So.. here are some Summer goodies:

10 Boat Crafts

First up a “crafty hangout” we did over on Red Ted Art a couple of weeks ago – discussing BOAT crafts. Boats to me are such a “classic summer fun” – make them and sail them at the local lake (don’t forget to attach some string) or in the paddling pool. Lots of splish splashy fun!

Garden Art Studio

Why not take advantage of the warm(er) weather and set up a garden art studio – a perfect excuse for the kids to get messy, without all the mess in the house. Strip them down to their undies and plop them in the bath afterwards. Just make sure they have lots of creative fun!

Garden Tic Tac Toe

Loving this Garden Tic Tac Toe – so lovely – a great excuse to get crafty with stones AND create a fun garden game!

Nature Suncatchers

Or make some adorable Nature Suncatchers from Hans on as We Grow. LOVE the flowers and LOVE how this is suitable for a wide range of ages.

Painted Sticks

Or be inspired by these colourful painted sticks. Aren’t they just too pretty? Apparently they a Wizard Sticks.. am sure that they will kick start your child’s imagination!

Felt Finger Puppets

Why not make a set of felt finger puppets from your kids favourite movie? Super easy to make and great fun. Once you have made them, put on a show and hopefully you will have more than one afternoon SORTED. Kids Chaos made some great Star Wars ones and on Red Ted Art you can find some Minions and Monsters Inc Puppets!

Giant Sun

And if you need to bring the sun to YOU, why not have a go at this GIANT SUN weaving. We made similar conker spider webs in Autumn, but I do LOVE this giant sun version. Gorgeous.

If these are not enough for you.. don’t forget you can pop over to Red Ted Art and check out our 20 Summer Crafts posts. Lots more inspiration for you… or… come on you know you want to.. get your very own copy of Red Ted Art the book! And if you get a little bored of crafts (how could you?! Tsk tsk), head over to Life at The Zoo for some Weather inspired SCIENCE activities or cuddle up for a Movie Afternoon with Popcorn. Don’t forget to come back next month when Me and My Shadow will wow you with her crafty finds!

The post Craft round-up: sun weaving and sun catchers appeared first on BritMums.

Visit the book signing area next to the Waterstones stand in the Hub during the coffee breaks to get your books, see who’s signing and have your personal message inscribed.

Please support all the great speakers and fellow bloggers by buying their books at the conference — don’t forget to bring cash and/or cards!

You’ll see books by these authors*:

• Kirstie Allsopp
• Katie Piper
• Nadine Hill
• Laura Kemp
• Clare Macnaughton
• Cherry Menlove
• Clare Mulley
• Kerstin Rodgers, aka MsMarmiteLover
• Maggy Woodley, aka Red Ted Art

* Please note: These are expected to be featured and sold by Waterstones or the authors’ themselves. Availability onsite may vary.

The post Books and book signings at BritMums Live appeared first on BritMums.

That’s the power of protest songs: Sometimes they cut through the headlines to grab us viscerally.

This week ONE.org launched the global music campaign “agit8″ to highlight the power of music in social change. The timing couldn’t be better. We’re in the midst of a period when images of protesters throwing rocks or demonstrating against riot police with tear gas are regular sights. It’s life-affirming to consider how art and music can galvanize us as well.

“Music is a powerful tool in galvanizing people around an issue, said Ed Sheeran, who recorded a new version of Bob Dylan’s classic, “Masters of War” for agit8. “There’s no better way to get your point across than to put it in a beautiful song.”

In addition, the G8 is taking place 17-18 June in Northern Ireland. Times are tough and there’s been a lot of talk about whether the UK should be spending less money on poverty and hunger programmes abroad. On some level, I used to think this too.

Then, when I was Ethiopia, I saw how even small investments reap huge benefits. Kids — hungry to learn — get teachers and schoolbooks and simple science equipment from modest funds. Women and their babies in rural areas learn how to farm healthy crops, raise goats and feed their families nutritious meals. And politically, this helps create stable, healthy countries — not ones wracked with disease, ignorance and poverty.

As he goes into the G8 meetings, we need to let David Cameron know that funds to fight poverty globally are a priority. Also a priority is more transparency with companies who operate in poor countries to ensure the deals they strike bring jobs and wealth, rather than corruption and exploitation.

We can raise money. But with this ONE campaign, we can raise awareness of how even through song we demonstrate we are engaged with what our country and others are doing.

So watch the video on the agit8 site, share them, tweet a message with a link, sign up to be part of ONE.org.

These songs given new voice through different artists.

Here are my favourites from the agit8 site

(You can see them all HERE)

1. The Ghost of Tom Joad — Elvis Costello and Mumford & Sons sing poverty and the disaffected in this song inspired by ‘Grapes of Wrath’

2. Big Yellow Taxi — an environmental protest song originally by Joni Mitchell

3. This Land Is Your Land — Woody Guthrie’s folk song response to the unrealistic God Bless America

4. For What It’s Worth — Kid Rock gives this mournful song, associated with disillusionment with the Vietnam War

Then there are others that stir up so much emotion in me that every time I hear them tears come to my eyes:

5. Mercy Mercy Me – Among his many powerful political songs, this Marvin Gaye one is so smooth and mellow, for a moment you might think it’s about making sweet love, when in fact it’s a haunting indictment of our treatment of the environment (Find it here on Spotify)

6. Fast Car – Tracy Chapman’s song about the struggle against poverty

7. You Fill Up My Senses – John Denver’s lyrics are about a woman, and the inspiration was exhilaration from a ski trip. In truth, so many of Denver’s songs (Sunshine on My Shoulders, Country Roads) are a celebration of the natural world that feel like a call to arms against its despoilment.

8. Jake leg music – The Jake Leg was a paralysis of legs caused by poison put in 19th century Jamaican ginger patent medicine (“jake). It affected between 30,000 to 50,000 men, women and children but the incident was bypassed by history for the most part. The story was told, however, through folk music.

9. Strange Fruit – A classic, chilling anti-racism song by one of America’s most famous singers. Billie Holiday vividly paints a terrible picture of lynching and first sang and recorded this song in 1939. Lynchings were still happening in the American south in the late ’60s (!).

10. Fight the Power – It’s hard to believe now just how controversial Public Enemy and this song were back in the late ’80s — the sound and the lyrics seemed utterly new. It was the source of endless discussions on my campus as was Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, which featured the song. It was all part of this new thing called “rap”, back when the genre’s hallmarks were politics and the concerns of African-Americans, rather than getting women, using drugs and brandishing weapons.

More protest music:

A playlist by Karen Walrond, a parent blogger from the US who was on our Ethiopia trip.

She’s highlighted some real gems, including an amazing protest song about prostitutes who made their living near US Air Force bases in Trinidad.

What are the protest songs that moved you most?

Visit the ONE.org agit8 site and share the songs there to be part of this global music campaign!

The post Songs that change the world: What are yours? appeared first on BritMums.

BritMums were asked to review a copy of I don’t know why: Stories to help adopted children understand why they do the things they do by Annice Thomas and who better to ask than our very own in-house Adoption and Fostering Round-up editor Maryam Lane? Being an adoptive mother to three siblings, she has a very good knowledge of what it’s like. Here’s her honest review of the book:

‘I Don’t Know Why’ is an adoption book for adoptive parents to use to understand their children’s behaviour and to read with their child. I have read many adoption books in my time, but ‘I Don’t Know Why’ is a clear tool for opening conversation around life story work and attachment. Its bright colours, clear stories and explanations make easy reading for parent and child. The book is written by Annice Thomas, who is  a social worker with both professional and personal adoption experience.

The title of the book ‘I Don’t Know Why’ is a clear indication of the common response that many adopted children give when confronted about their behaviour. As an adoptive parent myself, I have heard this answer many times when children seem unable to stop themselves behaving in a certain way.  They really often do not know why but are grabbed by an impulse controlled by deeper emotional feelings. Children who have experienced significant change often behave in ways which seem out of place or challenging to those around them. To have a book for both parent and child that provides such a clear explanation is extremely useful for helping to heal the effects of trauma.

The book is divided into the stories of 4 adopted children: Fiona, Yasmin, Jakub and Shaniquia. Each story relates the background of the child and their feelings and emotions. The way the children respond to their situations, based upon their past life experiences, is explained at the end of each piece. This approach enables the adoptive parent-reader to learn the possible causes for challenging behaviour and why the child does the things that they do.

Each of the stories relates a different child with a different background. Not only are a wide variety of subjects covered such as neglect, abuse, alcoholism, bullying, stealing and poor self-esteem, Annice Thomas has also been careful to ensure that the characters are a variety of ages and races. Illustrated with bright pictures which will appeal to the younger child, the stories are common, realistic and believable, not sugar-coated.

For my own adopted children, I will definitely be using the book and particularly with my eldest. When it arrived, its bright cover made him make a beeline for it and he is waiting to hear about it. I expect to put it to good use to help him and me understand better some of the behaviour we experience. I will also be using it to talk about birth history and feelings around this. I would definitely recommend ‘I Don’t Know Why’ for using with your child to help them and you understand why.

I don’t know why: Stories to help adopted children understand why they do the things they do, by Annice Thomas and illustrated by Lisa Rivard, is published by Author House. It’s available from AuthorHouse, UK Book Depository and Amazon.

The post Book review: I Don’t Know Why by Annice Thomas appeared first on BritMums.

If you can’t make it/don’t want to make it/are gutted not to be there and need a distraction, then settle down, .

Mummyneversleeps tells you how to blog. Get on the rollercoaster and you could be at BritMums 2014.

Read- from the New York Post- about parents who will do anything to jump queues at Disney. There are no words rude enough.
Have you heard about the British Family? They need your help.
Bea Magazine tells you what to do when your toddler falls for gender merchandising.

Teacher Tom’s Blog tells the tale of a child who calls for help.
Thanks to Jen Howze for pointing out this article in Psychology Today which discusses why French kids don’t have ADHD. 
Mama Mia asks why do we talk about our kids on Facebook.
Crystal Jigsaw is attacked for being an attention seeker.
Crazy With Twins is having an unimaginably tough time being apart from her children.
Jezebel tells the story of Reddit users re-educating a racist.
Hello Little Wren educates me: how to dip-dye cupcake cases? Yes please!
Ahead of her Race For Life, Mammasaurus hosted some personal stories about experiences with cancer. All heartbreaking in their own way but Sandy at Baby Baby stood out for me. Do read them all though.
The Guardian compares Google Plus to The Matrix.
Prolific crafter and author Red Ted Art shares these epic Monsters Inc Pinatas.
Cullens Blessings writes- distressingly- of the near-death experience of one of her children. Thanks to Merry Raymond for sharing and reminding us how important it is to take care by the water.
Wit Wit Woo has a desperately sad story about racism in school.
Jen Hatmaker went viral with her posts about being the Worst End-of-Year Mom ever. I get this post.

And here’s a website for bookmarking rather than an actual post: How to Afford Christmas. File it away somewhere.

Until next time, my friends.

The post Good Reads June appeared first on BritMums.

Join BritMums and Wyndham Vacation Rentals® for the #happyfamilytravel Twitter party. Wyndham Vacation Rentals has tips for parents around planning holidays, and more importantly, planning your journey to make sure it’s stress free for both parents and children, see www.WVRUKtraveltips.com

We want to hear your tips for happy family travels — advice from what to pack to games to keep the little ones busy on long flights.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Tweet on June 25, 2013 between 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. BST on 25th June with happy holiday travelling tips, using the hashtag #happyfamilytravel.

8 lucky winners, chosen at random, will win a £25 shopping voucher.

• #happyfamilytravel
• Tuesday 25 June 2013 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. GMT
• Prize: one of eight £25 shopping vouchers
• Come tell us your family travel tips

Read the Terms & Conditions

The post Tweet your family travel tips for prizes! appeared first on BritMums.

Yes of course I am excited, yes of course I can’t wait and yes I am squealing like an over excited child at the thought of getting to meet so many bloggers next week.

This will be my 4th or 5th conference  - I’ve lost count – and for all of you out there worrying about how you’ll get on I truly wish you have the fabulous experiences I have had each and every time; in fact here’s a short video I took of my very first blogging conference which was in exactly the same place we’re holding BritMums Live so if you want to have a quick peek to see the kind of thing that’s in store and see many, many bloggers up close on camera click over.

One thing I can say is Be Prepared! You will be given goody bags, products, information and you will need a bag to cart it all home in. If like me you have a long  journey and you’re staying over night, bring a small trolley and make life easy. There is a great cloakroom where you can leave it during the day but boy will you thank me on your journey home.

Another Mari tip is to bring a pashmina or shawl if like me you’re likely to feel cold rather than cool when the air con goes on.

Oh and business cards are a good one and you’re still in time to get them printed up if you haven’t already. What to include on them? Your logo, and name of blog, the url of your blog. Your Twitter handle. Your Facebook page name. Do you want people to be able to reach you by phone? Add your number and don’t forget your email address.

Time for this week’s #MBPW I’m going to ask you to take a look at the post I did for Share, it’s a recipe book with celebrities adding their favourites and mothers around the world adding theirs the only difference between those mothers and us is they are from war torn countries. Share wasn’t a review, I didn’t receive a copy as the PR told me every single penny was to go back to Women for Women International which supports women in war-torn regions with financial and emotional aid, job-skills training, rights education and small business assistance so they can rebuild their lives. If you can, please buy a copy and help out a sister.

The post My Best Post of The Week << add yours! appeared first on BritMums.

1. Go crabbing All you need is a fishing line and bacon! No bacon? Use muscles from the beach (crack open, then hook or tie on your line). Look for a bridge over water, throw in your line, then wait a while. The best bit bringing up the line to see if you’ve caught anything. After you catch a few crabs, let them go and race them down the slipway. Fun!

2. Discover rock pooling Put on your trainers, buy a bucket and net, and then head down to a beach with lots of rocks. Best when tide is just going out. We found a sea snail, small fish and crabs.

3. Body board You can’t come to Cornwall without putting on a wetsuit, getting in the waves and taking advantage of the Atlantic swell! Go for a beach with a lifeguard (most have in holidays and summer months). They will mark off the safe swimming areas, just make sure you stay between the yellow flags.

4. Walk on the coast Bring your walking boots… Cornwall boasts more than 400 miles of coastline, with 300 miles of it the famous Coastal Path. Have toddlers? Bring an all terrain buggy or put little ones in a baby bjorn.

5. Make sand castles Don’t like getting in the water? Grab a bucket and spade and make sand castles or a sand fortresses instead.

6. Visit a National Trust property. Try Trerice (Elizabethan manor house with gardens) or the dramatic coastline of Carnewas & Bedruthan Steps. Pick up the National Trust’s free “50 things to do before you’re 11 ¾.” You’ll tick off quite a few items just being in Cornwall.

7. Try a Cornish pasty and a cream tea. Workers used to bring them for lunch in the tin mines and now pasties are a Friday night staple in many Cornish households. What child doesn’t like minced meat and potatoes? And as for a cream tea, well, just don’t eat too many.

8. Stay in a kid friend hotel! If the kids are happy, mum and dad are happy. The Sands Resort Hotel and Spa totally understands this concept. Our favourite option: kids play supervised group games while mum and dad dine overlooking the coastline. Kids activities are extensive: 9-hole golf, swimming, tennis, basketball, football, or get just lost in a maze or fly on the zip wire. Their Surf Shack has wet suits, boogie board, wind breaks and buckets and spades to borrow. Parents with younger children will drool at all the options. Awarded Travellers Choice Best Family Hotel in Europe 2012.

Disclosure: Susanna Scott was hosted by the Sands Resort Hotel and Spa for the purpose of editorial review. 

The post 8 tips for enjoying Cornwall for kids appeared first on BritMums.

I had been blogging my little heart out for about 6 months back then and was astonished and dumbfounded that my newbie, novice blog had been selected as a finalist in the Inspire category. I shook with nerves as I arrived, frantically looking for the one or two bloggers that I knew online. If only we wore Tshirts with our Twitter avatars on them! The butterflies were wonderful and I soon settled in.

What I did get out of the experience was imeasurable. I learnt a lot about blogging for change, blogging with integrity and honesty, bettering my photography. I met scores of women and men who have inspired and supported me on my blogging journey throughout the year. I met a couple of kindred spirits who will remain best friends forever. And most of all, for the first time in 6 years as a SAHM to 2 gorgeous girls, one of whom has Down’s Syndrome, I wasn’t the SEN Mum, or even just a mum at all. I remembered that I had a brain that still functioned and that it could be used to help others. I remembered that I could be funny and make new friends and drink Prosecco whilst giggling at a semi-naked waiters. I realised what is was like not to be on red alert the whole time, and I slept an entire night without being woken.

I came away a different person, proud and inspired. A lot has happened in a year, most of it unbelieveable, some surreal and some of it emotional and saddening. The blog has grown organically of its own accord and I have followed its path. Many families and professionals have joined our journey. Sadly the blog often gets a little neglected now, swamped by talks and conferences and writings of other kinds.

I am honoured and proud to have again been listed as a finalist in the Inspire category. This year my nerves are no less because I cannot hide in the same way this time, plus I have been asked to take part in and lead a session: Blogging from the Heart. Do pop along and support us if you can, if that topic sounds like something that ticks a box for you and your blog. I personally still feel like a student who is attending the event poised to learn as much as I possibly can from all the other sessions I attend and from all the other bloggers I meet, notebook in hand.

I thought this month I would bring you a round-up comprising some of the fabulous Special Needs Blogs that have made it through to the Britmums Finals so that you can read them all before you meet them all on the day if you are attending, and virtually if you are following on Twitter.

Over in the INSPIRE category we have:

Edspire writes openly and honestly as she and her family chart the waters of grief following the death of their daughter Matilda Mae to SIDS this year. Her latest post Grief: There is Always That encapsulates their feelings painfully accurately.

Our Life With Leukemia takes us on a family’s progress through their daughter’s treatment for leukemia and their incredible fundraising efforts for GOSH. Karen’s latest post Happiness is filled, as ever, with positivity and hope, good news indeed and a beacon to all families going through the same.

And on my blog at Downs Side Up I’ve been appealling this week to the media to provide a balanced view of the new ‘accurate screening tests that can eradicate DS’, whilst joining forces with the medical profession to remove fear and encourage better support for women before during and after testing, whatever their decisions. Please read MaterniT21: A Tool in a Eugenics Strategy?  I promise the lovely positive holiday snaps and Sports Day tales and Legoland adventures and BritMums japes are on the horizon again

In the Video Category

Is one of my favourite bloggers, a dear friend and support and a true inspiration to me. Renata is a talented blogger of a SWAN over at Just Bring the Chocolate and produces incredible video posts, written posts and dare I say it super sketches. Her latest post is a video you simply have to watch. It shows us why we need to raise funds for charities like Whizz Kidz with a little sprinkling of Benny Hill thrown in.  It’s called  Freedom on For Wheels and I cried with laughter, happiness and pride when I watched this.

The Lifestyle Finalist

Now the beautiful-inside-and-out Alice Harold over at More Than Toast slides in some brilliant posts spreading awareness and raising funds for her daughter Elfies little known condition CAH. I say ‘slides in’ because her blog is mostly about family life, making it on her own as a single mum and a mutitude of beautiful stylish wonderfulnesses. I look forward to meeting Alice again this year.

Pleeease let me know if I have missed a finalist off the list. It’s a shortish round-up this month, so no excuse for not dropping by and saying hi to each one.

Next month someone suggested (I think it was Steph’s Two Girls)  we have a theme and you can write posts to hook up with that. A topic that is often written about from many different angles is the subject of birthdays and parties. How does your child like to celebrate? How do you feel when they are, or aren’t invited to their classmates parties? Do you favour a quiet time at home with immediate family?

Please send me your Party posts via Twitter @DownsSideUp or link them to the linky at the bottom here. Have a fabulous month and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in London next week.

H x

The post Special Needs Round-up: Meet the BritMums finalists appeared first on BritMums.

Starting at 3 pm on Friday 21 June, just tune in to the BritMums UStream channel, or watch below.

Now that’s community!

Live Video streaming by Ustream

The post Watch BritMums Live “live” on UStream! appeared first on BritMums.