My little boys are currently interested in all things aquatic. With the release of Finding Dory at cinemas this summer, they have obviously been caught up in the excitement of fish. My eldest son has always enjoyed Finding Nemo and the Octonauts and my youngest has now jumped on the bandwagon and thinks all things in water are either FISH or NEMO! So we thought it would be an ideal time to visit the Sea Life Centre at Birmingham. The Sea Life Centre have a number of Finding Dory themed events and are showing Octonauts in the 4D cinema; when we told the boys they were already excited before we even arrived. When we got out the car our eldest did the 'I'm excited/need a wee' dance, luckily he was just excited. From start to finish it was an exciting day for both boys and they did not stop running from one display to the next. In fact, I couldn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked because our little one was running off everywhere. As you enter the centre the first display is the Gentoo Penguins who look like cheeky chappies and were enjoying their feeding time as we arrived. At some of the areas around the centre there are advisors on hand giving creature talks about the fish. The advisor at the clown fish exhibit was giving lots of information and facts for the children and linking it to Finding Nemo. There are lots of mini activities to keep your little ones busy on their journey around the centre; they can collect stamps from various stations at each of the exhibits or spot Hank from Finding Dory to collect letters to spell a word on the Finding Dory interactive trail. Both boys loved running around looking at the fish and navigating some of the tunnels and viewing pods to get a closer look. Our eldest son’s favourite part was watching the Octonauts adventure in the 4D Cinema. He said he enjoyed ‘getting wet’. The 4D cinema is showing Octonauts: Amazon Adventure which uses 3D glasses, vibrating chairs and splashes of water to immerse you in the action. About half way around the Sea Life Centre there is an activity room which was providing badges and colouring for the children. Both boys enjoyed colouring in the Finding Dory pictures and our eldest had a go at the Finding Dory dot to dot sheets. The room allowed a little rest after spending a fair amount of time running after our little one. Both boys loved watching the Sharks and Rays in the underwater tunnel. The turtles were also popular, although they were a little disappointed there were no Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
At the end of our journey was a little soft play area which the boys loved climbing and exploring. Finally, we entered the shop which had lots of aquatic themed toys, books and accessories. It was no surprise that both boys chose Finding Dory related items as their treat. Some of the highlights of the day included:
After our visit there was an abundance of restaurants nearby for us to get some lunch. Our boys loved their visit to the Sea Life Centre in Birmingham and with all the Finding Dory related events they were thoroughly engaged and entertained for the duration of the visit. Our boys are 1 ½ and 3, it was an ideal day for them and made them even more excited about all things fish. Check out their website for more information and buy online tickets at up to 40% off at: https://www.visitsealife.com/birmingham/ We received free entry to the Sea Life Centre on the basis of providing an honest review.
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We’ve been camping a few times with our little ones and they love it. I would definitely recommend it for kids 1 year and up, but maybe not for more than 2 or 3 nights initially. Here’s a few tips for camping with kids and toddlers. Camping is a great budget choice holiday if you want to get away with your little ones. There is a choice of sites all over the UK and if you’re feeling adventurous you could even venture to Europe. I have lots of fond memories camping with my parents and brother as a kid in Derbyshire, Dorset and Wales. I hope my boys have the same fond memories. Here’s a few tips to help you when camping with kids and toddlers, especially if it’s your first time. 1. Packing Packing the car is the first important job, if you’re a former Tetris grandmaster then you are just about ready to take on this challenge. My tip for packing is to pack the biggest items first and soft squishy items like pillows and blankets last. Always looks for nooks and crannies you can use, the underneath of seats is often an area forgotten by amateur packers. 2. Activities for the Car If you’re going camping, then unless you’re doing a test run in your garden first it’s likely you’ll have a car journey ahead of you. As a parent I now see how irritating I must have been as a child … ‘are we there yet?’ You can always give them your phone or a tablet but if you want to limit their technology exposure then here are a few games you can play. With our little boy we play ‘I spy something the colour of…’ and ‘I’m thinking of an animal’. I spy involves picking something you can see and giving the colour rather than the initial letter. I’m thinking of an animal involves exactly that, thinking of an animal and asking questions to guess: Does it have 4 legs? Does it have a tail?... If in doubt, make sure you take plenty of crisps and sweets and then you can feed them up in to a food-induced coma . 3. Activities for putting the Tent up Just like in the car, kids and toddlers get easily bored and therefore make sure you have some activities for them to do while you put the tent up and take it down. You could agree for one parent to take the children to the park (most campsites have one) or make sure you have some toys or games ready to play. 4. Take easy food to cook While you’re camping, unless you’re Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsey, you’re not going to be knocking out Michelin star level food. Make sure you take food that is easily prepared or easily re-heated. You could even make some meals prior to leaving, such as Bolognese or Chilli which can be reheated when you arrive at the campsite. 5. Sleeping – wrap up warm This isn’t the Mediterranean and as warm as it gets during the day, at night it is going to be cold even in Summer. Make sure you take blankets and thick night clothes to wear. It is much easier to take layers off and cool down than put layers on and warm up when it is cold. Camping is a great activity for kids and toddlers and I hope you find these tips useful. If you have any of your own tips to share, then comment below
I love summer, kids love summer even Olaf loves summer and he’s a snowman. When I think back to summer holidays as a boy I remember all the fun days I had playing outside. Here’s a few ideas for free fun activities to keep your little ones busy this summer.
Story Walk This is easy and cheap, all you need is a book and a nice walk. The Forestry Commission have done a few themed walks around Julia Donaldson books, but you can invent your own. As you are walking you simply read the book and encourage your children to use their imagination to act out the story as they go along. ‘We’re Going On a Bear Hunt’, ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘Room on the Broom’ all work well. Trying to find bows, wands and hats in the undergrowth will keep you all busy for a few hours.
Water Fight
I always remember when my brother got a Super Soaker 5000 for his birthday; I got a water fight whooping that year. It was always great fun though! Water fights are easy to set up and as long as you have them outside there shouldn’t be any mess. You can use plastic cups, old (cleaned) spray bottle or the water pipe to have a fun water fight. You could even go all out and set up bases and try to capture the flag.
Go to The Park
It’s simple, it’s easy and it’s free. Most parks have a variety of activities available these days but if you’re struggling you could feed the ducks, set the world skimming stones record or just play on the Adventure Playground. Most town parks have a water feature so if the weather’s nice make sure you take a swimming costume and a towel. Library Another free and easy choice. Each summer there is a Summer Reading Challenge. This year it’s ‘The Big Friendly Read’ celebrating 100 years of Roald Dahl. The challenge is to read 6 books over the summer. If you go to your local library and sign up there’s lots of freebies and information. You can find out more here: http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/ Make A Den We made so many dens as boys, some with blankets in our bedroom, some with pallets and nails in the wood. If you’re feeling really adventurous you could build a den in your garden and try camping outside for the night. There you go, 5 free things to do this summer. I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful summer. I remember the first time I had to look after my little boy, I was thinking, 'how am I going to keep him busy for a whole day! This post gives a few ideas, some are free and some are not, but all have kept my little boys entertained for at least a few hours.1. Soft Play Always a safe choice, dry, warm and they usually have a cafe you can get a hot chocolate from. As soon as your child can crawl then soft plays are a good choice. There are a wide range around from small ones with a ball pit and a slide to gigantic padded adventure playgrounds with death slides faster than 'the Big One'. I must admit that some I actually quite enjoy as well. 2. Watch A Movie Watching movies is not always a bad idea, I am not a big fan of watching TV all day everyday but watching a movie once in a while is a nice experience. You can choose to watch a movie at home with a few treats or go to the cinema. When I first took my son to the cinema he was around 2 1/2, he was a bit fidgety and I think he enjoyed the chocolate buttons more than the film, but it was a nice Daddy-Son experience. Since then we have seen a few films at the cinema and we often go to the Cineworld 'Movies For Juniors' which are £2.00 a showing for kids and adults. 3. Swimming Depending on how old your child is and whether they have been swimming before, you may wish to choose a heated pool. Heated pools are often found in health clubs, hotels and fitness centres but often have times when they are available for public bookings. A heated pool is a nice introduction to swimming for your child and eventually you can take them to a standard pool. Always check the temperature of the pool and be safe, some heated pools are too warm for babies so it is worth ringing the club first to check. 4. Crafting Pinterest is a fabulous tool for parents. It offers lots of craft ideas you can do at home. These can include making birthday cards or just creating nice craft items to keep. Pinterest is a great tool especially if you lack a bit of creativity. It has pins for food, clothes, art, craft, photography ... the list goes on and there are lots of ideas of things to do and make with toddlers at home. If you've got paint and glue though make sure your kids are not wearing their best clothes and you've put some newspaper down because kids LOVE to make a MESS! 5. Play Outside This is a pretty simple one but my own children love just spending time outside in the garden. Even if it's raining, they love to pop their wellies and all in ones on and have a play in the puddles. If it's nice we have a picnic or go on a bug hunt. 6. Go For A Walk If you fancy a bit more of an adventure then you can go for a walk. There are lots of walking apps out there and if you want to turn your walk in to a bit of a game try Geocaching. Geocaching is where you use GPS to look for items while you're walking, it can make a walk in to an exciting challenge. Another option is go to a National Trust property; we have National Trust membership at £8.25 for 2 adults and kids under 5 are free! 7. Reading Taking time to read with your children is something that I am a big supporter of. You can turn this in to a trip out by visiting a library. Lots of children's libraries offer special events, book readings and facilities to engage children in reading. Borrowing books is free and allows for some great Daddy-Child time. Another option is to turn a book in to an adventure. Go on a bear hunt round your house while you read 'We're Going On A Bear Hunt'; kids love a bit of drama and role play. 8. Build A Den This is another activity you can do inside or outside. Inside all you need is a duvet, a few pillows and something to prop the den up with. Outside a tree, a few sticks and maybe some plastic sheeting or an old bed sheet (if it's not raining). 9. Day Out This is the most expensive choice but kids always love a day out. Day Out With The Kids is a great website for finding things to do in your local area and gives you a variety of activities which can be cheap or expensive. My boys love a good trip to the Zoo or a Farm. If you can get to London then all the museums are free; we have visited the Natural History Museum and Science Museum and both were great for toddlers and kids. 10. Go To The Park This can be weather permitting (but not always). We have spent many an afternoon going to the park, playing on the swings, slide and roundabout. The park always gives some opportunities for some great photos as well. Well that's my 10 things to do with toddlers, I hope I have given you some ideas and if you have any other suggestions then please comment below. |
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