Search This Blog

Word of the Week: Outdoors

Well what a fantastic week we have had. The sunshine returned just in time for our trip to the coast and so we have spent most of our time OUTDOORS with family and friends.


A photo posted by Kate (Along Came Poppy) (@kate.eccles) on

We have built sandcastles and "caught" a giant fish in Whitby; walked the Stickman Trail in the Dalby Forest; fed the goats at Playdale Farm Park in Scarborough; and we finished off the week with a BBQ in the garden.

A photo posted by Kate (Along Came Poppy) (@kate.eccles) on

Of course, we have read many books too and Izzie (4) has now completed the Library's Big Friendly Read, Summer Challenge. Here were her six choices:

 1. Wolfish Stew - Suzi Moore and Erica Salcedo
2. The Queen's Orang-utan - David Walliams and Tony Ross
3. Pass It On - Sophy Henn
4. The Mouse Who Reached The Sky - Petr Horacek
5. Wanted Ralfy Rabbit Book Burglar - Emily Mackenzie
6. Alfie Outdoors - Shirley Hughes

 One of our favourite books has been “Alfie Outdoors”. Written and illustrated by the incredible Shirley Hughes, this lovely picture book is part of a series of books about a little boy called Alfie and his family. In this story Alfie discovers all the fun he can have outdoors. From digging in the vegetable patch to bug hunting, this book has it all. There are also some beautiful pictures of goats which coincidentally fitted in with our own trip to the farm. We think "Alfie Outdoors" makes the perfect read for a sunny day in the garden.


A photo posted by Kate (Along Came Poppy) (@kate.eccles) on

What have you been up to this week? Have you had any adventures outdoors?

 Until next time... HAPPY READING!
Kate & the Mini Reviewers xx



on 44 comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Elmer The Recycled Elephant

During my search for simple, diverse books for little ones, Elmer by David McKee was recommended to me. We are familiar with the character from a small set of board books we own but, I confess I had not read the full Elmer story for many years. So last week I decided to dig out my brother’s Bumper Elmer Collection and read it to the Mini Reviewers.
Elmer The Recycled Elephant!
We found Elmer to be a fantastic book to explore the concept of diversity together. The story itself is about a brightly coloured patchwork elephant, who loves a good joke. He thinks the other elephants find him funny because he is different, so in an attempt to blend in with all the other “elephant-coloured” elephants, he paints himself with berry juice. Elmer soon realises that being different may actually be a good thing. When the rain washes away his disguise and his true colours are revealed, the other elephants reassure him that they love him just the way he is. Declaring the day “Elmer Day”, they plan to paint themselves multicoloured once a year in his honour.
This really is a classic children’s book, which has truly stood the test of time. Filled with humour and colourful illustrations, the book is very appealing to young children. Elmer himself is such a memorable and lovable character but most importantly the book imparts the vital message - just be yourself!
Elmer The Recycled Elephant!
A photo posted by Kate (@kate.eccles) on

Inspired by a craft tutorial for “Elmer Lanterns” on “Sun Hats and Wellie Boots”, we have made our own recycled Elmers. They were extremely simple to make and have been a huge hit with the children.

For each elephant we used an empty plastic milk carton; lots of small squares of colourful tissue paper (mostly old packaging); two googly eyes; PVA glue; two small pieces of cardboard; and a hot glue gun.
To make each Elmer I started by cutting the milk carton. I just cut it straight across as I wanted it to be as easy as possible for the children to hold to decorate it. It is possible to cut legs and even a tail shape into the carton (see the original tutorial). I then cut the handle slightly shorter to make the trunk.
Next the children set to work covering their carton in watered down PVA glue using old paint brushes. They stuck the small squares of colourful paper all over their cartons. Then they applied more of the glue mixture over the tissue paper. This got fairly messy but nothing a baby wipe or two couldn’t solve!
We decided that our elephants needed ears, so I cut ear shapes out of thin cardboard, the children then decorated these with more tissue paper.
We left everything to dry for a few hours before attaching the googly eyes and ears to the plastic carton using the hot glue gun. (I had wanted to use PVA glue for this but it wasn’t adhesive enough).
We were delighted with our finished Elmers.
What do you think?
Until next time... HAPPY CRAFTING!
Kate & the Mini Reviewers xx
on 20 comments:
Labels: , ,

Word of the Week: Puddles!

Well, this week I’ve bitten the bullet, or rather we’ve bitten the bullet and Theo has started potty training. While Izzie took to the potty with ease, I have suspected for quite some time it would be more of a struggle for Theo.


 Izzie never liked having a wet or dirty nappy, so from the stage she could sit up, we used to hold her on the potty. Then she would sit on the potty herself each evening (in front of CBeebies of course) and suddenly one day she started taking her nappies off and that was that, time for big girl pants. Her timing was dreadful as I was about 8 months pregnant with Theo and I really didn’t want to keep bending down to clean up little accidents. But, as always, Izzie was determined and, by the time Theo was born, she was dry during the day.

In contrast Theo has never liked the potty and hates having his nappy changed. Even now it takes ninja-like skills to do a quick dirty/clean swap. He is usually thrashing around on the floor like a demented octopus. Or, even worse, stubbornly lying flat on his front, nose pressed to the ground, body as stiff as a board! When asked, he will deny his nappy is dirty. He chooses to sit in it (whatever the state) just so he can continue to play. Therefore, as you can imagine, potty training him was at the very bottom of my “to do” list.

Anyway towards the middle of this week he took me completely by surprise and expressed an interest in wearing his “big boy” pants. (Remembering just how many pairs I’d needed for Izzie, I had bought several packs in the Mothercare Christmas sale!) So on Thursday I got out the pants, the obligatory stickers and all the potty/pants related books I could find, and we began.

Since then Theo has been running around the house in just pants and a top. His favourite potty has been travelling from room to room with us. I was not expecting this to be a quick process and I have been “cheating” and putting him in nappies for car journeys and at naptime to make it that bit easier for me. Day one there were lots of little puddles and even a wee in his favourite boat! But amazingly today there were just two puddles and six successful potty trips. Hooray! This may of course be beginners luck but I am just glad he will now happily sit on the potty.

Please do share your potty training tips with us...

 Until next time... HAPPY READING!
Kate & the Mini Reviewers xx
The Reading Residence
on 4 comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Home by Carson Ellis

Having returned from a fantastic few days away, it felt like an appropriate time to review this beautiful picture book called “Home” by Carson Ellis.



This book really is a work of art. From start to finish every page is exquisitely illustrated with a picture of a different home. From palaces to shoe homes and from sea homes to space homes. The book is packed full of unusual and imaginative illustrations providing so much to talk about.

Our favourite thing about the book is you can connect many aspects of the pictures to the illustrations of the artist’s own home at the end. For example, the same tea cup and the same red stripey socks can be seen in several of the other images. We first read “Home” the week before we went away and on our return have re-read it again and again. Each time we go back to the book, we seem to find new connections or things to talk about. I love the fact the same bird seems to be flying through the book, as if to unite us all.

"Home" has truly inspired us to think about our own home, as well as the homes of others. We have discussed the similarities and the differences and the things that make each one special. The book also prompted a whole afternoon of creative play for Izzie. She drew her own home; made a fairy house out of Lego; and, with a little cutting help, she tried to re-create one of the pictures in the book. This is a book we will be very sad to return to the library.

IMG_1706.JPG
"Where is your home? Where are you?"

IMG_1705.JPG
"Some are palaces..."



"Home" to me personally is all about family rather than a place.
What does “Home” mean to you?
Home is where my family grows,
Those little hands and tiny toes,
Getting bigger each day and night,
I kiss them gently, holding them tight.
There will come a time, I know,
From this home they’ll want to go.
So for now I’ll treasure each day,
Watching them smile and dance and play.
(Home, K.E - January 2016)




on 7 comments:
Labels: , , ,

A Beach, a Book and a Baby

This week we have been on our summer hols, so of course I had to purchase the latest Pip and Posy book from Nosy Crow to take with us.


A photo posted by Kate (@kate.eccles) on


For those of you that have read some of our previous posts, you will know that we are big Pip and Posy fans. The new book “Pip and Posy: The New Friend”, is a great addition to the series. It is set at the seaside and introduces a new character, Zac.

Pip and Posy are happily playing together at the beach, collecting shells, digging in the sand and paddling in the sea. When Posy takes a nap, Pip makes a new friend, Zac. Pip really enjoys his new games with Zac, however, when Posy wakes up, she is feeling rather left out and doesn’t want to join in. As with all these gentle books there is an important lesson to be learned. This makes Axel Scheffler’s series perfect for little ones.

All three Mini Reviewers enjoyed the story, especially as it was so relevant to our traditional seaside holiday. I loved that Posy reminds Pip to wear his sun hat and is shown with her bottle of suncream. This even helped me persuade Theo to have his cream on!

The illustrations are colourful and the characters are very expressive. The story itself is simple and short (I actually quite like this), however there is so much to talk about on every page. This is certainly one for your summer reading pile. Poppy even enjoyed having a little read with me on the beach. She was also fascinated by the sand!

We'd love to know what's in your summer reading pile...
Until next time... HAPPY READING!
Kate & the Mini Reviewers xx

Please note that this post contains affiliate links, you can read more about what this means here.
on 8 comments:
Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)