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FUN ACTIVITIES TO KEEP YOUR KIDS OCCUPIED

FUN ACTIVITIES TO KEEP YOUR KIDS OCCUPIED

Having children at home, being separated physically from their friends and having their regular routines disrupted can be incredibly challenging. Finding new ways of keeping them entertained is not always easy.

My children have always been encouraged to “spend less on screen time, and more active time”. They have grown up watching me create your individualised Momentoes castings, so they enjoy making things of their own. In my last blog, I shared with you some pictures of the Easter crafts we were going to create as a family. But, even the craftiest of children sometimes just want to sit down, relax and watch something.

Thank goodness for the internet and the vast number of free virtual experiences children can access at the moment. From webcams of animals in zoos around the world to recordings of famous theatre productions and children’s authors reading aloud their own stories, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

The Momentoes castings team have created a list of some of the activities that they are going to try out during the next few weeks. Let us know on our Facebook page if you have found other fun things to share.

  1. NZ National Geographic For Kids – Explore the world of science and nature with this New Zealand version of the world-renowned natural history magazine. https://www.natgeokids.com/nz/
  2. The Starfall Education Foundation is an American not for profit organisation specialising in online activities for children of pre-school and early primary school ages. https://www.starfall.com/h/
  3. Learn a Zumba routine with children from Lithuania. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymigWt5TOV8
  4. Radio New Zealand (RNZ) has compiled an impressive collection of free children’s audiobooks. All have been written and produced in New Zealand for pre-schoolers, kids and young adults. https://storytime.rnz.co.nz/
  5. Fabo Story – A New Zealand and Australian competition for stories written by children 13 years and younger. https://fabostory.wordpress.com/about-fabo/
  6. Te Reo Māori – Learn Te Reo with free resources from Te Whanake http://www.tewhanake.maori.nz/
  7. David Walliams– Listen to best-selling children’s author David Walliams read his own stories. https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses
  8. Zoo Live Cams – Check out what animals around the world are doing on these webcams from explore. https://explore.org/livecams
  9. Access Mars – Explore Mars with NASA’s curiosity rover. https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/
  10. British Museum online – Explore the British Museum online with their interactive tool to take you through the ages and collections. https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/
GET CRAFTY THIS EASTER

GET CRAFTY THIS EASTER

If you are the parents of young children, you will know how hard it is to keep them occupied right now. I have four wonderful children who have grown up watching me handcraft the precious Momentoes castings for you and your family. From an early age, they were introduced to the joy of creating things. I am grateful that they were as it has made keeping them entertained while not at school so much easier.

I am a strong advocate of “less screen time, more doing time”. With that in mind, we have created a special Momentoes Easter colouring-in activity for fans of our castings. Click here to download the colouring-in page and get busy. Be sure to post your finished artwork on our Facebook page. We look forward to seeing your children’s work.

In my last blog I wrote about how Easter was a time for baking in our house. I also shared some of our favourite Easter treats. Easter is also a great time for making themed arts and crafts. I have added below pictures of a few of the things we will be making this year (hopefully they will look just as good).

Till next time,

Be kind, be safe,

Renee

SWEET EASTER TREATS

SWEET EASTER TREATS

SWEET EASTER TREATS

In our household, we love to bake. We love the smell of freshly made bread but most of all, we love eating our yummy creations!

Easter in our house is not complete without home-made hot cross buns or our favourite Easter egg biscuits. This year will be the same, except we might just make a few more than usual to use as special treats for when cabin fever threatens to set in!

Baking also helps to take my mind off the fact that I can’t create any of your precious Momentoes castings at the moment. Luckily, living where we do means we can work off the extra calories with walks on the beach, whilst I think of different ways to record those special moments in your life once things return to normal.  

We try to bake something new every year which means searching the internet for new recipes. We still have our favourites, but sometimes it is good to spice things up a little with something new.

In our latest newsletter, I shared a couple of my favourite Easter recipes. If you haven’t signed up to our monthly newsletter yet, I urge you to do so soon. Our newsletter is where we share our latest news, special offers and snippets from our franchisees about what they have been up to.

For those of you that haven’t seen it yet, below are the links to our family’s favourite Easter recipes.

Hot Cross Buns

These smell divine and the children will enjoy seeing who can make the best crosses. View Recipe

Helpful Tip: Pipe the crosses over the buns slowly so that the paste ‘hugs’ the curves on each bun!

Easter Biscuits

Usually decorating cookies is a Christmas tradition, but it doesn’t have to be. These Easter biscuits rival any of the chocolates that the Easter bunny brings. And they keep the children entertained for hours decorating them! View Recipe

Helpful Tip: The cookie is your canvas! From fried eggs to bunny ears, use your imagination and let your creativity shine.