On our recent trip to London we surprised the children with a trip to the theatre to see one of their favourite books brought to life on the stage by Tall Stories; 'Room on the Broom' by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

They were captivated from the moment we walked into the theatre, drawn in by the excitement of the other children bustling about in the foyer and keen to explore the dimly lit passageways that led into the theatre.

We had no need to worry about bored children - they were engaged from the outset as members of the cast launched into a spoof game of hide and seek in the audience while people were settling down.  The show was just under an hour long (long enough for a 2 1/2 and 5 year old!) and brought to life with a number of tuneful songs which amazingly the kids can still remember and sing now!

As someone who has always loved books and theatre as a way of being transported to another place it made me happy to see my kids faces light up as they embarked on their own magical journey. 

Thouroghly recommend theatre with kids and this production.

Useful links:
Review by the Independent
Tall Stories
Kids Week - The Kids Week message is simple; for every full paying adult theatre ticket, a child goes free and up to two additional children go at half price.

And discover cats that talk, dogs that dance and other magical goings on.

We took our 2 1/2 yr old and 5 1/2 year old to London for a few days and here's a round up of their favourite child friendly activities

Splish Splashing at the Diana Memorial

Kids enjoy nothing more than a good old fashioned run around in the fresh air, and if there's water involved that's even better.  We took a break from our sight seeing to let them splash about in the beautiful water feature made from Cornish granite - they loved it!

Street Performers on Southbank
We wandered along southbank towards the Royal Festival Hall showing the kids the sights of Big Ben, St Paul's Cathedral, but what really captured their imagination was this talking cat in a box. 

My husband swears this ranks among the freakiest things he has seen.  Inspite of the cat, I liked it along here - the space was safe and open and not too crowded (unlike Covent Garden with young kids).  It felt great to let the kids just wander along enjoying themselves without fear of traffic or crowds - dare I say it, almost relaxing!

Dancing to Brazilian Jazz in Festival Hall
I love the atmosphere of Festival Hall and absorb the culture like a sponge, trying to hold onto the experience as long as possible!  The children just broke into a run when we entered the hall, right up to the stage and started dancing.

Tasting Titbits at Borough Market
Colouful flowers, fruits they'd never seen before, huge pans of steaming paella and curry being cooked before them - the kids were goggle eyed from the moment they stepped into Borough market.  We tried cheeses which had been aged for 2 years, olives, chocolates made from violets, juices pressed from fresh berries.  I did draw the line at letting my 2 year old stroke the dead rabbit hanging up by a butcher's stall though.

Getting Crafty at the Tate Modern
We went to a couple of galleries but the Tate Modern was the best for the kids. 

First of all they loved the huge open space in the Turbine Hall, and then we tried one of the family trails designed for getting different age ranges of children engaged in the art pieces, producing something themselves and giving adults the time to enjoy the gallery instead. 

Genius. 

What a refreshing change to either being whisked through the gallery at a rate of knots or exerting so much energy pandering to various requests from the children that you reach the exit exhausted and barely aware of what you've just been to see. 

Will chose the 'thinking hat' activity which involved choosing 2 pieces of work on display, thinking about why they appealed to him, jotting words in a 'mood bubble' to describe the works, and then using the craft pack supplied of tissue paper, corrugated card, pencils, materials & glue sticks to represent thoughts captured in the mood bubble on the sheet provided.  At the end, the sheet was folded along the dotted lines to create a 'thinking hat'.  Our 2 year old was more than happy doing her own thing with the trail sheet and sat gluing and colouring for half an hour while we could absorb the work around us and spend time looking out of the windows at the magnificent view of the millenium bridge.  Thoroughly recommend this activity!

Dressing up at the Science Museum
You could literally spend hours in this place.  Our children particularly loved the pattern pod, dressing up as dogs and exploring how dogs move about. 

You might also like to read about our Magical Mystery Tour

Useful links
Royal Parks - the Diano Memorial
Find out what's going on at The Southbank Centre
The Tate Modern for families
The Science Museum
Borough Market

This post is inspired by Tara Gain's gallery and the theme this week is Nature.

I am not religious but for me being in nature is the closest thing I come to having a religious experience.  It inspires & uplifts me, supports me, comforts me, and challenges me and I have always felt this way.

I can remember walking for hours on end as a teenager with our family dog sorting through all the teenage thoughts pulsing through me and finding comfort in the same trees always there, grounded and marking my path.

As an adult I have at times burst free of the house after a difficult day desperate for escape and release, again to find that just putting one step in front of the other, breathing in the air, feeling the rain or sun on my skin, twigs crackling beneath me and whatever else nature throws at me serves to soothe and restore calm and a sense that life goes on.

I have toiled up mountains in the rain and snow in quest of the buzz of life found at the top - that glorious feeling of peace and inner calm that comes after physical exertion.

I have reconnected with old friends whose life paths have thrown us in different directions and come together to spend a glorious uninterrupted day of talking and catching up whilst walking hills, peaks & moors.

Becoming a mum has made me more aware than ever of my place as a cog in the wheel of nature.  I have discovered a real sense of purpose and a deeper understanding of life that I never before had. 

Now I love being outside with my kids seeing them inspired and challenged by nature themselves.

One of our favourite places to go with our children is Badbury Rings in Dorset where we live.  As someone who loves walking I have found it frustrating with young children not to be able to go on the kind of walks that we used to.  However, Badbury Rings gives you a real sense of being in the heart of nature without having to trek for miles and lets me still experience this joy that I feel.  Hearing the wind blasting through the trees, seeing the delicate flowers bobbing in the long grass and feeling the smooth twisted stumps of fallen trees makes me feel alive and part of the grand scheme of things again.

Useful resources for getting out and about in nature with children

Walks with buggies
Great website set up by a husband and wife team based in Wiltshire frustrated with the lack of freely available information on walks suitable for those with access challenges.

Pushchair Walks
Useful site developed by 2 mums with range of graded UK wide walks suitable for buggies to download for £1 each.

Scavenger Hunt
Get your children interested in their natural surroundings with a Scavenger hunt and keep them entertained on a family walk

With the summer holidays fast approaching are any of you panicking about how to keep the kids entertained all summer?

As well as encouraging plenty of fresh air and activity with friends, how about challenging them to set up their own 'summer holiday blog' to keep a record of their holiday?  It'll keep them busy and they'll learn some great skills along the way. 

They can include photos of your family holiday, write ups of their favourite activities, scan in pictures they have drawn, list their favourite songs - a kind of online holiday journal.  It can be as simple or as detailed as they care to make it.  It will be a fantastic record to look back on and share and give them a real sense of achievement.

You don't even have to be going away on holiday to take part in our children's holiday blog link.  It could be simply be a record of things they have enjoyed doing over the school holiday period.  And, of course, the end of the summer holiday doesn't necessarily have to signal the end of their blog.  If they enjoy it, why not keep it going?

Getting your child involved in setting up their own blog can be a great opportunity to educate them about safe internet usage and make them aware of potential dangers.   What better way to explore and tackle these issues than with you on hand and involved in their project?  As a minimum, set up your child's blog to have comments moderated - and have all comments emailed to you for approval. Also check your child's post to make sure they are not divulging personal details - getting your child to write under a false name is also advised - see our resources link below for more advice in this area.

We'd love to see the results.  Post a link here and don't forget to check back to read the other blogs.  We'll keep this updated as a rolling summer holiday carnival blog.  We'd also love to read your comments on this idea below!

Useful resources to help get you started:

Tutorial on setting up a summer holiday blog

Interesting article from BBC on children who use technology being better writers

Kidscape's advice on staying safe online

Here is our hand picked selection of 10 great travel blogs for families travelling with children.  These are blogs we discovered and which captured our imagination.  Get inspired, get advice and just enjoy reading about the ups & downs of travelling with children.

1.  The Family Adventure Project
Just reading this blog makes me feel guilty about sitting down to type this!  The Family Adventure Project wants to inspire families to get out, get active & adventure together.  Read all about this family's amazing travels by bike and more.

2.  Travels with Baby
As the name of this blog suggests, Shelly Rivoli has travelled (and changed nappies!) on four continents and a handful of islands--and she's not done yet. Together, her young family has made its way by airplane, elephant, subway, train, cruise ship, taxi, and long tail boat.  Read all about it.

3.  Travels with a Nine Year Old
Travels with a Nine Year Old is the work of Theodora Sutcliffe. Together with her son, Z, they are on a year-long sojourn of discovery, learning life's lessons and simply sharing time together - something Theodora felt was long overdue. 30 something Theodora says that one of the joys of travel with kids is experiencing things you simply would not do as an adult. As a single parent family on a round the world trip, she and her son are collecting their personal top ten things for kids to do in each country they've visited.

4.  Travels with Petra
Travels with Petra is an interesting record of a couples travel right through pregnancy to having their baby.  Imagine dealing with morning sickness, ante natal appointments and trying to earn some money whilst pregnant and on the road!

5.  Take the Family
Read the musings of family travel expert and writer, Dea Birkett.

6.  Have a Lovely Time
Set up by parents for parents frustrated at the level of coverage of family travel in mainstream publications.  Here you can read reviews, reports and features from parents about places they have been or activities they've done with their family. 

7.  Backpack to Buggy
Another inspiring traveller and mum who, in her own words, aims to give new parents & prospective parents help with the transition from travelling to travelling with kids. Hopefully it will show you that you can travel with the kids not for the kids. 

8.  Ciao Bambino
The Ciao Bambino team is comprised of a group of mums who are avid travellers and love exploring and experiencing the world with their children.

9.  Delicious Baby
Debbie of Delicious Baby is a mum of three and writes all about travelling with little kids - a great read for anyone with young kids!

10. Sleeps 5 Blog
Great blog spot for larger families who struggle to find the rooms they need when on their travels.

Happy reading - let us know what you think!  And, if you know of another family travel blog you think we should include please let us know!

On Friday my little boy looked at me and asked; 'Mum, why don't we go on adventures any more?'.  It stopped me in my tracks.  Our 'adventures' started when my daughter, Rosie, was born as a way of creating some special one on one time with Will.  So, on the weekends when my husband was around to look after Rosie for a while, I would whisk Will off for a morning of 'Rosie free' fun and adventure, a chance for us to spend some time together larking about like we used to without the demands of a newborn to tend to.  Over time, as Rosie has grown and Will is now at school full time, finding this one on one time has proven more and more difficult.  This Saturday we reclaimed it and went on a magical mystery tour.

'Where are we going, mum?'
'Aha, you'll have to wait and see!'  (read - 'Don't actually know, hoping for inspiration as I pull off the drive')

I slurp on my big takeaway insulated mug of black, sugary coffee and frantically rack my brains.

It comes to me. 

I remember seeing an intriguing path dipping away from the road down between the trees and vaguely recall someone telling me of a little known park in that direction.   We park up and I refuse to give in to Will's demands; 'Mum, TELL me, where are we going?', enjoying building up the anticipation for him to experience.  He scoots along happily through the cutting, alongside a delightful stream and a boardwalk with unusual bog plants and grasses.  We spot butterflies and genuinely delight in enjoying the experience of these new surroundings together. 

Then I spot the park, and it's a good one - there's a zip wire and swings like ski lift seats.  I'm no longer his mum but his 5 year old friend haring around, equally as keen as him to try out the new park. 

Happy boy Will

On the way back to the car, I realise it's not the end destination that's so important about this experience, more the fact that for that short space of time he has my undivided attention.  I can carry his water bottle, his coat, and chat with him about why butterflies don't fly in a straight line without having to balance his demands with those of my daughter.  This, I realise, is what makes the experience magical for him, and for me too.

There were 3 things Will was really cross about on the way to school today;

1.  His hair was sticking up
2.  He REALLY needed a wee
3.  His new shorts were rubbing his knee

...and I mean cross like you would be cross if you had a nasty, unexpected bill to pay, or had dropped yoghurt down your top.

My attempts to smooth things over:
1.  'I LIKE your hair like that - it looks ... cool.'
'No it doesn't, it looks STUPID.  I HATE it.  Why does it DO that?'

2.  'If we keep going, we'll be there soon and then you can go for a wee.'
'But it really hurts mummy and I need to go now, oh , oh, oh!'

3.  'You'll get used to your shorts - it's just because they're new and you're not used to feeling them rub on your knees like that'
'But it really hurts mummy and they look STUPID.  I HATE them.'

There were 3 things that Will was really excited about on the way to school today;

1.  We saw a HUGE woodlouse ('Mum, I think he had a big birthday party last night and ate a big wooden birthday cake - that's why he's so big')
2.  He found a bolt lying in the road
3.  The sun was shining

... and all was well with the world again.

A small trip to school but so typical of our many travels with the kids that I decided to record it - ups, downs, disagreements and a good few laughs along the way.

At long last after several years we are finally getting our house sorted out and knocking down a wall downstairs to achieve one big living space.... and moving our front door (long story)... and converting our downstairs loo into a shower room.

'No problem', I thought optimistically, 'We'll just arrange the building work for the Easter holidays and I'll go away for a couple of weeks with the children.'.  Having focused doggedly on just getting this to happen, packing up and whisking the kids off seemed like the end of a busy journey.  Little did I realise it was the start of a travelling fiasco!

You'd think I'd be a dab hand at packing up the car and entertaining the kids en route but at times I would do well to take my own advice!  I was determined to travel light, then relented and let the kids pack up their own funky frog suitcases.  In the frenzy to depart before the builders arrived, my husband kindly offered to pack the car for me but I had to furtively repack while he wasn't looking as he just doesn't get the whole 'pack in the order you need things in' - PJs and bedding on top, not buried at the bottom under the 'just in case' wellies!

Deep breath and we're finally off.  For one glorious moment I enjoy the drive through the New Forest, uplifted by the sun streaming in through the windows, reveling in that feeling of being on the cusp of something new, kids singing along happily to their CD, then it starts...  demands for lunch (NO, I want to hoolld the box myself mummy'), music ('that's not fair, we listened to 'Bing Bang' twice, Space Pirates are rubbish and I want to listen to the Diego song') etc and I turn into a sandwich wielding, button pressing octopus.  I did try; 'Now it's mummy's turn to listen to her song,' but Radiohead was unfortunately booed into submission and I did take my own advice and introduce some boredom busting children's car activities instead.

We get to our destination and it is truly great to see everyone, but what I singularly fail to remember every time I undertake these trips away by myself with the kids is that they are not really a holiday but more of an endurance test!  Having struggled with camp beds, travel cots and turfed my niece out of her bedroom, we settle down for the night.  I foolishly look at my double bed and look forward to a night's sleep.  Pah!  Rosie discovers her travel cot is actually a musical instrument and if she strums her nails up and down the netting it makes an amusing sound, and what's more, it wakes her brother up.  Will abandons his camp bed as it's too low, 'But that's fun,' I say, 'Well, you sleep on it then and I'll sleep up here'.  He's only 5 and already his logic leaves me stumped.  Needless to say I wake up (or should I say give up trying to go to sleep?) at 5.30am with both my gorgeous fidgets in bed with me. 

Several more nights like this ensue and on our final morning Will is in the bath getting spruced up for our trip back to see Dad.  It's while we are just getting his clothes sorted out that I realise there is water.... water... everywhere.  Turns out the waste pipe has picked that moment to inflict plumbing hell on all around it.  I am sloshing around in my slippers and dressing gown and have a decidedly middle aged moment - I used to go out, laugh with friends, sleep lots & wear nice clothes!  Instead I am a sleep deprived wreck mopping water up from my brother's newly laid wooden floor with towels and anything pourous I can lay my hands on! 

I escape with the kids to my parents house a short walk away leaving my dad and brother to sort out the mess.  Time for a refreshing shower.  Not so - somehow I have managed to blow the fuses and I am standing there shivering waiting for the shower to start when I realise this is what has happened.  If it sounds like I have made this up believe me I didn't!

The day is recovered with a BBQ before we embark on our homeward journey.  More shoe horning of bags into boot and finally we're ready.  I pick up my bag, swing it round onto my shoulder and wonder why it feels wet.  Then I notice the spray of liquid splattered onto walls and yet more wooden floor in the lounge.  Yup - hadn't done the milk cup up properly.

My brother looks at me and says  'Sis, you are evicted from the big brother house'.  And here endeth the tale of my Easter trip away to escape the building nightmare in our home.  Hardly the restful interlude I had hoped for but we had fun!

Does this experience ring true with any of your trips away with children?

Read about how I feel when the work is nearly finished >>> Travelling light