Usually when I buy books for the babies I do so online but today Esther and I went into Waterstones to choose a book to buy with her Easter giftcard from her Godmother, Laura. We looked at lots of books … Continue reading
This book by Martin Waddell I adore. It is such a simple, repetitive text but with much that can be read beween the lines. In our house this book is often performed with finger puppets! I find this text perfect for performing or reading aloud, gving each owl baby a distinct voice and character of its own. The text in parts is poetc and reads much like a lullaby. It is a classic bedtime tale.
Three owl babies, Sarah and Percy and Bill, are waiting together for their Mummy to come home from hunting. They are worried that she might not return and Bill in particular really wants his Mummy. Together they wonder where she might be and when she will be home. They huddle together for warmth and comfort until soft and silent Mummy swoops through the trees to Sarah and Percy and Bill.
This book is also perfect for use in the classroom for children aged 5 – 7.
My favourite activity is to use puppets or sequencing cards to retell the story.
You can split a class into three groups and ask each group to read the speech of one of the owls and try to imagine what that owl is thinking and feeling. The children could then extend their character profiles by using their understanding of the three personalities to try imagining how they would each respond to other situations, such as learning to fly, making a new nest and finding their own food.
During a shared re-reading of the story you can ask children to listen carefully to the babies’ speech and decide at the end of each page whether the owls are getting more nervous as the story progresses. A nerve chart/graph can be used to support visual and kinaesthetic learners. Understanding characters’ motivation for their actions is an important part of reading and understanding narrative fiction.
Ask children to think how a trio made up of their own friends and family would respond differently to various situations. Encourage children to think of times when they have been scared or excited and when they have reacted differently to a family member or friend. Think about actions, words and feelings. Role play could be used to explore different situations.
A great tool for the classroom is Role on the Wall. Draw an outline of each owl baby on the wall and then write key words about their character on to the outline. What they look like on the outside and what they think and feel on the inside of the outline. This is a good plenary activity that can be used after characters have been explored through role play.
As well as being a beautiful simple story, Owl Babies also exemplifies theuse of a full ramge of punctuation marks in context. This book is a great resource for sentence level work in literacy. How many different words, for example, can children come up with to replace ‘said’?
For a book with so few words, there is so much to be gained from sharing this story wih children in your classroom or your home.
Why not try these ideas linked to the text?
Ask children to write a set of Keep Safe rules (procedural text) for the owls when their mother is a way or for themselves in a given situation – in the playground, in the classroom etc.
Compare Owl Babies with the first chapter of The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark to compare the feelings of the Plop with Sarah, Percy and Bill.
Ask children to compose a speech by the mother owl to make the owls feel better. The Owl Mother puppet can be used for children to deliver their speech through. This could be a good paired activity.
Make a class reference book called ‘All About Owls’, use the information text included as an introduction to the text type and as a model for children’s own text.
Incorporate the use of ICT and create a web page, ‘All about Owls’.
A fantastic resource and a right good read!
Mummy and Esther and Will!
After what can only be described as a horrible morning and early afternoon, our late afternoon was saved by reading books.
Part of my over tired, over emotional state led to me feeling a little jealous of my Mum. Stupid, I know! She is staying with us at the moment to help with the babies. Because she always gets a good night’s sleep she is so full of energy to play with Esther and William while I can barely speak out loud I am so shattered. I pathetically got to thinking that Esther and William might prefer being with her than with me! She is just so loud and so much fun!
Anyway, William was playing with my Mum when I sat down with Esther to read a book. As I started reading aloud William stopped playing and with the saddest face looked over to where we were and listened to the story too. That tiny moment, that one loving look just melted my heart. He continued to listen to the story, never not watching, from the other side of the room. When I finished reading to Esther I read to William too, the same story and one other. It was such a special time, reading with my son and daughter, that it totally made up for the rest of the day. It also made me realise that no matter what, only I will ever be their Mummy, and that counts for a LOT!!
I would like to share with you now, the books that made it all better.
Tell Me What It’s Like To Be Big by Joyce Dunbar
This is a lovely story about a little girl who wants to be bigger. When her brother tells her of all the things she might do when she is grown the little girl realises that perhaps she would rather stay small after all. A lovely tale about growing up with a subtle message of not growing up too fast. This was beautiful to read as a mother snuggled up to a son and daughter who are growing and changing every day.
Ants in Your Pants by Julia Jarman and Guy Parker-Rees
This is a fun book for reading out loud. It is written with great rhythm and rhyme. The characters are very funny and the pictures are bright and colourful. This is one that can be shared over and over again and every time you will notice something new. A great funny book full of knickers to make you giggle!
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This is a fabulous listography from Kate Takes 5 this week, an opportunity to share books for babies. One of my favourite topics! As a mother and a teacher books are one of my best loves and I have been reading to Esther and William since before they were born. I read to them in the womb, beside their incubators and their cots, I read to them now on my knee and they have started to turn the pages themselves. They love to look at pictures and they enjoy watching my face as I read. I am certain that they recognise the pattern and intonation when I read certain books. Their favourites. Our favourites.
I have already blogged about some of these books and will link to them rather than write about the same books again.
The first books that we bought Esther and William are written by Oliver Jeffers and you can read about them here.
Our most read book, by far, is Eric Carle’s Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? which you can read about here. This one has an audio link too!
Our best bedtime book is I Love You, Sleepyhead and that can be read about here.
We also love Hairy Maclary and share our thoughts about these fab books here.
And here are 5 other books for babies, books I have already chosen as perfect for babies of my own.
The Gruffalo
This is a magical story that rhymes and encourages children to really use their imaginations as they try to picture in their minds the monstrous Gruffalo. It lends itself to being read aloud or acted out with a range of voices. It is a great story to animate too. I love this book and so do Esther and William. We read this a lot and sometimes watch the animated version on You Tube whilst waiting for our tea.
The Rainbow Fish This is a lovely book with beautiful illustrations. It tells a story with an important message about friendship and sharing. Again it lends itself to being read aloud and provides real inspiration for arts and crafts activities. (Always the teacher!)
Click Clack Moo Cows That Type
Children’s books have to be enjoyed by the adults that read them too and I find this book hilarious. It is a comedy sketch, well written and simply illustrated. Though Esther and William are still too young to understand the humour of the book they love the differnet voices and sound effects of literate cows and ducks taking over a farm. A great, fun read.
A Cultivated Wolf
A book about the importance of books and reading. A story of friendship that appeals to all the family. Great moral too, that anyone can change their ways if they want to.
Tanka Tanka Skunk
Two animals who together sound like drums! This book is great fun to read and shout out loud over and over again. I do it with increasing vloume and speed til me and the babies collapse in fits of giggles. It is great fun! Great in the classroom for teaching about rhythm and breaking words up into syllables. A book that encourages you to really play with words and have fun.
And books for another time … The Silver Sword, I Am David, The Machine Gunners, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Children on the Oregon Trail, The Secret Garden, Private Peaceful … I could go on and on.
I hope that we have another book listography soon, in the meantime, come and join in this one. I have read everyone’s posts with my Amazon account open and we will have a lovely large box of books on the way come Friday. Thank you everyone!
The Silver Sword is a book that has stayed with me all of my life, or at least since I first discovered it in primary school when it was read to me by my teacher, Mrs Foster.
The Silver Sword is a story based upon true fact that touches my heart every time I read it.
It is an inspirational story of tremendous courage, hope and determination in a terrible situation. It is the tale of four children’s struggle to stay alive as they journey through war-torn Europe, during the years of Nazi occupation.
This is a book that I will definitely hare with my own children and one that I have used in my teaching with children from Years 5 and 6. As well as being a story to share for its own sake it can also be a powerful text to use as part of a literacy or history lesson.
Personally I would incorporate the novel into a half term topic about war and conflict focusing on children and refugees. I believe that this would enhance the children’s understanding of the setting of the story, time and place, and help them to empathise with the characters and their situation. It would also give opportunity for looking at war poetry and other related texts such as When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and I Am David, two of my other most favourite books!!
I believe that The Silver Sword is a strong story, appealing to both boys and girls. I also feel that it is a novel that children can become really involved with and feel passionate about as the main characters are the same age as them and share similar likes and dislikes. They can really try to put themselves in their shoes.
At different points in the story children can further their understanding of and empathy for the characters by using hot-seating. One person would assume the role of a character from the novel and the other children would ask them questions about how they are feeling at a certain time, what are their fears, their worries, their thoughts about the other children and characters in the book. This would be a good way of considering what happened to Edek before the other s find him and or to Jan before he finds the others, or to the mother. It helps to enhance the understanding and enjoyment of the story by encouraging children to really read between the lines and think what could have happened based on what they already know about the novel and the war situation. It also helps to ask children o try to relate what they are reading to their own lives in some way, perhaps through emotions and feelings. When have you felt sad and lonely? Who is your best friend and why? If you had a treasure box like Jan’s what three objects would you put into it and why?
This book lends itself to being a platform for discussions about refugees and children’s experiences of war. It would be interesting to work with different charities such as The Red Cross to really develop understanding and compassion in this area.
On a creative note it would be good practice to watch the television serialisation of The Silver Sword, with children at home or at school, and notice and discuss any points that are different from the book. This would include evaluating the performances of the actors playing the main characters. Is it well cast? Do the characters loo as you imagined them to? Who would you cast in each role?
With my own children at home and pupils at school I would ask them, at the end of each reading session, to make a prediction of what they think might happen next in the story. Anticipating what might happen next in a text is an important part of reading, it is how we link what we know, what we think and what we have read together. It helps us to make sense of what we are reading and it uses imagination and creative thought.
I believe that as well as being great to read The Silver Sword provides a springboard form which many forms of writing can be launched (or sprung! ) – diaries, letters, stories, poems, reports, recounts, information texts, arguments and many more. The book has strong characters and a good plot with some chapters that could potentially lead to very powerful, creative interpretation, particularly Chapter 27, The Storm.
This book gets me so excited!
English is a subject that I have always been passionate about and I hope that through this passion, my knowledge of children’s literature and my ability to meet educational objectives through that literature, I will be able to inspire my own children and the pupils that I teach in my classroom to love English and books just as I do.
The story of The Silver Sword takes children on the journey of The Balicki Family but it is also a very personal journey where it is possible to discover many new ideas, new words, new thoughts and new inspirations. I truly believe that children take something from every story they read that moves them a little further on in their journey of discovering exactly who they are and what they want to be.
On this World Book Day 2011 I recommend this book as a winner with children aged 9 – 99.
Every journey begins with a single step so perhaps reading The Silver Sword could be yours.
This week I am joining Metal Mummy in her Movie MeMe. She has asked us what is our film of the 21st century, our film of the decade?
For me, there can only be one!
There are a few 21st century films that I have enjoyed but for me none come close to The Lord of the Rings as I mentioned in my Listography post last week.
My favourite of all the films, to David’s dismay, is The Fellowship of the Ring. I know that it has the least action and the least effects but it tells the story so well and introduces each of the characters in detail. I think that the film is so well cast and the actors really complement each other particularly those playing Frodo and Sam. This is a tale of friendship, of courage, of determination and strength, of loyalty, of love.
This is a film with it all. Magic, humour, romance, intrigue and great one liners! I love the script, the language from the book is just beautiful. The sets and scenery are breathtaking and the music tells a story all of its own whilst perfectly blending with the words and actions.
I am not a great film buff or reviewer. I do not watch a lot of television or many movies but I do read a lot of books and for me what makes a great film is where the translation from the page to the screen is true and meaningfuk. It has to work on a personal level for me and this film really does.
And being a Mummy of premature twins, this film of the 21st century provides the best quote of all time:
Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.
Why not pop over to Metal Mummy’s Movie MeMe for some passionate beautifully written movie recommendations. Popcorn at the ready!
When Esther and William were born I bought them each a book. Because they are twins I wanted the books to be by the same author and so I chose Oliver Jeffers. I wanted each baby to have a story chosen especially for them, that could mean something to them all of their lives. I also wanted them to have a story to share. The three books that I chose are: The Way Back Home; Lost and Found and How to Catch a Star.
Lost and Found was William’s book. It was first read to him on the day that he was born by his Daddy. David and I sat by his incubator and shared this story with our newborn son, who weighed in at just 2lb 11ozs and could not open his eyes or breathe without assistance. We read to our little boy lost hoping that he would find his way, that we would find a way to be together as a family. Lost and Found is about a little boy who finds a penguin. Penguins (along with giraffes!) are my favourite animals and I want to pass that on to my children, to share it with them. The little boy thinks that the penguin wants to go home and the boy does all he can to help him find his way but then he realises that the penguin was not lost at all but was lonely, he didn’t want to go home, he wanted to find a friend. It is a very touching story about friendship, told very simply with beautiful illustrations. It explores loss and loneliness which seemed very apt for our William who was all alone in a plastic box when he should have been in our arms with his sister. It tells how two people can find comfort in one another and help each other along the way. it is a story of the journey of friendship, through words and pictures it shows the strength and determination of one little boy to help another. We dedicated this to our Mr Strong, our braveheart, our William. This is a wonderful first story for a little boy. For our little boy.
Our daughter’s first ever story How to Catch A Star. I chose this for Esther because one meaning of her name is ‘Star’. I read her this book for the very first time on the day she was born. I sat beside her blue lit incubator and read it to my 2lb 4oz baby, who I had known just hours but already loved with all my heart. This was the prefect choice of story for Esther. It is about a boy who loves stars and tries everything that he can to find one. This is a story with the message of never giving up, of doing all you can to achieve your dreams, of fighting for what you believe in, of striving for your goals, of being strong and reaching for the stars. This was the perfect message for my tiny, fragile daughter fighting for her life in an incubator rather than celebrating the start of her life in my arms. I read this story with broken voice and eyes full of tears. My little star was going to need all the strength she would muster and all of our strength too. This book is so beautifully illustrated I just know that it will be treasured for always for its message and devoured time and time again for its lovely language and exquisite illustrations. Thank you Oliver Jeffers for helping us give our children such a lovely start to life and the world of literature.
The final book , I bought for the twins to share. It is called The Way Back Home. Inside the front cover I wrote:
Dear Esther and William
We can’t wait to show you the way home to our house, your house, your home. We love you now and always.
Mummy and Daddy
This Oliver Jeffers book is about finding your way home. This was all we wanted for our two babies, to find a way to bring them home. This story is about a young boy who gets stuck on the moon with an alien and together they must find a way to get each other home. It is a tale of friendship and what can be achieved when friends work together. I hope that Esther and William will be life long friends as well as twin brother and sister and whenevr they fight or fall out I am going to remind them of this book, the first time we shared it and how far they have come.
Oliver Jeffers is a brilliant writer and illustrator of unique and exciting books for children that can be enjoyed by all the family over and over again.
Simple stories with complex messages and meanings, filled with heartfelt love and warmth.
Please, if you have not yet discovered these books and enjoyed them with your children, please do, I am certain that you will not be disappointed.
Thank you Oliver Jeffers! Keep writing please!
I Love You, Sleepy Head written by Claire Freedman and illustrated by Simon Mendez I bought this beautiful book for Esther and William on their first month birthday. I read it to them everyday, beside their incubator and then their … Continue reading
Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? by Eric Carle
Brown Bear Brown Bear ... again!
Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? by Eric Carle has become a firm favourite in our household over the last few weeks. The babies, aged six months, love the words and looking at the brightly coloured pictures. They are engrossed in the story from start to finish, sometimes looking at the pages but often looking at me as I say the words. It is a wonderful experience sharing this book together over and over again. We have enjoyed this story so many times that we actually no longer need the book and recite the text at any time, in any place and for any occasion. Twice through it is the perfect length for a complicated nappy change and once through is enough to calm and sooth the most tired and tearful of babies. Here in the Nairn Henley household, we love this book!
It can be used to learn the names of simple animals, for counting all the animals that have been seen. It can be used to learn animal noises and the colours of the rainbow too. We often complement the text by singing I Can Sing A Rainbow afterwards. Esther tries really hard to join in the singing which is just sooo cute!
I really recommend this book as a first try if you are not confident at reading aloud. The text has an easy rhythm and lends itself to being read aloud. The babies soon learn the rhythm of the text and the intonation of my voice. They can almost anticipate what is coming next and always giggle in the same places though I know they do not recognise the actual words.
A final tip that makes the enjoyment of this story even greater for my two is that instead of seeing just children at the end our monkey specifically sees Esther and William, and they love hearing their names in the text.
I hope that you will try out this book for yourself if you have little ones like mine, I am certain that they will love it and you will find many uses for many ages so that it can be enjoyed time and time again.
This link will take you to a video where you can hear me reciting the text to William and singing a rainbow with Esther.
I am getting so excited about my summer holidays that I have been trying to plan ahead a little. I want our experiences to be memorable for the right reasons and not marred by the stresses of packing or travel.
This year we are going away 4 times
In April we are going to Cornwall for a few days, in June to Northumbria, July to Devon and in September to Spain. Each of these trips involve a long car journey for us from Kent and so I have been thinking about how we will cope with the travel. The packing and the travel!!
Just a couple of weeks ago we drove to the Peak District for my sister’s wedding and for that we seemed to take with us the entire contents of our house! It has taken me almost two weeks to unpack and get everything back into it’s rightful place at home.
So I am trying to compile a list of holiday essentials, the things that we will really need to take with us on each of our planned excursions. The list is LONG!
Something to sleep in – we had been using our bedside co-sleeper for this but the twins have grown out of it now and so we need suitable replacement. Any ideas? We have thought about taking a whole cot with us but I think that a travel cot or two would make our lives easier. Any ideas?
Fisher Price Newborn to Toddler Rockers
These are great. When Esther and William were tiny they used to nap in them in the bathroom whilst I had my morning shower. They vibrate which the babies both seem to love and find soothing. I used to sit E and W in these chairs to read them stories and to let them have some time sat facing each other. In rocking mode I was also able to lull them to sleep with singing and rocking. We still use them in this mode when either baby is unwell or unsettled. They work really well. The chairs in upright non rocking mode make good TV chairs. Esther and William watch 10 minutes of Baby Einstein a day through You Tube and they love it. They watch this whilst I prepare their tea. The chairs are then also used as secondary feeding chairs rather than moving them to their highchairs which are used for all other meals. This means that when we do go away the babies are used to using these seats for play, sleep and food. A great all round rescource that have definitely been worth the money that we spent on them and I am sure that we will continue to find new uses for them as the children grown and the seasons change. I can certainly see them moving outside for the summer as the covers are so easy to clean from any ice cream spillages!
Baby food, plates, bowls, snacks, bibs and eating implements – surely this equipment gets a box or suitcase all of it’s own? At home I make a lot of my own food for the babies but we also use pots and pouches, again to ensure that Esther and William are familiar with them and will not refuse them when we are away. We have practised eating them warm and cold, in case of emergencies. We currently use coverall bibs from Mothercare which we have to wash after a single use as the babies are so messy. I wonder if there are other recommended products that are more effective and time efficent to use, something for tiny babies that is wipe clean?
Toys
As I have mentioned before we love Lamaze toys and have a whole range of them that are easy to pack and transport. As the babies were in NICU all of last summer however what we have no knowledge of are summer toys. The Lamaze toys we have are plush and colourful but would not last long I feel in the garden or on the beach. Perhaps it is not toys we need but ideas for outdoor activities with under ones? Ideas require no packing and are very easy to carry.
Clothes
For my sister’s wedding we were away for two day and two nights. We took enough clothes to last at least a week and to my surprise we used most of it! Esther had to change dresses three times during the wedding alone such was the rate of her dribble!! So I am thinking that for a week away at least two weeks worth of clothing will be required and that is before we think of specialist items such as wetsuits, sunsuits, swimming costumes, all of which I know nothing about!
You begin to see why I need to think about all of this so early on.
Transportation
We have a giant double buggy and people keep suggesting that for trips away we buy two small single buggies? We also have slings and baby carriers in various formats, will we need these aswell? Our giant buggy is convenient as can be used in parent facing car seat mode as well as outward facing buggy. But it does take up our entire boot space in our very large Honda estate.
I think that this covers the essentials apart from needing a tool box with a medical kit and who knows what I need to put in there?! Nappies to begin with, wipes, cotton wool, vaseline, Savlon?, plasters, Calpol? What would you or do you have in such a box for you travels?
These are my wonderings for today. My puzzlement that I am working on now to avoid holiday trauma later. Any help and advice would be warmly appreciated.
And I actually have some advice to share in return about travel.
Below is an article from Dr Lin Day, founder of nationwide baby development classes, Baby Sensory with some top tips for travelling with children.
Top Travel Tips
Keeping small children seated, quiet and entertained on a car or plane trip is a frightening prospect for most parents. But, with a little planning, travelling can be a fun experience for children and a relaxing one for parents. Here are some ideas on how to prepare for the journey and how to keep your child busy and happy on the way.
Planning your trip
Have everything from the entertainment to nappies, wet wipes, medicine, spare clothes and the first aid kit prepared in advance and stored within easy reach. Rubbish bags are essential to keep the car clean and they may be useful if your child suffers from motion sickness. Take enough finger food and bottled water to last the journey, and any unexpected delays, but avoid sugary snacks since these will increase energy levels. High protein foods such as slices of fruit, cucumber and cheese will fill your child up and make them drowsy.
Start your trip an hour or so before your child’s normal nap time. Allow them to run about and let off steam before getting in the car. The chances are that they will amuse themselves for the first part of the journey and then fall asleep for the rest of it. An extra rear-view mirror will allow you to keep an eye on your child without having to turn around.
If you are on the road, frequent stops will make the journey more bearable. Your child will enjoy stretching their legs, getting some fresh air and having a change of scenery.
Being comfortable is all-important on a long trip. Clothes made from natural fibres are more comfortable than synthetic ones. Snuggle your child up in a soft blanket or use it as a pillow. If your child is potty-training, put a training pad or small towel on the car seat so any accidents will be contained. You may be unable to stop for a toilet break on demand.
If you are catching a plane, get to the airport early. There is nothing worse than struggling through check-in when you are late. If your stress levels are high, your child will pick up on your mood, which will only make matters worse.
A pull-along suitcase will keep your child entertained and serve as a resting place when they get tired. If you are travelling with a baby put them in a metal-free sling, so that they can sleep without being disturbed during the security check-in.
Airport regulations permit up to 100ml in the way of milk and drinks, although exceptions may be made for the under-twos. If your baby is bottle-fed, take powdered formula milk and buy bottled water in the secure area. Ask the cabin crew to top it up with boiled water during the flight.
Changes in air pressure can make little ears pop. Sucking and swallowing helps to relieve air pressure in the middle ear, so keep drinks or pacifiers available for takeoffs and landings.
Strap children in on long-haul flights. If you fall asleep, they may wander off. Seat straps will also keep them safe during air turbulence or in the event of an emergency.
Best travel toys
The best travel toys are quiet and compact and don’t break easily. Toys with small, moving parts are bound to end up under the seat. Favourite soft toys and books are essential, but have some new toys to provide interest and excitement. Wrap these up in paper to keep little hands busy. Offer one thing at a time, such as a plastic food container. When the novelty wears off, give your child the lid to maintain interest.
Babies
Containers that fit together are fun to play with. They can be stacked, nested or used as hiding places for toys. A fabric scarf offers endless play and learning opportunities from hand-eye coordination to peek-a-boo, tickling and texture exploration. A rattle is a must, but keep it in reserve for a difficult moment. It could save the day!
Sophie the Giraffe, a phthalate-free rubber toy that can be gripped, squeezed or mouthed is a popular baby toy. A familiar book can be comforting and your baby will enjoy turning the pages to find her favourite characters. Texture books that contain hidden surprises also provide entertainment and amusement. If you are on the road, put on a nursery rhyme CD or sing a song. A Baby Sensory baby will be instantly calmed by ‘Say Hello to the Sun’.
Toddlers
A reusable sticker book will keep little hands busy. Stickers can be stuck on the window or the seat without any harm being done. A toy catalogue is great fun to look at and toddlers can colour in the things they would like to have. Activity books, which include dot-to-dot, mazes and patterns, will provide entertainment and distraction. If crayons are a problem, try an ‘Etch A Sketch’. Simply draw on the wipe off mat with the magic pencil and start again without having to change the paper.
Chunky pipe cleaners that can be transformed into fascinating shapes will provide amusement. Attach them together to make animals, bracelets and necklaces. Small strips of masking tape stuck to your toddlers’ legs and arms will provide endless fun. It can be removed easily (unlike a plaster) and gives a pleasant sensation. An interesting way to entertain your toddler is to provide a straw and a drinking cup filled with ice cubes. The straw can be flicked, bent and twisted in a number of different ways and the melting ice will promote the development of many scientific concepts.
Older children
Older children may sit quietly listening to their favourite music on an MP3 player with headphones. A favourite book will keep them entranced for some time, but avoid books with small print in the car or you could end up with a sick child. Books about the geography, history, customs, animal and plant life of your destination will also keep them busy. A map and compass is great fun for children who want to help navigate the route.
Classic travel games such as connect the dots, hangman, tic-tac-toe and magnetic games such as checkers, chess and snakes and ladders can make the journey zoom by. Scrabble is an ideal game for two players, but children can invent their own crossword puzzles too. Electronic games are very popular, but make sure that they are turned off during take-off and landing or they may interfere with the aircraft’s navigational system.
Try some of these tips on your next trip and you and your family may get to your destination in a more relaxed and happy frame of mind!
I know that I will be trying some of these but first I need to research and shop before we can begin to think about packing and travelling! Where to start?
I plan to review all my purchases on this blog so please do keep coming back to see how we are getting along.
