Blackberry, Strawberry and Dark Chocolate Chip Food Processor Ice Cream Recipe – No Ice Cream Maker Needed!
I love blackberry season, partly because blackberries are my favourite of all berries and also because it’s a great way to spend time with the kids and teach them all about the beauty of nature and free fruit picking! I have been blackberry picking with the boys for three years now and every year we’ve tried to up the stakes in our blackberry recipe creations.
Back in 2014 – Aron, 3 years old
Blackberries grow in abundance and can be typically found in the UK between June and November, however, they are at their peak in August/September. You can either try to grow your own blackberries in your back garden (we are very lucky as we have blackberries growing in our back garden already) or you can just step outside and find a road which has ample hedgerows along your path. Blackberries grow on brambles, which are found nearby woodland, hedges, waste grounds and pretty much anywhere where weed has been allowed to grow, seeing as these blackberry brambles are typically seen as weeds.
2017 – Aron (6) and Aidan (5)
It’s best to pick the blackberries which have been growing in direct sunlight as these offer the most flavour. Also, pick blackberries above knee height, as the lower blackberries will have been tarnished by pee from animals and could post dangerous risks when ingested. Here is a great link on how to pick wild blackberries.
This year, we’ve really surpassed ourselves, creating one heck of a tasty ice cream made fresh out of homemade blackberries from a beautiful back garden. We added vanilla, strawberries and dark chocolate to the mix and, boy, was this the best ice cream we have ever tasted! Plus, we didn’t need a fancy ice cream maker to create this soft scoop ice cream – we used a food processor!
It’s very simple to make food processor ice cream – you gently heat up the double cream with the sugar and honey so both are dissolved well. Granulated sugar is better as it helps to achieve a better ‘soft scoop’ texture. However, I didn’t want to overdo it too much on sugar and opted for a mix of honey/brown sugar in this instance. Then just take the mix off the heat and add your vanilla extract which will essentially turn the cream into non frosted vanilla ice cream. Place the mix in the bowl and freeze overnight. You can leave the mix as it is and enjoy homemade vanilla ice cream, but I decided to incorporate the blackberries we had freshly picked and what was left of the strawberries in our fridge and dark chocolate in our cupboard. All the ingredients complemented each other and the result is a gentle strawberry/blackberry flavoured ice cream with a hint of dark chocolate to spruce up the palate. Think mint choc chip ice cream, but, obviously without the mint and with the strawberries and blackberries!
Enjoy 🙂
So what are your top tips for picking wild blackberries? Please share your tasty blackberry recipes in the comments below! I’d love to give them a try.
As you know, in the UK, we are currently enjoying the peak of blackberry season right now, so I am going on a rampage, creating all sorts of blackberry recipes for the family to enjoy. So far, I have four delicious dessert recipes that you can try at home, one of which are these awesome nutty Almond and Blackberry Biscuit Squares.
This time, I’ve decided to create a biscuit recipe, as we found a ‘secret passageway’ (as the boys call it) on the way to the park that housed enough blackberries to feed a family of six! We had some ground almonds in the cupboard and so I just made a simple biscuit dough with flour, dairy free margarine, egg and brown sugar. I added the ground almonds and gently mixed in two-thirds of the blackberries. I then laid the mix down on a baking tray covered with parchment paper and decorated the top with the rest of the blackberries. Cooking time takes about an 1 hour, so leave plenty of time to make these, possibly start preparing this biscuit squares while you’re making dinner.
These are perfect to have with a hot beverage or if you fancy something lighter, juice or lemonade works just as well. You’ll find these biscuit squares so almondy and light that the blackberries add that perfect zing of flavour which enriches the overall palate. Be careful not to overwork the dough or overcook the mix as both lead to biscuits a touch on the dry side.
[yumprint-recipe id=’4′]So what are your best blackberry biscuit recipes? Please share in the comments below because I’m on the look out for more!
How to make the most of the blackberry season – plus 4 recipes!
This summer has been somewhat turbulent for us Brits, but the one thing that has remained constant, especially during August, is blackberry season – a season I look forward to every single year. Blackberry picking is a family activity, which I’ve massively involved the boys in since they were old enough to walk.
Blackberry Picking in 2014
(Aron, 3, picking blackberries for the first time)
Blackberry Picking in 2017
(Aron and his brother Aidan (6 and 5 years old) are now pros at blackberry picking!)
Blackberry season typically runs between June and November in the UK, but you will most likely see the parasitic-style thorny blackberry brambles bloom in August/September, where you will find blackberries in abundance. Paying £2.99 for a punnet in the stores seems ludicrous when you can find double or even triple the amount when you step outside of your house – and for free too! Blackberries are grown on brambles and can be found anywhere they have been allowed to invade and take over other plant’s territories. And, the benefits of consuming blackberries are extensive. They are loaded with vitamin C (a 100g serving has 23mg vitamin C, which is about 35 per cent of your recommended daily allowance) and they are an excellent source of fibre. Blackberries are also even known to prevent and slow the growth of cancer and boost immunity too.
So, when we saw enough blackberries growing in our beautiful back garden to create four delicious dessert recipes, I got right to it! Our littlest one (5) regularly visits the back of our garden with a small empty water bottle to hunt for blackberries and he dutifully brings them back for me to wash and rinse, so he can either eat them there and then or I can trial out a new recipe for the whole family to enjoy. My next objective is to incorporate blackberries into a healthy dinner recipe. But, for now, here are four awesome blackberry recipes that are so super easy to make, they don’t require any fancy kitchenware to create or enjoy them.
Blackberry, Strawberry, and Dark Chocolate Chip food processor ice cream – no ice cream maker needed!
We’ve never owned an ice cream maker and we’ve never needed one because I’ve somehow found a way to use my Kenwood food processor for pretty much most recipes that might require another kitchen contraption. I had some double cream left in the fridge and my littlest one had helped me pick a whole bunch of blackberries earlier that day, so we were halfway there to making an ice cream. We just needed something to sweeten the deal – honey and brown sugar – and perhaps some side ingredients to spruce up our blackberries. We opted for strawberries in our fridge and the remainder of some dark chocolate in the cupboard. I had read a while back that the secret to soft scoop ice cream is to firm up the cream in a freezer and then chop it up afterwards if you don’t have an ice cream maker. This allows the texture and consistency of the cream to soften up slightly.
I heated 2 cups of double cream slightly to ensure the granulated sugar and honey dissolved and mixed well. I then brought the ice cream mix off the heat and added the vanilla extract. At this point, the mix tastes quite sweet and vanilla-flavoured. I chopped up the blackberries and strawberries and placed them in a separate bag, which went into the freezer overnight, along with the ice cream mix in a separate bowl.
The next day, I allowed the mix and the fruit to thaw out slightly before placing in the food processor and blitzing them until mixed well but with a soft scoop texture. I then broke up the dark chocolate pieces and added them to the food processor as well. The result was a lovely soft ice cream with a vibrant pink hue that was literally cleaned out by the three boys (hubby included). Hubby even said it was the best ice cream he had ever tasted! So, I’ll just have to make some more, but my next objective is to make it with coconut milk yogurt or banana and sweetener, so we can enjoy a vegan-style ‘nice’ cream next time.
I love making apple crumble for Aron, as it is his favourite dessert, so I wanted to create something similar, but in more of pie style, as I believed it felt more authentic to have a Blackberry Pie rather than a Blackberry crumble. This recipe is so easy to make! I would strongly advise you make the pie yourself, but if you happen to have some ready-made pie in the fridge, then you’ll have a dessert on your table in no time flat. I’ve made one pie with just blackberries and one with both, and blackberries, which tastes just as great!
Pie with an apple and blackberry filling
Click here for the full fresh and 100% homemade Blackberry Pie Recipe for you to create and enjoy with your family. Hint – I strongly advise you add some Almond Milk on top for extra flavour!
Almond and Blackberry Biscuit Squares
The boys and I headed out to the park today to enjoy a rare beautiful sunny day and we found a ‘secret passage way’ as the boys called it, with so many blackberries that we couldn’t even fit them all into one of the boys’ 500ml water bottles! So, I had to come up with another recipe to house all these blackberries and I figured that the only real option left for a worthy dessert were biscuits! However, as there were so many blackberries, I decided to combine the recipe for biscuits with a flapjack style recipe, so I ended up creating biscuit squares. So easy to make! Here’s the recipe: Almond and Blackberry Biscuit Squares Recipe
Blackberry Jam
You can’t have all these blackberries and not make jam! Browsing through all the jam recipes online, I can’t believe how much sugar goes into one jar of processed jam. So I set about to try and make a marginally healthier version and came up with a honey and lemon style blackberry jam. The kids love it and it has become a real staple in our house. Check out the ‘Blackberry Jam’ recipe here.
So there you have it! Four delicious blackberry recipes to keep you occupied over the summer holidays and they’re all kid-friendly, so get the children involved in picking blackberries and then helping to create something truly magical with them afterwards. Here are the recipes again:
10 things we can all do to help change the world for the better
The best things in life are free and I am inclined to agree with this adage. Yes, money buys you options, but kindness, manners, hospitality, and charity are completely gratis and can make the world a better place. If everyone practised one good deed every day, the positive outcome of our global home would be exponential. So, whether we are busy stay-at-home mums of four kids or a working parent of one, here are ten things we can all do to help change the world for the better.
1. Show kindness to the people around you
We all harbour our own stress and frustration, which we may end up inadvertently taking out on other people. But, imagine there’s a universal domino effect that stems from that negativity you project into the world – you yell at someone on the street for accidentally running into you, who then angrily passes a homeless person and decides not to donate any food or money. That homeless person goes without food and causes distress to the next person they see, who then goes home and yells at their kids, and those kids then take it out on the teachers at school, who then get frustrated and, in turn, shout at their own kids. It’s like a web of hostility that just grows and grows.
Now imagine the same sequence of events where, instead, you smile at the person who accidentally runs into you on the side of the road. They are so warmed by your gesture of goodwill that they decide to donate enough cash/food to the homeless person who is then able to buy a full meal and be motivated to start the road to recovery. That homeless person then smiles at the passer-by, who then donates some more money/food for the nice gesture. They go home and give their kids a hug and tell them that they love them. Those kids are happier and enjoy school the next day and the teachers get a welcome break and pass on the love to their kids. You get the gist.
If you’re feeling angry, frustrated or stressed, it is important to know how to take a step back from the situation and breathe. What is going on? Do others need to feel your pain? Can you change your tone and talk through the problem so that you can at least let others in to help you? It is amazing how much kindness can go a long way. A simple smile to a person down in the dumps can be all they need to perk themselves up and carry on. Plus, smiling is infectious, so start spreading that love.
2. Donate blood
Many countries are experiencing a shortage of blood stores and desperately need more people to donate their blood. Blood is the most precious gift that you can give to someone else because it saves lives. Blood transfusions can be used for helping women who have had complications during their pregnancies or boost children with severe anaemia. Giving blood can also help people with trauma and/or complex medical/surgical procedures, as well as even cancer. The procedure only takes half an hour and you walk away feeling like you’ve made a real difference in the world. That is the kind of feeling money can’t buy.
3. Donate to a charity
We all work hard for our family and challenge the grindstone of financial, work and family pressure daily. But, imagine the lives of those whose basic rights have been taken away from them, whether it be through natural causes or man-made war. Maybe they don’t have enough food and water supply to take care of their own family or their living circumstances make it difficult for them to tend to their loved ones. Charities are set up to help those in need and whose sole aim is to rid the world of hunger, pain and suffering one step at a time.
Maybe you can’t afford to give cash, but if you have any items that you don’t need at home, charity shops in your area are always looking for donations. If you can afford to part with just a few quid a month, you can choose the charity you feel most connected to and donate online or over the phone. Some websites like ‘Give as you Live’ even offer cashback-style opportunities to donate to charities at no extra cost to you. Just make sure you visit Give as you Live’s website first, then you will be redirected to the online store where you can make your online purchases as normal. Give as you Live will take care of the rest and donate a percentage of the sale to a charity of your choice or Give as you Live’s charity of the month. These options are great for those who can’t afford to donate but want to make a difference by ensuring they’re giving back somehow. We are living in an age of growing awareness and this mentality needs to transpire to our children, who can then pass on this ‘giving’ mentality to their own kids. Donating to charity is one of the more tangible ways to combat the inequalities and imbalance of our world and help rid the ‘third world’ label once and for all!
4. Give food to a homeless person
When passing a homeless person, do you wrinkle your nose in disgust or do you secretly wish you could help in some way? Perhaps, you don’t even notice them because the pressure of looking after your own family is hard enough. But imagine you were in their shoes (or lack thereof in some cases), how would you feel about being ignored or worse, disgraced? Not many know their back stories, but everyone in the world should be able to have all the necessities they need to survive in this world. When you see a homeless person, the safest bet is to donate food in the hope that it feeds them for a while. Donating clothes to shelter them from the colder seasons is also very preferable. You should then report that person to StreetLink, a charity that connects rough sleepers to local services, who will then provide the necessary support that is available to them. So, next time you pass a homeless person, give them some food and alert StreetLink. Then you can go about your day feeling like you’ve really made a difference in this world.
5. Teach your children to be dignified and kind
They say charity starts at home, which means that kids learn about charity and acts of kindness at home first. It can also often mean that you should take care of your own children, family, and people around you before helping others.
If we take both meanings, then we should focus on teaching our children to be dignified, i.e. to show composure and respect to others, no matter their background. Teach them the feeling of helping others and how fulfilling and satisfying it is to be kind. In fact, kids are hardwired to be considerate and kind anyway, so their desire to help is innate. It is up to us parents to nurture that wonderful characteristic and encourage them to lead the way in changing the world for the better. Remember, kids, are the legacies of our future world.
6. Pass your junk to someone who needs the treasure
Taken from the well-known phrase, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure”, which means that the material items that you own may be worthless to you because you don’t use them or need them anymore. But, for someone else, they could seem worthy because they might not be able to afford or access the items that you no longer need. It’s time to go through all of your possessions and bag up anything you can’t see yourself or your family using anymore, then head over to your local charity shop or google where to donate your belongings, so someone can benefit from your extra junk.
7. Recycle, clean up and look after your environment
In the UK, not every town has the recycle rule for sorting out rubbish into colour coded bins, i.e. food, general waste, paper/plastics, bottles etc. If you recycled everything in your bin, you could power a TV for 5,000 hours! Recyclingbins.co.uk say that if every person in the UK recycled just 10% more paper it would save approximately 5 million trees each year. Now, imagine if we scaled that statistic up to the world. What if everyone in the world recycled? Watch this video for some shocking results!
Even if you make every effort not to litter in public, walk wherever possible and pay extra attention to taking care of the environment, you can prolong our worlds’ lifespan and create a more welcoming habitat for our future generation.
8. Change your eating habits
You might be surprised, but our eating habits can directly affect our world’s environment, sometimes in ways that you wouldn’t even notice. But, even a small modification to your diet can have a huge impact on the world.
Eating meat, for example, has the most significant impact on our environment. There have been many changes in agricultural practices in the past 50 years and food and climate change are becoming inexplicably linked to each other. Agricultural emissions make up around 30% of global emissions and higher emissions mean increasingly disturbing the diversity, composition, and functioning of the natural ecosystems of our world. In short, changing your eating habits not only helps you on the inside, but it keeps our world healthy too. Opt for more plant-based foods and fewer animal products, so that the demand for these giant agricultural industries decrease over time.
9. Volunteer your services
Volunteering your services means donating your time and skills for the benefit of the individual, group of services or organisation and for no financial gain to you. That could mean running 1500m for a charity of your choice, helping at the local hostel or donating your money to a charity. Nowadays volunteer groups and services run like huge corporations and some can even offer specific training on how to volunteer. People are becoming more aware of the sheer inequality of the world and want to give something back to help the poorer nations. I say, if you have a spare ten minutes, use it to make good in the world and volunteer your services or your time to those who need it.
10. Lead by example
Here are some well-known people who definitely did lead by example and changed the world. I don’t think I could have explained it better myself!
Haemophilia in Babies: What Are the Signs and Symptoms?
*This post was created in collaboration with Phamax*
Haemophilia is an inherited blood disorder that impairs the blood’s ability to clot. Someone with haemophilia won’t have the clotting factors of an average person and, as such, cuts and scrapes will bleed for far longer than usual. The symptoms associated with this condition can be mild, or they can be severe, but it is important for new parents to be aware of the warning signs of haemophilia, so they will know when to seek urgent medical attention.
Most individuals with haemophilia are diagnosed at an early age, usually by the age of two. However, mild cases might not be diagnosed until adulthood. You might wonder how haemophilia could ever go undetected. After all, if it is inherited from our parents, wouldn’t we all get tested at birth? The fact of the matter is, in some cases, haemophilia might appear to surface out of nowhere.
It may be that the family had forgotten, or may not have known, about ancestors with haemophilia. It is also possible that the gene for haemophilia had been carried by females for generations without presenting itself, as women rarely demonstrate the symptoms of the disorder. The condition might also, on rare occurrences, present itself out of nowhere as a spontaneous genetic mutation. This is the case for roughly 30% of haemophilia cases.
Whatever the case, the prospect of haemophilia is likely to be terrifying to a new parent. We all want the best for our children and, though the idea of your loved one having haemophilia might be concerning, it’s important not to fret. The condition is manageable and your child will most likely go on to live a completely normal, happy life. What is important is that haemophilia is detected at an early age.
Below are a few signs and symptoms of the rare disease to keep an eye out for.
Prolonged bleeding after circumcision
Although circumcision is not common across Europe, if you decide to circumcise your son for religious purposes, this might very well be the first indication of haemophilia in a newborn. Your baby might experience extreme bleeding at this point and it is essential that you obtain medical assistance as soon as possible.
Bleeding relating to teething
Parents of haemophiliac babies have to deal with more than screams and late nights. Baby teeth can be very sharp and infants tend to bite their gums and tongue. If the bleeding doesn’t stop, this can certainly be a sign of haemophilia.
Excessive bruising following falls and bumps
Babies are adventurous and inquisitive. It’s hard to raise one without them experiencing a number of lumps and bumps. Bruises are to be expected, but keep an eye out for extreme bruising, or what is known as ‘bleeding into joints‘. The bruises will usually be a deep purple, swollen and cause your toddler a lot of discomforts. Pay special attention to the ankles, elbows and knees.
Unusual bleeding after vaccinations
To keep your baby happy and healthy, vaccinations are a necessary part of life — and they’re usually forgotten ten minutes after the event. If, however, you notice unusual bleeding after a vaccination that won’t let up, contact a doctor and he or she will help you get to the bottom of the matter.
Unexplained nosebleeds
If you’ve noticed your baby or toddler often experiences unexplained nosebleeds that last longer than ten minutes, this could be a sign of haemophilia. It’s not something to be overly concerned about and, more than likely, your child won’t be experiencing any pain.
Blood in urine
This might be one of the scariest haemophilia signs for a new mother or father to witness. But haematuria (blood in the urine) is a fairly common symptom of haemophilia, with 66% of haemophiliacs claiming they have experienced it at some point.
Emergency symptoms of haemophilia
Once you have had your baby diagnosed with haemophilia, you should keep an eye out for the following symptoms. If you witness them, get in touch with a medical professional as soon as possible. Although no bleeding may be visible, there might be some internal bleeding causing the following issues:
Double vision
Extreme tiredness
Prolonged headaches
Constant vomiting
Neck pain
Confusion, or a similar change in mental state
Slurred speech, or other speaking difficulties
A loss of balance
Facial paralysis
How is haemophilia detected?
A haemophilia diagnosis will begin with your doctor asking questions about your child, his or her health and your family history. Your child will then have to give a blood sample for testing. This test will look at how your child’s clotting factors are missing or at low levels. You should be prepared for a number of tests over time, so your doctor will be able to monitor change in your child’s platelet levels, among other factors. On top of determining severity, a blood test will also be able to identify whether your child has haemophilia A or B.
This might be a challenging time for your family, but eventually, you will become accustomed to the diagnosis and certain adaptations will become second nature. Remember: your child isn’t alone. Though the condition is certainly rare, there are 400,000 people worldwide living with haemophilia. The best thing you can do for your baby at this time is to learn as much as you possibly can about this rare blood disorder. You’ll eventually gain confidence in managing the condition and you’ll realise there is nothing to stop your baby from growing up and being happy, healthy and successful.
*This post was created in collaboration with Phamax*
Why Disneyland Paris should be the number one summer holiday destination this year
If you have been living under a rock, you may not know that Disneyland Paris is celebrating its 25th birthday this year. To mark the occasion Mickey and Friends have decided to venture ahead and become explorers of the future in a whopping new Parade with all the Disney favourites and more. Their mission as they have chosen to accept it is to dazzle guests with super sparkly Star Tours, Starlit Princess Waltz, Disney Illuminations and other awesome events. You can find out about all the new events over in my earlier post on Disneyland Paris’ 25th anniversary or on Disneyland Paris’ website, but here is a rundown of why you should take the kids to Disneyland Paris this summer holiday.
Disneyland Paris is bigger and better than ever before
Disneyland Paris, Europe’s number one destination, has welcomed more than 300 million visits since its opening in 1992 (13.4 million visits in 2016). The resort boasts two spectacular theme parks, Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Park, and seven themed hotels with 5,800 rooms (more than 2,700 rooms are available in Selected and Associated Hotels). You can also enjoy two full-service convention centres and a world-class 27-hole golf course. Disney Village, which is one of the largest entertainment complexes in the Ile-de-France region, spreads over more than 30,000m² and includes themed dining, shopping and cinema experiences.* Disneyland Paris comprises of over 59 attractions, 63 shops and 55 restaurants. There is so much to experience that you may not get to see everything in one holiday!
Two new shows in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle
To mark the 25th anniversary of Disneyland Paris, Mickey will be dressed in his best to present the grand surprise in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. All his friends will gather and celebrate together at the top of the steps of the sparkling crystal castle to the sound of lively music, where guests are encouraged to join in and resound the musical chorus of “Happy Anniversary Disneyland Paris!”
“It is rare that I get the opportunity to direct so many Disney Characters in one show… no one can make a grand entrance quite like Mickey!” Emmanuel Lenormand, the Show Director.
The same stage plays host to a real-life magical ball that will make any princess’ dreams come true. Tinker Bell waves her magic wand and the Royal Castle Stage is transformed into a beautiful starlit ballroom where the Disney Princesses will waltz. Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, Jasmine, Rapunzel and Tiana will all be dressed in their stunning ball gowns and glide to the sound of a romantic fanfare.
“One of the songs in the show is called “Every Girl can be a Princess” and, as well as the eight princesses featured on stage, we all wanted all little girls in the audience to feel like princesses throughout this 25th Anniversary year.” Amanda Cahen, the Show Director
Guests can enjoy both shows in the same location throughout this 25th Anniversary year.
You’ll spot a few celebrities at the Park too
As you’ll wander around the Park, you may spot a celeb or two with their friends and family enjoying what Disneyland Paris has to offer. On 19 April 2017, Disneyland Paris teamed up with British Airways to organise a day trip from the Docklands to the Park for the children and adults from three London charities, Body and Soul, Fight for Peace and Oasis Children’s Venture. The charities are supported by Flying Start, which is British Airways’ global charity partnership with Comic Relief. The magical day out was joined by some famous friends, including Alesha Dixon, Stacey Solomon, Joe Swash, Louie Spence and TOWIE’s Lydia Bright
Discounted travel and accommodation
Disneyland Paris has got a great offer on for guests visiting this Spring/Summer 2017, including the school holidays where you can get up to 20% off your Hotel and Park Tickets package, plus a Free Half Board Meal Plan for the whole party when you book by 19th July 2017. Click here for more information.
For the ElectroLand Premiere, you can get 30% off your hotel and ticket package if you book by 1st June 2017**.
There is so much more to come this summer holiday!
On Saturday 8 July 2017, Disneyland Paris will be launching a ground-breaking, fully immersive one-day electronic music extravaganza called ‘Electroland’ and will open its gates to 10,000 music fans to enjoy DJs, partying and, of course, the Park’s theme rides. You can read more about Electroland here.
Here are a few more reasons to head to Disneyland Paris this summer
If you need to learn more about Disneyland Paris before you book, then check out my introductory post here or head over to Disneyland Paris’ website for more information. You can also stay updated on new events, discounts and offers by following Disneyland Paris closely via Facebook, YouTube or Twitter.
Don’t forget that you have until 19th July 2017 to get up to 20% off your Hotel and Park Tickets package, plus a Free Half Board Meal Plan for the whole family. There really is no time to waste!
It’s time to sparkle!
* Fireworks, parades, certain shows and festivals are on selected dates and are subject to weather conditions and changes. Attractions, entertainment, shows, shops and restaurants may be closed, modified, delayed or cancelled without prior notice. For any additional information, please contact Disneyland Paris here.
** Offer is only valid for new bookings and arrivals on 7th and 8th July 2017.
Unless otherwise stated, images are taken from Disneyland Paris’ website
This post is sponsored by Disneyland Paris
Make learning fun with Math Bingo
Have you ever tried to explain long subtraction and addition to a 6-year-old (who is already good at maths by the way)? A certain glaze sweeps over their eyes and within minutes you’ve lost them to a faraway land somewhere in their brain. So, I am forever trying to think of fun ways to teach my boys topics from school that are both engaging and educational. Recently, I found out about Maths Bingo, which I now believe is one of the BEST ways to teach kids maths. At school, turning a chore into a game is a fantastic way to encourage class participation and keep the children’s attention for the entire class period. Teachers, parents and students alike find that the popular game of bingo is a fun and exciting way to learn math.
A Game Created with Learning in Mind
It might surprise you to know that educators in Germany created bingo more than 100 years ago to teach young learners how to first recognise numbers on sight. Later, as their education progressed, bingo was used as a teaching tool to help students understand how to add and subtract, learn multiplication tables, solve multiplication and division problems and other concepts and vocabulary associated with math.
Using Bingo Today
Since its creation, teachers around the world have continued to use the game of bingo to teach students mathematics at every level. Beginning even in pre-school all the way through elementary school, high school and beyond, students can have fun learning math by playing bingo. Starting with simple math problems and then working up through multiplication, division, and algebra, math bingo can help students feel more confident in solving problems by themselves or as part of a team.
How to Incorporate Math Bingo at home
You can easily create bingo cards in advance, which you can then print out. Or you can let the children create their own cards with paper, a marker and a ruler. Pre-printed math bingo cards are also available on educational suppliers online.
Child finds the solution to the math problem on the bingo card
To prepare for the game, you can either create the bingo cards yourself in advance or you can get the children to create the cards themselves. Make sure you have plenty of pencils, scratch paper or calculators for each child to use during the game. It is also a good idea to have few extra cards left over just in case and keep a bingo card template for future use.
To prepare for the game, write out all the math problems and their answers in advance. Decide whether you or your child would be the bingo caller. The designated bingo caller calls out the math problem so that they can be worked out by the child. The child then works out the problems either on paper or by using a calculator
The child will need about 20 or more bingo tokens to cover up the correct answers that appear on their cards. Some parents have used beans or pennies to serve as bingo tokens as well.
The correct answer to the problems as they are called may or may not appear on the cards. If the answer to a question is not on the bingo card for that problem, then a bingo marker doesn’t go down on their card. Either way, children will have to work out the problem to find out if they have the answer.
The winner of the math bingo game is determined when the child has five answers in a row in either a horizontal, vertical or diagonal pattern. As soon as the child believes they have five in a row, they should shout out, “Bingo!”
You may want to have a bingo game that makes use of other types of picture patterns or play blackout bingo until the squares of the entire card are covered.
Winners are finalised after all the answers that have been marked on the card are checked against the answers to the equations that the bingo caller has made. If there are incorrect answers, the game continues until a winner with the correct answer is determined.
Bingo is a game that has stood the test of time and is something that both kids and adults love to play. When using bingo to teach math, it can easily be tailored to fit all grade levels. For math-challenged children, the parent or an older sibling can act as a mentor and assist in solving the problems during the game. It is that kind of sibling or parental interaction and teamwork that can also help build math confidence in the long run.
If you have any other fun ways that you teach your children maths or any other school topic, please share with us in the comments below.
My Dream Horse with Petplan Equine Horse Insurance
About a month ago, the boys received a huge shock when they found out that their creative dream pet design was made into a real soft toy (read more about the boys’ dream pet, BatCat, here). So, imagine their surprise when they got the chance to hone their design skills further and create their dream horse! I was half expecting them to moan about not being able to design a horse or that it was going to be difficult. I even semi-expected that they would fight over how to draw their dream horse. But, not at all. They sketched and coloured their dream horse in about 10 minutes and unanimously agreed on all the elements and colours. So, the boys present to you their dream horse design, called…
… FLASH!
When asked why their dream horse didn’t have four legs, they replied that Flash was a magic horse and that he could jump faster and higher than any animal in the world. I then asked why Flash had no arms. The boys said that Flash used his long nose to move, eat and smell everything.
Mind blown. Guess what blew my mind even more…
Flash was now a real soft toy!
Honestly, I was so happy to see BatCat being made into a soft toy. But, to see the boys experience holding their dream horse design in their hands too? It just felt amazing to see how proud they were of themselves.
The boys introduced Flash to BatCat and each hashed out a plan to alternate who would sleep with BatCat and Flash, in order to keep them safe every night.
Petplan Equine Horse Insurance
A lot of children grow up dreaming of having a unicorn and some are lucky enough to get to own their very own horse. And since being a responsible horse owner means looking after your horse and protecting them from harm, Petplan has created Horse Insurance from Petplan Equine, which has been successfully keeping horses healthy and owners happy since 1976. Petplan provide themselves on the very best equine insurance policies to help owners nurse their beloved horses back to health after an illness or injury. Every horse, like every other animal in the world, has their own character and personality and so Petplan offers genuine ‘lifetime’ policies, called Covered for Life®. They also offer 12-month policies designed to suit all needs as well.
Petplan work with more than 1,200 charities throughout the UK and, in 1994, formed the Petplan Charitable Trust, which has, so far, raised more than £7 million towards a better, healthier world for animals. Get a quote from Petplan Equine here.
As a side note, if more children could see their designs come to life as a soft toy, especially when starting at such a young age as 4 and 6 years old? I think we would see a lot more designers and inventors prop up in our future. Very, very impressed with this campaign, thank you Petplan!
*This post and of course, Flash, has been possible thanks to Petplan. All opinions and mind blowing have been 100% our own!*
How to create a memorable birthday party for your child
Since my kids started primary school, they have each been inundated with birthday party invites almost every week. Just to give you an idea of numbers, there are 30 children in each class, which means that we generally receive just under 60 birthday party invites per year.
So, it is almost obligatory to host a birthday party for your child these days. The problem is that these birthday parties can become quite expensive when you need to think about hiring the hall and an entertainer/party package, along with, food, party supplies, party bags and, of course, the birthday cake. Some parents set the bar high and spend hundreds if not, thousands of pounds on creating a memorable birthday party for their child. And, some parents make everything themselves, including a 3-tier birthday cake (*cough*).
(I spent six hours making this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake for my eldest’s 6th birthday – it was exhausting!)
So, either way, you should start by having a good think about how you can make your children’s birthday party go from ‘meh’ to ‘wow’! After planning and preparing for quite a few birthday parties myself and attending what feels like hundreds of birthday parties, I now have somewhat of an idea of what I think is fundamentally important to include at a birthday party. Here are Motherhood Diaries’ tips on how to create a memorable birthday party for your child.
Think about your child’s interests and pick a suitable theme
Is your child active? Do they love sports? Do they like creating and decorating things? It’s important that the running theme of the party suits your child’s personality so that they will really enjoy every aspect. Picking a theme also allows you to be more specific in other areas (like the party supplies) and that can help reduce costs in the long run, especially if you buy as part of a package. Aron loves superheroes and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), so we decided that the running theme was going to be superheroes with a TMNT birthday cake.
Before you go ahead and buy all the party supplies and party bags, take a step back and think about what you need to do after you have picked a theme. How many kids do you want to invite to the party?
Having an accurate guest count is important for several reasons when planning a child’s birthday party. It helps to determine the appropriate venue, as well as the necessary number of chairs, tables, and other furniture. It also ensures that there is enough food and drinks to go around. Most importantly, it allows the host to plan age-appropriate activities and choose appropriate games and prizes. For instance, if you are planning to have an inflatable bouncy house, having a guest count can help determine the size of it. You can try to personalize every detail that you bring in for the special day. You may have the bouncy house printed with the child’s favorite character or choose among so many options of creative customized inflatable characters, that can be personalized to easily fit the occasion or event, and will bring a lot of joy to the special person’s day.
Having an idea of numbers will help you sort out the best location that can accommodate your group size. Then, you can send over ‘save the dates’ ASAP to your intended guests, while you get the invitations and other bits of the party sorted in the interim.
Sort out the guest list
Do you want to invite the whole class at school or a select few of their friends? Are siblings invited? Once you have a rough idea in mind, say, 30 guests, look around venues to see who and what can house those guests. Sports and leisure parties are generally more suited for larger numbers, whereas a private party at home or even at the cinema can suit up to around 8 or 9 guests. Once you have got a rough idea of numbers and you have an idea of the theme, it’s time to start looking for ideal party venues.
Get the venue sorted
So, now you have an idea of the theme and a rough guide of guest numbers, you can find a venue that should accommodate. Remember, you need to think about what your child would prefer. Aron loves anything with high energy, so I decided to go for a sports-related theme for 30 guests (his entire class). Luckily a sports centre in our local area offers sports party packages, so we managed to hire a ‘Trampolining and General Games’ party, which included 2 coaches (the entertainment) and a room to lay out all the party food and decorations. We had to think about the party food ourselves, as it was not included in the package. However, some packages do include food, so it’s worth checking out any venues that offer a party food element. Ideas for parties can include:
Soft play parties (some venues also include party food in their package)
Hiring just the hall and sourcing the entertainer and food yourself
Sports packages, mostly found in local school sports halls or leisure centres
Bouncy castle parties
Home and Garden parties (you save the cost of the venue and host in your own home)
Princess parties (generally includes princess-style entertainers)
Lego Party, which involves hiring a hall and Lego professionals to bring a huge amount of interest/theme-related Lego pieces for the guests to build. A few weeks ago Aron attended a Star Wars-related Lego theme party and the kids had so much fun building Lego according to the entertainer’s instructions. I will be considering going down this route in the future.
Getting the venue sorted means you can plan around the space and the party services you will get and, subsequently, send confirmed ‘save the dates’ for your guests to RSVP to the birthday party as soon as possible. Sometimes you can send save the dates without a location in mind, but you would need to make sure that you can secure a suitable venue on that date to avoid any last-minute changes that may, ultimately, result in guest cancellations on the day.
Send the ‘Save the Date’ now and invitations at least 2 weeks before the event
So, you have your date sorted, you have a rough idea of how many guests you would like to invite, and you have the location secured, so now you need to alert the guests. A simple email or text will suffice, just to make sure the guests pencil in the date of your child’s birthday early and arrange their own plans to attend. This will also buy you some time to sort out the real invitations to formally invite your guests to your child’s party. I like to make an effort on the formal invites because my boys feel a certain sense of pride when they are handing them out to their guests and I get to keep an extra one as a keepsake. I use a small business called Kenzie’s Cards who offer printed personalised birthday invitations (alongside other special events), sometimes with the option of adding personalised photos. I have used them for a few years now and they always deliver good quality on time, every time. Worth taking a look!
Here is an image of Aron’s party invite (created by Kenzie’s Cards) last year. I’ve blocked out the personal details and included the type of information that was displayed on the invite.
Entertainment
As we opted for the sports package, entertainment was in the form of sports coaches and equipment, as well as music during the food portion of the party. However, if you are hiring just the hall, you can make the party more interesting by hiring a theme-specific entertainer or pretty much any entertainment you want, including pirates, clowns, magicians, and Lego experts. Hiring entertainment can become expensive, sometimes costing as much as £250 for an entertainer alone. However, ParentVille is a quick and easy planning tool that can take the stress out of trying to source these entertainers yourself and assist in finding entertainment suppliers within your budget at no extra cost. You can consider other options like purchasing arts and crafts equipment from Poundland or Costco and have an arts and crafts party. Let the kids make something awesome during the party that can also double up as their party bag too. Add some music in the back and some age-old games like pass-the-parcel or musical chairs and the 2-hour party will fly by due to all the fun-filled activities!
N.B – A friend of mine recently told me about her genius idea of buying everyone a set of paint and a plain white T-shirt, so that they could decorate their own T-shirt at the party. Once they had finished, they got to take their personalised T-shirt home as a party bag, so she didn’t have to hire an entertainer or fork out extra for the going home gifts.
Food
(image taken from mommymoment.ca)
I have experimented a lot with party food throughout the years and I have realised that less is definitely more, especially at children’s parties. I now stick to the below staple party food, which seems to be the most successful (based on feeding 30 guests, plus their parents too!):
Cheese & Tomato Pizzas (you can buy them from the store, but I generally order from Dominos at a 2 for 1 discount)
Wholemeal caterpillar sandwiches, which include the following fillings:
Nutella
Tuna, cucumber and Philadelphia cream cheese
Cheese & Tomato
Fruit kebabs or cupcakes (apples, red grapes, strawberries, banana)
(Bad timing to get a nice huge shiner from school, a couple of days before your party, Aron!)
Now, normally I would recommend buying the birthday cake if you can afford it. However, my son’s one birthday wish was for me to make him a TMNT birthday cake, so I had to suck it up and attempt to make my first ever proper cake, which didn’t turn out too bad, but it did take me over 6 hours to make. If you want to make the cake and you have a knack for it, that’s great! There’s no stopping you from giving this a real go. If you think your time is better spent elsewhere, then ParentVille list some great birthday cake specialists who can create a bespoke birthday cake according to your requirements.
Think about your party supplies and extra embellishments – and don’t overspend!
So, all the major party components have been sorted out and now you have to think about the little embellishments that will make the party stand out. Items like tableware, party banners, and balloons etc can all be theme related and you may save money if you buy a tableware set, rather than the individual items. But, theme-related tableware does come at a premium, so if you’re pinching pennies, just head to the major supermarkets and buy bold coloured tableware that matches the base of the theme. For example, my son’s 5th birthday party will have a PJ Masks theme, but as I have not managed to find any PJ Masks-specific tableware, I have just opted to go for royal blue as the main colour of the party supplies and I have saved a huge chunk of money doing this.
ParentVille is a one-stop party shop that connects you to recommended party suppliers in the London area. As we opted for a superheroes theme for my son’s birthday last year, we received the following Superhero party supply package from Crate a Party:
– Superhero themed paper plates
– Superhero themed napkins
– Blue and white striped straws
– Dark blue plastic cutlery (knives, forks and spoons)
– Superhero ‘Happy Birthday’ banner designed and made by Crate a Party
– 5 red, 5 yellow, 5 dark blue and 5 black latex balloons
– Silver balloon ribbon roll
– Multicoloured spotty tablecloth
– Superhero packet of table confetti
The Superhero Party Supplies package costs £7.50 per child – So, for 30 children that would be £225
You can find cheaper supplies at your nearest Pound Store or Supermarket. However, it is important to note that the quality may not be the same as Crate a Party’s party supply package, which all comes bundled together in one box and fits the theme of the party exactly. So, instead of sourcing all the items yourself, you may find it easier to go for the practical version that Crate a Party offers.
Party bags
Most people now do one useful gift, rather than a bag full of useless gifts and I am inclined to agree with this mindset. In the past, I thought that the more a child gets in their party bag, the more excited they are at receiving it. And, this may still be the case for the child, but for the parents, it’s a nightmare! So, I would seriously consider getting one decent gift instead, something that the child may get multiple uses out of, like a jigsaw set, a water bottle or a book. The parents will be grateful! I would suggest browsing through Parentville’s Party Bags & Sweets collection to see if you can find something suitable for your child’s party. Oh, and I always add a cupcake in the party bag, just as an extra sweet treat for the guests to take home. If you’re looking for theme-related cupcakes, Caketoppers specialise in cakes, cupcakes and printed icing edible toppers for delivery across the UK. They can personalise your cupcakes with a photo, logo or message. At my son’s party, I personalised the guest’s cupcakes with the TMNT crew, which went down very well with the guests.
Expect to not be in control of everything
You may have planned your party to a ‘T’, but on the day anything can happen. Not all the guests may turn up, or the venue may create some delays in the schedule. Maybe the food doesn’t turn out as planned or the entertainment bombs. Look in your child’s eyes. Do they care? Are they having the time of their lives? Then, throw all that negativity to the wind. You will get some parents who will complain that something wasn’t up to scratch, that’s normal. You can’t please everyone. As my mum always says:
“Give it your all, planning and preparing before the event because you can’t change what happens when it happens.”
I use this mantra in everything that I do and it has saved me a lot of stress going forward.
Video of Aron’s 6th birthday party
Taking into account everything that I have just said above, here is a video of how my son’s 6th birthday party turned out after careful planning and preparation.
https://youtu.be/DndbZXb1GtM
Good luck!
P.S – It’s nice to send out some Thank You cards to the guests after the party to acknowledge their attendance and thank them for their generous birthday gift. Crate a Party’s Superheros Party Package included some great Thank You cards, which we swiftly sent out a few days later.
Have you got any tips on how to create a memorable birthday party for your child? Please share wish us in the comments below.
*Disclaimer – Motherhood Diaries was gifted a party supplies package from Craft a Party, in collaboration with Parentville
