If you’ve got kids then no doubt you never have enough space and packing a car can be hard. Cupboards jammed up with great big duvets that fall out on you when you open a cupboard door. Either that or bulky things are stuffed in the loft getting dusty and dirty.
I have just discovered vacuum saving space bags. I now don’t have things getting dusty or dirty and duvets and pillows now take up a third of the space they used to. They are handy too when packing a car to go on holiday (So long as you’ve got a vacuum where you are going so you can repack them).
2 large duvets and a pillow in a vacuum bag behind kid
Plugging the vacuum onto the bag
The 2 duvets and pillow are now packed taking up a third of the space
I am sure you can see how revolutionary these bags are and will certainly help anyone packing a car to go on holiday with kids.
There are so many sports highs and sport lows that kids should see. So we have provided a sports compilation for your kids to watch with you that link straight to the clips on You Tube.
Witness those sports stars who you thought were mad, bad, brave, and just plain crazy and share the moment with your kids.
Evel Knievel, the death defying motorcycle stunt man was always my childhood hero. Evel Knievel did 300 jumps and landed safely on 276 of them. Back in the 1970’s every kid wanted to be Evel Knievel. Evel holds the record for the human being with the most broken bones. Here Evel Knievel is in one of his most famous jumps. The buses at Wembley Stadium, England.
It’s always hard to pick one moment from a game like football (soccer) which is a team game but I think kids will be amazed at this goal from a very young David Beckham
Eric “The Eel” Moussambani from Equtorial Guinea was entered into a heat for the 100 metres freestyle swim at the 2000 Olympics. The reason Eric should inspire kids is that he had never even been in an Olympic size pool before and the record time to beat was about 48 seconds. Watch Eric and his amazing swim.
The sport of Cheese Rolling is peculiar to England. Every year at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire people chase cheese down a hill… Crazy cheesy stuff to watch with the kids.
It’s all about playing the game kids… “You Cannot Be Serious”. John McEnroe at his bad boy worst at Wimbledon Tennis Tournament . The ultimate bad loser. Now of course John McEnroe is more dignified and is one of the best tennis commentators on the TV.
Here are some more kids books for young children. I don’t think it matters all the time what kids are reading so long as they are reading. I have no problem with a copy of The Beano, however, I do try and get it that they pick a story then I pick one so at least I have some influence over what is being read.
The first kids book I’d like to draw your attention to is “Chimp And Zee”. It is by Catherine and Laurence Anholt and it is great fun which is why it won a Smarties Gold Medal. The story is all about 2 naughty little monkeys called Chimp and Zee who do monkey about and don’t listen to Mumkey. The kids love it and it usually gets picked most days.
With all the British players knocked out of Wimbledon it must mean summer is here. So what better book to read the kids than “The Bear’s Holiday” by Stan and Jan Berenstain. It may have been written about 40 years ago but is still great fun. Papa Bear tries to teach Small Bear his safe holiday rules. As you can guess Papa Bear is always getting into scrapes…Great rhyming fun. If you like this have a look at “The Bear Scouts” too which is another Berenstain Bears book.
You may have seen the Berenstain Bears on the TV but don’t be put off if you didn’t like them on television. The books are much better and are probably some of the best books for young children ever written with funny pictures. Just terrific.
You may like to take a look at “Aliens Love Underpants” and “Giraffes Can’t Dance” as well. Both books are current favourites with today’s children and sit near the top of the best sellers list. Both stories rhyme and are good fun for kids.
Kids are always going to find dealing with bereavement difficult. I’ve chosen a couple of the best books for dealing with the loss of a loved one. I hope these help anyone who has to explain death to kids. If you have any other suggestions please leave a comment.
Kids love magic tricks and doing magic for kids is not actually that hard. If you try it I guarantee you will have fun.
The best way to get started with kids magic is to buy a few tricks from a magic shop. Kids are always quite easily impressed and providing they don’t sit too close you should be ok and not have them shouting “It’s on a wire!!!!!!”
Most of the first magic tricks should not take too long to perfect but a bit of practice is required. I can now pull a toy rabbit out of a hat and make it disappear, make broken paper fix itself and some other magic too.
My top magic tip is to practice alone for at least 15 or 20 minutes a day until you are ready. As I said before kids are easily impressed by magic and you will have a lot of fun together doing the same tricks once or twice a week for a month or two, however, if you want to retain your kids attention you will have to learn new tricks after a while.
Don’t forget even if you have no money to buy tricks there are always loads of card and other magic tricks you can learn for free with a book from the library or off the net. Doing magic for kids does not have to be expensive.
Kids will love the Iceni Village at Cockley Cley near Swaffham in Norfolk. Kids should understand that the village is a reconstruction of what the Iceni village would possibly have looked like about 2000 years ago slightly before the Roman invasion of 43AD.
Kids will be amazed by the Iceni village main gate (complete with human heads attached) and drawbridge at Cockley Cley. Although not 100% archaeologically accurate the Iceni Village is well worth visiting. It is not known if the Iceni tribe would have had village defences this strong, however, there is evidence that Romans did encounter such defences elsewhere.
The Iceni village huts are made of wattle on a wooden frame and the roof is made of reeds. If you don’t know what wattle is it’s a mix of stakes and twigs. The daub (a mix of mud, straw, hair, and probably whatever else the Iceni tribe could find) has not been added to the huts as although it would have waterproofed the huts visitors would have had a lot less light to see inside
The Iceni Village boasts a genuine 17th Century Cottage, Carriage And Implement Museum, and St Mary’s Church which dates back to 628AD
Kid can find more things to do walking the nature trail which is about a mile and a quarter long,
Silverstone Formula One circuit has testing days and kids under 12 are free. The kids may be at school when this is on but it may be great for sensible pre-school kids. Ear plugs are usually handed out and Formula One cars are seriously loud so be sure that your kids use them.
The F1 test photo of Robert Kubica in his BMW Sauber was taken taken on Wednesday 25th June 2008 at Silverstone. We will put future Formula One test dates for Silverstone on this site so watch this space. In 2009 we expect the Formula One test dates to be in May. We reckon the best place to stand is at Luffield but have a walk around if you go to F1 testing at Silverstone.
If you are after Formula One driver autographs you can stand at the main gate either very early or very late and be patient. Be warned though that F1 drivers are human to and if people are disorderly then they will not want to stop. Best tip is hold out what you would like signing and many (but not all) drivers will stop. Best current Formula One drivers for stopping to sign autographs are Jarno Trulli, Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Robert Kubica, and Adrian Sutil. Takuma Sato who is no longer in Formula One was extremely friendly and is a true gentleman so if you see him at other races be sure to say hello.
If you are after paddock entry then speak to a fan club and become a member. The UK Jarno Trulli Fan Club are well known to us and do work hard.
Most of the European Formula One tests are now done in France and Spain so Silverstone Formula One tests are a bit of a rarity. It used to be free for anyone to attend but it is now £12 for an adult and sells out quickly thanks to Lewis Hamilton. 10,000 people attended the Formula One test on Thursday 26th June 2008.
Kids in a car on a journey can be a nightmare but it does not need to be that way. There are a number of games that can be played and with a bit of planning your kids can have fun and you can get there with your temper and sanity intact.
My eldest kid can get travel sick and this was a nightmare. Travel sickness on a long journey has been prevented by using TRAVELeeze pills. When we go on a long journey I have stopped my kids car sickness by giving him half a pill. BE SURE TO READ THE LABEL!!! I call them special sweeties and the words “car sickness” are forbidden. On the now very rare times he is ever car sick I just say “oh dear, must have been something you ate…”
Plan regular stops if you have kids in the car, at least 10 minutes once an hour. Remember that where there is a village there is a playground with swings for them to get out and play. So don’t be afraid to come off the main drag and divert a mile or two. Not every kids playground has toilets though.
Someetimes there are great places to stop and get out right by the side of the road. The A1065 between Brandon & Swaffham is perhaps the perfect example with the picturesque Emily’s Wood (The Heathlands) and The Desert Rats Memorial at Mundford.
When you pack the car keep a small bag with a lightweight change of clothes for everyone (adults included) in the boot with a pack of wipes. Place it on the top of the luggage so you can get to it quickly. If your kids are car sick they may be car sick over you and if the stuff is in the boot it is safe.
If your kids are car sick do not let them associate the car with being sick. If you do they will throw up before they’ve reached the end of the road. Do not tell them off. Just hug them (however unpleasant that may be). As I said before just say stuff like “car sickness??? No such thing. It was something you ate. You did look a bit poorly before you got in the car…”
In the front passenger seat of the car I keep some sweets, biscuits, and water bottles. Never give them coke in the car. If they don’t spill it and actually drink some it has caffeine in it and will make them want to pee. You have been warned. If you have babies keep a flask full of warm milk ready to put into a bottle. The milk will not keep in a flask forever but it is good for at least 4 or 5 hours.
There are a number of ways to entertain kids in a car on a journey:
Turn off the radio and let them sing. “Wheels On The Bus” etc. You know the stuff.
Put a kids story in the tape or CD player. See our podcast story downlaods. Our kids story podcasts are free so please use them. More kids story MP3 files will be added soon.
Play I-Spy. “I Spy with my little eye something beginning with the letter…
An adult passenger can point out things of interest. Cows, pigs, etc.
Can you see… A red car…. A blue car…
How many red cars can you see in the next 5 minutes.
Look at car number plates. How many animals starting with the first letter of the registration plate of the car in front can you think of.
Car cricket…
The rules of car cricket are quite simple. The first player has a turn to “bat”. When you go past a pub you look at the sign and however many legs are on the sign is their score. So if you go past a pub called “The George And Dragon” you would probably score six as St George had 2 legs and the dragon probably had 4. Going past a pub called “The Railway Engine” would mean you are out as trains have no legs, unless of course you can see the drivers legs.
In the game of car cricket if you cannot see any legs in the picture you score nil and are out. A pub called “The Swan” can be a bit hit and miss. If the legs of the swan are visible you score. If they are below the water line and invisible you are out and another player comes into “bat”.
Car Cricket is not what it used to be with 20+ pubs a week going out of business and less villages to go through as everything is bypassed but it can still be fun.
I was once playing Car Cricket with a family when the driver suddenly got lost when they were in bat. Went 20 miles out of their way and suddenly went past a pub called “The Sow And Piglets” scoring a massive 28. Very suspicious that…
Have fun with the songs and games and I’m linking to some top story Cds for the car below:
The stories that will always fascinate kids are stories about their families. Stories about what dad did, their grandparents did etc.
This is my boys Granddad age 6 in 1929 (or thereabouts) in a photo with his twin sister. I have no idea how they managed to get the kids to a professional photographer as the family would have been very poor. He served with the first batch of REME recruits attached to the 79th Armoured Division arriving in Normandy at the start of July in 1944. Dad is not a great one for telling stories about this time in his life so when he does I listen.
Make sure that you get older relatives to tell their story to your kids, write the stories down so they can tell their kids, and on all photos write down peoples names on the back for future generations. Frustratingly my mums family have photos going back to the very dawn of photography…with no names on the back.
