How to de-stress the school run scramble!
School run stress
A quick google or hashtag search of the school run and you'll find lots of horror stories of fraught mornings ruined by missing uniform, unmade packed lunches and getting stuck in traffic! It's a stressful time for many parents and it can set the mood for the day that follows. For even the most organised of mums and dads, the school run can leave you feeling frustrated and a bit deflated!
For the kids, it can be just as anxiety inducing, as they wonder why mum has asked them four times to put on their shoes when they're just trying to remember which foot each shoe goes on. Or dad has raised his voice again to speed up the whole breakfast choosing/making/eating process! It's no wonder that some children rush off into school, forgetting to kiss mummy at the gate, excited to spend a fun-filled day with their friends!
Kids, Cuddles and Muddy Puddles - March 18, 2018 10 comments:
German for Kids: Fünf kleine Entchen - Five little ducks
Counting to 5 - Our first lesson!
A familiar song
I decided to introduce the children to German through one of their favorite songs, Five Little Ducks. Using a song with a familiar tune captured their attention straight away and allowed us to chat about the reasons why it sounded different to them.
I explained to Stanley that we live in a country called England and we understand each other because we speak language called English. I showed him where England was on the map, then went on to explain that people from other countries often speak other languages. I showed him Germany on the map and told him that Mummy lived there once and that I had to learn another language called German so I could understand the people that lived there.
Kids, Cuddles and Muddy Puddles - March 11, 2018 7 comments:
A (character building!) walk around Rudyard Lake, Staffordshire
A nice family walk!
So the kids were starting to feel better after their recent illnesses, and after being pretty much snowed in for three days they were climbing the walls and in need of some fresh air! We are lucky enough to live on the doorstep of the Staffordshire Moorlands and the Peak District, so there are plenty of beautiful places to go for a family walk. With there still being quite a lot of snow around, we opted for one of the flatter locations, Rudyard Lake. The lake (which started life as a reservoir in 1797) was the first meeting place of Rudyard Kipling's parents!
All wrapped up!
The kids were excited about going on a snowy welly walk, so we all wrapped up warm with plenty of layers and extra socks! As soon as we parked up in what was now slush, I didn't think our walk was going to end well! But as good parents do, we put on a brave face and our biggest, most convincing, "You'll enjoy this!" smiles and off we went!
"This is a big tree."
Art in nature
Over half term, Stanley's class were set a homework task. They were to go on a nature walk to find natural things to make a picture with. Easy you'd think, right? We'll...we had a lot of rain that week and most of the leaves, twigs and flowers had turned into a soggy pile of mush! So we had to get creative; we dried out some bark from the garden, rescued a few of the less crumbly/soggy leaves from our walk then raided the local garden centre floor for more healthy looking bits! Stanley took his time to arrange the items to create his picture. Cue Mum with a bucket full of PVA glue and 2 days of drying and he ended up with this!
Pencil pride!
Stanley also had to write a sentence to go with his picture. "This is a big tree" is what he came up with! We are so proud at how far he has come on with his writing during his time in Reception class. Just a few months ago he wouldn't even entertain the idea of holding a pencil, but now he is trying so hard! Well done Stanley!
Finding joy in the little things: We always enjoy going out for walks in the fresh air, but having a purpose made it even more fun. Look at that beautiful writing too, and his proud smile!
Kids, Cuddles and Muddy Puddles - March 01, 2018 No comments:
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