School Supplies

As I mentioned previously, we have been having a few homeschool wobbles around here.
We had a long think, changed our approach, changed our routine, rhythm and schedule.
To celebrate the new start we also bought some lovely new school supplies, because nothing is more fun that brand new pencils and crayons!
We bought a school bag in which Emily now keeps her exercise books (via Amazon),

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a brand new lunchbox, (Internet Gift Store have got a great selection! ) and a new pencil case with princesses on it, of course!

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We have had lots of fun with our new supplies and even finished our April curriculum early, just in time to enjoy the beautiful weather!

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In the Play Kitchen

Early this week a big parcel from WoodenToyShop.co.uk arrived in our house.

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Of course this was very exciting to the little ones, especially when they realised what was inside!

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After a few minutes of building we had a beautiful new Play Kitchen to play with, just perfect for these late spring rainy days we have been having.
Our kitchen is the Janod Maxi Cooker , we love Janod toys because of their beautiful colours and high quality, and our Janod Magnetic World Map is used daily.

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We have all been having so much fun playing with this beautiful wooden kitchen, cooking things,

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baking things,

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and of course playing Restaurant, too!

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Sweet Arthur has been playing with it from morning until bed time, making up recipes, setting the table with his little plates and inviting everyone for tea. His favourite recipe is Stone Soup, of course!

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Play kitchens are such a beautiful and open ended toy, we can easily spend several hours playing together.
It is definitely everyone’s most favourite toy, and I just love watching them all play together!
What are you playing with during this rainy spring?
Have a beautiful day!

Posted in Family, Our Tiny Home, Product Reviews | 2 Comments

Grateful Friday

Grateful Friday

This week I am grateful for a busy visit from friends, for a meal that came together like button soup and filled us up with food as well as love, and for some quiet time to read, too.

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I am grateful for much needed hugs and rest, for a day with almost no rain and for spring clothes bringing colour and sparkle into our life.

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I am grateful for birthday presents arriving for our sweet Arthur, for tea, for beeswax candles and for sweet George, who goes to bed in his own bed yet somehow seems to end up in our bed before the sun comes up.

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I am grateful for celebrating a wedding anniversary with my wonderful husband and for the beautiful silver kiddush cup he bought for us.
I am grateful for traditions and good food, the challah that is baking in the oven right now, the meal that is cooking on the stove and the general business of a Friday followed by the calm and peace of Shabbos.
I am grateful for the little ones excitedly preparing the house, for Emily setting the table and for sweet Arthur who has discovered the spice box and decided to smell the spices.

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What are you grateful for?
Have a beautiful day.

Posted in Family, Grateful Friday, Judaism | 1 Comment

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

This week we have been busy! The children’s Auntie Sarah arrived and is staying in England for a whole three months, and everyone is so happy about it. Sarah will be working in the nearby primary school and hopefully we will see her many, many times during her stay.
The weather is still awful and there is no sign of spring except one solitary daffodil in our garden, so we have been staying in a lot of the time, reading stories and playing games.

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Hopefully the weather will be better soon, we all can’t wait, it’s been rainy for so long!

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A Very Special Hat

We are just now in the middle of planning our sweet Arthur’s third birthday party.

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Of course turning three is a very special day for any child, but even more so for Jewish children. The third birthday marks the very first haircut of a child and his introduction to learning the letters of the Aleph Bet.
It is also the day young boys start wearing a Kippah and Tzitzit.
When George turned three I made his Kippah myself. (You can see it here.) I am not very good at crocheting, and I always knew that I would not be making Arthur’s Kippah myself.
Rather than buying a Kippah from a shop I asked my friend Karina of Owl Yours whether she would be able to help.
Karina makes beautiful crochet items including hats and baby booties, and I just love looking through the photos on the Owl Yours page. Do take a look, I am sure you will fall in love!

Karina is working so hard to make this very special present for our little man.
She sent me these pictures of the progress and kindly agreed for me to share them with you.
We decided on Dark Blue, Light Blue and Cream, some of Arthur’s favourite colours.

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I can’t wait to show you a picture of the finished Kippah, and I am so very grateful to Karina for making this day extra special for him and working so hard to create something that he will treasure forever.

I am very much looking forward to sharing more about Arthur’s special party with you. I have been writing lists and looking for ideas, and I really think that it will be a very special day!

Posted in Family, Judaism, Upsherin! | 1 Comment

Kids Crafts – Alberto Giacometti Sculptures

The little ones have been ill with a virus on and off over the last three weeks, so they were really happy when a very,very thoughtful parcel from Woodland Children arrived on our doorstep.

The little box opened up to reveal something called “My Little Atelier”, a Reggio inspired box of supplies inspired by an artist. This box had been handpacked for us, all labels written by hand, colours carefully selected.
Emily was very proud to receive such a special surprise!

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The artist who inspired our box was Alberto Giacometti.

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The inspiration in the box was to use the air drying clay to make smaller versions of Giacometti’s tall, thin people sculptures. The letter accompanying the box asked us to use the suggestions merely as a guide, so Emily decided not to copy the sculptures but think of her own design.
We started by shaping a pipe cleaner into a heart shape and weighing it down with air drying clay.

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We then followed the suggestion to wrap the pipecleaner shape in foil.

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This was the first time we had used aluminium foil for a craft and Emily really liked it.
When we had wrapped the entire shape in foil we painted the sculpture with black paint.

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This was a really brilliant and open-ended craft, we really enjoyed learning about Alberto Giacometti along the way and plan to make many more sculptures using this fun method.

Posted in Homeschooling, In the Studio, Kids Craft | 2 Comments

Giveaway – Chatham Marine – £70 Shoe Voucher

Today I have got a fantastic Giveaway for you!
Chatham Marine, who offer a large variety of high quality shoes, are offering one lucky reader a chance to win a pair of Chatham Marine shoes up to the value of £70!

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Over the last 20 years Chatham Marine has grown into one of Britain’s key marine clothing brands, supplying not only boat shoes but also clothing, accessories and children’s shoes!
The high quality clothes and shoes are made to withstand all that nature can throw at them, and all while looking stylish and beautiful.

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Our favourite are these beautiful Skipper Children’s Shoes!

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All you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment telling me which of the many beautiful Chatham Marine shoes you would pick, then head over to Facebook and like the Chatham Marine Facebook Page. For additional entries please share this giveaway on Facebook and Pinterest and Tweet the following:

“Win a pair of @ChathamMarine shoes worth up to £70 with @HereWeAreTgther http://wp.me/p26q1M-1ci”

Terms and Conditions:
There is no cash alternative.
Open to residents in the UK and Ireland.
Chatham Marine will cover shipping costs.
One entry per person via leaving a comment below and ‘liking’ the Chatham Marine Facebook Page.
Additional entries for sharing on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, please leave a separate comment for each entry.
This competition will end at Midnight on the 7th of April 2013.
The prize will be a pair of Chatham Marine shoes up to the value of £70.
This prize is not refundable or exchangeable.
The winner will be contacted via email.
The winner will be chosen at random from those who leave comments and the decision final.

Good Luck!

Posted in Giveaway Fun ! | 8 Comments

Glimpses : Our Passover

Pesach 5773 / Passover 2013

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Happy Passover!

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Peppa Pig’s Theme Park Party

Today we had the honour of celebrating Peppa Pig’s Theme Park Party at Peppa Pig World.
We had such an incredibly wonderful day, I am still smiling and all the little ones are still talking about how much fun we had. I thought I would share some photos of our visit to the park with you!
We started making plans this morning in bed, thinking about all the fun rides everyone wanted to see.
Arthur picked Miss Rabbit’s Helicopter Flight, Emily wanted to to try a rollercoaster and George wanted to see Daddy Pig’s Car. On the way to the park we picked up a map for the little ones, so Emily spent the car journey looking for more rides to try!

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We arrived at Paulton’s Park early, around the same time the rides open. We were greeted by a member of staff and then we were ready to enjoy the rides.

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We started our day at Peppa Pig World, of course!

The first ride of the day ended up being The Balloon Ride.
The little ones loved being up high in the sky and being able to see many of the other rides!

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In preparation for the party we had been sent a box of Peppa Pig toys to try out, so I thought I’d tell you a bit about these lovely toys before I continue telling you about our day.
The Peppa Pig Balloon Ride toy was everyone’s favourite!
In the balloon ride toy you put little Peppa Pig characters into little balloon baskets, pull up the pole and then watch the balloons spin down again quickly. The little playset also includes an adorable test-your-strength with working bell and a teeny-tiny souvenir stall.

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We also received a big set of Peppa Pig collectable characters, they were the perfect little passengers for our little toy rides!

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Another fun toy is the Ferris Wheel, which includes little baskets that hold your characters. The dents in the baskets fit both large and small characters, and the baskets are removable which makes the toy more durable as they won’t snap off.

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We adored this really fun Jumping In Muddy Puddles Peppa Pig , you press her tummy and she jumps up and down and talks. Arthur loves pressing the button and jumping up high in the air with Peppa. It’s quite amazing to watch because despite jumping pretty high she never falls over!

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George loved this adorable little train we were sent, each part does a different action when you pull the train along, the cupcake spins and the dinosaur moves up and down.

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As we had the toys to prepare for our visit our next stop was to find Grandpa Pig’s Train to ride.
The train took us through an adorable landscape of plastic trees and flowers!

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We enjoyed many of the other rides. Emily and her cousin C braved a fast rollercoaster together, we saw a lot of tropical birds and enjoyed a trip on Grandpa Pig’s Boat!

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The last ride we went on was Miss Rabbit’s Helicopter Flight, Arthur was so proud, being up high in the helicopter, waving at birds and trees and clouds.

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To relax a bit before the beginning of the twitter Party we went to a fun outdoor play area and played.

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George and Arthur loved exploring the little wooden train,

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and Emily and her lovely cousin C had a lot of fun, too.

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Everything in Peppa Pig World is so adorable! I loved this giant ladybird!

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After our little play we joined the Peppa Pig twitter party where we ate lots of lovely food, coloured, played and made new friends.
Thank you so much for a wonderful day, we have had so much fun and can hardly wait to go back to the park!

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