full of space themed goodies. There’s something wonderfully imaginative about space, mesmerising even, and we were excited to make something a little different, so we made a night light, and I must admit I’m very happy with how it turned out!