You know that feeling you get when you find something that you just completely "get" straight away? When a smile spreads across your face and you just can't stop it? Where the more you discover the more you smile? Well that's exactly what happened when I discovered Creative Steps magazine. Aimed at anyone who has anything to do with children, Creative Steps is just packed full of inspiration, project ideas, reviews and useful tips. Whether you be a teacher, nursery assistant, Guide or Brownie leader, nanny, childminder, parent or grandparent then this is the magazine for you. Each edition (4 a ... read more
June chicks
After the weekend's monsoon like rain it really doesn't feel like June and the weather forecast suggests that the wet weather is set to continue for a bit longer. Playing outside was replaced this afternoon by some more craft time and once again I pulled out a copy of Creative Steps Magazine for inspiration. I had already been through the magazine (in a rare organised moment!) and made sure that I had everything I needed in the craft cupboard for a handful of the projects and on a day like today that is so incredibly useful. This afternoon we made a couple of chicks - ... read more
Growing cress
Another thing that Little Miss C and I got up to whilst we were stuck at home was a spot of gardening. LMC always wants to help in the garden, but children want to see results very quickly so it can be hard to keep their enthusiasm when things don't grow as fast as they would like. Growing cress from seed is quite good though as you can see a day by day difference, but at the same time it also makes children realise that things don't grow instantly and they need to have a bit of patience. It was with great pride and determination that she filled some old yoghurt pots (thank you again ... read more
Queen for a day…
... or in reality just a few minutes. If you're in the UK then you really can't have escaped the Jubilee fever that seems to have taken over. Go to any town centre or village green and you'd be forgiven for thinking that there's been an explosion in a nearby bunting factory. If you have children of school age then there have been numerous tea parties, concerts and picnics to celebrate. I freely admit to being a bit of a royalist. I love the royal family and what they do for the country and think the Queen should be celebrated after so many years serving the country. Whatever ... read more
Yeo Valley Fish Tank
Full credit for this children's craft project has to go to Knitty Mummy who I met when we both went to Yeo Valley for the day. There was quite a bit of discussion whilst there about how to use all the empty yoghurt pots that we have and she went away determined to come up with some projects - and boy has she delivered the goods! What I used for making this is quite simple: one Yeo Valley Top Notch pot and lid, some blue card, yellow and green tissue paper, glue and some fish stickers. The method is relatively simple. I cut the blue card so that ... read more
Crafty hedgehogs
I'm lucky to be currently reviewing Creative Steps magazine - a fantastic resource for anyone involved in childcare (whether that be professionally or as a parent) who wants crafty projects to do with kids of all ages. As part of my review Little Miss C and I are trying out some of the projects in the issues I've got and it's providing me with some great inspiration as to how to structure these chicken pox filled days. There will be a whole separate post soon on the magazine, and an opportunity to win a year's subscription, but for now I just want to share ... read more
Rainy day sticking
After what feels like an eternity of wet weather I'm starting to feel like there are very few indoor activities that Little Miss C and I haven't tried recently. She's now been struck down by chicken pox so I'm trying to come up with even more things to do and am very grateful that I've got a couple of copies of Creative Steps to review which are packed full of great ideas for things to do. A full review including some of their projects will follow, but I'm going to start with one of the more simple things we've been doing. All that was required ... read more
Little Lady in Red
There are far, far too many unfinished projects in this house, so yesterday's nap-time was an opportunity to actually move some of them over to the finished pile. It's several months since I went up to the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching show with my mum, but whilst there I had a lovely time on the Clothkits stand. I remember so many of their things from my own childhood and all of their projects have a lovely air of nostalgia about them. I've blogged before about the "Jemima" doll that I made for LMC and it's lovely that this is now one of her favourite things that ... read more
Hands and Feet
Little Miss C is now at that development stage where she's starting to understand that you can actually draw things, rather than just scribble on a page. As well as coming up with lots of requests for Mr C and I to draw specific animals for her she's also drawing "things" and telling us that they're elephants or cats complete with head, body and legs. One thing that she is loving at the moment is an idea that I found in a children's magazine recently - drawing round body parts. She spends ages asking me to help her draw round her hands and feet onto pieces of plain ... read more
A toilet roll tube and a bit of imagination
That's all you need to have a bit of fun. First thing this morning this was Little Miss C's trumpet. Yesterday two of them sellotaped together became a pair of binoculars. I'm fascinated to see what a toilet roll tube will become tomorrow! ... read more