Learning From Home the Untraditional Way

Parents around the world are all currently feeling a sudden appreciation for teachers.

Asking that all important question, just how do they manage to get through each day without turning to drink?

With most children being asked to continue their learning at home, the word homeschool is now doing the rounds all across the internet and I bet top searches after the coronavirus are all geared towards what activities can be done with children to help them with their learning.

There are differing opinions right now as to whether you should be following a structured day using the curriculum provided from your child's school or perhaps taking a more relaxed approach, allowing kids time to adjust to their new way of life.

Now I'm not a homeschooler, I do however work at a school and I am also a parent so I can see things from both sides.

And in my opinion I don't think any option is wrong.

I believe that you know your child and you'll know best how to approach the idea of learning from home.

For my girls, I've taken the more structured approach but instead of doing all work set by their lovely teachers, I am also mixing in things that they wouldn't get the chance to do at school which include various art tutorials.

So I thought it might be helpful if I shared some of my findings in a post so that all links were in one place rather than you having to trawl through various links to find new and exciting activities to try with your children.

Keeping active

There have been four things that we have had a lot of fun joining in with, keeping us fit and active whilst boosting positivity and they are:

P.E. with Joe Wicks

I love a HIIT workout so its been a bonus being able to continue my own exercise whilst having the kids joining in too. Going live on Youtube 9am Mon - Fri, this man is doing a fantastic job of keeping the nation moving.

Dance with Oti Mabuse

Going live at 11.30am Mon-Fri on both her Facebook and Youtube accounts. Great for strictly fans, and with various daily themes, this puts the fun into exercise.

Cosmic Kids Yoga

A more relaxed approach to exercise but no less fun. Cosmic Kids Yoga is great for the whole family.

Just Dance

If you don't have a computer console you can look up all of the Just Dance songs on Youtube. Believe me you will come away sweating every time.

Getting Creative

My kids have always loved getting creative. Whether that is through drawing, writing or simply making things out of random materials around the house. Some of the best things I've found for this have been via Twitter.

Rob Biddulph

This was the first one I found. Putting up different draw along videos on a Tuesday and a Thursday. These are perfect for any budding artist. Make sure to share via social media with the tag #DrawWithRob

Here's one my seven year old made earlier:

Afternoon @RobBiddulph catching up on this weeks #DrawWithRob with the 7 year old 💕 pic.twitter.com/3VwJWRgSwq

— Chantelle Hazelden (@MamaMummyMum) March 26, 2020

ad Elli Smiles Toy Review

My youngest two daughters at seven and nine years old still love to play with dolls. They push them around in what was my dolls pram, which is over thirty years old and they turn into mini mums as the play.

I've always believed that dolls are great for imaginative play, to get the cogs turning and to encourage interaction. Between the chatter, the dressing up and the role play, there is so much to be gained from simply playing.

Elli Smiles from Zapf Creations is a doll that offers the opportunity for all of the above, she is an interactive doll who really smiles and my girls were lucky enough to be gifted her for the purpose of this review.

Revealing Rainbocorns Big Bow Surprise and Sparkle Heart Rainbocorn

My children (and I) were very lucky last year when we were one of the first people to open and play with what was then a brand new collectable, Rainbocorns. These adorable plushies from ZURU proved to be so popular that they are back again this year but bigger and better than before. Revealing Rainbocorns Big Bow Surprise and not forgetting their tiny counterpart Sparkle Heart Rainbocorn.

Candylocks Collectable Dolls Review

My youngest two girls still love to play with dolls and are alway on the look out for new ones to add to their collection (especially ones that have an added bit of fashion and style.) As it happens, just last week we were kindly gifted a brand new kind of doll and now we're ready to show you.

Meet the newest collectable dolls, Candylocks from Spinmaster.

Who's in there with the cotton candy hair?

These oh so sweet-smelling collectible dolls have unbelievably soft hair and just as their name suggests, it looks just like cotton candy!

L.O.L Surprise Hair Goals and Fuzzy Pets Collectibles

Collectible toys are still all the rage amongst kids right now and one such collectible that remains popular are the L.O.L Surprise dolls. My girls have been collecting various versions of them ever since they hit toy shelves back in 2016.

And now I've been given the opportunity to review two of the latest ranges #Hairgoals and Fuzzy Pets. Right now I'm considered the coolest mum ever!

Poopsie Slime Surprise Range Review

Way back in November 2018, I brought to you guys a review of a new toy to hit the market, Poopsie Surprise Unicorn. That was one of the most longed for toys, which was on my children's letters to Santa! Since then there have been more items added to the range of Poopsie Slime Surprise collectables and I have to say I almost expected my children to start requesting them (especially when I'd seen them watching many You Tube videos including them.)

As well as the Poopsie Surprise Unicorn, the range also includes the following:

Celebrating Easter with Num Noms

Num Noms have been around for quite some years now and after all this time they manage to come up with new and exciting ranges that my children would like to collect. And as we come up to Easter, things haven't changed.

These delicious smelling collectables are back with new and yummy selections and to enable me to showcase them to you, I have been sent a few of the new range along with a delightful Easter themed recipe and a few baking essentials to help the kids in the kitchen.

These brand new additions include the following:

Schleich Horse Club - Hannah's Guest Horses with Ruby the Dog Review

Over the past year or so my girls, who never had any real hobbies before, have gained a real interest for horses. It started when we visited their friend's yard and ever since then they spend most Sundays up there helping to clean, groom etc in exchange for riding lessons. They've become that obsessed that they spend their pocket money buying bits for the horses including snacks and grooming tools.

This meant that it came as no surprise to me that they would take a real shine to any programme, toy etc that had a horse theme surrounding it. So when I was asked if I'd like to review part of the brand new Schleich Horse Club range of play sets, the only answer that I could possibly reply with was yes please.

Guinness World Records Challenges Review

I love a good board game and it has become a sort of tradition that I buy a new one each year for the family to enjoy at Christmas. This year I was saved the effort of buying one when I was asked if I'd like to review the new Guinness World Records Challenges board game. I of course jumped at the chance. My eldest daughter has always been fascinated with the books so I thought it would definitely be one for the whole family to enjoy together.

Do try this at home! Pick Your Challenge!

The idea of the game is to put each players knowledge about the Guinness World Records to the ultimate test as well as challenging opponents to try their best to demonstrate some record breaking skills and the best part is that it uses every day household items so it is fully accessible for anyone who chooses to play.

Teach Your Child Meditation Book Review

Stress! As an adult I know I've felt it and when I think back to my childhood, although I wasn't aware of it at the time, I know now that I certainly stressed about many things back then. From friendships and boys to exams and school work. When I recall those moments, I wish I'd had methods of calming myself down, of not letting things get to me so much. To be honest I could still do with some coping mechanisms now!

Teach Your Child Meditation is a book that I was asked to review recently and after just going through a pretty stressful period with my 10 year old revising for some quite important tests, I jumped at the chance of being given some useful knowledge on how to allow my children to de-stress and chill out more in the future. And lets be honest, a happy child will also equate to a happy parent too.

Stocking Up For Christmas with Wicked Uncle

As we near the second half of November, you can't deny that Christmas is coming. Now if you're like me, you'll already have most things bought and be rather organised for the occasion but I know I'm in the minority there. So if you the opposite and you've barely started and you are in need of some inspiration, I'm here to help, or rather Wicked Uncle is.

I was lucky enough to work with Wicked Uncle a couple of years ago and since then this is a company who have gone from strength to strength.They stock a wide range of toys that would be suitable for any occasion such including the all important Christmas. 

On their site you'll find everything is divided up into age and gender but they also make sure that you can search by interest too because we all know that girls and boys can play with whatever they like. And with new products added on a weekly basis in the run up to Christmas, there is something for everyone to be discovered.

Baby Annabell My Special Day - Toy Review

I remember when I was a little girl that I adored all sorts of baby dolls. I had a gorgeous red pram (it's 30 years old now!) and new babies were always on my list of wants when it came to Christmas and birthday time. Now unfortunately for me, I was never lucky enough to receive a Baby Annabell doll, I was little too old when she was first released so it's hard to believe that Baby Annabell is celebrating her 20th anniversary this year!

And of course she's celebrating in style, with the release of the 'My Special Day' doll and my youngest two girls were thrilled to receive one of their own. This is a limited edition doll and she is all ready to celebrate in her new party dress and added accessories.

First Act Discovery Ukulele - Review and GIveaway

When I was younger my musical talents didn't manage to stretch further than twinkle twinkle little star on the keyboard and an ok version of three blind mice on the recorder. It's not that I don't like music, I love listening to other people play their instruments, I just wasn't blessed with the musical genes. My little brother on the other hand is actually quite good, he plays the bass guitar in his own band and is quite the dab hand with his ukulele. 

Now my kids all adore their uncle and all look up to him in a their own way and when I was asked if I'd like to review the First Act Discovery Ukulele, it was my eight year old who jumped for joy and proclaimed that her Uncle Alec could teach her how to play. And if that wasn't enough, it turns out that her teacher is also a really talented ukulele player and she recently bought in her instrument to school to demonstrate just how fun it is to make songs with.

The First Act Ukulele isn't a 'toy' instrument, it is the real thing. It comes complete with:

Teamsterz Street Race Showdown Toy Review

Something my husband was always into when he was younger was fast cars. Well if I'm honest he still loves them and often reminisces about the cars he used to own and will show our daughters pictures and talk about how fast they used to go. So I'd say that it is no surprise that my girls are quite partial to a race car, they love playing Forza on their Xbox.  

Now imagine their delight when they received a surprise package recently containing the new Teamsterz Street Race Showdown!

"Your little racer will have endless fun with this Teamsterz Street Race Showdown Track set.

It features gravity fed two lane trackset with single loops, start line countdown and finish line gantry with winning lane detector & race time notification.Includes 5 die cast vehicles."

Babysecrets Merbabies Toy Review

Earlier in the year my children had the pleasure of reviewing another new collectable to hit toy shelves, Babysecrets. These little cuties each came with their very own bath and when run under water would be revealed to be either a boy or a girl.

And now they are back but not as we know them.

Introducing Merbabies.

The babies have turned into mermaids and instead of coming in their signature baths, you can now reveal surprise Merbabies and accessories when you open their clams.

Smooshins Surprise Maker Kit Toy Review

If your children are anything like mine then they will love a good collectable, but what's better than buying them? Making your own of course. And now with the Smooshins Surprise Maker Kit your kids can do just that!

With this clever piece of kit your little ones can create, customise and of course then begin to collect these adorable, colourful smooshy characters again and again! There are over 10,000 combinations of characters and accessories to collect, which means never a dull moment.

Casdon Shopping Basket and Chip 'n' Pin Till Toy Review

Most children love to imitate what we do as adults, whether that is copying us getting dressed in the morning, doing hair and make up or this could be helping us to vacuum the house  and things tidied up. Something my girls have always been eager to do is to come food shopping with me. If I'm honest this is actually something I try to avoid, I'm sure many of you parents can agree this type of trip out can be more than stressful! But we have no need to stress anymore, not when they can now go shopping all by themselves with the Casdon Shopping Basket and the Casdon Chip 'n' Pin Till.

I think I was more excited about this toy being delivered than my kids, I had my shopping list at the ready!

Zoomer Hungry Bunnies - Interactive Bunnies with Big Appetites

Earlier in the year I had the chance to review Zoomer Zupps Pretty Ponies but as is the world of Zoomer, it's expanding again and they'e back with their latest interactive toy, Hungry Bunnies.

Interactive Bunnies with Big Appetites!

So what exactly are Zoomer Hungry Bunnies? These fluffy eared bunnies are the latest pet for your little ones to adopt and they are always ready and waiting for food. When you open the box you will find a bunny, we received the one called Chewy. Also included is: 4 snack sheets, basket, treat tracer and instruction manual.

Monopoly is Back Mario Kart Style

I used to love playing Monopoly when I was younger. Well if I'm being completely honest, I used to enjoy playing when was winning, I guess what people would tell you is that I used to be a bit of a sore loser but hey who doesn't like to win? My favourite character used to be the dog and what I do also recall is that this was the type of game that would go on for quite some time and if you wanted to come out victorious it was all about buying the most expensive properties.

Fast forward in time and Monopoly is still going strong with and there have been over 1300 different versions released at various times over the years and now they are back again with Monopoly Gamer Mario Kart. Now the race really is on, the question is who will reach the highest score first?

Time to choose your character, power up and complete races with Monopoly Gamer!

Casdon Dyson Cord-Free Vacuum Toy Review

Recently I was lucky enough to review a fantastic play-set from Casdon, this got my youngest quite excited about one thing in particular, vacuuming. This was because there was a little hand held vacuum as part of the set. So you can imagine her delight when she got home from school the other day and saw a new toy ready and waiting for her, the Casdon replica of the Dyson Cord-Free Vacuum.

I'll be honest right now, I'm rather jealous, this is an exact replica of the DC59 model and I'd like nothing more than to have the real version and for now she has the next best thing.