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Aardman presents Learning Time with Timmy
AS a parent in the age of technology, it won’t be long before you’re debating how much ‘screen time’ to allow your child.
For some parents it’s not a real issue, while others prefer to limit the amount of time their little one spends in front of a screen to the bare minimum – each to their own.
But when choosing WHAT they watch it helps that it’s both fun AND educational, which is what the launch of Learning Time with Timmy seems to have achieved.
Created by Aardman – the Oscar-winning animation studio behind classics Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep – in partnership with the British Council, the interactive online series is aimed at making learning English fun.
And while my boy has just turned one, he took an interest to the preview episodes we were shown, in particular trying to join in with the animal noises and the dance at the end of each episode with Timmy the sheep. It also helped that there was popcorn – and a giant-sized Timmy in the auditorium…
The episodes are also short enough to deal with a toddler’s attention span!
You can watch the series on YouTube at www.youtube.com/LearningTimeWithTimmy
City Farming in Vauxhall
IT may seem that normal life has been put on hold at the moment.
But when you’re a mum, you still have kids who want to go out to experience new things and explore.
After six months behind closed doors, options may seem limited, but it’s always good to have a look at things which take you outdoors while allowing you and the little ones to stay safe.
We recently enjoyed a trip to Vauxhall City Farm and I was impressed by the measures being taken to ensure social distancing and general post lockdown safety.
The space is small but perfectly formed and the kids absolutely loved the chance to feed the animals. I thought we would be in and out in ten minutes, but I simply could not drag both my three and ten-year-old away.
Entry to the site is free with a voluntary donation and food for the animals is just £1 a bag.
The kids also loved the chance to walk around the farm’s community garden following our own recent endeavours into growing fruit and veg at home.
Staff are constantly communicating to ensure there are only a certain number of visitors inside the farm at any one time, which means that entry numbers are limited and queues can form when busy.
There are also lots of handwashing stations and a one-way system in place to help with social distancing.
The joys of potty training!?!
Yes, that momentous time in a toddler’s life and their parent’s has arrived…I’ve finally had to bite the bullet and get serious about potty training my two year old.
Using the long bank holiday as an opportunity to do the deed, I prepared for what could only be described as a damp, smelly and frustrating version of hell.
A quick bit of online research gives you all sorts of ideas – from training your little one to use the toilet in one day, to weeing dolls and even a potty training celebration dance endorsed by celebrities like Tori Spelling and Alyson Hannigan (Buffy/How I Met Your Mother). And so with this wealth of knowledge, I decided to face the task ahead…with my eyes firmly shut and praying for the best!
The first couple of hours was spent dealing with six – yes, six – changes, mopping up spillages and telling my daughter numerous times, ‘You must tell mummy when you need to do wee wee, you say ‘mummy wee wee’. To which she’d reply each time ‘Yes, mummy wee wee’, giving me the (false) impression that she completely understood.
And as I wondered why it seemed potty training is the job of the mother, my other half made his fairly timid attempts at encouraging our little girl – from the comfort of our bed, chilling in front of the TV. So when our daughter had a little accident on the duvet cover, I couldn’t help but smile…
So here I am, at the end of the fourth day – several machine loads and too many outfit changes (both her and me) later and I can proudly say my daughter’s getting the hang of it (virtual high five!)!
So back to work in the morning and over to the nursery – fingers crossed they help keep up the good work…
So chips DON’T count as one of your five-a-day..?
IT was interesting to read details of a new survey which discovered only 10% of children are getting their five-a-day and that 1 in 10 parents think chips count as one of their children’s five-a-day.
Look, I’m the last to sit here to shame anyone on their parenting skills – particularly as my response to reading that was ‘aren’t potatoes vegetables?!?’ (FYI, they are classed as a starchy food, LOL.)
The research helpfully carried out by children’s fruit snack supermarket brand Fruit Bowl, also noted that 1/3 of parents think fruit yogurts count, while 1/5 parents mistakenly believe a strawberry milkshake contributes – I mean #desperatetimes, right?
I personally battle to get my kids to eat most vegetables, so its interesting that less than half of parents know that tinned veg, frozen fruit and sweet potatoes count towards the recommended daily amount.
Additionally 4 in 10 parents think their child gets only 2-3 portions each day.
FIVE unexpected foods that DO count towards our five-a-day:
Baked Beans
Guacamole
Onions
Hummus
Spaghetti Hoops
FIVE foods that DON’T count towards our five-a-day:
Onion rings
Ketchup
Potatoes
Vegetable Crisps
Pickled Gherkins
Nutritional Therapist, Filomena Komodromou has shared her tips to get children eating fruits and vegetables;
- Think colour – chop up some crunchy crudités such as carrots, pepper, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, radish, celery and serve with hummus or cream cheese for a healthy filling snack
- Get them to help in the kitchen – even toddlers can help too. Peeling, chopping or grating can be done quite safely by children supervised by an adult.
- Blend it up! Homemade smoothies are a great way of getting their five-a-day and sneaking in some veg too.
- Add mashed banana or grated apple/pear to porridge
- Make frozen fruit lollies or banana pancakes
Susanne Fraser, Marketing Manager of Fruit Bowl, added: “Here at Fruit Bowl we are a team of parents and know firsthand how difficult it can be to make sure our children get their five-a-day, every day, and we know it’s a struggle that lots of other parents have. By conducting this survey, we aim to highlight this and also show busy parents that there are easy solutions, tips and tricks they can use to give their children five-a-day.”
Fruit Bowl create everyday fruit snacks and treats – many of which contribute towards your 5 a day. #bonus
Available at Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, The Co-Op, Asda, Waitrose and on Ocado.