Keeping Children Occupied When Travelling

We were sent some children's activities from Boswells of Oxford to give a try whilst on holiday, but to be honest these items are great no matter where you are travelling and are useful for when you are out and about in restaurants too.

We were sent some Dinosaur Top Trumps which we did already have but I have no idea where they are and were great for my son, he didn't stop playing with them the whole two weeks and they not only kept him occupied but helped him with numbers and his reading too.

We were also sent a fabulous magic picture colouring book, which isn't just any ordinary colouring book but instead you have to use a coin to rub over the blank page to reveal the picture, included were some really bright and easy to grip felt tips which meant my daughter could be kept occupied colouring in once she had revealed the picture using the coin.

Along with these bits, they also included a sing a long CD, I feel our children were a little old for this and as awful as this makes us sound we have never listened to children's CDs in the car. It does mean our children have inherited our great taste in music though.

The CD does however have some classic songs, which, if you are into this sort of thing would make for a great ride along treat.

Having things to do in the car or when you are out and about are always a must for us, these are all relatively small but exciting things which makes them great for just popping in your bag when you are heading out.

NB: We were sent these items for the purpose of this post, all words and opinions are my own.

Dinosaur Messy Play in the Garden

My daughter loves getting messy in the garden so last week when it was just too nice to be inside I got out the Tuff Spot and filled it with mud, sand, shells, leaves and dinosaurs and she got to get messy and play.

She absolutely love doing this and spent at least two hours getting in there with the dinos!

Not sure about getting in but soon getting down with the dinos...

Lots of fun, it didn't stay looking this near and tidy, by the end of it there was just a mass of sandy mud which I think means it was lots of fun.

It is the perfect activity for getting them to explore and learn about different textures.

Linking up to Magic Moments with The Olivers Madhouse

A Visit to the Natural History Museum

New Year was rather soggy, not really caring about staying up till midnight we used this as an excuse to get an early(ish) night and head to Natural History Museum in London on New Years Day.

There was no traffic on the way down so it didn't take very long, we parked up at Westfield in Shepheards Bush and our adventure started their.

My husband is always in London where as I have only been a few times and the children never, so the tube was a big adventure and one the kids loved.

The museum itself can get very busy but it wasn't at that time on New Years day so we didn't have to queue and got straight in. After dropping the coats off in the cloak room we got down to some exploring.

Oooh whats this? Honestly I can't remember.

Seeing how different size stones fall faster in water and looking at the different rock.

If you watched Alive with David Attenborough on New Years Day you will no doubt recognise this beauty, the lovely Dippy the Diplodocus.

The ceiling is unbelievably beautiful and awe inspiring, in fact there wasn't one bit of the building that wasn't amazing

We had gone specifically for the dinosaurs for my son, shame then that he was petrified of the anamatronic dinosaurs on top of a display cabinet and didn't then want to see the main event a giant T-Rex, but we still had a good time spotting the different dinos. It is amazing how many we now know, I guess that is what 4 years of reading dinosaur books does.

The shadow's were as impressive as the skeleton.

Possibly my favourite animal out of them all was this pink fairy armadillo! So cute!

Last year my son did the lifecycle of a caterpillar and butterfly so this was a great display to see, although this area wasn't for the faint hearted with spiders and scorpions!

Crabs! What do they all have in common?

Even the newer additions to the building look good, I loved this passageway, it was a bit of a rabbit warren and I had no idea where we were most of the time.

Looking back at the pictures I couldn't believe how life like this was.

I love the Dodo, it is sad they are extinct and it was us humans that did it!

The building really is a beautiful object itself and I just couldn't stop myself looking at the walls and friezes.

Best of all the Natural History Museum is free, and we were there all day. The queue on leaving was huge even with only an hour and a half left. With lots of food on offer in the cafe's and restaurant you don't really need to leave though so can stay the whole day. Lots of exploring and nature to look at all indoors, which when on a typical British bank holiday was great.

Linking up to County Kids over on the Coombe Mill blog.

Walking with Dinosaurs

It had been almost a year of waiting to see Walking with Dinosaurs at the Ice Arena, but eventually the day arrived last week!

So was it worth it? Yes, is all I can say.

Whether you have children who love dinosaurs or not this is a truly amazing experience and if you do have children who love them then it is even more magical.

My son hates really loud noises so he did spend most of the show with his fingers in his ears (whether it was where we were sat i'm not sure) but his face when the dinosaurs came out was a picture.

Also to be fair when the T-Rex roared I did jump out of my skin (think Tom and Jerry) this also accounts for the not so brilliant shots ;).

Here are some snapshots from the experience, if it is coming to a town near you I can highly recommend going.

Before it started...

Mr Diplidocus

Pretty flowers

Utahraptors 

Mama T-Rex doing her thing...

Big momma and little baby t-rex

The end of it all

There were quite a few smaller children there but it was loud so if your children hate very loud noises and are scared easily then you my wish to take ear defenders.

Supporting Small Businesses this Christmas - Colour Me Fun

So I said I would write about the small businesses I have found and love and this one is perfect if you have little ones who love to colour.

Colour Me Fun's crayons make perfect stocking fillers, they are unusal, reasonably priced and fun.

I really love these lego crayons, they are brilliant and would be great for any logo loving mini Picasso.

If you want to go personalised you can have your childs name in crayons too!

I went for the dinosaur set as we are going to the party of a dino mad little boy tomorrow, they look awesome and I just hope my son doesn't see them otherwise he'll want a set too!

 

So if you are looking for the perfect gift that you can't find on the high street head on over to Colour Me Fun, the delivery was super quick and I am really pleased with my purchase.