Tag: ideas

School Lunchbox Ideas

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If there’s one area that is frequently discussed among parents and teachers but has no clear solution in place, it is the topic of school lunch boxes and children’s food.  Many believe that poor quality lunches are a big part of the growing obesity epidemic and some schools are taking dramatic steps to deal with the problems.  Others believe that parents need to be better informed about what they should give their kids for lunch.  So what are the rules and ideas to make for a better, healthier lunch

Educating parents

Others take the view that the solution isn’t about banning or confiscating foods but educating parents on what constitutes a healthy lunchbox and what they should include in it to give their kids the best meal.

In the US, there is also a big move towards giving parents the information to create healthy lunches.  This can include elements such as baking batches of food to freeze such as whole grain muffins or breads as well as healthier cookies.  A big emphasis is placed on what the food looks like because tasty looking food is more likely to be eaten by the kids – hence the reason that sugary foods are always popular.

Filling a box with veggies sticks and a little amount of a yoghurt dip or hummus are ideas discussed along with healthy crackers with toppings, fruit smoothies and sandwiches made with pitta bread rather than normal white bead.  Even leftovers such as grilled chicken breasts cut into sticks or nuggets and served with a dip are easy to make options.

Why it matters

While the growing concerns about childhood obesity are at the centre of these concerns, there are other reasons why a good, healthy school lunch is a benefit to kids. For starters, eating the right foods can boost the metabolism, making the children feel more energetic and increasing their concentration.  This leads to better results in class and to have more fun.

By making all children eat school lunches, there can be a stop to the problem of some kids feeling left out when eating a school meal versus a ‘fun looking’ lunchbox filled with poor nutritional foods.  Let’s face it, kids love what isn’t good for them and if they see their friends eating fun, sugary foods, they don’t want to eat their own healthy lunch.

Whether banning, confiscating or educating is the way forward, it is clear that a plan needs to be in place to help our kids have a fun, healthy lunch that sets them up well for the rest of the day.

 

Monsters Inc party

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If your little boy is mad on Monsters Inc why not have a fun birthday children’s party based on Mike Wysocki!!

INVITATIONS:

Invitations can be bought as there are lots of merchandise from the Monsters Inc film, but invitations can be downloaded from the internet of ‘Mike Wysocki’ and stick them onto card.  The invitations could say ‘You’re invited to a party for Sam’s 5th birthday’ it also has to have important information like: Date Time Place RSVP info.

DECORATIONS:

A poster board sign for the entrance that can say; Welcome to Sam’s MONSTER of a party! with a clipart Mike on it too.  For the tables,  fill metal buckets with glass beads, blowers, & clipart Mike on sticks and attach balloons.  You can do lime green balloons and attach cut-out eyeballs & smiles to make the balloons look like Mike.

PARTY BAGS:

Since Mike is the comedian of Monsters Inc. buy joke books to fill the bags.  Also bubbles for younger brothers and sisters at the party.  To the books & the bubbles, tie suckers and a tag that says thank you for coming to my MONSTER of a party with a Mike clipart.  Use round suckers and glue a lime green circle & big wiggly eye to them to look like Mike.

FOOD:

Simple and easy food, like pizzas, popcorn, jelly and sandwiches, put a little green food dye on to make them more monstrous!! For dessert, served choc chip ice cream with a Mike cake.  Use plain lime green plates, napkins, cups, etc. Great fun for all the kids.

 

Great days out in the summer hols

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KidZania, Shepherd’s Bush, London

Kids can let their imaginations run wild at KidZania as they test the out real jobs in this mini city, such as being a pilot, firefighter, radio presenter, banker, police officer and many more! After all that work they can use their hard earned ‘KidZos’ to buy themselves some treats!

Longleat Safari and Adventure Park, Warminster

There is so much to see and do at this amazing safari and adventure park! Take a ride on the wild side with their Safari Drive, as well as walk with penguins, visit the meerkats and hop on a cruise to see the gorillas on Gorilla Island. You’ll be given the chance to feed some Rainbow Lorikeets, deer and even giraffes. Great entertainment for kids of all ages.

Oxygen Free Jumping, Various Locations

Kids will be jumping for joy after a visit to this brilliant indoor trampoline park! They’ll get to bounce sky high in open jump sessions and burn off lots of excess energy

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth

Come and learn all about the Royal Navy as it is today and get an insight into what the future holds! Step on board historic ships such as HMS Victory and HMS Warrior 1860. You won’t want to miss the new‐look Mary Rose museum, which gives insight into Tudor life!

AirSpace Trampoline Park, Glasgow/ Wolverhampton

Spend a session bouncing, flipping and jumping at Air Space! This brand new attraction has over 100 interconnected trampolines all waiting for you to spring about on. As well as freestyle sessions you can join in with games such as dodgeball, football and basketball – just bouncier

Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Piccadilly Circus, London

Enter a world of the truly unbelievable, bizarre and amazing! Ripley’s London houses over 700 fascinating artefacts, spread over 5 floors and covering a wide range of themes. Whether it’s amazing art, incredible nature, absorbing history, people and culture or simply the weird and wonderful that intrigue you, Ripley’s will not disappoint!

GoApe! Various Locations

Swing, zip, balance and jump your way through the trees on the Tree Top Adventure courses, suspended high above the forest floor. Younger adventurers will love Tree Top Junior, a lower and easier version

 

On water and land

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City Cruises

Enjoy a fabulous all-day hop on, hop off cruise along the River Thames London offering you unlimited access to the majestic River Thames for 24 hours, allowing you the freedom to hop off and enjoy some sites and then hop back on at a time convenient to you to continue your cruise. Cruises depart every 30 minutes and you can hop on, or off, at and of the 4 piers: Westminster, London Eye, Tower of London and Greenwich

Circular Cruise

Enjoy a fantastic one hour return cruise along the River Thames hop on at either Westminster Pier, Embankment Pier, Festival Pier, Bankside Pier or St Katharine’s Pier. Once the boat reaches St Katharine’s it will return directly to Westminster Pier without stopping. Every cruise has full live audio commentary throughout the journey. If you choose to stay on the boat, the cruise lasts for 1 h

Thames River Services

What better way to explore London than with a relaxing return Thames River cruise? Take the family on a fun cruise from Westminster Pier to Greenwich Pier and back. On the luxurious, 2 hour round cruise from Westminster Pier to Greenwich you will see fantastic landmarks such as: Cutty Sark, The O2 Arena, Tower Bridge, The Shard, HMS Belfast and many more

West Norwood Cemetery Catacombs, London

To those who are super brave, explore this catacomb which is located below West Norwood Cemetery. This catacomb was opened in 1837 and has 95 vaults with a capacity of around 3,500 coffins. Advance booking needed

London Tombs & London Bridge Experience

Explore some gruesome horrible history in this fantastic attraction, where you will see, hear, smell and feel your way through historic London! You’ll enter the Gatehouse where you will meet The Executioner and discover the grisly fate of William Wallace. Walk through the old streets of London and run from the Great Fire! Great fun for older kids.

 

A Mario themed party

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All things Nintendo, especially Mario, so for a fun children’s party theme, why not follow these ideas?

Why not make it an outdoors party (weather permitting) so for decorations hang blue plastic tablecloths along the fence and place cut-outs of Mario goombahs coin blocks and hills drawn on poster board.

Music can be downloaded from the game which can be copied to CD and played in the background When the children arrive they can be given a fake moustache.  They can also be given red visors with the letter M painted on it (like Mario’s hat).

How about playing the game Mario Party musical “chairs”. Instead of chairs, put a picture of each character on a piece of cardboard paper and put them on the ground in a circle.

Next you can get the children to decorate their own Mario sun catchers. Put a piece of masking tape on the back so you cab write each of the children’s name on so we could tell them apart when the paint dried.

For the cake you can cover the cake in green icing and put a Mario figurine on top. To make it look like a scene from the game add mini marshmallows for clouds and mini chocolate bars for blocks a gummy mushroom and premade cake letters for the Birthday boy’s or girl’s name.

After cake the gifts can be opened and the children can get to take turns playing Mario Party 5 on two of the GameCube’s or Super Mario Brothers on the NES that can be set up around the house.

 

Places to take the kids this Summer

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Meadow Keeper’s Cottage, East Sussex

Set on a 40-acre farm, between two wildflower meadows, this idyllic little holiday home is the perfect base for a taste of country life – kids can become junior farmers, helping out at animal feeding time.

The “cottage” itself looks like it’s been lifted straight from a children’s storybook and put on wheels. Hand-made by a local craftsman, it’s as cute as can be with flowers in boxes under blue-framed windows, a wooden door and wood-burner indoors to keep you toasty.

Not one for a large family or older kids but perfect for young ones, with a double bed and two singles that double up as benches, a fold-away dining table between them and indoor cooking area. The loo and (wood-fired) shower are outside.

Walking in the Lake District

If you’ve got kids who need to burn off energy every day, how about a dedicated walking holiday? This group trip features a choice of three child-friendly walks a day ranging from an easy option at six miles to a full 13-mile hike. In the evenings, activities are geared towards children; there’s also a games room.

A cottage in Wales

Wayside, Near Dolgellau, Snowdonia

Sheepskin, which specialises in luxury homes geared for families – the majority of which are in Wales, is offering 10% off its larger properties half-term, including Wayside, near Dolgellau in Snowdonia, a charming cottage with an open-plan living area and cosy sofas around a wood-burning stove, looking out over a valley of fields and forests and perfect children’s entertainment. It sleeps six and costs £1,328 for the half-term holiday.

Travelling with older kids

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Travelling with older kids can be a real pleasure – the trip becomes a group effort. Older children can sometimes become bored quite easily, but it is always an interesting experience as they form their own impressions and tell you what they are experiencing. Children at this age are clearer about what they enjoy and what they don’t, which makes it fun to plan for the journey.

Remember to make a checklist and take it with you.  Children can take their own daypacks with a book, colouring books, paper and pencils. Pack a few toys but don’t overdo it.  Take food, snacks and water. You can take anything from bananas, apples, rice cakes, raisins, dried fruit and sandwiches.

You could also take along your young child’s blanket or pillowcase to make the journey and the places you visit more familiar.

Plan for travel sickness and have plastic bags, medication and a clean set of clothes handy. Also pack medication, such as child paracetamol, rehydration fluid and anything you might need for travel sickness, especially if you are unfamiliar with the local medicines. It can also help to think of the journey as an adventure in itself, and not just the means to get to your destination. To this end there are many fun ways that children can keep themselves busy on the journey – they can:

 

  • Collect things (stamps, postcards, shells, souvenirs) along the way and glue them into a journal.

  • Draw maps and pictures of what they see and maybe even write down the things they liked best.

  • Take photographs – a disposable camera is a fun cheap alternative.

  • Record sounds they hear or talk into a tape recorder if they are too tired to write.

 

Remember that every journey is different. There are, however, quite a few things that overlap whether you travel by air, car or train and every journey completed is practice and experience gained for your next journey. Spread the days out, i.e. don’t give them all their toys at once! Otherwise you might run out of ideas within the first hour. It is also wise not to pack any special blankets and toys in your main suitcase – rather take them with you on your journey, so that they are available.

Easter holiday fun

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Entertaining children during the Easter break is not always the easiest thing to do. If you are at home this Easter, you may want some tips on things the children can do that will keep them occupied and having fun.  Our ideas will not break the bank and are a great alternative for indoor fun especially if the weather is not in your favour.

Use up odd socks by making an Easter bunny sock puppet.  Use buttons or cut out pieces of paper or card for eyes and a nose and hey presto!  You have all you need to create your own Easter bunny puppet show.

Make Easter cards.  You can use scraps of paper, old birthday and Christmas cards, magazines etc.

Memory Minute – Place ten small household items on a tray or table, cover with a tea-towel.  For example, a button, keys, a cotton bud, a fork etc.  Show the items for about thirty seconds then re-cover.  Each child has a minute to write down as many items as they can.  Smaller children can reel them off and you can write them for them.  The best memory wins.

Egg Collage – give each child a piece of paper and draw a big egg shape outline on it.  With a pot of paste and scraps of material or ribbon they can make their own creative picture.  For ribbon scraps raid your wardrobe and snip off all those ribbon hangers in the shoulders of tops and jumpers that often don’t seem to serve a purpose and usually end up getting in the way.  Have a small prize for the best one or the best one in each age group so everyone gets to be a winner.

Mini egg challenge – Make up a small race track or obstacle course on the floor or table.  Give each child four chocolate mini eggs of the same colour and a straw.  Let each one have a turn at blowing down the straw to guide each egg in turn to the end of the course.  You could use your watch to time how long it takes for all their eggs to get “home”.  To make it even more of a challenge you could tie their hands behind their backs with a scarf so they are not tempted to use them to cheat.

Easter decorations – Use paints or felt tips to decorate some eggs (you can use hard boiled or blow some if you prefer).  To do these, make small holes each end and then blow the contents into a bowl – you can use this for scrambled eggs or omelettes for tea.  As it’s a good idea to rinse the eggs out and leave them to dry you might like to do this the day before the planned activity.  Keep the egg box to stand them in and it’s also useful to put them in when they are drying off after being decorated.  Suggest faces with glasses, hair, beards, etc. or zigzag patterns or just let the kid’s imaginations run riot.  When they’re done they can be used on a plate as a decoration – perhaps with a couple of chicks on top (these are really cheap to buy in card shops or similar or make your own with yellow wool) or you could get a small twiggy branch from the garden or elsewhere and stand it in a vase and hang your eggs on with cotton or ribbon.

Travel with kids

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Travelling with your children can have its own rewards and the fun can start at the planning and preparation stage. You don’t have to think of every possibility and eventuality, but it does help to think ahead. Consider the ages of your children, the transport (air, train or car) you will be using to get to your destination and how you will prepare your children for the journey.

Passports

Don’t forget your passports if you are travelling to a destination outside the UK. Have you checked they are all in date?  Many people forget to check the time left on their passport and often have a last minute rush trying to get a replacement.

Children are required by law to have their own passports. In the UK, since October 1998, separate passports are now required for all children under 16.

Visa

Check with your travel agent or the appropriate embassy whether any special documents are required for your destination. If so, ensure this is done in advance.

Children with their own passports require visas, just like adults. Usually there are no reduced rates, but it is worth checking first.

Itinerary

Try to keep your itinerary as simple as possible and pick a destination that your whole family can enjoy. Remember that it might not be possible to stick to your kid’s routine whilst travelling, but you may find you can get a bit more settled once you have reached your destination.

Jurasic days out

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Get your little ones interested in Dinosaurs. Have fun with the whole family and explore dinosaurs galore at these brilliant dinosaur attractions across the country!

The Dinosaur Park; Tenby, Wales

Follow the trail and spot over 30 dinosaurs waiting for you – be sure to tiptoe past the spitting Dilophosaurus or you might get wet! The Information Centre is the place to learn some interesting dino facts plus you can also explore the indoor and outdoor adventure play areas!

Dino Park, Dumfries

Discover the giants who roamed the planet 150 million years ago! Dig for fossils, hear stories, find out facts and take a journey through a dinosaur mine!

The Dinosaur Museum; Dorchester, Dorset

Discover real fossils, dinosaur bones and life size models at this hands on museum. Are your little ones brave enough to touch the T-Rex?!

Dinosaurland Fossil Museum; Lyme Regis, Dorset

This museum is run by Palaeontologist Steve Davies and is a private collection. The museum contains over 10,000 specimens including some of the best fossils to be found on display. Top off your visit with a walk along the beach at Lyme Regis which is a fantastic place for children to search for fossils to take home!

West Midland Safari and Leisure Park

Little dinos will LOVE West Midland Safari Park’s latest addition… the amazing Land of the Living Dinosaurs! Come and see the UK’s largest collection of animatronic dinosaurs to learn all about these fascinating creatures. You’ll get to learn all about the Permian, Triassic, Jurassic and the Cretaceous periods… making this not only a fun but educational day out too! Plus, new is the latest dino addition, the Spinosaurus! Scientists believe it was the largest dinosaur to ever roam the earth so go along to the Land of the Living Dinosaurs to learn all about it!

The Lost Kingdom at Paultons Park; Romsey, Hampshire

Brand new to Paultons Park, The Lost Kingdom is a Jurassic adventure full of realistic dinosaurs in all shapes and sizes! You can even get up close to a ‘living’ animatronic dinosaur! There are also two exhilarating rollercoasters, a dinosaur adventure play area where you can dig for fossils, and a 4×4 jeep safari dinosaur expedition!

Torquay’s Dinosaur World; Torquay, Devon

With lots of hands on exhibits for you to touch (are you brave enough to grab the Triceratops by the horns?!) plus full sized and scale models of dinosaurs, this is a great place to learn about these prehistoric creatures and see incredible fossils.