KidStyleFile

Written by Jen
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When it comes to playtime, crafting has become an integral part of my children’s routine. At their Early Learning Centre, my boys are lucky enough to be immersed in a program that invests a lot of time in gentle exploration and creativity, allowing their imaginations to flourish and thrive. We have just received their ‘Reflections’ folder, brimming with artwork and images showing their various projects – utterly gorgeous!

I’m always looking for tips and tricks to creating at home, and when I read my daily fill of blog posts, I often think how, not so long ago, the choice of crafting ideas was pretty limited. But with the likes of Pinterest and so many wonderful blogs, the options are endless. Now there are lots of really impressive books that are packed with inspiration, leaving us spoilt for choice. Take Joel Henriques, for instance, a very clever Dad who began sharing his ideas on a simple blog called Made by Joel. Today it’s one of the biggest craft blogs around; and after appearing on TV with Martha Stewart, he recently launched his first book, Made to Play. Another creative blogger and former educator, Mariah Bruehl, has also just released her book Playful Learning, designed to teach kids (and us grown ups for that matter) about the simple things around us. These are only two of a very creative and industrious pack of writers and artists, generous enough to share their talents with you and I. The books selected here share a common ideal, to further develop the bond of family through creativity. Now how could that not make you feel completely inspired?

1. Playful Learning: Develop your Child’s Sense of Joy and Wonder, Mariah Bruehl $24.44 including delivery at Book Depository
2. Kids Crafternoon PaperCraft, Kathleen Ricketson $24.74 including delivery at Book Depository
3. The Creative Family, Amanda Blake Soule $20.18 including delivery at Book Depository
4. The Rhythm of Family, Discovering a Sense of Wonder through the Seasons, Amanda Blake Soule $21.24 including delivery at Book Depository
5. Made to Play, Joel Henriques $20.18 including delivery at Book Depository
6. Usborne 1000 Things to Make and Do, Fiona Watt $32.39 including delivery at Book Depository
7. Make and Takes for Kids, 50 Crafts Throughout the Year, Marie Lebaron $20.21 including delivery at Book Depository
8. Papertoy Monsters, Brian Castleforte $21.95 including delivery at Book Depository
9. The Golden of Family Fun,Peggy Brown, $18.14 including delivery at Book Depository

Book Depository ship all orders FREE, worldwide.

Written by Jen
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Every so often my husband reminds me of the great expedition he will take the boys on, once they have hit teenage-dom and are ready for some serious adventuring. Base Camp Everest has been a dream of his ever since I’ve known him and to bring his two boys along for the ride would be an ultimate wish. Hmmm where do I fit into that picture? Sherpa?

Travelling is one of life’s great gifts and living far away from family entitles our little band to do lots more in future years. However, one thing I’ve learned is that when travelling on masse, there is a distinct need to create ‘The Three P Plan’ – prepare, participate and be patient. This is where today’s discovery comes in. Enter KidsGo! Travel Guides, a selection of super stylish books for kids, aimed at helping 7 to 14 year olds get involved in planning the family holiday. There’s an abundance of super retro illustrations, carefully vetted recommendations, suggested itineraries, a little history, a few phrases and a big nugget of humour that is sure to hit a sweet spot with many. These books even have a magic way of suggesting new foods for the pickiest of eaters and also includes great ideas for active toddlers.

So if you’re heading to Sydney, London, Bali, Phuket, Hong Kong or New York anytime soon, pack yourselves a KidsGo! guide and you’ll be sure to have very excited passengers joining you for the ride.

Don’t forget to spend some time on the KidsGo! Travel Guides interactive website. The books are available from the Book Depository.

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As part of our Christmas coverage this year we are sharing with you our own personal picks for our kids. Today we’re featuring Jen’s picks. You can also read Dom’s picks, Anna’s picks and Melody’s picks. Enjoy! – Ange

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Charlie, 3¾, Jen and Jack, 4 ½

With the boys now really grasping the concept of Christmas, deciding what we should ask from Santa has become a major part of our daily conversation. Keeping things in perspective has certainly been a major challenge, but I think I’m slowly getting through to them!

What I’m most excited about though is finding gifts that enhance their current interests and nourish their active imaginations. Role play, science, the world around us; all hot topics with our eldest  ’thinker’. His brother on the other hand is much more interested in kicking balls and cars, so I think my choice of toys for him should keep him entertained. So many lovely things out there, here’s hoping this selection will give you some fresh ideas.

1. Operation Alphabet, Al Maccuish $16.42 Book Depository
This is a book that I have coveted ever since it arrived in the bookshop where I work. It’s got vintage charisma, a superb homage to spy-tastic capers and is just a genius way to get kids – especially boys – interested in books.

2. Red Bi Plane Ceiling Light $66.45 Shop for Tots
We are in desperate need of a new night light and I think this would hit the spot. I mean what boy doesn’t love planes? This design is simple, unaffected and won’t date, so the boys can love it for many years ahead.

3. Classic Earth Hugg a Planet $47.56 Cornflower Blue
There are three nationalities in our household so this is an ideal gift for the boys. We are almost a mini global village filled with love, so what better thing to do than share a great big hug?

4. Peek, Seek and Find – For Boys, Little Beginnings $20.25 Cornflower Blue
Anything that tackles the major challenge of keeping boys still for longer than 5 minutes gets my vote. I like the neat packaging and thoughtful subjects that should really interest the boys as they start to express interest in numbers and letters.

5. Wooden Teaching Clock £4.99 Jesters. Email admin@jesters.com for shipping costs.
I’m sure there are many of you who have family in Europe wondering what to get grandchildren and cousins. Well I like this clock as it combines learning with style and is well considered when attempting to understand the time.

6. Janod Confetti Harmonica $8.95 Lime Tree Kids
Hmmm I might regret this, but I always wanted a harmonica as a girl and am probably buying this for me rather than the boys. It’s better than a recorder though don’t you think?

7. Kaleidoscope $7.95 Shop for Tots
The boys love kaleidoscopes, especially the ones they discovered at daycare. So maybe it’s time we had one of our own at home. This would be a perfect stocking filler

8. Captain Tee by Cried Wolf $40 and Check Slimline Shorts by Sosooki $49 About a Boy
Add a pair of Chuck Taylors and how cute would a little fella look in this outfit?

9. Mr Frog Eco Wall $59 The Lowercase
I definitely have a ‘learning’ theme going on here and just love the artwork on this wall hanging. Nature, style, decor and learning all wrapped up. Perfect?

10. Wall Candy Animal Chalkboard $99.95 Metro Mum
These animals would be so much fun to customise over and over again. I think they’d be great in the kids room, they’d be a welcome addition to their existing zoo!

11. Mini Automoblox Truck $25.95 Where Did You Get That?
I’d probably have to get two of these. The boys are so close in age that sometimes I have to treat them as twins when it comes to shopping for toys. These look rather supercool and I think they’d go nice and fast on the wooden floors…

12. Little MD role play medical bag $37.95 Shop for Tots
Our eldest was caught deep in doctor mode recently at a friends house, fixing knees and taking temperatures. Maybe it’s time I nurtured that interest, I may have a future brain surgeon on on my hands?

Please check individual stores for shipping costs. Also make sure you read the KidStyleFile All Current Deals page to be sure you’re getting the best deal.

Written by Jen
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Our boys are a little spoilt in one particular area – books. The occupational hazard of working in a bookshop is that you are faced with so many wonderful titles every day. I have to restrain myself on a regular basis and limit myself with the amount of books I take home on a weekly basis! It’s such a joy to watch the boys sitting quietly – if only for a few moments – leafing through their favourite picture books, their imaginations ignited and nourished.

At Christmas time it’s especially fun to share the stories of the season with our children. Whether it’s the story of Christmas or the adventures of Santa, the themes are there for us to share – generosity, sharing, giving, loving. We’ve picked some of our favourite authors and characters for this year’s yuletide reading round-up, so pull up a chair, grab yourselves a candy cane or two and enjoy sharing these lovely stories together.

1. Richard Scarry’s Best Christmas Ever!  Richard Scarry $16.49
2. Olive, the Other Reindeer, Vivien Walsh & J. Otto Siebald $16.49
3.The Night Before Christmas, Robert Sabuda $29.97
4. Angelina’s Christmas, Katherine Holabird & Helen Craig $7.21
5. Fancy Nancy Splendiforous Christmas, Jane O’ Connor, Robin Preiss-Glasser $9.88
6. The Usborne Book of Drawing and Colouring for Christmas, $16.49
7. The Jolly Christmas Postman Janet & Allen Ahlberg $18.55
8. Olivia Helps with Christmas Ian Falconer, $11.53
9. The Boys Christmas Book, Tracey Turner, $8.25
10. The Girls Christmas Book, Tracey Turner $7.76
11. That’s Not My Santa, Fiona Watt $9.88
12. Slinky Malinki’s Christmas Crackers, Lynley Dodd $9.88
13. Spot’s First Ever Christmas, Eric Hill $8.23

Book Depository ship all orders FREE, worldwide.

Written by Jen
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Working in a bookshop seems to be a secret dream job for many. I’m lucky enough to spend three of my days working at one of the country’s finest. Add to that the charge of the children’s book club, and well, are you getting jealous yet? Hanging with kids, reading stories, testing out craft books, keeping up with vampires -  it’s all in a day’s work for me really. The boys get really excited when they get to tag along to book launches as they get play amongst their favourite titles while Mummy ‘does her work’.  They are also pretty spoiled when it comes to bedtime stories as a new book always seems to follow me home.

All through school I was ridiculously in love with the novels of Austen, Bronte and Dickens;  often dreaming of life in a corset and helpless love affairs. I was young and innocent, what can I say? My guess is that the lovely people behind the BabyLit series shared the same passion. Author Jennifer Adams and talented artist Alison Oliver  joined forces to produce the first in a fabulous range of board primer books that introduce children to classic literature, starting with Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice. Just think balcony, star crossed lovers, marriage proposals and lots of horses! The books are so much fun and beautifully created and the fact that both kids and adults will love them for their own special reasons is genius. I can’t wait to see the next in line – Alice in Wonderland and Jane Eyre. Oh Mr Rochester, we meet again!

The BabyLit series is available from Book Depository (free postage worldwide!) or if you’re an Apple nut like me, you can buy Pride and Prejudice on iTunes.

Written by Jen

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I’m lucky enough to be married to a terrific chef who will always volunteer to cook when 5 o’clock comes around. We are both passionate about food, and love to treat the boys to new culinary experiences whenever we can. I remember going to a birthday party when the boys were quite little and while most kids tucked into fairy bread and chips, our two headed to the adults table where cheese, crackers and olives were their favoured finds!

I don’t know about you, but when it’s my turn in the kitchen, I always need inspiration. I have a few tried and trusted recipes that I know will hit the spot, but there are just some days when I need a helping hand. Thankfully there are some really nice cookbooks available that not only offer tasty kid-proof recipes, but also encourage them to lend a hand and consider the importance of gathering together at meal times. Have you ever noticed how interested your kids are when you allow them to help? Understanding and appreciating ingredients and connecting over food is an invaluable lesson, not only for kids but for mums and dads too! Covering simple cupcake recipes, how to encourage connection around the table, food doodling and totally silly culinary capers, here’s just a few of our top favourite cookbooks.

1. The Family Dinner. Great Ways To Connect With Your Kids, One Meal At A Time by Laurie David $28, available at The Book Depository.
2. Food Is Fun by the creators of Anorak magazine. Stockists available through Anorak.
3. Doodle Cook by Herve Tullet $14.11, available at The Book Depository.
4. Little Kitchen Around the World by Sabrina Parrini $17.93, available at The Book Depository.
5. Cook It Together by Annabel Karmel $12.26, available at The Book Depository.
6. Ready Steady Lunchbox, Cooking For Kids And With Kids by Lucy Broadhurst $31.24, available at Fishpond.