The Green Familia » Kids & Teens

Veja Méditerranée Small Organic Cotton Sneakers

Jo — Sun, 13 May 2012 20:52:03 +0000

Veja Méditerranée, the two-tone boat-shoe and sneaker crossover introduces an element of coastal living to the Veja Small line with its nautical inspired design. We all know how kids like to emulate adults dressing in the same clothes, well now they can look just like Mum or Dad with a cool pair of canvas two-tone trainers.

Using eco-friendly materials, the new Veja Small model is made from organic cotton canvas with a vulcanised wild Amazonian rubber sole. The organic cotton for Veja’s trainers is grown without fertilizers, or pesticides, according to the principles of agro ecology. The rubber used in Veja soles comes from rubber growing in the wild Amazon rainforest.

The Veja Mediterranee sneakers for children are available in 5 bright, playful colours; Green, Grey, Groseille, Royal, London Red, and they fit sizes 22 to 35 and are priced from £49. Don’t forget that these sneakers are built to last and they won’t fall apart after a few weeks.

Veja Small has been created especially to fit your little one’s growing feet. Your kids will be able to walk tall knowing that their shoes are not just super cool but have been ethically and respectfully made.

Find out more about the Veja brand and Veja Méditerranée Small here at www.vela.fr

TGF Rated Review: Rio Rocket Story & Seed Pack

erica — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:00:11 +0000

What is it? It’s a seed growing pack, from The Secret Seed Society, designed to appeal to children.

Who is reviewing it? Me and my 5 year old son.

Set Up The pack contains:

Illustrated Storybook
Organic Rocket Seeds
Growing guide
Recipe
Row Markers

In Use

It ‘s very easy to sow the seeds. The instructions are easy to follow. Our seeds have germinated well and are growing strongly. The row markers are useful especially if you are sowing the seeds into a vegetable plot. My son loves getting involved in the garden and he particularly likes to take responsibility for seeds. Interest was maintained too, because rocket germinates quickly so you can see the results after only a few days.

Henry enjoyed reading the book with me. He liked the fact that the characters are vegetables and he engaged with the story.

Any Negatives None

Price and Availability Available from The Secret Seed Society for £4.99.

Overall I think this makes an attractive, useful and entertaining small gift for a child. It’s also ideal as a weekend or holiday activity. Rocket can be sown regularly throughout the season to maintain your supply of salad leaves.

Rating 5/5

Furnish your Nursery with Story North

erica — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:00:04 +0000

If you’ve gone for a Nordic feel to your house, you may want to bring elements of that style into your nursery. Story North have some lovely pieces which will go a long way towards achieving that clean cut, pale coloured Scandinavian look.

This Rocking Sheep toy is beautiful constructed. It’s made of pine and lambswool and has been designed by Danish designer Povl Kjer. It measures 25cm wide, 83cm long and 60cm high. Priced at £345 this quirky take on the traditional rocking horse toy is guaranteed to be popular in any nursery or children’s room.

If you want something a little smaller, but just as cute, how about this Rosendahl Wooden Rabbit? Again it’s a well constructed piece with joints that allow it to be manoeuvred into different positions. It’s priced at £79.

I think this Butterflies Wall Decoration would look lovely in a little girl’s bedroom, but they’d look equally at home in more adult room. I think these could provide decoration over a long period of time. They’re sturdy too as they are made from stainless steel. The butterflies cast shadows and reflect light creating a beautiful effect. They’re priced at 25.

Children’s Activity Parties: Rainy Days

erica — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:00:24 +0000

Sometimes the weather is so unpromising for days on end, you just have to embrace it. Making use of those relentlessly rainy days is the aim of this activity party. It’s one that can be arranged at short notice too and everyone will be glad of something to entertain the children.

Ask your guests to bring waterproofs, wellies, a towel and a change of clothes. Collect together things that can be used to hold and pour rainwater. I raided the kitchen and bathroom and came up with washing up bowls, seaside toys, bathroom toys, funnels, plastic cups and jugs. Put some bowls out ahead of the party to collect rainwater, but if you forget, you can just use the tap. If you don’t have a garden, you could just go for a walk and do lots of splashing around in puddles.

Another fun activity to do while they are outside is to use the rain to make a picture. Before they go outside get them to draw some lines or patterns onto an uncoated paper plate, they can be reasonably generous with the paint. Get them to let the rain fall on the plate and turn the plate to allow the raindrops to move around and create patterns.

Send the children out to play once they are suited and booted up. Have a drying area ready for when they come back in with mats, newspapers, etc. to deal with the muddy boots. Have towels to hand and make sure your house is warm, so they quickly feel warm and cosy again.

Have some hot food and drink available for when they come in. I suggest warm blackcurrant squash with something fairly hearty to eat like freshly baked bread rolls or a bread pudding.

A nice indoor crafty activity to try is to draw a picture with crayon: an outdoor scene. Then use a dilute solution of blue food colouring to cover the scene with rain. The food colouring will only colour the areas not covered with crayon so creating a rainy effect.

If you’re looking for more party ideas at this time of year or if it isn’t raining, how about a May Day party?

Toto Knits

erica — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:00:50 +0000

Toto Knits is a line of organic cotton knitwear ethically made by a group of single mothers in Kenya. The knitters are paid by the piece which allows them to work as much or as little as they like. Each piece is made by hand and signed by the knitter. They make some lovely children’s knitwear and I’ve picked out a few of my favourite pieces to share with you.

I do like this Bumble Bee Sweater particularly as it’s made from organic cotton and the colours were obtained from bio friendly dyes. It’s a fun stripey top with a hood and button fastenings at the front. I love the antennae that form part of the knitted hood. This would be a good top to wear to a fancy dress party too. There’s a great range of sizes too, so you can find a size to fit any child from newborn to 6 years old. I think it would make a lovely new baby gift, if you’re looking for a gift for a new arrival. It’s priced at $35.

How cute is this Tiger Cardigan? I love the bright orange and black tiger stripes and the tiger head hood, it’s even got ears and a nice long tail. Again it come in sizes from newborn to 6 years of age, is made from organic cotton and costs $35.

Teen Spa Time at Armathwaite Hall

Jo — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:00:05 +0000

Teenagers love to be indulged, and I know just the right young girl who would absolutely adore a ‘Teen Spa’ experience. What about sharing a special spa day with your daughter or son whilst enjoying a relaxing pampering experience?

Now is the time to teach your youngsters that beauty comes from within, but you can also show them how to nurture and care for their skin. Armathwaite Hall Country House and Spa, situated in the beautiful Lake District, has launched a new facial for teens ‘Just Be Fresh Faced’. All Just Be products are freshly made using purely natural ingredients, the oils are packed full of therapeutic benefits and smell absolutely divine.

The Spa at Armathwaite Hall offers a Teen Spa Experience for 14-18 year olds and a Mini-Teen Spa Experience for 12-14 year olds. The treatments available are specifically designed for under 18’s, and they have been created to nurture and care for younger skin. Treatments available include the new Just Be Fresh Faced Teen Facial, make up application lessons, facial skin care lessons, shape and paint for feet or hands, and gentle back massages.

Armathwaite Hall Country House Hotel and Spa is set in a stunning location overlooking Lake Bassenthwaite. The facilities in the spa include a 16 metre infinity swimming pool with indoor waterfall, a thermal zone, a private spa lounge with a central fireplace a ‘hush’ tranquility room with a veranda overlooking the gardens where you can curl up together after your treatments and a fabulous outdoor hot tub where you can relax in the deliciously warm waters – an experience not to be missed.

It’s never too early to learn about how to take care of yourself, and treating your teenager to a ‘Teen Spa’ day could act as a wonderful bonding time together, away from the stresses and strains of normal family life.

Residential breaks can be arranged, combined with the full or half day spa packages from £155 per person per night.

For further information contact Armathwaite Hall Tel: 017687 76551 E: reservations@armathwaite-hall.com or visit www.armathwaite-hall.com

Secret Seed Society

erica — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:00:19 +0000

I’m a great believer in encouraging children as readers of my allotment posts will know. My son is an enthusiastic participant in growing vegetables and he’s sowing seeds at school now as well as at home. So I welcome efforts and initiatives to encourage children to get involved in gardening and growing their own food in particular.

The Secret Seed Society have a range of story and seed packs that bring a lot of fun into sowing seeds and growing vegetables. Each of their packs contains a storybook, organic vegetable seeds to grow the lead character from the tale, plus there’s a recipe to eat what is grown. All children are welcome to join the online Seed Agent Club where they can share experiences and tips, plus ask any questions they may have.

One story stars Rio Rocket, with the book you get the seeds to grow your own rocket and a potato pizza recipe to eat what you have grown. Other characters are introduced in the story which may encourage children to try a different vegetable. The Rio Rocket Story and Seed Pack is priced at £5 and there are a range of packs available at that price. Included in the pack are growing instructions and 2 wooden row marker sticks to decorate and mark the spot where you’ve planted your seeds. You can also buy the seeds as a stand alone item (useful for following up next year perhaps?) for £1.75 or buy a box set of 4 stories and seeds for £20. If you want to read more about the Secret Seed Society, you can read our review.

Children’s Activity Parties: Windy Days

erica — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 08:00:04 +0000

Pirate Kite

There’s a traditional rhyme that’s the basis for this party: March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers. That said the British climate has no respect for which month it is and you could hold it any month that has a windy enough day.

Kite flying is the obvious windy day activity. It’s a great way to burn off any excess energy and get out in the fresh air. Kites are easy to buy online, at a toy shop or even in the supermarket. A day with medium strong wind is ideal as either too much or too little wind can be problematic. Don’t fly kites in the rain or in areas with lots of trees or power lines for safety reasons. The best places to fly kites are open country like parkland, the beach or on hill tops. National Kite Month is coming up and there are more tips on their website.

Windmeasurer Materials

Another great activity is making a wind measurer. This can be as elaborate or as simple as you like. You’ll need a fairly straight pole or stick which you should attach to the top of your windmaker with some tape. The top could be a paper plate or even a cup cake case. Decorate your wind measurer as you like, but it’s a good idea to have some longish, trailing things attached to dance around in the wind, ribbons are ideal. This is a great way for children to see weather and it will give a indication of how strong the wind is, by how much your ribbons move around.

Another art activity to try is straw painting. Get some watered down paint, straws and some big sheets of paper – lining paper is ideal for this sort of project. Drop a small amount of each coloured paint on the paper and blow your picture. This can work well as a group activity creating one big picture.

Food for your party should be hearty and warming after all that running around outside. Go for a hearty soup with hunks of fresh bread.

If you’re looking for more seasonal party ideas, then how about an Easter party or St.George’s Day?

TGF Rated Review: The Storymouse Animated Story

erica — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:00:39 +0000

What is it? The Storymouse have launched their first animated stories: The Emperor’s New Clothes and Snow White. We reviewed The Emperor’s New Clothes, the iPhone version.

Who is reviewing it? Mostly my son (he’s 5 very soon).

Set Up This is an animated story rather than just a normal talking book app.

In Use As this is an animated story the pictures move and change as you watch. The animation is fairly simple and is effectively animation of line drawings: people and things move across the screen, colours change and characters can gesture (e.g. the dog wags his tail).

On each page you get the words at the top so the child can look at the words along with the voices. Where appropriate the words change and the pictures remain the same. There are various options available like automatic page turning, volume control, etc. so you can use the app as it suits you.

The story is professionally narrated and the narrator carries the story along well. Using music by Vivaldi complements the period setting of the story.

Any Negatives The app didn’t seem to remember where you were in the story if you had to interrupt viewing. This is a bit of a pain if you are nearly at the end.

Price and Availability You can sample the first few pages before deciding to purchase the full story. Additionally on the iPad, users get the whole story free of charge with the option of adding animation, narration, music and other great features. Available from the App Store for £1.49.

Overall It’s an entertaining version of the classic tale. It certainly kept my son amused for quite a while and I think he’ll return to the app to rehear and rewatch the story. The animation isn’t as advanced as other apps we’ve tried, but with a traditional and simple tale like this one, I’m not sure you need anything more complicated.

Rating 4/5

Eco Puppet Show

erica — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:00:23 +0000

I love doing crafty things with my little boy. In fact, he’s come to expect some sort of activity most afternoons after school and it’s often something arty. These Crafty Kids puppet kits seem like a great idea as you can play with your creation after you’ve finished making it.

This Crafty Kids Bear Puppet Set contains everything you need to make a panda or honey bear puppet and even includes brush, glue and paint. Because all the necessary bits and pieces are included, you can just get on and make the puppet without having to go off to find things half way through. The finished Bear stands 21cm/8.5″ tall and is priced at £12. The set is recommended for 4 years and above and comes with full instructions.

Is your little girl princess mad? If so, then this Princess Puppet set might be the one for you. This kit contains everything you need to make a perfect princess puppet and the completed princess stands 35cm/14″ tall. Again it’s priced at £12.

You’ll need somewhere to host the puppet show so how about this Cardboard Puppet Theatre? It’s eco-friendly as the puppet theatre is made from sustainable sources and the cardboard is recyclable and biodegradable. The kids will have great fun decorating their own theatre and then putting on their own puppet shows with you sitting proudly in the front row seats. It’s priced at £29.99.