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Fizzy Glittery Playdough / Gloop – Super Sensory Fun!
A group of fantastic bloggers from the Kid Blogger Network (of which I am a member) are running a year long linky called “12 Months of Sensory Dough”. Each month there is a theme for the dough and bloggers are encouraged to experiment with the theme and share their experiences (good and bad). We love sensory play and make a lot of playdough and love to experiment with new recipes. So, as it was raining heavily this morning I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to experiment with fizzy dough, this months theme!!!! The Bloggers hosting this fantastic project are: Lemon Lime Adventures Look! We’re Learning! Glittering Muffins…
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Top 10 Party Games – for younger kids!
My little man Doodles turned five on Friday, as a result we have a had a busy weekend celebrating! Some of the highlights of the weekend were the fun had by all with these all time favourite party games! Pass the Parcel: I loved Pass the Parcel as a child and it is a “must have” game at all of our parties. As the vast majority of the children at the party were under 6 I tucked a little gift into each layer of wrapping paper – whistles, badges, crayons, bouncy balls, etc. Musical statues/bumps: Most kids love to boogie and they also love a good competition. Musical statues…
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5 Tips for a Fun and Stress-Free Summer!
Summer is well and truly under way here at Our Little House in the Country. The weather is stunning, the paddling pool is out and we spent the morning at the beach! Hi all, apologies for the short hiatus in posts, we have been away on holiday in the South of France for the past few weeks and while away we decided to take a total break from cyberspace! The only thing our iPads were used for were for reading several books and we even turned off our data roaming services so that emails and all other notifications couldn’t interrupt our family holiday. I must admit that I really and…
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Tips for Travelling with Kids Part 3 – General Tips & Tricks
Welcome to part 3 of our series on travel tips for families. If you need help deciding on what to bring on board an aircraft to keep your little ones entertained for a flight, then our post about tips for carry-on luggage might be helpful. We have also put together our packing list for family sun holidays or vacations. Today’s post is a list of tips and tricks we have found useful over the years. Before you go: Check that passports are in date. Check-in online – saves queuing. Keep carry-on luggage to a minimum but well stocked with activities and snacks for the kids (and a change of clothes!). Our…
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Doodles’ Book of the Week – Aliens Love Underpants
I haven’t had a chance to do a book post for a week or two! We have been outdoors so much, making the most of the good weather and I was so busy documenting the fun we were having that I forgot to keep up to date with our books of the week. Back to normal routine Monday as the Easter Holidays finish this weekend 🙁 I’ve loved all our little adventures over the past 2 weeks while Doodles was off school. Not to worry, in a few short weeks he’ll be finished preschool forever (aghhhhhh, off to big school in September) and we’ll be off to the South of…
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10 Fantastic Spring/Easter Books
There are so many beautiful children’s books with Spring themes available, we have so many of them I wasn’t sure where to start with this post. With the help of Oodles and Doodles, I have put together out top 10 Spring themed books! 1. The Velveteen Rabbit – not strictly about Spring but a gorgeous, timeless story . 2. That’s Not My Bunny – one of Oodles’ current bedtime touchy-feely favourites. 3. Spot’s First Easter – a fun, colourful, simple, lift-the-flap, Easter egg hunt book. 4. Emma’s Lamb – in true Kim Lewis style, a stunningly beautiful book about life on the farm in Spring time 5. Little Tail –…
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Easter Art for Toddlers and Preschoolers
We finally got around to starting our Easter artwork today. I’m sure that we will manage a few more seasonal projects over the next week or so. Today we have 2 to share with you. Potato-print Easter Chicks: These were so much fun to do.. Doodles and Oodles love printing so there was great excitement when I handed them potatoes and Lego/Duplo to print with today. What do you need? Potatoes, cut in half and allowed to dry for a couple of hours Lego or Duplo blocks Paint Paper Instructions: Have fun! We used the bricks to create our grass Our chicks were made by printing with the potatoes. We…
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Our Big Blue Activity Box, aka “The What To Do When I’m Bored Box” – 15 activity ideas
Today, I have decided to share the contents of our “Big Blue Activity Box”. Back in early January I found that both of my children were grouchy and irritable and weren’t playing with toys or anything for that matter. They would not play independently and I was completely worn out plus we were battling colds and sore throats etc. I think they were “hung-over” after the festivities of the Christmas season – toys, gifts, sweets, lots of time with both Mr G and I. At the time I felt that I was spending my days separating the two of them, listening to howls and whinging, dealing with silly behaviour. Off…
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Our Top 5 Messy Play Ideas from Pinterest
When it comes to play in this house, the messier the better! I am constantly for new, fun and MESSY ideas for Doodles and Oodles to try. These are 5 of our favourite most recent finds from Pinterest! Check out my group board – Outdoor Fun and Messy Play ideas on Pinterest, follow it and I’ll send you an invite to pin on it if you want! Baking Soda and Vinegar Eruptions – this is a real favourite with Doodles. He never tires of creating these mini volcanic-like eruptions, great fun, easy to do, requires very little preparation. We got this idea from Live, Play, Imagine, a really brilliant…
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5 Gorgeous Books to Celebrate Mother’s Day
It is Mother’s Day here in Ireland on Sunday 30th March. These are 5 beautiful children’s books for you to read with your children to celebrate Mothers everywhere! I Love my Mum – a gorgeous, simple little picture book about the bond between mum and child – Ollie the Zebra and his mummy, by Anna Walker. Mummy and Me – a colourfully illustrated story about Humber and his mum and all the fun things they do together by Emma Chichester Clark I Want My Mum – this was one of our books of the week recently. A funny, rhyming toddler friendly book about Little Princess and her mum, by Tony…
