Playing with the Doh!!

Review: Mrs Mactivity Tuff Spot Tray: Playdough Provocation Plan*

It's been a while since I've written anything.  It's been a bit crazy (I've realised that I've still not published my graduation blog post or written about my holiday) so a quick update.

I am about to embark on a PhD journey. I will still be researching history although not buses this time (shoes instead haha).  If you would like to follow my journey please check out my other blog Claret Clef Family Research which, although has been my familiy history research, will merge into  my PhD blog.

Chloe is still cheeky as ever.  She is now 26 months old, crazy, energetic and cheeky.  She loves books (especially the Gruffalo) and singing (especially the ABC song and Let it Go very loudly on the bus).  She was due to start nursery for two days a week next week but unfortunately that has fallen through so she will now be going to a childminder instead in October.  This will give her a chance to make some new friends and give me a chance to get some work done. I think it will be good for both of us.


Anyway, the main purpose of this blog post today is to review Mrs Mactivity's Provocations.  Mrs Mactivity is a website which has lots of creative learning experiences for children aged 3 - 11.  There are loads of printable resources with ideas for Tuff Spot Trays or learning resources etc.  Obviously, Chloe is a little be too young for some of the activities but there are some great prompts for play that she can explore. 

The activity we have been doing is the Tuff Spot Tray: Playdough Provocation.  In the download you get two plans; a quick set up and a more detailed plan.  Each plan includes prompts to engage and enable conversation, lists of vocabularly to prompt and key outcomes.  The detailed plan also links these outcomes to the Early Learning Goals so great if you're a childminder or Early Years Practitioner.

I'm not known for my amazing set ups and Chloe is not the most patient of children, so we just got playing.  The good thing with the playdough provocation is that you can use things around the house.  We explored what happens with pasta, shells and pinecones as well as the usual cutters and rollers.  We talked about colours and shapes as well as making a bit of pasta into a butterfly.

The prompts give you questions that you can ask your children such as " I wonder what would happen if we use the pine cone" which then prompts your little one to explore the outcome.  This activity was really good for Chloe as it gave her a focus with the playdoh rather than just rolling etc as well as discovering new things such as the beads and cones. 

The membership for the site is £12.95 per year and there are absolutely loads of ideas and prompts to help with all sorts of things to explore.  The Provocation plans include playdough, weighing and sorting and art & mathematics. 

I'm usually a bit sceptical about play prompts etc because as a busy mum I haven't always got the time to set up lovely layouts for Chloe to play with.  However, with these provocations it gives such an all round experience and doesn't necessarily have to mean planning amazing tuff tray displays that are instagram ready (as you can see from my photos, we certainly aren't here).  However, this activity kept Chloe entertained for at least an hour and in my book that makes it invaluable.

 *I have been gifted a subscription in return for a review of the website and in particular these provocations.  However, the views are all my own

The Bus Is Out of Service

Hi all

I'm sorry I've been so rubbish about writing lately.  It's been all been a bit up in the air and we haven't really been anywhere.

We had got a few trips planned for the Easter Holidays, however, I ended up taking a trip to Northampton General Hospital instead with a bad case of gallstones so all our fun was put on hold.  I'm now waiting for an operation to have my gallbladder taken out (I'm sure you don't want me to blog about that) and until that is done and I'm back fighting fit again, it's unlikely that I'll be taking many trips.

Unless there's something you want me to blog about when it comes to travelling in general.

On a happier note this came through the post the other day

Graduation is booked for Ely Cathedral in June (a bit more swanky than the Derngate).  Not sure what I'm going to be doing next.  Toying with the idea of a PhD but we shall see.  

Well that's all for now

See you on the other side 

Kat x 

A Trip To The Farm

A Trip To The Farm 

Rookery Open Farm, Stoke Bruerne - Review 

Northamptonshire is an odd place.  It's fairly rural on the outskirts so, obviously, there are a few open farms around.  However, being rural they are not particularly easy to access by public trasnsport.  In fact, it is easier for me to take a train to London to visit a city farm than it is for me to go to a farm locally. 

Having said that, last Sunday we did visit a local farm with the kids (in the car obviously).  We visited Rookery Open Farm which is in Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire (Stoke Bruerne is a lovely place too and I'm sure we'll visit at some point soon).   With it being lambing season, there was lots of animals to see. 

But the straw is much more fun

Chloe finally stroking the goat

Rookery Open Farm has a large area where you can go in the pens with goats.  Chloe liked this but was a bit unsure about the goats themselves and was more interested in throwing the hay around.  When Matthew was younger, he would be the opposite and attempt to smuggle the goats out of the pen to take them home. 

This area also has a pet corner with chinchillas, chipmunks, birds of various kinds, rabbits and guinea pigs.  There's also a viewing platform to see some of the new lambs. Further round there are sheds with loads of sheep that are either with their new lambs or due to give birth at any time. 

Brum Brum on the tractor

We then went to look at the outdoor play area.  Rookery has a massive play area both inside and out.  Because the weather was lovely, the outdoor area was popular but because it's so big there was plenty of things to do.  There are two large bouncy castles as well as lots of slides, climbing frames and tractors.  This was definitely Chloe's favourite part. There's lots of space to run around and climb. 


Chloe and I then took a walk around the rest to look at the other animals (rheas, pigs, turkeys, and donkeys) while Mark took Matthew on the go karts.  Chloe decide the rheas were chickens (big sunday dinner anyone??).

We then took the children both inside to let off some steam in the soft play area.  This is in two parts with a three story part for the older children and then a smaller section for under 5s. 

Altogether, we were there for about an hour and a half.  It's possible to stay for longer, if you factor in that you can eat there as well letting the children play for longer. 

It's a great little farm to go to but it would be nice to have more animals to look at. 

The admission for Rookery Farm is £7 for adults, £6.50 for children and free for under 2s.   Also make sure you take cash as they don't accept credit cards at the moment.


(I have not been paid to make this review)

Master in Bus Routes

In 2016, I was in a rut.  I was covering a maternity cover at a local solicitors and I was bored.  Having left being a legal secretary to complete a BA (Hons) degree in Music and then complete a PGCE to become a music teacher, I had found myself back on my original "career" with the same feelings as I had when I left the legal world.  So to relieve the boredom and to prevent feeling like a failure (I really did feel that way), I decided to sign up to study for a Masters Degree in History with the Open University. 

So along came October 1st 2016.  I started reading and making notes (soooo many notes) on all manner of topics such as historians views on local history, microhistory studies on local areas, families and poverty (mainly because I changed my mind as to what to study), and industrialisation.  During this time I also found out I was pregnant, didn't have the greatest of pregnancies and gave birth to my little girl.  My mum also had her second corneal transplant during this time so I was back and forward to appointments in Leicester Royal Infirmary (as well as Northampton General Hospital for Antenatal Clinics) 

January 2017, I submitted my proposal and sample chapter for marking, which would decide whether my chosen research topic was viable and that I had done enough to qualify to get through the next part of the course (The Open University MA History course is in two parts.  Part 1 is 120 credits and runs over 15 months; part 2 is the dissertation module and is 60 credits running over 9 months).  It wasn't easy for me to choose a topic (although it was probably obvious in the end).  

The EMA was hard work

Originally my dissertation was going to be researching Philanthropy in Hospitals in Northamptonshire and was to look at how boot and shoe factory owners contributed to the development of hospitals in the County.  Although this seemed a great topic, and one that I may return to at some point, I didn't think it would be viable in the time frame particularly as the second part of the course meant I would be juggling studying with a toddler and the hospital archives only opened one day a week (little did I know that the local archives would be limited too).  So I had a rethink of my topic.  What would I have information and knowledge readily available for.  Well buses of course.  When Dad passed away Mum had kept all of Dad's old books.  I also knew that the archives already help a lot of resources as I had planned to look at them before.  So there it was, my topic for my dissertation.  Buses in Northamptonshire between 1920 to 1950.   January 2018 saw me trundle to the post office with my EMA ready for marking.   Two months later I received my results.  A merit and the basis of a good project for my dissertation.  The first hurdle had been jumped.  

It's finished.  Time for a nap

I wouldn't say it was easy.  There were issues with the Northamptonshire Records Office having limited access to documents due to issues with the bunker, also they shortened their opening hours to three days a week.  The National Archives held a lot but time to get there was limited to the odd day once in a while (one time being when Mark took the kids to London Zoo). There was also issues with SCONUL access at our local university because, although I could get it, I was unable to use it as the new campus rules meant that I couldn't attend the library with Chloe in tow.  Despite these hurdles, in January 2019 I trundled off to the Post Office with Chloe to post off my dissertation and final piece of work on this incredible journey.  I actually posted it on the day that Chloe turned 18 months old.  This seemed quite fitting.

So then began the wait.  The wait between sending off the EMA and receiving the result in 2017 seemed fairly short.  Possibly because I had a baby and because you could at least do more reading etc to occupying your mind. The wait between sending off my dissertation and receiving the result this year has been forever!! Full of thoughts of do I put my notes away? Do I put the books away?  Do I keep them out in case I have to resubmit?  Do I do more research?  What do I do next if I pass/fail?  Doubt sets in too, particularly in the final weeks.  What if I haven't done enough? What if I missed something out?

But then this week the day came. We got our results on Monday! I opened the website and there it was.  The sigh of relief, the overwhelming emotion, the pride of the achievement.

I got a Merit on my dissertation meaning I achieved a Merit on my Masters overall.  I have shed a tear and I've thanked my Dad for the inspiration.

I still haven't put the notes away or the books.  I don't know whether I will do anything else.  I'm still undecided what to do next.  What I do know, however, is that I won't be doing anything until Chloe is at least at nursery if not at school. Studying with a toddler is hard, and particularly at this level.  What I do know is that I am prouder completing and achieving this than I ever was completing my degree or my PGCE.  This is because I did this course for me.  I didn't need to do it.  I didn't need it for work (although I may now consider other avenues).

Graduation will be in the Autumn but until then:

I am Kathrina Perry BA (Hons) PGCE MA.  Master of Bus Routes, timetables and dusty boxes. 

Blogging - Why? What is my Motivation?

Sorry for the lack of blog last week.  It had been one of those weeks that, even though we had been out a lot, we hadn't been anywhere exciting.  Having said that, some people might be interested in a "normal" week.  Let me know in the comments.

Anyway, this week I thought I'd share with you how I plan my content and what I envisage this blog to turn into.  Also I thought I'd give you a bit of a history lesson behind it (after all, history is my thing - one month to go before the dreaded MA results eekkk!!!)

How did it start?

I had been blogging on and off for a while.  I would often start a blog and then get bored or get too busy to write regularly or just not have something to focus on writing about.  Then in 2018 I decided I wanted to write about some of the trips we had been on as a family.  I loved the idea of writing about the places we had visited but also about how easy (or not) it was to get around with a buggy.

Whilst I was doing my dissertation, I found myself immersed in bus timetables, and then one day discovered a great little booklet in the Northamptonshire Records Office (I thoroughly recommend a visit to your local archives - it's amazing what people have donated to them).  This booklet was a guide to walking spots in Northampton and how to get to them by bus.  It was written in the late 1940s and I just thought this was a great idea.  So that's how my blog transformed.  I found myself listing places, not just in Northampton, but in the surrounding areas, that I could visit with Chloe on public transport and decided that it would be a fairly unique thing to write about in a blog (it's all about finding that niche).  Obviously restricting it to Northampton and Northamptonshire might be a bit limited so I hope to expand it to other areas too.  Basically, the idea is that as the blog grows the trips will grow too.

What is my motivation?

Originally, it was because I wanted somewhere to store those memories of the trips we had together, particularly as it was Chloe's first year on this planet.  Then I realised that I could help others by showing them ways of getting around when you have to rely on public transport (which unless I'm with my husband is me - I don't drive).  I'm always asking on facebook and twitter for recommendations to go to with my little girl and rarely get replies that don't involve a car.  So I decided that I wanted to create that platform. With it being February and living in a country where the weather is bleak at the best of times, finding the motivation to visit these places can be hard at times, but if I can help just one other mummy find somewhere to take her little one on a cold February day I will be happy.

What would you like to see?

So that leads me to the final part of this blog.  What would you, the readers, like to see more of.  Are there places you would like me to visit? Is there a certain journey you would like me to make?  What would you like me to feature?  Would you like me to show you soft play, museums etc.  So to plan my ideas so far I have created a spider diagram with considerations.  The first four categories I have come up with are

1. Venues
2. Cost
3. Transport
4. Time

I have then split these categories down into sub-categories.  These are:


1. Venues
a. Local
b. Further afield

2. Cost
a. free entry
b. memberships

3. Transport
a. Bus
b. Train
c. Tube

4. Time
a. travel time
b. time at the venue

My next plan will be to split these further to put actual venues/places etc  into the corresponding sections.  It may be that I create a chart with each column.  However, it's a working progress and I will update you with how I'm getting on (and also any places we do visit).

I hope this has given you a little insight of what this blog is about.  Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Speak to you soon

Kat & Chloe x

What's in the bag?

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Hi

This week has been a fairly dull week.  We have been out a lot and have been on a total of 10 buses, however, they've all been backwards and forwards to my mum's or to go shopping (I may do a blog post about shopping experiences at some point).  It's been another week of cold crazy weather.  We've had a snow a few times this week but not enough to make for a fantastic blog post.  So when thinking about what to write about, the only thing I could think of was what we carry in our bag! What we carry in our bag is really boring though.  I don't have any cool hacks or fun things I can show you (there might be a little pot of bubbles in there but that's about as exciting as it gets) so that got me thinking about whether I carry around too much stuff.

The contents of our nappy bag

So here is our bag currently.  It's a decent sized nappy bag from Cath Kidston.  Of course it's got buses on it.  They no longer do this one (I picked it up second hand on Facebook).  It's about the size of a small overnight bag and has two pockets at the front which are closed with magnets, two elasticated pockets at the sides for bottles, and a zipped pocket inside the main compartment.  There are two large compartments.  One which has two netted pockets and a changing mat and the other that is the main bag. 

Inside my bag I carry:

• nappies (usually a few more than on the photo - I need to top up) 
• a packet of wet wipes 
• a change of clothes; two vests, a top or dress, a pair of leggings or tights and socks.  Oh and a spare pair of knickers for me (you never know when you might need them). 
• a hat
• some nappy bags 
• a water bottle or cup or something similar (at the moment it's the Munchkin 360 training cup*) 
• Nappy cream (I swear by Metanium but I also carry some sudacrem) 
• Teething gel although I don't use it often. 
• A dummy holder and some dummies (always carry spares because if your child is anything like Chloe they will throw them on the floor).  MAM do packs of two which come in a little pot that you can use as a steriliser which is fab.  You can get them here* 
• Hair clips.  
• Pens 
• Packs of sugar (this is obviously for me not Chloe - I'm a tea obsessive). 
• Oh and obviously my purse.  (I'm a proper Whovian and absolutely love this purse - it's this one* for anyone who's interested because I'm always being asked)

So there you have it.  That's quite tidy to be honest.  Often there's also my phone, of course, bus tickets, receipts, a bit of change.  I'm have a habit of just throwing everything in there. 

And there you have it.  My messy nappy bag. 

Comment below about what your must have item is.  

Soft Play and Crazy Weather

This week hasn't really gone as planned.

I think Chloe is going through 18 month old sleep regression.  She previously slept for 2 to 3 hours in the afternoon.  However, all of a sudden she fights sleeping in the day.  She's still sleeping fine during the night.  This means that I struggle to find time to get any work done.  Those few hours were vital and now I find myself struggling to get work done in the evenings when my husband is home and I'm too tired.  Not productive at all.  Hey ho... that's mum life for you.

On Tuesday we went to a soft play centre called Berserk.  It was quite good.  I will probably do a more detailed review at another time because I think we will be going back.  In terms of travelling, it's not the easiest to get to but it's not the most difficult either.

All those toys and she finds the football

From Northampton Town Centre you can either catch a Stagecoach no. x10 and get off at Underbank Road, a no. 7 and get off at Talavera Way or, as we did, catch a No. 2 (also Stagecoach) and get off at Lumbertubs Pub and walk along Moulton Way.  I think between the two, the No. 2 is more direct but a bit of a longer walk.  In terms of travelling time however, there probably isn't much difference.  The walk from Lumbertubs Way is fairly straight forward and the paths are fine until you get into the carpark of Berzerk and meet all the potholes.

During term time it is £3.95 for 1-3 year olds and that is to play all day (which is a good job because Chloe was asleep when we got there - although that did mean I had time to get a cup of tea).  There's the usual large climbing frames and slides that you expect to find in a soft play centre.  There is also a dedicated area for under fives which has a lot of little tikes slides and blocks and then a bouncy castle, which Chloe didn't like.  For older children there is also an air bouncer and go karts.

Cosy

Sleeping on the bus as usual

During the week they also have classes such as rhyme time and dance which I think are included in the price.

We stayed for a good two and a half hours before leaving due to the crazy weather.

It was also the first time I got to try out the new buggy on the bus (check out my blog from last week to see my review). 

It's definitely lighter, so much so that you really have to push it to get it over the bumps next to the bus stop which isn't ideal.  Chloe seems comfortable in it.  She fell asleep on the bus as usual so it must be ok.  My only thing when travelling is you've definitely got to be more wary of it toppling because it's so much lighter than the old Sola2.  Also, I really could do with a cosy toes/footmuff for it so if anyone has any recommendations for one please let m know.

Other than our adventure on Tuesday we haven't been out much because of the crazy weather.  It's been icy (there was even a bus crash on the other side of the estate one day so it's made me a bit wary about going out).  I'm not sure how the Joie buggy will be in the icy weather so am tempted to keep the Sola2 for a little bit longer just because it's got a bit more grip on the wheels. 

Yesterday was crazy.  For those of you who are new (well that's most of you I guess) and probably don't know, I'm my mum's main carer. My mum has many medical conditions (we joke that she has her own filing cabinet in the hospital) but one of them is that she had to have corneal transplants in both eyes due to a disease called Fuch's Dystrophy.  On Friday she called me to say that the first eye she had done (the right one in which she had what is called a Dseak transplant - I can do a whole blog post on the operations if you really want to know) had popped and was all bloody (yuk).  As it was out of hours I told her that I'd take her to the eye casualty in the morning.  It turns out she's got something called a Sub-conjunctival Haematoma (basically a burst blood vessel).  They checked the pressures in her eye and her corneal graft and everything was fine so it's just a case of upping her steroid drops and waiting for it the clear.  It's always a worry though as there is no corneal specialist in Northampton so chances are if it does go wrong it'll be backwards and forwards to Leicester again.  Don't get me wrong, the team at Leicester Royal Infirmary are brilliant but that journey is a pain in the backside. 

Other than that it's just been a normal week.  Friday we went to Sing and Sign as usual.  We did colours this week and saw a rainbow on the way home which Chloe loved pointing out.  I love that she now points out little things while we're out and about.  Just hope that the weather starts getting a bit better so that we can go out more.

Oh we got a new car seat for Mark's car too.  If you'd like me to do a review let me know. 

That's all for  now

Have a good week

Kat & Chloe xx