Been there, done that?

Have you ever seen a photo online, checked the location and thought 'hang on, I've been there but I've never seen THAT!'

Recently, I posted on social media about a walk we did on our local hill (Cleeve Hill) and I have honestly never had so many comments and DMs telling me that they loved the hill, but had never seen the spots in my photos! So how can you have brand new experiences when you've already been somewhere? 

1. Just get out there!

The first time we walked there, years ago, we just followed the path to the masts and then directly back to the car. That's how most of our 'new' adventures start, with the most obvious.

2. Explore more.

After a couple of walks there, we started noticing adventure spots. Hedges Honey could get inside, little rock formations she could climb and then small quarries where we stacked stones, made words out of rocks and searched for fossils.

 

3. Go further.

Fast forward to lockdown and we started extending our usual walks. Our old end point became our halfway point and we found Prestbury Hill Nature Reserve, a gorgeous cluster of excellent climbing trees, complete with rope swings (which have since been taken down) and stunning views over Cheltenham. 

4. See what you're missing! 

Lastly (although perhaps this should have come first), I checked the location tags on social media and we had a good look at the map in the car park. Turns out that there were still some landmarks that we hadn't seen and we made our way to The Washpool, the best spot yet!

We're not done with Cleeve Hill* yet, there are still paths we haven't been down, which means more new places to discover. Remember not to discount places just because you've been there before.

*Parking charges will apply from 24th July onwards.

National Trust Membership, is it worth it?

In short yes. In long, here's the lowdown, including a spreadsheet I made, detailing our most recent year of National Trust adventures…

When did we use it?

We mostly used it for days out from home, driving anything from 20 minutes to an hour and a quarter to get to our destination of the day. 

Another great way we used our National Trust membership is for low cost days out when holidaying in the UK. Use the NT app or guidebook to find properties and locations close to where you are staying.

Free car parking is another great bonus of National Trust membership. There are so many beautiful walks to follow on National Trust land. Baggy Point is a favourite of ours down in Devon, we also love Sandymouth.

Finally, who needs a service station when you can stop and picnic in a stunning garden or treat the family to homemade cake in an NT cafe? Free parking  and entry by scanning your card and you can stay as long as you like (especially useful if you have a later check in).

Westbury Court NT

How much did it cost?

Well, technically it didn’t cost us anything, as the membership was a family Christmas gift from my parents, but a 2 parent family membership costs £133 per year (£11.99 per month). There are also options for 1 parent families, as well as individual memberships. Costings can be found on the National Trust website.

Coughton Court NT

How much would we have spent if we had to pay at each location?

£498.05, which is £364.25 more than our family membership cost! Sometimes, my husband was at work, so I have worked with the cost of a 1 adult family in those instances.

Are there lots of extra costs?

The main extra cost is eating and drinking. The majority of the time, we took our own food and refillable bottles then ate on the laws or at picnic tables. Lots of properties have covered picnic facilities for rainy days too. All the cafes have a water point, where you can fill up your bottles free of charge. 

During the summer, we sometimes bought an ice cream from an on-site vendor and the times we did eat in one of the cafes, the food was delicious and not extortionate.

The other time you may want to spend, is in the gift shop. There are always beautiful books, fabulous cards and lots of locally sourced arts and crafts available. They’re usually situated near the exit, but it’s often possible to bypass them if you have magpies!

Croome NT

Your NT checklist:

✅Join online to save time when you arrive at your first property.

✅Don’t forget your card so you can scan it for free parking at many places.

✅A fully charged phone or camera do capture your team enjoying the stunning surroundings.

✅Weather appropriate clothing.

✅A picnic and snacks

✅Reusable water bottles.

✅A bag for dirty outerwear (the big, blue Ikea ones are great).

✅Clean shoes for the car.

✅Start your own hashtag or photo book so you can look back on your adventures, ours is #teamgoresnationaltrustadventures

Conwy Suspension Bridge

I'm sure we will buy National Trust membership again in the future, although we're taking a break this year so we can explore some of the venues on offer through Historic Houses membership (which was a Christmas gift from my Mother in Law). A top tip I have come across recently, is to join the Scottish National Trust as their membership options are cheaper, yet you can still visit sites cared for by the National Trust worldwide (including England). 

5 Free (or cheap) Days Out in Gloucestershire...

A big thank you to Jamie from savvyjamie.co.uk, who has written a guest post about her favourite budget friendly, Gloucestershire days out. We haven't been to the sculpture trail yet, but can vouch for how much fun the other options are for families!

Entertaining little ones can get pricey, so here are my 5 favourite things to do in Gloucestershire for free.

1. Head to The Jet Age Museum

Your little budding pilots will LOVE a visit to The Jet Age Museum. With lots of aviation history from around Gloucestershire, full-sized planes in their warehouse-style museum, and small single-pilot planes that can be sat in. There is also a Hawker Siddeley Trident airliner that you can book a free tour of (older children here as there is a height restriction). The museum is free but does ask for a donation. There is also an onsite café and a small gift shop full of reasonably-priced plane memorabilia. 

2. Visit Museum in the Park

This eclectic museum sits right in the heart of Stratford Park in Stroud. The museum also has a traditional “walled garden” which is perfect for playing Peter Rabbit! The museum also has a small giftshop and a coffee shop. Once you are done browsing the museum, talk a walk around Stratford Park and take in the Sensory Garden, dance in the bandstand, or feed the ducks (food is available at the museum).

3. Explore the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail

Download your free trail map and get ready for adventure. There are 16 sculptures to find and explore. The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail is 4.5 miles long, but there are shorter routes too. Car parking is £3 and the trail is free.

4. Wander around Gloucester Docks

With the guarantee of seeing boats, who wouldn’t love a visit to the docks. With added excitement like watching the bridge go up, or seeing boats being repaired out of the water – the docks can be a great day out. It’s home to award-winning National Waterways Museum and the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum. There are also plenty of coffee shops and it’s located right next to the outlet shopping centre, Gloucester Quays. 

5. Check out St James City Farm

Who would believe that right in the centre of Gloucester is a sweet little farm?! Well, you better believe it. St James City Farm is home to rabbits, pigs, sheep, chickens, horses and more. Get up close and hands-on at this charity farm where entry is free!

One Enchanted Board Game...

 AD|Enchanted Forest Game Gifted by Ravensburger

Whether it's your Dad always winning at snap, your Granny cheating at chess or your little brother sending the counters flying, most of us have memories of playing board games as a child.

Here are 5 reasons why playing board games as a family still stands the rest of time…

1. Playing board games like Enchanted Forest allows little ones to practise taking turns. The rule book helps here, in this case, stating that the youngest player starts first (this cut cries of "it's not fair, I wanted to go first"). Playing games with your child affords you the opportunity to model how to wait your turn, teach your child how to know when it’s their turn (eg it’s your turn after Mummy) and also lead by example with encouraging words and praise for others while you wait for a go. 

2. Board games come in many different shapes, sizes and guises and most board help to teach life skills in some way. Enchanted Forest uses two dice, which encourages counting and number recognition. It also focusses on strategy, problem solving, matching and honing memory skills.

3. As well as the inevitable frustrations, playing games together can also lead to so many different conversations and much fun and laughter. Playing games is a great way to spend quality time together.

4. Board games are available based on so many different themes, which makes them ideal to explore a favourite topic or interest. Honey and Ace are huge storybook fans and they love spending time in the woods, so I knew Enchanted Forest would pique their interest. The game has 3D pieces, as well as a colourfully illustrated board and I can imagine them playing it 'in real life' and hunting for the King's treasure next time we go out for a walk! 

5. Nobody is left out, you can find a game for any size of group and most can be adapted to suit a range of ages, even if it’s simply teaming a young child up with an older child or adult. 

If you fancy getting the family together and competing to rule the kingdom, Enchanted Forest is available from Smyths Toys Superstores (RRP £15.99).

You can never have too many books...

 Disclosure: Honey and Ace have been gifted three Tales by Mail boxes in exchange for honest reviews and social media content.

It's safe to say, we are big readers in our house. If we aren't out and about, enjoying the fresh air, you can usually find one or more of us curled up with a book.

As a primary school teacher, I am acutely aware of the benefits that reading affords children. From the moment they're born, reading is a brilliant way to bond with your child. Bedtime stories are an obvious place to start, the book doesn't even need to have any words, babies love black and white pictures and they also love the sound of your voice, so you can make up any story you like or just read to them from whatever you're reading at the time! 

Photo Credit: Oobaloos Photography

Toddlers love books, the colours and pictures are obviously most attractive at this age, but seeing words written down on the page and learning to turn pages by themselves are valuable lessons in becoming a reader. From an early age, we introduced half an hour of book time for Honey and Ace, once all the toys were tidied away for the day. Often, we would be reading the same couple of books on repeat (depending on their current favourites), but eventually this turned into them joining in with the stories or reciting facts and asking questions if it was a non fiction book. 

On the subject of non fiction books, don't dismiss them or forget about them! Toddlers and pre school children develop their own interests - often bordering on being obsessions - and finding out about them is a great way to bond and spend time together. Libraries are your friend here, we are lucky enough to live in a large town, with multiple libraries, so we are spoilt for choice and can visit different venues depending on their book stock. Not only can we spend time reading in a comfortable environment, we can also take books home to borrow for free (having to return them is a lesson in itself and often resulted in us renewing favourites for another stint).

As children get older and learn to read by themselves, the flood gates open and they can travel to far off lands without even leaving the house. Sometimes, children hit a stumbling block here, as things can get tricky, but with time and patience they can learn to love reading once again. During this time, don't stop reading to your child, even if they're playing and you don't think they're really listening, or they're tired and can't stay awake for a whole story, reading to them will pay off in terms of the vocabulary they are exposed to and the ideas they can develop based on stories and information they hear. You can also encourage them to make up stories using pictures or objects as stimuli.

If your child becomes disheartened on their reading journey, find a new way in. If they don't want to read their school reading books, what do they want to read? Information signs, comics, leaflets, books from their own bookshelves and even websites all contain words that your child can begin to use their phonic knowledge to decode. Encourage your child to ask and answer questions about their reading matter, this will really help them develop their comprehension skills too. 

Online stories, eBooks and virtual book clubs may be another way you can motivate your child to find something they enjoy reading. Or perhaps giving them a book shop voucher as a birthday gift may inspire them to pick up a book they don't want to put down.

Recently, we have been working with Tales by Mail, an award winning company who supply book subscription boxes for children. There are two age groups available, 5-8 years and 8-12 years. Each box contains 2 newly released books (so it's unlikely you'll already have them sitting on your bookshelf), collectible activity pages, exclusive author content and unique gifts and surprises. You can even request a sibling box, which contains double the activities and gifts. As well as the subscription option, you can also check out past boxes and purchase those if you like the look of them! This is such a great way to ignite a passion for reading or to encourage your children to try reading something new.

Oh and a warning from me, kids books are addictive. We keep having to buy more bookshelves because I find it impossible to let many children's books go and whenever we hand books down or sell any, we inevitably buy more books! As I'm always telling my children, you can never have too many books ;-)

Honey wears... Butterfly dress (preloved H&M)

Honey reads... The Borrowers

Duck on Call from Playmobil...

 Ad|Gifted

Duck on Call is the brilliant new range from Playmobil and Ace was lucky enough to be gifted two pieces from the range to review, DUCK ON CALL - Ambulance Emergency Vehicle and DUCK ON CALL - Ambulance Action: Help the Racing Driver. 

Firstly, the packaging is eye catching, bright and engaging. Before even opening the box, Ace was talking about the different parts of the vehicle he could see, as well as detailing the role play games he was planning once he'd built the vehicles. He was so excited to see the ambulance, Daddy is a paramedic, so lots of Ace's play features paramedics and ambulances. Ace was happy that the boxes didn't have any plastic elements to them, so he could put it straight in the recycling box. 

On opening the cardboard box, we were pleased to see minimal, single use plastic inside. There were a few numbered bags, each containing small parts to be used in the construction of the vehicles and accessories. The bags themselves are made from recycled plastic and can be recycled again, along with your other soft plastics at the supermarket.

Ace found the vehicles fairly easy to put together (he's at the top end of the suggested age range for these toys). He followed the picture instructions with no problems and only needed a little help to secure a couple of pieces. I think he was afraid of pushing bits too hard incase he broke them, but I can confirm that everything went together securely and without any breakages, with a slightly firmer hand. Ace also got to use his fine motor skills to put stickers on the vehicles, which he loved doing.

While these toys are undeniably made from plastic, it is far from single use and definitely not flimsy. We own Playmobil from the 1980's and it's still going! Both Duck on Call toys we were given are strong and sturdy and look set to provide Ace and then countless other children after him, hours and hours of fun!  

One of my favourite things about Playmobil is its strong links to real life, it really lends itself to role playing games. This morning, as Honey and Ace played with the new Duck on Call sets, they were discussing first aid (including whether to take a racing driver's helmet off after a crash) and the correct number for our emergency services ("it's definitely 999 in our country, but you'd call 911 if you were on holiday in America"), as well as showing empathy for others.

Another thing I love about Playmobil, is how seamlessly the sets can be used together. People, vehicles and accessories can all be interchanged, allowing your little ones to create their own, imaginative worlds together. So, whether you're thinking about purchasing your first set, or you're adding to a collection, we're sure you will love Duck on Call as much as we do!

Check out the Playmobil website for Duck on Call activities, including colouring, hat and badge making, educational activities and character information posters. You can also purchase the sets via their website.

Ace wears... Vitamin Sea sweatshirt: A charity shop find, customised by Mummy.

Good Crafternoon Everyone...

AD| Gifted with no obligation to promote or review

We had such a lovely surprise last week when an unexpected parcel from Babyprints Cheltenham landed on our mat. Honey and Ace were delighted to receive a parcel with their names on and even more excited to find out that they had been gifted a sibling subscription to the Little Fingerprint Craft Box Club. 

Over the next couple of months, we will be sharing our crafts with you over on Instagram, but in the meantime, here is what Babyprints Cheltenham owner Victoria says about this fabulous new branch of her business...

These fuss free, monthly craft boxes (which are all themed), include everything you need for three or more keepsake crafts. They contain many original and handmade items you won't find in high street craft stores, to make some truly memorable keepsakes you will treasure.

Crafting is a wonderful, easy way of developing your young child's creativity, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and knowledge of pattern, texture and colours. For older children, craft provides valuable independent creative play opportunities. 

Just £12 a month will buy you entry into our exclusive and fun club with so many benefits, including these amazing craft boxes, delivered straight to your door, with a bumper December box for those who have been signed up for 4 or more months. There is also a reward scheme where you receive a special prize once the reward chart is filled and every child signing up will receive a birthday card and gift on or around their special day too!

We can also personalise boxes for children with sensory processing diagnoses and hold a range of sensory and fidget items we can swap out for some crafts. Please remember that colours may vary from promotional photographs of each month's box on social media.

We try to make these boxes as plastic free as possible but sometimes it is unavoidable. Please recycle what you can. Don't just take our word for how great these boxes are, here are just a few lovely reviews from some of our members,

"P has loved doing something different and having my full attention."

"We are in love with these boxes, always something different and creative to do, thank you so much."

"Saturday morning fun, I am loving these as much as my daughter is!"

There is even a private Facebook group for subscribers to join, so they can share ideas and see what other members have created. Victoria also posts videos and how to guides in the group, for those who may want a little extra inspiration. 

If you like the sound of the Little Fingerprint Craft Box Club and decide to subscribe, please let Victoria know that you found her through this blog!

Six Second Rule...

 AD| Gifted for review

Six Second Scribbles proves that good things come in small packages! With Christmas coming up fast, read on to find out the top 5 reasons why you should be adding this game to your list this year!

1.  NO PLASTIC!

That’s right, from the postal packaging, to everything inside the box, it’s all recyclable! No plastic wrapping (paper bands to keep the cards together instead), no sellotape (just a well fitting lid), no plastic bags (pencils slotted inside a small, cardboard box in lieu of these). Brilliant, well done guys!

2.  The size of the box. 
If you know me, you’ll know that I LOVE things to be neat and tidy and I hate unwieldy boxes that don’t fit easily into any of our storage spots! Not a problem here, measuring just 12cm x 9cm, this sturdy, little box slots neatly into any drawer or cupboard with room to spare. 

3.  Its portability.
Related to point number one I suppose, but this game is perfect for popping in a handbag or backpack for fun on the go. Everything you need fits into the box, the only addition needed is a timer, which can be found on any smartphone. Think killing time in a restaurant while waiting for food, or taking it to a friend’s house for a play date.

4. Its adaptability.
It doesn’t matter how young, old or (un)artistic you are, there’s a way for you to play. With three levels of cards available, easy, tricky and almost impossible, there should be something that appeals to everyone from toddlers, to even the most proficient (or competitive) artists! Six Second Scribbles is also a fab way to get reluctant writers practising their skills. Short words and phrases will keep those writing muscles working over the weekends and holidays, and they won't even realise!

5. The fun packaging and clear rules.
Even though she'd never heard of Six Second Scribbles before, from the moment this game landed on our doorstep, my daughter has been desperate to play it… why? The packaging is bright, eye-catching and very exciting! I also appreciated the clearly set out rules, complete with suggested adaptations for youngsters and the encouragement to make the game our own, with your own rule tweaks and changes.

We have had great time playing Six Second Scribbles so far and look forward to introducing it to friends and family over the festive period... bring on games night! If you'd like to find out more or browse Gamely's full range of games, head to Gamely's website. Sign up to their newsletter for 15% off your first order.

Every Day's a School Day...

Disclosure: I have kindly been gifted a year's subscription to the Mrs Mactivity website, in exchange for mentions in my blog and on social media. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Whether you teach in a nursery, primary school or from home, why not let Mrs Mactivity help reduce your workload? Once you’ve signed up, you can easily download resources to support teaching and learning across the primary curriculum.

Eye catching and easy to navigate

With thousands of high quality, teacher made resources available to download, the site can really help streamline your precious planning time. Activities can be downloaded to print or can be added to your lesson presentations for a whole class to view.

I have also been using the site to provide fun, learning activities for Honey and Ace over the summer holidays. I’ve left maths and reading comprehension sheets on their craft table and 90% of the time, they’ve picked up a pen and enjoyed the activity without me mentioning it or getting involved. Great for keeping their brains ticking over!

I love that the resources span such a range of topics, including reading comprehension activities based on Honey’s new favourite creature (since getting into Minecraft), the axolotl! The resources also feature hand drawn illustrations, which sets them apart from worksheets on other sites.

Everything is aligned with White Rose and Letters and Sounds and can be edited to suit your children. There are even some resources you can download for free, to help you get a feel for the site and the quality of the resources. For just £24.97 per year, why not give Mrs Mactivity a try?