Femme Luxe | Active Wear edit | June 2021

How are you fixed for activewear? It's something I have usually shied away from in the past, but since I started doing gyrotonic classes I've found it so much easier to move and observe how I'm doing an exercise when I'm wearing the right clothing. I used to hate how my body curved in and out, but since having children I'm really keen to promote body positivity and ways to keep our bodies healthy.

Disclosure: AD: Paid partnership with Femme Luxe

In this blog post I'm going to be showing you some of my latest activewear and co-ordinate sets from Femme Luxe, and how they can be mixed and matched or worn together...

Is your child obsessed with football?

Is your child obsessed with football, or constantly telling you they want to be a footballer when they grow up? Are you wondering what kind of  gifts to buy someone who is football mad? Perhaps you’d like to understand the benefits of football, and how you can nurture this love of sport in a healthy way, whilst incorporating it into other areas of learning?

 Disclosure: This post includes paid promotion items

In this blog post I will signpost you to some unique football gift ideas, we will take a look at the physical and developmental benefits that football has to offer, as well as some ideas for promoting this interest into other areas of learning and a free print out at the end of the post too.

Femme luxe finery | May 2021 edit

I have previously posted about not being ready to give up the loungewear just yet, and so I was delighted to be able to add a few more pieces to my ‘comfy’ collection!
 

 

Disclosure:AD: Paid Partnership with Femme Luxe

Femme Luxe have a number of affordable outfits,co-ord sets, bodycon midi dresses, milkmaid tops and more -   lots for under £30, with styles to suit most tastes whether you’re staying at home or going out. Although a lot of the clothes are probably aimed at a much younger demographic than me, there are still plenty of items that work for me at (almost) 36yrs.

School readiness – preparing your child for Reception Class

School readiness…its something you’ll probably hear quite a lot if you have a child who is preparing to start Reception Class in September, but what does it actually mean??

How can we, as parents, make sure that we are helping and not hindering when preparing our 4 year olds for big school?

Most of my Teaching career was spent teaching Reception, and so this is something I thought long and hard about when passing on information to Parents. What would I hope, as their Teacher, they could do already? What sort of things would I discuss in the Parents meetings for new starters? Where would my expectations be bearing in mind I don’t yet know the children or what level they are at?

Its not what you might expect….

"My child drank the toilet water"…and other things I've Googled

Being a parent in the 21st century isn’t easy. With modern inventions comes new risks and dangers, but there is one thing we have that our parents before us didn’t: Google.
 

The day you fall pregnant with your first child is the day your Google list starts...and then it grows exponentially from that point onwards. Questions we would never dare to ask our fellow NCT mate (“why are my labia swollen” if you’re wondering) suddenly make their way into our search bar and fill us with a feeling of solidarity as our results page is flooded with answers or similar questions from other anonymous mums asking the exact same questions. Usually.

Not ready to give up the loungewear?

Not ready to give up the lounge-wear just yet? Me neither babes. I've practically eaten my way through lockdown, and a year later I have to tell you - I am here ALL day for the comfort. The softness. The elasticated EVERYTHING. I am not bodycon midi dress ready, and neither is the world just yet either. It used to be jeans and 'a nice top' for a G&T or a grey goose in the local loungebar ...now there's no lounging in bars, just lounging in grey loungewear in the beer garden, hoping the clouds don't match your outfit and dump a million drops of rain on your (probably now grey) hair. Hope you brought a hoodie!

  Disclosure: AD: Paid Partnership with Femme Luxe

Seriously though, working from home means being sofa ready for your tea breaks, and after-work drinks are probably in the same place! If you are lucky enough to pop out for an al fresco lunch, you want something that lets you put the washing on and then walk into town without anyone batting an eyelid. Dressed up loungewear and co ord sets are a THING right now, and I'm going to show you some of my new faves....

Birthday Newspaper Book | Review

If you’re looking for a unique birthday gift, for those ‘hard to buy for’ loved ones ... something personal to the recipient with a bit of history thrown in, then this is for you!
 

Disclosure: Ad: We were sent this book for the purpose of this review

Historic Newspapers have created a  birthday newspaper book, created from original newspapers from days gone by. With the world’s largest archive of over 3 million newspapers, this is the perfect opportunity to have a little look back into past birthdays and discover who or what made the headlines!

UKCA / CE Testing Home-Made Playdough for sale

Thinking of CE testing and selling playdough? Did you know that to LEGALLY sell homemade playdough you HAVE to have it UKCA / CE certified to get the CE mark (EU) or the UKCA mark (UK) and chemically tested under EN71-3 by an independent lab in order for this to be certified as safe for children? Not just one sample either... each colour of dough needs to be tested separately under the toy safety directives, and if you change your ingredients or supplier then you will have to retest? 

 

I have been through the UKCA / CE testing process with my own gluten free, homemade playdough which I sell over in my shop - www.childledplay.co.uk. Finding the right information 

was a long, drawn out process and getting the right answers took up a lot of time. If you have found this post due to your own information searching, I hope that this helps you to understand how to start the process of CE testing playdough and how to work out if this is a viable option for you....

How to make Fairy Butterfly Wings with Pressed Flowers

My little girl absolutely loves to put on a pair of wings and dress up a fairy or a butterfly, but the wings we have which are made from the same material as nylon stockings have ripped in places and shed glitter like there's no tomorrow! I decided to make a custom pair of wings at home, using home pressed flowers (in the microwave!) and contact paper - which give more of a natural, iridescent 'flutter', look incredibly delicate and so beautiful and personalised....

(Blog originally published April 2020)
 

The best thing is that the lead up to making these links into some special experiences - you can forage in your garden for leaves, flowers and petals...or whilst out on your walk. We included some tête-à-tête daffodils that the children picked for me whilst I was poorly in quarantine to cheer me up and make me feel better, some tulips we had before lockdown and some cherry blossom flowers collected from a daily walk (also my favourite tree!). This activity is perfect for learning and teaching symmetry, discussing differences and changes, noticing patterns and details, following instructions and role play....

What is child-led learning? | How can loose parts & playdough help?

What is child-led learning and child-led play? What does it mean to 'follow a child's interests'? How can we use specific resources within an environment to help create a child-led environment? Why are loose parts and playdough such a helpful resource to use?

This blog post includes a link to a youtube video where I give an explanation and examples of what child-led means and why certain resources are so helpful...