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If you're looking for some fun ideas of what to do with your pre-school toddlers one morning or afternoon this summer, then I've listed 10 of our favourite ideas below. Most of the activities will get you out and about in the fresh air, because we need to make the most of the sunshine when it is here in the UK! 1. Visit a local sandpit - I love this activity, because not only do the children love playing in a large sand pit they also enjoy people watching (2 for the price of 1), and it's an opportunity to chat to people locally. I put a bag of sand tools in the pram, and off we head to the sandpit for an hour or so. 2. Dinosaur ice cubes - We used dinosaurs, but any miniature plastic/silicone toys will do for this activity. We had some large ice cube trays already, and I just popped them into them, added water and left them over night. Once they were frozen I then added them into our inflatable tray that we purchased a while ago off Amazon for messy play activities, threw in some other little sea creatures and divers (for good measure) and gave them each a little wooden mallet. They then tried to excavate the dinosaurs from the ice (I added a tiny bit of warm water into the tray to help the process along a little). The children loved doing this activity and were thrilled when they had freed them. It is a little messy, so it's a perfect one to do outside on a sunny day. 3. Chalk drawings - Water soluble chalk pastels on a different medium is a fun way for children to be creative. You could maybe even take a trip down nostalgia lane and teach them how to play hopscotch. A bit of heavy rain or some water from the kettle and hey presto! the patio is like new. Chalk drawing at our Queen's Platinum Jubilee street party 4. Bubble wands/frisbee/balls/kites in the park - A great way to add some excitement to the day, because who doesn't love pointing and shouting out "bubbles"! Using the frisbee or balls also develops their throwing and kicking skills, as well as their coordination. Or perhaps a kite on a breezy day for those who are up for more of a challenge. 5. Water the plants - This is a big hit in our family and very simple. The children absolutely love watering the plants in the garden, and in the house. We have one small watering can which they share and we also use plastic cups and bowls. If you don't have any plants outside or in the garden maybe you have a family member or neighbour who could do with a hand? This is also a nice way to encourage helping others. Watering the garden plants with a watering can and a plastic cup 6. Nature treasure hunt - A visit to the local park or woodlands for a treasure hunt is a wonderful way to get your little ones exploring nature. It helps to build their problem- solving and observational skills, as well as enhancing vocabulary for younger children. You can search for a whole range of things such as a pinecone, bird, squirrel, a variety of coloured flowers, worm, mushroom, ant, leaf, spider's web, a spider, puddle, and a green leaf. It also provides an opportunity to talk about nature too and ask questions that can be tailored to your child e.g. How many legs does the spider have? Why do you think it's useful to have that many legs? What would you do if you had that many legs? etc. 7. Make a nature collage - A great one for exercising the imagination and fine-motor skills. You could make this an afternoon activity if you go on a nature treasure hunt in the morning, or perhaps you just go out in the garden or locally before making the collage to find some bits to use. You could collect fallen leaves, grass, sticks, stones and flowers (but please don't pick any wild ones, just use ones that have fallen on the ground or ones from your own garden). In addition to your treasures you'll need some card, crayons and PVA glue or double-sided tape if you want to stick anything down. Some ideas of what to do: - Free style collage - Make an object out of the treasure e.g a car, robot, dog - Create a picture with the crayons e.g. a mermaid, rabbit, queen, and then use the treasures to frame the drawing. So for the mermaid you might have her sitting on a pebble and the sea is made out of grass and the sun is a flower etc. 8. Make a petal painting - Do you have any flowers on their way out that were decorating the house, or some dandelions that need to be pulled up in the garden? If so, then why not make some artwork with the flower heads, stems and some grass? It's something a bit different and fun. We discussed what flowers need to live, and we also talked about what animals like flowers. The artistic talents of my 1 year-old when petal painting...Damien Hirst watch out! 9. Water play in the garden - You just need a washing up bowl and some little toys that are happy to take a plunge, some bowls, cups, scoops, plus anything else that is suitable. Then add some warm water and then let them pour and splash to their heart's content. This is also mentioned in my 'GARDEN TOYS/IDEAS FOR TODDLERS WHEN YOU HAVE A SMALL GARDEN' blog post too. 10. Exploring the everyday - If you live in a highly residential area then why not follow the bin collection. We did this the other afternoon, and the children were in their element and enthralled. Alternatively, are there any stations near by where you could watch the trains, or maybe there is some building work going on with diggers and such like. It opens up opportunities to talk about a whole host of things that happen in day-to-day life. In this instance we chatted about recycling and the different types that there are, and why it is important to recycle. We listened to different sounds and discussed what we noticed. You can tailor the conversation to the age of the child. Watching the bin collection was a fun afternoon activity the other day (and we were some light entertainment for the cars stuck waiting - you're welcome!) I hope that this has given you some food for thought on what to do this summer, and I would love to hear if there is anything that you recommend doing too that get's your little ones out and exploring.

Parenting is notorious for the highs and the lows, and recently in this household we have been bogged down with illness for what feels like a very extended period of time. Here are my top ten tips for riding the lows when you have ill toddlers. Our recent survival kit to help us get through the recent illnesses! The last couple of months have felt unbelievably relentless in our household. Aside from the social commitments, it’s been one thing after another - a trip to A&E, x4 vomiting bugs, croup, roseola, a UTI, tonsillitis, conjunctivitis, a sleep regression, separation anxiety, loo training and countless teeth sprouting. As I write this at 4:30pm on a Sunday whilst sat in my pyjamas it felt as though I was writing out my weekly food shop - but the kind you wish to never receive. I’m sure we are not the only ones feeling as though we are being barraged by countless illnesses and developmental hurdles, but it sometimes feels a bit too much. I genuinely can’t remember what it feels like to feel remotely human! It also doesn’t take much for the smile that you felt you painted on each morning to get a bit smudged or start cracking. But with a little perspective now I wanted to share the top ten things I did to keep my head above water, in the hope it will give others also doing a constant doggy paddle some ideas or reassurance. Early nights! This might be an obvious one to you, but for all my fellow night owls, getting an early night is sometimes a psychological battle. But recently getting to bed at a decent time was a matter of survival! Don’t be too proud to get a family member or friend’s help to support where possible. Fresh air! There have been a couple of mornings where I threw on a pair of big sunglasses (even when the sun wasn’t shining) and took some sand tools to the park and the children were entertained for a good chunk of time. I find the dynamic changes once they get out and about, even if it’s for a short period of time. TV rules go (a little) out the window, because it certainly has a place when you have ill babes. I remember when I was younger watching TV whilst snuggled up under a blanket was rather comforting. House cleaning/washing will likely slide when you’re ill yourself and contending with ill children too - just be kind to yourself! Having sparkly floors and drawers full of clean folded clothes is not a priority when it could mean spending 30 mins to yourself or playing with your children. Take any opportunity you can to nap or have some downtime. I was never a napper before having children . My mother and sister have always been, and I genuinely thought they were aliens at one stage. Now I’m a self confessed alien! I recently had to nap when Big Bee and Little Bee were just to get through each day, which I haven’t done since Little Bee was born. Make dinners that are quick and easy - stir fry, jacket potatoes, pasta, fish fingers. I usually try and put a little more effort into dinner preparation and have some variety from week to week, but just getting some form of edible dish on the table recently felt as though I was winning. Trying my best not to overcommit during the week/at weekends. Time together recuperating is the most important. Doing something for myself during the week whether it be 20 mins reading a book or 30 mins of yoga on YouTube kept me slightly sane. Getting those endorphins following will do nothing but wonders! Having something in the diary to look forward to, because I felt as though I sure as hell deserved it! Do you have any tips that you could share? What helps you get through the grey patches?

Having been a teacher, I know how much it means to receive any form of appreciation for all the hard work that is put in during and outside of school hours. Even just a simple card can really mean the world! These are the cards we created the other day and hopefully will provide you with a little inspiration. So, with this being said and with the end of term fast approaching (Big Bee goes to a pre-school) we have spent some time this week making thank-you cards for her key workers, to go alongside their thank-you gifts. We went with the theme of 'helping me grow' and made it personal with Big Bee's handprints. In my opinion, you really can't beat a home-made card from a little person. The finished masterpieces - thank you for helping me grow! So, with a vision now in mind we raided the art and crafts box and this is what we used: Crayola washable paint Paintbrushes White card Coloured card Scissors Butterfly stickers Goggly eyes Glue To begin we did the handprints for both the flowers and the leaves of the vegetables. Big Bee loved picking out the colours and painting her hands. We simple used a damp flannel to wipe in between the different colours. With support, the soil was painted and then I painted the leaves and stalks for her. Hand painting in progress - silence please! Whilst we were waiting for the paint to dry we discussed what vegetables we were going to include and I cut the shapes out of the coloured card (Big Bee's cutting is a work in progress). I also took the opportunity to talk to her about different types of root vegetables that are grown under the ground. I selected a carrot, potato, sweet potato and an onion as that's what I had readily available. You could discuss what their favourite one is out of the selection, and in what dishes they are included in at home. You can also talk about how they look, feel and smell. You could take the opportunity to show photos of other root vegetables that you have used in your cooking but don't have at home, or introduce some new vegetables. Maybe a taster session at a future date? Finally, we also talked about how flowers can be planted near to the growing vegetables (like in the painting) to encourage visitors like bees for pollination, and other beneficial insects. This will then help keep the vegetable plants healthy and help to grow lots of them. A little break at root vegetable school, because we're cool After our little root vegetable pit-stop (and once the paint had dried), we then glued the vegetables on and stuck on the eyes. Big Bee then added the butterflies. A bumble bee or two would have also been a nice addition. Last but not least, I then wrote a personalised message (on behalf of Big Bee) and included the line 'thank you for helping me grow' and she signed it off. We hope that the teachers like them!