Monthly Archives: May 2015

How to make Glove Monsters 26

May 31, 2015 in childrens craft tagged craft / fabulously frugal / kids craft / recycled crafts / sock monster / upcycling by Jen Walshaw

In our hall we have a basket which is filled with hats and other things depending on the season and this week I took all the winter hats, gloves and scarfs and swapped them for the summer caps and hats and I was left with two odd gloves, that were missing their mates. So I decided to upcycle them and make some glove monsters. And yes, I know that it is June and I am only putting away the winter stuff, but it has been a really odd Spring in the UK this year and we have had hail in May!

Classic kedgeree with green asparagus – Cooking with kids and Marley Spoon 15

May 29, 2015 in cooking with children / Mains / receipe tagged cooking with kids / food / kids in the kitchen / recipe by Jen Walshaw

One of the great things about getting your kids in the kitchen is the wonderful flavours and recipes it opens up to them. I find that both my boys are much more adventurous if they have helped cook the food and this is one of the main reasons I love cooking with kids.

50 Outdoor adventures and activities for kids 18

May 28, 2015 in parenting tagged activities / childhood / fun / kids activities / outdoor activities / summer by Jen Walshaw

Do you have adventurous kids? I do, in fact they are far braver than me. Nothing seems to scare my lads and there is nothing they enjoy more than an outdoor adventure. But the trick to getting your kids outdoors is to turn outdoor activities into outdoor adventures!

Make a lolly or popsicle stick catapult 20

May 26, 2015 in activities for children / crafts / Science tagged activities for kids / crafts / science by Jen Walshaw

A Popsicle Stick Catapult is a super simple science and craft activity to do with the kids. We always have lots of lolly sticks (popsicle sticks) left to use, so we decided to have a go at making a lolly stick catapult.

A months trial of The Maths Factor for kids for £1 14

May 24, 2015 in parenting by Jen Walshaw

Both of my boys love mathematics. They enjoy the challenge that they get from doing maths questions and learning their times tables. They both have since starting school and fort Maxi even before he started school. When we were offered a free trial of The Maths Factor, a site set up by Carol Vordeman I jumped at it especially since the new curriculum means that maths has just got harder!

110 Summer acts of kindness for kids 38

May 22, 2015 in parenting tagged acts of kindness / parening / random acts of kindness by Jen Walshaw

Often we focus on having fun over the summer and making it a great time for us and the kids. I want to make this summer great for everyone and encourage the kids to do random acts of kindness through the summer, like we did at Christmas.

Top tips for choosing beach clothes for kids 20

May 20, 2015 in parenting tagged beach clothes / clothes / kids clothes / summer / summer3 by Jen Walshaw

We are back this month with our beach picks from the fab Melijoe.com website. We live right by a beach, well 2 minutes drive away and my boys both love spending time on the beach both in the summer and the winter. The Mini Mads have had a good browse of the website and here are their choices. The boys are ten and nearly nine and have distinct personalities, so see if you can tell who picked which sets!

10 Great games and activities for kids to encourage play in the garden 19

May 19, 2015 in parenting tagged gardeing / garden / kids activities / play by Jen Walshaw

Do you have a garden or a yard? We have a back garden, which eight years ago was just mud and stones as this house was a new build when we moved in to it. We really love having a garden, we grow plants in it, eat in it over the summer and it is a fab place for the boys to play (mostly football at the moment).

5 simple ways to save money 18

May 17, 2015 in Uncategorized tagged fabulously frugal / money saving / save money by Jen Walshaw

One of the things that I have learned is that it always pays to not impulse buy. Planning any purchases ensures that I always save money. I am going to share with you my top five simple ways to save money.

Teaching children about safety without scaring them 25

May 15, 2015 in parenting tagged child safety / home alone / parenting / safety rules by Jen Walshaw

My boys are getting to the age where I am becoming happy to leave one of them at home for five minutes when I drop the other off somewhere or have to run a quick errand.

A tour of The Mad House – Living with kids 69

May 13, 2015 in parenting tagged competition / family / home / house / kids / The Mad House by Jen Walshaw

Every wednesday morning after the boys have gone to school, I grab a pot of tea and log online and take a look at Design Mom’s living with kids post from the previous night. It is a regular treat for me, like getting a new magazine. I love looking at peoples homes round the world and how people uniquely live with kids. I know that my photo’s will never be good enough to feature on Design Mom, but as we were recently featured on At home with Hillary’s I thought I would share a glimpse in to our home with two boys aged 10 and 8!

Cooking with kids – budgeting, buying and cooking 23

May 12, 2015 in cooking with children / Mains / receipe tagged cooking with kids / kids in the kitchen / recipe by Jen Walshaw

Welcome back to our A-Z ingredients cooking with kids series. We are currently at H is for honey. As an added challenge this week, we were asked to produce a three course dinner for four on a budget of £20 by Ffrees. So I passed this over to Maxi who is ten and he certainly rose to the challenge in budgeting, buying and cooking us a fantastic Sunday dinner.

15 Stunning suncatchers for kids to make 21

May 10, 2015 in crafts tagged crafts / fabulouslyfrugal / kidscrafts / suncatcher / suncatchers by Jen Walshaw

I have a long term love of suncatchers for windows. I adore the way they catch the light and brighten up windows. It doesn’t have to be ultra sunshiney, hey even brighten up dark dismal windows too. The boys also love making them and gifting them to people too, so they are a win win make here!

100 Indoor activities for rainy days 15

May 9, 2015 in crafts tagged art / craft / family / fun / indoor activities / kids activities / screenfree by Jen Walshaw

Some days it is either too hot for outdoor activities or just plain raining and you just don’t fancy playing out in the rain. So here are some fab, fun and screen free indoor activities to keep the kids occupied.

More road trip travel printables 22

May 8, 2015 in activities for children / crafts / Free Printables / Scavenger Hunts / travelling with kids tagged car journeys / free printables / kids / road trips by Jen Walshaw

These road trip printables are great for keeping the kids occupied when travelling. I have been thinking about half term and a weekend trip that we are taking. I know that lots of kids have tablets and electronics to keep them occupied in the car, but I like to mix things up a little and the boys loved the first set of road trip travel printables, so I have created another set this time in conjunction with webuyanycar.com.

How to make a Rainbow Windsock 19

May 6, 2015 in activities for children / Age 5-7 / childrens craft / crafts / Spring / Tween tagged crafts / kids crafr / spring / weather by Jen Walshaw

We love making crafts that we can use in our learning and this fab rainbow windsock is a brilliant make that is great for learning about the weather and the wind.

5 Tips to get the kids involved in cleaning 23

May 5, 2015 in parenting tagged chores / cleaning / housework / kids / parenting by Jen Walshaw

Do your kids help with the cleaning? I hate cleaning up, but love a tidy house! So it is important to me that the boys know what is expected of them and one of those things to to be involved in cleaning. So yes my kids do the housework and no they do not moan about it all the time!