Oh my word, have we had snow this week! On Monday morning my little
part of England woke up to find that over 12 inches of snow had fallen
during the night, and the children, for the first time in their lives,
enjoyed 2 whole "snow days" off school as a result. We've built snowmen
and igloos, gone sledding, enjoyed snowball fights, dug paths,
fed the birds and pushed neighbours' cars -
and enjoyed a roaring fire each night too. I've only seen snow like this
once before in England, when I was a teenager, so I thought we had
better make the most of it ... but now that the snow has turned dirty
and slushy and the novelty has worn off, we'd like it to melt cleanly
away and make way for Spring, please!
You'll see below in the "What's New" section that we've gone
Valentine crazy this week. There's no excuse not to send lots of
Valentines this year!
Back to Valentine's Day.
Sarah's and her boys had fun making some very "girly" new Valentine's
Day jewellery, key rings and other bits and pieces with polymer clay
(some of which is perfect for Mother's Day too). Valentine's Day Crafts
Printable Valentine bookmarks - blank for your own message, with
"friendship" quotes, or with quotes from Shakespeare and Robert Burns Valentine Bookmarks
We've got lots of pretty new Valentine scrapbook paper designs for your
crafty projects this week... Valentine
Scrapbook Paper
Our latest printable dominoes game, perfect for Valentine's Day! Hearts Dominoes Game
"Love" and "Valentine" acrostic poem print-outs for the classroom or
home Valentine Acrostics
Good practice for younger kids. Older kids could use these shapes in
their craft projects, too. Valentine cutting shapes
Finally, here's something different for Valentine's Day! We've gathered
together some famous couples for our notebooking pages / writing frames
and mini printable booklets - great for classroom or home projects... Famous Couples
Notebooking Pages
Diary of a New Mum Week 33
A Baby Cage In which I purchase a play-pen and wait to see how Jessica-Ann will react...
Any Soccer Fans At Home?
Annabel Karmel reveals a favourite kids party food recipe
Nutritionist Annabel Karmel gives us a step by step video guide to one of her
own recipes, a Rice Krispie football team and football pitch. The children can
get involved, whether it's mixing the ingredients together, cutting out
footballers, or making the grass - there is an activity for kids of all ages. It
would make a spectacular alternative to a birthday cake for any football-crazy
child, and of course you can colour the shirts for your favourite team. Click here to watch Annabel in action
For more information about The Kellogg's Big Bake, a campaign that aims to get
children cooking with their parents and gives kids the chance to appear in their
local paper visit:
www.thebigbake.co.uk
A Giggle!
"Mother Nature is wonderful. She gives us twelve years to develop a
love for our children before turning them into teenagers." Eugene Bertin
Reader Tip of the Week
Here's a great idea for keeping the kids busy, from Sally:
You know those afternoons you have when everyone is feeling edgy and
wants to get out of the house, and none of the toys are interesting
anymore? I've discovered that my two youngest children can always be
tempted by a "wash day" which means one of two things in our house.
First, we put a load of "dirty" dishes (all plastic or otherwise
unbreakable) in the sink with loads of bubbly water and scrubbing
brushes. The kids stand on stools and have so much fun washing up!
Second, I put lots of small fabric items - face cloths, hankies, dolls
clothes etc - in a pile by the sink and let the children scrub them
clean, rinse them out and then hang them on a "clothes line" I string up
in the kitchen, where the drips won't matter. This activity can keep
them happily occupied for an hour or more!
Editor's note: My daughter went through a stage of scrubbing my
kitchen floor for me, just like Annie!
NB: Please don't let your kids browse video sharing sites unsupervised!
Have You Seen?
Costumes for Kids
Lots of good dressing up ideas here - another great standby for a long
winter afternoon!
Something To Think About..
"Of journeying the benefits are many: the freshness it bringeth to
the heart, the seeing and hearing of marvellous things, the delight of
beholding new cities, the meeting of unknown friends, and the learning
of high manners." Muslih-Uddin Sadi
Editor's note: Why not plan your own "journey" today? It doesn't
have to be far or expensive. Even a walk and a winter picnic somewhere
you haven't been before will do! The kids might learn something new,
meet someone interesting or see something for the first time, and it's
the little memories of times spent together as a family that last.
