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A Dinotastic story featuring Lauren.

Posted on by Lauren's Mummy

Hey guys,

As parents our little ones tend to ask us the funniest things! For instance can Unicorns hop into rainbows? Or can elephants dance? Weirdly enough I laugh when Lolo asks things like this, and then nervously start questioning myself to see if indeed these animals can do this.

Recently we were gifted a lovely book from Beans and Sparks. A fantastic company that offers personalised stories for your child/ren with captivating illustrations included. I have previously written a blog post about our first book with them which you can check out here. https://mummydiaries2016.wordpress.com/2019/10/23/beans-and-sparks-book-club/

As always Beans and Sparks are great for delivering reflective topics at the end of the stories for you to discuss with your little reader. This time the focus is on adventure and resilience. The front cover has a slogan that reads ‘Lauren knows practise makes perfect!’ This is a great way to teach children about persevering and showing them things may seem a little tricky but hard work and practise pays off in the end.

The main aim of this story is to encourage children to get active with their families and friends but serves as a reminder to them, that they do not need to be good at sports. The book unravels conversations of different games to play with friends, perseverance, resilience and being a good friend. These are things that children may struggle with however this story encourages children to be a good friend, by showing patience and being helpful.

The main character in this story is Lauren, Lauren loves seeing herself on the page and enjoying the adventure that the illustrated version of herself goes on. Lauren has some Dinosaurs to accompany her in this story, with tongue twisting rhyming couplets that make her laugh endlessly. The beauty of Beans and Sparks is that you can design how you will like your child to appear in the story. From the colour of their eyes to the colour of their skin this is a great way to promote diversity and inclusion from an early age.

As the story progresses we are introduced to different types of dinosaurs, such as the legendary T-Rex and the Stegosaurus. Lauren absolutely enjoyed looking at the different features of each dinosaur and their funny outfits. Her favourite was the Stegosaurus because she was wearing a t-shirt filled with watermelons, and she wore glasses just like me. (I hope I don’t look like a Stegosaurus!)

The text on the pages use different fonts to encourage to raise their voices and use expression. The story is written using brilliant rhyming words, with detailed illustrations accompanying the text.  Each dinosaur has been carefully illustrated, with Lauren wearing a fabulous sporty outfit, with a tennis racket that has a huge grin on it.

All in all Lauren thoroughly enjoyed reading this book because she could identify herself with the character. The fact that your child can open a book and see themselves in it is amazing! The illustrations and themed writing helped a great deal, in bringing such a great story to life.

After reading this story we are on the hunt for some Dinosaurs to play some tennis with, we are looking in Pets at Home tomorrow morning to spot any Dinosaurs! (Explaining to an ambitious four year old that Dinosaurs are now extinct is up there with saying Father Christmas doesn’t exist!)

If you would like your child to enjoy a personalized copy of a themed book from Beans and Sparks you can purchase your first copy for £2.99 and subscribe for £12.99 thereafter. You can find the lovely team on Instagram @beansandsparks and get reading. Be warned your child may ask you to look for a dinosaur or a superhero.

Have you read any of the Beans and Sparks books? If so what has been your favourite read so far?

**Please share your comments in the box below. **

With Love,

Lolo’s Mummy.

x

Starting School.

Posted on by Lauren's Mummy

Hey guys,

Last month we waved goodbye to nursery fees, early mornings and late evenings rushing to the nursery in a bid to spend some of our evenings with Lolo. We have officially graduated from Nursery. Yes, my baby (she will always be a baby in my eyes) is off to ‘big school’. ‘Big school’ is primary school for those of my international readers, the education journey in the UK starts at 4 years old and is called Reception. Reception is not compulsory for children and some parents may chose for their child/ren to remain in nursery for an extra and just head straight into year 1 a transition that can be very daunting.

As a first time mummy time has gone tremendously quick, I now find myself trailing through numerous websites looking at school uniform and imagining what Lolo will be like in school.

Preparing for school is something that I enjoyed growing uo, watching my mum take us into M& S to buy new uniform and her buying two sizes bigger than my actual size so that I could get a good wear out of my shirts, are some memories I cannot forget.

As Lolo starts her journey I want to encourage other parents like myself, we’ve got this. The children have got this far and will definitely get further in life with us to help them along. With that being said here are a few of my tips for school starters!

Tips for Starting School!

  • Can your child write or spell their name? It’s not a must but it will be very helpful in the long run. If they can’t can they recognize their name? There are so many fun ways to recognize the different letters used in your child’s name and they will enjoy this. Nothing worse than a lost school jumper in week two.
  • Can your child manage in the toilet alone? Wash their hands before and after using the loo? This will take time and effort. If you have it under control hats off to you, the toilet tribulations are never ending in this household.
  • Practice using cutlery. As silly as this may sound if you have opted for school dinners (school dinners is free for children until year 2) they will need to feed themselves appropriately.
  • Have a go at counting numbers 1-10 and different objects. This is just a tip not compulsory that you do this but I feel it will help with their confidence during maths sessions.

We try and read a story every night just to get Lolo into the habit of sitting and listening. Reading with your child will help widen their vocabulary and support in phonics, reading and listening.

Uniform! When it comes to uniform buy at least 2 different sizes and get in super early. Everyone wants to be ready and you need to be ready too. Get some labels! Label everything!!! Clothes go missing everyday and trust me there will be tears, to prevent the tears label label LABEL!!

Phonics is something that we may not remember learning (I surely don’t) but is something your child may frequently talk about during their time at school. Phonics is all about the different sounds words can make, these are all split up into phases from 1-6. A good idea is to find out what phonics format the school follows, and get some practice in over the holidays. I wouldn’t worry too much about handwriting just yet but a little practice here and there will be a step in the right direction.

Here are a few of the Easy Learning Workbooks that I purchased on Amazon. They are of great value and packed with different activities for Lolo to do.

I also got these amazing cards from Laura Henry Consultancy all about Starting School. These are brilliant conversation starters to have with your little one about this new and exciting journey.

I’m excited about this journey, yet nervous about the transition. I hope all things run as smoothly as they can!

I hope these hints and tips have helped you in some sort of way. You can follow me on my Instagram accounts @mummydiaries2016 & @edumama2020 for more educational bits!

**Do you have any tips about starting school? **

Please leave a comment.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

With Love,

Lolo’s Mummy.

X

Memories.

Posted on by Lauren's Mummy

Hey all,

During the Lockdown my house has become a makeshift nursery throughout the morning, a busy kitchen in the afternoon and a cinema in the evening! Let’s face it we have all experienced some weird normality this period. Looking back on the months we have been through this, it feels like time has gone quickly. Usually the lead up to the end of term takes forever to come along, the Lockdown has made time move a lot quicker!

A lot of us experienced Lockdown in different ways, learning a different language or trying out new recipes or just enjoying time spent with loved ones. The dreaded ‘C’ words has affected us all differently.

My time spent in Lockdown with Lolo has been an interesting experience. Some days we lounge and watch Netflix and other days I focus on doing some learning activities, so that she can still learn bits and bobs at home in a different environment away from the nursery.

Recently I created a Scrapbook for Lauren with pictures from FreePrints stuck on some card, so that she can remember the different things we did during this time at home. I love keepsakes and taking pictures of course, but on a serious note our parents have pictures dating back 30 odd years, I wouldn’t want Lauren to look back and try scouring Instagram pages looking for pictures of herself.

Here are a few activities that we have done together!

This season has been a challenging time for us all looking for activities to do with the kids, whilst we work from home: with the phone in one hand, washing to be folded and dinner to be cooked! We got through this time. We may have lost a lot of people along the way and they will always be in our thoughts. As we move on and out of Lockdown don’t forget to cherish these precious moments as we hope not to experience something like this again.

If you are stuck for home learning activities during this time you can check out my Instagram ‘Home Learning’ & ‘Lockdown Learning’ highlights on @mummydiaries2016. My other page has preschool activities that you can also try on @edumama2020.

With Love,

Lauren’s Mummy.

Mum Guilt.

Posted on by Lauren's Mummy

Hey guys,

How are you all coping during these uncertain times? For the past few months life has been very different. I’m one of those people who dreads Mondays’ and excitedly counts down to a Friday at 3:30 when the kids have all left the classroom and you can just relax. Once the “lock down” was announced I was presuming things will go quickly and I’d have plenty of time to watch all my shows, do the never ending pile of washing and spend some quality time with my family. I’ve done all of that excessively, had more glasses of Prosecco than usual and grown an long lasting friendship with Amazon. Now things are easing up, the nurseries are opening up alongside schools across the country.

When the announcement was made that we could return to some sort of normality on June 1st I started getting this overwhelming sense of mum guilt.

As the kids are coming back to school I need to be in school which ultimately means Lauren will go back to nursery. Is it the right choice at the moment to send her to nursery to play with her friends? Play in a place with other young children who struggle to cover their mouths when they cough? or ask for a tissue when their noses are running? So many questions with very few answers.

For many weeks now we have been relying on the science and the numbers to tell us when it is safe to live how we used to. As a parent it’s a very hard decision to make sending your child back to school or nursery. I feel that as parents moreso mothers get judged on the choices that we make to support our families. It’s a decision not to be taken lightly if you want your child/children back in their normal education setting. We should all try not to judge other parents who decide to keep their children at home or send them to school. It’s ultimately the parents choice. Shaming other mummies or guilt tripping parents on the decisions they decide to make should not be your focus during these horrible times.

Going back to normality after this season is going to take some time. The things we may have taken for granted before like seeing family members, going to the cinema or grabbing a cheeky takeaway seem like a long lost dream but hopefully things will start getting back to normal soon. For now we just have to adapt to our ‘ new normal.’

**What are your thoughts on the opening of schools on June 1st? Please share your comments below**

Stay Safe & sanitized.

Lolo’s Mummy

x

New Year More ‘me’ time.

Posted on by Lauren's Mummy

Happy New Year all!! It’s 2020 the start of a new year, new decade filled with memories, challenges and different things. At the start of this year my Lolo turned 4! I cannot believe I am a mother let alone a mother to a four-year-old. When I first had her many parents around me reminded me to enjoy every moment, as time flies by. The phrase was ‘you blink, and you miss it’ I truly believe that statement now.

In the run up to New Year’s Day I always see inspiring and motivating posts. Most which encourage you to make resolutions and stick to them, read a new book, pick up a hobby and ultimately live a good life. I absolutely love quotes and setting goals for myself, but the reality is it’s hard. It’s easy to write things down to achieve them, all goals take; time, effort and consistent dedication.

One of the goals I set myself was to create more ‘me time.’ As cliché as it sounds I hardly have time to myself. As a parent I’m constantly meal prepping in my head, ticking things off my to-do list and ironing… the endless ironing!

Things I’d like to do more in my ‘me time’ are:

  • Catching up on series on Netflix instead of rushing to sleep when Lolo does, try and finish a series without getting midway and falling asleep on the sofa.
  • I’d like to swim more. I loved swimming when I was a child I heard it’s good if you want to lose weight, which is a yearly resolution of mine.
  • Go on my own to get my nails done. I love bonding with Lauren, but I need time to get my nails done in peace. After all this is my me time.
  • Complete a book. I start reading a book then get lost in life and can’t be bothered to read a book to the end. Cover to cover.
  • I’d like to try yoga or meditating. One of my colleagues swears by meditation and I love how positively she speaks on the impact of meditation.

So far these are the only things I would like to add to my busy schedule during term time. It’s so easy, to get caught up in everyday life and forget what you are passionate about.

This year I’ve decided I need to invest in myself more physically, emotionally and mentally!

**Do you have any things you do to have some ‘me time?’ Please comment below**

With Love,

Lolo’s Mummy.

x

Learning with Lolo

Posted on by Lauren's Mummy

Hey guys,

In less than a month I will have a four-year-old! I honestly can’t believe how fast time has gone. I remember the first night in the hospital with Lolo staring at her in disbelief I couldn’t believe that I had given birth to my beautiful baby girl. Fast forward nearly four years later and my soon to be four-year-old is going on 14!

Next year will be a major transition for us as Lauren will be starting school. I’m super nervous to say the least, however excited at the same time for Lauren to experience learning in a more structured capacity. Lolo loves going to nursery but is still extra clingy in the mornings! (She’s not really morning person like her mama) so I’m looking forward to see how she adapt to Reception.

In our preparation for Reception next September I try and read a story to Lolo at least three times a week. We love reading and her favourite is “We’re going on a bear hunt!” which is great with actions and her memory skills.

We play Alphabet Lotto by Orchard Toys. It’s a great resource which encourages her to match the pictures to each picture on the board. Lauren will say what she sees on the cards for example ‘Balloon’ or ‘Kite’ we use this to help her recognise her letters too. This is a great game which we usually take around with us.

I find using flashcards frequently are great for memory, they are quick to use easy to carry and great for children as they use pictures and different colours. We use the Easy Learning Flashcards First Words which is brilliant. They have a selection of colour coordinated cards from easy to hardest. They have pictures for word recognition, and segmented words for older children to assist with decoding and blending phonics words.

Lolo loves Peppa Pig I often use a Peppa Pig counting game that has coloured counters from 1 -10. These are great for recognising numbers, colours and of course it’s Peppa Pig which is a favourite in our house.

Recently one of my lovely mummy friends introduced me to Little Boo Learning. They create unique resources to assist toddlers with learning. They have handwriting cards which can be personalised with your Childs’ name. They also have shape cards, letter cards, cursive handwriting formation and a variety of flashcards. Lauren loves her customised mats and sings her little song about following the dots which is so cute!

If you would like to purchase any of these gems, follow the links below:

Alphabet Lotto.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Orchard-Toys-83-Alphabet-Lotto/dp/B01NA6PPNL

Peppa Pig Count With Peppa.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peppa-Pig-PP11-Count-Toy/dp/B07C8XTQMZ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2W8DKNJ63WBQ6&keywords=peppa+pig+count+with+peppa&qid=1575742881&s=kids&sprefix=peppa+pig+coun%2Ctoys%2C324&sr=1-1

You can visit www.littleboolearning.com for the flash cards and learning mats.

With Love,

Lolo’s Mummy

x

Ace Winter Refresh!

Posted on by Lauren's Mummy

Hey guys,

** This post is an entry for the BritMums #AceWinterRefresh Challenge, sponsored by ACE for colours Powder. **

As a parent doing the washing is one of the biggest chores to do on my to-do list. Be it the weekly wash of towels, bedsheets, spare clothes and the messy nursery clothes all in all I find myself always doing a cheeky bit of washing!

Summer has officially come to an end, this means it’s time for the chunky knits, thick cardigans and the layers to make an appearance. Before shoving our summer clothes in the back of the wardrobe, it’s time to bring out our winter warmers from the back of the wardrobe to the front for everyday wear.

Reviving my winter wardrobe has been an easier task this year with help from the brand-new ACE for colours and whites! The amazing ACE has great stain removal powers, can be used on your coloured knits or your whites that look a bit grey now due to excessive washing and stubborn stains. ACE is a great powder that can be used at 30 degrees which is great for the environment and smells divine!

Reviving our winter wardrobe.

The fabulous BritMums sent me my ACE Powder and the results were great. The first time I used it I used it with some of my colourful knits for work and my jumpers came out of the machine looking as good as new!

Before

After

During the week we usually do a Midweek Nursery wash! If we don’t do this wash it’s so easy to get lumbered with a never -ending pile of clothes!

Our midweek wash contains Lauren’s nursery clothes which have the typical food stains, paint stains and other possible stains that a toddler gets during the day. On trying our ACE Powder on Lauren’s clothes, I noticed that the colours looked brighter and it gave her clothes a different look, cleaner of course but much cleaner than expected.

Final Thoughts.

I really love the ACE Powder as it does exactly what it says on its recyclable tetra pak! It gives dull clothes a colour revamp by removing stains, it doesn’t need to be placed on a high degree wash as 30 degrees does the trick, plus it leaves our clothes smelling amazing!

To purchase your own ACE powder and be wowed by the results head to your Morrison’s or purchase it online at Amazon. Please visit http://www.acecleanuk.co.uk/ for some handy cleaning tips!

With Love,

Lauren’s Mummy.

x

Beans and Sparks Book Club.

Posted on by Lauren's Mummy

Hey guys,

Since I was a little girl my mum always tells me I was always nose deep in a book. When I was in Pre-school my mum will get books that came along with cassettes, so I could listen to different stories as I fell asleep. As a teenager I loved titles from Chimamanda Adichie and J.K. Rowling. Now that I have my own daughter I can see myself morphing into my mum buying Lauren a variety of books! Lauren loves books as well and is keen to turn the pages and imitate characters’ voices.

On Instagram a few of my fellow mummies were talking about the Beans & Sparks book club who produce personalised books for children that focus on EASY framework. I was intrigued and looking forward to Lauren trying out her own book.

Before you order the book, you create the main character, by using your child’s name and features to include them in the story which is great for representation and inclusion.

Once the book arrives it comes in a personalised envelope which features your little one’s picture and name which is great to show they get letters too which was a very exciting experience for Lolo.

Walk On them, Skip On them!

Once we opened the envelope I saw a big pretty picture of an animated Lauren with the title as “Walk on them skip on them! WhatLauren discovered on Wednesday.” Lauren absolutely loved it. The fact that she someone that looked like herself on the front cover, she was so intrigued by what the story could possibly be about. The theme for this book was Science so it contained different scientific elements to the story. In this story you go on a journey with the main character, with the lovely personalisation to help you retell the story.

The main message was about balance and movement, which allowed Lauren to copy some of the actions involved in the story. The story contained lovely alliteration and illustrations which were great for Lolo.

At the end of the remarkable story there is a little personalised message to Lauren about science and movement, the little touches in the book made reading the story the first time a memorable experience.

If you want to get a personalised copy from The Beans & Sparks range the first book will cost £1.99 and £12.99 thereafter for a monthly subscription of personalised books for a great bedtime read. We have already got our next personalised book which is all about Creativity!

You can follow the amazing Beans & Sparks on Instagram @beansandsparks

What do you think of personalised stories and reading to your child/ren from a young age? Please share your comments below.

With Love,

Lolo’s Mummy x

Peppa Pig: My First Concert.

Posted on by Lauren's Mummy

Hey guys,

Last summer I took Lauren to watch her first Teletubbies show at Hackney Empire, theatre in London. Watching Lolo look mesmerised as she watched the characters dance on the stage, I wanted to always take her to one show each year. I loved the fact that at Theatre shows your little one can be as expressive as they want, unlike in the Cinema when they can’t be as noisy as they like.

This year the London Theatre had a special offer called ‘Kids Week’ which allows a child to go free with an full paying adult to watch a variety of shows ranging from; Peppa Pig, The Gruffalo and Horrible Histories to name a few. Lauren absolutely loves Peppa Pig, so it was a given that we were going to attend!

The Show:

The show was in the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank which was a great location in the centre of London. We chose to boycott the pushchair and take our LittleLife bag with reins and loads of water along with us on our long journey on the tube.

On our arrival we were met by the great team at The Southbank who direct us to where we needed to be. There was a merchandise stand ranging from balloons, brochures, books, clothes and plush Peppa Pig toys for the little ones. I was trying to avoid this stand as much as possible as I find that we usually lose things within a week as she has so many toys, or there extremely overpriced. We ended up buying a Peppa Pig light up spinner at the end of the show as Lauren had her eyes on it before we went in!

Once we had entered the hall we were sat close to the stage and waited for the show to start. Lauren was so excited to see Peppa Pig but most especially Daddy Pig who she really likes for some odd reason. The characters had an orchestra who played live music, with a Peppa Pig twist. We are big Peppa Pig fans in our house so most of the songs sung we knew them, word for word. Me included! Lauren really enjoyed the singing and dancing, as she was the loudest in our row, with many children turning around to watch her with parents smiling. It was her first concert, so I wanted her to enjoy it as much as she could. The Bong Bing Boo song has been thoroughly stuck in my head all day! They sang classics such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star which was great for the younger audience, the Muddy Puddles song and The Grand Old Duke of York, which got all the children marching and on their feet.

The show lasted approximately 45 minutes, which was great as some children were getting a bit tired and hot but also going quite close to the stage and they were using life size puppets for Peppa and George, so the ushers were weary of little hands on stage.

Lauren and I had such an amazing time at the show, I loved the live music and that all the children got involved singing to their favourite Peppa Pig tunes.

Head over to the London Theatres official Instagram page @londontheatre for next year’s Kids week events, to keep you and your little ones busy during the summer with theatre days out!

I found this event through a friend with her beautiful daughter, on Instagram who has a great page catered to all things days out with the little ones!

Her Instagram is: @kiddoadventures_

Her blog is : http://www.kiddoadventures.com

Have you taken your child/ren to the theatre yet? Please leave a comment below.

With Love,

Lauren’s Mummy.

x

The Tiger Who Came to Tea Exhibition.

Posted on by Lauren's Mummy

Hey guys,

I love reading books with Lauren at any opportunity I get, so I was very excited to visit the Discover Children’s Story Centre in Stratford. Tickets are £6.50 for adults and toddlers over 2. I had seen a few other mummies had visited the centre and had always given good feedback. Given that it was a hot sunny day in London (which is extremely rare on a Bank Holiday) we decided to make the journey down to Stratford.

Location:

The Discover centre is easy to find as it’s quite close to Westfield Shopping Centre. We walked through the old Stratford centre turned right and it was opposite us with two big red flags, as specified on their website.

 Discover Children’s Story Centre Experience:

On arrival right outside the window there is a huge sticker on the window of The TigerWho Came to Tea by Judith Kerr to reassure you that you’re in the right place. Once we entered the venue we were at the book shop which was amazing might I add. They had a range of different books and stationery which catered to all ages. There was also a spacious buggy park for us to park our buggy instead of pushing it around the centre.

Through the doors you enter an enchanted room filled with so many different activities for the little ones. There is a huge Alligator Waterfall which has very good sensory aspects to it. Lauren enjoyed running across the ‘bridge’ and making music with her feet. It has mirrors, so the children could see what they were doing with a reflective water image which allows the children to feel they are under water. There are loads of creative hubs for little ones to draw, colour and create things. I loved that the Discover Centre allows children to use their imagination and was very interactive for them. At the centre there is an outdoor area which has ‘Bug Hotels’ slides and climbing frames all with a story them to them.

Upstairs there was more magical story elements to be experienced. There was a section dedicated to clouds and reading. A book corner with a variety of books, A Story Factory with a work station of colouring and activities for children to get involved in.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea Storytelling and Exhibition.

One of the best parts of our day was the story telling and Exhibition of The Tiger WhoCame to Tea. We saw a fantastic display of Judith Kerr’s different titles and the inspiration behind them. On entering the story telling session the book came to life. The story teller was extremely enthusiastic and really kept all the children engage we were on the set of Sophie’s kitchen with Mog. Once the story had finished we were transformed into the different stories of Judith Kerr. Lauren instantly gravitated to the shopping room and placed items into her trolley. (I wonder where she gets that from?!) There were so many exciting rooms for the children to play in. The room was virtually turned into a story with different excerpts on the walls and around the room. You can see these pictures below.

I loved that the visitors were a big part of the Story Centre, there was different work stations to make postcards, and pictures for Mog. We also purchased our very own copy of The Tiger Who Came to Tea at the end of our session as it was such a good experience being told the story.

We had such a brilliant day at The Discover Story Centre especially at The Tiger WhoCame to Tea exhibition, I would highly recommend this as a day out with your little ones as it’s reasonably priced and a perfect location.

Have you read The Tiger Who Came to Tea? Or visited the Discover Children’s Story Centre before?

Share your comments below?

Follow us on Instagram @mummydiaries2016

With Love,

Lauren’s Mummy.

x