Goodness our lives have been turned upside down and inside out since I last wrote a blog for you all and we now find ourselves in very uncertain times.  Life as we know it has ground to a halt and things are changing on a daily basis.   Last night brought the annuncement that as of Friday all schools in the UK will close for an undefined length of time.   So on top of the panic and anxiety this virus has brought us we are all now wondering how we are going to educate and entertain our children whilst trying to maintain our work commitments from our make shift home offices.

Whilst I don’t have all the answers I thought I would a) share my plan with you all and b) list the education ideas via online resources I have found so far.   Whilst all will not be relevent to every family hopefully there will be something useful for everyone.  Perhaps you could add your ideas to the comments and continue to spread the support. 

DIsplayed above is my draft timetable ready for next week.  My children are of secondary school age and I am expecting teachers to be setting work via the school Virtual Learning Enviroment which both my girls can access and work on independently.  My hope is that I will be able to use this time to maintain my own work commitments whilst supervising their independant work.   Those of you with younger children might need to shorten the length of the structured learning blocks as 90 minutes will be too long for their little brains.    I have a lot of outside time listed on my timetable.  This is because I want to get outside as much as possible whilst we are still able too.  Those of you that have been to the studio or followed my journey will know that I am a big runner and also that I own 2 crazy dogs so exercise is a big part of family life.  When I shared my draft plan with my 13 year old this morning her first question was ‘where is my run time?’  I’m so glad that my fitness has rubbed off on her and so ‘break’ time may be extended if she chooses to use that time to go for a run.  

I have suggested to my girls that if we work hard to achieve the structured learning set by school then we can take Fridays off as extra Family time.  Whilst I want to keep routine for the girls and myself  and try and maintain their education,  I really want to take the opportunity to spend extra quality time with them and strengthen our relationships, thus gaining some positive out of this challenging time. 

Education Ideas –  Resources

Below I have listed a range of resources  I have found for a variety of age groups that may help parents with education ideas or fun activities to keep their children entertained.

Go Noddle – This is an App that was reccommended to me when myself and the children participated in RED January.  It has a range of fun dance routines to encourage movement and getting active.  Perfect for wet days when we can’t get out for a walk or when restrictions become even tighter.  When looking at my time table this morning  my 12 year old immediately mentioned the App when she noticed that I had added ‘fitness’ to the instructions for break.

Cosmic Yoga – A You Tube channel that uses yoga for interactive story telling.  A great way to get kids active and enhance their imagination.

Twinkl – Has education ideas in the form of printable resources ranging from Early years to secondary school and I believe they are offering 1 month free to support parents during the pandemic so get downloading quick.

Outschool – Allows you to access group learning via an online enviroment.  There are learning enviroments for children aged 3 – 18 in a range of subject matters.

Virtual Museum tours – I love the look of this and my 13 year old will no doubt spend hours exploring.  This article includes links to 12 famous museums from around the world that provide virtual tours.  To support the virtual tours here is a resource with free colouring pages of museum artifacts.

Dragon box – An app to support learning of Maths for all ages.

World Geography Games – online quizes looking at captial cities / flags of the world and other geography related questions. 

Teacher Monster – Perfect for younger learners.  It expores phonics through reading games.

I am sure that there are hundreds of other great Education Ideas for learning online and I’d love if you could share your children’s favourites in the comments below.  Helping each other out during these difficult times is so important so please do get sharing and Happy learning.  

Marie  

Mothers Day is fast approaching, 22nd March 2020 is just 10 days away so if you haven’t organised a gift for your lovely Mum or for your amazing wife (on behalf of your small children) then this is the list for you.  Below are my top photography gift ideas for mothers day.  

1.  First up the stunning Mummy and Me Mini sessions.  These are a wonderful short photoshoot to celebrate the love between a Mother and her children.  Suitable for boys and girls of all ages these are all inclusive sessions include a choice  of 2, 5, 0r 10 digial images.

2.  A family Photoshoot is a wonderful opportuinty to spoil Mum with a family portrait.  In general, when photos are taken on holiday or day trips I bet Mum is the one to capture the picture?  So there a plenty of photos of Dad and the children but few which include Mum.  I’m sure Mum would love to have the oppurtunity to be included in a wonderful family photo.

3.  My beautiul Bluebell Mini sessions take plance in April and are really popular for those looking for a more relaxed family photoshoot.  Sessions take place in the heart of the countryside within the Bluebell woodland and are ideal for ‘ of children or those with Furbabies. 

4.  Maybe you want to spoil a Mummy to be who is expeccting her first baby.  In which case a Maternity photoshoot, or Bump to Baby Package would be idea.  I chance to record her pregancy, her journey to motherhood.  Pregnancy is a special time and capturing it on camera is wonderful.  My own children love looking at photos of me when I was pregnant with them.

5.   Alternatively for the expectant Mum or new Mum a Newborn Photoshoot of their new precious bundle.  The newborn phase is so fleeting and new mums are often tired and drained duing this time so a wonderful gift of newborn photography is a perfect gift to ensure the special time is recorded.

I hope that you are now full equipped to spoil Mum on the 22nd March and I hope she has an amazing Mothers Day.

If you would like further details regarding the gift ideas for mothers day or the photography services at Slice of Life Photography then please do pop me a message via the form below.  

Marie

Mothers Day is fast approaching, 22nd March 2020 is just 2 weeks away so if you haven’t organised a gift for your lovely Mum or for your amazing wife (on behalf of your small children) then this is the list for you.  Below are my top mothers day gift ideas supporting local businesses in the area.

1.  First up is ensuring Mum takes time to relax and unwind.  To quote Fern from  TruYou ‘sometimes the most productive thing you can do is..relax’.  And this is so true.  As a busy working mum I know all to well how often we forget to stop and take care of ourselves.  Fern offers a range of treatments from facials, manicures and massages, all great mothers day gift ideas to encourage Mum to stop and take time out for herself.

2.  Every woman loves a pampering and I know most love to take a relaxing bath by candlight or unwind in the evening with some scented candles glowing.  Why not check out Anne Green a local Partylite consultant who has some great mothers day gift ideas to offer.  The springtime bloosom tea light holder looks perfect for the bathroom. 

3.  Most woman love to put on a touch of make up to help them feel amazing.  Maybe your Mum wears it every day or like me only when I want a little boost.  Either way Jade our local Younique consultant will have just the right mothers day gift to show her how much you love her.  Her March customer Kudos offer includes everything a mum might need. 

4.  Sammy from Sammaras – jewellery makes amazing timeless silver jewellery and lets face it what woman doesn’t love a bit of sparkle? So any of her pieces are perfect mothers day gift ideas.  I absoulate love the look of the Luna ring and may just have to treat myself one.

5.  And finally. One thing I have noticed from all the families that visit me in the studio is that Mums comment on how they are always the one to snap the photos at home and all they have in terms of pictures that include them and their children are fun, silly selfies.  So why not fix this and spoil mum with a photoshoot here at Slice of Life Photography.  I offer lots of different sessions that would make perfect mothers day gift ideas, maybe a family shoot to include Dad too, or a wonderful Mummy and Me Mini session to capture their unique bond and love that exists only between a mother and her child.  Alternatively a Bluebell mini session is a great way to capture the whole family in the beautiful english countryside and would also make a wonderful gift.   Gift vouchers are also available if you would like her to choose the session type for herself.  

I hope that you are now full equipped to spoil Mum on the 22nd March and I hope she has an amazing Mothers Day.

If you would like further details regarding the photography services at Slice of Life Photography then please do pop me a message via the form below.  

Marie