Thames Valley Mums Blog

Free Tangled colouring sheets

2011-01-28T06:47:04+00:00

Well today is the big day: Tangled is out in UK cinemas! I'm really curious how it will be received. My girls loved the film, and I hold an affintity for it after meeting the people behind it on a recent press trip. It has all the characteristics of a blockbuster, and damn it made me cry twice!

If you see it this weekend, please let me know your thoughts. And if you want to extend the experience, I've attached some colouring sheets to occupy your little ones.There are more colouring sheets and activites here.

Enjoy!

Download TANGLED_Color_Sheets_WEB_07-27-10[1]

This post was written by A Modern Mother.

Track Santa's journey online

2010-12-24T13:13:26+00:00

Our girls will keep tabs on Santa's journey tonight on NORAD's Santa Tracker. This organisation has tracked Santa's Christmas Eve movements since 1955. The site is perfect for children that are not quite sure Santa exists -- it contains "official" news reports and videos. Also fun for believers to watch Santa and his sleigh move across the globe (shhh -- don't tell them it's really a geography lesson).

Check it out for yourself (it's in seven languages).

Merry Christmas!

This post was written by A Modern Mother.

Photo credit: Weasel McFee

These mums are safe

2010-10-02T06:37:09+01:00

To highlight the 1,000 women who die everyday in pregnancy and childbirth in poor countries, Oxfam organised the reconstruction of this iconic image to coincide with the Millennium Development Goals summit which took place in New York last month. Pregnant women from London took part in the reconstruction of the Charles Clyde Ebbets ‘New York Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam’ image in support of an Oxfam campaign.

Well done ladies!

Oxfam pregnant women recreate classic new york photo from Hayley Baker on Vimeo.

Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” Said the Sloth Prize Draw

2010-09-02T12:43:12+01:00

Enter your primary school and local library in the Prize Draw contest to receive an exclusive, signed artist’s proof from Eric Carle

This autumn, 680,000 copies of Eric Carle’s wonderful story book “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” Said the Sloth will be given to reception age children in England, as a gift from independent charity Booktrust and Pearson, the world’s leading education and technology company.

To celebrate, Booktime are offering primary schools and libraries in England the chance to enter a prize draw to receive an exclusive artist’s proof from the book. Each vibrant, colourful spread from the book is signed by Eric Carle.

Anyone can nominate any one primary school and one public library in England. (For full terms and conditions, please visit our website). To fill out your nomination, please visit the Booktime website. This link goes live on 6th September.

The Booktime website has games and resources inspired by “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” Said the Sloth for families, librarians and teachers – please visit the site to find out more.

Follow Booktrust on Twitter: @Booktrust using these hashtags: #booktimeprizedraw, #ericcarle, #booktime

Exams don't have to be stressful

2010-06-16T06:18:25+01:00

Childline sent us this viral video. With much of the country's youngsters getting ready for extensive testing, the message is a good one: Exams don't have to be stressful. Please pass it on!

This post was written by Susanna, a Thames Valley Mums Blog founding contributor. You can read more at her blog, A Modern Mother.

It's worth all 76 minutes...

2010-05-16T07:28:15+01:00

I'm known for being a bit behind in current events. I come by this honestly (my parents still don't have cable TV) but I'm sure it is made worse by the fact that my brain can only handle so many bits and bytes and mine is on overload with kid stuff.

So when my friend Charlene asked if I had heard about "The Last Lecture" I gave my usual blank look.

If you haven't heard about this, let me explain. Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon in the US. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007, he gave a moving "last lecture" on achieving your childhood dreams that was videotaped and widely distributed on You Tube. To date, the lecture has been viewed by more than 6 million people.

YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE TIME TO SEE THIS. It is worth all 76 minutes. It is a good reminder of what is important in life.

Note: Randy Pausch died in 2008.

This post was written by Susanna, a Thames Valley Mums founder. You can also find her at her blog, A Modern Mother.

Go on then, be a dinner lady

2010-05-05T07:34:51+01:00

I volunteer as a dinner lady at my daughters' school.

I did it out of sheer desperation. I had no idea what was going on at that hallowed institution – my daughter offers very little insight.

Before being a dinner lady, this is how our conversations would go as we made our way home:

Me: “how was school today, sweetie?”

Daughter: (looking around to see if any of her friends were still on the school premises; she spots one) “Hello Ella!”

Me: “how was school today, sweetie?”

Daughter: (looking around for more friends to say “hello” to on the playground, even though she has spent all day with them)

Me: “I asked how school was today. Did you learn anything new?”

Daughter: (eyes fixated on Ella) “Mummy, Ella has a new Polly Pocket. Can I have one?”

Me: (feeling some sense of achievement that she has acknowledged my presence) “You can pick one thing for Christmas, honey. What did you do at school today?”

Daughter: (blank look) “Nothing”.

Me: (decide to change tact) “What did you have for school dinners today?”

Daughter: (face lit up like a Christmas tree) Fajitas! I ate it all. Yummy, scrummy!

So I decided that if I wanted to find out anything about what goes on at school, I should just be there when she is the most receptive: when her tummy is rumbling.

Being a dinner lady is easy. It only takes an hour of your day, and at our school you can be on a rota to go as little or as often as you like.

I bet your school is looking for dinner ladies, they always are. Go on, give it a go, and find out what really happens at your child’s lunchtime.

And have our conversations on the way home changed? No, not really ;-)

This post was written by Susanna, a Thames Valley Mums founder. You can also find her at her blog, A Modern Mother.

Photo credit: alex serge

A visit to Nirvana Spa, Reading

2010-03-31T21:37:28+01:00

This week, the very lovely Mr. B. took me to Nirvana Spa to celebrate our wedding anniversary (he also bought me smellies while we were there – how good is he?). After a day at the spa, I was feeling just about as mellow as you can get. Let me tell you about it...

Nirvana Spa is a day spa in Berkshire just outside Reading, a short distance from the M4, Junction 10. For me, it is no more than a 15 minute drive away – temptingly close. This is not the first time I have been (oh, no!) but every time I go, I feel refreshed and relaxed. It's a sure fire way to chill me out.

I am told (by those who are not allergic) that it is normally an incredibly mellow experience. On this visit Mr. B. had a 'Floatation massage' where he received a gentle pressure-point massage as he was floating there in the water. He found it relaxing, but not as invigorating as a traditional massage.

The thing I appreciate most about Nirvana spa is that they have several generously sized pools. I love swimming and I love pootling in water. I can't get enough of it. There is a huge hydrotherapy pool with wonderfully warm water and jets of numerous different types. A fitness pool where you can get your lengths in and a members-only pool. The centre-piece of the whole spa is the fabulous 'Roman Room' with a pool suitable for general-purpose pootling; surrounded by palms and loungers it is a place where you can sit quietly with a cuppa and enjoy the vast selection of magazines and papers.

Nirvana spa's unique selling point is their 'Floatation' experience. Lie back, chill out and float about care-free in a darkened room. The first time I tried it, I remembered all too late that I was allergic to mineral products so the salty, mineral-heavy water irritated my skin. The experience is really not very relaxing when you are trying hard not to scratch and not to bump into other people in the darkness. I am told (by those who are not allergic) that it is normally an incredibly mellow experience. On this visit Mr. B. had a 'Floatation massage' where he received a gentle pressure-point massage as he was floating there in the water. He found it relaxing, but not as invigorating as a traditional massage.

In the afternoon most guests head for the Nirvana Room for a bit of chill-out time. Rows of ergonomically-shaped heated beds fill the room which is silent but for the gentle trickle of the water feature and the occasional snore from someone who has chilled out a little too much! In the past, I've always wondered why anyone would pay for a day at a spa only to go and fall asleep on a bed... but I must admit that this time I did drift off while reading my book. Oops. On a totally different theme, there is also a small gym that guests can use should they have the energy!

If you live within a sensible driving distance then I would definitely recommend Nirvana spa for a relaxing pampering day with no pressure on you to do 'healthy stuff' or 'active stuff'. It is a great way to stay mellow.

This post is by Jumbly Mummy a first-time mum to baby Lara and approaching motherhood the mellow way - PMA, positive mental attitude! She's also a self-confessed software geek and has recently returned back to work after maternity leave. Her blog is Mellow Mummy.

Photo credit

Coffee mornings and threadworms

2010-03-19T17:08:37+00:00

I love coffee mornings. Women get together and discuss all sorts of things that they wouldn’t dream of mentioning on the playground or at a dinner party.

This week the topics drifted from Sarah Palin (the UK is actually frightened) to Jerusalem artichokes (I had no idea!) to threadworms.

My ears perked up when the discussion turned to threadworms. It’s one of those topics people don’t often talk about in public, like flatulence, headlice, and sex.

It turns out that threadworms (knows as "pinworms" in the US) are quite common in the UK, and most of the mums at the coffee morning had dealt with them at one point.

Oh, my.

A couple of my daughters have been complaining lately of itching “down there” and I had put it down to, how shall I say this, a lack of understanding on how to use toilet paper properly.

Maybe they had threadworms. Horror.

So I got the low down over a latte (and the BBC Health site).

Threadworms are spread through poor hygiene (i.e., not washing your hands after using the loo).
The main symptom is itching around the anus or vulva.
The female threadworm comes out at night to lay eggs around the anus – which is what causes all the itching!
You can find out if your children have them them with a “torch test” (shine a torch in the affected area after they are asleep) or inspect a nappy or the loo. Neither of these tests appeal to me. You can also do a “celephane test” -- in the morning stick a piece of tape around the anus to see if it picks up any eggs, but you will need a microscope to see them!
You can get rid of them by getting an over-the-counter drug from the chemist. A single does of an anti-parasitic drug, such as Ovex, should be given to the whole family (make sure you read the precautions in the paperwork). This kills the worms, but not the eggs. If symptoms persists, see your doctor, you might have to take another dose two weeks later after the eggs have hatched.

So, there you go. All you ever wanted to know about threadworms. And more.