During the half term, we decided to take the family out to the Natural History Museum in London. Most of the museums in London are free, though they are packed during the school breaks – it’s a good chance to get some learning into the break and have a day out with the kids! Getting to the museum was an easy journey, and though there was a bit of a queue, we lasted it with snacks and went right in. The Natural History Museum is one that could take several days to fully explore, but we spent some time in the Creepy Crawly bit, the Hall of Birds, Evolution of Humans and the Volcano area.
[Ad- gifted products] Our household is always on the lookout for toys, especially toy kits and items that will keep the three kids entertained. With the half term coming up, PoundToy reaching out with their very affordable toys seemed like a really good fit. Pound Toy is an online retailer that sells loads and loads of children’s toys at extremely affordable prices. They have some name brands, but mainly loads of cheaper off-brands that work pretty well. A few of their toys are free ad-ons (one per order) and there are toys that come in at £0.01, which can be added to an order, but do have a limit depending on what it is.
[Ad- gifted product] We really like stories before bedtime in our house as they are a great way to wind down and enjoy just a little bit more family time. Books that have a very positive message are always a plus when it comes to picking what to read before bed. When we were offered the books Meet Henry Heartbeat and Meet Henrietta Heartbeat, we were pretty excited to see what these two new characters had to offer.
Both of these books serve as introductions into the lives of these two characters, defining who they are and what they like. They are short stories that can be read easily by younger children or can make for a quick bedtime store being read out loud to children. Both contain fun and simple rhythms and cute pictures to go along with each page. When reading these books, the children pointed out some of their family members and friends who had shown the same traits, recognising kindness in their own lives.
[Ad- gifted experience] After a major refurbishment, we all were invited to The Blackberry Jack pub in St Albans. We always enjoy a classic British pub meal and there is always something for everyone, from the youngest picky eater to our adult pallet. As we’ve not been to Blackberry Jack, we aren’t really sure what the pub looked like before the refurbishment, but when we went, everything seemed very clean and quirky. We sat at a big, oval table with different colours painted onto various bits of the wood. Each of our chairs were a different design, giving a really quirky feel to the place.
The car park is actually at the back of the restaurant, meaning we entered through the back, which was a bit confusing for first-time visitors, but someone quickly noticed us and helped us to our table. Like most pubs, we ordered at the bar and items were delivered to our table. The Sizzling Pubs have an app that you can install and download so that you can order from your table, but by the looks of things, Blackberry Jack wasn’t on the app at the time that we went (probably due to the refurbish) so we just ordered at the bar. There are a good amount of variety on the menu, as well as a children’s menu and a children’s dessert menu. We were also given some colouring sheets for the younger kids, which was fun.
[Ad- gifted product] Kai, (my eldest child) is currently doing some awesome homework projects all about space and the solar system, and he has been super pumped about it. We’ve enjoyed doing many of these projects with him and watching him learn through his work. When LookLearn reached out with their line of sleek posters which aims to help children learn through seeing fun, stylish educational posters that would look great in their bedroom or in any room of the house, really.
The creator of LookLearn was inspired by decorating his daughters’ bedrooms, where he searched for educational posters that would look nice within the room. As he had been in the design business for over twenty years, he found that the overcrowded, full of colour, almost childish posters wouldn’t do, so he went on to design his own covering a bunch of different topics like colour, shape, the human skeleton, multiplication and of course, space.
