Activity of the week-Getting prepared for Fathers Day Ideas

Me and my Daddy on my wedding day in Oct 2010

Cannot believe its now June and Fathers Day is now almost upon us.  For this weeks Activity of the week I thought we could discuss some Fathers Day ideas to do with your little people.
Dads as a rule I think are harder to buy for, well mine is particularly since I've been an adult. Luckily I don't have to discuss that with all of you so feel much more comfortable thinking of ideas for children and what can be bought or done for them on Sunday 19th June.


1.  Create a Photo Collage-  I have done this on Truprint for my Dad the last couple of years with a selection of family photos from the last year.  There is also a range of photo gifts you can create so follow the link and have a look.
http://www.truprint.co.uk/personalised-gifts/fathers-day

2. Not on the High Streets website have some fab ideas for personalised gifts here is the link http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/fathers-day?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Father's%20Day

3.  Make them breakfast in bed after a lie in!!

4.Make him a hamper with all his favourites in such as foods,beer, coffee it can be done on the cheap you don't have to spend lots of money. Get the children involved by making a list and decorating the hamper.

5. Get crafty and do the custom print hand or foot for the front of the card.  Priceless and free.

6.  I may be in danger of repeating myself from my mothers day post but just give the children some card and let them get creative.

7. Film night with Dad let him chose the film providing its suitable of course.

8. Help around the house

9. Make him  a cake

Rereading Harry Potter and life update

Hi all,

Just started Half term and what a miserable day for weather it was today oh well onwards and upwards this is England and we can't rely on the weather even when it's nearly June😢.

Bank holiday weekend has come and gone in abit of a blur to be honest as great plans to 1. Visit father in law on his birthday then 2. Trip to wookey hole in Somerset never happened.  I caught a cold from the hubby last Thursday so wasn't really right till today so we just did alOt of chilling at home which is probably good when I have busy couple of weeks.  I planned to do a review on Wookey hole maybe I'll get to go later in the year.

I have over the last week signed up to a free month of kindle unlimited on Amazon which is great as you can get lots of books for free! It normally costs £7.99 a month and I haven't decided if I will keep it yet but I feel this is a great deal if you read lots.  This has prompted me to download Harry Potter books 1-4 as I don't have the hard copies.  I'm already coming to the end of book three.  I forgotten how good reading the stories is rather than just watching the films. Definitely forgotten how much is in the books that you don't see in the films. So if you have some keen bookworms in your house or care and they are old enough throughly reccomend these.

On my travels for hen dos next couple of weekends nothing there child friendly but hope to write some more blogs soon.

Have a good half term week everybody x

What are you doing May bank holiday weekend /half term?

May bank holiday/ half term are nearly upon us again. Seriously the year is whizzing by so quickly it's almost June already.

What are you upto with your little ones this holiday? here's a few ideas to what you can do.

1. Check out my reviews blog for a day out I have built up a few now including Harry Potter studio tour, monkey world, Edinburgh castle, Edinburgh zoo, Fairytale Farm.
2. Make Pizza for a picnic http://nannybicester.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/simple-pizza-to-make-with-children.html
3. Do some gardening by doing some planting, build a den, generally having some fun outdoors!
4. Set up a football tournament with some friends and get prepared for Euro 2016!!
5. Visit Hinksey outdoor pool if your in Oxfordshire.  If the weather is nice its great to take a picnic and a swim and generally lounge around in the sun.

Check out link for my Pinterest for May half term- https://uk.pinterest.com/nbicester/may-half-term-ideas/

Further ideas link
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/May-bank-holiday-events-around-Britain/

Have a great week whatever your doing.

Activity of the week- local park runs

|So this weekend I have tried something new hurrah and went to do the Bicester Park run on a drizzly Saturday morning at 9am!!
I'll be honest I didn't know how I would do as I can only do short jog/walking as im not fit enough but I liked the look of doing parkrun as its absolutely free and people of all ages and abilities and join in.  I loved it and it only took me 40 min doing a light jog.

I thought it would be good to put on as an activity of the week as I saw quite a few people doing this with their children.  What a great way to get children outdoors and enjoying keeping fit and if they get too tired they can just walk.  The children there seem to really enjoy it as well.



Link to the website is below I suggest you go and see where your local run is its so fun and best of all your not committed into doing it every week.

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/

Harry Potter Studio Tour Review

Looking like abit of a goon on the night bus!!

Website- https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/

Are you or your child/charge a Harry Potter fan? Have you read the books or seen the movies?  Then the Harry Potter Studio Tour is defintly for you.  I try in my reviews not to be biased but I am a huge Harry Potter fan and in the last two years have visited twice once for my younger brothers 21st birthday and more recently in November for Hogworts in the Snow.  My youngest brother and sister in law have actually been three times in last two and a half years.  She has actually become a fan since the first visit having read all the books and watched all the films and seems to be able to quote Potter trivia.

What is there to do?

Where do I start? I'm going to summarise in bullet points

• walk around the studio sets from the movies
• film your own short movie on a broomstick
• talks from guides
• special events
• seeing the set designs in sketch
• props/costumes from the movie
• try some butterbeer or as ive just spotted online butterbeer ice cream

Multimedia facilities?

I have not used the audio guide on either of my visits as I was going with family and decided it may be anti social.  However, I wish I had as the guide tells you extra bits of information.  This would be good also.for children with any visual difficulties.

How does it engage children?

Lots to do and look at with props and guides around the tour showing you how they did parts of the movie.  In November there was somebody showing people how they make fake snow I thought that was really cool.  You can also make your own short broomstick movie which I did on my first visit (I'm such a kid) but it was over £20 to have your own copy on a memory stick so in retrospective I shouldn't of bought it. 

On the website I have just seen that there is an Activity passport available which includes a Golden Snitch hunt (wish I had done that now!) to get children engaged in what they are seeing and lets be honest who doesn't like a treasure hunt.

Ideal age of children?

As this is based on the movies I do not really think really young children can get a lot from it till they have read some of the books and seen some of the movies.  I also think you need to be a HP fan or this wont really be enjoyable for you/them.  Saying that I did see some very young children but as the later movies are quite dark I presume they hadn't seen those yet.

Places to eat/facilities?

As you go in there is a Starbucks and a Studio Café to get small snacks and drinks.  About halfway round on the Backlot there is another café in which you can purchase the famous Butterbeer!  Slightly expensive for a small cup however delicious and you must try it as it is Harry Potter after all!

Yummy Butterbeer!

The gift shop is so cool but a lot of the items are very expensive so be warned if visiting with small ones.  What annoys me though is how they place it right at the end of the tour as you walk out so you have no choice but to walk through there.  They are not stupid right? Obviously this has been done deliberately for making money and small people going "I want I want".

How much does it cost?

I have linked the pricing page on the website below

https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/plan-your-visit/ticket-information

Favourite parts?

So many favourite parts but to highlight the studio sets as they were used in the movies.  They look so small in reality to how they look on the screen.

Any special events going on?

Yes they often do special events and check the website for details.  On my most recent visit I went to Hogwarts in the Snow although some of my family as well as myself felt it was advertised to be more than it was.  Other than some parts of the tour being dressed festive and some fake snow in places we felt a little disappointed.  I will say however that they often create new parts to the tour to encourage people to go back such as adding the Hogwarts Express and I have seen on the website that they are making more of a feature of Privet Drive this month.

The Great Hall dressed for Hogwarts in the Snow

Any criticisms?

I think the only criticism I have of this studio attraction is what I have said previously about the Hogwarts in the Snow event but that is just my opinion I'm sure many people have enjoyed it.  Also the gift souvenirs are abit on the pricey side but is this all relative to the whole experience of the attraction?

I hope you have found this blog useful and I definitely recommend this as a place to go visit as a family, with children or just as adults just as my family did.

Weaning your baby onto solid food

I haven't written an 'informative' blog post for a while so as my nephew has just started weaning recently it came to me that it would be a good topic to share my perspective on.  Although I currently do not work with babies I have had many a child throw their very appealing pureed fruit/veg/whatever it may be over me over the years. Safe to say I don't miss that!!

So the time has come to wean your baby.  One of the first moments that they are starting to grow up and hopefully some teeth are starting to rear their ugly heads. (Ooh teething another blog post idea!!)

The reccomended advice is that parents should do this at 6 months as your baby should then of learnt how to swallow and not just suck. I am not a mother so this is just my opinion but I see no reason why you cant start at 4 months (defiantly not before!!!) as long as your baby is ready.  Go with your instinct and not just what the health visitor tells you as they do not always know best and every child is different.

Signs they are ready for solid food

• They make mouthing movements when others are eating around them
• Increased appetite 
• Moves their jaw when you try to give them food
• good head and neck control
• developing teeth
• chewing their hands a lot!!!  
• maintain a healthy weight since birth

What should I give them?
Start off by giving them baby rice mixed with a little bit of breast milk/formula a couple of times a day. Remember that the process takes time and not to rush them.  Half of it may end up being spat out or on the floor so persevere and maybe only a couple of teaspoons to start.
Next add in some puréed vegetables such as carrot or sweet potato. My advice here is to stick to one flavour at a time so your baby can get used to it.  Also it is reccomended that you start with doing vegetables before fruit as fruit is naturally sweeter so they will learn to like vegetables.

What is baby led weaning?

Baby led weaning is simply letting your baby feed themselves from the beginning!  That sounds crazy you say especially with pureed food however research shows that babies reach for their food from six months so can be effective if you start at this age.  You should definitely do your research first and look into how to do it and also it can be very messy! follow the link below to a website I have found that can help you.

http://www.babyledweaning.com/some-tips-to-get-you-started/

My perceptive on this personally is abit of both methods.  Babies are getting to explore the food themselves in baby led weaning such as with bread however eating fruit and veg maybe better being fed to them.  You can encourage them to hold the spoon from an early point and they will get used to using it.

Recommended on the go foods?
Everybody needs some convient items to hand and Ella's kitchen are tasty and nutrious but beware are pricey.  Nothing replaces fresh food from home but these are good to carry around in your bag.  I've linked the website below but you can pick up these in your supermarket. I recently ended up eating the strawberries and banana pouch I had bought for my niece it was yummy!!

http://www.ellaskitchen.com

Tips

• Batch make the food as you then wont spend ages peeling and slicing everyday and you can buy little freezer pots to freeze some for when you need it!
• Only give small portions to start with they only have small stomachs.
• Read mummy/daddy blogs for recipe ideas

Any foods to avoid?
Recommended advice says that gluten, fish and eggs are better avoided till the baby is six months so if your baby is younger seek advice from your health visitor/doctor.

How do I heat up my babies food?

Jars of baby food can be heated up by placing them in a bowl of hot water.  Always ensure piping hot throughout then remove and allow to cool off slightly.

Using a microwave or on the hob are both fine as long as its been cooked at the right temperature and allowed to cool it will be fine.  A food thermometer can be a good investment (check online for recommended information)

Useful website links
https://www.cgbabyclub.co.uk/article/my-babys-weaning-stage-1-4-plus-months
http://www.madeformums.com/baby/is-it-safe-to-start-weaning-at-4-or-5-months/36085.html
http://www.hipp.co.uk/expert-advice/baby-5-to-8-months/weaning-your-baby


Just to finish on I want to remind my readers that these are my views on my experiences of weaning with babies and knowledge I have gained from others over the years.  I hope you find this blog useful but speak to other parents, forums, health visitors, childcare professionals about their experiences and look online-Knowledge is Power!!

Did you find this useful? Any other questions regarding weaning? When did you wean/when will you wean?

Please comment below or get in touch via my twitter link

Family trip to Fairytale Farm, Oxfordshire

http://www.fairytalefarm.co.uk

 This weekend my parents, one of my brothers and niece came to visit me and we decided to go on a little family trip to Fairytale Farm near Chipping Nortan. Hubby decided that he would rather go and see his beloved Wycombe Wanderers play against Oxford United instead!! Bet he regrets that now after the 3-0 loss😢😢

My niece loves going to farms but is only two and has a very short attention span as most of my readers can appreciate so I had been told its perfect to visit for a few hours. My friend who's a childminder in Oxfordshire had told me it wasn't fantastic as a family attraction but little ones like it and good for a couple of hours.  This would also be a good opportunity to research places for small children to go for my blog.

So we set off for some family time.

My opinion/thoughts?
When we got inside my initial opinion was the place looked abit tired and run down and it wasn't clear where the animals were.  As you walk in there is a sandpit which in typical child form she was straight in there and that seemed reasonably clean.  There also was a play area with a decent amount of toys for babies and small children near the café/seated area which I think is good as a respite place for adults as the children can play whilst you can have a coffee/something to eat.


Favourite parts by my niece?
She loved the stupid music part in the sensory garden where she got to shake a maraca.  Typically she kept pressing the button not sure if this was to see her Auntie and Grandma do some stupid dancing or because she liked it.
She also liked the adventure playground area which had a few suitable things for her age including a wooden castle with a slide and a tractor to sit in.

What is there to do?

Sensory garden 

playground area

petting area

farm animals

mice house

rubber duck water race

How much???
Free for under threes, £5.50 per adult, £5.20 3-16 yrs

Value for money??
Suppose it is I don't think they charge more than the place is worth and my niece seemed to enjoy herself.

What did I enjoy?
Racing rubber ducks along the water funnel with my dad and brother! My dad lost claiming his one was malfunctioned, yeah right dad!

Facilities/place to eat?
If I'm honest the Toliet facilities are not great and I would not want to change a small child in there. There is a cafe that does some cold and hot food and very reasonable price wise. To feed four adults and a drink each was only £14.95. I had lasagne and salad which was okay but can't complain.

Would I visit again?
Probably not in the meantime but they were adding in new sections to the farm so maybe one day in the future. I think my friend was right in what she said it's not the best family attraction but ideal to waste a few hours.

Heres a photo of me and my gorgeous niece.  not the best photo if I'm honest but enjoying some quality auntie and niece time.

Have you visited fairytale farm? What did you think?

Activity of the week- Storybags

Baskets of Discovery.co.uk

After the success of my treasure baskets blog post I have been wondering how to follow up.  Thanks to all who viewed or shared my blog.

This week I am going to talk about how you can make story time more interesting and exciting by creating a storybag.  Unfortunately I do not have the resources in my house to create one myself so I will talk about how you can make one yourself or if funds allow what's available to buy.

Storybags to buy

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Little-Pigs-Drawstring-Teaching/dp/B00LFUAGNK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462956957&sr=8-1&keywords=story+bags

Amazon is great as you can buy themed bags and at the bottom of the page they will match up with items to put in them.  Follow the link above to have a look!!

Another great website I have come across is http://www.basketsofdiscovery.co.uk/story-baskets/ .  They also do some fantastic music baskets and treasure baskets.

How to make your own

Many years ago when working in nurseries a colleague of mine made a lovely storybag on the theme of the book "Walking through the Jungle" by Julie Lacome. She had made a beautiful felt bag but as not much of a sewer myself as I know many of you will be the same way here are my tips below on how to improvise.

1. Choose a story, perhaps a favourite of the child.
2. Find a cheap canvas bag and use parts of fabric/paint to decorate in theme of your chosen story. Why not involve your child in the process?
3. Use puppets/small cuddly items for example animals that are in the story, items in the story.  If the book was about in the woods you could put items in that you may find in the woods.  If the book was "The hungry caterpillar" you could put fruits in or plastic fruits that the caterpillar eats.
4. That's it!! Now when telling the story use the props from your storybag with the child to help identify with the story.

Did you find this blog useful? Have you made a storybag before? Have you seen one being used? Did your child enjoy it?

Edinburgh Castle-Place to visit with Kids?

My view of the castle from hotel on Princes Street

On my recent girls weekend to Edinburgh I got to visit the beauty that is Edinburgh Castle.  A castle that stands proudly above the city steeped in history you cannot stop but stare at it when walking around the city.  Home to many Kings and Queens of Scotland in history including Mary Queen of Scots to hold the keys to the castle meant you had a great deal of power.

As a nanny and now childcare blogger I am going to look at the castle as not just a tourist attraction for adults but as a family attraction in this blog.

What is there to see and do?
The castle has many areas to visit including the following:

• old jail
• martime museum
• war memorials
• Scottish crown jewels
• military hospital
• old battery
• old weaponary

What was my favourite part?

The views are amazing!! Also I love seeing the old jail and crown jewels.

Photo taken by Nanny Bicester

Is it expensive?

children under 5 free, children 5-15 £9.60, adult £16 so relative I thought but I think worth it as there is lots to see.  If you are using local sightseeing buses entry maybe including on their tours.

Eating Facilities?

There are two places to eat Redcote Café which you can get soup, sandwiches and cake amonst other things.  We went to the Queen Anne Tearoom to have a hot drink which does some hot food, hot and cold beverages and even Afternoon Tea for £16 per person!  If we didn't have an Afternoon Tea booked for later in the day I definitely be tempted to have it!! 

What age children is it suitable for?

I would take children 4+  to the castle particularly if they have an interest in history. 

I would also like to mention due to being on a steep slope and lots of stairs any parents/carers of children with disabilities should ring ahead when planning a trip to the castle as it may cause some mobility issues.

Does Edinburgh Castle have an app/interactive tools?
You can get audio guides to listen to as you walk around or listen via the app you can download from your app providers. The legend, ghosts and mysteries section has short sections of information that you can read or listen too which would be good for people with either  audio or visual difficulties as they would have a choice on how to receive the information.

Screenshot taken by Nanny Bicester

Special events?

http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/whatson will give details of special events that are happening at the castle.  In August the The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo will set to pay tribute the Queens 90th birthday see website for more details.

Would I come back?

Yes!! I would love to comeback to Edinburgh and would love to visit the castle again as I feel I missed some parts.  We also found out in the gift shop what clan tartan we belong too.  If you ask in the gift shop around the castle they will use your surname to see what heritage clan you would belong too.

Anything else to mention?

Guided Tours are available for those who wish and have a browse around the gift shop its worth a look although I didn't buy anything but there was some nice items but some over priced!

Website link- http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/

Do you enjoy my reviews? Do you think they are informative?

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