Category / Review

by jo

Grandad, Me and Teddy Too at the Polka Theatre

We’ve just got back from Grandad, Me and Teddy Too at the Polka Theatre, Wimbledon, a lovely new play by Sarah Argent, targeted at 2-5 year olds.

grandad me and teddy too

Grandad, Me and Teddy Too is a wonderful charming play – and is all about the distance a child, Mia, has from her Grandad, and how they connect, both in person and online.

This appealed to me, as H’s grandparents are in York and Australia – we have nobody close by. The internet is our main means of communication to stay in touch; we have regular chats over Skype and Facetime with Shaun’s mum and dad, whereas I tend to talk to my mum over the phone.

Grandad, Me and Teddy Too has just the two characters with a nice simple set on stage, and plenty of dialogue to capture a child’s imagination. Katherine Carlton plays Mia – a girl of approximately four, five or six years old, and Gordon Warnecke plays Grandad.

I liked that Mia had the exact facial expressions that H often pulls – I was giggling away at some of them – it’s an adult observing a child and doing it well. Mia speaks to Grandad every night on the computer, counting down the sleeps until he’ll be visiting her. Grandad lives in Argentina, so he has a bit of a way to travel.

Once he arrives he joins in Mia’s games, but often doesn’t quite play them as she would like, making her a bit cross. Again, I have seen those facial expressions myself, I’d say very accurate! They go for a ride on a magic carpet to the South Pole as well! Unfortunately he can’t stay and soon has to go back home again.

Grandad, Me and Teddy Too is at the Polka Theatre in the smaller Adventure Theatre (capacity 30-50 people), lasts for approximately 40 minutes and runs from the 8th October 2014 until 8th February 2015. This means you have seats around the edge for adults, and children are encouraged to sit on their own in front of the stage.

grandad me and teddy too Frozen ticket

As well as this, children are encouraged to bring a teddy or toy along with them – if you happen to take a picture of your teddy or toy on the way to or from the Polka Theatre, make sure it has the hashtag #BYOBear and that the Polka Theatre are tagged on Twitter (@polkatheatre) or Facebook (/polkatheatre), and each week their favourite photo will win a prize!

We were charmed by Grandad, Me and Teddy Too – and I felt sad we’re so far away from all our relatives. We’re lucky these days computers make it so easy to stay in touch. H loved the play, and when I asked her about her favourite part, she loved the section with the balloons. I would highly recommend going to see this, especially if you have long-distance relatives. It was a really lovely show which resonated with me in so many ways.

We were given complimentary tickets for the purpose of review – all opinions are our own.

by jo

Dinosaur Beach by Frann Preston-Gannon

Dinosaur Beach by Frann Preston-Gannon is out now – we received a copy to review. Last year we reviewed a lovely book by the author, ‘How to Lose a Lemur’ – which we enjoy reading a lot too, so knew we’d enjoy this one.

dinosaur beach by frann preston gannon

Dinosaur Beach by Frann Preston-Gannon is a lovely story. H is currently on gold level at school as far as reading goes (she has just turned five), and we’ve been working on expression and punctuation which this book gives great examples of. I feel this book is ideal for space and expression.

It is a book of few words, but those that are there are engaging – and the pictures tell the story too. H read it on her own to start with, and I asked her questions about what happened. Her understanding of the book and the story was perfect, she was able to describe everything and even used a little bit of numeracy in there (there are ice creams and lollies bought, she worked out the total).

She could identify each dinosaur and found what they did funny – we read it together afterwards and she could barely read it for giggling! Her expression while reading (between giggles) was perfect too.

dinosaur beach by frann preston gannon

Dinosaur Beach tells a simple story with beautiful illustrations, is funny, has a font which is good for reading (NOT comic sans!) and is available now from all good booksellers.

Frann Preston-Gannon was the first UK winner of the Maurice Sendak Fellowship where she spent a month working with him.

We were sent a copy of this book for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own. We also have Frann Preston-Gannon’s new book for review, ‘The Sloth Slept On’ coming very soon! This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

by jo

Parents Nearby

Parents Nearby is a new free app to help you meet other parents, hopefully with similar interests. I’m interested in the app, and always wanting to make friends. This sounds ideal for me – I had to give it a go.

Parents Nearby logo

Before H was born we signed up and did NCT classes – mainly for the social aspect. A lot of people sign up with the NCT and have friends for life. A lot of people have a great social network from postnatal classes. I would honestly say, for H’s first two years of life I had an amazing social network – NCT friends who would meet weekly and other mums I’d see on regular occasions too; however, these days I only see one of our NCT group. These days my social circle has shrunk quite a lot.

I have my regular knitting meet up every month, and I have occasional social evenings with my mum friends which is great, but I would love to meet like-minded people, as often the one thing you have in common is your children but nothing else. Parents Nearby makes this much easier. Thomas Souza created the app after spending a year as a Stay at Home dad, to help people with similar interests find each other.

You can connect your Facebook or LinkedIn profiles to the app, and from that information it will let you know about other parents in the area – who have also signed up. I’m shy. I’m terrible at making the first move to meet someone and had to get out of my comfort zone when I’ve met other mums in the past. But I plucked up the courage and signed up – one of the first people I saw was my friend Leanne! So that was nice, as when you know someone it makes things easier.

My next step is to contact someone, to make friends and broaden our social circle. I’ve often found London a big, unfriendly place and know it is somewhere that I’m terrified of being alone. Apps like Parents Nearby are doing something about it – if you are struggling to make friends too, this may be the answer.

Don’t take my word for it – here’s some feedback from other users.

  • ‘I’m in touch with 4 parents in the area already, half I contacted and half contacted me’ – Rosa
  • ‘I love the idea – ingenious. It could do away with the need for NCT classes for a lot of people’ Ellie
  • ‘Already spoken to a dad who’d like to meet up’ – Justin
  • ‘I have been contacted by one parent. I only joined last night, so that is pretty good!’ – Natalie

You can download Parents Nearby for free, it is available at the App store, and at the Google Play store. I highly recommend. It has a really simple user interface and works well. Parents Nearby website can be found here.

by Karen

Funky Giraffe

Funky Giraffe is a lovely company that I’ve only recently discovered. They specialise in items such as bibs, socks and burp cloths. Funky Giraffe aim to produce gorgeous items that function well for families.

I was lucky enough to be sent a selection from the Funky Giraffe bib and burp cloth range. As you can see from the picture the designs are ever so cute! Check out their website for more.

Funky Giraffe - Bibs and burp cloths front

On receipt I found the bibs to have a thin cotton front and a thin fleecy type backing. The backing is so soft and feels like something that would be very gentle to a baby’s skin. Both materials are thin and consequently feel like something that would dry super quick….. a must with a potentially sickie baby.

Bibs and burp cloths back

I’ve never owned a burp cloth before, having always been a muslin kind of gal. With my older son being a ridiculously sickie baby, this consequently meant that our collection is huge (40 muslins easily!!!!). This means I was very curious about the cloths and whether they’d be a better option and, lets face it, a cuter one. The cloths remind me somewhat of a mini oven glove, without the glove part. They are thicker than the bibs but with the same lovely fleecey backing.

Burp cloth back

The bibs are a great size, they fit little one really well and should last for quite a while. I really like the burp cloths too. The only comment I would make with these is that, as the cloths cover less width area than a muslin, you would need to be careful with placement. However I’ve had no issues with placement myself and love that these are a much more attractive option than my boring old muslins. We’ve not had any major vomiting yet but what we have had has been soaked up well by the bibs and cloths. On washing the designs are of high quality, have stayed firmly attached and show no signs of shifting any time soon.

I have to say I love these products. On checking out the website the selection they offer is excellent, all with free postage over £7. The bibs and burp cloths I tested are £4 each. There are also great deals on too with 5 bibs for £11.25 and 10 for £20, all so incredibly exciting I had to tear myself away! I have a number of baby showers coming up and Funky Giraffe would make an excellent present option and is something I would thoroughly recommend to anyone.

I was sent a selection of products for the purpose of review – all opinions are my own and honest.

by jo

Glow in the Dark Stars from University Games

I’ve always been a big fan of Glow in the Dark Stars – the kind you stick on your ceiling and they really come to life once it’s bedtime and the lights go out.

In fact, were you to go to my mum’s and into my old bedroom, you can still find the odd one or two up there – mind, I’m not sure what this says about my mum’s lack of decorating for the last 25 years!!

milky way from AustraliaWhen we were offered a chance to review Great Explorations  Glow in the Dark Stars from University Games, I jumped at it – while H does have a selection of stars on her ceiling already, we recently went to Australia and were out in the bush where there is no light pollution, and just the stars and the milky way – something I had forgotten about and something which H found amazing. In fact, when we went to Scitech I bought the Great Explorations Milky Way – which has 200 self-adhesive stars which we are using alongside these stars.

glow in the dark stars

The glow in the dark stars are very straightforward – various colours, 50 stars in varying sizes, plus you get putty supplied with it. The Milky Way set are simple self-adhesive stickers – and there are 200 of those. You also get a map so you can plan out a proper galaxy.

sticky glow in the dark stars

Of all the glow in the dark stars we own, these ones have come up the brightest and best – I’ve been really impressed. We found the green and blue stars show the strongest and brightest, whereas the pinks and oranges are a bit more subtle. The stickers are a nice bright clear shape and you can make out what everything is. Sadly, photographs are proving impossible to take, so you’ll have to take my word for it – it’s definitely worth spending a bit more to get as good a quality glow as you do with these.

You can buy Great Explorations Glow in the Dark Stars and Milky Way from University Games from Amazon and all good retailers. Their range of products start from £3.99 upwards.

The Glow in the Dark stars were sent for the purpose of review, the Milky Way was bought by us beforehand.

by jo

Big Fish Little Fish Are Back!

After a summer break and a busy Camp Bestival, Big Fish Little Fish return to South and East London – here’s everything you need to know!

big fish little fish tshirts

September (theme – Pirates!)

14th – The Bedford, Balham with DJ Food
20th – Canary Wharf Spiegeltent with Joe Muggs
21st – Shapes in Hackney Wick with Tayo

October (theme – Halloween!)

12th – The Bedford, Balham with Terry Farley
19th – Shapes in Hackney Wick with the London Readers Wifes

On the 19th October, Big Fish Little Fish are hosting a group meet-up of Out With The Family, an organisation that arranges social events for LGBT parents.

Tickets for all the events except the Spiegeltent are available here: http://www.wegottickets.com/bigfishlittlefishproductions

Tickets for Canary Wharf on the 20th are here:
http://www.seetickets.com/event/family-rave-with-big-fish-little-fish/spiegeltent-at-canary-wharf/810296

 

We’re going along to Balham this Sunday for a little dance and a drink and a fun afternoon (and I expect newly-turned-5-H will want to try her new Oyster card) – and we’ll be reporting back! I’m particularly looking forward to trying out my new camera! Oh, and talking like a pirate of course… arrrr!

 

Big-Fish-Little-Fish-September-pirate
by jo

Purple Parking Meet and Greet

Looking for a parking solution when you’re travelling away for your holidays? We got to try the Purple Parking Meet and Greet service recently, read on to find out what we think!

Purple Parking logo

Purple Parking Meet and Greet services are a new twist on their regular parking options – rather than parking away from the airport, dragging your cases to a shuttle bus (and remembering where you’ve parked) and getting to the airport, you can now park within the airport and go.

We had a few options to get to Heathrow (bus, car, taxi), however, I hurt my back six weeks before we went, so dragging a case anywhere wasn’t an option – I had almost 24 hours of flying to do and the slightest twinge could make the experience uncomfortable.

For Purple Parking Meet and Greet you turn up at your Terminal, leave your locked car there, hand over the keys  to the Chauffeur at the Purple Parking stand, and head off for your holiday. We were offered a full wash and valet for £18 on dropping the car off which we declined – mainly as Shaun had given the car a thorough clean inside once we’d heard the word ‘Chauffeur’ being mentioned!

Purple Parking Meet and Greet

It really is as simple as that – and the convenience was something which appeals a lot to me. I was able to get a trolley for our cases, Shaun got them from the car and loaded them up, we handed over our keys and got a booking slip (keep it safe as you need to show it when you return to get your car back!) then all we had to do was make our way to departures to continue our travels.

On our return I spotted our car immediately. We headed back to the same area of the Terminal 3 car park and were dealt with quickly and efficiently. The parking ticket in the car park is validated by Purple Parking so you don’t pay to leave the airport.

I would say we spent no more than ten minutes at the Purple Parking Meet and Greet area – it was extremely efficient and is something I will definitely use again. It’s the ideal service if you want someone else to park your car and bring it back. Given I’m the kind of person who often forgets to write down where we’re parked (I’m thinking Stansted 2004 when we spent two hours wandering around the car park trying to find our car at 11pm), I highly recommend Purple Parking Meet and Greet and we’ll definitely be using it again! I would also say it is a service to consider when you’re travelling with children – the ease of transfer from car to airport takes away a hugely stressful part of the journey.

We were given free parking with Purple Parking Meet and Greet at Heathrow for three weeks for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.

by jo

On The Table in 30 Minutes – Baking

I’m very short on time daily. Since going back to work five days a week I’m missing my day off to get things done – one of those being baking. On The Table in 30 Minutes – Baking is a new book I’ve been sent as part of the Parragon Book Buddies group I’m in – which suits me perfectly due to the aforementioned lack of time!

On the Table in 30 minutes - baking

On The Table in 30 Minutes – Baking has sixty super speedy recipes. H and I looked through the book with plenty of ‘oooh’ and ‘aaaah’ and ‘mmmm!’ kind of noises until we agreed on what we’d like to bake. I changed my mind when I bought blueberries earlier today – our recipe of choice was to make blueberry scones.

I’d never thought about making them before – and we eat a lot of blueberries too and have enjoyed making scones in the past. I know they’re quite easy to make, so thought it’d be a good place to start. You need –
250g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
85g butter (chilled)
70g golden caster sugar
115g blueberries
1 egg
100ml buttermilk
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp demerara sugar

Grease a baking tray. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the butter and get the mixture to a breadcrumb like-consistency. Stir in the caster sugar and blueberries. Beat the egg and buttermilk and add that. Roll mixture into a ball (mine was pretty wet so I added more flour). Knead gently and shape into an 18cm round. Cut into eight slices and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes.

Voila!

baking at home

H enjoyed making these as it involved mess and she got to wear a pinny. I didn’t get to take photos as they involved mess. I like On The Table in 30 Minutes – Baking because it tells me what to do and breaks it up into small sections so I don’t get distracted.

Blueberry Scones

So how long did it take? I would say a little over 30 minutes – but mainly due to having H read the ingredients out to me, and help me count them on our scales. Once everything was measured it was pretty quick from there. I can see On The Table in 30 Minutes – Baking being a book we’ll get a lot of use from – for the speed of the recipes and the variety in there. The recipes are broken into sections – Quick Cookies, Speedy Small Bakes, Fast Family Cakes and Bars, Presto Pastries and Desserts, plus lots of useful information at the back of the book, and plenty of delicious looking photos which inspire you to give it a try.

We’ve actually tried a few more recipes since I wrote this – all with great success!

I received my copy of On The Table in 30 Minutes – Baking for the purpose of review – all opinions are my own.

by jo

The Hueys in None the Number by Oliver Jeffers

Two things – we LOVE Oliver Jeffers books, and we LOVE The Hueys series too. H likes them as her grandad in Australia is nicknamed Huey, so while the story is nothing to do with him, it’s a memory, an association. The newest book The Hueys in None the Number is a slight change to the usual story.

The Hueys in None the Number

The Hueys in None the Number is a Counting Adventure by Oliver Jeffers, the third in the Hueys series from Harper-Collins Kids.

‘the thing about the Hueys was that they loved numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3…. Wait! Is ‘none’ a number?’
Which is the basis for this story. See, we are all taught the numbers starting from 1, but when it comes to ‘none’, what exactly is it? It’s a counting conundrum, that’s what!

In true Oliver Jeffers fashion, The Hueys in None the Number is something you work out for yourself – and at the end of the book there’s a little bit on what ‘none’ actually is. In the meantime, throughout the book there’s plenty of examples of what numbers are – ‘but when you take them all away…. you get NONE.’ There is less story for this one, but it provokes a lot of thinking which I think is a good thing now H is reading fluently at school.

The Hueys in None the Number

H enjoys reading this one – another she’ll happily take away and read in her head. I asked if I could read it to her, and she said she’d prefer if I read it in my head! Fair enough. I’ve caught her a few times reading it, and have now asked the question ‘is ‘none’ a number?’

She says no. I think we’ll be reading the book together again, and the discussion will probably continue into the night! It’s a good discussion point – especially as she’s doing a lot more thinking with numeracy as she heads into Year 1.

The Hueys in None the Number is available now from all good booksellers.

We were sent our copy for the purpose of review – all opinions are our own and honest. The link is an affiliate one.

by jo

Elmer is 25 Years Old

Did you know the patchwork elephant Elmer is 25 years old? We didn’t realise – in fact, truth be told I didn’t realise the Elmer books were available in longer form! Fortunately Andersen Press sent us a copy of Elmer and Elmer and the Monster, a new title in the series.

Elmer is 25 – and a firm favourite in our house – we have a lot of the books (and a toy) but in the hardback baby editions – so I was pleased to find the books are available for older readers too – especially when they do the reading themselves. (We already own David McKee’s ‘Not Now Bernard‘ – a favourite of ours) So when two books arrive in the post they’re promptly whisked away and read by my four and three quarter year old, who then refuses to tell me what they’re about afterwards, just saying “they’re good”!

Elmer is 25 Reading

So I asked her what the books were about. We know the original Elmer story, where he gets tired of being different and disguises himself as a grey elephant – until he realises he can’t change himself. The book has a lovely story behind it – about not changing how we are and accepting the way we are – and this version is a book H reads a lot. On her own. Without me. (which is so different to our baby books!)

Elmer is 25

Elmer and the Monster is a brand new Elmer story. When Elmer and his friends hear a loud roar in the jungle they are convinced it’s a monster. Elmer is the only one brave enough to see what it could be. So what is it then? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Elmer is 25 Monster

Again, H took the book away, giggling in the corner as she read to herself, which was lovely. Both books are regularly read now – there’s a good mixture of pictures and words which are great for her reading level (Turquoise) – and as she heads into Year 1 at school I know these books will remain favourites – with David McKee’s illustrations so bright and colourful they’re visually appealing.

Elmer (in paperback) currently retails for £6.99
Elmer and the Monster (in hardback) currently retails for £11.99

So Elmer is 25 and to celebrate the anniversary, there are activities all through the summer – Andersen Press are making available a limited signed version of the first Elmer book. There will be new Elmer products available at UK retail. Greenwich Park has an Elmer bench as part of National Literacy Trusts ‘Books About Town’ project. Look out for more at Andersen Press’s website.

Both books were sent to us for the purpose of review – all opinions are our own. This post contains affiliate links.