Category: Lifestyle

I received the Crystal growing set in exchange for this post.

STEM toys are in their absolute prime right now. Children have so much choice to help them learn about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and it’s something I wish I had access too when I was growing up. As much as I’ve always loved humanities and English and literature there were times when I wanted to learn how to make things and STEM toys would have been the foundation for that. I would have loved a Crystal growing kit like this one that was gifted to my daughter to use. We haven’t had the time to use it just yet with Evie being with her dad for most of the Christmas holidays and it’s something she’s been eagerly waiting to do together but I’ll be posting a full review of the I’m Genius Crystals kit soon to show off our creations. You can purchase this alongside many other STEM toys from Toys and Bears.

The I’m Genius Crystal kit comes with everything you need to make a set of grow your own crystals and a really informative book on crystals and different creations you can make. There is also a useful leaflet talking about kitchen substitutes you can use as reagents to recreate the experiements. I think once you have the intructions booklet and an understanding of how the kit works it would be able to be done again or more experiements could be explored.

The foundation of STEM toys I think really starts with lego, or duplo, for the younger years and something my son loves to build things with. It’s colourful, versatile and really allows your imagination to lead in what you can create. There are plenty of other building blocks around too from branded names to low cost versions and made of a variety of different materials too. We also have plain wooden blocks and shape sorters for my younger son which have been great for his development and understanding of colour, size and shapes.

Children as well are drawn to our electronics because we spend so much time playing with our own gadgets I am always on the hunt for games and apps that can help develop their learning. We love video games so we are not a family that shy’s away from tablets and electronic devices but I do want to see some learning going on. We have access to audiobooks which are a great way to relax to and an alternative to reading. I remember Evie had a mathematics game which really helped her with her numbers and as a result maths is an area she does really well with in school.

Children will always learn best through play and to encourage their learning STEM toys can develop a passion for a subject that can turn into a hobby and a lifelong career. The possibilities really are endless and with so much choice at a variety of prices it makes it easy for parents to choose STEM toys to help develop their child’s interest and passion for inventing, creating and developing technical skills that will help them continously through their lives.

Stationary lovers unite with some favourite stocking fillers sure to bring a smile and a giggle to little ones this Christmas.

Disclaimer: I received a gift voucher to purchase products online at Smiggle. All opinions remain my own.

How are you getting on with your 2020 festive shopping? Considering the year it’s been I’m feeling pretty organised for once! We have ordered our food shop, the tree and decorations are up and, most of the presents are bought for the family and our friends. What’s left is the stocking fillers from Father Christmas. I have a go to list of things for my daughter but this is the first year my son will really get a taste of Christmas magic, although he might not understand it all properly for a couple of years yet his little face seeing the tree and having his advent calender. He’s only two so stocking fillers for him will be pretty basic but I have a go to list of things each year for my daughter (which I’m sure my mum did with me!).

Regular readers of the blog will know my daughter, Evangeline, loves Smiggle and they have become our go to for stationary and school shopping supplies. Smiggle have a great range of stocking fillers online for children (and adults too, if you’re anything like me!) who love scented stationary, squishes and collectibles. There’s even our go-to Smiggle advent calendar which is a great alternative for those that can’t (or won’t) have a chocolate one. Evie always loves the advent calendar because it comes with a variety of stationary products of all shapes and sizes and really feels like a little gift each day. So far she has opened up days one and two and found a multi colour pen and tiny notebook. I don’t know about your children, but mine are always more amazed by things that are really tiny. I think I was when I was that age too!

Alternatively, Smiggle has such a range of products that if you have a resuable advent calendar and prefer a home made approach some of the scented goodies and character rubbers could make excellent fillers. Other stocking filler ideas could be the squishy toys, scented gel pen sets or a pot of galaxy goo. If you’re looking for more ASMR stocking fillers or gift ideas then there is fluffy sand and slime kits for kids that need that extra stimulation. I love the fluffy sand, it feels so satisfying!

Other things Evangeline loves from Smiggle are the moving sequin notebooks. We’ve had a few different ones over the years from unicorns to mermaid tails. The most recent one is this cute little panda notebook. There are a great range of character notebooks suitable for different tastes depending on your child’s favourite animals or colour. A lot of the stationary is a little on the quirky side too like these colourful bendy rubbers that remind me of marshmallow sweets.

What are some of your go to stocking fillers for your children?

Ad – we received a Smiggle gift card to purchase back to school stationary in exchange for this feature.

Like almost every other parent with school age children I am facing the return to school with my daughter next week. She finished her classroom learning in March after a school trip with friends and now returns taller, older and a bit more anxious. Smiggle have helped make this transition a little easier by allowing us to purchase some back to school supplies. They have a lovely new Smiggle Budz range which has everything you need in one back to school bundle and perfect for the new school year. However, Evie still had a few things from last year that would be fine to continue and wanted to select a different bag. She also picked a pretty cool stationary kit and some new headphones – not back to school, but Smiggle have an amazing choice of fun things for kids and it’s one of Evie’s favourite shops.

How are you feeling about being back to school? I think Evie’s excited to see her friends but I’m not really sure. She has missed them but her closest friends are in a different class to her which always affects her quite badly. She stopped attending the classroom but continued with learning at home in March, half way through year 4. She went in for two days over the summer to meet her new teacher and half of her class as it was staggered to keep numbers low. One thing is for sure is that starting Year 5 is not the same as we pictured or even started school this time last year.

I have no issue with what the school are doing to keep everyone safe and try and catch people up with their maths and English. Evie has done various bits of school work over the last six months from workbooks to BBC Bitesize lessons and some of the home school learning packs from the school too. It’s been a challenge for us all being stuck in a small flat with no garden and being anxious. Here are some ways I know getting back to school will benefit Evie, even if we’re worried about the risks.

1. She will get outside every day. We didn’t walk daily during lockdown as we didn’t have a garden, Felix was new to walking and there’s only so many times you can do the same walk without having to travel from home. I was never really sure what we were allowed to do as everyone was doing different things. Evie will get time to burn off some energy outside and be walking to and from school each day.
2. We will all benefit from some routine again. I mean don’t get me wrong I have enjoyed not setting an alarm and relaxing around bedtime but that needs to change this week. I think we are all going to benefit from getting back to school routine in place and getting out the door the same time each morning.
3. She will socialise with her friends again. Evie will be intereacting with everyone in year five as a “social bubble” which seems weird as that bubble is around 60 kids. However, even with the risks, she really does need to see her friends again. I don’t think she will socially distance at all because she will forget. Others will forget. Because they’re children.
4. Having some structure to each day. We were pretty relaxed with home learning and it didn’t take us six hours a day to do the worksheets and online learning we had. Having some proper, clear structure to her day will be a benefit to her for sure. She will probably enjoy learning from her teacher more than she ever did with me!
5. Even though it won’t be the same as normal, I think it will be good for her to be back to some sort of normal. This virus hasn’t gone away and so we will be limiting our time spend with others because of course children can cause transmission of this virus and I don’t want to be the cause of anyone geting sick with both Adam & Evie returning to education this month

I know I’m looking forward to having a bit of time during the day back. So much has changed since we first had Evie home. Felix can walk and is hurtling into his toddler years fully. The time spend working will be different and there’s a chance we will face another few periods of isolation depending on how school goes. I hope though, that it will be a good experience for everyone, that everyone stays safe and that mostly kids enjoy this strange start to education, their new classroom environments and having some normality back in their lives.

This is a collaborative post.

Our entrance hall is really tiny but I love that it’s a bit of seperation from the front door to the rest of the flat. Usually its a bit of a mix of shoes and coats but I’m trying to tidy it up a bit and I’ve been thinking of creative ways to change the space. Wooden flooring seems like the most logial idea. It’s a small rectangle space so I think measuring and laying the flooring would be pretty easy and it could actually transform it a little. Wooden flooring makes sense because its where we take of our shoes and I want an area that will be nice and easy to keep clean and tidy.

Another small space I have been thinking of transforming is our large walk in cupboard which I think could be turned into a mini office area for me. That of course would involve a lot of sorting out and decluttering but it could actually work really well. As this room is off the hallway and close to the entrance hall of the flat it would make sense to get wooden flooring to transform the entire hall and cupboard space. I would love to have ones that look like old shabby floorboards. I think its a look I’ve always loved and wanted to bring into my home a bit more.

Transforming small spaces can be really fun, with new flooring, a lick of paint and a good clean up you can make it look really lovely. Our entrance hall needs a bit of work with some new coat pegs and a more sturdy shoe rack. We could do with adding a lamp shade as well to be honest. I’d really like a kallax unit with boxes to put shoes away in as some of our older pairs look a bit tatty and I think using better storage could make this area look so much tidier than the plastic one we currently have.

Do you have much wooden flooring in your home?