Alphabet games

Something that was given to me by the parents in law. Lower case alphabet dragon which my son absolutely loves playing/doing.

Have found this really useful for doing French and English alphabet with Sebby. Saying key words that he knows- particularly animals that we have seen at the zoo, colours that he knows, fruit and veg ( linking this to French words is ideal).

Anyone else have any alphabet games for French or English that you would recommend?

What are your thoughts on upper case and lower case?

Happy 2018!

Objects for language learning

This post has been a long time coming. I will eventually add more to this but as the Christmas season is now upon us, my thoughts/ energy have been diverted to that.

Encouraging numbers and colours in a different language is a very good start for foreign language learning in young children. My son loves making towers and so encouraging the colours in French and the numbers has been easy to incorporate into everyday play.

Currently we have also been using a lot of Play dough. Oh my! Hours of fun on this as an everyday activity. With this we have been practicing colours and shapes in French.

Happy Language Learning Peeps!

C’est décembre!

Lil’ollo dual language flash card review

I was sent these flash cards by #lilollo

1. Packaging is fantastic – the little material bags are ideal for carrying them around in my handbag. (Say if I was out for a coffee with friends and needed some instant entertainment).

2. Bright and colourful pictures of the animals- very different form of picture also (unlike the traditional animal pictures that you would find for children).

3. Multi use cards – can be used for snap/ animal sounds/ numbers/ animal names/ colours.

4. Suitable for many different ages. My son is nearly 2 and he loves them. My nephew,who is 4, and niece,who is 7,also played with them. I used the number set of cards to do times tables- We did them in French as they live in France.

Would thoroughly recommend these card sets. Fun for all ages and interests.

Dinosaur Books

Oh my goodness! What an absolute fantastic find in Sainsbury’s.

Currently my son has been really loving dinosaurs and so when I spotted these; it was a must.

Best bits:

-Colourful

-Factual ( pages at the end of the book that give facts about the main dinosaur.)

-Funny ( names that your young ones will remember.)

– Hardback ( durable as we have taken them just about everywhere. Nearly had a trip in the bath at one occasion!)

For any toddler dinosaur lovers these are great.

I did notice there was a sticker book from the same series as well which might have to get purchased on our next visit.

Do any of you have any dinosaur book recommendations or toy recommendations for that matter?

Au revoir

Me Time

After having read a blog post by Janine's Little World, I thought that I would follow suit and write one for myself. I am finding that it is not often that I do make time for this, so it is the little things that count.

A. Lying in bed with a cup of hot coffee while my DH reads LB a story.

B. A hot bath during nap time. On the rare occasion that this does happen I LOVE IT. I tend to find that nap time gets filled by doing chores.

C. Watching TV in the evening once LB has gone to sleep. Currently watching Homeland with DH and a couple of series on Netflix. ( Ozark is very good.)

D. Baking – I enjoy (when I get time) making muffins/cup cakes. Recently, however, it has mainly been finding recipes and not actually doing anything with them. Anyone else find this to be the case?

E. Going back and forth to work – a good 20 mins each way which always wind down time and time for reflection.

Am currently on Summer hols though.

F. Reading my subscription magazine – Mollie Makes. Has a lot of ideas for crafty things to do. This was a gift from my sister.

G. Walking to the shop – even if it is just to get a loaf/pint of milk.

H. Browsing my local charity shops -I enjoy this even with LB in stroller.

I. The occasional lunch with DH (without LB).

What are your favourite 'me' time things?

😀🌞🌸

My Top 5 Baby Books ..

Sebastian is nearly 15 months old now. He absolutely loves reading so we have an abundance of books all over the house – both in his room and in our living room. Here are our top 5 currently. 

1. Spot’s Story Collection 

These are a very good set of books and were given to him by a close friend. They are very independent reading friendly and Sebby loves to just sit and turn pages himself. It is good as there is continuity of characters in all and also very good topics that are relevant to his age range. 

2. The Very Lazy Ladybird 

Goodness me, this book has been his favourite since he was very very little. I don’t know if it is something to do with the colours/ pictures but he loves it. Had it at bednight time tonight – his choice! 

3. Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

We actually have the full set of these books – but this one is by far his favourite. 

Sebby loves the flaps and, in fact, they will probably all need to get glued down again as they have been tugged at. 

Found a new one in the set from a garden centre last week – colours. Good to see the same use of the characters – this one, however, had no flaps.

4. Say goodnight to the sleepy animals 

This was given as a birthday present and is always on high demand for bedtime reading . Sebby loves the sounds and pointing at the animals. I feel it encourages the idea of sleeping and saying good night.😴

5. Hairy McLary from Donaldson’s Diary

Another favourite – particularly with cousins, nephews and nieces. This does come as a series of books and we have quite a few. Lots of individual characters in them. Lots of rhyming as well and you will find you remember the story line very easily. 

Happy reading 😀

KLOO Game

So, I have now used these fantastic games with 2 different classes in Year 10 in both French and Spanish. Absolutely fantastic and really gets my pupils talking and engaged in creating sentences and translation. The competitive element is very helpful for boosting encouragement, particularly for boys. Due to the number of pupils, they have had to work in pairs/trios. 

The games that I have used are in French and Spanish (but I believe that there are other Languages – Italian). 

Instructions are easy to follow and it is pretty much fool proof. Pupils are able to understand what to do – mainly just by following the areas on the cards. 

There are 4 decks provided but I have been advised that you can also purchase blanks to make your own. (My pupils really liked the idea of creating their own perhaps on Holidays and School.)

A very useful resource for Language Learners for all ages. Helps with understanding adjectives placements, verb construction, connectives, time phrases etc.
Happy KLOOing!

January Book Review

 Mes premieres comptines d’animaux – Grund

Now this book was purchased by my sister (who lives in Paris) for Sebastian at Christmas. It has been such a favourite/ go to book this month. 

Every page has a button/ circle that you have to press and then a song is sung. The lyrics to the song are on the left part of the page and the right has a picture. Colours are vivid and the drawings are cartoon like. Sebby loves the songs especially the ‘Petit Escargot’ and Madame Hipopotame’. Very simple songs and access some simple vocabulary. 

Age range can really vary for this one but I would say to about 4/5 years. 

Here is an example page. 

The Second book – My first French Word Book – Usborne 

Very lovely pictures and helps for children to point at. Sebastian has loved reading/ looking at this. It was a birthday book from his grandparents. 

There are many topics in this book. 

-Mon corps / Mes vêtements/ A la maison / La famille et les amis / Les couleurs / Les nombres / Au lit /En avant /A la ferme / Je peux 

I would recommend this book for any toddler or small child. 

😊😀😊🦄

December Favourites

 I have decided to do my first Favourites Post. Here is a list of products that I have loved and used a lot of this December.

1. Victoria’s Secret – Amber Romance

Absolutely love this- smells divine. Very silky on skin and smells like crème brûlée. 

2. Body Shop – glazed apple body butter

This is very Christmassy – love it. Has been good on dry hands and on legs also. Have it in my locker at work. It does come in a set but I only have the body butter.

3. Avon Shampoo and Conditioner

I have found these really soothing on my scalp (which in winter months gets very dry).

4. Sainsbury’s- Christmas socks – pack of 2 for £3 ( Well who doesn’t love Christmas socks!)

5. Laura Mercier – Bronzing Pressed Powder – Matte Bronze 

Helps when you are feeling by pale after loosing natural sun tan. Excellent texture and goes on easily with a bronzer brush.

6. Bobbi Brown Moisturising lip balm

  

A necessity all year round-my go to morning and night.

7. Cuticura Antibacterial Handgel – Mangi Shimmer 

With colds and all sorts of germs around this has been with me everywhere ( even have one next to my bed). Love the scent and has a slight shimmer to it. It is frustrating that we can not get Bath and Bodyworks in U.K. so this is my alternative.

8. Ralph Lauren Long Blue Cardigan

 

Bought this end of November in Gunwharf Quays – love it. It is a very dark navy colour with Red horse 🐴 – goes with most things and a very cosy fit.

Thanks for reading! 

Happy New Year 🎉🎉 – May 2017 be a good one!

Book Advent 2016

So I decided that I would do a book advent this year for Sebastian. He is only 10 months old, so it will help create a bit of a tradition for years to come. Chocolate 🍫- was not an option for him as he is far too young despite us as adults wanting to eat his! Hehe 😂!

I have bought some Christmas books specifically for him but also he has been given a fair few from grandma which were used for his nephews. Some of these books even belonged to his dad ( my husband).  I shall also be taking a few trips to the library to see what we can find- this in itself is a bit of a thing Sebby and I do on Monday (which is my day off).

To start off: (I’ll update this as I go along or do a separate blog for a list of everyday!)

Dec 1- Mogs first Christmas – Judith Kerr

Day 2 – Thomas and the missing Christmas Tree – Christopher Awdry

Day 3- All Safe in the Stable – Mig Holder

Day 4- That’s not my Snowman

Day 5 – Dear Santa

Day 6- The Christmas Bear

Day 7 – Peppa’s Christmas

Day 8 – Spots first Christmas 

Day 9- Mog on Fox Night (it has snow in it so thought it would pass as Christmassy!)

Day 10- Ho-Ho Hopeless Santa

Day 11 – The Snow Tree Caroline Repchuk

Day 12 – The Christmas Book – Dick Bruna

Day 13 – Mr Men Christmas 

Day 14 – The 12 Days of Christmas- Brian Wildsmith

Day 15 – The Smelly Sprout Allen Plenderleith

Day 16- A Christmas Story – Brian Wildsmith

Day 17 – Pip and Posy – The Snowy Day

Day 18- Lucy and Tom’s Christmas – Shirley Hughes 

Day 19 – Santas busy night – board book – Igloo Books

Day 20- That’s not my elf 

Day 21- How many sleeps till Christmas – Mark Sperring and Sébastien Braun 

Day 22- The Snowman 

Day 23 – The Polar Express

Day 24- The Night before Christmas – Clément C Moore
What quirky / family traditions do you have for advent? 

Happy Décembre lovely people!