The Land of Sometimes is a really clever introduction to a variety of musical genres, accompanied by the most mystical and magical, imaginative storytelling, reminiscent of Enid Blyton.

"Over the ocean, far away, there is a magical place called 'The Land Of Sometimes' where four seasons pass within one day, and everyone who lives there has a song…"

The CD follows the twins Elise and Alfie as they journey away to The Land Of Sometimes and meet a whole host of characters who inhabit the magical world. Each character has a different song to sing, a different genre of music from reggae to jazz via a whole lot more. Accompanying the story on the CD is the most beautifully illustrated hard-case and booklet showing a variety of the characters in 'situ' to aid the understanding of the story.

The Land Of Sometimes is the perfect bedtime story CD, with the soothing narrator's voice and the gentle melodies lulling your child into wonderous dreams and their own bedtime wonderland.

For more information and to purchase the CD at the bargain price of £9.99 visit the website here.

Competition

I'm very pleased to be able to offer a copy of The Land Of Sometimes to one lucky reader. Simply fill in the Rafflecopter form below. All entry mechanisms need to be complete for your entry to be valid.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was sent a copy of this CD for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

We've lapsed recently in our habit of having a nice Sunday breakfast together before going out for a few hours, but this weekend I decided to revive our little tradition. And if it needed a blog-prompt to do so, then that is not really an issue for me, it meant that I had lovely food for breakfast.

Before:

After:

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Remember as a child when you did those Christmas cards or firework pictures involving cut-outs in black sugar paper and ripped tissue paper? Basically it's that! I saw it late last night on Mini-Eco and she explained it so beautifully that I found myself cutting out a butterfly on navy card (no black!) at half past midnight! (She's even got a template to use)

You'll need:

• coloured tissue paper
• black card with shapes cut out
• glue

I am not going to explain any further because it's so simple it's unbelievable! Just make sure you leave it to dry completely before trimming around the edges.

We love it, and it looks so effective with the sun shining through that I'm going to do a bumblee and a dragonfly too.

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On the weekend we attempted to tick off number 1: 'Fly a kite'.

And failed.

It was actually too windy. I know, can you believe that's even possible? It's like the wrong type of rain is causing a drought in parts of Britain at the moment.

Anyway, it was too windy because it kept gusting and eventually the kite broke, I stomped off and nearly fell in a river. Ok, it was a stream. Ok, it was a trickling tributary. Nonetheless, it didn't go well and we need to buy a new kite as a result. However, one of the things that did happen while we were trying to find the perfect place to not-fly this daft kite was that The Boy fell over and rolled down the hill. And he laughed. He didn't roll very far and unfortunately wouldn't try it again because he was distracted by the kite, but he inadvertently crossed off another things from the NT list.

This rolling is also part of Bear Gryll's Top Ten Things To Do Before You're Ten handbook created in conjuction with Persil's Small & Mighty. He seems to have the technique perfected a little more than The Boy though.

With other activities like building a den, being a hide and seek champion and counting the stars, it's a great and achievable list of activities for children to attempt, encouraging them out into the great outdoors and to get mucky!

To celebrate, TheBoyandMe is offering one reader the chance to win a copy of the handbook and six month’s worth of Persil Small & Mighty. It's designed to take on the toughest of stains, like mud and grass, so kids can take on the toughest of outdoor adventures- just like Bear Grylls!

In order to be in with a chance of winning this, please fill in the rafflecopter form below. All  entry mechanisms must be completed in order for your entry to be valid!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

]]> http://www.theboyandme.co.uk/2012/05/15/get-small-mighty-with-bear-grylls-competition/feed/ 18 http://www.theboyandme.co.uk/2012/05/14/exploring-the-great-artists-1/ http://www.theboyandme.co.uk/2012/05/14/exploring-the-great-artists-1/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 20:28:58 +0000 TheBoyAndMe http://www.theboyandme.co.uk/?p=9146 The rather inspiring RedTedArt has started a new project up and it is one that I was happy to jump on board with straightaway. She would like us to investigate the Great Artists with our children and see what art work we can help them create based on the painting that we've explored.

I've discussed this with Maggy and her plan is not to set a theme or artists to study each time, apart from the first post where she's intending to give us the suggestion of Jackson Pollock. He's a bit modern and out there for me and I wasn't initially bitten by this idea, but since she suggested it I've thought some more and will join in. However, there is one that screamed out loud to me that I had to pick as my first project and Maggy approved.

You see in the National Museum of Wales' art gallery is this beauty:

How on earth could I refuse the call of an original Monet?

And so a few weeks ago we popped into Cardiff on the train, trekked over to the museum and sat down and read Laurence Anholt's children's book about Monet: The Magical Garden of Claude Monet. It was incredibly quiet there that day, just a few 'ladies what lunch' having a saunter, and an elderly, deaf attendant who watched us reading and looking at the painting before coming over to chat to us.

The Boy loved looking at the painting but the magnificence and significance of it, and his surroundings completely escaped him. Because let's face it, he's two and it's just some splodges of paint really.

However, since then, he hasn't stopped 'reading' the book to himself and chatting about when we went to the museum. Admittedly, sometimes he's waffling on about the dinosaurs we saw, but generally the event sunk in. And so on the weekend we settled down in the kitchen with a plethora of materials and an image of the painting (thank you iPad).

As a class teacher, art lessons consist of me pointing to the art cupboard and the different paper types on the shelf and allowing the children to select for themselves. The Boy is two so I'd provided him with a selection of paint colours, paper colours and types for him to choose from, but I was still controlling the materials. As he gets older, he'll have more choice.

We discussed the colours in the painting, the brush strokes and what he could see. Then he had a go himself.

He experimented with different brush strokes and use of the sponge.

He got to practise his scissor, and ripping, skills.

He used collage materials for the leaves and then painted the lillies on top.

And then, because Monet didn't have it but we both know he'd have used it if he could have, we sprinkled on glitter to make the water sparkle!

What do you think of our masterpiece?

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I'm linking this up to RedTedArt's Great Artists.

• Sunday: blue cheese and asparagus tartlets, with tomato and basil rice.
• Monday: Mediterranean vegetables and rice, with halloumi (recipe to follow).
• Tuesday: Pizza and wedges.
• Wednesday: Vegetable and cheese pasties, salad and wedges.
• Thursday: Sticky Sausage Stew (slow cooker)
• Friday: Chinese!
• Saturday: Spring Greens Risotto – asparagus, broccoli, peas, courgettes with blue cheese.

Hardly going to set the world alight but I've done it. Hopefully next week I'll feel more with it to enjoy planning.

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I'm linking this up to Meal Planning Monday at Mrs. M's

]]> http://www.theboyandme.co.uk/2012/05/14/meal-planning-monday-10/feed/ 4 http://www.theboyandme.co.uk/2012/05/14/monday-14th-may-2012-flying-boy-135366/ http://www.theboyandme.co.uk/2012/05/14/monday-14th-may-2012-flying-boy-135366/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 18:48:20 +0000 TheBoyAndMe http://www.theboyandme.co.uk/?p=9285