Activity of the Week-Postcard world and country maps

Inspired completely by my cousin in the states I thought id share a new idea for parents/nannies to do at home with the little ones.

My cousin started by getting a map of the America and asking relatives and friends to send postcards from the different states.  When they received the postcards they would stick them on and learn about the state/place together.  Just to add my second cousin is three years old and sounds very intelligent wanting to learn about the world already.  My cousin has extended this into different countries.  I have a postcard from oxford to send just currently abit useless for sending it.

Such a fab idea so really wanted to share it.

Photo credit-My cousins photo

Good presents for a 1 year old

Our nephews first birthday is fast approaching and this gave me an idea for a new blog exploring different toys suitable for one year olds.

VTech Toot toot range

There are many different toys in this range and also the fab news is that you can link them altogether so could have one huge toot toot city. 

Megabloks
When our niece turned one we bought her some of these. Classic toy for youngster's to begin their construction skills!!


Happyland range



Small selection from many.  Great first toys for imaginary play.

Toddler activity walker


Little Tikes Car

I cant believe they still make these.  I had one when I was two but clearly a car that has stood the test of time. This is great as to move it encourages little ones to move their legs and feet rather than a motorised/battery operated one.  Don't get me wrong though those are very cool too.

Books

So many good books out there my personal favourites are ones that have flaps to get children involved in storytelling and sharing. Follow the link below to take you to a fantastic website Toppsta that will help you search books according to age and reviews.

https://toppsta.com/

Autumn themed Activities with Under 5s

Autumn is now here, well in theory it still is fairly warm!! With the older ones back at school this week I thought I would concentrate on what parents and nannies/carers can do in the home or beyond with little ones.  When I write these blogs I try to keep them short and simple when listing ideas so I have bullet pointed some ideas below.

1. Welly walks-see previous blog http://nannybicester.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/activity-of-week-welly-walks.html
2. Puddle Jumping is such a fun and simple to do when in the great outdoors.
3. Collecting leaves for printing whilst on your welly walk or other autumn items.
4. Autumn Collage- this can be created from the items collected on such walk
5. Pick your own vegetables at a pick your own farm then bring them home and make a delicious soup
6. Do some gardening by growing your own vegetables.

What are you doing with your little ones? Do you struggle to think of ideas to do in the colder/wetter weather?

Link to outdoor play post-http://nannybicester.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/the-importance-of-outdoor-play.html

Check out my pin board link for more ideas-https://uk.pinterest.com/nbicester/autumn-activities-under-5s/

My Family Visit to Bristol Balloon Fiesta, Ashton Court Bristol

Every August the Bristol Balloon Fiesta is held at Ashton Court Estate in Bristol.  I studied at the University of West Of England 05-08 but due to being in August and out of uni term I never attended the Fiesta although it is world famous.  Different balloons, shapes and sizes take off together over three days at dawn and dusk.  They also have a fun fair and events throughout the days of the fiesta.


Me and my aunt, cousins, cousin in law and their children braved the early start we arrived at the car park at 5.15am on a sunday morning!!! Absolulty crazy but coffee helped along with the amazing breakfast bagettes my cousin made us. 

My cousins little ones are 5 and 14 months and they were on such good form.  C ran around with his mums and my I phones taking photos that I seem to have the same one five times.  Little H is not as mobile so sat gazing at all the balloons whilst enjoying stuffing food in his mouth so was very easily pleased.

 Lovely couple of hours had by all and very popular as a lot of people there and best of all its completely free to access the grounds.  There is free parking but is abit of a walk.  We paid for nearer parking which is expensive but relative if you have a car full of people or children.

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/

2 new activities I have discovered this week-Aug 2016

Hi all,

Sorry in advance to making this a locally based post but I wanted to share two great new things to do that I have done at work this week since being back off my hols.


1. Street hockey-free two hour sessions this summer around Oxford (Sports for Streets)
https://www.facebook.com/SPORTFORSTREETS

In the local park there was a small group of children of different ages that came together for a couple of hours to play street hockey and best of all it was completely free!!! They are a community initiative who provide all their own equipment and the coaching and the children get to learn a new skill.  The people who run it were lovely and have all been semi professional/professional hockey players so really know what they are talking about.  They do play team matches but also fun games and all the children involved seemed to really enjoy it.

2. The Leys, Witney
http://www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk/family-fun/The_Leys/5177

This above image is an artist sketch of the play area at The Leys which includes play equipment, zip wire, splash fountains, swings, mini floor trampoline and more.  The equipment provides more challenges for older children and this is what I had heard from different parents so this is why I thought we would try somewhere new today.  When looking after older children you can often find that they outgrow the equipment at the conventional parks. Also on the grounds as well as wide open green space there is a mini golf course, skate park, tennis courts and a decent café to get an ice cream/coffee.  Such a lovely afternoon had and I'm sure we will be coming back soon.

What's out there for babies to do?

Parent and baby activity classes now are a regular part of a new parents schedule. Looking to get out of the house and meet new people with children of a similar age mums and dad's are signing up to different baby groups.  After speaking to my friend today if she has done any with her six month old daughter this gave me an idea to write a post addressing what is out there for parents and babies.

Swimming classes
Swimming classes are great but general consenus from parents of babies is that they are quite expensive.  It can be benefical as from a young age babies can get used to being in water


Baby massage
Simple techniques learnt in these classes can make for a more relaxed baby and help circulation and growing pains.  It can also be great for easing conditions such as colic and teething.  Great bonding for parent and baby.
http://www.netmums.com/baby/you-and-your-baby/time-with-baby-massage


Baby sign 
This is a great way to teach your child a way to communicate before they can vocalise the words.  Simple hand gestures/signs can be used with your child and before long they will signing back.


Buggy fit
http://www.buggyfit.co.uk/ 
My friend told me she enjoyed this.  I had never heard of this before and researched it online and thought it would be good to mention it in this blog.  Great way to keep fit and not have to worry about where you will leave your little one.




Pregnancy Yoga
This is known for being very relaxing for Mums to be.  Light gentle stretching to help with those aches and pains!


Have you experienced any of these classes? Would you take your child if not? Tweet me or get in contact if you know of any more unusual classes.