LolliBop 2012

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Last August the bloggosphere was filled with talk of the LolliBop Festival in London. At the time I was still quite new to the blogging world and was unaware of the wonders of the fantastic children's festival. However this year it's returning to Regent's Park with another fantastic line up and we will most definitely be there!

Completely created as 'The Big Bash for Little People', LolliBop takes place on the weekend of Friday 17th August until Sunday 19th, and while its main audience is intended to be children up to the age of 10, I suspect big kids of all ages will enjoy it with a plethora of wonderful activities.


I'm a little overawed at the huge range of acts, stageshows and activities taking place during those three days, it really will provide something for every child, no matter what the age.

Personally, we're looking forward to:

  • seeing The ZingZillas perform on the LolliBop Live stage;
  • the story of The Gruffalo in the Lollipaladium;
  • getting crafty with Mister Maker;
  • yoga sessions with Waybuloo;
  • an Alice In Wonderland tea party;
  • meeting ‘Tiny’ the 125 million years young dinosaur;
  • cooking with My Daddy Cooks in the LolliBop Kitchen;
  • the Halfords Bike City (which will include a Wacky Races obstacle course for under 5’s);
  • the Mr Men & Little Miss Party Roadshow;
  • LolliBop Animal Curiosities, which features animals including a polar bear, a dinosaur and gorillas (!);
  • the Disco Shed which will have mini boppers dancing the day away;
  • finding out what's in The Enchanted Forest;
  • the Village Green as the perfect spot to chill out and enjoy some street theatre.

Rest assured though, there are plenty of other activities for younger children with the the '3ft & Under' area (with a mini disco, tiny play, little arts, baby ballet, yoga, teddy bears picnic and sing and sign), and oodles for older children; Dick and Dom, a Moshi Monsters Mash Up Tournament (where children are challenged to put their Mash Up skills to the test with free Mash Up cards), the life-size Transformers Optimus Prime Truck, workshops by Horrible Histories and the Roald Dahl Museum, performances by 8ft Titan the Robot, the Tween Town area (with street dance, hula-hooping, magic and beat-boxing workshops, plus an older arts and crafts tent and a brand new laser room), a BMX stunt display and demo area, and the Science Museum are preparing for a triumphant return to Regent’s Park with an expanded area and dedicated Science Zone.

Reassuringly this is one festival which is completely geared towards the family ethos with two 'boob and botty boudoirs' and covered buggy parks and lollishade areas. There will also be a good selection of food and drink options available.

I'm really looking forward to experiencing the fun and games at LolliBop and as all activities inside the event are free, then I think that the £22 a person ticket is excellent value for money.

LolliBop takes place in Regent’s Park, London on August 17-19. Tickets are priced at £22 per person (adults and children pay the same price) but babies under 12 months old are free. 

The Boy… Aged 3

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Lately I've started to realise just how quickly our babies grow up to be their own person. I know it's come about with the prospect of school next year and so I am making more of an effort to remember the little moments.

The Boy celebrated his third birthday last month and I decided to follow Emma from A Matter of Choice's lead and video him answering a set twenty questions. What resulted was a fantastic moment in time, really showing off his personality and voice at this age.

What would be on your child's photo?

End Of Term Presents: What To Buy A Teacher (And What Not To Buy!)

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I'm coming up to eleven years as a primary school teacher and in that time I've had a fair few presents, both at the end of year and at Christmas. I have always been grateful for every single present, the fact that a child in my class (or their parent) valued the contribution that I had played to their education and wellbeing during the previous year means so much to me, and I would imagine to any teacher.

I'll state right now for the record that it is about the fact that I've been given a present, not what the present is, that counts. And I can say that with my hand on my heart because I am now in a position in my school where I don't receive any thank you presents any more. As I work part-time, I am one of those few members of staff known as PPA teachers: I cover the class while their own teacher is released once a week for planning, preparation and assessment time. As I am not there all the time, or am not the one to sort out arguments, listen to news, wipe tears or get the chance to build relationships, I'm not in the forefront of the children's (or parents') minds. Yes it hurts, it certainly did last year. I'd be lying if I said otherwise, but it's not deliberate and I know that.

I asked earlier on twitter if people were interested in knowing some present suggestions, but this time from a teacher, and I was swamped with a plethora of affirmations. As I've said, any present is welcome (especially for the lowly PPA teachers *sob*) but if you don't want to waste your hard-earned cash then here's some tips of what not to buy, and what is always appreciated.

'No-Nos'

  • Toiletries: This is top of my list because of all the toiletries that I've been given, I have never used a single one. Smellies are an incredibly personal thing to buy; you don't know if the teacher has an allergy or sensitivity, if they won't use anything that's been tested on animals, etc. I only use fragrance-free toiletries and they don't tend to make nice gifts. Toiletries are also quite an expensive present if you want to get something looking halfway decent. Don't waste your money on them.
  • Candles: You're probably wondering why this is a no-no? I've got a three year old, I can't light a candle with him around, can I? Most candles have fragrances attached, and let's face it that here you're getting into the territory that goes with toiletries. I'm not adverse to a cinnamon-scented candle, or vanilla, but my taste it different to someone else's. I have a box of 30+ candles (all presents) under the stairs which get used in case of a powercut and that is the only time.
  • 'Best Teacher' mugs: or calendars, teddies, notepads, mousemats, pencils, etc. It's fantastic that the child thinks that you are, of course it is, but there's only so many of those mugs I can use. Most end up in the staffroom cupboard stained with tea (because the staffroom sink is a disgusting thing that no normal human would touch if it was in someone's house) or as plant pots. I've only ever kept one of these, and that was one given five years ago by a girl who had painted it herself. They are cute for a 7 year old to give, but not for a grown adult to use.
  • Cash: Yes, seriously. I was once given £30 cash in a card. The card was beautiful, explaining how the girl's parents appreciated everything I'd done and how much support I'd given her, but it felt wrong. It felt like a 'tip' on the bedstead. Don't ask me why, I just wasn't comfortable with it. Added to the fact that it came from a woman who was actually one of my sister's longest friends, I just felt incredibly uneasy.

Always Welcome!

  • Chocolates: I know that they are a cliché but you'd be hard pressed to screw up with a box of chocolates. While I like mint chocolates, they aren't always a good thing to get: Heroes, Quality Street, Roses, etc. are a safe option. If your child wants to do a 'Best Teacher' message, this is a good place to do it. It's endearing and tasty, Thorntons do them on chocolate slabs.
  • Wine: I considered putting this in the 'no-nos' category too, because again it's quite a personal thing. Red, white, rosé, fizzy? It's an appreciated present, especially if it's a decent bottle, but it might be one that you want to do some reconnaisance on first. The best one I had was a bottle of pink champagne!
  • Flowers or plants: You can't really go wrong with a nice bunch of flowers, but not the ones that have been shoved in food colouring and come from a garage. Please? MummyMummyMum asked me earlier on twitter if a home-grown chilli plant would be ok, and I would say 'YES!' because it's different! A lavender plant, strawberry plant, something different and inventive like that is excellent!
  • Vouchers: I once had a voucher for a head massage, that was lovely! The other one I had was for an afternoon tea for two and I took my mum which she loved. Something purposeful like that is great.
  • Cake or home-made food: Some teachers would argue with me on this one because you can never guarantee the hygiene standard, but generally a home-made culinary present would go down a treat. I've seen some of the cakes that bloggers make and parcel up in those cardboard boxes from Asda, and they look fantastic and very thoughtful. I think my best present was a chocolate cake made my one of my favourite parents in my first school. She knew I loved the cake and cooked a huge slab for me, attaching an envelope with the recipe in it.
  • Coffee: I saw a wonderful idea from Domestic Goddesque who was responsible for collecting money in for a whole class present to teachers. She bought a resuable plastic coffee cup from Starbucks and a £10 gift card. On the sleeve around the cup she wrote 'Thanks' and placed the cup, the voucher and a packet of Oreo cookies into a cellophane gift bag for the teacher. (Obviously check the teacher is a coffee drinker first!)

coffee-gift-for-a-teacher

I'd like to point out two more factors when it comes to buying a present:

  1. Find out something about the teacher, and base the present on that. Buying chocolates for a teacher who is dieting is not a good move, likewise buying wine for a pregnant teacher is a bit daft. Something personal and relevant to them is always best. Has she got pierced ears? Earrings probably aren't a good choice then.
  2. Know the staff! Your child is rarely taught by just one person; I bet there's a learning support assistant and a PPA teachers who works with them? I work with 350 of the 450+ children in my school, how many parents realise that? Does your child have extra support for English or Maths, or maybe they see someone to challenge them if they are More Able and Talented? There's a lot more staff who help your child than just the class teacher.

The best present is a card (possibly home-made) expressing how much appreciation you have for the work that the recipient has put into helping your child in that year. If I could have just one thing it would be a card that said, "Thank you for teaching me how to ….", I'd probably cry to be honest. A card which actually has more than 'To Miss/Mr/Mrs X/Y/Z (insert printed message here) from Johnny/Edna/Tabitha" that actually shows some thought has gone into it, is way better than the most expensive present.

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Thanks to Domestic Goddesque for the use of the photograph.

Country Kids: Sports Day

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Today started with the rain pelting against the bedroom window. Marvellous! After such a lovely day yesterday we were going to have to put up with rain spoiling our plans to work in the garden. I may as well just give up trying to sort out any weeds or plants, as it will be October before it's dry enough to make it look vaguely attractive.

After a leisurely morning pottering around the house, we headed out to one of The Boy's favourite places; the local softplay centre. Never again! The less said about that, the better.

When we emerged from the dingy, smelly pit, it was brilliant sunshine and glorious blue skies, so we headed to a beautiful park in a nearby town that I haven't been to for twenty years. While there, The Boy was able to practise his bike riding a little more. Considering it's only his fourth time riding it, he really picked up speed very quickly and scared the hell out of me in the process. I was so impressed with him for pedalling and steering so efficiently, he only had one tumble and that was because of a small pothole.

After he'd had enough of pedalling (and my stress levels couldn't take anymore), he decided to have a race with daddy, competing in the 100 metres with a good time of 37 seconds. Clearly going to be a cross country runner like his daddy.

A potentially boring day was saved by the Summer sun, it makes you realise how much better you can feel with the sun caressing your skin and bird song in the air.

God only knows what's happened to the sound on this video, apologies.

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ShowOff ShowCase: The One That Should Have Done Better

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It's that time of year again, you might have noticed the effect. Over the last few months, the culmination of Easter, CybHer, half-term holidays and BritMums Live! has meant that there are a fair few posts which, if published at another time of year, might have done better.

This weekend is your opportunity to link-up that post that filled you with a sense of satisfaction. You typed that last full stop, pressed 'publish' and thought "yes, this will be a good one!" and waited.

And waited.

But no bugger actually bothered to read it, or if they did they certainly didn't comment on it!

Why? I can still hear you shouting it at the stats counter/comments log.

Heaven only know why. They didn't deserve it, they were good posts. It's not their fault that they were published when 500 bloggers were in London. They don't deserve to feel inadequate, not when they've done nothing wrong.

This weekend, I'd like you to help that post to hold its head up high! Brush them off, stick my badge at the bottom of the post and show them off for everyone to see. Don't be ashamed of them, help them shout at everyone:

I SHOULD HAVE DONE BETTER!

ShowOff ShowCase

ShowOff ShowCase: The One That Should Have Done Better

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It's back!

After a short interlude, I thought I'd bring back ShowOff ShowCase for those posts of yours that really deserved a little more attention than they got.

Tomorrow morning from 8am, you can link up The One That Should Have Done Better. Don't forget to comment and share the blog love!

ShowOff ShowCase

 

Parents' Evening #1

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Last night, Mr. TBaM and I went to our first parents' evening at The Boy's nursery. As we parked outside and walked in, we decided that we suddenly felt very grown-up, and ever so slightly nervous.

We were presented with a portfolio of information about his sessions: quotes from him, pictures, photos and other titbits of information.

As this blog is about our life, I wanted to share some of the gems:

A tiger's stripes

  • During calendar time, The Boy told me that the number that comes after 17 is 18. He then told me that I needed a 1 and an 8 to make it, found the numbers and placed them on the calendar.
  • The Boy enjoys garden time and he likes to bounce on the space hopper. He bounced and fell off and thought this was very funny so started laughing.
  • The Boy has been very busy cooking in the home corner. He said, "I'm having sausage and chips for dinner."
  • He has been building towers with the foam bricks. He named the colours of the bricks and also identified the shapes.
  • The Boy is a friendly and inquisitive little boy. During meal times, The Boy will speak to and ask, "Hello I'm The Boy, what's your name?" to anyone walking through. He also asked the chef, "Why are you wearing those trousers?"
  • He has settled in well and is a confident little boy.
  • He is very chatty and will ask lots of questions.
  • His speech is very clear.
  • He can identify some letters by their phonic sounds.
  • He knows his numbers to 20+ and can tell you what numbers make a two-digit number.
  • The Boy uses Welsh greetings (Bore da) to answer the register. (WHAT? REALLY?!)
  • He listens to and repeats the Welsh words for various colours.
  • The Boy will join in with the daily calendar and will recite the days of the week and months of the year as a group.

Targets:

  • To help care for our vegetable patch
  • To learn phonic sounds
  • To learn 3D shapes
  • To begin learning the time
  • To learn Welsh phrases to describe the weather
  • To learn opposites
  • To participate in colour mixing
  • To participate in experiments
  • To pedal a tricycle.

I'm so proud of him!

The State Of Play

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Am I in denial?

Maybe if I had another younger child, then I wouldn't be finding this so hard a decision to make, or beating myself up about it. Quite possibly the fact that I am a state-employed primary school teacher makes my indecisiveness, and eventual decision, even more difficult to understand? Surely I should be promoting the state-funded education system?

And yet I have decided to not send The Boy to state nursery come September.

When I returned to work after maternity leave, we made the decision it would only be part-time with mum looking after him when I was in school. I'm lucky that she can and I'm lucky that I don't need to work full-time. I work part-time so that I can spend time with my son and help him grow into a well-rounded, happy child. I enjoy spending time with him and want that to continue. Is that why I'm not sending him into nursery school every day in a few months time? It's one of the reasons, yes.

But there are many more.

The Boy is only just three and, although the nursery teacher (on our visit earlier in the week) was keen to point out that they will all be in the same boat, I feel that he's very young to go to an educational establishment every weekday. And with state education you have no choice; I can't keep him off just because I might want to go to the beach with him that day. This is my son who still sleeps for an hour and a half every afternoon; he just wouldn't cope with five half days in nursery. Building up his tolerance slowly in private nursery will mean he can adapt much better with the transition to Reception (without the six week Summer holiday spoiling the routine).

He's going to be in school until he's 18, I'm in no rush to push him into it. I'm fortunate that I am a qualified nursery nurse (specialising in play as a part of a child's development) and a primary school teacher, my husband is intelligent and hands-on; The Boy is going to pass all of his baseline assessments without any problems. (He actually already has done: he spent some time in my school nursery recently when I had to go in for a meeting, and they passed him on everything). I want him to be a little boy for as long as he can, I think children grow up too quickly nowadays.

There's also the fact that he has had two changes already; playgroup in January for the first time and now this nursery in April (I overheard him singing "Jesus' Love Is Very Wonderful" in the dining room one day so we found a new place sharpish) and I don't want to get him even more confused by it. It's not fair to him when he's trying to form friendships, to chop and change him.

The new state nursery would be lovely! Recently extended, there are two distinct areas inside for the children to work in with a good IT provision as well as imaginative play, a covered outdoor area and a beautiful playground with a straw/mud hut, wendy houses, climbing frames, allotments and a rope swing. It seemed perfect until I saw that there were two parents of children I've taught there, and suddenly I felt uneasy. Maybe it's something I need to learn to deal with: I live and work in my hometown after all, but this felt a little different.

The private nursery though feels 'right'. It's more homely, the nursery nurses are referred to by their first names, it's less formal and more relaxed. It follows exactly the same curriculum as the state nursery, but the staff: child ratio is actually lower, giving them more support and attention. There also aren't any ties in the private nursery and it makes me feel more comfortable.

There's also the practical aspect to consider. State nursery is 12.45-3.15 (don't even get me started on it being an afternoon slot, when will he nap?) which would rely on my mum taking him and picking him up, and her not having much time in between to do anything. However in the private nursery we can drop him off from 7.30 (we don't take him until 9 though), he eats lunch there and then I pick him up after work at 1pm. It's far more convenient.

And the final point is that Mr. TBaM changed his job at the time that we put The Boy into the private nursery, one of the perks of it is a contribution to childcare costs, enough for two sessions a week.

This means that come September  The Boy will have two full days with me where we will go to a toddler group coffee session or Under-Fives playgroup on one day and Tumble Tots on the other, a whole day with my mum, two mornings in private nursery, one afternoon with mum and one afternoon with me. He's certainly going to have a busy time throughout the week, with plenty of time for fun and games with friends and family.

Have any of you not sent your little ones to state nursery?

What do you think about the age that they start school?

What I Learnt At #BritMumsLive 2012

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Last year I decided that I didn't want to go to CyberMummy as, on the surface, it seemed too much like an INSET day for me. When it came to a month beforehand, I suddenly realised what I would be missing out on and decided that 2012 was the year that I would be going. And so on Friday morning with my husband and son in tow, along with our suitcase and bedguard (!), we set off on the train to London.

I had an amazing weekend; meeting new and old friends, learning ways to improve my blog (mainly thanks to Julie Hall's sessions) and remembering how to be me again. Way too many things happened for me to blog it all but I will give a run-down of the things that were most relevant, informative and interesting for me. Basically, what I learnt:

  • It didn't matter I was wearing because no-one cared. Honestly. I think most people went with the philosophy of not having baby sick, toddler snot or ground-in Weetabix on them, and by and large it worked.
  • According to the TK Maxx woman, I need to wear dresses. I did try and let her down gently that it was never going to happen, but she refused to believe me. Poor deluded fool.
  • I didn't win the BiB Snap! award, but for the first time ever I didn't beat myself up about it. The celebratory atmosphere of all involved was so lovely that I genuinely didn't mind. Having got to the finals was reward enough for me.
  • Twitter avatars are deceptive. People you think will be tall (Her Melness, From Fun to Mum, and Kate Takes 5) are actually petite and perfectly formed. Completely took me by surprise. Likewise those that I thought would be smaller in stature were in fact joining me in the lofty heights (The Ana Mum Diary).
  • Jenny from Mummy Mishaps is a fantastic friend that I am lucky to have.
  • You need to take twice as big a clothing recepticle as you initially need. The quantity of goodies that you will leave with, will far surpass the available space in your luggage.
  • I have the attention span of a gnat and was only able to see out the end of two sessions (Accountancy & Design, and Crossing the Chasm). I ducked out halfway through others as they were either of no interest to me or I wanted to catch up with people.
  • Don't sigh out loud when the long-winded stage discussion is opened up to the floor. Especially when so many bloggers (about twenty-thirty in this case) can turn around and smile at you knowingly. And if you tweet about it, be prepared to be retweeted. Quite a bit.
  • I do want another baby. I blame Matilda from Edspire for this; she's too damned gorgeous. In fact, I cried when I held her. Who knew that would happen?
  • I need to label my pictures on my blog with keywords in order to increase my SEO chances. I should also use subheadings with the keyword.
  • Bloggers are genuinely nice people who care about each other and are supportive and friendly. I was especially pleased to get to meet bloggers who I've been chatting with for over a year, some for eighteen months (RedTedArt, Christine Mosler, Michelle TwinMum, Seasider Clare, Two Point Four Children, Missie Lizzie B, Mum On The Brink).
  • You can never have enough wetwipes (goody bag contents).
  • The Hoxton Hotel is not child-friendly and is an extremely expensive breakfast options (£32 for the three of us).
  • When Ruby Wax isn't trying to be funny, she's actually quite funny.
  • Sarah Brown is funny. And honest and humble, courageous and an amazing woman in her own right.
  • The man from Google+ is a very nice chap, but when he says that your personal Google+ profile will not be linked to your anonymous blog page in anyway, he is in fact, talking absolute bollocks. To clarify, Mr. TBaM did a search on me and the profile picture that came up was TheBoyandMe's. Not good for an anonymous blogger. I knew Google+ was evil.
  • London is a very nice place to visit occasionally, but there's no way I could live there.

I could talk about what I didn't enjoy but well, what would be the point in that? Enjoy the pictures!

[slickr-flickr tag='britmums2012']

Many thanks to Toyjeanius who sponsored my ticket to attend.

Interview With A Three Year Old

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The lovely Emma from A Matter Of Choice, came up with a fantastic idea recently to ask her newly three year old son a selection of questions, and then to ask him the same questions each year on his birthday. Emma tagged a couple of us to take part as we all have boys who turn three within a month or so of each other, and the questions we ask really show off the boys personalities at this stage. Lauren from The Real Housewife decided to video her little boy answering the questions and I loved that idea as it shows the speech development as well as their personalities.

And so here's The Boy in his Interview With A Three Year Old and I must apologise for the length, but he decided to be a banana and I went a little hysterical.

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