Is Your Child Happy at School? | AD

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Disclosure - This post is a paid collaboration with Mill Hill School

Whist the Summer holidays should be a happy time for our children, thinking about going going back to school in September can be a very upsetting and worrying time. School presents many challenges for our children as they may find it hard, they may not enjoy a particular subject, or they may experience peer pressure from their friends.

If your child is already worrying about the new school year this can be very upsetting for you as a parent. To help spot the signs that your child may be unhappy at school, Mill Hill School have put together the following questions for parents.

Has your child become withdrawn? If you notice that your child is spending more time alone in their bedroom and less time talking to family and friends, then this could be a sign that there is something wrong at school.


Is your child refusing to go to school or frequently complaining of tummy aches or illnesses? This is another common behaviour seen by children who are unhappy at school. 
Have you noticed mood swings, irritability or crying? Some parents put this behaviour down to teenage hormones, but please don’t dismiss these signs as normal, because they may need further investigation.

Is your child getting into trouble? Is he or she arguing with siblings or answering back to teachers? If you have noticed any unusual behaviour from your child, this could be a cry for attention. Children often display anger and frustration when they feel unable to explain their emotions.

If you believe that your son or daughter may be unhappy about something in their school life, the best thing to do is talk to them. Communication is key in establishing the cause of the issues and finding a solution. Reassure your child that they can talk to you about anything that may be upsetting them. It may also be a good idea to let their teacher know of anything they can keep an eye on in the classroom.

Michelle

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How to Child Proof Your Garden | AD

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Disclosure - This is a paid collaboration with Lawsons

With the school holidays now underway, there’s no better time than now to make sure your garden is child-friendly. You have probably already dealt with some of the more obvious measures, like removing toxic plants, fencing off the pond and locking away any pesticides and other chemicals, but there are lots of other things you can do to ensure your kids are safe and sound whilst playing outside this summer.

When cleaning your garden decking, be sure to keep your little ones out of the way because it can become extremely slippery when wet and cause an accident. It’s also important to check the decking regularly to ensure the boards, joists and balustrading are all still intact and haven’t suffered any damage over the winter months. If any of the screws have come loose, your decking may fall apart beneath your feet which can be dangerous for the whole family, not just the kids.

Instead of decking, you could think about installing artificial grass in your garden. This is great for parents of young children because not only is it low maintenance, it also means you won’t have any mud brought into your house when the kids have been playing out.

Be sure to check the fence panels closely and fix or replace any that have become damaged. After all, you don’t want your little ones to go exploring through a hole in the fence. Generally speaking, it would be wise to check your entire garden for any hazards, not just the fence and decking. Keeping on top of maintenance and repairs will ensure your children stay safe whilst playing in the garden.

Storing your garden tools away in the locked shed is a great place to start and nothing can replace adult supervision, but the above tips should really help you child-proof your garden.

Michelle

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Baby Shark Let's Go Hunt Game and Wooden Sound Puzzle | Review

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Disclosure - We were gifted both Baby Shark Let's Go Hunt Game and Wooden Sound Puzzle. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. 

 I would like to assume that everyone knows the song Baby Shark and if you don't I can also assume you haven't been living on this planet for a year. Baby Shark is so popular with little ones and I can promise you if you are heading on holiday this Summer it will probably be a firm favourite at Mini Disco. We have been trying out Baby Shark Let's Go Hunt Game and Baby Shark Wooden Sound Puzzle for the last few weeks and they are a lovely addition to the very popular toy range.

The Let's Go Hunt game is a slow moving 'fishing' type game where each player grabs a rod and tries to hook a fish as it bobs up and down on the game board.

The game is designed for those 4+ and for between 2-4 players. Each player uses the rod to carefully catch the fish as it opens and closes its mouth. Now it may sound easy but it's quite tricky but lots of fun. There is an added bonus of the Baby Shark song playing as you fish.

There is a pattern to the fishes opening and closing their mouths which little J worked out very quickly however that doesn't mean he caught all the fish. You have to carefully place the rod in their mouth and hook it on to their sharp teeth. If you don't they tend to flip upside down.

It's a lovely game that little J actually enjoyed playing on his own too.

The Baby Shark Wooden Sound Puzzle is a 5 piece shark puzzle with colourful and chunky puzzle pieces. When you correctly place the shark in the right place it will sing the Baby Shark song however it will play the part of the song corresponding to the correct piece eg Mummy Shark, Grandma Shark. Lovely feature to the puzzle.

Baby Shark Wooden Sound Puzzle is aimed at those 2+ so was a little easy for little J however it's perfect for when his younger cousins come to play.

Although our giveaway may be closed you can still enjoy Baby Shark Wooden Sound Puzzle and Lets Go Hunt game by purchasing on Amazon

Win Baby Shark Wooden Sound Puzzle

Michelle

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Yeti In My Spaghetti | Review

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Disclosure - We received Yeti In My Spaghetti for the purpose of this post. We have also been offered another to give away. This post also contains affiliate links.

The Summer holidays will soon be here and I have been planning lots of activities to enjoy with little J. One of our favourite things to do together is to play games. Little J loves games and although we own plenty, including some from when Big J was little, we love having new additions to our games collection. Yeti In My Spaghetti is the latest addition. It's a fun, fast paced game that is perfect to keep the kids entertained and I have a Yeti In My Spaghetti to giveaway to one of our readers.

Yeti In My Spaghetti is a simple but very fun game to play aimed at ages 4+. Setup is really easy. All you need to do is place the bowl on a flat surface, place the noodle pieces on top of the bowl in all different directions and then place the Yeti on top. Each player takes turns to pull one noodle at a time  from the top of the bowl, whilst trying not to let the yeti fall in to the bowl. Once the Yeti falls into the bowl the game is over and if you made him fall you are the loser.

Our giveaway to win Yeti in the Spaghetti may be closed but you can still enjoy the game by purchasing on Amazon 

Win Yeti In My Spaghetti

Michelle

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£50 Gift Card For The Entertainer | Giveaway

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Keeping the kids entertained during the Summer holidays can be tough so I am giving you the chance to win a £50 Gift Card to spend at The Entertainer toy store.

Packed with lots of well known toy brands such as Disney, Paw Patrol and LEGO there is something for all ages.

All you need to do to enter is complete the giveaway below and come back daily for more chances to win.

Good Luck

Win a £50 The Entertainer Gift Card

Michelle

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My-Picture.co.uk Framed Photo Print | Review

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Disclosure - We were gifted a framed photo for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.

Every time we take a Disney holiday we come home and try to decide which of our photos we will turn in to a large print to hang in the living room. My-Picture.co.uk had offered us the chance to review their service and choose from their framed photo prints so we wanted to make sure we chose the perfect photo.

Once we had decided which photograph to use we then chose a framed print from the many options available and uploaded our photo.

Once the photo was uploaded we could see a little preview of what the frame would look like. We then needed to choose our preferred size.

Sizes available are

24x24 cm

34x24 cm

44x34 cm

44x44 cm

64x44 cm

Once you have chosen your size you can then customise your frame. You can choose from

Black Matte

White

Vintage Silver

Walnut Flair

Oak Vintage Flair

You can then to choose whether to have the photo as it is or change it to black and white.

We then proceeded to checkout and waited for our framed photo print to arrive.

The whole process to order from My-Picture.co.uk was very easy and we are really happy with the quality of the photo and the frame. The finish is lovely and looks perfect in our living room.

Michelle

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Smashers Epic Dino Egg | Review

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Disclosure - We were sent the Smashers Epic Dino Egg for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. 

Today is hatching day for our Smashers Epic Dino Egg. We received the huge egg a few days ago and Little J has been so excited waiting for the day when he could 'smash' the egg open. We are huge fans of Smashers and have built up quite a collection of Smashers including Smashers Dino so we can't wait to see the surprises inside.

The Smashers Epic Dino Egg has over 25 surprises inside. If your little one is a fan of blind bag type toys then this egg will be perfect for them.

Cracking open the egg was lots of fun. Little J tossed it in the air and let it fall to the ground. Each time a little crack appeared so he did it over and over until it smashed in to 4 pieces and a package popped out of the Dino Egg.

Inside was a Fossil Rock, Fizzy Lava, Dino Dirt, Glowing Slime and an Ice Age Putty. Each one of these will reveal a Dinosaur body part that once you uncover them all will create a large Dino figure. 

Also included was 6 Smashers Dino eggs which include a Dino collectible inside. 

Little J can't wait to create his Dino. We have played with Fossil Rock and Fizzy Lava before. All you need to do is add some water and watch as the Dino appears. Little J loves slime so this will be very popular and also the Dino Dirt sounds fun too.  

Little J is also excited to crack open his Smashers Dino Eggs to see what Dino collectibles he has found which he will add to his Smashers Dino collection. 

The Smashers Epic Dino Egg is currently available to buy in most major toy stores and supermarkets.

Michelle

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Gift Guide | Thank You Teacher

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Disclosure - This post  contains affiliate links, they work at no cost to you however can help towards the running of my blog.

If you are looking for some gift inspiration for a teacher gift this year, I have gathered a few of my favourites I have found online.

Handmade Wooden Hanging Heart Plaque

Beautiful handmade wooden heart shaped plaque. Shabby chic style hanging sign, with a unique printed design. Ideal gift for someone special. Made from high quality sustainable 3mm Plywood. Can be used as a hanging decoration, or even as a gift tag. Tag Reads Teachers like you are precious & few. You're so lovely & caring, I will miss you! Thank You.

So'each Canvas & Beach Tote Bag

A perfect gift For any occasion including Thank You Teacher. Designed with a zipped pocket, mobile phone holder, key holder and leather shoulder strap.

The Perfect Gift for a Teacher - End of Term Teacher's Wine Glass & Gift Tube Set 

At the beginning of term this glass will be filled to the "New Term" Line but by the end of term this glass will be filled all the way up to the "End Of Term" Line!

A fun teachers gift that bring a smile to any Teacher's face with this fun and fabulous wine glass. Teachers cannot wait til the end of term, and what better way to celebrate than with a glass of wine in their very own End of Term glass.

Flower Teacup and Matching Spoon

 The flower teacup is made of crystal glass and design with crystals and enamel, making the product looks elegant. It is a perfect gift for your teacher. The flower teacup comes with a small matching spoon.

Thank You Teacher Thank You Gift Elephant Charm Wish Bracelet 

This beautiful little Wish bracelet makes a great gift for someone special. This handmade bracelet is made using 1mm waxed cord and attached is a small charm. This cute bracelet is adjustable to fit any size wrist or it can be trimmed to size. This bracelet comes with an Organza gift bag 

You've Bean The Best Teacher

Unique gift for your favourite teacher. A real tin just like a regular beans can but filled with delicious jelly beans in assorted fruity flavours. The can includes 200g of jelly beans. The can has a special ring pull so no need for a can opener, no sharp edges so can be used as an ideal desk tidy / pen pot once all the beans are gone.

Are you buying a special gift for  teacher this year?

Michelle

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Disney On Ice 100 Years of Magic

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Disclosure - This is a preview post for Disney On Ice 100 Years of Magic. I will be receiving tickets to see the show this year and will post a review shortly after.

It may be obvious from our blog and socials that we are huge fans of Disney. We have been very lucky to see Disney on Ice in Manchester quite a few times now and I am so exited that it is returning this year with Disney On Ice - 100 Years of Magic.

Featuring a cast of over 50 unforgettable Disney characters, Disney on Ice 100 Years of Magic will be skating in to an arena near you from September 2019.

Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy will be there as well as many of the Disney Princesses including Jasmine, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Ariel, Snow White and Tiana.

Relive the magic of Disney’s Frozen with Anna, Elsa and the hilarious snowman Olaf as they discover that true love is the greatest magic of all.

Sing-along to over 30 unforgettable songs including favourites like “Let It Go”, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”, and “Hakuna Matata”.

Be thrilled by exciting moments from Disney’s The Lion King, Disney Pixar’s Toy Story, Finding Dory, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and more, leaving your whole family captivated with memories that will last them a lifetime.

This skating spectacular is truly a century of Disney Magic, and it was all started by a Mouse!

The show dates are

Intu Braehead, Glasgow 20st-29th September 2019

Utilita Arena, Newcastle 2nd-6th October 2019

Manchester Arena, Manchester 9th-13th October 2019

Arena Birmingham, Birmingham 16th-20th October 2019

Westpoint Exeter, Exeter 23rd-27th October 2019

TECA, Aberdeen 31st-3rd November 2019

Flydsa Arena, Sheffield 6th-10th November 2019

The SSE Arena, Wembley 13th-17th November 2019

The O2, London 26th December-5th January 2020

You can find out more about the show and also book tickets by visiting Disney On Ice

Michelle

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Smiggle Lunchbag and Bottle | Review

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Disclosure - We were sent the Smiggle goodies for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. 

It was only about 6 months ago we found Smiggle. A store opened up in our city centre, we walked past it one day and the explosion of colours caught little J's eye. From the outside all I could see was pinks and purples and I have to admit I was keen to take a look myself. Smiggle has a huge range of stationery, bags, lunchbags and water bottles on display. Little J was so excited and we agreed he could choose something as a treat. He chose a water bottle and has loved that bottle ever since. Smiggle recently sent us some lunch bags and bottles and little J is over the moon.

This style of lunch bag is called a double decker. So if you want a bag with lots of space than I would definitely recommend a double decker. The top can be opened using the zip to reveal a shallow compartment. This is ideal for snacks or even an ice pack if needed. The bottom is spacious and could fit a large lunch in and/or a water bottle.

The glitz double decker is also spacious and could fit a large lunch inside and/or a water bottle too. There is also a front zip which opens up and is ideal for popping in a water bottle, ice pack or snacks. The glitz double decker comes with the choice of a carry handle or a strap.

There are also a large range of water bottles available at Smiggle. The range includes hard plastic, roll water bottle, stainless steel and also a spritz water bottle that has a water mist trigger that will spray cool, refreshing mist. This is on little J's Smiggle wishlist.

If you don't have a Smiggle close to home you can view and buy the range online by visiting Smiggle. There is currently 25% off all lunch bags and bottles however it is for a limited time so might be a good idea to buy now before the back to school rush.

Michelle

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Celebrating National Picnic Week With John Adams

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Disclosure - We received the three travel games below for the purpose of this giveaway. Any thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. This post contains affiliate links.

As you can probably tell from our blog we love being outdoors and travel around a lot. One thing we love to do together is have a picnic. There isn't anything better than heading out with a picnic to enjoy. Between the 21st and the 30th June it is National Picnic Week and we have teamed up with John Adams to giveaway a travel game that you can enjoy while you are out and about.

We love playing games and usually take a selection with us if we go out for the day. We recently received a selection of new games from John Adams to enjoy and as they are travel size they are perfect to play on the go.

I am giving one lucky reader the chance to winner a Travel game from the following three we have been playing this week.

Triominos Sunshine

Triominos Sunshine is a bright and colourful version of the classic game Triominos. Triominos is the classic triangular domino game which is lots of fun. Each Triomino tile has numbers on players score points by matching numbers on the three-sided playing pieces to pieces that are already in play.

Little J really likes this game and he found it quite easy to understand the rules although does need help with the scoring part of the game.

Othello On The Move

Othello is a classic fast-paced strategy game. The idea behind the game is you must try to trap your rival's playing pieces and turn them over. The lead can change at any moment with a flip of a disk and the player with the most pieces of the same colour wins.

We've never played Othello before but we're enjoying the travel version. It's easy to set up and use and John and I have been playing in the garden in the evening.

Rummikub Travel

Rummikub is a numbers strategy game which is played with 106 tiles. The object of the game to be the first player to Rummikub. Rummikub means you have placed all the tiles from your tile rack onto the table before anyone else. You can lay your tiles down in number runs and colour groups.

The travel version of this game is so compact you could fit all the tiles in a small makeup bag or pencil case.

Although our giveaway may be closed you can still enjoy the games by buying online at Amazon

  

Celebrate National Picnic Week and Win A John Adams Travel Game

Michelle

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June Bedtime Stories | Our Favourites

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Disclosure - This post contains affiliate links

This month we headed to the library so that little J could choose some new books to read at bedtime. There were so many to choose from however he did manage to narrow it down to just 12 and these are a few of his favourite bedtime stories.

Animal ABC
Learn the alphabet and meet amazing animals along the way using the lift and flap.

Little J really enjoyed this and it introduced him to animals he had not heard of before such as Quokka, Uakari, Ibis and a Yak.

Lunchtime
It's lunchtime for one little girl, but she's just not hungry. A visiting crocodile, bear and wolf however are starving. It's just as well that children taste revolting.

We love this story all about food, friendships and fun.

Mixed
In the beginning there were three colours, Reds, Yellows and Blues. All living together in harmony until one day Red says he is the best. No longer happy with living together, the colours decide to divide but just as it seems there's no turning back, cool blue and bright yellow save the day.

This is a really lovely story about understanding, love, acceptance and also shows what happens when colours mix. 

Something Fishy
There is something fishy going on, but not in a good way. When a cat wants fish, nothing else will do and bringing home a new baby really doesn't help. Who saw that coming?... not the jealous cat.

Little J loves this story and insists that John reads it to him with funny voices. I love listening to him chuckle. 

You Choose in Space

Zoom into Space for an adventure where you choose what happens next. Which alien would you most like to be friends with? What fantastically freaky food will you munch for lunch?

After reading You Choose in Space little J also wants to try and find You Choose and You Choose your Dreams too.

What stories have you been reading this month?

Michelle

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TechDen The Home To Healthier Screen Habits | Review

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Disclosure - We were gifted TechDen for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. 

Screen time for your children. Is it a problem?  There are clearly some different thoughts out there when you have a look at some of the recent press around screen time. One thing is for certain though, only you the parent can really decide how much screen time you want your child to have.

We limit Little J's screen time to an amount we feel is appropriate depending on what his day has been like. We look at what time he got up, what he has done before and after breakfast and what activities he has done during the day. Some days he is more tired than others and he may have more screen time that day.  For us, that makes sense, but for him, its difficult to understand how it works!

This is where TechDen comes in. TechDen is the first ever combined physical storage and charging device with its own app to give the user the ability to control screen time on each device. Once the device is in the Den, it's locked away with an "out of sight, out of mind" approach to support parents decisions around screen time restrictions.

The TechDen App is what makes the device so unique. TechDen works with the main app being installed on the parents device and the childs versions of the apps being installed on their devices. The parent is able to predetermine the amount of time available to the child and also how many sessions are available throughout the day.  The system works by requiring the devices be returned to the Den before the end of the allocated time.  Before time is up, the child will get countdown reminders so they are ready to return the device rather than have a "2 minute warning", and they can also request extra time through the app. The parent device will receive all notifications of requests, with the ability to approve or deny requests straight away.

At the end of the session, if the device isn't returned to the Den the parental device will receive notification so that intervention can take place if needs be.

The TechDen app also can operate on a rewards system which can support the child with habits and a sense of achievement.

The Den itself is simple enough to use, and a really great feature is that once the device is away and charging, the doors wont open to the childs request for the device unless it's in one of the predetermined sessions of availability. To make it simple for the child, if the light is green they can use the device and if the light is red they can't. The Den was bigger than we expected, however if you think about a unit that would house and charge two tablets then its easy to see why the size is as it is.

I could see that TechDen could be really useful in cutting down on arguments around device time, as often these can be a result of lack of time planning or parameters set to begin with.  TechDen can support by ensuring that everyone knows the rules to start with and offering simple but effective techniques towards device access.

If you want to know more about TechDen then visit their website here for parental views and guides on how it may work for your family.

John

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