Well here we go again *sigh*. At the time of writing we are just about to enter a second National Lockdown and it’s hard not to feel a little bit emotional and anxious about what lies in store in the weeks and months ahead. All those feelings I felt in March have come right back to the forefront, and I find myself often reminising about a pre-covid time where everything felt so ‘normal’. We’re all worried about the future for our families and loved ones and quite frankly, we could all do with a reminder to stay positive and simply take one day at a time – things will, eventually, get better.
Thank you Sir Captain Tom Moore
I think everyone remembers that point of lockdown where we first set eyes on Captain Tom Moore. Not only had this man already served his country, but set out on a personal mission to walk 100 laps of his garden before reaching his 100th birthday, whilst raising money for the NHS heroes who were working flat out to seep us safe.
I remember feeling incredibly emotional learning about his story. Sir Tom very quickly became the people’s hero, as we all followed his challenge in awe. The whole nation got behind him, watching somewhat amazed as his fundraising totaliser just kept going higher and higher. The messages of hope, spirit and community this man provided to us all during some of the darkest months of lockdown is something that I think we will remember forever, proving that if you set your heart to something and truly believe its possible, you can achieve almost anything.
One Hunded Steps (available here on Amazon) is the inspirational picture book with positive underlying messages of adventure, helping others and simply never giving up.
A perfect keepsake for these incredibly strange times, it tells the story of the now knighted Sir Captain Tom Moore, who walked 100 laps of his garden, capturing the heart and soul of the nation with his spirit.
The book features Adam Larkum’s glorious illustrations making it a visual delight for younger readers and follows key moments from Sir Captain Tom Moore’s incredible life to date including his childhood spent roaming the Yorkshire Moors, his time serving in the Second World War and his incredible Guinness world Record breaking moments.
The overall message of this book is that anyone can do or be anything they want and that we can achieve so much more when we come together. Community, support and determination can really make tomorrow a better day.
Now more than ever, we all need a bit of positivity in our lives and this book comes with a great message of hope for our children, particularly on the run up to Christmas.
Raising a nod to Sir Captain Tom Moore, the true hero of the people – the book has been published in support of the Captain Tom Foundation.
Want to win a copy of One Hundred Steps?
Thanks to the team at Puffin we have a beautiful hard back copy of One Hundred Steps to giveaway to one lucky reader and help remind them that good things are yet to come. To enter, simply use the gleam app below. Giveaway closes at 11.59 on 15th November 2020. UK entries only. Our standard giveaway terms and conditions apply. GOOD LUCK!
If you can’t wait to see if you’ve won you can pick up your own copy now – One Hundred Steps retails at £12.99 in Puffin Hardback as well as on ebook at Amazon here
The world is quite a confusing place at the moment for our children and if your little ones are anything like mine, bedtime has become somewhat more of a challenge in recent months (even worse than it already was!).
With lots of changes to their normal routines, potentially going to bed later than normal during lockdown and then the recent return of schools, nurseries and other educational settings, their minds are racing when they climb into bed. Before we know it the bedtime process can take hours, with lots of questions, cuddles, stories, more questions, loo visits, drinks and of course, one last question. It’s exhausting.
The 10 Minutes to Bed Book series of books are aimed at preschoolers, and make the ideal bedtime story. With beautiful illustrations throughout and an enchanting tale full of magic, fun and mischievous but loveable characters, the story slowly winds down from a very lively start to a gentle end, helping children relax and calm down before settling for a more peaceful nights sleep.
The Ten Minutes To Bed series are super popular with parents across the globe and have been sold in 11 languages since they first launched in July 2018.
This September, we’ve teamed up with Penguin Books to celebrate the release of a brand NEW addition to the 10 Minutes to Bed series – 10 Minutes to Bed Little Unicorn’s Birthday!
10 Minutes to Bed Little Unicorn’s Birthday!
In the latest edition to the 10 Minutes to Bed range we head back to meet the adorable Twinkle – a little unicorn with sparkly feet and a glittery horn who lives in the land of marshmallow clouds and pink sugar sand. In this new book, it’s Twinkle the Unicorn’s birthday and she’s having a sleepover party!
There are party games, presents, a cake, balloons and even fireworks!
As Twinkle’s Dad starts the countdown to bedtime, there is still so much going on! Will Twinkle and her friends make it to bed on time?
To celebrate the brand new addition we have not one, but TWO bundles of Ten Minutes to Bed books (Little Unicorn, Little Monster, Little Mermaid, Little Dinosaur and Little Unicorn’s Birthday – with a combined RRP of £39.95) to giveaway. To enter simply use the gleam app below.
As the weeks of lockdown continue, many parents, particularly those who’s children aren’t going back to school any time soon, are getting to the point where our motivation for home schooling is starting to wane. Potentially peaking with our efforts a little too soon, the novelty of our perfectly planned schedules for educational activities and learning at home has started to wear off and we’re all feeling a little bit tired.
After over 11 weeks at home and with my work getting busier by the day, I have been trying to find ways of entertaining the girls with fun activities or tasks where the learning element is a little more subtle (and therefore met with far less resistance!)
We were recently contacted by a company called In the Book, the home of personalised books for children and adults alike. Each story can be made to be just as unique as your child, enabling them to spot their names on the cover, within the text or even hidden amongst the illustrations! With a huge variety of books to choose from including traditional classics, Disney and Marvel, there really is a personalised book for everyone!
Sticking with an educational theme, In the Book have a wide range of educational activity books including puzzles and colouring to keep them busy and occupied during lockdown. Not only are these books a huge help for working parents, attempting to work from home whilst juggling childcare, they are also a great way to send a special gift to children you aren’t able to see at the moment, adding a little message to the person you are missing the most.
We were sent a couple of books from the In the Book Activity selection and the girls couldn’t wait to check them out!
Where’s the Magical Unicorn Poop?
When looking through the range of personalised activity books at In the Book, this one caught my eye straight away and I knew it would be right up Erin’s street!
I am yet to meet a child that isn’t unicorn obsessed at the moment and Erin is no exception! She is also a big fan of the Where’s Wally concept, and this Where’s the Magical Unicorn Poop? book combines the two! The book comes personalised on the front and Erin was really pleased to see her name in big letters at the base of the cover.
Inside the front cover, we were given the option to personalise the book with a message of our choice. Now more than ever with lots of lockdown birthdays taking place, I thought this was a really nice touch, and a great way to mark the occasion in a way the child will remember for years to come. In this particular book, you can also add a photograph of your child on the back cover for that extra personal touch.
Erin spent ages reading this book, searching the pages for the different items hidden within each scene. Not only is there lots of specific unicorn and glittery ‘poops’ to find throughout the detailed illustrations, but also Erin’s own name was hidden among the pictures too. This was pretty special, and some were fairly tricky to find!
Neve enjoyed coming over to help Erin try and track down the more tricky finds within the book, and it was lovely to see that the book could be shared and enjoyed by them both.
With text to read on each page and requiring some real concentration and observational skills galore, this book was a real hit with them both.
Arty the Mouse Tracing Activity Book
For Neve, we’ve found home schooling a little bit trickier to manage. With the girls being different ages it has been hard to find ‘lessons’ that are age appropriate for them both, and not yet being in full time education, we haven’t had as much educational support as we’ve had from Erin’s school. The areas I did want to try and concentrate on however were supporting some basic number and letter recognition, mark making and teaching her to write her own name independently.
In the Books’ Arty Mouse Tracing Activity Book is a great gift option for preschoolers, and this personalised edition incorporates not only mark making and pencil control, but also the introduction of their name on the cover and incorporated throughout the tracing activities!
With really beautiful illustrations throughout and lots of appealing designs to work through, Neve REALLY enjoyed this book, especially the elements where she recognised N for Neve! As much as it pained me to allow her to write in a hard back book (maybe the soft back of this one would be my preference for that reason!), it was lovely watching how well she could move the pen across the guiding dots and dashes on the page.
Neve was super proud of herself for writing her own name and I was really chuffed to see her accuracy getting better and better as the book went on! Look at that happy little face!
Overall, we LOVE the personalised activity book selection from In the Book. With lots of great activity books to choose from, these are an ideal choice for a special yet educational gift during this extended period at home.
You can check out the full range of personalised activity books HERE, with prices starting at £12.99.
Want to win a personalised activity book?
Thanks to the team at In the Book, we have a personalised activity book of your choice to giveaway to one lucky reader! Enter using the gleam app below!
Like many fans of the Peter Rabbit movie, my girls were left a little disappointed to hear that understandably given current affairs, the release of Sony Pictures “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” movie has been delayed from its planned August release date. Unlike some movies which are now being streamed online instead, the makers of Peter Rabbit 2 have now postponed the movie release until January 2021.
The story follows Peter who starts to get bored of life in the garden and makes a break for the big city. There however he meets a number of shady characters who end up creating havoc for the entire family!
For Peter Rabbit fans who may be disappointed by the news, or who may be celebrating their birthdays in lockdown over the next few weeks or months, we have teamed up with Enescoto giveaway a Peter Rabbit themed prize bundle to one lucky winner!
Beatrix Potter by Enesco have had a strong 30 year partnership with Beatrix Potter, and sell hundreds of different types of gifts for children and adult fans alike, from hand-painted resin and ceramic figurines, Peter Rabbit (plus loads of his friends) cuddly toys, organic bamboo dinner sets and money banks, all of which have been inspired by the timeless and iconic illustrations from Beatrix Potter’s world-famous tales.
As well as figurines, they also offer adorable soft toys from GUND’s Peter Rabbit Collection (as pictured below)- America’s oldest and most prestigious soft toy company (founded in 1868!)
Thanks to the team at Enesco we have a Peter Rabbit Prize Bundle to giveaway to one lucky reader which includes:
1 x Peter Rabbit GUND Soft Toy (as pictured on the right above)
1 x Peter Rabbit Ceramic Money box.
For your chance to win, simply use the Gleam app to enter below:
PLEASE NOTE – With the current unprecedented situation across the globe at the point of writing, things are changing rapidly from one day to the next. For that reason I have updated my Terms and Conditions to include longer lead times. You can read the full terms of entry here. By entering this give-away you are deemed to have accepted these revised terms.
Giveaway opens on 2nd April 2020 and closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 26th April 2020, UK entries only. GOOD LUCK!
AD – This post is in collaboration with Learning Resources
Without a doubt, this Easter is going to be a little bit strange. Whilst we would normally be heading out with our wellies and a rabbit shaped basket to trek around our garden or a local National Trust venue hunting for eggs; this year like many families across the globe, we will be staying at home; keeping safe and avoiding any non essential travel. We will also be trying to balance our employment with our child’s education, and there is no doubt about it, it’s exhausting.
This year, I am excited to be taking part in Learning Resources Digital Easter egg hunt (more details of which can be found HERE) to help one lucky winner get their hands on a fab bundle of educational games and toys which will not only make a great alternative Easter gift, but also help occupy curious minds and maintain their learning whilst they are not at school.
Whilst my eldest has been sent home a variety of projects from her school, there is only so much of traditional Home schooling I can attempt to do by my self. My girls both absolutely LOVE learning through play, and we are pleased to say we’ve got you covered with our latest giveaway!
Introducing Coding Critters Bopper, Hip & Hop
A great way to introduce young children to early STEM thinking, problem solving and cause and effect, pre-schoolers can learn basic coding concepts with this super cute bunny Coding Critters set – Bopper, Hip & Hop.
Children code along with Bopper’s storybook adventure, and help the curious Hip and Hop enjoy fun games and activities in their adorable little playset.
Each storybook coding challenge unfolds in the Coding Critters’ fun pet playset – for example, asking children to use programming code to instruct Bopper to collect carrots or pull Hip and Hop along in the cart?
Using the directional arrows on Bopper’s back, children can programme a sequence of up to 30 different steps in order, before watching them pan out and come to life.
For some light hearted fun, Coding Critters also double up as adorable interactive pets, by pressing on Bopper’s nose to switch her to play mode.
Coding Critters – Bopper, Hip & Hop is a great way to introduce educational concepts with children, particularly whilst the schools are closed. Unlike more traditional methods of learning, Coding Critters is hands on, interactive ‘play’ based learning, so it won’t require much encouragement!
Thanks to the team at Learning Resources, we have a Coding Critters, Bopper, Hip & Hop set to giveaway to one lucky reader! To enter use the gleam app below.
PLEASE NOTE – With the current unprecedented situation across the globe at the point of writing, things are changing rapidly from one day to the next. For that reason I have updated my Terms and Conditions to include longer lead times. You can read the full terms of entry here. By entering this give-away you are deemed to have accepted these revised terms.
Giveaway opens on 2nd April 2020 and closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 19th April 2020, UK entries only. GOOD LUCK!
Hi, I’m Lucy, a thirty something mum of two from Birmingham. A memory maker, tradition keeper, stationery addict and Mr Men fanatic. HR Advisor by day and sleep deprived Mama by night!
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