Glow Away Kickstarter

I'm a bit of a Kickstarter fan, normally I stick to the technology pages but I have recently started to widen where I look. I'm glad I did because I found Glow Away, please go and have a look. I love the idea of this product as Nate is already scared of the dark and we are starting to talk about why he is scared and what he thinks will happen. Just talking about things seems to have settled his nerve surrounding the dark and adding in a story which teaches him techniques to deal with his fear may be just what he needs.

Glow Away is a product to help children who are afraid of the dark. It's not just like a night light but a  way of helping children overcome their fears. It features a book and a duvet cover, the book is about Sam overcoming his fear and he learns a spell, the words of this spell then glow on the duvet.

Please have a look and pledge if this takes your fancy because Nate and I would love one and they are a little off their target.

Schools

Late last year, I got the dreaded letter in the post stating I had to chose the school and second choice school I would like Nate to go to. I'd already got an idea in my head which one I wanted him to go to. Then came the dilemma, I had to justify to myself that I had chosen the right school. What is a good school? Is it results? Is it the feeling you get when you are around it? Is it how the children behave outside of the school (in uniform)?

For me it wasn't about the results, or how the children behaved (it isn't senior school) it was about that feeling I got. Now admittedly I have spent a lot of time in his chosen school recently and haven't really explored the other schools in the area nearly as much as this one. There was also word of mouth, you know which school has the best reputation in your area but you don't necessarily know why. 

The school Nate is going to rarely comes up in conversation. Is that because it's a bad school? Or mediocre? Or just off the beaten track? I don't know but the children in the school are always seem to be happy, polite and interested in what they are doing. 

Should I check those league tables? No, I'm sticking firmly to my guns that I won't chose a school based on results. It doesn't tell me how happy the children are, or wether the school is setting them up for senior school and enstilling a love of learning. For me these are far important than scoring well in a test, results can only get your so far.

I just hope that this is the right school for him. 

Zip It and Train Review

Nate and I recently received two lovely books from Little Tiger Press, Zip It and Train.

The first book Nate sat and 'read' was Zip It. Zip It is great for little hands its a board book which contains five different fastenings to play with. Nate found the Zip a little hard at first as it was stiff but after opening and closing it no less than a hundred times he found it a lot easier.

The piggy button works really well, as it does look just like a pig nose.

The only page that I'm not sure about is the hen page which has velcro on it, on our version Nate has only used it a few times and it is already looking a bit worn. 

The best page has to be the last page where it teaches them how to tie shoe laces. 

Next is the book Train, this has been printed as a board book. As I am trying to teach Nate how to read I have really enjoyed reading this book to Nate as there are words that are repeated a lot it has meant I read the story and Nate reads the repeated words. These words have a different coloured background to help with identifying which is great for early readers as it allows them to feel like they are reading a proper story.

Base boys clothes

On Friday Nate and I were invited to an event in Base Boys at Westfield in Stratford, we arrived a little late and were quickly shown to the stock room where there were nibbles, drinks and a rail of clothes. After we'd sat down we were given some information about the background of Base and where there other stores are located. Then we were shown some of the lovely clothes they stock and how to combine them together to make great outfits.

Some interesting things I learnt at the event: Base also has a girls store, they stock clothes from newborn size to 16 year size and they stock Gucci clothes for boys. 

I'd love to have stayed for longer in the store however, as the picture above shows Nate wasn't in a great mood (he was still recovering from being ill) so I didn't get to look for as long as I'd like. They stock some beautiful shirts for young boys and loads of jeans in nearly every label you could imagine.

While we were there we chose an outfit, Nate chose the lovely Moschino Dinosaur T-shirt and we managed to get the last one in his size (there were lots in the baby sizes). I chose a pair of short beige chinos by Tommy Hilfiger which go well with his T-shirt but would also suit a lovely shirt such as this. Thanks to the Base team for inviting us and for taking the time to show us some lovely clothes.


Disclaimer: we were given some money toward our outfit in return for a review of the event.

Tongue twister

Yesterday we went to Stratford Westfield. We didn't quite make it to the Olympic Park. However, there was a tongue twister event going on there it's there again today and tomorrow.  

The purpose of the event is to make you think about your senses and how they work for you while you are eating. We visited the smell room first. 

Before you go into the room they test you to find out what sort of taster you are: non-taster, medium or super taster. Nate is a medium taster and I'm a super taster. 

Once in the smell room they explain the link between our sense of smell and taste. You are then given some jelly beans and put your head in the huge trumpets to smell various scents while eating your jelly bean. 

The next room is the sight room, where you are invited to try various coloured juices. The colours do not match the flavours which was odd for some of the flavours, it really confused your brain. 

If you have the chance to pop over to Westfield Stratford, it's worth it to try the tongue twister. 

Day trip to France.

On Wednesday we went on a day trip to France and Belgium. We took the Eurotunnel over so it was an early start to get to Folkestone. To keep Nate busy I packed some Lego, Kindle and a drawing pad with pens. However, as we were up early he slept for most of the way. 

Driving on the wrong side wasn't nearly as bad as people tell you. Our first stop was Lille where we stopped to have a drink and a snack. There are loads of places to see in Lille as we only had a day to fit in as much as we could we stuck in the centre and then visited the big shopping centre, Euralille. 

After lunch, our next stop was Ypres which was only a 40 minute drive and had a very different feel. While driving it wasn't clear when you cross over from France to Belgium. Once again Ypres is a beautiful town we spent most of our time wandering around the town and having a look in chocolate shops. 

Of course no trip to Ypres is complete without visiting the Menin gate. As we had a Eurotunnel crossing to get to we couldn't stay for the last post, but we did spend a little time looking at all the names.

All in all our day trip to France was very enjoyable and having a few things to do in the car made all the driving easier as Nate was occupied. 

Reading to a preschooler

Nate loves his bedtime stories, sometimes he will ask for five or seven books just before bedtime. This is great but I'm starting to get bored of the same books every night. I decided at the beginning of the year to start reading a chapter book for a bedtime story to Nate. 

We have started with the Chronicles of Narnia. 

Nate struggled slightly with The Magician's Nephew or at least he looked bored but after every chapter I'd ask one or two questions about what we'd just read and he'd answer them. Every night as it approached bedtime he'd ask for the story so he was obviously enjoying the book. 

We have recently moved on to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

Every night he has wanted another chapter and before he settles down to read he tells me about what has happened previously in the book. 

I found that letting Nate choose one picture book to read before the chapter helped him settle into listening to the chapter. We also chose a book which contained pictures so that once in a while there was something for his eyes to focus on instead of looking around the room. This also helps with the transition from reading being a very visual experience with a little listening to reading becoming a listening experience. 

Most importantly it's something we both enjoy.