365 #09

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Welcome to 365 Photo A Day Project linky. This linky covers round-up posts for the week or one of your favourite photos of the week. I've written a post providing tips for completing the project, always ask one of the regulars for help if you're stuck.

The 365 linky only works because of people linking to it and then contributing their thoughts to others' posts via comments. I can't emphasise this enough, it's the whole point of the linky!

Join in by entering the URL of your favourite photograph of the week (either a 52 or a 365 photo) and show some comment love to everyone else in the community. We've got a Facebook group, and now I've created a collaborative Pinterest board (if you'd like to collaborate, let me know and I'll add you).

  1. Choose your favourite photo from the past week and link it up below.
  2. Please add the badge to your linked-up post so that other people know how to find all the other fabulous entries.
  3. If you can spare five minutes to comment on a few other entries I know they'd appreciate it!
365


Days 53 – 60 of Project 365

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Days 53-60 of Project 365

53. Partners in Crime (This is one I had hoped to add by the time the post went live last week, but I had no chance so have added it into this week's batch. We went away to Coombe Mill for a few days with my brother and his family, and this is The Boy and Fiery Cousin – from Wild Family Fun – exploring the grounds.)

54. Simple Things (It doesn't matter what time of year it is, give children a spade and sand and they can ask for nothing more to make them happy! While the adults were making a fire and cooking hot chocolate, the children started digging to Australia.)

55. In Training (The Boy adores driving the tractor with Farmer Nick, and as we were the only people there this week he had plenty of opportunity.)

56. Natural Childhood (He couldn't be happier than one of the pigs in the muck behind him in this photo; he just needs the outdoors and freedom to explore and he is content beyond all measure.)

57. The Wonders of Nature (On the last day of our holiday we called into Boscastle for a few hours before the drive home. It's a beautiful little village, but the plaques showing the flood damage are shocking. We walked up to the point on the edge overlooking the harbour, climbed over the crest and saw one of the most amazing natural sights I've ever viewed. More in tomorrow's My Sunday Photo.)

58. Heston and Jamie (The Boy's friend from school came over to play and have tea, they decided to have fun with his play kitchen. Not sure who was more disbelieving; The Boy's friend or his mum; free play with baking powder, vinegar, shaving foam, flour, lemon juice, alka seltzer, lentils, etc.)

59. Just Chillin' (A busy day rushing around trying to find somewhere, anywhere, that we could get The Boy's holiday photos printed out for school resulted in a fraught mummy. We descended on the park for a calming ten minutes grounding and relaxation.)

60. Dough (The only time we've tried to make pizza in the past ended up in a rush and me not having enough time for it to prove, the result was a gelatinous mess which just wouldn't cook properly. Today The Boy and Mr. TBaM made the dough this morning, kneaded it good and proper, and we left it to prove for an afternoon. I don't think we're going to be buying pizzas again!)

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TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

#47: Cook On A Camp Fire (Country Kids)

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One of the must-does for our break this week to Coombe Mill in Cornwall was to visit the beach and cook on a fire. Luckily we had the wonderful Wild Family Fun with us, whose job as an outdoor activity facilitator means she's a bit of an expert at starting a fire with vaseline and cotton wool.

So while I explored the rock pools with The Boy and his cousin, Mr. TBaM and The Boy's aunty set to starting the fire up in order to boil up some hot water using the Kelly Kettle she'd brought with us. A Kelly Kettle is an ingenious system which requires a fire to be lit in the metallic base, and then the 'water-jacket' kettle is placed over the top. It ends up with a fire chamber which creates an upward chimney draft ensuring efficient and rapid boiling even in windy or wet weather. And it was very windy that day! [Read more…]

10 Tips To Help Your Child When Reading A Book Together

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It seems like listening to your child read a book should be simple: sit down together, and work through the text from the first page to the last.

And in practise that is exactly what we've been doing with The Boy for months. Which is ridiculous because I'd never ask one of the children I teach in school to cold-read a book, and they're over seven years old. So why on Earth have I not been drawing on my professional knowledge with my own child? My son, who is only four years old and just embarking on to the voyage of discovery that is accessible through learning to read.

If I was one of parents in my school, I'd be criticising myself in the staffroom. [Read more…]

365 #08

by 26 Comments

Welcome to 365 Photo A Day Project linky. This linky covers round-up posts for the week or one of your favourite photos of the week. I've written a post providing tips for completing the project, always ask one of the regulars for help if you're stuck.

The 365 linky only works because of people linking to it and then contributing their thoughts to others' posts via comments. I can't emphasise this enough, it's the whole point of the linky!

Join in by entering the URL of your favourite photograph of the week (either a 52 or a 365 photo) and show some comment love to everyone else in the community. We've got a Facebook group, and now I've created a collaborative Pinterest board (if you'd like to collaborate, let me know and I'll add you).

  1. Choose your favourite photo from the past week and link it up below.
  2. Please add the badge to your linked-up post so that other people know how to find all the other fabulous entries.
  3. If you can spare five minutes to comment on a few other entries I know they'd appreciate it!
365



Days 47 – 53 of Project 365

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Days 47-53 of Project 365

47. Do-You-Think-He-Saw-Us (We went to Dan-yr-Ogof showcaves and dinosaur park today, just north of Swansea. The Boy was intent on trying to read the dinosaur names.)

48. The Adventures of Brush Boy & Hammer Girl (We bought The Boy a mini archaeologist digging set at Dan-yr-Ogof yesterday, he decided I'd do the hammering and he'd do the brushing, hence his names for us. )

49. Eisteddfod (St. David's Day came early to The Boy's school as 1st March falls during half-term next week.)

50. Trump-A-Saurus (We've had dinosaur themed activities this week and in one book there was a set of Top Trumps which The Boy was introduced to, he loved it.)

51. Day and Night (The Boy started to chat to me during dinner about the Earth moving around the sun and then he wanted to know how the sun set when it didn't move. Luckily with his uncle in Australia it makes it easier to explain day and night in context, so I grabbed the globe, a torch and two blobs of Blu-tack to represent us and him. The Boy was fascinated!)

52. Soaring (A sunny after school pick-up meant a trip to the park was on the cards; something we haven't really done in months. It was great to have the fresh air and blue sky, even if it was for only half an hour.)

53. Coombe Mill (This is one I hope to have added by the time this post goes live, but I might have to pop it in later. We've come away to Coombe Mill for a few days with my brother and his family, can't wait for some much-needed relaxation.)

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TheBoyandMe's 365 Linky

What Your Home Design Says About You (Guest Post)

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Your home design says a lot about you and your personality. How you choose to decorate your home and what colours you use, reveal a lot about the type of person you are. Individual tastes differ widely and are usually a reflection of your temperament. That’s why it’s important to design your house around what you like, the things you are drawn to. Don’t be talked into furnishing by a pushy salesperson. Browse around large furniture stores with plenty of variety like Super A-Mart and choose things you are personally drawn to.

Here are some clues what your home design might say about you:

The Family Lover

A person who is very family orientated can often be easily picked by the abundance of family memorabilia around the home. You will see lots of photos and family portraits and also ornaments that have sentimental value. This person will usually collect things, perhaps something from each family holiday. Their furnishings will be comfortable and encourage you to spend time lounging around. You will find things like soft inviting couches with lots of cushions in this type of home. Everything in the home will probably have a story attached to it. The house will contain sentimental objects and reminders of the past.

The Greenie

If the wellbeing of the environment is high up on your list of priorities, your home will usually reflect this. You will have lots of energy saving appliances and will use sustainable materials wherever you can. You will most likely favour natural fabrics and furnishings. You may have linen or raw silk cushions and an earthy woven rug. You will usually choose greens and beige for your décor. Your home will make the best possible use of natural light and you will probably have a great outdoor entertainment area because of your love for the outdoors.

The Fashion Queen

If you are a trendsetter your house will usually reflect the latest colours and trends. Your home will probably be stylish and also sophisticated. You will choose elegant furnishings but will also value good design. You will probably have a home cinema. You love shopping at interior design stores and spend money on the latest design magazines.

The Cheerful Soul

If someone surrounds themselves in warm colours they are usually friendly and nurturing by nature. Yellows and oranges hint at sunshine and cosy fires and are very welcoming. Walking into a home decorated in warm colours will give you a feeling of cheerfulness. Warm colours are energising and will stimulate conversation.

Peaceful and Gentle

If your home is surrounded in soft blues and gentle whites it is likely that you are a peaceful and gentle person who sees their home as their sanctuary.

The Conservative

Someone who uses lots of neutral colourings in their home is often conservative. If walls, furniture, kitchen bench-tops and bathroom tiles are all in grey, beige or white, you may well be looking at the home of someone conservative. These colours give a feeling of security and solidity.

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Christy's Bedlinen (Review)

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Like most parents who don't seem to spend anywhere near enough time enjoying sleep, I am fond of my bed; it's like an old friend who I don't catch up with often enough.

I'm also a bit fussy with the bedlinen that I have, I like the soft and easy iron aspect of poly-cotton (even though I know it's not really an approved of or trendy fabric) and I don't like printed materials, so the design has to be woven. I also like cream or neutral colours so that it doesn't alarm me when I wake up in the middle of the night to tend to The Boy. Finding decent bedlinen can be a bit of a nightmare at times.

Therefore when I was recently sent some gorgeous bedding from Christy, I couldn't wait to get it on the bed.

Christy's bedlinen

The Mandalay range is made from 87.5% cotton and 12.5% silk blend jacquard on the face of the duvet, and 200 thread count cotton percale on the underside, making is soft and cosy to sleep under. The beautiful and delicate jacquard design on the cover is in a warm linen shade and has a luxurious silk yarn in the weave which gives it added lustre. I actually feel like I have a grown-up bed for once!

The duvet cover comes in a double, king or super-king size, and the pillowcases in either an Oxford square or Oxford rectangle size. The photos above are of the king-size with Oxford rectangle pillowcases. Priced at £159.00 for the duvet, and £45.00 for the pillowcase pairs, it's clearly a luxury bedlinen set, and in all honesty out of my normal budget. However, now I've experienced how soft, smooth and luxurious quality bedding like this is, I'll be hard pushed to cope with my supermarket polycotton again!

I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.

Samsung Mentorship With Gizzi Erskine

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In the twelve years that I've been teaching, I've seen quite a few changes to the way in which the curriculum is delivered and how the education system works. One thing stays the same though as far as I am concerned: my job as a teacher is to help children fulfill their potential, or at least to understand that they have a potential to fulfill. To inspire them to explore, to understand. To feed their hunger for knowledge and develop their understanding of how their world works.

To drive them onwards to find the one thing that they have a talent for, and to be the best that they can, or want to, be in that area.

Teaching isn't about disseminating information. Not any more. Not in the 21st Century. It's about facilitating a child's desire to learn. It's about supporting them, being a mentor almost.

'Lifelong learning'.

Finally a phrase to show that people don't just develop an education in school, that it continues throughout their entire life. There are always opportunities to learn, to develop and to be the best that they can.

And in Britain we do love a tale of success. We like to see someone gain a reward for all their hard work, countless television programmes demonstrate that on a weekly basis. My personal favourite in recent months was a series which involved three well-known chefs mentoring catering students, maybe because inside me is a wannabe or repressed gastronomist, the same goes for most of us I suspect? I know I'm one of those cooks who looks at a picture in a recipe book, looks at the ingredients, checks my cupboard for what I really have and then makes it up as I go along.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Imagine having a successful mentor nurturing your talent? Imagine having that someone who can help you fulfill your potential, who will ensure you succeed?

Samsung is joining forces with the UK’s hottest talent to give people with a passion for food, film, music and photography, the opportunity of a lifetime. ‘Launching People’ will see pop-up chef and Sunday Times cook Gizzi Erskine, award-winning actor and producer Idris Elba, singer-songwriter Paloma Faith and portrait and fashion photographer Rankin, search for undiscovered British and Irish talent. They will act as mentors as they help food lovers, budding film makers, musical game changers and picture takers launch their brilliant ideas.

The chosen candidates will work with one of the four inspirational mentors to collaborate on a unique project. Their journey, from meeting the mentors to the launch of their project, will be documented in a television series to air later this year.

Further information is available in this video on YouTube also.

To apply you need to make a 2-minute video all about you and your ambition. This is your chance to show off your passion, your personality, and your project idea, to get the attention of our mentors. Then we just need an image and a bit of copy and you’re good to go.  You can find out more and upload your submission at LaunchingPeople.co.uk

Up For Grabs – Two opportunities for everyone:

  1. The mentors will select four candidates with whom they’ll work one-to-one. The chosen protégés will spend 2-3 weeks together, working closely with their mentors in a house fully furnished with Samsung’s latest technology on their personal projects, building towards a grand launch event and making their ideas and ambitions a reality.
  2. And the public will get to vote for one winner in each category to receive £500 for personal tuition and Samsung technology up to the value of £2000.

This is a sponsored post.