In my previous post I reviewed Christmas at Butlins. Our wonderful family break at Butlins involved lots of activities that were not unique to Christmas. Here I will explain what made Butlins such a great family holiday.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Land of Sometimes – Review and Competition
The first thing that struck me when this cd arrived was the beautiful packaging. The Land of Sometimes moves away from standard cd casing, instead presenting it as a book with captivating illustrations. Each song has an illustrated page in the storybook encouraging the children to follow the story. I had high hopes that the songs would also reflect the magical quality of the artwork.
The Land of Sometimes is an audio storybook and the characters are brought to life by original music. The story follows Alfie and Elise in their journey through the seasons. They meet a number of colourful characters, and each one is brought to life with a song. The narration is simple and clear and the quality of singing and musical production superb. I’d love to sing on the follow up if there is one. My 3 year old is a big musical theatre fan and she loved the songs dancing around her bedroom and attempting to sing along.
I generally find children’s song cd’s a bit irritating. I have been playing The Land of Sometimes in the background while I write this post and it is surprisingly relaxing. The songs are well written and very catchy and move away from the simplicity of some children’s songs by introducing them to a number of musical genre including reggae, folk and jazz.
Put this one in your car and I’m sure you will be singing along in no time.
The Land of Sometimes website is also worth a visit. Children can find out more about the characters and places in the story, colour in some of the beautiful illustrations and download lyrics for the songs.
A beautiful gift for any child with a fondness for stories or music and something that can be treasured for a long time.
The Land of Sometimes is released on February 6th at a retail price of £9.90 from Amazon.
One lucky reader can win a copy of The Land of Sometimes.
Simply post a comment telling me why you would like to win.
A Bonus entry is available if you follow my Facebook page using the link on the right hand side.
Winners will be drawn at random on 6th February.
Congratulations to the winner Sue Willshee
Terms and Conditions
This competition is only open to residents of the UK and Republic of Ireland
Only one entry per person
Winners will be notified by email and will be posted on this site.
Watching Family Videos from 20 Years Ago
I lost my mum 11 years ago. My children have never met her. They have seen photographs and I talk about her a lot but they don’t really understand who she is.
With this in mind I asked my dad if I could borrow the DVD footage he has of her so that I could show the children. This starts in 1992 when we had our first camcorder. I was 21 years old.
My expectation of watching the video was that it would be really difficult and that I would spend the evening blubbing into my pillow. In fact it had the opposite effect. Watching a family party featuring my mother, grandmother and great aunts who are no longer with us made me feel really warm inside. It brought back memories of large family gatherings and the characters within them that could be so easily forgotten.
Watching myself was interesting too. I was surprised at how little I said even in comfortable environments. I could feel how I might be perceived by others and it gave me a useful insight into myself. Not that I think I still behave like my 21 year old self but it made me think a lot about the importance of communicating (something I have been reflecting on a lot recently).
It also made me think how lucky our children are. They have the capacity to record their memories on film so that their children will not only be able to see what mummy looked like when she was young, but they will also be able to watch events and see how she behaved at them. They can preserve those everyday moments that are so quickly forgotten. I wonder whether in the light of this our perception of history will change? We will have a clear picture of what it might be like to live as an ordinary person during a given age in addition to learning about key historical events.
It was a great exercise to watch these films. My children were fascinated by my parents’ wedding film (no sound as it was transferred from cine film). They could see how quiet the roads were, how the cars were different and that my dad once was a young man with hair. There are members of my family that I only ever remember as being old, how precious it would be to see them when they were young, not only in photographs but also how they behaved. My parents told me what their grandparents were like, but I never had a clear picture. My children will be able to hear my stories but also see what their grandmother and great-grandmother were like . How precious is that?
One of the main reasons we made the decision to have our own wedding filmed was that the footage would include family and friends who over time would be gone and we felt it was a special way to preserve their memory.
I must make an effort to take more video of our family. Filming the everyday things and not just special events because they tell us so much and jog memories that would be more easily forgotten.
I am a Writer
When people ask me what I do, I stumble to explain …
Well, I come from an early education background….. but now I am home with the children……I write a blog about early education and parenting and I’m trying to work out what to do next.
STOP!
What have I been doing for the past year since I started my blog? Writing.
What do I do during the evenings and when the children aren’t around? I write a blog.
When I am not writing my blog what do I do? I write articles for websites, write children’s stories, write poetry and write diaries.
What do you do when you are not writing? I research things to write about, read and take photographs of things of interest (oh yes and look after 3 kids).
So I don’t get paid for any of these things but it is what I do.
I am a writer.
I have been writing since I was 6 years old. I would absorb myself so much in story writing that the words couldn’t hit the page quickly enough and would move in a diagonal fashion away from the margin. I was always being told that I needed to improve my handwriting. As a teenager I wrote poetry and short stories and enjoyed writing essays. My English teacher called me her shining star. I always kept a diary and often wrote letters. I studied English Literature at University (I preferred English Language but there was no degree option for this) because I loved to read and write. On my honeymoon I wrote a journal of our trip and have kept a diary of pregnancies and the early years of my children’s lives. I had mostly A grades for my essays during my Masters Degree.
I am a writer.
A few years ago I read a book by Ken Robinson called The Element. The book talks about how finding your passion changes everything. Everyone has their ‘element’, some have more than 1 and some people never realise it. I wondered at the time what my ‘element’ was and now I know, it is and always has been writing.
I am a writer.
People tell me they like what I write, people tell me they like the way that I write, people even sometimes tell me that they are inspired by what I write.
I am a writer.
I may never get paid for my writing but that won’t stop me. If I keep writing and sending things to publishers and publications maybe one day I will become a professional writer. Even if I never make a penny as long as I keep writing and people keep reading .
I am a writer.
Happy Blog Anniversary – Top 5 Posts of the Year
Today I have been blogging at Right from the Start for a year. It has been an incredible year that has exceeded all expectations. I have featured on Netmums, had some wonderful products to review, became an ambassador for Butlins, attended Cybermummy,had my first short story published, met some wonderful people and been told by many people that they love what I write.
I have lots of plans for 2012 for the blog and other writing projects, which I am very excited about.
I have published 92 posts in my first year and to commemorate my first anniversary I thought I would share with you the 5 most read posts (excluding reviews and competitions).
- Who Touched Your Life When you were a Child – Michael Morpurgo’s Richard Dimbleby Lecture This was one of my earliest posts and one that I think shows my passion for early education and the impact we have on children’s lives. It is my top ranking post thanks to a link from the BBC website.
- Goderich, the Prettiest Town in Canada – Before and After the Tornado – This picture based post shows the devastating effect of a Tornado on my Uncle’s home town.
- Parenting the Most Difficult Job in the World – This was a very early post and was the first that made me realise the opportunities that blogging offers. It was featured as a guest post on Netmums and led to my being invited to become a part of the Netmums Review Team alongside well established, high profile bloggers. It is a post that I am very proud of and resonates with many people.
- Real Parenting Through the Eyes of Tim Minchin – After a wonderful weekend in Edinburgh for my 40th Birthday, I posted this hilarious and accurate song about trying to get children to sleep, by the wonderfully talented Tim Minchin. For some reason I get a lot of searches on the blog for How Tall is Tim Minchin?
- There’s a Spider on the Floor – Fun with Rhyme A short post sharing a song that I share with my children. I have a huge repertoire of children’s songs and will be sharing more in the next year.
Thank you to all those who have read and commented on my blog in the first year it has been wonderful to watch my readership grow and read the lovely comments that you take the time to make. I’m looking forward to an exciting 2nd year.
Happy Feet 2 XBox 360 Game Review
The Happy Feet 2 game is a family game aimed at children from 3 years old. As I haven’t personally played this game I asked my 7 year old if she would like to review it. Here are her thoughts.
The object of this game is a mixture of things,for instance collecting penguins and when you have done that you have to do a few things to get to the exit.On some levels you don’t have to collect penguins, you have to do things like races.
I think this is a really good game and is very good for education,because it can help small children recognise where and what the buttons/controls mean. I have enjoyed going through the levels (so far I have got to stage 11)some levels can be very hard but others are quite easy .
I like doing the challenges,especially on levels 5 and 13 where all you have to do is do what you would do in a challenge,on some levels you have a timer .In challenges you have to press a different button when a red ball hits the button.
On some levels you have to race another penguin/character,these levels are the hardest for me.
By E McClary.Age 7
Clear as mud? Clearly she has enjoyed playing it and is progressing nicely through the levels.
Personally I think this game is a missed opportunity. When I heard that we were getting a Happy Feet 2 game to review I expected it to be a Kinect game with lots of funky dance moves. I’m really not sure why a game about a dancing penguin would not involve real dancing when the technology is out there to support it. As it stands I think it would be a fun game on a hand held console but am a little disappointed that there isn’t more to it for the bigger consoles.
A preview copy of the game was received for the purpose of this review. No payment was received.
The Changing Face of Literacy
As an Early Years teacher I have always capitalised on opportunities for literacy in everyday life. Making children aware and involving them in these things is often key to children viewing reading and writing as fun. Traditionally these would have been things like writing shopping lists, reading road and shop signs, mark making in diaries and calendars or following recipes.
However literacy in the real world is changing. Children these days are just as likely to see you read or write on your phone or laptop as they are to see you write a list or note.
This really hit home with me when I watched my 3 year old playing on my iPad a few weeks ago. She asked if she could download an app called Dad book, designed for dads to record stories for their children.
But mummy it’s not doing anything
she said once it was downloaded.
No, someone has to tell the story and record it.
I replied.
I asked her 7 year old sister to record the story for her, they sat together as my 7 year old narrated the story. When she was finished my 3 year old listened and then repeated the words as she had seen done with another app Pat the Cat .
What a great opportunity for playing with literacy for both children. This made me think about all the other literacy activities my children tap into on the iPad.
My 3 year old is learning about the alphabet and phonic sounds using the wonderful Elmo loves ABC’s app. This has loads of different levels of games all based around learning letter names and sounds and includes lots of memorable Sesame Street clips.
Another favourite is Me Books a children’s picture book reader for classic Ladybird books. Both my children enjoy following the stories and adding in their own sound effects. This is simple for the children to do and another great way of getting different aged siblings to share reading.
The Ladybird Touch and Say books are also a great way for my 2 year old to learn to read simple words and even my one year old loves the Baby Touch app.
My 7 year old loves creating her own stories and animations using Toontastic or Puppetpals and these are also simple for pre-schoolers to use with adult guidance.
We have even discovered new songs and rhymes through English Songs and Chants. My 3 year old loves this one and can be heard walking around the house reciting the chants and singing the songs. The chants are excellent for teaching rhythm and steady beat, a concept I usually teach using Ros Bayley’s Beat Baby. I wonder whether Ros has considered creating a Beat Baby app?
There are a number of things that I really appreciate about the way my children use technology to play and learn about literacy.
- The children freely choose the literacy apps and never feel like they are learning literacy skills. Everything they choose to play is fun and interactive.
- The apps are an added dimension to their experience of literacy. They still love books and choose to read traditional books more often than e-books, still love to write, tell and listen to stories.
Current touch screen technology is still a little small to offer good mark making experiences for the youngest children but the drawing apps are good fun for when they get a bit older and are able to work on a smaller scale. I look forward to a time when I can roll out a big screen onto the floor and let the youngest children explore markmaking on a large scale.
I also think Kinect holds great possibilities for literacy. My children talk to their dad via video Kinect when he is not at home. There would be great potential for speaking and listening activities if they connected with other children from around the world and shared experiences about their life and culture.
My girls are avid readers, I’m not afraid that new technology will distract them from traditional literacy, but that it adds a richness to their lives and new possibilities for exciting literacy experiences.
‘ Once Upon a Time’ Raising Money for Save the Children
A few weeks ago I responded to a request to contribute to a children’s story book entitled ‘Once Upon a Time’ to raise money for Save the Children.
I have always wanted to write for children but have struggled with the inspiration. This was my perfect chance to have a go and raise money for a fabulous cause. Myself and 16 other bloggers have written short stories for young children. The only rules were that the story should begin with ‘Once Upon a Time’ and should be written in 350 words. I was lucky to already have an idea in mind. This was based on a story I told to my 7 year old when she was afraid of going to bed because she thought she might have bad dreams. It was incredibly difficult to condense this into 350 words . After multiple edits I got it down to under 400 but not quite to the 350 . It made me realise that writing for young children isn’t as easy as it looks.
The illustrations in the book are all provided by our own children – this is my 7 year olds picture that appears with my story.
All the writers have given their services for free so that we can raise as much money as possible. The book looks really beautiful and would be a very special present for a child who loves stories.
I hope this won’t be my last attempt at writing for children, I have ideas for a few more projects so watch this space.
To order a copy and view a preview click on the picture on the top right hand sidebar or here .
Fun with Magic Snow
A few weeks ago, I picked up a tube of Magic Snow. I have never seen this before but I thought it might be a nice Christmas play idea. It comes as a powder in a test tube shaped container and when you add water to it, it expands to 100 times its original size to look like snow.
It feels really soft and just a little bit cold
You get all the fun of playing with ice and snow but it doesn’t melt or feel too cold on little fingers.
We tried to mould a snowman and make models with the snow.
Then we added the Happyland Christmas set
I’m putting snow in Father Christmas’ sleigh
The snow was a big hit but was gradually creeping onto the floor and getting a bit slippery, so I suggested we put the snow in a tray.
We found some snow animals and the penguins slid around on the ice.
We went out and left the snow in the tray for a few hours, it showed no signs of drying up during this time so I am hoping that we will get a few days play from this batch. Magic snow is a big hit with my 3 year old who loves messy, tactile things and I’m sure it is an activity she will return to regularly in the lead up to Christmas.
Lego Harry Potter 5-7 Years – A Review
My 7 Year old is steadily working her way through the Harry Potter books, so this game has arrived at an opportune moment. Lego Harry Potter 5-7 years covers the last 3 books of the series and as my daughter is currently reading the 6th book she was able to explain some of the characters to me (I only ever read to book 4). We have a Star Wars Lego game for the Nintendo DS which is a firm favourite so my expectations for this game were high.
My daughter played it alone and with a friend. They took it in turns to complete and solve different problems, helping each other out along the way. You can play the game with 2 controllers each player taking the part of a different character. This feature works really well and stimulates lots of discussion. It also makes me realise how much better children are at these things than me.
It is a very long time since I spent any time playing video games. This weekend I had a cold and decided to sit for 3 hours and play Harrry Potter 5-7 Years snuggled up in my quilt. It was compelling and addictive and suitably challenging to keep me engaged. I could have used my daughters help at some points as I wandered aimlessly in the dark trying to find a tap. We discovered the following day that she had turned the brightness down and it wasn’t supposed to be a night-time game at all! I managed to complete the first level and played a little of the next level with my daughter the next day. I am suitably hooked.
The animations that tell the story in between each level are compelling and new characters appear as the game unfolds. Each character has a special skill such as rebuilding blue Lego structures or using an invisibility cloak.
What was my 7 year olds opinion?
It is excellent because some characters can do some things which other characters can’t do and you can perform different spells just by pressing the spell-wheel button.
She has even drawn an image of how the controls work for the XBox 360 version.
The game lived up to my high expectations, my daughter is coming home from school and asking if she can switch it on and I am looking forward to playing it with her and on my own. Good credit all round.
This review is based on the XBox 360 game, it is also available on other consoles.
A preview copy of the game was received for the purpose of the review. No payment was received for writing this review.
Right from the Start 