Baby Proofing Check List

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When your little one first gets on the move, it’s time to start thinking about baby proofing their environment to make sure that your home is a safe place for them, and to give your family some peace of mind. A few small changes can make a big difference to how “baby proof” your home is, and it’s worth re-checking now and then as they grow, as baby gets bigger and develops more skills suddenly they are able to reach into places that they couldn’t yesterday!

Here are a few pointers to check for when baby proofing your home.

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Water Fun At Home with Zuru

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In hot weather, you can’t beat a water fight! My kids are all crazy about water blasters, water balloons and anything that allows them to get themselves and everyone else completely soaking! So luckily the weather has been nice lately, to allow for lots of fun water activities in the garden.

We have been trying out a few new products from Zuru, which have been so much fun.

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Home Learning with Learning Resources

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Learning Resources is my go-to company for home learning materials, as they have so many fun products to help with all kinds of areas of learning. We were sent a couple of products to help out with our home learning during the school closures, and these have been really useful along side other Learning Resources toys and games that we already have stocked in our playroom.

Sight Word Swat

This is a great game that can be used to help young readers, whether they have only learned a few sight words or are starting to get quite confident at reading. N is 3 years old and already knows a few words, so this is a fun way to review those with her and introduce more words to her in a fun and casual way. Not all of the words included are “tricky words” there are also words which can be sounded out phonetically, like “can” so we can also use these type of words for phonics practise, to have a go at reading the letters and blending them together to read the word.

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Viking Adventure Activity Book

By in Book Reviews, Printables No Comments

Vikings are a fun part of history to learn about, and if you have a child in Year 3 or 4 at primary school like I do, then they may be learning about Vikings in school this year. The Viking Adventure activity book from Button Books / GMC Distribution looks like a great way to enhance and solidify their knowledge of vikings in a fun and hands on way.

The book is packed with over 100 different activities and games and includes 4 pages of stickers.

The pages are crammed with all sorts of fun, including puzzles, anagrams, maths, codes, spot the difference, colouring in and other engaging activities. Absorbing and educational, the Viking Adventure Activity Book features beautiful, bright illustrations
that will draw children in and keep them busy. And while they are enjoying the mazes, matching and counting, the
activities are helping them to develop a wide range of skills, including observational, conversational and motor skills. They’ll also find out more about the fascinating world of Vikings along the way.

Here are a few example pages of activities from The Viking Adventure Activity Book

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5 Alternative Gift Ideas for Children’s Birthdays 

By in Gift Guides & Seasonal No Comments

As lovely as it is for your children to be invited to share in their friend’s birthday parties, let’s be honest: choosing a present can be an absolute nightmare. 

What type of toy does the child in question like? 

What kind of present will their parents be happy for them to receive?

How much should you spend?

And arguably the most daunting prospect – how do you ensure that you don’t pick the same gift as another parent? 

It’s a minefield! Choosing a present for your child’s friend shouldn’t be so difficult!

That being said, you can find memorable, unique and highly enjoyable birthday gifts for your children’s friends and even for your own kids, you just need to know how. 

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8 Tricks to Get Your Kids to Drink More Water

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Being sure to get enough water is an important aspect of maintaining good health. As an adult, you likely know just how hard it can be to make sure you drink enough water yourself.

Getting kids to drink water is all the more challenging, but an important habit to build from early on. Luckily, there are a few tricks to help get your kids to pick water over juice every time.

1. Choose the Right Water Bottle

It’s likely your child already has their designated favorites in your kitchen. Be it their favorite plate with a superhero on it or a cup with a cool design, dishes for kids have bright designs for a reason: kids use them more.

Picking out a water bottle for your child with a striking design is an easy way to entice them into using it all the more often.

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The Health Risks of Making Your Own Hand Sanitiser

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Hand hygiene is an important part of the fight against COVID-19, but homebrew hand sanitisers can do more harm than good.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, more people are buying hand sanitisers than ever before. As one of the most sought after panic buy products, most shops and pharmacies are selling out as soon as they get a chance to restock. The result of this, however, has been a trend of people making homemade hand sanitisers with limited knowledge of what works against the virus or how to produce safe hand hygiene products.

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LEGO STEM Activities for Preschoolers

By in Play No Comments

Guest post from Dave at YourCub.com

Do you love to play with your children? I know I do. But many of the toys that my preschooler likes to play with will only keep me engaged for a few minutes. You’ll find that the more educational and creative the task or the toy, the longer we as adults are able to play with our little ones without getting bored or distracted. And when parents are engaged in the toy, so are our children. And that’s when they learn the most from us.

Toys are a great way for parents and children to bond because they allow us to talk with one another, understand what each other are thinking and what they are trying to accomplish. And then also how that might be done! There are many times during play where we can talk about our interests and find common ground. This allows us to appreciate our children more and form a stronger bond together.

So in order to enjoy these benefits you need to have engaging and educational toys! One of the most popular toys for people of all ages, both children and adults, is LEGO. Nearly every household has a box of LEGO or maybe DUPLO hiding somewhere! You’ve probably picked up countless LEGO pieces from the floor in your parenting journey. I know I have.

LEGO is so educational that many schools are starting to use it every day in their classrooms. It’s ideal for children who are interested in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics). That’s because LEGO allows children to use their imagination to build pretty much anything they want. 

A simple task like ‘building a bridge’ challenges a child in ways you may not appreciate. They need to think critically and plan ahead. They have to take into consideration a wide variety of issues, like structure, availability of parts, strength of joints. If you can get your child engaged in this type of activity from a young age you can spark their curiosity and possibly impact their future for the better.

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Keeping the Family Entertained at Home with Spin Master Games

By in Toy Reviews No Comments

One of the best ways to keep the whole family entertained and having fun together is with games. We have been playing a lot of board games lately, and recently were sent a package of four great games from Spin Master, with something for all ages.

I find that whipping out a game is a brilliant way to lift the mood in the house, banish boredom and reconnect with the kids in a fun way. They’re also ideal to pass the time if we are stuck inside due to bad weather.

This selection of games from Spin Master has something for everyone, with puzzling strategy from Otrio, hilarity from Hedbanz, Jumanji for those of us who have enjoyed the movies (Whether that’s the newer remakes that our kids enjoyed, or the original we remember from our childhood!) and even Baby Shark for the youngest of the family.

Jumanji: The Next Level

The Jumanji game is great for older kids, of around 8 years and up. My boys are 8, 10 and 11 and enjoyed this game. They found it quick to get into and quite easy to understand. In the game, you race to collect your 6 tokens to be the winner, and this is done by using action cards to do things such as battling animals. In some of these things, you need to collaborate with your fellow players, and during the game you can play as different characters from the movie – each with different powers!

There is also a Jumanji Classic Retro board game available from Spin Master Games which is a different version, and has a slightly lower age recommendation.

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