Sunrise Childrens Festival @ St Bridget's Garden

We recently set off to experience the Sunrise Children's Festival at St Bridget's Garden in Co Galway.  It was the first of this festival and it did not disappoint.  It was a weekend event.  Full days of children's activities on Saturday and Sunday. To attend the festival it was 140e this included free camping on the Saturday night.  We arrived at St Bridget's Garden at about 1pm on the Saturday.  

We had to head straight to the camping site to set up our tent for the night.  The camp site was already really full and we had to keep our spot firmly before another family claimed it.  If there was one piece of advise for the organiser's I would give, it would be to let people head to the venue the night before on the Friday evening to set up.  Setting up camp on the Saturday takes time with smallies, hence time out of enjoying the activities on the day with the children.  







When our tent was ready, beds blown up and all unpacked we made the short walk to the festival.  The festival was fabulous for children.  There was an itinerary given to each family on arrival and you could visit each area to experience what you wanted with the family.  The earthy arts and crafts really inspired my girls.  








The craft leaders were very patient and helped each child no matter what age  to produce a lovely piece.  Crafts the girls made included stick instruments, twig disco sticks and wood fairies.  We watched bands, puppet shows, magicians, held bearded dragons and met The BFG to name but a few. We finished up on Sunday evening at the kiddies disco which had an enthusiastic girl showing all the children dance moves.  Just what they needed to keep up the atmosphere.





A highlight for us was the parade on the Saturday evening which led to the bonfire and fire dancers.  It was dress up as 'Superheroes and Goddesses'.  The girls loved this.  It was very well run and enjoyed by all.  

Points to think of - Please open the camping site on the Friday evening.  It would make the whole experience a lot more relaxed if we could set up on the Friday evening and enjoy a full weekend of camping. 

 
                     



  -A bit yuck but necessary sorry....Bring a camping travel toilet with you.  The power was down a few times over the weekend and the main loos were closed.  I brought a camping toilet because I am in the throws of toilet training with my youngest so it is just easier to have it close by.  You will understand if you have toilet trained a 2 and 5 month child before!! After experiencing a camping children's festival I will never go to a festival again without it!!

                             -The cafe could open earlier on Sunday morning for breakfast.  There was a huge queue waiting at 9am in the rain to get in.  We all know young children wake early, and in a tent they wake even earlier and want to be fed.  

All in all a great weekend away that was all about the children experiencing art and culture.  Well done St Bridget's Garden.  My girls loved it.  We really enjoyed it too.  I hope it becomes an annual children's festival.  It was a sold out festival on both days which goes to show that parents in Ireland want family entertainment and festivals.    

Thanks for reading. If you were there let me know what you enjoyed about the event.

Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.

Thanks for reading,

Orla Xx

Julia Donaldson Book Collection

Hey Guys,

As it is World Book Day I said I would share what we have been reading;


I recently purchased this great book collection from Julia Donaldson on Amazon. It is a brilliant collection and at a great price. I've seen one of these books at my local book shop for sale at 18e!! This collection is a steal!

Now most of you mum's will have certainly come across Julia Donaldson before, most likely through The Gruffalo. She has written many children's books. They are all so catchy! My girls can remember text very easily from her books due to the rhyming techniques she uses. The illustrations are fab too, your young reader will really love them. You know what? I love reading them out loud too! Main favourites in our house are The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child, Room on the Broom, A Squash and A Squeeze, George The Giant and Paper Dolls. I know, so many favourites!

You can also get the short film of some of these books, the BBC recently produced them. I have seen them and they are lovely, well worth a watch.



Here is the link to purchase the collection;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1509801251


As an English teacher I see daily the importance of reading and getting children enthusiastic about books as early as possible. We don't go to bed without a story or two in our house, it's part of the bedtime routine.

Each of my girls have their own book shelf, they enjoy that they have their own books and respect them. We get great mileage out of books and even play bookshop regularly!

Let me know if you have this collection?
What is the favorite Donaldson book in your house?

Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.  

                                               

Thanks for reading!

Orla & Kerri Xx

Great Christmas Present for Young Readers, Check it out!!

Recently http://www.lostmy.name/ sent Seán, Farrah and Georgia fabulous personalised books.  This book is a personal, beautiful and magical book. The adventure in the book is based on the letters of the child's name.

This book is different to any book on the bookshelf at home or that I've seen before.  Your child's name is not only in the book but the whole story revolves around the name.  The child's name is the story!!

Farrah and Georgia met a girl at the start, Seán met a boy who wakes up to find their name is missing.  They then go on an adventure, collecting letters , meeting amazing and educational characters and at the end realise that they have actually collected all the letters to their very own name.  Great excitement!! An added bonus, it has sparked a great interest in my 3 year old in learning how to spell her name! This is great, it's promoting letter recognition also. Seán, who met a rock angle that gave the letter 'A' now has a new found interest in rock and roll!! How fabulous that this book ignites the mind of our little children.

Creating the book is very simple for the user.  You enter your child's name, state if you are purchasing for a boy or girl.  Choose hair colour of the main character to personalise it further.  Then you can preview your book.  If you are happy with the book you can purchase it.  Delivery was very quick, it arrived within 10 days.  It is also free worldwide delivery. 

The book is beautiful.  It is A4 landscaped sized.  The illustrations are just fabulous.  You need to see it to believe it;

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgdZzt6gEd0&feature=player_embedded


I would highly recommend it for Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles purchasing for the small people in your life this Christmas.  It suits 2 to 6 year olds and will be cherished for life. It is a great gift for infants too as they will soon grow into it and learn their name from being read this story.

Disclosure: Kerri and Orla were provided with three complimentary copies of Lostmy.name books for the purpose of this review.  All opinions are our own and are totally honest.

Do you have this book at home?  What do you think of it?  Let us know  Xx


Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.


Thanks for reading,

Orla & Kerri

How My Children Do The Gardening ;-) Some fun tips!

Gardening With Children

Gardening combines many of the elements that children love most; exploring, watching things grow and making a mess.  Add a few worms, bugs and mud pies and you have the recipe for a constant source of activity.

   Introducing your children to gardening can create a passion, that will last a lifetime.

 

 

Children enjoy growing things that they can pick and eat.  Fruit and vegetables are ideal for small hands to poke around in without causing too much damage.  Try potatoes, courgettes, strawberries and tomatoes.  Even the fussiest eater should be delighted by growing and harvesting their own supper.  In our house this is usually soup for lunch!

Lack of space need not be a restriction.  Even the smallest patio or window ledge can provide shelter and sun.  Use any container, yoghurt pot, tin can, old tyre.  All can be decorated and turned into a perfect plant pot. 




Tips for gardening with children

Give them their own garden beds. Whether you use raised beds, containers or ground plots, be sure to give each child his or her own separate plot. Keep it small, very small for young kids. Put their plots right in the middle of the action, with the best soil and light. Set them up for success.

Reuse the sandbox. If your children have grown past their sandbox years, consider converting the old sandbox to a garden bed. This gives the child continued 'ownership' of a familiar space and encourages a sense of responsibility to the gardening project. Of course, a productive garden bed needs to be in good sunlight and soil should be free of tree roots. It may be necessary to relocate the sandbox if growing conditions are less than ideal.

Give them serious tools. Cheap plastic child's gardening tools are worse than no tools at all; they break easily and frustrate the user. It can be hard to locate good tools for kids, especially work gloves that fit a small hand. With some garden tools, like a hoe or spade, you can easily saw the handle shorter. Let them use your tools if need be; in this way you're acknowledging the importance of the work they're doing.

Engage them through the entire process, from seed to table. Children learn better when they understand the context of their activity. They will learn that gardening can be fun, but far more than idle play; they are contributing to the family well-being. Besides planting and nurturing their garden beds, be sure they alone do the harvesting and preparation of their crop for the table, no matter how modest the offering.

Start from seeds. While it's a convenient shortcut to buy starters, children will learn more by seeing the growing process as it begins, from seed. The care given to sprouting seeds and nurturing the young seedling are a valuable part of the gardening experience. Seeds will need to be started indoors in a warm room and once sprouted they can be transplanted into pots until ready to set out


Cheat a little. Depending on the age of the child, you may need to help out a little 'behind the scene'. Not every garden task is pleasant, and the child may not be ready at all times for all chores. You may need to go out in the evening to pick a few slugs off the lettuce, or be the one to run out and move the sprinkler. They don't have to know about every little help you offer - the child's 'ownership' of the plot is the main thing.

When all else fails, make a scarecrow. The best time to engage children in gardening is when they're in the mood for this activity. If their attention wanes, or the garden tasks become boring, let them build a scarecrow. This activity is still a contribution to the gardening effort and adds another layer of interest to the garden scene. It also reminds the child of the importance of the garden crops.

Show off their work. When giving 'garden tours' to friends, be sure to point out the children's beds. Take a photo of their harvest and send it to the grandparents. The attention given to their work is the best motivator for children to stay involved with a project.

People of all ages can enjoy gardening, but children in particular will have lots of fun and gain special benefits. Gardening is educational and develops new skills including:

• Responsibility – from caring for plants
• Understanding – as they learn about cause and effect (for example, plants die without water, weeds compete with plants)
• Self-confidence – from achieving their goals and enjoying the food they have grown
• Love of nature – a chance to learn about the outdoor environment in a safe and pleasant place

• Reasoning and discovery – learning about the science of plants, animals, weather, the environment, nutrition and simple construction
• Physical activity – doing something fun and productive
• Cooperation – including shared play activity and teamwork
• Creativity – finding new and exciting ways to grow food
• Nutrition – learning about where fresh food comes from.

Here is a list of the fruit and vegetables that the girls have grown that have been a success;

Runner beans
Strawberry
Radish
Lettuce
Courgette
Carrot
Potato
Spinach
Swiss chard
Beetroot
Pumpkins

Thanks for reading

Orla & Kerri xx

Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.

 

Our Halloween Traditions

Halloween always brings back many fond memories of great childhood fun. Now that Im a Mom I try recreate some of the fun and spook! Here are some of our favouite family fun Halloween traditions.



Making a barn brac!

I currently have mixed fruit (mostly raisins and sultanas) soaking in tea (Barry's of course!) and tomorrow or the following day I will make two barn brac's. Carrying on the tradtion my mam had, I always wrap a €2 and 2 €1 coins in shiney tin foil and mix them through the mixture. Theres nothing more exciting than biting into a hard coin and unwrapping the foil. Its the little things that always have the best reaction. The recipe I use can be found under the 'Country Cooking' Tab.


Pumpkin carving.

Like most families this is an activity we get great fun from in the days leading up to Halloween. As a child we used to grow our own pumkins so lots of experimenting of faces was done. Next Halloween I hope we too will have a smal harvest of our pumkins. Luckily there is a farm near us that grows pumpkins and we will go and pick and cut out our own pumkins. This year we are going to embrace an americian (i think!) idea of the blue pumpkin. As our DS is Dairy free we thought it might be nice to let others that may come to our house 'trick or treating' know that we have some dairy free halloween treats! We have in fact decided to make all our 'trick or treating' treats dairy free.

Halloween Games.

We LOVE halloween games.

Our top 3:

Coming in a No 1 everyones favourite: Apple Bobbing.

We like to spook it up a little and add some green food colouring to the water, we also add some monkey nuts and €2 coins to the dish with the apples. This way there is a different difficulty rating and makes the game enjoyable and competitive for every age! The nuts float on top so make them nice and easy for the little one, the apples add that bit of difficulty due to needing to bite in and the coins sink to the bottom making them the ideal target for the hard core bobbers!


No2 : Snap Apple.

We drive a nail (new and sterilised) through an apple, attach string to the top of the nail and hang from a door frame. We usually hang from the double doors to make sure there is lots of room. Hands are tied behind your back and each person gets 30 seconds to try take a bite for the apple. Its so much fun and by having an adult in charge of the varying height of the string this game is suitable for all the family, mam and dad too!

No3: Cutting the Cake.

But its a flour cake! Yes this a messy one but super fun. You pile up flour on a plate, in a much of a 'cake' shape as possible an place a cherry on top. Each person takes a turn at cutting a slice, any shape or size they desire. They gently seperate the cut slice from the rest of the cake, but leaving the flour on the cake. The person who cuts the slice whereby the cherry falls form the top is the loser and must put their face into flour! So simple yet so fun!

'Trick or Treating'

Yes, we are mean and do give some of the older kids 'tricks'. Ah isn't that what it's all about!!

This years favourite dairy free treat: A plastic glove, place a jelly at the tip of each finger and fill the rest with popcorn! Simple, effective and budget friendly!

Our favourite treat: This one was a roaring success when we discovered it as kids! A hard boiled egg, dipped in melted chocolatae! I know I know, how mean your thinking! But come on....all treats would be no fun!!


So while we have lots more Halloween ideas, including decorating and costume ideas I tried to keep this post as concise as possible. But do keep an eye on our  facebook and instagram pages for constant updates! This year we dont have a family theme for our costumes but should be fun none the less.

Hope you got some ideas from here, or reminded you of some of the childhood halloween games you too may have played and had forgotten.


Have a spooktacular Halloween everyone,

Stay safe,

Kerri and Orla xx

(Images are courtesy of google images)

"Is dinner ready?" NO! "But Im starving......"

This pretty much sums it up!

Always running, getting lots of fresh air, no wonder
he's constantly hungry I suppose! 

So as I said in the last post September was a very busy month and I completely failed to notice the amount of food Seán eats theses days! His appetite has really come on. Maybe it’s a growth spurt, or him just being a boy but what ever it is its great! He’s eating everything! (well….most things!!) We have Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner sorted- we have loads of dishes to make that we all enjoy etc. Snacks are my problem! You know that time between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner and dinner and tea- well the growing boy eats at all these intervals! He’s great on fruit, so lots of novelty ways of eating fruit are tried and tested. Nuts and raisins are also good. But then what else can I give him to keep him ticking over? It needs to be lunch box friendly, that can be picked up running out the door to the playground, Granny’s etc...?? It also needs to be dairy free! I welcome all ideas. I’m on a mission to find and make healthy snacks to keep Seánie (and
Daddy and I) ticking over! Any ideas I try will be posted in the ‘Country Cooking’ tab!

Yesterday we tried Granny Jane’s Muesli Bars. Any time we go to Granny Jane’s in Kilkenny she has lovely baking done. These Muesli bars are always delish so I gave them a go (recipe in ‘Country cooking Tab’). They turned out lovely, not as nice as Granny Jane’s so must ask her for tips at the weekend. Seán and I  had one with a cup of tea and honestly I was stuffed! They are a bit crumbly so maybe next time ill put more coconut oil. I’m not convinced about the ‘healthiness’ part however. There is a lot of sugar and honey, and there are also coconut flakes, which a friend said could be high in fat! Eek!!! There is some goodness in them though as they are packed with seeds and nuts! Look it ,it’s better than a bar of chocolate, keeps up ticking over until dinner, recipe makes a good patch that are easy to grab and go, so for my first day of the healthy snack mission, its not a bad start at all!

Ill try again and let you know how it goes. Would love any ideas for other recipes.

MUSELI BARS

Makes approx. 28 little bars/squares

350g (12oz/3 ½ cups) rolled oats

30g (1 oz./ ½ cup)   shredded coconuts

50g (1 ¾ oz./ ½ cups) flaked almonds

45g  (1 ¾ oz. / ½ cup) wheatgerm

30g (1 oz./ ¼ cups) sesame seeds

35g (1 ¼ oz./ ¼ cups) sunflower seeds

55g (2oz/ 1/3 cup) copped dried apricots (I didn’t have so just left out)

185 ml (6fl oz./ ¾ cups) honey (I only had Manuka honey so used that)

55g (2 oz./ ¼ cups) soft brown sugar

125 ml (4fl oz./ ½ cup) vegetable oil (I used coconut oil instead)

* I added 4 tablespoons of flaxseed & goji berries also

Preheat over to 130oC (250oF/Gas 1) and lightly grease and line a 35x25cm (14 x10 inch) tin.

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowel, minus the sugar, and mix lightly together.

Put the honey, sugar and oil into a small pan and stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Pour this over the dry ingredients in the bowl and stir until everything is well combined, mixing with your hands if necessary.

Press the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 minutes or until golden.

Cut into bars while still warm.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading. 

Kerri and Orla xx

Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.

Go to sleep my little baby! PLEASE!!!!!!

Establishing a good bedtime routine

Go to sleep my little baby  boy  PLEASE!!!! PLEASE, PLEEEASSSSEEE!!!!!

September is always a tricky month for us. We have both had the summer off  so late evening strolls, trips to the beach after tea, playing outside until dark and staying late at Granny and Grandads all results in our summer routine being: no routine! And we LOVE it! But getting back to business in Septemeber is always tricky. This September we moved house and I started a new job, so getting into a good bedtime routine and quickly was vital.  Thankfully those great people at the groCompany sent us a Gro clock at the most perfect time. While it did take us a full month to settle back into a good routine, I'm glad we have now nailed it! (for now!)

And the gro Clock played a mojor part. This updated version of the Gro-clock uses fun images of the stars and sun to communicate when to go back to sleep and when it's time to get up, and was a tremendous success. The gro clock comes with a story book explaining the benefits (and consequences) of not following the stars to sleep. The book worked so well the first night: our DS was so afraid to run to the toilet!!!! Note to self: don’t stress the consequences so much! But it's a really nice addition to the gro clock and fits perfectly into our bedtime routine.

So here's our routine....not over complicated.....but works everytime! 

We try to make our evenings screen free, from 4.30 onwards (until little boy is fast asleep), but always from 5pm onwards. I believe there is just no need to have such a little mind racing when calm down and sleep time is so close.

Our bedtime routine begins at 6.30pm on no bath nights and 6pm on bath or shower nights. No drinks or food are given after this time.

Pajamas are put on and bedroom and/or playroom toys are tidied with curtains drawn. This sets the ‘calm down’ tone of the next 30 mins.

We try not to rush or get too excited before bedtime. Seán is bursting with energy all day and with only an ounce of encouragement would be bouncing off the walls! While the slow pace is super
annoying we calmly tidy away the toys.

Teeth are brushed, I wont lie… there is a bribe of a new book at the end of the week if teeth are brushed with my help each night. It work's though! 

After teeth, face and hands are washed and then its good night kisses to Dad/Mom.

Two stories are picked out and into bed he hops. Prayers are said and two stories are read. Tucked into bed and a kiss on the head and Seán and teddy are ready.

Seán then gets 5 minutes with the nightlight on to read his own stories. He usually throws the book out of bed himself and turns over to sleep.

Obviously the above is the good night. There are bad nights (even ugly ones!) but these nights are usually when the routine hasn’t been followed and we think were back in July! This lovely fresh evenings at the moment are killing us! But the gro clock is really great to kick us back into action. On the gro company website there is downloadable reward chart that I now plan on introducing. Just to ensure the routine is maintained and the sense of excitement and fun is still a part of the routine. (download groclock reward chart here).

So whats more to say  only GO OUT AND GET A GROCLOCK!!! Its another brilliant product from the amazing gro company. Simply click here to purchase today. We were very kindly gifted this groclock but they retail at approx. €30.00. Which I personally think its great value for such a great product. I, like Orla loved the gro bags for the baby years, we have other gro products also such as the gro anywhere blind and the gro chair harness and Im so thrilled to see this company never rest when it comes to making life a little easier with a growing boy! The gro light will be my next purchase. What will be yours? Have a look here to shop products by season, age and gender. 

Hope this post may be of some help to you getting into a bed time routine, and remember thats all it is:routine. You can do it and you will. Before you know it you will be wondering what to do come 7.30pm (other than clean, tidy, make lunches, wash clothes, iron, plan for tomorrow etc etc etc!).

And now its off to bed for me, Good night all.

Night Night, Sleep Tight, Dont Let the bed bugs bite xxx

Thanks for reading. 

Kerri and Orla xx

Don't forget you can keep up to date with Countryside Mumsie on our social media accounts facebook and instagram.

We were kindly gifted this groclock, however all opinions are our own.