Party Inspiration – Carnival Theme

Party Inspiration – Carnival Theme

Posted on by Rebecca

The Carnival theme has to be one of my all time favourite themes. The colours, the design elements, the food, you can really go absolutely wild with this one!

I was lucky enough to help Meg, from mommalikeme, plan this wonderland for Oli’s 6th birthday and the end result was absolutely breathtaking ! It was held at our favourite family friendly venue, Killarney Country Club, and again the team were absolutely accommodating, you’ll remember that I held Yusuf’s 3rd birthday there too.

 

My Favourite Elements?

The eye-catching colour scheme – Red, Turquoise and Gold, I adore this combination.

The magical three-tiered masterpiece of a cake

The cute hot dog cart, complete with hot dogs and candy floss

The slush puppy machine – what a huge hit!

The gold elephants set atop the ticket and popcorn pedestal

The insanely creative backdrop created from paper flower fans and material

 

Now over to Meg to give you all the finer details:

Venue – Set amongst the lush and picturesque surrounds of the Killarney Country Club, throwing the party here was a no-brainer. We set up outside the grandiose Gazebo Room (and could have moved inside should the weather have turned). With a well-equipped play area – a jungle gym and slide, a sandpit, roundabout and putt-putt course, the kids were never bored! KCC bent over backwards to accommodate my every whim (like arriving before 7am on the morning of the party to get the Slush machine going!) and graciously hosting Oli’s 6th birthday celebration and all of our guests. If you’re looking for a venue in Johannesburg, with a difference, this is it.

 

Photography – What a blessing it is to have a birthday party captured for you – otherwise I would have walked away with the one and only photo I took before I chatted to friends and family and got to enjoy the moment. My most favourite photographer, Corinna, from Corinna Tannian Photography was there to capture all the details and happy moments. Besides from being one of the nicest people I know, she is such fun, and extraordinarily talented. If you’re looking for a mini photography shoot for your party setup – chat to me, we’ve come up with some special and affordable photography packages. Corinna is your lady!

Cake – Cara, from Aristocakes, arrived to deliver the cake before the birthday boy arrived. When he walked up to have a look at his candy table, he immediately spotted the cake (how could you not miss four tiers of sugary perfection?!). His jaw dropped and he literally gasped, speechless. It’s exactly the kind of reaction you hope for once hours and hours of work have gone into baking and creating a masterpiece like this. Every detail right down to the little blonde-haired, brown-eyed magician was impeccable. Besides from being a piece of edible art, the ‘art’ tasted incredible – best chocolate cake! I cannot recommend Cara highly enough.

Candy table – We filled apothecary jars with red strawberry liquorice, turquoise chocolate beans, red jelly beans and whole peanuts all from Party Spot – the best one-stop party shop in Johannesburg. As always, we made my kids’ favourite party treat – red jellies – and adorned them with caramel popcorn. Easiest way to tie in a theme? Add iced sugar cookies! Allyson from Sprinkles made the cutest Carnival-themed cookies, from iced hotdogs, to ellies balancing on balls, popcorn boxes, tickets and Oli’s name, this disappeared faster than a magic act! We accented the table with a golden ferris wheel loaded with caramel popcorn, and flanked the four-tired masterpiece of a cake with golden elephants balancing on upturned popcorn barrels. I absolutely loved the red rock candy from Party Lady that we added to the table – their online shop has some amazing products! Vicky, from Bake My Day, made the most gorgeous cherry-red toffee apples and dipped Oreo’s with turquoise ‘frosting’ to look like mini ring doughnuts – how cute are they?! I absolutely adore doing candy stations at parties, I think having it as a focal point is the perfect way to accent a theme – but my biggest piece of advice is to have scoops on hand for the jars and take-home packets so you’re not left with mounds of sugary sweets and your guests can help themselves.

Catering – What’s a Carnival without hotdogs and cotton candy? For that matter – slushie drinks, soft giant pretzels and a popcorn bar! KCC served up some gourmet mini chicken and beef burgers to add to the spread, which we topped off with some airfried-on-site chicken pops that were gobbled up as fast as we could airfry them! How handy was it that I could bring along my Philips XXL Airfryer to whip up hot chicken pops just in time for some hungry guests?!

Water bottles – Once again I used Kidz Cardz for the customised water bottles. These ‘Carnival Quenchers’ were a hit with the busy little carnival attendees in between rounds of putt-putt, fun and games! Kidz Cardz also designed the fabulous personalised individual popcorn packets that went to school for Oli’s birthday ring (round two after the hospital stay) – there’s nothing Elizna can’t do!

Party packs – Where would I be without TOWER Kids? You might remember I used them for Sophie’s party too (link) as the take home gift, and they were so popular, I used them again! We used a variety of five different elephant-themed educational art kits for each of the kids to take home – that ranged from sand art, to scratch and sticker, dot-a-picture, mosaic by numbers and foam art – happy kids and happy adults!

Décor – The first thing I thought of when we started planning this party was how much I needed a Carnival Cart! Sue and the team at ProDecor made all my dreams come true and delivered the most phenomenal cart, hay bales, giant red marquee arrow, crates, sign, and suitcase – making styling this party a cinch! The cart looked amazing with our fabulous black letter board from Curated South Africa – the perfect accent! I wanted to do the candy table up against the big black board as it’s a lovely shaded area (can’t have a melting cake and puddle-like jellies), but I wanted to create something of a backdrop. We, or rather my husband, devised a setup to suspend the striped red and white ‘curtains’ from the ceiling and hang the backdrop of fans I’d made, with a hint of black board peeking through creating a magical carnival-like effect. I bought various paper fans (some that had to come all the way from England with Grandpa and Ouma) and attached them onto plastic mesh fencing in a triangle formation, and adored them with glittering golden circles. The final result was quite striking I think – a great and relatively cheap space filler. With wooden crates and white plinths, I created various levels for focal points – the most important thing to know about setting up candy tables. An upturned crate became the perfect element to showcase deliciously sticky toffee apples on and house ‘O L I in marquee lights. I had a fabulous crushed red velvet table runner made by Bush Lily, as well as red and turquoise bunting to finish off the area. Golden lions on crates, red and white striped table runners, popcorn barrels and a pyramid of cans decorated the benches where the adults could relax.

Signage – Laura from Toogela Creative designed all the signage at the party – from the directional arrows and ‘Welcome to the Carnival’ to the Concession Stand, Step Right up for some Tasty Treats and Thanks for Poppin’ by and more! Toogela can do pretty much whatever your heart desires, so go check them out! Ambari did all the printing for me – vinyl mounted on board so that we can reuse the signage should anyone else need a Carnival party styled for them!

Activities – As per Oli’s stipulations, we just had to have a repeat performance by his all-time favourite magician, Stevie and his Big Red Box of Magic from The Wow Factory. Oli genuinely believes he can do magic by reciting Stevie’s magic words – “wiggle your fingers, wiggle your thumbs, that’s the way the magic comes”! The kids watched and whooped with rapt attention, hanging onto Stevie’s every word. If you’re looking for a magic act, Stevie is it! My fabulous friend Sam (from Sam and Tam link) generously lent us her jumping castle – always a hit at parties, thank you from the bottom of my heart, you’re always so willing to share and help where you can. Since it was a carnival, we just had to have some themed games – we made a pyramid out of big tins and had the kids knock them down with a bean bag and then a ring toss! There was also the fabulous Boom Blast Stix from Prima Toys that Oli was so thrilled to finally show his friends, and it had them in fits of giggles.

List of suppliers/stockists:

Venue – Killarney Country Club www.killarneycountryclub.co.za

Cake – Aristocakes – Cara Brynard

Magician – The Wow Factory

Photography – Corinna Tannian Photography

Apothecary jars, vases etc. – Mr Price Home, Home Stuff at Brightwater Commons

Sweets – Party Spot & Party Lady

Décor items – Pro Decor, sewing by Bush Lily, So Where 2 Events, Party Spot and Westpak

Balloons – Party Spot

Sugar Cookies – Sprinkles

Toffee Apples & Dipped Oreos – Bake My Day

Catering – Killarney Country Club and Fournos Bakery

Party packs – TOWER Kids

Water bottles & personalised popcorn packets for class party – Kidz Cardz

Jumping Castle – Lopes Bouncy House: sam@pinkdustevents.co.za

Black Letterboard – Curated South Africa

Design elements – Toogela Creative

Printing – Ambari: Preven ambarip@telkomsa.net or 083 381 7470

XXL Airfryer – Philips Home South Africa

Halloween Sensory Bin

Halloween Sensory Bin

Posted on by Rebecca

We always have fun making themed sensory bins. Its one of my favourite things to put together and often creates hours of fun for the boys. It’s often the simplest ideas and activities that are the biggest hit in our household.

Set up for this sensory bin was easy peasy:

I coloured some rice with a perfect pumpkin orange (you can click here to find out how)

I had some creepy crawlies lying around the house from last years sensory slime tray

Plastic Storage bin

Some cups/ containers/ plastic tongs to dig with

Turn it into an activity

Usually sensory bins are about open-ended play, exploration and curiosity. With some of the more simple ones I turn them into a task. To encourage fine motor skills, there is nothing better than scooping and pouring. I gave my youngest an empty cup to fill in and encouraged him to pick up the crawlies with the tongs and transfer them to the bowls and jars.

We used it as a scavenger hunt – I hid the bugs in the rice, and to encourage counting, told the boys they had to find : 5 spiders, 3 centipedes, 5 cockroaches (you get the picture.)

 

Have you ever made sensory tray’s with your children? Whats your favourite “theme” or base to use? Id love to hear your feedback.

 

Halloween Slime

Halloween Slime

Posted on by Rebecca

Halloween is not something we traditionationally “celebrate” as a family, Ive spoken about it before but I really am against all the blood an gore it represents in todays world. But I can never resist jumping on board with the arts and crafts. You may remember the ooey gooey slime filled sensory tray we did last year. This year we have found a family event thats more than just your traditional “trick or treating” and the boys are a little excited that they have the opportunity to dress up. (You can see more about that on my facebook page).

That being said I wanted to move away from the traditional “sweet giving”. I came across this idea last year on Best Ideas for Kids and I couldnt wait to try it. I turned the “ghost” into a mummy, but there are so many options to do. You can make a large batch of one kind or make them all! Either way, kids will love receiving these adorable Halloween slime jars.

I tried a new slime recipe for this one, though I do prefer my original recipe, which you can find here, as it yields a larger portion of slime but uses the same amount of glue. For gifts however, this is perfect.

Ingredients you will need for Halloween Slime

This will make one batch, so repeat three times, one for each colour.  

  • 1 bottle of liquid glue (I use Bostik arts and crafts glue). 100 ml. For Frankenstein I used a clear craft glue. So you will need 3 bottles of glue
  • Orange food colouring , Green food colouring. Glitter (optional)
  • Just under 1/2 TBSP of Baking Soda
  • 1/2 TBSP of Contact lense solution – Make sure your brand contains boric acid. As with my original recipe with borax, the activiating agent is the boric acid
  • Optional: add 1 TBSP of water to your glue before adding baking soda if you’d like a stretchier slime.

To make the jars

  • Glass mason jars
  • Black Felt
  • Glue Gun
  • Googly eyes
  • Old bandage

Directions:

  1. Get a 3 bowls to mix your slime into
  2. Pour the bottles of glue into each bowl. Use white glue for the ghost and pumpkin slime. Clear glue for Frankenstein.
  3. Place a drop of orange food colouring into one of the white bowls and a drop of green into the clear
  4. Add in your 1/2 TBSP of baking soda and mix in thoroughly. If you want a slightly stetchier slime , add 1 TBSP of water here.
  5. Now add in your contact lens solution. I always eye ball this part. Start by using half of what the recipe calls for and mix. If your slime is not forming enough, add in the rest. If you find it is still too sticky you can add a bit more.
  6. Mix until your slime forms and begins to harden. Knead for quite some time with your hands.  If it’s not the desirable consistency keep kneading.
  7. Create your little mason jars. For the pumpkin slime I cut out the pumpkins face out of black felt and used the hot glue gun to stick it on. For Frankenstein I used black felt and googly eyes for the Frankenstein jars. The mummy was just google eyes and cut up pieces of bandage.

Now have fun and play! Of course once my boys finished playing, all 3 of the colours were mixed up. We will be giving out one bottle each so hopefully that wont happen to our friends 🙂 Happy playing!

Rainbow Rice For Sensory Play

Rainbow Rice For Sensory Play

Posted on by Rebecca

I often get asked, “but what do you do with rainbow rice”; It may look pretty , but how does one incorporate it into “play”?

First, lets look at how to make it.

It is super easy and you can choose whether to use paint or food colouring. There are two ways to make it, I chose to use paint as my kids are a bit older and I know they won’t “eat” the rice. For younger kids, use the vinegar and food colouring method. I just find the paint makes a more vibrant colour.

1 cup of uncooked rice ( I used 2 for a larger batch)
Sealable bag / container
A blob of paint

Place your rice into the bag, with a good blob of paint and seal your bag. Rub the paint around until all specs of rice are coated (I got the kids to do this). Lay out to dry on a flat tray in a warm area for about 2 hours. You don’t want the paint transferring on your hands.

Vinegar Option
1 cup of rice
1/2 top vinegar
A good few drops of food colouring

Use the same method as above but you may need to dry overnight.

How do you play with it?

Now that you have made it, lets look at all the different things you can do with it, apart from admiring the pretty colours. The benefits of using rice in sensory play are second to none. From an OT point of view its great for kids that have low tactile input, the rice stimulates receptors on the skin so they can interpret sensory input more accurately. It’s the perfect medium for fine motor skill development. For those kids that avoid any tactile input completely (your kids that don’t like to walk barefoot or don’t like to get messy), because they can play in a controlled manner. Place it into a smaller container/ tray lets them control their experience more.

Here’s a couple of ways we use our rainbow rice to give you some idea’s:

Sensory Trays – any rice makes a fantastic base for sensory trays. It’s a bit like sand in that you can grab it, dig in it, scoop it etc. We use rice in a lot of our sensory fun. I have used it in themed sensory bins like our valentine one, or our outer space adventure.

Imagination Play – rice is perfect for “cooking”, making potions and baking. My boys like to stir it about in pots or “sprinkle” onto cupcakes.

Scavenger hunts – using the rice as a base for treasure hunts. Hide their favourite toys or treasures inside and make a checklist for the kids to dig through and find.

Scooping and Pouring activities – Great for fine motor skill development in little ones. Give them a try with the rice and some pouring jugs and let them scoop and pour away.

Letter recognition – add in an extra dimension by chucking in some magnets and a wand, magnetic letters are a great way to start letter recognition. Another exercise is to place the rice on a tray and get your child to “trace” the letters of the alphabet (from pictures), this is a great way to get them used to the shape of letters for recognition and to prepare them for writing.

“I-spy” Bottles – create personalized little “I-spy”bottles like this one over at lalymom.com , these are great for long car or plane journeys to keep little ones entertained.

Use it for art – ever tried sticking rice onto glue? It makes a fantastic piece of artwork for kids. Let them get creative with their glue sticks and create masterpieces with the rice.

Music Makers – If you have babies or young toddlers, you can also put the rainbow rice into bottle or plastic egg. The baby can then shake, shake, shake the bottle like a maracas.

I hope some of these idea’s helped you with some inspiration. The beauty of coloured rice is once you make it you can literally store it in an airtight container for life. We pull ours out quite often. Be careful though, rice does get everywhere. I always put done our messy play mat (a plastic sheet) and take it outside. Happy Playing !

Lets Get Real About The First Trimester

Lets Get Real About The First Trimester

Posted on by Rebecca

As you are reading this, know that these words were typed a while ago. I’m currently in the thick of things but I’m not meant to be telling anyone yet. Why do we do that? Why do we wait 12-13 long weeks to tell people some of the happiest news in our life? When, if something actually had to happen in these first few weeks, this is when you would need the most support?

Incase you haven’t guessed it HOOORAAAAAH we are delighted to announce our family will be growing to a family of 5 early next year! Planned? Not so much, but wanted? Absolutely 100 percent. Yes, the timing is a little off, it was only something I had wanted to start thinking about mid next year. I’ve just started a new job, the boys are transitioning into school, but God’s timing is always best, and I have always put my up most faith into his plans.

Moving onto the point of this blog.

THIS.IS.TOUGH……….

The toughest I have ever had to be perfectly honest, and because I’m emotional, and because I’m feeling very sorry for myself. I decided to document a few things I hate about the first trimester. I’m documenting them as I know in a few short weeks, I’ll have forgotten about the hell of the past 3 months and would have moved on to feelings of excitement and wonder. But right now, let me wallow.

The first trimester is all about: gritting your teeth with nausea, too afraid to talk because it will bring on a wave of sickness. Its falling asleep sitting up because you can’t lie flat or you will be sick. Its food aversions, I haven’t had a cup of my beloved tea in 3 months, just the thought or smell of it is enough to make me wash my mouth out! Its mood swings, its feeling and looking like crap, but guess what? You can’t tell the world in case anything happens. As a woman, I’m expected to walk around like everything is fine and dandy, still take care of my family and make sure they are all happy and fed when all I want to do is sleep for a million years and not retch when making a meal.

Here are the things I despise the most about this first trimester:

The bloating – I don’t know if my stomach is trying to see if it can stretch out enough or if it’s just testing me, but the first few weeks of discovery were plagued with bloating. My stomach was so bloated I literally looked 6 months pregnant. I had people querying if I was already at 8 weeks, purely just because my stomach was bloated.

Indigestion – What on earth is this?  I have ever experienced indigestion in my life. I don’t ever recall having this level of discomfort. By the time 4 pm rolls around each day I am so uncomfortable it literally feels like my stomach is sitting in my throat. My throat is on fire and so is my chest. I’m thirsty but I don’t want water because it will add to everything else

The exhaustion – I’ll be honest, I’m pretty used to this part. I generally have low blood pressure and am slightly anaemic so add in a growing baby and I am like the walking dead. My poor husband has literally sat alone each night for the past 2 months as I have fallen asleep by 8pm with the kids. I’m passed out, literally. I don’t want to go anywhere on the weekend, I don’t have the energy to even wash my hair. Possibly the one “ailment” I can deal with as I know my body needs all the energy it can get to grow a healthy human.

My hormones have gone off the rails – I’m naturally an optimist. I’m a happy person and typically nothing gets me down or depressed for very long. This pregnancy however has left me feeling, dare I say it, depressed. Don’t get me wrong – I am not depressed about the pregnancy, no way, I love this little lentil more than the world already. I have nothing to be depressed about. I’m just feeling low. I know it will pass, and I know it’s because everything is out of sync at the moment and it is also due to my low energy levels.

The helplessness – Knowing there is sweet bugger all I can do about anything. I still must wake up every morning, go to work and put a smile on my face. I feel like the biggest pile of dog turd, but I need to fetch my sweet boys with the energy of a teenager and give them the attention they deserve in the afternoons. I need to buy as many “easy to make” meals as I can to get through dinners for the next few months, because this too shall pass.

I cannot wait for these first three months to pass. To feel a little more like my old self again and to share our happy news. I know this is a negative ninny post, and not like my usual. I wanted to write it because it’s important for mothers to be to know these feelings are NORMAL! I am thrilled I’m growing a beautiful little baby inside of me and am ecstatic for the future ahead, BUT, I have also felt like CRAP, and that’s OK MAMAS!

 

UPDATE BEFORE I CLICK PUBLISH: I’ve had two days nausea free! Hooraaaah, am I through the woods? We also went for our scan last week and baby looks perfectly healthy and on track. Insha’Allah (God willing), everything will look up from here.

Leaving The Preschool Years Behind; Here’s What I’ll Miss The Most

Leaving The Preschool Years Behind; Here’s What I’ll Miss The Most

Posted on by Rebecca

Before we jump into bed every night my almost 5-year-old insists on placing his clothes out for school the next morning. He gets so excited to get dressed every morning and packs his bag in anticipation and brushes his teeth. He is almost completely independent, bar packing his own lunch box. When did this happen? When did my baby become so self-sufficient and “grown up”?

It marks the start of a new chapter, I’ve officially just handed in our “notice letter” for our last term of pre-school. Next year my baby will be starting big school and I’m feeling a thousand emotions. Am I making the right decision? Should he stay in the school he’s in or do we move him to the local primary school down the road? Will he miss his friends? Will he miss his teacher? Looking back at the past 3 years I can’t believe all the milestones we have crossed. From developing a fully-grown vocabulary which includes words like delicate, effective and communication (which he proudly teaches his brother the meaning of), from riding plastic motorbikes to full on bicycles without training wheels. Creative “scribbling” has morphed into proper pictures, with people, houses and real “things”.

Leaving the preschool years behind has got me feeling properly emotional, but I think I’ll miss it for these main reasons:

  • Showing up late or missing school isn’t the end of the world – My husband always used to laugh at me when I stressed about the time and I was always the firmer parent on attending school. Hubby always said, “he’s still young”, “leave him while we can”. In the past year I’ve realised this. I’ve savoured every moment that we would have mommy and me days or taking him out on spontaneous adventures. Once we start formal school being late or skipping school can come with some serious consequences. The extra time we have had together has been worth very single moment.
  • Sand in his shoes – Something that irritates me now is probably something ill miss the most. A sign of a day well played. Though I’m grateful my car may be a little cleaner, I will miss, what that sand represents: time spent running and playing, pouring and sifting, building and experimenting.
  • Walking into school hand in hand – Ok so maybe this will last a little longer, but every morning my son holds my hand so tight. From the time we leave the car, walking through the parking lot, up the school stairs right up until I hand him to his teacher, he doesn’t let go of my hand, not even for a second.
  • Pure Play – Probably the biggest and most obvious things we will miss. Yes, whilst there is some structure to his preschool all the activities are based around play, and learning through play. I’m going to miss the freedom he has of just “being a kid” the most.

  • Hanging around the class – I’m one of those moms who loves getting involved. I normally stick around for a few minutes after dropping them off (especially with my youngest when he was still settling). All the kids now me and run to give me hugs and tell me about their days, and speaking to other mums about nap times, extra curricular activities or current challenges. Next year the class starts in a much more prompt manner and even though its normal, I’m realizing I won’t know as much about my child’s day-to-day experiences.
  • Pure Friendship – In preschool there is no bullying or teasing.  Pre-schoolers aren’t judgemental, and they play with everyone! The friends your children make are pure and sweet. Once he hits big school and the comparisons begin I know I can’t protect him for a greater world of mean kids, teasing.
  • The Crafty Activities – The artwork, the sensory play, the imaginative creations and abstract architecture. I’m going to miss my son beaming with pride running up to me to explain his latest masterpiece. I’ve kept all the special ones, but If I don’t proudly display it on the fridge he gets upset and wants to know why. I’m going to miss the sense of pride and satisfaction he gets from creating and I can only hope that our selected primary school keeps a good balance.
  • The Community –I know I’ll create a new one, but I’m in a place where my child ADORES his teachers. He is always happy, smiling and eager to get to school first. I know that everyone cares from him, and everyone knows who he is, and I know they would pick up straight away if he was feeling down or unwell.

I have no doubt he will embrace “big school”, every day when we drive past the school he asks how many more sleeps it is until he gets to go to big school, with a big cricket pitch. Its more my emotions, and my fears for him. Leaving the preschool years isn’t easy.  It’s the start of a new chapter both in childhood and in parenting. I plan to savour these last few months of preschool with unhurried mornings and lots of artwork praising.

We Are Getting Crafty For World PlayDoh Day + Giveaway

We Are Getting Crafty For World PlayDoh Day + Giveaway

Posted on by Rebecca

Noah McVicker was an absolute genius, I don’t even think he realised the impact he would have on the world. Way back in the 1930’s he created a substance to originally clean soot and dirt off wallpaper! Gradually it was manufactured as a child’s toy and for  more than 60 years this humble piece of dough has changed the lives of parents and children forever. Opening up a world filled with imaginative play, colour and craft-able creations.

The 16th September marks Word Play-Doh Day, like we even need an excuse to whip out our Dough. Its a weekly feature in our house and its used for everything from educational themes to imagination play and even bathtime fun (we tried our hand at making bathtime playdoh.)

Play-Doh is hugely popular in the classroom providing ideal opportunities to practice and nurture
kids critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration and creativity skills.
Engaging toddlers and young children (ages 2-5 years) with sensory, open-ended play activities can
help them prepare for the big, elaborate world. We love creating “invitations to play” or themed “small world” trays for the boys to explore .  Play-Doh activities also provide a fun way to explore all kinds of topics and skills including language, math, science, social studies, and the arts. They make the perfect planets when learning about solar systems.

This World Play-Doh Day open a can of imagination and combine the fun with essential
development and learning benefits:
1. Play-Doh encourages creativity and imagination by providing your child with unlimited moulding
possibilities and the freedom to explore – for inspiration visit the Play-Doh How To store for
ideas on how to create your own Play-Doh astronaut, My Little Pony Rainbow Dash, butterfly
and much more.
2. Creating different shapes or mixing different Play-Doh colours together to uncover a new colour,
can assist children in growing their curiosity, develop cognitive exploration and enhance their
mathematical thinking.
3. All the squishing, rolling, flattening and shaping Play-Doh characters helps to enhance fine
motor skill by developing and strengthening hand muscles, which encourages pre-writing and
other motor skills such as cutting with scissors, using tweezers, holding a pencil etc. The tactile,
hands-on nature of Play-Doh compound can also help encourage development of hand-eye
coordination.


4. Play-Doh offers kids a multi-sensory experience allowing them to learn about their world
through touch, sight and smell. Sitting and squishing Play-Doh is a very calming and soothing
activity, which eases tension, releases extra energy as well as improves focus and concentration.
5. Playing with Play-Doh in a small group and/or with adults presents opportunities for children to
develop social skills such as collaborative problem solving, planning and playing as well as
learning to effectively communicate ideas or discuss what they are making. As well as improving
social skills, children can also learn to effectively engage in individual play sharpening their focus,
patience and concentration skills.

This World Play-Doh day why not join in the challenge and create a Hedgehog?

You will need: Stick matches or spaghetti or toothpicks and a can or two of a favourite Play-
Doh colour.
Method:
Shape the Play-Doh into a hedgehog body (shape of a lightbulb ending in a tip).
Insert the matches, spaghetti or toothpicks into the body.
Use a different colour to form small balls for the eyes and nose.

This is fantastic for developing fine motor skills. Get your little ones to insert the spaghetti or match sticks and add another layer of concentration by getting them to thread cheerios or fruit loops onto the spaghetti towers.

Tip: To test fine motor skill, let your child remove the sticks and challenge them to re-insert in the
same holes.

Play-Doh is available from Toys R Us, ToyZone, Toy Kingdom, Hamleys and other major retailers as
well as Takealot.com.
Visit Play-Doh South Africa at www.hasbro.com/en-za/brands/playdoh;
Facebook: @PlayDohSouthAfrica

GIVEAWAY:

 

To stand a chance to win a fantastic hamper from Play-Doh filled with Play-Doh Rollers & Cutters, drawstring bag and a fridge magnet, simply comment below on some of the ways you use Play-Doh with your children.

This competition will run across Instagram and my Blog, one winner will be drawn, so for an extra chance to win enter on both social media pages.

Competition ends on Wednesday 19th September at 12 noon and the winner will be announced the same day

Open to residents of South Africa only.

Making Learning Fun with Panda Post Learning

Making Learning Fun with Panda Post Learning

Posted on by Rebecca

I love it when I get to work with brands that are so aligned to my parenting style and philosophy. The second I heard from Nina I was so excited to jump on board with Panda Post Learning. My blog has always focused on fun learning ideas and activities to do with your kids. Its more than just chucking an activity in front of them and expecting them to do it, it’s about doing it together and spending time with your kids. I wrote a blog post a little while ago on how being back in an office environment (as opposed to a home office), I was battling with guilt while the kids were on holiday. They are too young to just drop off at holiday classes, and I certainly didn’t want them just watching TV the entire day, so I created a few set up in advance activities for the kids to do in the day.

Enter Panda Post Learning, it’s like Nina read my mind 😊 Panda Post was born to empower parents to make learning through play easy and fun! Helping parents to reduce screen time and increase play time. Each month a new theme is announced. Age appropriate boxes are available for children from 9 months to 6 years old. Select a box according to your child’s’ age (Baby Box,Toddler box, Playschool Box, Preschool box) and receive your box by the 20th of the subscription month, it’s that easy!

Our September box arrived, and the boys thought it was Christmas. They went crazy opening it up before I even got to take a few good pictures. I went for a combination box of both preschool and playschool and the boys are 3 and 4. When you receive your first Panda Post you receive a few “extras” that wont be included every time. Basics like scissors, glue and crayons to get you going on your arts and crafts journey. Our box had a healthy mix of art and crafts coupled with some puzzle games to encourage thinking (my boys are still getting frustrated with lining up the dots) and a fun ball catch kit to encourage gross motor skills.

A thoughtfully typed out description and activity list was included in the box, breaking down the activities step by step, making it super easy for your caregiver or nanny to do if you happen to be at work. Our box was “Spring themed”, so naturally the focus was on flowers, butterflies and birds. I honestly found the box jam packed with different options, we still haven’t gotten through half of them! We have created butterfly shaped suncatchers (something I always wanted to do but always forgot to buy contact paper), peacocks, owls, pet rocks. We have hunted for bugs and butterflies (and now have an earthworm living in sand stored in a container). We’ve spoken about spring and growth, planted seedlings and painted pots!

I only blog about products I believe in, Panda Post Learning is supporting a local, proudly “mumtrepeneur” business and is making my life a whole lot easier. My eldest comes at the weirdest times of day with a head full of ideas of what to craft, Panda Post sends you everything you need. No running to the craft store at inconvenient times because you don’t have one thing that you need.

I have literally just received an SMS from our playschool reminding me about the upcoming October break (yes I had forgotten about it), so guess who is hopping onto the website to order the beach themed October box…

You can find out more about their subscription boxes on their website .

20 Outdoor Activities To Do With The Kids

20 Outdoor Activities To Do With The Kids

Posted on by Rebecca

Yaaay for warmer days and longer hours of sunshine. I’ve missed outdoor activities with the boys so much and in the past two weeks every day after work we try to fit in some “play time”.

Most of these can be done in a smaller outdoor area, so if you’re in a high rise with limited balcony space, worry not! You can still get creative.

Here are my favourite outdoor activities to do with kids:

  • First and foremost, I just like to sit back and observe. Let their imaginations work. Get them outside and let them make their own fun. On their own accord they have been countless hours “building” forts, making houses behind trees, turned into imaginary chefs mixing up soup with leaves and their ultimate is to pretend they are gardeners. Whilst I’m a huge advocate of doing things with them, trust me, my absolute number one thing to do is just to let them do their own thing. It’s a magical thing to watch.
  • Set up a “Mud Kitchen”- All kids, no matter what their gender love to spend hours mixing and creating. Give them a couple of old bowls and spoons with a jug of water and some soil and you’ll be amazed at the creations put in front of you to sample.
  • Paint with Ice Lollies – a lot of my outdoor activities include paint, because to be honest, I much prefer the kids painting outdoors than in, in the interest of keeping my walls and floors paint free of course. This is super easy. Mix a little paint with water (you can also use food colouring and water) and pour into an ice container. Once the cubes are partially frozen add in your Popsicle sticks and take out when completely frozen. Yes it’s just paint, but it adds a completely different dimension and texture to painting.

  • Paint with Nature – Spring time with all the flowers out is the perfect time to do this. Grab a few flowers, leaves and sticks and get the kids to paint with them. Observe the patterns they all make and which ones are easier to paint with.
  • Pack up your lunch and take it outside. Most kids adore picnics, so instead of sitting inside to eat, grab a blanket and take it outdoors for a bit of an adventure
  • Set up a mini Olympics – This really doesn’t have to take too much thought or effort. We have used things we have around the house. Examples include: drawing a target circle on the wall outside in chalk, get the kids to try and hit the targets with a ball or bean bag. Tying a hoola hoop onto a tree to create a ring to throw through. Place cones out and create a mini obstacle course to run and jump through.
  • Build a Fairy House – Using popsicle sticks, sticks, matchboxes, moss, leaves, and small items from inside your home to build a fairy-sized house.
  • Build a Bug Hotel – My husband hates this one but the boys love it. Find any interesting artifacts lying around. Old bricks, pipes, pots with holes and rolled up newspaper work really well. Layer with straw and leaves to create mulch and make a really interesting little “hotel” for bugs to make their home in!
  • Go on a bug hunt – Look around said hotel 😊 Take a magnifying glass and create a list of possible bugs in your garden. Encourage the kids to look under pots and logs to try and find the bugs
  • Create a scavenger hunt – I like hiding figurine animals around the garden for this one. You can use a magnifying glass or make a pair of binoculars out of toilet paper rolls. Hide your mini animals all around the garden and let the kids find them.

  • Create a wash station – whatever it is, be it windows or bikes and cars. Get kids involved with a sponge and some soapy water and they are in their element. My boys love washing their bikes, or my windows and ultimately it always turns into a wet, messy affair. You are outside, so its OK 😊 
  • Make some bird feeders – Out of pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed. The kids will love making their own feeders and will often keep checking to see if birds come to feed.
  • Paint Stone Pebbles – My boys loved this ! Collect medium-sized stones and arrange them in the garden. Get your kids to paint the stones with acrylic paints of different colours. They can paint anything they like from shapes, to pets and insects. Mum can come in after and draw in any finer details.

  • Create Giant Bubbles – Bubbles are one thing I despise doing inside. The sticky bubbles pip all over the tiled floors leaving a slippery, sticky mess. Outdoors is the perfect place to create bubbles to your hearts content. To make the giant bubbles add one cup of dishwashing soap to a litre of warm water. An extra two to three tablespoons of glycerine, (makes your super big bubbles). Pour your concoction into a flat, rimmed tray, like a sheet-cake pan, and dip in a large DIY wand, made by bending a wire hanger into a loop. Lift the wand slowly and walk backward to let loose a gigantic bubble. Experiment and try different mediums, a fly swat perhaps with large holes. The crazy store has a lot of possible options to use.
  • Collect flowers and leaves and make a magic potion – Using food colours and petals let your kids mix away and create any “magic potion” they desire. I love the pretend aspect here.
  • Sensory Trays – If you have been following my blog for a while you know I’m a HUGE fan of Sensory boxes. Why not make some foam soap, a slimy swamp or a sandbox sensory tray with cloud dough? The possibilities are endless and being outdoors or on a balcony means easy clean up!

  • Go crazy with chalk – I must admit I LOVE chalk. It’s the one time my boys are allowed to draw all over the walls and floor. If we are outside of course. We love to colour in bricks and then find things around the garden to match the shade of brick, or just graffiti the driveway up. Whatever it is, it only takes a rain shower or sprinkler to wash away. Easy clean up!
  • Create a Nature Weave – We have been meaning to try this for ages and it looks pretty simple! You will need to find 4 pretty straight twigs to bind together into a square shape. Take some string (or you could even use bits of palm leaf) and weave close together to form a weave. The kids can find flowers, leaves or any interesting objects in the garden to thread through the “dream catcher” or “Nature Weave”.
  • Make a Water Wall – We have done this a number of ways and its so easy and very educational for little toddlers. The easy way would be to cut out scoops from the middle of plastic bottles. (I used 500 ml water bottles as well as 1l and 2l soda bottles. Attached them to the wall in a descending order, I just used tape as It was a makeshift one. Give your kids a scoop or jug to pour water into the top container and watch in amazement as the water flows through ! My dad then got involved and make the most awesome water wall out of PVC piping for the boys. If you have a good hardware store close by it shouldn’t be too hard. Place a tub underneath to collect all the water and let them play!

  • Make Ice Fossils – One of our all time favourite activities. Take any small figurines you may have around the house; we have used “dinosaurs” for dino eggs as well as marine life. Put them into an empty water balloon, fill with water and tie. Freeze the balloons overnight and then cut off the balloon cover. Place out bottles with water, plastic syringes and chipping hammers and let the kids try to uncover their fossils in the ice !

Up-Cycle with NutriStart Active

Up-Cycle with NutriStart Active

Posted on by Rebecca

A little while ago I was approached by NutriStart to work on an “up-cycle” project for their cereal containers. With the whole world finally stepping up to take notice of our consumer footprint, plastic is suddenly a hot topic. While it serves its purpose in some area’s I feel it’s absolutely on us as consumers to fight the good fight and be aware of our effects on the world around us.

NutriStart offers some pretty darn handy containers for some of their cereal range, but how could we reuse them afterward?

Before I dive into my thoughts there, let me start by saying, it was an absolute treat to sample their full range of cereals. My boys were so excited to try their “special new cereal”, and fought every morning over whose turn it was to try which cereal. Our absolute favourite has to be the Granola range, whether its plain, spiced dukkah (yep in a cereal), berries or chocolate; the granola to me was just the right balance of healthy and sweet. Free of artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colourants & additives; NutriStart is one of the healthiest breakfasts available.

The “Active in a cup” and “Oats in a cup” range is perfectly proportioned and is a brilliant on the go option for camping weekends, work, late school runs or anything where your breakfast is “on the go” and, as I have discovered, the containers prove to be the perfect size for a good few things.

I had grand plans for this project, which didn’t turn out exactly as I had panned out as I underestimated how difficult it is to paint detailed designs on plastic. I had visions of sea green and gold designs which ended up being more basic sea green because when I tried to tape of certain sections to be gold the paint would pull off. Although I know if I had done a little more searching there would have been a more appropriate paint. I used a spray paint with a primer for these.

My first and most obvious choice for the containers would be for potted plants and herbs. Once you have created your choice of design on the container cut small holes into the bottom to allow for easy drainage and air to flow through the soil. I love the fact that I can custom colour my herb garden.

Here are some of the other ways we have reused our pots:

They are perfect for Imaginary play! The boys making their own potions, soups, science projects and gardens with their little tubs. The insisted on painting and colouring their own, I may not have let them use spray paint, but they decorated their own pots with good old crayon and acrylic paints.

We turned a few of them into playdough pots, the containers are literally the perfect size for a new batch of dough. They also are great for storing arts and crafts materials. Pom Poms, Crayons, Feathers; they have made a great addition to our arts and crafts shelf.

I’ve also used the pots post school run. Running out of time for lunch, on he way back to work, the pots are super convenient in housing 2 minute noodles, pasta or a salad for when you are on the go.

My husband always jokes that he is living in a house filled with Zimbabweans. While we have British heritage my parents and I were born in Zim, and they grew up in an era of war. Naturally, they had to reuse and recycle most things and my house is one of those houses that if you open up a margarine container in the fridge you may not find margarine 🙂 Containers such as ice cream tubs and margarine containers were never thrown away but were reused as fantastic storage units. 2l ice cream tubs are perfect for “padkoss” on long journeys across Southern Africa.

There is great deal to learn from generations before us on reusing things. We have grown into a very “disposable” society, using things once and throwing them away and sadly our planet is starting to feel the effects. So thank you Nutristart for opening my eyes to this fantastic project, and for giving the kids and I a new reason to get excited for crafting.

 

How would you use your Nutristart containers?