Whether you’re a man or a woman and you’re hoping to become a parent one day, it’s important that you understand more about your fertility and how you can potentially increase your chances of conceiving naturally. Unfortunately, even in the twenty-first century, infertility remains a fairly taboo subject and we have limited information about it. As a result, there are lots of misconceptions surrounding infertility, one being that it’s purely suffered by women. However, as many as one in six couples face fertility problems when trying to conceive and must therefore turn to IVF or other treatments to help, and 30% of these cases are due to problems with male fertility.
Have fun making this Kaleidoscope craft with the kids. This simple kaleidoscope works best when it is held up to the light. Move the tube around to see the pretty colours, glitter and sequins dance around.
What is a Kaleidoscope?
A kaleidoscope (/kəˈlaɪdəskoʊp/) is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of the mirrors are seen as a regular symmetrical pattern when viewed from the other end, due to repeated reflection (definition from Wikipedia)
Kaleidoscopes work by reflecting light, so this is a fun science project for kids, as they think about how the light bumps into the shiny surfaces, changes direction, reflects back and forth and makes the kaleidoscope work – with such cool results.
These Vegan Vanilla Frosted Plum Cupcakes made from South African plums look so beautiful, and are a great way to use some fresh plums. These vanilla plum cupcakes are the perfect sweet treat to make for a partner, family member, or simply just to treat yourself. They’re honestly the fluffiest, most perfect vegan cupcakes!
This vegan plum sponge cake is sweet, fluffy and studded with vibrant tasting South African plums! This cake is completely plant based, gluten free and still super indulgent tasting. If you are following a vegan diet, or catering for family and friends who are vegan then this beautiful and fruity cake recipe is definitely one to try.
We have all been stuck indoors for a while so it is always good to have some ideas of how to keep the little ones entertained during lockdown. We still have only a few months to go until things go back to normal – hopefully – so read on to get some inspiration. Anna and I collected a few activities we have done with our little ones that could probably help you out when you are feeling stuck.
Playmobil is a fantastic toy for imaginary play, allowing children to explore different worlds and get lost in stories and their imagination. My 4 year old daughter N loves Playmobil, and her brothers also used to love these toys when they were younger. We were sent a couple of products from the Playmobil Zoo range to review, and these are already well loved in our house, so we were not disappointed.
The toys from the Playmobil Zoo range that we tried out, are the Lion Enclosure (above left) and the Zoo gift set (right). As with all Playmobil, these can be easily mixed and matched and combined with any other sets you want to get from the range, to expand your playful world.
Magna-Tiles are one of our favourite open ended toys for the kids. They are brilliant for imaginary play, building and exploring. Over the years, we have always had sets of Magna-Tiles and when I am playing with these with my younger child, even the older kids can’t resist getting involved and putting something together. They are just so tempting and fun. Magna-Tiles are very appealing with their translucent colours, but recently we were sent a set of the new Magna-Tiles Stardust to review, and they are even more pretty. Magna-Tiles with added glitter, and even mirror pieces.. they are gorgeous to look at and to play with.
I’ve always been interested by the idea of pressing flowers, the results look so pretty. I hadn’t tried it until recently though, since using a traditional flower press can be such a long and drawn out process. Recently we were sent a microwave flower press to try out, and this speeds up the drying and pressing process so much, and makes flower pressing much more accessible for children to use in crafting. We used our pressed flowers to make some Springtime sun catchers to liven up our windows and I’m sure we will use it in many more projects to come.
The day is finally here, and UK schools will be re-opening for all children from tomorrow. It has been a long few months of lockdown, and it’s great to see our kids finally getting the chance to go back to school and spend time together with their friends once again. They have all been working so hard on their virtual learning, but nothing can beat face to face teaching in a classroom environment, so I’m sure many kids will be excited to get back to the familiar routine of school. Some of the children may also be quite nervous – it has been a very strange year, and it’s a lot to adapt to.
Whether they are excited or nervous, getting everything prepared and organised for school is bound to help, so that they can go back feeling like they have the situation under control. This weekend we have been rushing to order last minute supplies like school shoes, as my kids have grown so much. They also used up so much stationary during home learning, and Smiggle has all the supplies to get them kitted out with the stationary, school bags, water bottles that they need and so much more.
My kids love items from Smiggle as the quality is always good, and they have so many fun designs to choose from. From super cool backpacks to matching lunchboxes, keyrings and water bottles, Smiggle has everything budding learners need to embark on an exciting new learning adventure and get set for the classroom!
These thumbprint popsicle stick flowers are a cute craft for kids to make in Spring or Summer time, and they would make a sweet home made Mother’s Day craft too. Finger print or hand print crafts always make a sweet keepsake as they are personalised with your child’s little fingers, thumbs and hands – adorable 🙂
To make this flower craft, all you need is a few simple materials, and these can be made with the kids in just a few minutes.
