Day 244 of The 366 Project

My little monkey playing chasing with me in the garden today.

Day 243 of The 366 Project

Ben had loads of fun playing with balloons today. You've got to love the simple things.

Day 242 of The 366 Project

Ben happily dancing away today to the Jake and The Neverland Pirates theme song.

Day 241 of The 366 Project

Ben and I paid a visit to the Disney Store on Oxford Street today where we had a lot of fun. The downstairs section is fantastic with a viewing area where you can select what to watch while sitting at the table doing jigsaws. Needless to say Ben didn't want to leave.

Guest Post: Five Benefits of Learning from Home

We live in a society that centers on success. Whether you measure that success in terms of wealth or happiness is down to individual opinion but it’s more than likely that one part of your particular equation for success will include secure employment.

A job, career or vocation is bound to play a significant role in your life; if merely as a means for making a living. These days however it’s far more likely to constitute more than that to many people. We often define ourselves by what we do and yet so many of us are unhappy in our work. We no longer feel content to merely earn, we want to love what we do for a living too.

For many though, the thought of changing direction and setting course for the career choice of their dreams may be too overwhelming and daunting a prospect. Most of us have financial and familial commitments and the fear of disposing our steady and safe source of income in favour of pursuing a passion may be a step too far.

There is a solution to this stasis however, which makes the prospect of career retraining far less overwhelming. A provider such as ICS Learn can help make the leap of faith a little less gigantic in the form of distance learning – but what benefits does this option provide?

1. You’ve got nothing to lose

Although you may be required to pay a fee for your chosen course, studying for a qualification by distance learning enables you to retain your current employment. You’re not required to attend a formal institution and as such are still able to keep your hours of work. This vastly reduces your personal risk factor and if your bid to gain new qualifications doesn’t quite work out, then at least you’ll have the personal reassurance of having given your dream a go.

2. Choose your own curriculum

ICS offers a vast range of courses to suit every individual. You’ll be able to pick a suitable subject and entry level, which has potential to lead to higher qualifications in your chosen field.

3. You’re not tied to a timetable

Distance learning allows you to pick and choose when to study. Life has a habit of getting in the way of even the best laid plans, so the option to learn at your own convenience is invaluable; particularly considering that most of us have myriad commitments to meet.

4. Cut back on costs

Learning from home means that you won’t need to arrange additional childcare. This is a costly commitment and is often a logistical quandary when considering whether you can embark on furthering your education and attaining your employment goals.

5. You won’t be out on a limb

Contrary to the method’s moniker, you won’t be left languishing at a distance. Providers such as ICS offer learners support and feedback every step of the way to help ensure you gain the qualifications you need to be successful in the career you crave.

~ This is a guest post on behalf of ICS Learn

*Disclaimer: I received a payment for publishing this guest post. 

Day 240 of The 366 Project

Ben enjoying his favourite book, The Three Little Pigs.

Day 239 of The 366 Project

We got Ben a robot arm toy yesterday which he calls his "grabber hook" for some reason. He has pretty much carried it around everywhere since. That was until it went missing after our trip into town today. We're going to have to get him a replacement soon I think.

Silent Sunday

Day 238 of The 366 Project

Ben went test driving cars today. This blue car definitely came top of his list.

Saturday is Caption Day

Can you think of a caption for this photo of Ben?

You can then check out some more fab entries for Saturday is Caption Day over at Mammasaurus's blog by clicking the badge below. Happy Saturday!

Day 237 of The 366 Project

Ben enjoying one of his favourite treats - a yummy juicy pear.

Guest Post: Surprise Your Mother with a Personal Gift

Surprising mum with a gift should mean more than the expected box of chocolates on her birthday, charismas or mother’s day. Being a mum is a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year job. Although being a mother is the most rewarding and fulfilling of experiences, it is hard work and sometimes they can be left feeling unappreciated. Giving a surprise gift can help show appreciation, care and attention to all the mothers feeling neglected or overworked.  However for the gesture to seem real and thoughtful you need the right kind of gift, it can easily come off as an unplanned empty gesture when buying many shop-bought items. The solution is simple, a personalised gift she can cherish and enjoy for years.

These days many items can be personalised from tea-cup to calendars, with all manner of customisation including images, photos and text. For mothers a great way to personalise products is with photos of their children and text like “world’s best mom”. A personalised gift is wonderful because every time they see it they are reminded of the occasion, creating long lasting memories.
Not only are personalised gifts great but they are so easy to create, all you really need is a digital photograph and some time to log into a personalised gift creation website. Even if you aren’t very creative, there will be plenty of template and stock images to choose from.   The process is quick, easy and you can produce some fantastic looking pieces to share with your loved ones.

Fantastic gift ideas from Vistaprint

If like many of us you aren’t very ‘tech savvy’ and are unsure how to get your digital photo from your phones, cameras or other devices onto your computer, don’t panic! There are many ways to get photos off your devices:

• Firstly see if you can find a cable that connects from your device to a USB slot. A USB slot is a small rectangle that you can plug all kind of devices from keyboards, mice and memory sticks into. Most computers have at least two of theses and can be found on the front and back of the computer towers or at the side of laptops. Once it is plugged in it should be easy to extract similar to how you use a memory stick.
• Secondly see if both your computer and device have Bluetooth, if they do you should be able to send them straight across by pressing send via Bluetooth on the photo.
• Thirdly try taking the memory card out and seeing if your computer has the appropriate slot. But be careful to not try and force it into to the wrong size slot as there are various memory card formats of similar sizes.
• Finally most photo labs are more than happy to help you get the photo off of a device for a small fee.  A worthy point to also note about photo labs is that, if you have a physical photo they will usually do a high quality scanning service to change them to digital images for you so don’t worry if all you’ve got is an old photo.

Once you have the perfect picture try and find the perfect gift. Make it something unique to their personality, if they drink a lot of tea get them cup or if they have a busy schedule why not a personalised calendar. The possibilities are endless all it takes is a bit of time and thought to create the perfect gift that your love ones will cherish for a life time.

~ This is a guest post by Sam Fisher.

*Disclaimer: I received a payment for publishing this guest post.  

Day 236 of The 366 Project

Jumping on our bed is one of Ben's favourite things to do. Today he couldn't get enough of it.

Bug Games HD iPad App Review

One of Ben's favourite apps to play recently has been Bug Games HD by Busy Bee Studios. It is a fantastic preschool app full of learning potential for kids who will love all the characters including singing crickets, marching ants, spiders and bees. The app consists of four games, each of which is highly interactive and engaging.

When you load the app you can select from four options including:

• Music - Select from four well known children's songs which are Hickory Dickory Dock, Hot Cross Buns, Farmer in the Dell and London Bridge by touching the circle on screen. The three crickets then begins to sing.  Alternatively you can select individual crickets to sing it word by word. This is great for teaching kids the words to songs and they will love singing along with the crickets.
  



Music with the singing crickets

• Phonics - Drag the letters to the correct flower to make a word. Each letter and the completed word is pronounced phonetically.  When you complete a word the butterfly in the corner begins to emerge from it's chrysalis after which you receive a sticker reward. This is a fun way to teach kids phonetic sounds and to help them with word building.
  
  

  

  Phonics - build words while learning phonetic sounds to release the butterfly

• Puzzles - Put the pieces of the pipe in the correct place by tapping on it to rotate. Once the pipe is complete the ants march to freedom. This improves logical thinking while developing fine motor skills.
  



Complete the puzzle to free the ants

• Counting - Help the spider join the numbers but tapping on the numbers in the the web which make a shape. This is a fun way to reinforce numerical knowledge.



Join the numbers to reveal the hidden object

Ben enjoys playing all these games, it is very cute watching him sing along with the crickets and I find the phonics excellent for reinforcing his pronunciation of letters. He loves revealing the hidden object in the spiders web and the challenge of figuring out the puzzle so the ants can go (in Ben's words) "march march march". The games are varied in subject which helps to captivate a child's attention and keep them engaged, it actually feels like four apps in one. The graphics and music are fun and the interface is kid-friendly and intuitive.

Ben playing the counting game

Bug Games HD is available to download from the App Store for £0.69 and is compatible with the iPad. I highly recommend this app, it is an excellent educational resource for preschoolers which they will have endless fun playing.

Day 235 of The 366 Project

Ben ran up and down these steps in the park over and over again today. It was a bit like the scene in Rocky where he is training by running up and down the steps outside the National History Museum in Philadelphia.

 

The Gallery: Sky

This week's theme for The Gallery is Sky. Sunny summer skies make me happy. Last Saturday lying in the garden, looking up this beautiful sky made me smile and feel totally relaxed. I just wish we had more of them.

 

Day 234 of The 366 Project

This morning when we stopped off in Starbucks Ben insisted on having a muffin. I think he liked the idea of having one more than the actuality as he had one bite, handed it over and asked me for an apple.

Day 233 of The 366 Project

Ben decided to sing me a lullaby earlier. It went something like "Go to sleep Mummy, go to sleep.." followed by a very loud "Wake up Mummy!".

Our Fun at Lollibop

Yesterday we went along to Lollibop in Regent's Park where we had lots of fun soaking up the festival spirit and checking out all the cool things there were to see and explore. Despite one bad rain shower and burst of thunder the sun shone brightly which definitely added to the day.

One of the highlights of the day for Ben had to be the mechanical dragon who moved about opening his jaws and swishing his tail while flames burst out of him. Ben would have stood there all day watching it and pressing the controls if he had gotten the chance.

Another favourite area was the 3ft and under where Ben had a lot of fun playing in the Little Tyke playhouses, sliding down the slide and crawling through tunnels.

Ben also had his first chance to play with WOW toys and they certainly had the wow factor for him. He absolutely loved all the toys, especially the digger and dumper truck. I had heard of WOW toys before but had never actually seen them in action but wish I had sooner. There is clearly a lot of thought put into their design which makes them fun and engaging for kids without the need for batteries which is a big win for parents. I think we shall have to add one of these to Ben's birthday list.

Ben who is more than a little dinosaur crazy was pretty amazed when he got to see Tiny the Dinosaur up close. I had a job trying to keep him from running inside the barriers though to go give Tiny a hug.

The Halfords Bike City was definitely one of the busiest areas during the day with kids trying out all the bikes and sccoters on the different courses. Ben, with a little help from Daddy, had a go on the wacky races course, after one whizz around the course he decided he wanted to do it "all by himself" and was off on his own.

The best bits for my hubby and me had to be seeing Stavros Flatley and Dick and Dom on the main stage. Both acts were so funny and entertaining with lots of adult humour thrown in too which had both the kids and adults laughing loudly.

We also got to meet one of the celebs while there which was none other than Tang the ZingZilla. I think my hubby was a bit more impressed than Ben at meeting him though.

So as you can see we certainly had a lot of fun at Lollibop, the big bash for little people (and their parents).

Day 232 of The 366 Project

Daddy was far more starstruck than Ben when we met Tang the ZingZilla at LolliBop today.

Silent Sunday

Day 231 of The 366 Project

I decided to introduce Ben to volcano documentaries on the iPad as he never stops talking about them and "hot bubbly lava". Forget CBeebies or Disney Junior it's all he wants to watch now.

Saturday is Caption Day

Can you think of a caption for this photo of Ben?

You can then check out some more fab entries for Saturday is Caption Day over at Mammasaurus's blog by clicking the badge below. Happy Saturday!

Day 230 of The 366 Project

Today in the park Ben kept running off on me and hiding behind trees and bushes. I had a job keeping up with him as he navigated his way through the smallest of spaces and under the lowest of branches which were definitely not buggy friendly.

Guest Post: How to make foam castanets

Every child loves to make music. Now they can have fun making their own instrument. Foam is the perfect material for this as it springs back so the castanets work really well. Below is a great tutorial provided by www.foamcompany.co.uk who offer foam cut to size.

You will need:

• Foam sheets
• Stick-on jewels, sequins, etc for decoration
• 4 x two-penny pieces
• Scissors
• Glue

Step 1

Cut an oval shape out of a sheet of purple foam. Fold in half to check that both sides are the same.

Step 2

Cut a smaller oval out of yellow foam, then glue it onto the purple oval.

Step 3

Cut out some small triangles from pink foam and use to decorate.

Step 4

Add some jewels or sequins for extra decoration.

Step 5

When you are happy with the decoration, turn the oval over and glue the two-penny pieces to the top and bottom. Make sure that they line up when the oval is folded.

Making these cheerful castanets is a perfect activity for a child’s party. The children can all decorate them differently and then enjoy playing them all together. Wooden buttons can be used instead of coins to create a different sound. Try it with the kids this summer and see what designs you can come up with. This tutorial was created thanks to www.foamcompany.co.uk.

*Disclaimer: I received payment for publishing this post.

Day 229 of The 366 Project

Ben found Daddy's camera today and had lots of fun taking photos of Coco, his toys, a spider on the ceiling, me, the plants and a whole host of other things. Shame there was no SD card in it as I reckon he may have taken some interesting shots.

ChokaBlok Chocolate Heaven

We were recently sent a massive stash of ChockaBlok chocolate to try out and what a treat it was for all the family. I gasped when I opened the package and saw the four blocks of fabulously named chocolate bloks and the absolutely divine looking ChockaBlok Gift Box.

The fantastic ChokaBlok selection

The chocolate Bloks come in four delicious flavours each one as scrumptious as the next, they include:

• Cookie Crumb Mon-Star - think creamy white chocolate with a swirl of milk chocolate packed with crunchy shortcake biscuit balls, dark cookie crumbs and milk chocolate stars. Definitely aptly named.
• Gold Digger Dynamite - whoever came up with this one definitely struck gold with it's milk chocolate caramel cups and chunks of sweet honeycomb surrounded by milk and white chocolate, swirled together in a chunky blok. Yummy.
• The Chocolate Extremist - this is one for the serious chocaholic, it is crammed with smooth milk chocolate swirled with rich dark chocolate, crunchy brownie pieces and milk chocolate malty balls.
• The Rocky Road of Love - the perfect blok to share with your loved one during a movie night. It is a mix of milk chocolate loaded with romantic dark chocolate hearts, crunchy shortcake biscuit balls and mini marshmallows finished with a drizzle of dark chocolate. 

If you are looking for a special chocolate gift box you should look no further than the ChockaBlok Gift Box. It is guaranteed to impress the recipient with it's bite-size selection of mini bloks which are created from a combination of the ChokaBlok bloks. Each blok is hand topped with sweet treats and has a soft mouth-watering center. A truly special flavour delight in each sweet not to mention how pretty each one looks.

Where to start?

It is safe to say these chocolates went down a storm in our household with the Gold Digger Dynamite coming top of the taste test. We found the mini bloks in the gift box tend to be sweeter than their equivalent blok bars perhaps due to their soft centers which makes them more of a decedent treat to be savored slowly and enjoyed.  I can highly recommend trying ChokaBlok chocolates next time you fancy a special treat for yourself or want to spoil that special loved one, you won't be disappointed.

ChokaBlok chocolate bloks and gift boxes are now available at Tesco stores (RRP £1.59 for the bloks and £3.99 for the gift box).

*Disclaimer: I received a selection of ChokaBlok bloks and gift box free in exchange for a review but this has in no way biased my opinion.

Day 228 of The 366 Project

We escaped to the park when the rain stopped today. Ben badly needed to run off some of his endless energy which thankfully he did going up and down the slide over and over again.