It's London History Day and since we are discovering a new part of London every other week, I thought I'll share how to discover London and where are the most kid-friendly historic places to visit.
The best way for us to discover quirky places in London as well as historically significant places was by walking tours. Yes they are child-friendly walking tours. But these are not any walking tours. These are chocolate or cupcake and macaroons tours! Yes you heard that right! We went on both tours obviously and took us to different places using different routes. While we filled our tummies with delicious treats we also discovered new places such a hidden street where Harry Potter was filmed, the oldest bookshop, lots of blue plaques, etc.... The tours were very informative and easy access for pushchairs and wheelchairs! We loved discovering London by walking.
London is filled with historic places. There's so much to see and do hat we are still discovering. The famous landmarks of course like Tower of London, Somerset House, Big Ben, the palaces were all visited. With little kids, I usually go to such places if there's any kid friendly activities so they can make most of it and learn more. To me Hreenwoch is my most favourite. It is filled with history and can easily spend 2 days there going to Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory with the Greenwich line passing through and the National Maritime Museum. However, what we love are the hidden jewels of London such as London Bridge and it's tombs. Although a scary experience, the first half is very informative. Every time we go to the Southbank Centre, we go say hi to Lucky's hero, Mary Seacole's statue near St Guy's and THomas Hospital. Did you know that there's also a Little Florence Nightingale Museum in the hospital itself which hosts family activities too? There are some other great museums such as the Imperial War Museum and the RAF museum in Hendon which are great for war fanatics. Since we live near Harrow School, Lucky is always amazed that she's walking on the pavement that Winston Churchill has walked. But a visit to Harrow School grounds is well worth a visit. It's picturesque. For all the little scientist, St Mary's has a little museum dedicated to Alexander Fleming, the man who discovered penicillin. On that note, a visit to universities on their family open days, if hosting one,is another great hit with the kids especially when I tell them who frequented there. We also loved the Centre of the Cell, located in Whitechapel campus of Queen Mary University. With its ginormous pod filled with interactive games, they offer sessions on different science topics. We went to to a session all about the heart and circulation which Lucky loved and write a whole essay and presented it at school. She was in Year 1 at that time! There a few little museums I heard off and on my list to go and see. These are the Foundling museum, Sherlock Holmes and Charles Dickens museum.
We also love the Olympic Park in Stratford and regularly frequent it when there's a festival. We even went swim alongside paralympians who were training for Rio 2016!! Another landmark is Alexandra Palace. We last went there for bonfire night with a Dead Parade which was amazing to my gore-loving kids. Every year the palace hosts a family-friendly Summer festival with a giant water slide, outdoor cinema, food markets, ice skating and funfair rides. Of course, National Trust places and the Royal Parks never disappoints either!
London is so diverse and with so much history to it, you can never get bored. the capital has an enormous history and as I find new places, I fall in love with the city even more!
London needs to be celebrated for its history and what a great initiative #LondonHistoryDay is!
PS: please let me know of any other places which I have not covered so I can go visit them
Wednesday 31 May 2017
Kids party on a budget
Nearly 2 weeks ago, Lucky celebrated her 8th birthday in a historical way. And nearly 3 weeks ago, we decided to do a birthday party. But even before I came to a conclusion to do a birthday party, i was counting every single penny I'll be spending to host a party.
Usually we hold a birthday party at a venue since a flat is quite small to hold all of Lucky's friend. I never had a budget but this year I had to tighten my belt.
Hiring a venue is expensive and Lucky only asked to do a birthday party if we can afford it. I only wanted to spend £175 on her whole birthday including presents! But the venues I wanted were in and around that prize excluding her presents. So venue will be a no. It had to be at home and with 11 kids, we thought it'll be a tight squeeze. We can't use our balcony as we are right at the top on the 6th floor so for safety issues tag is a no go. So rearranged the living room area in a way that gave us more space.
2nd- money. I accounted for everything. From party poppers to cakes. Lucky didn't want a big fancy cake but instead wanted cake pops so thankfully that reduced the cost vastly. We had 20 cake pops for £40 instead of laying £60. We brought 2 packs of £1 fairy cakes for our cakes and put them on a £8 castle cupcake stand which came with decorations and cases. We had lots of cutleries, party bags and candles leftover from previous parties so we used them. We brought balloons, table cloth and banner from the pound shop. Everything else was homemade I.e pictures printed from internet and coloured ourselves, homemade invitations. Food and snacks were from Sainsbury's including homemade made crudités.
3rd - games. As the theme was history, we tried to keep it that way. So we decorated goblets and did flower crowns which were also party favours (saved on buying any party bag fillers). We played Pin the Crown where we had to pin a crown(drawn by Lucky) on a large photo of her (which we already had). We played apple bobbing and the apples they caught was also a party bag filler. We also played eat the chocolate bites where the treated were on a piece of string and the kids had to catch the treats using their moth only. Of course here was lots of dancing and singing too! Money was just spent on goblets, things to build our own flower crowns and decorations for goblets!
The kids had a Blast and no one complained (except when they didn't want to leave). It was an important lesson to us as parents as it taught us that you don't need to splash out a huge amount of parties for your kids to have fun. Kids will have fun with anything! It doesn't matter if the food costs £1 or the cake wasn't traditional, kids just want to have fun regardless of money and space!
Usually we hold a birthday party at a venue since a flat is quite small to hold all of Lucky's friend. I never had a budget but this year I had to tighten my belt.
Hiring a venue is expensive and Lucky only asked to do a birthday party if we can afford it. I only wanted to spend £175 on her whole birthday including presents! But the venues I wanted were in and around that prize excluding her presents. So venue will be a no. It had to be at home and with 11 kids, we thought it'll be a tight squeeze. We can't use our balcony as we are right at the top on the 6th floor so for safety issues tag is a no go. So rearranged the living room area in a way that gave us more space.
2nd- money. I accounted for everything. From party poppers to cakes. Lucky didn't want a big fancy cake but instead wanted cake pops so thankfully that reduced the cost vastly. We had 20 cake pops for £40 instead of laying £60. We brought 2 packs of £1 fairy cakes for our cakes and put them on a £8 castle cupcake stand which came with decorations and cases. We had lots of cutleries, party bags and candles leftover from previous parties so we used them. We brought balloons, table cloth and banner from the pound shop. Everything else was homemade I.e pictures printed from internet and coloured ourselves, homemade invitations. Food and snacks were from Sainsbury's including homemade made crudités.
3rd - games. As the theme was history, we tried to keep it that way. So we decorated goblets and did flower crowns which were also party favours (saved on buying any party bag fillers). We played Pin the Crown where we had to pin a crown(drawn by Lucky) on a large photo of her (which we already had). We played apple bobbing and the apples they caught was also a party bag filler. We also played eat the chocolate bites where the treated were on a piece of string and the kids had to catch the treats using their moth only. Of course here was lots of dancing and singing too! Money was just spent on goblets, things to build our own flower crowns and decorations for goblets!
The kids had a Blast and no one complained (except when they didn't want to leave). It was an important lesson to us as parents as it taught us that you don't need to splash out a huge amount of parties for your kids to have fun. Kids will have fun with anything! It doesn't matter if the food costs £1 or the cake wasn't traditional, kids just want to have fun regardless of money and space!
Monday 15 May 2017
My political Lucky
My political Lucky
I don't know when it started but Laksha is very interested in politics. I think it started at the same time I started my campaigning work for childcare and young parents and Lucky asking me where we were going and why.
I always involved Lucky in my campaigning work whenever I can so she understands what's going around. I've taken then to the House of Parliament to talk about childcare costs, I took them to political debates from the last general election and various other events through the volunteer groups I'm involved with. She even asked a question to all candidates at the last general election about extending the weekend to 3 days as she doesn't spend enough time with me due to work :( . I take her when I'm voting too. During the Brexit election is when she got very vocal about how brexit could be a very bad thing (I know, even a 7 year old can see it!). She was very upset about the results and knowing how her chances of studying abroad could be affected and also not knowing what would happen to me (a French citizen)! She can't wait till she's 18 "to vote away" and use her voice!
She's quite active locally too whether it's sending a letter to the local council about improving parks and campaigning againdt littering!
Lucky loves politics and at this age has a great understanding of what's going on around her and how things work. I think it is very important to instill a sense of right and responsibility at a young age so when they grow up they'll understand what is going on. I wish my parents taught me this when I was young. I never understood politics and didn't know how important using my voice was so I can have a better future! So talk about your child about elections and local government. Their future is in their hands and if we don't make them understand that at an early age, they won't understand unless it's too late!
I don't know when it started but Laksha is very interested in politics. I think it started at the same time I started my campaigning work for childcare and young parents and Lucky asking me where we were going and why.
I always involved Lucky in my campaigning work whenever I can so she understands what's going around. I've taken then to the House of Parliament to talk about childcare costs, I took them to political debates from the last general election and various other events through the volunteer groups I'm involved with. She even asked a question to all candidates at the last general election about extending the weekend to 3 days as she doesn't spend enough time with me due to work :( . I take her when I'm voting too. During the Brexit election is when she got very vocal about how brexit could be a very bad thing (I know, even a 7 year old can see it!). She was very upset about the results and knowing how her chances of studying abroad could be affected and also not knowing what would happen to me (a French citizen)! She can't wait till she's 18 "to vote away" and use her voice!
She's quite active locally too whether it's sending a letter to the local council about improving parks and campaigning againdt littering!
Lucky loves politics and at this age has a great understanding of what's going on around her and how things work. I think it is very important to instill a sense of right and responsibility at a young age so when they grow up they'll understand what is going on. I wish my parents taught me this when I was young. I never understood politics and didn't know how important using my voice was so I can have a better future! So talk about your child about elections and local government. Their future is in their hands and if we don't make them understand that at an early age, they won't understand unless it's too late!
Teaching phonics
Mahi is a number guy! He could sit on hours and end tiding numbers and adding small numbers! But when it comes to phonics, that's a whole different story! If it's not interactive, then it's a no-no! So I have to come up with new ideas to teach him phonics. Here I'm sharing a few that worked for us if yours is as fussy to learn phonics as mine .
1. Using Lego - Mahi is a big Lego fan so we tried to build words from Lego. I write letters on each side of each Lego and make him build those words! E.g cat - c will already be written on one block, a on another and so forth. Mahi loves building words
2. As Mahi is every creative, we built a theatre and use words as character so If he wants a cat, he will write that on paper and that will be his character.
3. Playing shopkeeper by writing down words and not pictures. A perfect way to combine English and maths.
These 3 seem to work fine for now but obviously would love to hear any suggestions you have as I'm sure he'll be bored very soon!
Imperial Festival
Last weekend we went to our first Imperial Festival. Working and studying at Imperial you would have thought I would have gone a couple of years ago but no, this was our first time and now we'll make it annual.
Imperial College is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and I'm proud to say that I'm both a student at Imperial College and work at Imperial NHS Trust. Every year, Imperial College in South Kensington opens its door to showcase their latest advance in technology and medicine.
Since the weather was gorgeous, we decided to have a go at this festival and boy, we weren't disappointed! As we arrived through the gate, we saw St John's ambulance teaching CPR and Lucky wanted to learn this vital skill (which stemmed from when she saw an accident and felt helpless that she couldn't help the poor biker). We also had a nice tour of the ambulance. As Mahi loves all things yucky, our next stop was microbes and it was so interactive that I wish I was a kid too to play those games ( I still played). From looking at bacteria under the microscope to looking how dirty our hands were through learning about antibiotic resistance, we spend a good hour just in that area!
The next stop was the human body and this is where 2 of our favourite stalls were. Mahi was intrigued by the bioengineer stalls and was amazed that we could make bones. Lucky was playing surgery with an I-knife and found it quite hard. I don't think she'll want to be a surgeon! Our favourite stall was playing a race car game controlling it by just our brain activity! We were given special headband and once signal is received to the race track, it was whizz whizz whizz! To test it if it really was controlled by brain activity, I asked Laksha to sing. When she sang, it went really fast. I told her then to do her time tables and it went a little bit slower! It was so amazing t see! The kids wouldn't leave the stall. We also learned about about dirty water in Africa and worms in them. The kids loved this stall because they had a massive worm sweet and then tic-tacs to act as medicine against the good fat work they just ate!
Our last stop was he robots where Mahi was in his element. From robots doing calligraphy to spider drones, Mahi's only word was "wow"! We also tried robotic arms and making a dinosaur dance!
The only downside was time. We came too late to enjoy everything! So next time, we'll go quite early to enjoy everything!
It was a great way to learn new things and understand what is going on currently!
Imperial College is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and I'm proud to say that I'm both a student at Imperial College and work at Imperial NHS Trust. Every year, Imperial College in South Kensington opens its door to showcase their latest advance in technology and medicine.
Since the weather was gorgeous, we decided to have a go at this festival and boy, we weren't disappointed! As we arrived through the gate, we saw St John's ambulance teaching CPR and Lucky wanted to learn this vital skill (which stemmed from when she saw an accident and felt helpless that she couldn't help the poor biker). We also had a nice tour of the ambulance. As Mahi loves all things yucky, our next stop was microbes and it was so interactive that I wish I was a kid too to play those games ( I still played). From looking at bacteria under the microscope to looking how dirty our hands were through learning about antibiotic resistance, we spend a good hour just in that area!
The next stop was the human body and this is where 2 of our favourite stalls were. Mahi was intrigued by the bioengineer stalls and was amazed that we could make bones. Lucky was playing surgery with an I-knife and found it quite hard. I don't think she'll want to be a surgeon! Our favourite stall was playing a race car game controlling it by just our brain activity! We were given special headband and once signal is received to the race track, it was whizz whizz whizz! To test it if it really was controlled by brain activity, I asked Laksha to sing. When she sang, it went really fast. I told her then to do her time tables and it went a little bit slower! It was so amazing t see! The kids wouldn't leave the stall. We also learned about about dirty water in Africa and worms in them. The kids loved this stall because they had a massive worm sweet and then tic-tacs to act as medicine against the good fat work they just ate!
Our last stop was he robots where Mahi was in his element. From robots doing calligraphy to spider drones, Mahi's only word was "wow"! We also tried robotic arms and making a dinosaur dance!
The only downside was time. We came too late to enjoy everything! So next time, we'll go quite early to enjoy everything!
It was a great way to learn new things and understand what is going on currently!
Monday 8 May 2017
Going back to Medieval Times
Laksha is addicted to history. She always loved history and loves the 'Horrible Histories' show on CBBC but her addiction started back in March after International Women's Day once she started her Own Women in History Book. From then on, she's been reading about everything and everyone in History and have been taking her to historic places so her curiosity doesn't die.
One such place that I took her recently was the Medieval Feast in Central London. Located in St Katherine's Dock it's an experience you don't want to miss! We got discounted tickets at around £25 and kids under a certain age go free so we basically the price of 2 for 3 people! I recommend going on a Sunday which is at a much more earlier time than usual (6pm).
The place is set in a beautiful basement tavern with rows of benches and tables. We were welcomed by a dressing area so obviously we had to get dressed up except Mahi just didn't want to. He was so blinded by seeing knights with swords and shield that he was busy showing off his own sword and shield he brought from home. You have to pay £10 per costume but if you want to experience the whole atmosphere, I'll recommend it. Until 6pm, we were entertained by jesters, dancers and Henry VIII and Queen Victoria with lots of photo opportunity.
As we sat right at the front of the table, the kids got very spoiled and had lots of opportunities to be interactive with the actors!
The feast was proper old time food. A 4 course meal which was yummy! With lots of entertainment from acrobatics, singing, dancing and sword fighting in between al courses, it was a delight! Although we were full after all that food, thankfully there's a disco at the end where you can burn off all your calories! We danced the away to cheesy music and good music. Henry VIII was getting down too! Now, that's not what you see often! It was lovely to see everyone from young to old having such a great time! A 4 hour extravaganza that neither me or or my history- loving kids will never forget! Lucky loved having the experience of what it was like to have a feast under the watchful eye of Henry VIII!
One such place that I took her recently was the Medieval Feast in Central London. Located in St Katherine's Dock it's an experience you don't want to miss! We got discounted tickets at around £25 and kids under a certain age go free so we basically the price of 2 for 3 people! I recommend going on a Sunday which is at a much more earlier time than usual (6pm).
The place is set in a beautiful basement tavern with rows of benches and tables. We were welcomed by a dressing area so obviously we had to get dressed up except Mahi just didn't want to. He was so blinded by seeing knights with swords and shield that he was busy showing off his own sword and shield he brought from home. You have to pay £10 per costume but if you want to experience the whole atmosphere, I'll recommend it. Until 6pm, we were entertained by jesters, dancers and Henry VIII and Queen Victoria with lots of photo opportunity.
As we sat right at the front of the table, the kids got very spoiled and had lots of opportunities to be interactive with the actors!
The feast was proper old time food. A 4 course meal which was yummy! With lots of entertainment from acrobatics, singing, dancing and sword fighting in between al courses, it was a delight! Although we were full after all that food, thankfully there's a disco at the end where you can burn off all your calories! We danced the away to cheesy music and good music. Henry VIII was getting down too! Now, that's not what you see often! It was lovely to see everyone from young to old having such a great time! A 4 hour extravaganza that neither me or or my history- loving kids will never forget! Lucky loved having the experience of what it was like to have a feast under the watchful eye of Henry VIII!
Tuesday 2 May 2017
Groombridge Place
If you love nature as much as we do, Groombridge Place is a must. The former residence of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Groombridge Place is situated in Tunbridge Wells about 1h30 by car from London with ample of parking space.
The land is massive and there's so much to do! As it was the Easter holidays, it was quite busy with a few more events happening. We had Alice in wonderland performed by the team at Acting Moon Events(added bonus as kids adore Alice in Wonderland. I still don't get the whole story). But even if you go where there's no events, you'll have plenty to do.
When we arrived it was lunchtime and the cafe provided both hot and cold food at a reasonable price. We lunched with a peacock (yes, really!) and set off to explore once done. We wanted to start from the other side of the land so had to take a mini canal boat ( you'll need to pay extra) which was a great fun for the kids! However you can also walk to the other side which is not too long.
We came face to face with a massive Crusoe-styled wooden boat which the kids loved to climb on it and run around. This is also the place where one of the Alice in Wonderland's performance took place which involved magic, acrobatics and a very very mad hatter. I've seen a couple of mad hatters in my life but this one had to be the maddest! Our favourite part of this performance was the real banana fight between Alice and the Queen!
Then, we set off on our nature walk walking among bluebells, climbing huge chalk hills, exploring tippees, swinging on giant swings and walking amongst the deers who were roaming freely. There was also a bird of prey show with a ton of information delivered so well to children with plenty of humour. We got lost in a little maze and also took part in the fairy hunt set in the beautiful gardens of Groombridge place.
It was truly a beautiful day and took in lots of fresh air. The kids were all dirty from all the running around, climbing hills, etc... and we're K.O by the time we got home which basically means they had a wonderful day! We'll definetely go back!
The land is massive and there's so much to do! As it was the Easter holidays, it was quite busy with a few more events happening. We had Alice in wonderland performed by the team at Acting Moon Events(added bonus as kids adore Alice in Wonderland. I still don't get the whole story). But even if you go where there's no events, you'll have plenty to do.
When we arrived it was lunchtime and the cafe provided both hot and cold food at a reasonable price. We lunched with a peacock (yes, really!) and set off to explore once done. We wanted to start from the other side of the land so had to take a mini canal boat ( you'll need to pay extra) which was a great fun for the kids! However you can also walk to the other side which is not too long.
We came face to face with a massive Crusoe-styled wooden boat which the kids loved to climb on it and run around. This is also the place where one of the Alice in Wonderland's performance took place which involved magic, acrobatics and a very very mad hatter. I've seen a couple of mad hatters in my life but this one had to be the maddest! Our favourite part of this performance was the real banana fight between Alice and the Queen!
Then, we set off on our nature walk walking among bluebells, climbing huge chalk hills, exploring tippees, swinging on giant swings and walking amongst the deers who were roaming freely. There was also a bird of prey show with a ton of information delivered so well to children with plenty of humour. We got lost in a little maze and also took part in the fairy hunt set in the beautiful gardens of Groombridge place.
It was truly a beautiful day and took in lots of fresh air. The kids were all dirty from all the running around, climbing hills, etc... and we're K.O by the time we got home which basically means they had a wonderful day! We'll definetely go back!
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