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Creating Meaningful Halloween Moments with Teens
The Changing Face of Family Traditions As children grow up, so do their interests. Halloween, once filled with excitement over costumes, trick-or-treating, and house decorations, can start to lose its appeal for teenagers. As a parent, it’s natural to feel a bit nostalgic for those younger years when Halloween was a big event, but it’s also important to recognize that traditions can—and should—evolve as your family changes. This Halloween, why not create new traditions that feel more meaningful and aligned with your teens’ current interests? Just because they’ve outgrown certain aspects of the holiday doesn’t mean you can’t find special ways to mark the occasion. In this article, we’ll explore…
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Finding Balance in Family Life: embracing slow living, meaningful traditions, and intentional homemaking for a nurturing home.
Embracing a slow, intentional, and low-demand lifestyle has fundamentally transformed our family dynamics, fostering an environment where everyone feels valued and supported. This way of living reduces stress and anxiety by prioritising what truly matters—quality connections, mindfulness, and self-care. Taking pride in homemaking plays a crucial role in this journey, as it allows us to create a nurturing space that caters to the diverse needs of our family members, moving beyond traditional stereotypes to celebrate the creativity and intention behind our choices. Furthermore, establishing simple family traditions fosters connection and belonging, providing the foundation for shared experiences that enrich our lives. Together, these elements create a cohesive framework for our…
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Encouraging older children to read
Encouraging older children to read more can be a wonderful way to expand their knowledge, improve their language skills, and foster a love for learning. Here are some simple ways to encourage them to read more: Remember to be patient and understanding, as not every child will immediately take to reading. The goal is to make reading an appealing and enjoyable activity that they come to appreciate over time.
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10 ways to connect with your child after school:
connecting with your child after school is a great opportunity to catch up on their day and spend quality time together. Here are 10 ways to connect with your child after school: Remember that the goal is to create a comfortable and open atmosphere where your child feels encouraged to share their thoughts and experiences. Be a good listener, show genuine interest, and be patient if they need time to open up. The time you spend connecting with your child after school can strengthen your relationship and create lasting memories. Let me know how you like to connect with your child. Chat soon Ciara xox
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Back to School -10 Great Art & Craft ideas for the classroom
Summer is almost over! How did that happen? Where did the last 2 months go? With a little under 2 weeks left until we go back to school my mind has been increasingly drawn to planning for the new school year. Ssshhh, don’t tell anyone but I actually love starting a new school year and enjoy setting up my room and making plans etc. So next week, while my children are at camp, I will probably be found dragging furniture around my classroom and organising materials and putting some sort of a plan in place for the early days of the new school year. As you know Art or…
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Camping Activities for Kids
We love camping as a family and we tend to take our camping trips as the perfect excuse to unplug and leave our devices at home. We do take our phone but as a rule turn off our data settings and only use them for necessary calls and texts. So while we are enjoying a screen free weekend or couple of weeks we try to explore the great outdoors and incorporate lots of fun and simple nature based activities. Below are a list of some of favourites to do and some we will be trying out this summer! Our Favourite Camping Activities for Families 1. Scavenger Hunts are so…
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Our Ultimate Tent Camping List
Camping has become one of favourite ways to holiday. We love the freedom, the fresh air and the opportunity to completely unplug and spend unhasssled, non busy time together as a family. Living in Ireland, our camping trips are unfortunately limited to short weekend trips over the summer when the weather is reasonably good and our annual trip to France for 2-3 weeks. This year we will be heading off to France for 3 weeks in the middle of July. This will entail a two hour drive, followed by an overnight 16 hour ferry trip followed by a further 5 hour road trip to the Vendee area of France with…
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How to blow eggs for Easter decorations.
Ever wanted to know how to blow eggs for making Easter decorations? It’s so easy and fun to do! ***step by step instructions below***. What you need: eggs, thumb tacks, cocktail sticks, bowl, straws (optional). What you do: gently but firmly push the tack/pin through the pointy end of the egg. now push the tack through the other end of the egg. take a cocktail stick and carefully insert it through one of the holes. swirl the stick around in order to break up the yolk. the cocktail stick also helps to make the holes a little bigger and easier for the yolk and white to be removed. place your…
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10 Christmas Crafts and Activities for Kids
Christmas, my favourite time of year, is fast approaching. I love to do crafts and activities with the children at this time of the year. Today I would to share some of our favourites with you and stay tuned for more fab ideas in the coming weeks! 10 Christmas Crafts and Activities for Kids Potato Print Reindeer Cards: These super cute and very easy potato print reindeer cards are perfect for getting little ones involved in the festive season. Potato Print Reindeer and Santa Wrapping Paper: This potato print Reindeer Christmas Wrapping paper is so cute and really easy to make! Christmas Tree Cards: Making Christmas cards is a lovely…
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Witch Crafts for Kids – More Halloween Fun!
5 Fantastic and Easy a Witch Crafts for Kids Continuing with our Halloween theme this week, why don’t you take a look at these super cute witch crafts for children! If it’s a ghost, bat or pumpkin you’re looking for, then simply click on the highlighted words for fantastic spooky ideas for kids! Our 5 Favourite Witch Crafts Flower Pot Witch (includes two more projects) by The Chirping Moms Stained Glass Witch by I Heart Crafty Things Witch Pine Cone Owl by All Free Kids Crafts Witch Hat Craft by Little Family Fun Paper Plate Witch by Crafty Morning Have lots of Halloween fun! Ciara xox Further Reading: 👉 You…
