Boys will be boys?

So the school reports are in… and the verdict is…

Well, I have a terrible suspicion that my boy is going to be a typical boy – phrases such as he enjoys working outside, he enjoys building things, he is excellent at sports and gymnastics.

This is our first experience of school and it’s the end of reception year – while my just-turned five-year-old has settled in really well, I know that he is not going to thrive in a class environment that puts a lot of emphasis on sitting down, drawing quietly, and colouring in. And yet, that is essentially what most class environments are.

I know what works for him – we count by bouncing a ball between us, he spells words by throwing the ball against the wall in the hall – something that is frowned upon usually, but if it gets him spelling words, I’ll paint over the marks later!

And as he moves up the school, less and less time will be spent outside. So what do I do? Do I try to get as much information in him during our time together, using the outside, using balls, and football and running up and down the garden, or do I try to get him to sit still and work as he would do at school? He’s always been a fidget – he was walking before he was eight months and hasn’t stopped since. Do I have to basically break what is natural for him to get him to learn anything at school?

I’m going to see what happens during the school holidays, try out a few different techniques and measure how successful they are. I’ll let you know how we get on.

Much has been made of the difference between boys and girls in education, and while I applaud that changes were made to stop the education system being too focused on how boys learn, it has now turned a corner and is very much swayed towards how girls learn – there never seems to be a happy medium. And as my son is in a class where girls outnumber boys 2 to 1, I believe it’s even more important for me to be monitoring his learning style, to avoid him becoming bored and disillusioned.

Wish me luck!

 

 

 

 

I walk past a bakery!

Well, maybe my nightly chats with the man with the soothing voice are starting to work!
Today is the first day that I have worked in London (as opposed to making the daily commute down my stairs and onto the couch). I know this is one of my danger areas when it comes to eating. I don’t necessarily eat too much food, just the wrong sort – cans of Coke, cakes, chocolate, crisps and so on.
I walked to work from Euston (partly because I thought I’d save the money, partly because I thought it would count as exercise – and partly because I managed to sit on my Oyster card before Christmas and break it in half, and I couldn’t face the rush-hour queue at the tube station to get it sorted).
On the way, I passed at least a dozen bakeries, sandwich shops and other temptations, one with a delicious-looking raspberry crumble cake in the window, and yet I wasn’t tempted. Yes, I looked at them and thought “that looks delicious”, but didn’t feel the urge to go in and buy one.
Maybe that lovely chap is having an effect after all.
My mission continues…

I’m thinking slimmer but eating toast!

It’s bedtime. A nice man called Trevor, who has a soothing voice, is talking to me about how I am going to lose weight, and feel more confident about myself. I finish listening. I go and make two slices of toast and Marmite.

Okay, so this wasn’t the best start to my Thinking Slimmer experience, but you can’t expect things to happen straight away! I am determined to achieve the goal of dropping two dress sizes, so this is the start of my journey (as they say on The X Factor).

So why did I begin? Well, Santa was very kind to me and gave me lots of shopping vouchers for Christmas, but as we still don’t have a full-length mirror set up in the house, even though we moved in 10 months ago, going into the changing rooms at Next was an eye-opener to say the least. Or an eye shutter. Now it hasn’t escaped my notice that I only have one pair of jeans that still fit me, but have been blithely trying to ignore it. No more!

Now I know what the secret of maintaining a healthy weight is – don’t eat so much and exercise more. But putting it into practise is another thing.

I’m not a big fan of diets – yo-yo dieting is not something I want to get caught up in – and trying to diet and feed a husband who eats like a horse, and a four year-old just seems too complicated. So when I saw that the folk at Thinking Slimmer were asking people to try out their Slimpods, I thought I’d give it a go.

A Slimpod – I know it sounds like some sort of cocoon, but no, it’s a downloadable MP3 recording of the lovely Trevor, which you’re supposed to listen to before bedtime each night for three weeks. I’ve never tried any kind of hypnotherapy before – and I never find it easy to relax, so I found myself fidgeting rather while listening to Trevor. I’m not big on the touch-feely stuff either, so when he started talking about how I would feel more confident when I lost weight, it jarred somewhat. However, his voice is quite relaxing and if I can just let it wash over me, without concentrating on it too much, I think I might have it licked.

The Thinking Slimmer site also offers healthy eating advice, fitness ideas and recipes (although there are an awful lot of fish-based meals, which is a bit of a downer if you’re not big on seafood!), so if you’re strugglng it might be worth going back to the site to get a bit of inspiration.

Anyway, here’s where it starts – in three weeks I should be slimmer. I never use scales (I always hate what I see) so won’t be able to report on weight loss, but will be able to judge on how my clothes fit – I’ve still got some of those vouchers left, so in three weeks I might be buying a new pair of jeans!

CBeebies song time

cBeebies cover

“So which one do you like best?” I asked my little boy. “That one, and that one, and that one, and that one,” he replied, pointing at each and every one of the Cbeebies characters on the cover of the released-just-in-time for-Christmas CBeebies Song Time CD.

Arron is nearly four and a half and at big school, so he doesn’t get much of a chance to watch CBeebies nowadays, so it was quite a nice little trip down a not-so-distant memory lane listening to the two CDs, which feature loads of theme tunes from the children’s channel.

3rd and Bird (which was a huge favourite of his about a year ago, and which we had to record and watch constantly) had him jigging about and singing along. I’m just sorry I haven’t managed to catch him on video, but he has suddenly gone rather coy about singing and dancing in front of anyone – which doesn’t bode well for the school nativity play.

He also rather enjoyed playing our own version of “Name that Tune” as each song came on – as we battled to name the TV show first – unsurprisingly he won hands down.

I’ve mentioned before that he is a child of the DVD generation, so will always choose DVD over CD, but he was still keen to hear this – more so than the Zingzillas album we reviewed earlier this year. It’s got all the favourites, from Mister Maker and Bob the Builder, to Guess with Jess, Waybuloo, Garth and Bev and Finley the Fire Engine. Just be warned – don’t listen to this before you go to work –  humming Balamory as you get on the Tube gets you some funny looks.

CBeebies Song Time is out now. See a trailer here, and you can buy it from Amazon for less than £9.

We’re with the band: Zingzillas comes to your living room for half term

We had a bit of a false start when the new Zingzillas album arrived through the post for us to review.

My four-year-old was very excited to receive a parcel, but threw it down in disgust when he realised it wasn’t the Moon Sand construction kit he has been hankering after for months (note to self – do not let him watch any more commercial TV in the runup to Christmas).

So, I let a couple of days pass before we approached the album again – when it got a far more positive reception.

I’m a big fan of Zingzillas on CBeebies, primarily because it introduces a wide range of music to children – anything from jazz and James Galway to bagpipes and bass. Although I’ve tried to introduce my little boy to a good range of musical styles, suffice to say there’s no James Galway in my music collection, so it’s a great way to broaden their interest.

And the album helps promote this further – there are 26 tracks featuring music from 20 countries. The songs are grown-up enough not to drive the chauffeur (ie. me) mad in the car, and make a pretty good background to doing a bit of housework.

Perhaps it’s because Arron is very much a 21^st century child, but music CDs don’t grab his attention in the same way DVDs do – he still expects to see a picture on the TV, so it took him longer to get into the music than it would have if it was a DVD. Having said that – we had a good old boogie around the living room (and did a bit of air guitar) – and it’s great entertainment in the car.

If you’re heading off in the car on holiday or on days out this half term – or indeed if you fancy a bop around the living room on a rainy day – the Zingzillas album is a top choice for little ones.

Zingzilllas: The album, is out now on CD and digital download. It includes the band’s first single Do you Didgeridoo? and an extended version of the theme tune.
Zingzillas: The Album is retailing at £9.99, but we found it for only £8.99 with free postage at Amazon.

New-look Disney Store open in Milton Keynes today

Find out more in my guest blog at:

http://blog.reallykidfriendly.com/

Some things in life are free

I know I’m a cynical old journalist, but I must say I’m always amazed when I discover that something really is free – and not only that but it will help someone less fortunate too. Usually helping others involves digging in your pocket or running a marathon (neither of them up there on my list of favourite pastimes).

That’s why I was quite gobsmacked when I looked into the We Give Books campaign (which I heard about at the launch of the latest Tinga Tinga Tales DVD – more on that later).

Read the Tinga Tinga Tales online with your little one, they said, and a book will be donated to the worthy cause you have chosen. The publishers involved are Penguin and Dorling Kindersley so there’s some great books to choose from.

Being as cynical as I first mentioned I was still expecting to be asked for a donation, subscription or something, but no, you just log in, browse through the books (there doesn’t seem to be a search facility, which is a bit of a pain) but you can browse by age group, and read the book of your choice. Of course, there is an option to buy the physical book as well, but there is no obligation.

Check it out yourself and let me know what you think.

Anyway, back to Tinga Tinga Tales. If you’re not familiar with the programme, it takes traditional African tales, such as why the elephant has a long trunk, or why the owl is so wise, and produces them in animated style, based on the Tinga Tinga artwork of Tanzania.

Our special invite was to mark the launch of the new DVD, which comes out in October, as well as a line of toys and other branded goods. Arron was particularly taken with the soft toys, which is quite unusual for him as he’s usually a trucks and trains kind of guy. The little monkey that came in our goodie bag has been afforded pride of place in bed at night, and we have a first entry on the Christmas list  – the Up, Down and All Around Money, which has bendable arms and tail, and hangs upside down. He also talks to you, even saying different things if he’s upside down.

There are books, umbrellas and bags in the range, so if you’re looking ahead to Christmas and have a Tinga Tinga fan in the house, you’ve plenty to choose from!

Disney Cars 2 coming July 2011!

I have spent a very pleasant morning getting a sneak preview of the new Disney Store in Milton Keynes. “Experience’ is the key word here, and you can read my blog later today at www.reallykidfriendly.com – I’ll pop up a link when it appears.

BUT, the big news for anyone who has had to watch Disney’s Cars more times than is allowed by the Geneva Convention, is that the sequel is due in the UK in July 2011.

That straight from the horse’s mouth – well, Jonathan Storey, marketing and guest experiences director, Disney Store, Europe (boy, how I want his job!)

And for fans of Disney Princesses, watch out for Rapunzel in Tangled, due out in February

You spin me right round baby…

No, Sensio Home, I can’t imagine my guests being delighted – I would seriously be thrown out of the cool club (if I was ever in it in the first place). Anyway, there would be no hope of getting in if anyone ever saw I had  the Revolving Cup Cake Stand hiding in the kitchen cupboard.

This from the press release:

“Revolving Cup Cake Stand – Imagine how impressed your guests would be if you served them afternoon tea on this Revolving Cup Cake Stand, a stylish stainless steel three tier cup cake stand with interchangeable platters. Simply load up the cup cake stand with those yummy cakes, press the on button and impress your guests with a gentle revolving display of delicious food.”

Comments please!

There’s Method in my madness

Generally, I don’t get excited about doing the washing. It’s a necessary evil, and I am unimpressed by highly technical washing machines – I only ever use 2 programmes whatever I’m washing – or fancy washing powders.

So when an intriguing box arrived in the post, looking for all the world like the kind of box an expensive piece of Apple kit would belong in, I was surprised to find it contained a bottle of clothes washing liquid.

The stylish bottle comes from Method, the people who describe themselves as “people against dirty”. Far from being a puritanical group a la Mary Whitehouse, they are in fact a company that produces a whole range of cleaning products made from nice, plant-based stuff, rather than chemicals.

Yes, but this bottle will set me back four quid, and as I am a tightwad, it has to be good. Okay, so I can get 25 washes out of one bottle (which if my maths serves me correctly is 16p a pop – not bad). But the main benefit for me is that it takes up so little space. We’ve just moved, and until the extension is built I am stuck with a less-than-expansive kitchen, so anything that takes up less space than the enormous box of washing powder currently teetering on top of the fridge is A Good Thing. It’s also really easy to use, no more grubbing around for something to scoop out the powder, just squirt it into the tray on the washing machine.

It also smalls delicious. Which is A Good Thing because at the moment the washing machine hose empties into the sink a la Heath Robinson due to space issues in the aforementioned kitchen. And I noticed this morning, as I whizzed out of the house past the pile of clean clothes on the couch (you mean you don’t keep yours there?) that the fresh aroma lingers.

It also does a pretty good job of cleaning – between a four-year-old and a husband who works on the railway, the clothes in our house get pretty grubby and Method did as good a job at getting rid of the grime as any other washing detergent we’ve used. And I’m happy that it’s one less thing bombarding my little boy with chemicals.

So, if you have a small kitchen, dislike using chemicals and have a habit of leaving your laundry on the couch or dining room table until it’s needed, I’d splash out the four quid and give Method a go. Now, if only I could find one that did the ironing for you…