Wee Maw

Tag: Mummyblogger

• 

  But babies can’t read..right!?

  Posted at 9:22 pm by corrinacampbell

  Jan 19th

  

  You can take the teacher out of the classroom but you can’t take the classroom out of the teacher..or something like that!

  Wasn’t planning this blog but I’m feeling rather delighted with myself having built Wee One’s first bookcase. To say I am a lover of books is an understatement. I think they are the best thing since the Kelpies in Falkirk (ha ha!)…

  no seriously, they’re great.

  

  But it’s not just a case of loving books, for me it’s much more about the hugely important role they play in children’s lives. Be warned, I’m wearing my teacher hat when writing this!

  But babies can’t read-right!? Correct, they most certainly can’t (I speak for my own, you however may have a child genius-congrats!). Yet for me books offer so much more than just words and a story. So here goes, 5 reasons why reading to babies is a must..

  >br />
  

  1. It improves hand eye coordination. These brilliant thick pages books are perfect for those cute chubby little hands. Watch them as they watch you turn pages. This shows them how to read books (left to right) and is actually a important part of learning to read. I love feely books which encourage hands on reading.

  

  2. It provides the which pictures that show a simple sequence of events. An 8-10 page book is perfect for this and hugely more beneficial that a cartoon which moves at a very fast pace. My fave in this category is ‘Rosie’s Walk’.

  

  3. Looks of books for young children rhyme. This introduces them to sounds and words with similar sounds. Listening to repetition rhyme is even better as eventually your wee one will start ‘reading’ parts if the story without knowing the words. Check out PEEPO! A great example of this.

  

  4. Books don’t need to be illustrated all the time. Photo books can be just as interesting for new eyes. Even your own personal photo book can be hugely interesting for a baby as one of the first things they can identify is a face. As a big fan of ‘Humans of New York’ it was cool to get ‘Little Humans’ for my Wee One.

  

  5. Finally, for me it’s all about imagination! Stories can take you to places you can only dream of, they can introduce you to characters you’ve never heard of, they can invite you into a world far removed from the world in which we live, and more importantly they allow you to enter that world with your child.

  What do you think will happen next?

  How would you feel if this happened to you?

  What is your favourite part of the story?

  Who is your favourite character? Why?

  What do you think of this place?

  So take them by the hand and share in the joy that is a brilliant story.

  
  Posted in Education | Tagged earlyyears, Mummyblogger, reading
• 

  Stickman, Edinburgh

  Posted at 9:35 pm by corrinacampbell

  Jan 18th

  

  Yes yes, another Julia Donaldson but sometimes I just can’t help myself!

  Stickman, showing on St. Andrews Square Edinburgh over the Christmas period, running from the end of November until the beginning of January.

  For those of you that don’t know the story it is about Stickman, his wife and three stick children. You’d never think a story of a stick could be good but I’d go as far to say it’s brilliant!

  Showing twice a day in the Speigel Tent this is a show that is ideal for young children, and to my amazement babies too! Wee One is only 7 months old but was mesmerised by the whole performance! Catchy songs, interesting props and of course a fantastic story – this is a great way to spend a cold, snowy afternoon!

  

  

  

  A tad pricey at £18pp (excluding baby thank goodness!) but with an EH postcode reduction of 20% it didn’t feel like such a blow!

  Running time of 30 minutes was ideal and mid-week prior to school holidays proved to be a winner with plenty of tickets available and front row seats without a fight!

  I loved every minute, however, the venue was cold. 30 minutes of sitting with wellies on resulted in seriously numb toes. This was possibly because it was a particularly chilly day but for little kids they will certainly always need to be wrapped up warm for this.

  Thankfully with John Lewis round the corner it didn’t take too long to warm up afterwards.

  So, thoughts in the day?

  Venue 🌟🌟🌟
  (Cold cold and colder!)

  Entertainment 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

  Value for money 🌟🌟🌟🌟
  (With discount it’s still £15)

  Food 🌟
  (A cheeky wee mulled wine would have been a winner…no food available at this venue 👎)

  SCORE 13/20

  But I’d still go again next year. Think a hip flask may be in order! Ha! 🍻

  
  Posted in Entertainment | Tagged Edinburgh, Mummyblogger, Scotland, Stickman, Theatre
• 

  Tiki Tots Edinburgh

  Posted at 7:48 pm by corrinacampbell

  Jan 15th

  

  It was our first trip to Tiki Tots, located in Morningside Edinburgh. Plenty of parking outside which was good for me, although a tad pricy at £1 per hour..the joys of Edinburgh City Centre!

  Conveniently next to Pizza Express so coffee and pizza is possible without too much hassle – uh oh!

  This is one the most impressive soft play centres I’ve been too. The Jungle Theme works well for all those little monkeys ready to run wild! I didn’t take many photos when inside as there were kids everywhere and I don’t like to take photos of other children without permission.

  However, I have raided the Tiki Tots website so the pictures below are from there!

  There are 3 rooms plus a comfy, buggy friendly cafe.

  The Bush Baby’s is beside the cafe and is for the under 3s. This is where we were based. Nice equipment, seemed clean which is a big plus for me as I’m a total soft play snob, and some really cool features like the water pool and floating balls!

  

  

  The other room is for 4+ and looks awesome..I could totally play in here!

  

  There is also a kids Party Room for hire.

  

  It was £2.50 and although I’m sure this was possibly for a set time we didn’t feel any pressure to move on quickly or rush. This was possibly because we were there mid-week off-peak.

  My only slight criticism was, as with all soft play areas, that there were often older children playing in the baby zone. As a new mum I find this rather alarming as I’m convinced my wee one will be trampled by some larger child. Needless to say this has never happened but nor do I want it to. With the Baby Zone located right next to the cafe it makes it’s a popular choice for 3+ kids who can play unsupervised but are still needing to be within earshot of Mum.

  I have to say, I loved my afternoon at Tiki Tots, as did the Wee One who then slept the whole way home..hooray!!

  Scores are in..

  Venue 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

  Food/coffee 🌟🌟🌟🌟

  Equipment 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

  Value for money 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (although I plan to return on-peak!)

  19/20 👍

  Tiki Tots..I’ll be back! 👏

  Posted in Soft Play | Tagged Edinburgh, Mummyblogger, Scotland, softplay, TikiTots
• 

  The Gruffalo Walk, Inverness

  Posted at 9:08 pm by corrinacampbell

  Jan 13th

  

  I had heard about the ‘Gruffalo Walk’ but had never been so I convinced Aunty Z and Granny O to go check it out with me and the Wee One. Julia Donaldson is my all time favourite author so this trip was very exciting..for me!

  We maybe left it slightly late in the day so apologies for the dark photos!

  

  

  Having initially got lost looking for a ‘Find the Gruffalo sign’ somewhere we decided to take a daunder down Culloden Avenuev as it seemed the only place ‘The Gruffalo Walk’ may be. NOTE TO SELF – it wouldn’t be a Gruffalo Hunt if there were signs obvs!

  

  Thankfully this was the right decision as we started to see various wooden character carvings along the way. Unfortunately the Wee One was sound asleep sonmissed it all. However, we eventually stumbled across the one and only Gruffalo!!!

  

  

  

  I had expected for there to be more of a hunt (getting initially lost doesn’t really count!) and I’d hoped to follow the story a bit more closed and maybe meet a fox and an owl etc. But this really is just wood carvings along a walk. I guess the beauty of it is that you could make your own story and I’m confident that any child finding the Gruffalo at the end would be delighted.

  Maverick enjoyed a quick chat with a dragon. He wasn’t such a fan of the Gruffalo!

  

  

  

  It took us about 30!minutes to walk with the buggy to the other end which is at Culloden House..they have ducks in a pond!

  

  Parking was tricky as it is not a ‘loop-round’ walk so you either park at one end (in Culloden Forest or at Culloden Shops which is half way) or get someone to drop you at one end and pick up at the other. This is what we did.

  A bit of a cold dark day but successful never the less. (I saw the Gruffalo..that made my day!)

  Scores are in..

  Venue 🌟🌟🌟
  (It’s a pedestrian street!)

  Activities 🌟🌟🌟
  (Beautiful wood carvings but would’ve liked more of a story)

  Value for money 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
  (It’s free 👍)

  Parking 🌟🌟🌟

  TOTAL 14/20.

  As free outdoor fun goes this is a simple and short kid friendly activity. I would recommend this for kids ages 2-6. We’ll go back-hopefully next time she’ll be awake!!

  

  Posted in Outdoor Fun | Tagged Gruffalo, Inverness, Mummyblogger, Outdoors, Scotland, Walk

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