Why is Community Involvement Important for Children?

 

Community involvement is shown in a number of ways.

 It could be helping out at a charity shop, volunteering on a regular basis with a local organisation, raising money in group fundraising efforts, or helping as a volunteer carer. Children can learn plenty of skills through getting involved in community activities, which is why this Catholic girls school shows us the importance of community involvement.

Teaches children about patience and discipline

Your child is going to learn very quickly about the art of being patient with what they’re doing, taking their time in delivering what’s being asked of them, and allowing those they’re working with to be patient as well. Discipline is a really good technique to learn about, and it reminds children of how to be grateful and honest in front of people. 

 

Community involvement always means working with people from all walks of life, making for a good environment for your child to grow.

Improves a child’s confidence

Key parts of working in the community mean that your child is getting to grips with talking to people in different settings. 

They’re learning how to converse with others, work in terms and have fun while doing it. They will also be talking to people who want to share their stories and want to be heard. All of this, and more, will make a child feel more confident to talk to people and engage with them, no matter what background they come from.

They learn not to pass judgment

Your child is going to learn about people going through all walks of life. They may be struggling to handle bills or have a disability that hinders them from doing a lot of things in their life. 

This gives them a greater awareness of how other people could be going through a lot of different struggles compared to them.

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How to Raise an Environmentally Conscious Child

A child that’s aware of the world and how they can make their impact is a big part of how they view the world in the future. As they become aware of the problems facing the world - plastic pollution, food waste, carbon dioxide forming the greenhouse effect on the planet - they can help more around the home with their own knowledge.

 

These tips from a nursery school in London will help you to raise a child that’s aware of the ways they can be eco-friendly.

Get them involved in the recycling

Recycling can be an easy game to incorporate with your child. Have all of the bins laid out in a row and the rubbish that needs to be separated. 

Now ask your child to decide where each bit of rubbish should go. Be sure to clean the items you’re asking your child to dispose of. This can also be an activity your child can help with, as cleaning the items before entering the recycling bin is best practice!

Involve science lessons around climate change

Thankfully, a lot of media these days around climate change and the impact of global warming has been tailored to be child-friendly. Books, TV programmes, films, and even apps or games can educate your child on the importance of changing our habits. Make these into mini-lessons your child can learn about overtime, as well as the lessons they’ll be taught in school.

Show your child the little things they can do at home

Encourage them to turn off the lights in rooms that aren’t being used. Ask them to consider microwaving things instead of using the oven to cook everything to save on gas. 

Encourage them to use blankets to keep them warmer to slowly save on heating costs. 

Small things like these not only improve your electricity bill but also gives your child awareness of how much their energy input impacts the planet.

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Cromer

Half term was a bit of a washout due to the younger three boys all having Covid, but on Wednesday they all did their second lateral flow test which came back negative so we decided to head to the beach for some sea air.

Instead of heading to our usual haunt of Hunstanton, we decided to go somewhere different, we picked Cromer as we hadn't actually been before.

The weather was a bit cloudy when we arrived but it soon cleared up.

We headed to the pier first as the twin and Ru had never been on one or seen one, so it was quite funny watching their reactions to walking on one and seeing the sea beneath them.

Both Ru and Oscar aren't fans of heights so they stuck close to Jon and me but did really well considering.

After we had walked around the pier we decided to grab some lunch, we were going to get some fish and chips but all the restaurants looked busy, so picked a random restaurant called Lily-Mai's that we walked past previously on the hunt for a fish and chip place.

All our meals were amazing, the twins had a burger, Ru had sausage and chips, Jon had a ridiculous-sized burger, Noah wasn't overly hungry so just went with halloumi fries and I had a risotto.

I had packed Bea a little lunchbox as I wasn't sure where we would end up for lunch but I was able to order her a toddler-sized portion of pasta bolognese.

Everyone was over the moon with their meal and all left empty plates.

The staff were lovely and we had a great view of the pier from our table. 

We'll definitely be returning.

After lunch we had another roam around the town and then headed down to the seafront.

We all miss living close to the sea, so it was nice to be back beside it.

 

Bea even got her first taste of seaside living, we plonked her down on the sand and she was loving life!

The last time we were on a beach Bea was only a few weeks old.

She loved kicking the sand with her feet and touching it with her hands, she even enjoyed watching the waves roll in.

I can't wait for warmer weather so we can have a proper beach day with her.

                     

We ended the trip with the arcades, we gave the boys all a tenner and let them loose.

Ru won all the tickets, Noah won a sonic the hedgehog plushie from the claw machines and the twins got a few tickets and went mad on the 2p machines.

It was a great little trip out and the sea air all did us the world of good.

Now we need to plan some days out to make up for the lack of a half term we had.

If anyone knows of good days out in Norfolk please pop them in the comments.

xx

 

The Benefits of School Trips for Children

 

Children will get to experience school trips at a few different stages throughout their time at school. There are a lot of different trips kids can appreciate across many different subjects that will allow them to explore complex subjects, broaden their horizons and develop their skills in critical thinking, decision making, and communication.

In this guide from a boy's school in Hertfordshire, we take a look at the ways school trips bring a number of benefits to children.

Increased motivation

Children will be looking at school trips as enrichment activities and will get very excited about the prospect of moving out of the classroom and into a new environment. 

They also will express the need for varying learning environments, which is why you’ll find that your child is very excited at the prospect of heading outside to learn. New activities and a different perspective on learning will give children the motivation to absorb important information.

Improves a child’s worldview

A child’s knowledge will only expand through new discoveries, which is part of why school trips are beneficial throughout their school lives. 

A lot of school trips revolve around crucial elements in history, concepts that surround our everyday lives, and religious beliefs. 

It’s all about giving children the awareness of what’s going on around them and how it can shape their worldview.

Improves a child’s communication

A school trip is usually full of children that your child may not have interacted with before. 

Teachers will try to encourage children to mingle with other students to see if they’re able to socialise with other people easily, as well as learning how to work well in teams or pairs. 

Collaborating with others is a big part of a child’s development, which is why school trips lean heavily on working with a group of students to complete tasks.

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Half term fun with Playmobil

Just before half term we were very kindly sent two amazing Playmobil sets.

Ru loves Playmobil so was over the moon when he unboxed them to see what we were given.

We were sent the City Recycling Truck and Mars Expedition.

Not only was Ru excited when he saw the kits, but Jon was too. 

The City Recycling Truck sent him right back to his own childhood, as he had the same truck set when he was little and said it was his favourite toy, even his mum commented on the truck when she saw it.

Ru decided to build the City Recycling Truck first, as hearing it was his daddy's favourite he wanted to play it with him.

This set was easy enough for Ru to do on his own, I only needed to help with a few things, such as getting the hubcaps in the wheels as Ru couldn't quite push them in hard enough.

The instructions were nice and easy to follow and he had the truck built in about half an hour.

As soon as it was built Ru was off playing, driving it all around the house picking up rubbish to recycle.

His favourite features are the flashing lights and being able to dump the rubbish into the truck, like a real recycling lorry.

Set Info

 The playset includes two PLAYMOBIL figures, a city recycling truck with flashing lights and a removable roof, two garbage cans, a garbage container, and other extras. 

To empty the truck, the rear part is detached and the vehicle attachment is folded up.

Set Accessories

Figures: 2 men: 1 garbage truck, 1 cap, 1 peaked cap, 2 sardine cans, 2 fish bones, 1 bottle, 2 cans, 1 walkie talkie, 1 fire extinguisher, 3 garbage cans

Recommended for ages 4+

You can buy it here for RRP £24.99

Mars Expedition Set

This set was more of a challenge for Ru, it had way more parts to it and longer instructions, so we decided to build it as a team.

Again the instructions were easy to follow and we had the set built in about an hour.

 Ru loved that it came with two vehicles and a space station he could really go to town with his imagination. 

After we had built it he was playing happily for hours, the fact that the power went out really didn't bother him at all unlike his brothers who all lost power to their beloved Xboxes. 

His favourite features were the main Mars Rover as it lights up and makes sounds and the Little Robot figure.

Set Info

The set contains two PLAYMOBIL astronauts, a Mars rover with a light and sound module, a Mars trike, a drilling station, a research laboratory, a robot, and many other extras for exciting Mars missions. Bracers and astronaut helmets are removable.

Set Accessories

Figures: 2 astronauts, 1 robot; 1 Mars rover, 1 Mars trike, 1 mound, 1 research lab with power supply, 1 rock drill, 1 grapple, 1 control unit for grapple with connecting cable, 1 control unit, 1 map, 4 food packs, 1 laser gun, 3 tetra pack, 3 rock tubes, 1 laptop, 1 research unit with light, 1 drill, 1 grapple, 1 launcher for signal rockets, 3 signal rockets, 12 minerals, 1 crate, 1 transmission tower, 2 space helmets, 2 pairs of arm cuffs

Recommended for ages 6+

You can find it here or at other online retailers. 

We had so much fun building both Playmobil sets and it was lovely to see Ru playing with toys rather than sitting in front of his Xbox this half term.

 Playmobil sets never fail to impress, even the other boys all had a play when Ru wasn't looking.

We also had fun making our first-ever stop motion reel on Instagram with the Mars Expedition set.

Ru loved seeing the astronauts come to life in our little mutiny in space film.

*We were gifted both sets, but all thoughts are my own.

 

How to Boost Your Child's Creativity

Creativity is a big part of how a child will begin to come to terms with opening their mind, exploring new areas, becoming better critical thinkers, and helping to find their passions. 

Creativity can be found through all walks of life in different subjects and experiences, both in school or nursery or at home.

This guide from a private school in Middlesex has some key tips to help your child with their creativity through their favourite things.

Make toys with kits

You can buy a lot of different kits that you can really explore with your child and give them the opportunity to practice assembling things and having fun while doing it. Your child can leave their own mark on the things they make with their own sparkles of creativity that can test a child’s critical thinking skills.

Try a range of different apps

There are plenty of apps to give your child the best chances at discovering what their skills are and how they can develop them. Give them some time each day to play a range of apps or games to keep their minds feeling inquisitive. They can be word matching games, story games, maths games, or science experiment games. There are a lot of different apps to try out that’ll test your child’s creative side, so try a few different ones to see which ones your child enjoys.

Allow them to explore art

A popular favourite with parents and children is time to look at arts and crafts. Spend a few times a week to look at making art with your child and let them choose what they want to explore. Give them the freedom to make decisions on things that they find fun, whether that’s using paints and glue, or making creations with pipe cleaners, foam pieces, and felt. 

However your child likes to use their time, let them explore it to boost their creativity.

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AD // Affordable Art with Wychwood Art Gallery

 

I am forever on the hunt for new artwork to put up in the house, even more so now we are in a bigger house and I have more walls to fill. 

So when I heard about Wychwood Art Gallery and their limited edition prints and how affordable some of them could be, I was keen to take a look.

There is something for everyone's personal art taste and price range, I loved this as some online art galleries ask you to pay an arm and a leg for limited editions and not everyone can do this.

About Wychwood Art

Wychwood Art Gallery sells contemporary art online, in their Cotswold art gallery which is based in Deddington, and at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea London in March each year. 

Representing just over 350 contemporary artists and offering a free art advisory service for artists that Wychwood Art represents. 

The artworks are all hand-selected by the Director of Wychwood Art, Deborah Allan. Deborah has worked in the international art world for over 15 years.

I have a real thing for Hares I love their spiritual connection and meaning, so when I saw this beautiful Running Hare by Zaza Shelley print I knew it needed to come and live in our house.

The symbolism of the hare is one of protective influence, as an animal guide it brings solitude and focus,

 it also brings Cupid, it is very much a nocturnal animal but like the blackbird, it brings in the new day. 

If the hare comes to you in a dream then celebrate the new dawn, the new day, and fresh opportunity.

The hare symbolizes fertility, when the hare appears spring is close. 

The hare represents Eostre, Ostara, Cupid, and also Aphrodite'.

I am now on the hunt to find the prints' perfect frame and then it can finally be put up on the wall in the master bedroom.

Would you buy art online or do you need to see it in person before you part with your cash?

Bea is a whole one year old!

 

Soo my little baby is no longer that little.

 Bea turned a whole one-year-old on Sunday and I just can't quite wrap my head around it.

It only feels like yesterday I found out I was having a girl and now boom here she is and she's a whole one-year-old.

We had a little gathering of family and had a mini birthday party spread, mainly for the kids.

The adults mainly stood around picking at the non-sugary rubbish whilst the big kids all dived in and munched away at everything else.

 Bea's gorgeous cake was from The Cake Tin Kitchen, all the boys have had a cake from here and it seemed only right that Bea's first-ever cake would be from here too. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

Bea's wallpaper was the inspiration and it was just perfect for our little bumblebea.

I love that I have a few keepsakes from the cake to keep on display in Bea's room too.

Bea was very spoiled and now has a lovely little play area in our lounge, with a teepee and her very own ball pit, due to covid most ball pits in soft plays have been sectioned off so Bea had never experienced the joys of a ball pit, until now and she is a massive fan. 

She loves it when the boys all watch her chuck the balls around and giggles' when they run around trying to catch them and put them back.

Homemade pancakes for her birthday breakfast.

I think Bea had a lovely time, she hardly napped and loved being fussed over by all her favorites.

Now she's one I thought I'd share a few things she loves and a few things she dislikes.

Loves

Baths,

Feeding like a newborn,

Her brothers,

Brushing her teeth,

Daily walks in her carrier,

Strawberries & bananas,

Books,

Dislikes,

Her Cot,

Being put down when she's fallen asleep on the boob,

Having her bottom changed,

Having her face cleaned after she's made a mess eating,

Not being allowed to climb the stairs every five minutes!

Bea's little play area is really coming along, I have a few more things that I want to add and then I will share a post all about it.

x