Christmas Blogember Day 2-elf on the shelf

Providing my elf on the shelf actually arrives I plan to do my own take on this during December. If you have one you might already be in the swing of it.  Working with older children this has not been an activity they could enjoy fully but younger children really enjoy it.
For those of you who don't know you name your cuddly elf and each morning the children find the elf in different spots around the house usually upto naughtiness.
Link to purchasing Elf on the Shelf goodies-https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=elf+on+the+shelf&sprefix=elf+on+the+%2Caps%2C278&crid=MFVXRKVY2F23



I have also noticed some of the shops,supermarkets are selling their own versions slightly cheaper so I reccomend having a look around if you don't have one already.

Wellington country park near Reading in Berkshire

A few hours spent in the late October sunshine with two of my uni friends and gorgeous baby girl at Wellington Country Park near Reading.
http://wellington-country-park.co.uk/

This is a very quick blog post about my trip here in half term as I didn't spend very long here and did not engage with all the activities on offer as we were with a 8 month old so there was not as much she could engage with but did love the animals.

 As you can see from the photo here the weather was beautiful and we had a lovely stroll around the lake which would be lovely at anytime of year as it doesn't take to long and you could stop and have a picnic. 
The petting zoo area is a lovely size and a few different farmyard animals for children to look at.  In the wooded area there were some cool dinosaur models to look at so would be great for any dinosaur enthusiasts.

Facilities include a large café and shop with plenty of indoor seating and outdoor seating. The cost is reasonable for what it is so go on over to the website for further information and details on special events.

They also arrange scavenger hunts and work shops which sounds fun defintley a must for small children.


I liked it here and a day could be made of it but more for 2-8 years for my recommended age of children.

Whats going on in Oxfordshire/Further afield this half term?

October Half Term will shortly be upon us and although I will be enjoying some more annual leave I thought I would share whats going on in Oxfordshire this half term.


Millets Farm-Halloween Events
http://www.milletsfarmcentre.com/event/290

Creepy maze trails, pumpkin carving and Halloween circus to name a few events going on at Millets Farm this week.

Blenheim Palace
http://www.blenheimpalace.com/attractions-and-events/events/2016/autumn/halloween-at-blenheim-palace.html

Spooky tours and ride the ghost train to the pleasure gardens and if you fancy some spooky storytelling sessions.  There is lots to offer here.

Get Creative with Halloween
See my Halloween blog shortly to be published on some fun ideas to do at home with the kids and get those creative juices flowing.

Explore the museums
As always the local museums have some trails, activities and some special events on so check out the websites for Ashmolean, Pitt Rivers etc.

LEGOLAND
http://www.legolandholidays.co.uk/legoland-windsor-events/brick-or-treat.html

Kids go free during half term!! Which is a good incentative to go especially as LEGOLAND is not cheap.

Trip to Solider Museum, Woodstock, Oxfordshire

Summer hoildays are drawing to a close with most children back tomorrow or in the next few days.  I've had a fantastic summer with my charges and we have had the chance to try a few new things.  The previous week we managed a trip to the Soldier Museum in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. If you or/and your little ones have an interest in army stuff, the war, artefacts then I definitely recommend this as a place to visit to while away a few hours.

How much?Price is very reasonable for the size of the museum about £7 for one adult and one child.

Facilities? There is a café which we didn't use but does a range of snacks and small plates and drinks. The toilet and changing facilities were clean and in good condition.

What is there to see? Lots of artefacts from different wars and most are from local places.  They have a trench bunker in which you can go into which we really liked.  Another favourite was the medal collection below which had a touch screen next to it with lots of information about the different medals.

How does it engage children?

They do lots of events and craft sessions at the museum especially in holidays and weekends.  I would say the craft is aimed more at younger children though.  There are trails to complete whilst going around and interactive features such as the morse code machine for you to have a go at creating your own message.

What age range is it suitable for?

Any age really from about 4 I would say.  Your child would have to have a definite interest in this type of thing though.

Great way of learning more about local history of Oxfordshire and our place and contribution to the great wars in history.  It was great to spend a couple of hours here and we liked finding out about the day to day life of a solider and what they had in their kit bags in the olden days and now.

Website link-http://www.sofo.org.uk/

Twitter- https://twitter.com/SOFOtrust

Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/SoldiersOfOxfordshire

Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/soldiersofoxfordshiremuseum/

Happy springtime🐥🐏

Photo taken by Nanny Bicester

Springtime is here finally and there have been a few sunny days hooray!!!if I'm honest though it needs to get abit warmer so us nannies can rock out the sandals and shorts and just simply get paid to be in the sun all day.  Don't you hate us?
Time to get out and about if you haven't already with your little ones into the British countryside.  I plan to write a blog on the importance of outside play very soon.  Persil have started a campaign online "Dirt is good" so follow this link https://www.persil.co.uk/why-dirt-is-good/ which is backed by mum blogger Giovanna Fletcher who has done a vlog on her YouTube channel.  I suggest you check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9sWiLssHGo

Personal news;

The hoildays are still going and the oldest still has a week to go-help me!!! After that I will be going to Edinburgh for a few days with my mum and sister in law for some quality girlie time and some nice cocktails I'm sure.

Recently a few friends, one this weekend have given birth to beautiful and healthy baby girls which is so exciting lots of little girlies!! Wow starting to feel my age of nearly 30 now with many friends becoming parents and my calendar becoming full of children's birthdays. Congratulations to all of them(you know who you are).
I have also been to see my niece and nephew the previous couple of weekends and oh migod such cuties and I'm obviously not at all biased.  M is two and has become fiercly independent as they all are at this age and is able to give everybody the runaround.  Her language is expanding every single day and she has started to go to a childminders now so is also learning about the art of sharing. Good luck M!!
Now to my nephew J.  He is about to turn 6 months old and honestly cannot believe how he has changed so much since I last saw him at new year.  Physicaly he has grown loads and never stops smiling and is such a happy little boy to be around. I got lots of cuddles and had to bounce him up and down a lot which is hard to do now hes getting bigger.

Work news;

photo by Nanny Bicester

In my last blog I talked about some of the places I visited this holidays for the first time since then I have also been to Didcot Wave Pool in Oxfordshire with some friends from gymnastics.  Even I went down the water slide a couple of times, the things I do for my charges.  Although I have been known to enjoy a water slide or two when on holiday at a waterpark.  Next to the pool is a really good park and definitely had more to keep a 9yr old boy and 10yr old girl busy as I find that a lot of parks are no longer have challenging equipment for older children.

The kids also did a blind bake challenge which was a great idea in theory but the reality was not so much with one child having an absolute meltdown when the cake did not work out as it wouldn't cook properly.  As I was not allowed to see the process I have no idea what happened but when I tried to help it ended with me getting shouted at, called a cheat and then being sent to her room.  Other charge was trying to make a Swiss roll which turned out a little burnt bless him! 

Think that's all my news for now

Nanny Bicester xx
@nannybicester