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Little Squids Leigh On Sea, Leigh-on-Sea (2025)

09/12/2022

WRAPPING PAPER 🎁

I remember as a kid that the shops are wall to wall wrapping paper, with schemes and bows to match. Hands up if you do a colour/theme scheme for your present wrapping?

If you’re still undecided, how about something homemade PLUS recyclable/eco friendly 💚

All you need is Kraft paper, paint, pens and your own imaginations/combos of Christmas themes. You can use baby feet, baby fingers or just even let the kids paint if your feeling really brave!

Although it’s nice to get a perfect footprint or look (look at the first picture 😂)- that doesn’t have to be the goal!

My eldest decided to draw a line between all his reindeer (to my initial horror!) telling me it was Santa’s sleigh- I mean, what imagination!!!😍

If you want it to be a bit more “perfect” then you can draw a design in place first (pic number 3) which guides the creativity a bit more 😂

My eldest has asked to make a new wrapping paper every day after school this week 🥰and the first few wrapped presents look soooooo cute🎁

30/11/2022

Christmas books all ready for our reading advent calendar 🥰

My eldest is very into his numbers so I’ve scattered them in no particular order under the tree so he can find each day! Of course, they both have the usual chocolate one too (thanks to Nanna!)

Our little village also has a teddy bear popping up each day in various spots that we have to go and find 🥰

How’s advent looking for you this year? 🎄

21/10/2022

Last Halloween, I was grieving another month that I felt my body had let me down. This followed 15 other cycles that hadn’t delivered me a positive pregnancy test at the end of them. To say we were broken by it is understatement.

This Halloween week, I’m staring at our 3 day old baby girl, who was born on Wednesday morning 💗

I hope for anyone reading this who is suffering recurrent loss or infertility knows that there is hope and to keep believing. I’m looking right at her now.

She was born calmly earthside and I have so much gratitude to Royal Surrey Hospital who looked after us so well- the will and kindness of those who work in the NHS, never fails to humble me.

Thank you too to my friend Steph who has supported me through both my girls births now, but who helped me navigate this birth to be healing and empowering. I will look forward to detailing it all in time for you all 💗

For now I’m just going to soak up this little dream like bubble ❤️

15/10/2022

🎃 Pumpkin Picking 🎃

It’s that time of year where your feed becomes flooded with pumpkins!

I’m a lover of Halloween, but always looking for ways to use pumpkins for more than just Jack o lanterns, so here are my top ideas;

🎃 if visiting and picking from a patch, chances are your pumpkin will be covered in mud, glorious mud. Don’t be put off and get your little ones polishing up the pumpkin at home! (It’s amazing how much care they take on this!).

If you’ve gone for the supermarket ranges, don’t fear! Just create some taste safe mud with some cocoa mixed with water!

🎃 I won’t lie, the inside of the pumpkin gives me a headache too! But kids will LOVE getting their hands stuck in. Get the spoons in and the hands in!

🎃 those seeds make a wonderfully healthy snack but before you get cooking, you can also get your little ones fingers busy by getting them to separate the seeds from the flesh and pulp. You can use large tweezer or fingers.

🎃 make toasted pumpkin seeds- either sweet or savoury. For sweet, mix brown sugar and nutmeg with some melted butter and fold seeds through, roast for 20 mins. For savoury, mix olive oil, salt and chilli flakes (leave our chilli for kids!) for the same time.

12/10/2022

Since my eldest 🐙 started school and my youngest 🐙 started preschool, I find the post school period between tea time and bath time is sloooooow and everyone is tired and a little tense- anyone else?🤯

So today I popped some little autumn activities out and it gave everyone a bit of chill and concentration time- it was a huge hit!

🍁 String and beads for creating “snakes”- fantastic for fine motor skill

🍁conkers/chestnuts/pine cones to make into little creatures with playdough or clay (scroll ➡️ for our little creations including a unicorn!)

🍁card and autumn leaves to make crowns and bracelets

🍁or however they interpreted the invitation!

05/09/2022

Did you hear that thunder and lightning last night? ⛈

I think ahead of all the little ones starting school, that storm couldn’t have been more fitting-the welcoming of Autumn and a fresh new beginning- well, it meant I was straight into “autumning” the house today- starting with a big warm bowl of porridge.

We then moved on to our season tree. If you haven’t seen this before, I ended up making a Christmas decoration back when I was isolating with C***d last Christmas and it became a season tree that we redecorate each season as it comes in 🍂

We popped our acorn people (see previous post) on it and will add some conkers when they fall in a few weeks.

We then made some Halloween inspired snake breadsticks which had a tiny touch of chilli flakes for keeping us feeling warm inside.

Other ways to welcome in this new gorgeous season;

🍂 forage from the last remaining blackberries and make a crumble

🍂collect rosehips for rosehip syrup or threading onto string and making jewellery

🍂batch make butternut squash soup or chutneys and jams from fruits in the garden

🍂start planting spring bulbs- tulips, daffodils and crocuses

🍂whilst Sunflowers come to the end of their season, wait until the petals have all wilted and remove all the seeds- kids love doing this!! Keep some, or gift them, to plant next spring, roast them up for a snack or pop out for a snack for the birds.

What are your favourite autumn activities??

26/08/2022

Acorn People 🌳💚

A very cute and simple little woodland craft using acorns (you will find hundreds on the ground right now as we move through the seasons!)

Alongside acorns, you’ll need glue, mini felt balls and string (to hang from trees or to add to your autumn display- we will be adding this to our seasonal tree!)

Make sure you remove the acorns from the “hat” for the squirrels and woodpeckers to store ahead of winter 🥰

02/08/2022

There is nothing more enjoyable than seeing your children thriving in the outdoors and nurturing a deep appreciation for the world they live in!

I read a fabulous article the other day about how to encourage wildlife into your garden and the best bit is kids can get involved in making and creating!

🌼Plant a variety of flowers of different sizes and colours for the pollinators like bees, butterflies and wasps

🌼pile up logs for beetles and bugs for your own bug hotel

🌼make a bee hotel (see my posts on how to do this) or drill holes into wood or bricks/breeze blocks

🌼 make a bird bath using a shallow plate lined with stones and fill up with water. Bees can also benefit from this too but make it shallow so they can’t fall in and drown

🌼create a pond, even in a smaller space you can use a shallow tray and fill with small pebbles or use an old flower pot (lined) to attract frogs and toads.

🌼leave a patch of lawn wild- ie no mow may but all year, great for smaller creatures like spiders.

🌼avoid any pesticides or pest pellets- try cucumber sliced in your beds to deter slugs and snails! (It really works!!)

23/06/2022

Bee Hotel 🐝

I made this a few weeks back with the kids and thought I would share as a really easy craft with kids for solitary bees to nest ❤️

All you need is a glass jam jar and bamboo cane- it’s cheap to buy or you may even be growing some in the garden (and as an invasive plant you’ll be cutting it back anyway!!)

Measure the depth of the jar and then cut the bamboo to the same length- kids will love getting involved in this! Make sure the bamboo has a large hollow space.

Also- watch for some of those pesky birds who like to eat baby bees- like the cheeky woodpecker who lives in our garden so keep away from bird feeders!!

12/06/2022

Looks like a pretty full attempt at a scrapbook right?…. Well that part is true 😂

But what I had thought was just a way for me to collect and keep allllll those bits of artwork and drawings from the littles actually proved a lot more yesterday.

It had gone very quiet when I come downstairs and found W and P going through it. They were laughing, smiling and praising each other’s bits of artwork. They also found some masks they had made (a couple from one of our session!) and so followed the most adorable little role play with their masks on.

So what’s the point here? The point is all those bits of artwork, every one, is valuable. Don’t feel bad if you’ve thrown the odd one away (I have too!) but if you can keep them in this kind of book or display recent work around the playroom/their bedroom. It means so much to kids, something I witnessed yesterday.

Drawing and creating starts with little marks on paper (even babies can enjoy this) and evolves to “a train”, “a flower” and being able to see that progress is so special ❤️ ✍️ 🎨

27/05/2022

We’re almost in June so it’s time for a new observation/subject table! I try and change this set up every 4 weeks to keep and fresh and interesting!

This time I’ve gone for the theme of- Pets!!

My littlest squid P is obsessed with dogs in particular- and her favourite present from her 3rd birthday takes center stage!!! It’s a battery operated dog with a brush to keep tidy and a bed to keep cosy. This is a great toy for teaching care of a pet/role play (especially if she is adamant on getting a puppy as she is!!😂)

In front we have some letter work, I’ve picked “dog”, “cat” and “fish” (the latter being our most recent pet!) and which comes with wooden letters. The game itself was from Treehole.

I’ve then picked some of the activities from our “Pets” box.

10/05/2022

Last week, I did something I never do.

I not only made a complaint (I think I’ve made one complaint in my life), but also fought back to a stranger who challenged me and my children. My children are who made me react. Look down on me, but you don’t look down on my kids. EVER.

This also wasn’t the first time or an isolated incident with this particular stranger. A supermarket attendant. I had watched her do this a couple times and had sat with the feelings before.

This is our regular supermarket, we go weekly, sometimes I’m with the kids and sometimes I’m not, but more often, as a SAHM I’m with the kids (otherwise when do I shop? And I don’t do online shopping!!)

She must just have a big issue with kids.

Perhaps kids weren’t on her agenda, and I appreciate that may be painful, or maybe it’s just a path she chose to not go down, which is fine. I’m not a better or wiser human for being a parent, not by any stretch.

And I know, kids are hard work. Newborns, toddlers, preschoolers, tweens- it’s all a challenge to control the chaos!

So here we are in the supermarket, big trolley and 2 children in tow.

No, a 3 and 4 year old cannot sit in a trolley designed for an infant. Their natural development actually hinders them from that. Preschoolers shouldn’t be expected to “sit still”- it isn’t a discipline available to them (frustrating as that is!!) I don’t expect it from them, and neither should a stranger.

This particular person in question however looked in disgust (and I’m not exaggerating) at my children. No one should look at a child like that. Especially, when they are doing NOTHING to hurt you or hinder you. She also rolled her eyes at colleagues for back up (who I’m happy to say didn’t support her), flung her arms in the air that they dared to walk near her, tutted that they were speaking a decibel louder than she would like. She wasn’t discreet either, not that that would have made it any more excusable.

*continued in comments*

29/04/2022

Since we moved house, the kid’s playroom has really been lacking some love! It became a room “for later”, too many toys and too little space for creative minds.

I got around to sorting it out this week and rotating the toys based on what I was observing peaked interest in the kids- farm animals for the littlest 🐙 and a need for a calm reading nook for the biggest (still yet to finish this hence no pic!)

My favourite area is this though- an observation table for “spring” 🌼

In the centre we have our butterflies (or actually just butterfly as our caterpillars seem to have failed to develop into their chrysalides😥) alongside our insect book about metamorphosis.

A basket for “spring discoveries”- primrose flowers, dandelions etc

Insect magnifier for creepy crawlies

“Spring Story” from Bramley Hedge

Butterfly puzzle

Soft bunny and frog finger puppet

Flower arranging- a plant pot with playdough and fake flowers with wire “stems” (picked up from a craft shop)

I’m still planning to add a watercolour of the life cycle of frogs, but knowing me I’ll get around to that next spring 😂😂

I’m excited to use this as a themed area depending on what interests the kids are having!

09/04/2022

A truly lovely day in the garden with sunshine and friends ☀️

Isn’t it amazing how the sun just lifts your mood? I’ve been struggling to get up and go at the moment. My littlest 🐙 is handling some pretty big emotions at the moment. I’m sure it’s her age and a development milestone, coinciding with a house move, but it’s been tough and emotional. I’ve also not been feeling well and had very little energy- I think we’ve done so much DIY since we got in we have pulled a few muscles 😂.

I woke up this morning and decided today would be different, especially as we had a friend visiting.

We planned some activities and spent alllllll day in the garden and it was bliss!

Here is some spring time play inspiration for you 🌼

- Building birds nests from twigs, bark, moss, leaves- compete with some Easter chicks!

- Petal Potion making, keep some life in old blooms by using the flower heads, fragranced water (use lavender oil or lemons) and pots and pans and utensils to pour.

- Egg decorating, you can use real eggs (hollowed out inside) or polystyrene or wooden eggs. There’s no agenda, just let them paint- they may not look pretty but it’s fun!

22/03/2022

Hey, it’s me 👋🏻
Not posted in a while so thought I’d pop on and share some updates!

So we’ve moved, it’s been 2 weeks already! Life is feeling a bit more settled now but it’s certainly been…. Overwhelming I guess?

The day after we moved I was struck down with a horrendous tummy bug (I really have never been so unwell) and 2 weeks on I’m still not 100%. The kids have embraced everything new with open arms of excitement, but then the disregulation will suddenly set in and along with my own adjustment, as well as being next to useless still with unpacking and sorting due to feeling so weak, it’s been a lot.

Yesterday, my husband went away for 2 nights with work and I could feel the worry setting in-I’m also a terrible overthinker and being on my own in the house frightens me (what if there’s a fire? What if we get burgled? Etc etc)-but instead, I got outside with the kids, we watered some new seeds, and I collected some Rosemary (my favourite herb alongside Sage and Lavender 😂) from the garden (woohoo I have it in the garden!) and together with the kids we made some lemon/rosemary hanging decorations- these scream SPRING and freshness and the feeling of being alive. We’ve hung them on our seasonal tree, but the good news we can probably keep these rolling into summer too.

(Other highlights of the last couple days include foraging for p***y willow, finding deer tracks on the wood path to the back of our house, and painting my daughters bedroom)

The smell of lemon and bright yellow colour has made the kitchen come to life already.

If you wanted to create a spring display, you could also dry or press some new spring flowers like Crocus or daffodils and press into clay, just remember to only take a few heads so that the bees and butterflies can get the nectar they need 🐝

These were made by slicing lemon, popping rosemary sprigs in the flesh, making a hold for the string and cooking in a very low temp oven for 1 hour or until dry.

With love, Our House ❤️

07/02/2022

Such a special last session at the Fishermans Chapel today 😭

I, of course, felt it only right we celebrated love and Valentine’s Day❤️

We had a sensory Valentines tuff tray and our activities were making cheerio pipe cleaner hearts and decorate some heart biscuits 🍪❤️

We then finished with a reading of one of my favourite authors Nancy Tillmans “I’d know you anywhere my love” (all of her books are wonderful if you haven’t come across her before- prepare for happy tears)

Thank you everyone for all the amazing support you have shown this playgroup over the last 2 years (how?!). Even though it’s been stop/start, I am so grateful for you being here and to have met so many wonderful families!

❤️

24/01/2022

Chinese New Year themed craft from todays session! 🐉 🇨🇳

We made fire breathing dragons, and I set up a challenge for our little mini makers to create a cherry blossom plate!

This was a gentle activity for parent and child as it takes the parent to draw around their little ones hand and work together to colour in. We then used Duplo pieces to create the “blossom” which encourages creativity (you know me and using other objects other than a paintbrush!) and a fine motor skill tick!

Some of our little creators used their own imagination and made some beautiful lanterns!

We then tidied up and enjoyed a sing song, and as it’s the year of the Tiger, we read “The Tiger who came to Tea” 🐯 🍰

17/01/2022

Our Winter session today ❄️

We had a busy afternoon playing with playdough, making crepe paper snowflakes and winter sensory snow globes 😍

Of course alongside copious amounts of tea and coffee and a bucket load of solidarity with .cakeclub ❤️

Lovely to meet a lot of new faces today, as well as some gorgeous regulars! It’s been a while ❤️

Little Squids Leigh On Sea

09/12/2022

30/11/2022

21/10/2022

15/10/2022

12/10/2022

05/09/2022

26/08/2022

02/08/2022

23/06/2022

12/06/2022

27/05/2022

10/05/2022

29/04/2022

09/04/2022

22/03/2022

07/02/2022

24/01/2022

17/01/2022

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