I used a star-shaped holepunch to cut a little hole into the corner of the label so you can see the glitter through this,too!

I made a few different colours, and I thought I’d share them with you , so if you know someone who might like (or need..) a Mind Jar, you can share it with them!
Here are four different Mind Jar labels for you to print.

Happy giving!
Wishing you a wonderful day.
♥

When we go to the shops before going to the playground, I can explain that we will need to go to four shops before we can meet our friends to play. Emi can then pick the bracelet with four beads on it and put it on. After going to the first shop she then slides the first bead across the knot in the middle of the bracelet. She can then clearly see how many more shops are left before going to the playground. This is a good visual aid and reduces stress and arguments by helping children to know what to expect next.
You can make these bracelets for a whole variety of things, we even use one to help keep track of how many drinks of water everyone has had during the day. They are easy to make, so you can make one for each number you might need!

The “How Many More…?” Bracelet

You will need:

An old T-shirt (the stretchy kind)
Beads
Scissors

How to:
Start by cutting long strips of fabric from the t-shirt.
Make these long enough to fit around your little ones wrist.
It doesn’t really matter how it looks, because once you have cut it all you need to do is pull on both ends to make the fabric curl inwards and turn into a sort of t-shirt yarn.

Tie a tight knot into the middle of your string. This needs to be big enough to hold the beads on one side, but small enough to slide them over the middle.
Pick out the number of beads you will need. (Four shops, six drinks etc..)

Thread the beads onto one side of the knot in the middle and then tie the bracelet around your child’s wrist.
Because the yarn is stretchy you should be able to just slide it on and off if you tie it loosely enough.

Once you have done the first thing on your list your little one can slide one of the beads across the middle and see exactly what is left to do.

We made a whole bunch of these bracelets so we always have the one we need,

though Emi sometimes likes to wear them all at once to pretend that she is very,very busy indeed..

Wishing you a wonderful day!
♥

The story of Old Freedom Train is an inspiring one.
When Shayne was looking for a Waldorf alphabet frieze for her children’s room she could not find one,
so she decided to make her own. She illustrated each letter of the alphabet using colourful pencils and soft shades. The innocent,sweet images inspire and soothe children and encourage discovering letters in a natural,playful way.

Now you have a chance to win your very own beautiful Waldorf Alphabet Frieze!
All you have to do is leave a comment telling me what your favourite letter is.
Share this Giveaway on Facebook,Pinterest or Twitter for more entries!
(Just leave another comment saying “I shared this on …” )

You can come back every day to leave another comment and share the post on Facebook or Twitter.
The Giveaway will be open for one week until the 26th of February, and it is open to absolutely everybody from absolutely anywhere!
The winner will be picked at random.
Good Luck!
♥

The Xia Xia crab is a fun little friend for children. There are four different crabs to collect, each with it’s own little trinket hiding in the shell. (Emi’s was a tiny little globe, how very fitting for our geography-loving girl!)
You can take off the shells and swap them between the crabs, so you can mix and match to create your own favourite little pet.

There are even a few different homes to choose from for your crab. Emily named her Xia Xia crab Boulder and he lives in the Confetti Cottage.

To make your crab race and scuttle around you gently press down on one of it’s pincers . The crab will know to turn around if it bumps into something, and
it’s a lot of fun watching it walk. Emily did have one complaint,though: Real crabs walk sideways, but these crabs don’t!

We had so much fun getting to know this Xia Xia crab, and if you can’t have pets these little creatures are a nice alternative.

Wishing you a lovely day,
♥

Keeping little ones happy when going in the car can take a lot of planning.
When we went on a long car trip across Europe a few years ago we thought of a few ways to keep the children happy,
so I thought I’d share them with you.

1. Snacks and Drinks
This one is important because hungry and thirsty children are grumpy children.
Choose snacks that are not chokable. Making sandwiches ahead and storing them in airtight containers means you won’t have to worry about stopping to buy food, and you won’t be feeding children loads of sugar and artificial colours.
Make sure to let your little ones know not to drink too much , otherwise you will be stopping to go to the bathroom quite a few times along the way, but also let them know that it is important to stay hydrated, especially if you are driving in warm weather.
Filling up reusable bottles is a good way to control just how much they are drinking.

2. Stories
Long drives are boring, so take along picture books, read-it-yourself stories or even an iPod filled with audioboooks for your children to listen to.
If you buy two copies of the same book you can read from the front seat while your children look at the pictures in their own copy.
Sticker books are also a lot of fun!

3. Stay cozy!
If you are driving at night or in cold weather take blankets along. It is not safe to use pillows while driving, and the blankets can not be under their seatbelts,
so stay comfortable, but stay safe! If possible allow your children to wear pyjamas on a long drive and wear woolly socks instead of shoes.

4.Plenty of breaks
Children need to move around, so take lots of breaks. Do some research and find places to stop along the way that have a park or playground,
encourage your children to walk , stretch and maybe even do some yoga.

5. Play
Of course there is not a whole lot to do in a car when you can’t move around, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play.
Travel sized games will allow children to play together, and we love to play Car Bingo. To play Car Bingo print out a list of things you might spot along the way, for example a cow, a purple car, a snow-covered mountain or someone waving from another car. The first person to find everything wins.
Another fun thing to do is taking a baking tray along to play with magnets, or to use it as a desk for drawing and colouring.

Keeping the kids entertained definitely takes the stress out of your journey – and so does knowing you have adequate car insurance .

I hope some of these ideas can help you make your car trips a little bit more fun for everyone,
just remember to stay safe.
Have a lovely day!
Come back tomorrow for a brilliant Waldorf Giveaway!

This week I am grateful for my sweet Emily’s love for books,
for how every room is slowly turning into a library, books piling up on shelves and tables.
I am grateful that you can usually find Emi reading a book at any given time during the day,

and I am grateful for new favourite stories discovered in second-hand bookshops.

This week I am also grateful for our playkitchen which has lasted many years and given the little ones so,so much joy every day. It broke a few days ago, but we are hoping to find a new kitchen as soon as possible, it is definitely our favourite toy!

What are you grateful for this week?
Wishing you a lovely day!
♥

ps// Be back soon for a fun Waldorf themed giveaway!!

Window Star Heart
I first saw this idea over at Lucy’s blog in one of her pictures.
It’s really easy to do, just follow the Window Star Tutorial and make two points, then glue them together in a heart shape! I can’t wait to decorate our windows with a whole bunch of these adorable hearts!

Heart Shaped Swimming Candles

Teatime Candle

Lovely Pebbles

Heart Lantern

Wax Painting Window Hearts

Have fun doing these lovely crafts,
have a beautiful Valentine’s day!
♥

Lovely Pebbles

You will need:
Light coloured pebbles
PVA glue
A paintbrush
Scraps of tissue paper or fabric

How to:
Wash your pebbles in soapy water and dry them thoroughly.
Cut heart shapes from tissue paper or fabric.

Glue your heart shapes to the pebble and brush glue over it.

Then all you have to do is let it dry!

We wrote “You rock” on the other side of the pebbles we gave to friends.

Make a whole lot and give them to all the people you love or like.

Have a lovely day
♥

Valentine’s Day Lanterns

You will need:
Tissue paper in lovely colours (we picked red,purple and pink)
A glass jar
A mix of 1 part white glue & 2 parts whater
A paintbrush
Scissors
String or wool (optional)
A pencil
Glitter

How to:
Draw heart shapes onto the tissue paper.

Cut out the shapes , older children can do this themselves!

Cover your whole glass jar with the glue & water mix.

Stick on the heart shapes.
We started with big hearts and filled in the empty spaces with little hearts.

When the whole jar is covered brush more glue & water mix over the whole jar and sprinkle on glitter. Our glitter was purple and silver.

Tie string,wool or ribbon around the top of the jar.
You can add beads to the string or tie a bow if you like.

Now all you have to do is let it dry and put a tealight into the jar.
Happy Valentine’s crafting!

♥

This week I am grateful for the help of our lovely family.
I am grateful for fresh paint,

for a Space Bedroom,

and for a little corner for Arthur, for when he is ready.
(Which I think will be far sooner than I would like.)

Thank you,dear family, for all your help.

What are you grateful for?
Wishing you a lovely day!
♥