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I am going to moan about schools and term time holidays

13 Comments / school, travelling with kids / By

This holiday has been booked since just after my Mum died and we have been looking forward to the trip for a long time. My Brother and family are self employed and that is why we are travelling at this particular time of the year and I am aware that it could have an impact on my seven and eight year olds school work, but…………

For the last two weeks they have not really done any significant learning at school, in fact for this week they have watched more DVD’s at school that they have at home in about a year. I am not going to justify me taking them out of school by saying they will learn as much with me as at school, however, I will say that it should be my choice as a parent to make this decision.

We are sensible enough to make our own decision and I am disappointed that this is being taken away from me. There has been a lot of noise made about the Lunch box issues this week, but no one has shouted about the fact that the law has changed and that from September Headteacher will not be able to grant time off for holidays.

Currently headteachers are allowed to grant leave of absence for the purpose of a family holiday during term time in “special circumstances” of up to ten school days leave per year. Headteachers can also grant extended leave for more than ten school days in exceptional circumstances. However, Amendments to the 2006 regulations remove references to family holiday and extended leave as well as the statutory threshold of ten school days come into force in September.
Not only are the government taking this out of our hands, but also out of the hands of the school. Yet another example of the government invading my home and my choices.

I wonder if this applies to private schools too? or maybe that would be a bit like a bear pooing in its own backyard.

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Three Special Family Holidays

Holidays abroad, parenting / By

Three Special Family Holidays
Your children are only going to be young once, so you should treat them to a magical holiday before they consider themselves too old for family breaks. Create memories to treasure for decades to come, and fill up at least some of the weeks when they are out of school and clamouring for activities to keep them occupied. From a trip to Lapland before Christmas to a Hawaiian paradise during the summer months, here are three destinations that are sure to give you some inspiration for 2013.
Hula Your Worries Away in Hawaii
For a completely different pace of life and beautiful scenery, check out Hawaii this summer. With pleasant tropical temperatures all year round, families can pack light and enjoy T-shirt and beach weather. There are plenty of family-oriented tour packages and resorts in Hawaii that have child-friendly activities. Make sure that you choose a resort that includes a bit of luxury and chill-out time for parents, as well as plenty of amusements for the kids. Camp Menehune at the Hilton Waikoloa Village includes fun activities such as exploring tide-pools and tropical gardens, water sports, interactive dolphin programmes and feeding local wildlife.
Go Totally Wild in Orlando Florida
Another option is the Animal Kingdom Lodge, a part of DisneyWorld in Florida. Little animal enthusiasts can experience the wilds of Africa, within the safe and comfortable environment of a Disney resort. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is a 33 acre property that offers views from all of the rooms onto the Serengeti style zoo outside. There are over 200 animals from 100 different species, such as antelopes and gazelles. Each room is tastefully decorated in African style décor and the resort’s restaurants, Jiko and Boma, cook African-style food in wood-burning ovens.
A Lapland Trip into the Arctic Wilderness
Later on in the year, Finnish Lapland is the traditional hangout of Santa, his wife, the elves, plus of course his reindeer. Make sure that you go there kitted out in thermals and ski gear. Bracing cold isn’t the right way to describe the place, below freezing is more appropriate.
As a wonderful consolation, there’s a flurry of Christmas activity in Lapland. Mulled wine and Finnish saunas are brilliant for the adults while husky-led forays into the icy wilderness keep the kids occupied. The occasional appearance of the hypnotic and truly remarkable Northern Lights is nature’s way of lighting up the sky. During the winter time the sun barely peaks over the horizon.
There are plenty of tour operators that offer families some face time with the jolly red man, comfortable digs and amazing food to stave off the Arctic cold. For the traditional Christmas memory that will go down in family history, a Lapland trip is the ultimate in Christmas merriment and magic.
A well-planned, fun and relaxing family holiday is very feasible when you know where to go! Find a good mix of kid-friendly activities, and the chance for parents to get some well-deserved R&R.

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Encouraging writing in Boys – Scrapbooking holiday memories

6 Comments / crafts / By

We are really focussing on trying to encourage our boys to move away from the electronic and take up more tactile pursuits! I gave you some ideas for encouraging writing earlier in the week, but I wanted to concentrate on recording holiday memories this time. When I was younger one of the most exciting aspects of any family holiday was receiving the developed film back from the chemist and putting together an album of the photographs and writing the name of the holiday in the inside page.

In todays digital world I find that my images stay on my PC, phone and on the digital photo frame we have and that made me sad, so I decided to encourage Maxi to make a scrapbook of our recent Orlando visit. This was made even easier as we were gifted a whole host of scrapbooking things in a travel theme from

Whilst we were in Orlando Maxi made sure that he took maps, leaflets and keep all his tickets in to the theme parks, so in addition to any pictures I printed out he could also keep all this memorabilia and have a wonderful physical memory of our holiday.

Firstly we sat at the PC and decided which images to print. In future I think that I would send them off to an online provider to print, that way we could have a better quality print.

Then we cut all the photographs out using the guillotine and then I let Maxi lose with the glue and a pen!

As much as I wanted everything to be neat and in a certain way, I knew that it was best that I just stayed on the sideline and let him fill the scrapbook in how he wanted it to be. Afterall this is his holiday memories we are recording.

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Encouraging Writing in Boys

10 Comments / writing / By

With the onslaught of electronics in todays lifestyle writing can sometimes take a backseat and I for one am keep to encouraging writing in my boys. I think the fact that Maxi is both a reluctant reader and writer makes me more determined to find ways to encourage this skill. Mini who is nearly seven loves to read and write and can often be found with a notebook and pencil in hand and is keen to improve his handwriting as he wants to get awarded a handwriting pen at school.

Over the summer holidays last year we focussed a lot on writing and pen skills including making our own books, creating a writing centre and making memory stones.

One of the things that I discovered was that good quality writing equipment was key in helping both the boys Triangular and wide pencils were easier for them to grip[ and paper with lines on made it easier too. Good quality paper that they can press on without ripping is essential. I also found that providing them with notebooks and letter writing stationery or their own choice helped to encourage them.

Journaling

Now the boys are a little older (eight and nearly seven) we have moved on and they are currently filling in a Q&A a day for children journal each night before bed. These are brilliant journals, which asks a simple question each night and your child completes it. It is only a sentence, so fast and simple to do before bed. I want the boys to get in to the habit of writing and feel this is a fantastic way to do that,m plus a good way of recording how their answers change each year.

Maxi is also putting together a scrapbook style journal of our recent trip to Orlando (more about that in the near future).

Penpals

Both the boys also have a penpal that they write too. This is a great way of encouraging writing, penmanship and also communication skills. They choose their own stationery and learn the joy of sending and receiving letters. We have even been collecting stamps to make a display with. I know that the boys are excited to use the special edition Dr Who Royal Mail stamps (released to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who this year) on their next letters.

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LEGOLAND Florida – perfect for mini thrill seekers

4 Comments / holiday planner, holidays, Holidays abroad / By

Make sure you arrive early for the park opening at 9 am. Rides open at 9.30 am
The park is 45 minutes from Downtown Tampa and the other Orlando Parks
You can exchange your own LEGO Mini Figure with any of the Model Citizen’s (LEGO Employees). They have theirs on their name badge. Also keep an eye out for the Mini Figure Ambassador as they have a shirt covered in Mini Figures.
Go to the back of the park either LEGO City or Technic first
If it your birthday, then collect a badge from a Model Citizen (A LEGO Employee) at Guest services at The Beginning
If you want to visit a show, try and turn up 30 minutes before the start time
Make sure you take plenty of sun cream and hats as it is much hotter and sunnier in Orlando that the UK. We actually purchased Maxi a pair of sunglasses and shorts strap in LEGOLAND
The park also has many attractions for children and adults that prefer gentle pace including Safari Trek and Duploland
Download a Park Map before visiting, it shows you all the height restrictions, so you can set expectations before visiting
There is a large selection of places to eat all catering for children, but you need to try the parks signature dish of Granny Smiths Apple Fries
It gets very hot in the middle of the day, so eat inside if possible as the restaurants are air conditioned
The LEGOLAND Florida water park reopens in March and you can upgrade your tickets for $12 each and this would be the perfect place to cool down
The park closes earlier than other parks around 5.30 each day
The Big Shop is the largest LEGO shop in the world

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Jen Walshaw is the author of the hugely successful Mum in the Madhouse blog, regularly ranked the UK’s #1 parenting blog. A proud Northern Mum, Jen is a vocal advocate for diversity, body neutrality, and more conversation about the role over 40s women play in the influencer landscape. Jen has been sharing content online for

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