The Urban Fairy

LinkedIn Vs Facebook

2009-01-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

Whether you like Facebook or not, you have to agree, it is good at what it does, which is bringing people together. You can use Facebook for business or pleasure and it can be used (when used well) as a powerful marketing tool for yourself or your company.
However, it is mostly filled with people messing about with various Facebook applications, sharing gifts, answering quizzes and sending those endless invites to various add-ons, games and even more applications (as if the 2384 you already have installed on your profile is not enough!).
So what about LinkedIn, what can that offer you? Is it any different to Facebook? Oh yes! LinkedIn is the Facebook for Grown Ups

If you think of the usability of Facebook plus having an online CV, you won’t be far wrong.
It has the same social networking abilities as Facebook, you can search for people just like you can on there. You can create or join groups, again just like Facebook. But the real difference is, LinkedIn puts you on a pedastool and shows you off in all your glory.
You are able to add the entire contents (should you wish to) of your resume (or CV if you live in the UK) to your LinkedIn profile so that prospective employers or other like minded people can search for you easily. This then opens up the world of social networking to the professional/business world more than ever.
LinkedIn has a nice, clean, simple layout. There are no flashing buttons and neon lights, which makes it look elegant and easy on the eye. Your profile information is laid out just like a resume. You can add links to all your websites and use the site as an online portfolio.
The connection/networking process of LinkedIn is very efficient. Unlike Facebook, you cannot connect with someone on LinkedIn if you do not know them in some way, however you can ask your fellow connections to ‘introduce’ you if they are already connected with them.
The ease of use and the sheer ‘professionalism’ of the networking side of LinkedIn makes this social networking site a little bit different from all the rest, which can only be a good thing!

Pregnant? Got A Baby? No Money? Don't Panic!

2009-01-16T01:01:00.000-08:00

So you have just found out your are pregnant, or maybe you have a baby already and you are panicking about money. Here are some tips to save a bit of money throughout your pregnancy and your baby's growth.
1: You want to give your baby the best. You want to give your baby everything in the world it wants and could ever possibly need. That is natural, we all feel like that, but what do you actually need right now? Ask your midwife or look on the internet for a basic essentials list, there are many around. Once you have this list, go through it a few times and write your own. Some peoples idea of essentials, are not actually essential. So once you have your own basic essentials list of items you need right now, you know what you have to work towards. You will find your list very helpful too when you get to point 6.

2: Don’t be fooled in thinking that because something has a snazzy brand name, it has to be the best. Supermarket own brand baby wipes are just as good as brand name ones. The same with nappies, baby cream, breast pads etc. Yes brand name products are portrayed as being ‘The number 1 product’ however this is simply because they receive more commercial advertising time, which at the end of the day, they pay for!

3: Remember, you are going to grow! You are going to grow at a fast rate. First your breasts will grow, then your bump, then both together. So rather than buying a new maternity wardrobe every week, always buy one size bigger than you need. This will then last you right through until birth and even for a few days after birth. Stick to comfortable and lightweight material as most women get hotter, quicker, when pregnant.

4: Buy good supportive maternity underwear. This maybe more expensive than regular underwear and not as sexy, however, you will soon reap the benefit when your bump and breast are sore and achey! Also a small investment now means buying less underwear in the long run as you will not have to continue buying undies a size bigger each week!

5: Remember, your baby is going to grow! Just like you, once your baby is born, your baby will grow very quickly. Don’t go and buy a massive amount of ‘newborn’ size baby clothes, your baby will not be in these very long! Some babies, like both of my children for instance, went straight into 0-3 month size clothes, newborn size just didn’t fit. So be warned

6: Shop around for products and items. Most larger baby shops offer ‘baby registeries’ or ‘baby wish lists’, these are a good idea so that you do not forget everything (remember your basic essentials list you made right at point 1? Use this!), HOWEVER it does mean you, your family and friends have to buy all the items from the same shop, which can work out very expensive. So, just as you would with your food shopping, shop around! Look for offers, deals, items on sale etc. You can save yourselves literally hundreds of pounds if you shop around.

7: Another very important point to remember is, there is nothing wrong with secondhand! Ask your family, friends, neighbours and work colleagues if they have any baby items they don’t need any more. You may feel that you do not want your baby to have items that have been used by another. If this is how you feel, stop and think. 3-4 generations ago, every parent with more than one child would give the youngest ‘hand me downs’, it never did them any harm. As long as it is clean (and let’s face it, you can always wash it again!) then what is the problem? Let’s be sensible here, your baby is not going to need all this stuff for very long, so if you can get a pram from a friend for free, rather than paying £300 for it, doesn’t that just make good sense? Plus it then leaves that £300 free for something else. You can also ask your local Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) group for items too.

8: If you can afford it, buy yourself a blender. You may think "What is she talking about? She is meant to be saving me money, not making me spend it!" Ah, but this is a well worth investment and you can buy them for as little as £9 these days. A blender will serve you well throughout your pregnancy and for the first 6 months after your baby is born. When you are going through your morning sickness phase, you may not want to eat, this is where the blender comes in handy. You can whip yourself up a quick smoothie and just sip it. Use fresh fruit, honey to sweeten if desired and this will give you a nutritious and tasty drink that will help keep you going when you are feeling wobbly. When your baby is born, rather than buying pre-made jarred baby food, you will be able to use your blender to puree your own.

9: Buy a large cube size ice cube tray. A neat money saving and very healthy baby food trick. When using your blender to make and puree down your food for your baby, you will be doing it in large batches, fill up the ice cube tray with the food and freeze it. Then you will always have good home made baby food on hand.

10: Don’t panic. You may not have much money, but you are going to be a fantastic parent. Remember, money does not buy hugs, kisses, baby bathtimes, your baby’s first smile or that first time you hear the words ‘mamma’. You may not have much money, but you are rich in love!

Make The Most Of The Bad Weather

2009-01-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

Sounds bonkers doesn't it? Making the most of the bad weather, but the freezing cold, snow and heavy rain does provide some positives!

1) Use the bad weather as a time to stay in and have a 'doing weekend'. Get all those jobs done around the house that need doing. Make a list and tick them off once they are done. You will be amazed at just what and how quickly you can achieve all your jobs if you make a real go at it one weekend when the weather is bad.

2) Use it as an excuse to get romantic. Not that you need an excuse of course ;) Get cosy in front of the fire, with a glass of your favourite tipple and snuggle up with your loved one. Put some music on and maybe some candles and just enjoy the cosiness of it.

3) Have a cosy family film night. Bring down all the quilts into your lounge, make the biggest bowl of popcorn you can find, grab those marshmallows, chocolates and other nibbles and get into your pyjamas. Get all your other half and your kids to do the same then snuggle up under the quilts and have a film night! You won't need any heating on as you will be surrounded by quilts so it saves money too!

4) Use the time to try new recipes and try your hand at maybe something like baking or bread making. Nothing heats the house quicker than having the oven on, if you are using the oven to bake some tasty treats, then you can keep warm too!

5) Art and craft. Have a go at scrapbooking or cardmaking, or maybe even writing a poem or a short story. Kids love to work on craft projects and there are many good rainy day craft books you can buy, a couple of our favourites are: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rainy-Activity-Priddy-Little-People/dp/0312492553/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231779395&sr=8-27 and http://www.amazon.co.uk/365-Rainy-Activities-Vivienne-Bolton/dp/1840840455/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231779427&sr=8-34

6) Plan some days out or holidays for the future. Spend the time indoors doing research on the areas you are visiting, find things to do, where to go etc.

7) You don't have to stay in when it's bad weather. No one is stopping you from wrapping yourselves up and going for a brisk walk! Bundle your kids up with loads of layers, thick coats, gloves, hats, wellies etc and then see how many animals you can see who are also out in the rain! Nature changes in the rain, you will see more worms, insects and even some birds like the rain so why not go out on a nature rainy treasure hunt!

8) Go through all your wardrobes and grab those recycling bags. A good time to try on clothes and see if you still want them or if they still fit. Can you recycle them? You could always place an 'offered' ad on your local Freecycle group to see if your old clothes can help anyone else?

9) I bet there is a book somewhere that you have been meaning to read, but as always you have been too busy. Now's your chance, the weather is awful outside, so grab that book and chill out.

10) Enjoy it. Yup ENJOY IT! There is something liberating about walking in the rain and getting totally soaked. Obviously not recommended for kids BUT when you go out and get so soaked that you're completely wet through it almost feels 'naughty' and it makes me giggle. All of nature is there to be experienced so getting wet is just part of the fun!

Make Your Own Fuel - Paper Coal Briquettes

2009-01-09T03:05:00.000-08:00

We are lucky enough to have an open fire in our lounge which burns both wood/logs and coal, we prefer to use logs. However during these cold weeks we have been getting through a lot of wood and started looking around at the paper briquette makers you can buy just about everywhere these days.

This is your standard maker that you can buy (see below), they make briquettes made from wet, mushy recycled paper and they cost betweet £14-£20 to buy.

However, we became worried about various reviews on websites, such as Amazon, stating that the general makers (not the heavy duty ones) tend to buckle and bend after a few bricks are made so we decided against the maker and make our own paper coal.

All you need to do is gather up all your recycled paper, cardboard, letters, envelopes, tissues, kitchen roll, newspapers etc (remove all plastic and staples first) and place it in a bucket of water and leave to soak overnight. The next day get in there (my kids loved doing this!) with your hands and start to agitate the paper around in the water so it breaks up and goes mushy.

Take out a bread roll sized ball of the mush and squeeze in your hands to form a tight ball whilst making sure you are squeezing as much water out as possible. Once squeezed the ball of mush will shrink from bread roll size to about the size of a lump of coal.

Leave all your paper coals to dry for about a week, somewhere warm and then you are ready to put them on the fire. As you can see they look just the right size!

We will be using these in conjunction with a log, rather than using 2-3 logs a night we will now be able to use just one with these little beauties helping out!

Keep warm free of charge whilst helping the planet!

Money Can't Buy Me Love

2009-01-08T00:35:00.000-08:00

Having lots of money, doesn’t automatically make you a good parent. However there are a lot of parents out there that don’t seem to get that.

A common misconception is that if you buy ‘Johnny’ the latest games console, plus a new games console game every week, plus giving him £20 pocket money a week, an endless supply of sweets, the latest trendy designer clothes and let him do just as he pleases, that ‘Johnny’ will love you forever.

For those of us who are living on a budget who cannot even afford extravagant presents and gifts, listen up. Money does not equal good parents!

What money cannot give your child is love, care, special time, learning the value of money and having a good time with what you have.

I am not here to tell you how to be a good parent, however, here are some good tips that are all free to do, to make your kids feel special and spend some quality time with them.

1: Read with your kids. We are very lucky to be in partnership with the National Year of Reading (http://www.yearofreading.org.uk/). Let them read to you, you read to them, take it in turns. Reading is so important within their education, it helps with all their subjects. You can go to your local library to borrow books for free, so it does not have to cost a penny. Why not have a ‘book night’ with your kids one evening.

2: Art and craft. Kids love getting messy, they love it when they make you something and then you put it on proud display. This gives them confidence! Sit down and make something with them, it doesn’t have to be big or perfect, just enjoy getting messy together with your children.

3: Cooking: Next to getting messy, kids love eating! So why not have a weekend afternoon dedicated to cooking some cakes, or even perhaps planning a special meal. You can use your craft time too with this an make a special menu to go with it.

4: Take them to the park: A declining activity unfortunately. There are so many lovely parks around, why not take your kids to the park one day and have a good time!

5: Family meetings: Sometimes its good to all sit down together and just have a good chat! You can discuss anything you like at family meetings. You can use this time to plan the next weeks activities or meals. You can chat about holidays or days out, or even discuss topics such as bullying etc.

6: Bedtime: Make your bedtime safe and secure for your kids. Make it fun but not lively. For kids who are scared of the dark, invest in a small night light, give them something special to go to bed with as an ‘amulet’ to keep them safe., this can be nothing more than a special teddy, or a sticker on the wall.

7: Morals & Politeness: This costs nothing! It costs nothing to teach your kids to say ‘thank you’ and ‘please’. No games console can do this! For small children you can turn this into a game, every time they say thank you and please they get an extra big hug!

8: Starting a new family hobby: How about starting a new hobby altogether such as gardening or hiking? Making children feel involved in the family life will make them feel important.

9: Ask them and listening: Ask them their opinons on things! This could be as simple as “do you think my casserole needs more pepper?” to “what shall we do today?”. Ask them if they are ok and actually listen to the answer. Take time to listen to your children.

10: SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH THEM! I am a stay at home mum, I am here 24 hours a day and when my kids are not at school they are with me all the time, however this is not always quality time. Quality time means spending time just with them, not worrying about paying the bills, not worrying that you need to go shopping, not thinking about what is coming on television, just spending time with them. You don’t need to do an activity with them or spend an hour asking them how they feel. If you need to do some housework, turn this into quality time with them by putting on some music, grabbing your housework tools and cleaners and having a family housework boogie! Give them a duster each and make up new dances to the music while you clean. This will no doubt end up in fits of laughter AND you are getting a job done, but MORE importantly, your kids are loving it! THIS IS QUALITY TIME!

Money cannot buy you love!

Travelodge Bargains

2009-01-06T03:19:00.000-08:00

The people over at Travelodge have done us all a favour this new year with some mega bargains!

For those who don't know who Travelodge are, they are a hotel/motel business with hundreds of premises all over the UK and europe. Each room is family friendly, serves up to 4 people and includes: Ensuite bathroom with loo, sink, bath and shower. TV, tea and coffee making facilities, hairdryer and towels etc. Prices range from £40-£80 a night normally, however if you sign up to their newsletter you can get some real bargains! Room photo below so you can see how nice they are:

They are currently offering a sale, and rooms are priced at just £9 a night, yes that does say £9 a night! £9 for a family of four for a night! It's amazing and so needed in this credit crunch time. If you are not lucky enough to grab one of the few remaining £9 a night deals then they are also offering £19 and £25 a night rooms, so these are still a bargain!

We have just managed to bag ourselves a week in Blackpool in the summer for all four of us for just £63!

So why not head over to Travelodge and sign up to their newsletter now!

10 Ideas For A Cheap (Or FREE) Family Day Out

2009-01-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it’s hard to find things to do at the weekend when you don’t have much spare cash.
Here we have a few ideas to help families have a great day out with only a little spending.

1: Always take a picnic - Picnics and spare drinks save loads of money during the day. Especially if you can pack a few snacks and drinks for the afternoon too to keep everyone happy and well fed.

2: There are many free ‘green’ places to visit in your local area, check out your local wildlife trust for a list of nature reserves in your area. Also check out your local country parks. You can spend a whole day at a nature reserve or country park, not just walking around looking at trees, but also playing games with your children. Guess the sound, be an animal, etc. There are loads of nature based games (details to follow) which are ideal to play at either a nature reserve or a country park.

3: Local events are happening all the time in towns, cities and villages. Sometimes, however these events are not that well advertised, so always check your local newspapers, your council websites, your local tourist information centres and if you have a town notice board, check that too!

4: Town museums - Some towns have small museums dedicated to the local history of that town, these museums are normally either free or very cheap to get it in. Museums don’t have to be boring, as you walk around with your children, involve them! Tell them stories from your family as you walk around, bring your town and your towns history to life.

5: Find a local park and take outdoor games with you. Everyone loves a kickabout with a football or a game of catch.

6: Check out your local swimming pool as sometimes they offer free taster sessions for kids so you and your children can get in for free.

7: Keep an eye out for attraction vouchers. 2 for 1 entry or half price admission for UK based family attractions. You can find these in daily newspapers, at your local train station, your local tourist information and also sometimes at the checkout at the supermarket.

8: Organise a group of you to all go together, as group entry is normally cheaper in various attractions plus you can also share travel arrangements and this then will be cheaper too.

9: Local libraries often have events actually in the library, such as storytelling, stories through craft etc. These are normally free of charge.

10: Think about joining the National Trust or English Heritage as although this is a hefty pay out in the beginning, you and your family will then get a whole year of free entry to places of interest.

There you go! Make the most of what you have, living on a budget doesn’t have to be boring!

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T03:14:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say a HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! See you for another year of IUATK!

Summer Holidays On A Budget

2008-12-30T03:00:00.000-08:00

As the new year is upon us, people are already thinking about getting away from the cold weather here in the UK and booking their summer holidays.

I stand in the school playground and hear the other parents saying to one another “oh I can’t wait to dip my toes into the Mediteranean sea again” or “we are only going to New York for a week this year” and I stand and think, we will be lucky if we can afford to go camping this summer!
However there are ways and means to giving your kids a fantastic holiday, one they will enjoy and remember.

1: Try camping, if you think you will hate it (like I did!) just try it, it really isn’t as bad as you think! I love camping now and we go as often as we can afford. A campsite pitch can range between £13-£25 depending on what amenities the campsite offer, the location and the time of year. If you pick a campsite with EHU (electric hook up) this means you can have some luxury, like an electric kettle, a plug in light, a toaster, a fan heater or even a small TV!

2: Many travel agents will offer last minute deals, the later you leave it, the cheaper you can get your holiday. If you have time booked off work and can just ‘go’ then this is great idea.

3: Don’t pay the first price you are given by the travel agent. All travel agents can offer a discount on all holidays. The trick is to look disappointed and say “It’s is just over our budget, which is a shame, otherwise we could have booked right now”, what will probably happen is that the travel agent will ‘go and ask his/her supervisor if there is anything they can do” - sit and wait for your discount This can be from 5% to around 15%. Travel agents work on commission, they want you to book your holiday right now, with them, so use this to your advantage.

4: If travelling abroad, take cash (in your chosen currency) or travellers cheques with you rather than taking cash out while your are there or using your credit card as the charges abroard for this are very high!

5: Whether in this country or abroad, work out a budget and STICK TO IT! Then you don’t have that awful feeling when you come home of “I can’t afford to eat next week, I shouldn’t have bought that 'kiss me quick hat' after all!”

6: Take your medicines, sun cream, first aid kit and toiletries with you. We have a travel kit that we keep with basic medicines. plasters and first aid ’stuff’ in, this has been used on many occassions because not only does it save money, but if you are abroad and suddenly feel a bit under the weather, you have what you need with you. You can include things like Calpol sachets for the kids, paracetomol for you, upset tummy tablets, sore throat lozenges, plasters, antiseptic wipes, indigestion tablets etc. You never know when you might need these.

7: If you are going camping, take some food with you. A good idea is to have a camping store cupboard in a box. Take a foldable plastic crate and fill it with things like tins of beans, bottles of sauce, noodles, pasta, mixed herbs, salt and pepper, tea bags etc this will give you a head start when eating in your tent and nothing has to be kept in a fridge either.

8: If travelling abroad, look for the good old fashioned ‘package holiday’ where everything is included. These holidays are somewhat out of fashion these days, but are such good value.
9: Just because it is ‘Summer’, there is no law to say you have to have your main family holiday during this time! Why not have your main break away over the May half term or October half term instead, it will be quieter and cheaper.

10: Check out Travelodge - if you sign up to their newsletter you get regular emails about their offers and deals. Their latest deal was £9 rooms (a room is up to 4 people, en suite, hair dryer, tea and coffee making facilities, TV etc - they are lovely!) and we just managed to bag ourselves a summer holiday for £63 for the week! (more details in a later post!)

Happy Festivities!

2008-12-21T03:15:00.000-08:00

We are going to have a break from blogging over the next week as we have so much going on here over the festive season so I just wanted to take this time to wish you all a very happy holiday.

However and whatever you celebrate have a lovely time!

Family Gardening On A Budget

2008-12-18T03:07:00.000-08:00

Gardening does not have to be an expensive hobby, there are ways and means to be able to garden even on a very tight budget, all you need is a little time and effort.
Gardening can be a family activity, it can be something you start and then develop over the year, something you are all involved in.

So here are our 10 tips to help you on your way to gardening on budget.

1: Organic is the best way to go and believe it or not, it is cheaper to go organic than it is to use various chemicals and fertilizers. Use organic methods of pest control such as broken egg shells to deter slugs. Use organic compost which these days (as said in our previous post) is no more expensive than ordinary compost.

2: Container and tub gardens are not only a great way for children to start experimenting with gardening but also for space saving and for gardening on a budget. Large tubs can be bought for as little as £2 in various cheapy shops.

3: When planting seeds to grown on to seedlings, don’t fork out (exuse the pun!) loads of money for plant pots, use yoghurt pots, toilet rolls and cut up kitchen rolls. You can also use butter tubs, fromage frais pots, mousse pots and more. Just make sure they are all thoroughly clean.

4: Don’t be fooled that cheap tools are a bargain, some times these can be a false economy as they are not strong enough and can break easily. Why not try borrowing some or even purchasing some good strong second hand tools.

5: If you cannot find any second hand or borrowed tools, why not check out your local Freecycle group for them?

6: if you are still running a blank, use empty butter tubs as a hand held shovel and spade. Use a rolling pin as a dibber, the possibilities are endless

7: Use old fencing or wooden pallettes to make garden furniture or even make a new fence.

8: When buying plants, try to look at various outlets before buying them. Plants can very expensive in some garden centres, however there are other places you can buy them, the supermarket, DIY stores or even go to your local plant sale that many village halls have during the summer.

9: Growing from seed is much cheaper than buying in seedlings or plants.

10: If you have the room, sow more seeds than you need, then when you start sorting through your seedlings you can sell the ones you don’t have room for and make a couple of pounds!

Am I Mum Or A Geek?

2008-12-07T01:32:00.000-08:00

Are there really such things as Mum Geeks? Or are the Mums of today just becoming more technology aware? Personally, I think it is a bit of both.

I am a bit of a geek, there is no denying it. I love digital art, I can write scripts and modules for various pieces of software, I can work my way around a computer easily and love my mobile phone ;) Through the bits and bobs that I do, I see a lot of mothers who use information technology (that’s ‘computers and the internet’ to non-geeks) regularly. One hand on the pushchair, one hand on the blackberry checking their emails. But is this right for this day and age? Is this how motherhood is going to be from now on? Maybe, but you do need to get the balance right!

As much as I love my laptop, I love my kids more. Some mums seem to constantly tap away, morning, noon and night on their computer (I haven’t got as bad as that yet!) and I find that kind of sad. I used to do a lot of writing and would spend a lot of time on the laptop and so did my husband, we have both calmed down now as our family is more important. We both love gadgets and technology but recent times, financially, have stopped us from buying all the latest doodads and whizzygigs and we have been focusing on what really matters. The kids!

Over the past 18 months we have spent a lot of time in hospital with our children. Our youngest nearly died in November 2007 with meningococcal septicemia and since february our eldest has been suffering from HSP which means unless you leave the hospital you are unable to use your mobile phone because of safety risks. You certainly cannot take your PC with you!
My daughter was in hospital again this weekend with her HSP and I found that the only time I used my mobile was to (now you are probably going to faint so sit down ready) was to phone people!

So I may be a geek, I may be a mum geek, but I am a mum more than anything and that will always remain.

Making A Kids Veggie Patch

2008-11-19T01:50:00.000-08:00

No, we are obviously not suggesting that you hand over your garden to a 4 year old. However why not give your child (or children) a vegetable garden of their very own!

Childrens veggie gardens can be made from a small raised bed in your own garden, a large tub or if you don’t have a garden, they could have a window box!

Getting your children into gardening will teach them many values. They will realise where their food comes from, how plants grow, what plants need to survive, they will have fun and of course they will eat their own produce. Not only that but most kids like the mini-beasts that live in soil too, so this is an added kiddy bonus!

You may think that growing vegetables in such a small space is impossible, however there are loads of veggies that grow well in compact spaces.

1: We all know that carrots have very long roots, however, the variety Parmex are small and round! They look like little orange gold balls and only have a root length between 1″ and 2″ so perfect for containers, even window boxes.

2: All varieties of lettuces grow extremely well in containers. We had a yield here of around 30 lettuce heads all planted in a container, we are slowly getting through them!

3: Radishes are small, grow well when compacted and grow very quickly, perfect for kids!

4: Don’t think that cress can only be grown in a saucer with a wet paper towel like you used to do at school! Simply spread your cress seeds over the top of the soil in your container and water.

5: Tomatoes (ok not strictly a vegetable!) grow very well in containers as long as they are in the sun, however you can also grow them indoors on a sunny window sill.

6: Garlic takes a long time to grow, but is easy to plant and grow in a container or tub.

7: Chillis grow very well in a tub, we grew them last year and they were lovely.

8: Spinach will grow well in a container, just make sure it does not wilt in the sun.

9: Shallots need a container rather than a window box but grow very well and home grown shallots are lovely and sweet!

10: Herbs! Yes, I know, they are not vegetables! BUT you can also grow herbs in containers too!
Don’t forget to always use good quality organic compost. This is, now these days, inexpensive and you can even buy it local supermarkets as well as garden centres.

Check the packets of seeds or plant boxes to see when and how to plant each seedling or seed.
Make sure you always supply your kids with a packet of baby or hand wipes when they are gardening, just for those quick wash ups.

Keeping Kids Entertained Whilst Travelling

2008-11-12T01:41:00.000-08:00

Not of all us can afford travel/portable DVD players and TV’s for the car, train or plane to keep our kids amused and entertained whilst on a long journey. However, our kids don’t get bored because we keep ‘the kids bag’ in the car all the time.
It’s not a big bag, in fact it is a small, child size rucksack (backpack) and inside are the following goodies to keep them amused.

A pack of wax crayons - Better than felt tip pens or markers because there is no mess, better than coloured pencil crayons because you don’t need a pencil sharpener, better than paints, no water or mess!

A blank drawing pad or plain paper - Plenty you can do with paper (and your wax crayons), you can draw, play tic tac toe, play other paper based games, make folding paper art etc
A pack of playing cards - Always good for a quick game of snap, although we make them do a whisper version otherwise it frightens the life out you when you are driving and then suddenly here SNAP! from the back very loud!

A puzzle book - Always good for when they bored of drawing on their pads.

Car treasure hunt sheet - Make a list on A4 paper of all the things you are likely to see on a long journey (i.e. yellow car, windmill, bird, cow, lorry, motorbike etc) and once they have found all the items they win a small prize! (this can be anything from a sweetie to a hug from mum or dad!)

A couple of reading books - you can swap these for new ones as they read them and finish the books.

Magnetic games - most 99p and pound shops have in their toy aisle some small magentic travel games such as chess. backgammon, draughts etc. These are great for travelling as all the little pieces don't get lost and they are small enough to fit in a pocket.

This all goes in a bag which sits in our car all the time so they can grab it as and when they want to.

We also play lots of travel games such as I spy, car bingo, guess the theme tune and more. We also let them choose the music if we are on a long journey, however this does mean that Colin and I now know every word to every High School Musical track on the CD!

Can Social Media/Networking For Kids Be Educational?

2008-10-07T01:29:00.000-07:00

As you know although I use both social media and networking sites, I dislike the way they can make certain users ‘anti-social’ because they become almost addicted to the social media world rather than living in the real one. However is this the same for children or can social sites be educational?
My own children use social networking sites specifically designed for younger children (under 13’s). They use Neopets, Whyville and MoshiMonsters. They use Neopets less and less now as they concentrate on Whyville the most. If you ask them why they like Whyville, their answers differ. My eldest likes the joining all the clubs within Whyville itself and my youngest likes chatting to other children in the US, as we are in the UK she finds this amazing that she can talk to other kids around the world. But is this doing them more harm then good?

I am quite an old-fashioned Mum. I like my kids to be polite, to eat all their food (you don’t eat your dinner, you don’t get your pudding!), to do their homework as soon as they get in from school so it’s over and done with etc. But I do let them use the family computer a lot as they use laptops at school and they need to know how to use one, not to mention, the need to learn internet safety.

The reason why I like Whyville, more than the rest of these ‘kiddie safe’ social networking sites is because each child has to go to Whyville School before they can use the site, the school teaches them internet safety and they have to pass a test before they can use the site.
But do kids social networking sites offer any other educational purpose? Suprisingly yes.
Most of these sites, use a form of currency to buy things in and around the site. For example, Neopets uses Neopoints which you earn from playing games, selling items and going to work. Whyville uses clams, earning them by playing games and working. MoshiMonsters uses rox, again earnt by playing games and working. This teaches children the value of ‘money’.
In each of these sites their are a multitude of games to play, this helps with co-ordination, reactions and spacial awareness. Some of the games are trivia based so this also helps to get them thinking.

All of these sites have methods of communication, whether it is talking directly to a person on Whyville or using ‘neomail’, Neopets own email system, to talk to one another. This helps with basic PC and typing skills, not to mention spelling, grammar, social interaction and internet safety awareness.

My children are ‘timed’ on the PC. This way I can see and limit how much time they are spending on these sites and because I have two children, it is a fair way of giving them equal time on the computer.

So as long as you kids are internet aware and you can sit down and supervise them, they can actually learn from these sites, although don’t tell them that! ;)