Pre School

Inside Out Kid: Kids Fitness Made Fun!

Posted by juliet on in Basingstoke, Children, Classes, Exercise, Health, North Hampshire, Older Children, Pre School, Things to Do, Toddlers 0 Comment

My name is Sarah and I am passionate about keeping children fit and healthy, and making it lots of fun!

I’ve been working as a Personal Trainer for a few years now. Prior to that, I was a teacher and a Deputy Manager of a nursery. So for me, combining my two passions to specialise in children’s health and fitness, seemed perfect!

As well as after school clubs in various local schools, and sessions in some local nurseries, I also teach lots of kids classes at Basingstoke Sports Centre. Junior Bootcamp is on a Thursday and Friday after school, Junior Pedal (indoor cycle classes with disco lights!) on a Wednesday after school, and a Mini Movers session on Wednesday mornings for toddlers and pre schoolers.

I’d love to see some new faces and meet more children who are as excited about keeping fit as I am. Throughout the school holidays I will be running taster sessions for all my classes, so please send your children along!!

Have a look at my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/insideoutkid for the latest information.

And for the grown ups, check out www.facebook.com/insideoutresults, where you will find details of my adult classes and food plans. Mention you saw me on NHM and I will happily offer a discount.

Thanks for reading!!!!
Sarah

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Review 2017: Relax Kids

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in After School Clubs, Basingstoke, Children, Classes, Local Mum Businesses, Mums, Older Children, Pre School, Reviews of Things to do, Things to Do, Wellbeing 0 Comment

Kath from Relax Kids recently invited me to review one of her classes with Miss NHM.

I was one of the first people that Kath “practised” on a few years ago when she started out. I thought she was brilliant then so was very keen to see how she had developed and for Miss NHM to attend a class.

I saw that Kath was doing classes on a Sunday morning as a taster session to come along and find out what it’s all about before committing to a 5 week course, which was perfect for us. It wasn’t too early in the morning too, which was great. I asked my friend S whether she wanted to bring her son K along, and she decided that she wanted to check out the class too.

Kath sent me an email the week before the class detailing what would be happening for the hours class. It included things about what to wear for the session and a child protection policy that needed completing which is brilliant as it shows what a professional Kath is!

Kath follows a 7 step process in helping the children to relax. She was brilliant at explaining to the children what she was doing and the steps that they were taking.

A couple of people turned up late to the class which I always think is a bit rude but then remembered that some children find coming to classes very intimidating. Kath handled their lateness really well and explained things very clearly to everyone.

All of the exercises that Kath used were sooo clever! I love the “Smile to reach your stretch” moment. That was awesome to see Miss NHM stretch and expand.  I loved the “hedgehog” and seeing Miss NHM in this position made me quite emotional! The Angry thoughts exercise was fantastic and just such a lovely concept.

I also REALLY loved the books that Kath used and have purchased two for home already as they have such wonderful concepts in them.

All through the class children are doing breathing exercises but they don’t even know it!! I particularly loved the “breathing in happy thoughts, breathing out sad thoughts”. I also loved the relaxing music that Kath uses and really want to ask her where she got it from as I think we could do with a copy of this for home! lol .

Miss NHM is quite a confident little girl at the best of times and I was very interested to see how she responded to the class.  My favourite bit of the class was when the children were asked to write out what makes them happy. Miss NHM had written about 9 things within 2 minutes and I was uber proud that she knows what makes her happy and could express this.

I also felt quite privileged seeing all the children relax throughout the class, which was fascinating to watch. There was one little boy who really didn’t want to participate, but by the end of the class he was lying on the floor with the other children and you could see that he had got a lot out of the class even if he hadn’t been actively participating for most of it.

Tips

Book quickly because Kath’s classes sell out REALLY fast. They are very popular and she often has a waiting list!

Parents are allowed in the room. This must have been initially intimidating to Kath, having the parents watching, but she wasn’t bothered.

Rating out of 5

All of the little details were excellent, it’s very obvious that Kath is passionate about what she’s doing as such thought had been put into the whole class.

As you can see, I’m a HUGE fan of Kath’s work. Miss NHM got so much out of just that one class and talked about it for weeks later. I’m very keen to enrol her in a class when she starts Y2 next year!

Definitely 5 out of 5!!

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Review 2017: Cookery Doodle Doo North Hants – Pop-up Tot’s Cooking Session

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Children, Classes, Food, Hampshire, Local Mum Businesses, North Hampshire, Pre School, Reviews of Things to do, Things to Do, Toddlers 0 Comment

Thank you very much to today’s NHM Secret Reviewer who has done a FAB job!!!

About

Katie’s Facebook page can be found here Cookery Doodle Doo North Hants
Cookery Doodle Doo North Hants is run by Katie from her home in Whitchurch. I can’t really phrase it better than her website, so in her own words:

“In my cooking classes the children can relax and get messy, learn important skills, try new flavours and chat about where ingredients come from. It’s a brilliant way for kids to learn about real, home-cooked food. As a mum myself, I place great importance on the adults being able to enjoy it too, so there’s proper coffee and lots of opportunity to chat at my preschool classes; and my pudding club was designed to give you 2 hours off on a Sunday morning, whilst one course of the family dinner is sorted for you!” (from Katie’s website page, Cookery Doodle Doo website)

She offers Pre-School Classes, Sunday Morning Pudding Club (for 5-10 year olds), private parties, nursery visits, pop-up classes and more.

We joined Katie for one of her Pop-up Tot’s cooking sessions which was based in Overton Coffee Shop rather than at her home in Whitchurch. I’d never been to Overton before and Katie was kind enough to give me the low-down on parking which helped enormously with a toddler in tow.

Overton Coffee Shop is a lovely place, and it is definitely on my list of places to visit again. When we arrived we went through to the back and the tables were set out ready, with aprons on chairs and colourful utensils on the table. It was all beautifully prepared and nicely intriguing for little hands. Katie was great throughout, giving clear and simple instructions and working her way around to help where needed.

We made orange and chocolate bread and butter pudding, which really did impress me, especially as all the toddlers came away with a complete tray ready for baking and made safe for travel. I have to say, after baking it at home, it tasted incredible! Rather handily, we were given a recipe which I am very much looking forward to making use of. My toddler thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and was so proud when I showed him the cooked result. Needless to say, we devoured the lot between us! All in all it was a great and special experience which I would definitely do again.

Tips

Like anything with toddlers, be prepared to get a little messy.

Food and Facilities (Overton Coffee Shop)

Whilst we didn’t stay on, the food on offer looked lovely. It certainly was the sort of place I’d happily frequent.

Toilets, baby change facilities and highchairs available. There was also a very small area of toddler toys (always a bonus in a coffee shop!)

Please note, these would be different to the courses run at Katie’s home which I’ve yet to try.

Parking (Overton)

There are two free car parks in Overton, there is also free on-road parking for up to two hours.

Prices

Please see Katie’s website for details, https://north-hampshire.cookerydoodledoo.com/

Rating out of 5

5/5

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Review 2017: Little Street – a unique play opportunity for little people

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in NHM: Readers Experiences, Pre School, Reviews, Reviews of Days Out, Soft Play, Surrey, Things to Do, Toddlers 0 Comment

Thank you VERY much to the NHM Secret Reviewer who wrote today’s post and to Little Street for inviting us along to their re-launch event!

https://www.little-street.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/littlestreet.co.uk/

About

Little Street in Frimley is a role play centre for young children. It is a miniature version of a town, giving little ones the perfect opportunity to try out lots of different experience and careers!

Open 7 days a week, Little Street offer four 90 minute play sessions a day for little people to explore their little world. Pre-booking is recommended as numbers are limited to ensure the best experience for everyone attending. Little Street is suitable for children up to 7 and even has a play pen for young babies as well as bumbo seats available for use.

My daughter (19 months) and I were lucky enough to attend the re-launch event after a recent refurbishment which has made way for a brand new vets and an air ambulance. As well as the new areas children can take a visit to Chicco’s cafe or Belle & Beau Beauty Salon. They can do their weekly shop at the (very well stocked!) supermarket.

There is also a construction site, complete with rocks, bricks and diggers and the Starlets Theatre, which has an Ice Cream stall, stage, musical instruments and many fancy dress costumes. In addition to this there are a variety of ride on toys which can be driven around the road. The attention to detail in each room is amazing, with appropriate wall stickers and fantastic props including animals in the vets, make up and hair products in the salon and many familiar items in the supermarket!

My daughter was a big fan of the new air ambulance and was fascinated by the rotors on top. She also loved the supermarket and kept taking any trolleys that she’d found outside the shop back to it!

The staff at Little Street were very welcoming and did a fantastic job of keeping the place tidy (and as much as possible items in the right rooms!) without disrupting the children’s play. It is very clean and everything is in great condition, you can tell it is very well looked after.

Food

The venue has a small café where you can purchase hot or cold drinks, cakes and healthy snacks.

Parking

There is some parking on site at the station for a small charge, or there is a car park a short walk away where you can park for free for 2 hours – ideal as the sessions you can book are 90 minutes.

Tips

Remember you and your little one will need to wear socks. Don’t worry if you forget as they do have some you can purchase when you get there!

It also has a handy buggy park – if you ask at reception they can give you a lock to secure your buggy in the shelter outside.

Rating out of 5

After wanting to visit Little Street for ages, we were so pleased that it lived up to and exceeded our expectations and we will certainly be going back in the future! It gets a fantastic 5 out of 5 from us!!

Disclaimer: This post is a review of Little Street. The NHM Secret Reviewers experience was supplied free of charge for the purposes of the review. She was not expected to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are her own.

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“Tots Play – Every Class Your Child Needs In One!”

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Babies, Basingstoke, Classes, Local Mum Businesses, New Parents, Newborn, North Hampshire, Pre School, Things to Do, Toddlers 1 Comment

Hi, my name is Michelle and I am the owner of Tots Play Basingstoke and Hook. Whilst on maternity leave with my second baby I was faced with the dilemma that all mums go through when having to decide what they are going to do about work, did I want to go back or not, what was I going to do if I didn’t go back etc. After weighing up my options I decided to start my own business, and after lots of research I decided that buying into the franchise and bringing Tots Play to my area was the way to go! When I saw the Tots Play programme I was immediately impressed and it struck me as the type of class that I would have loved to take my children to, so I made my investment, completed my training and Tots Play Basingstoke and Hook was born in June 2015!

Tots Play provides unique, multi activity play classes for babies and toddlers, from birth up to around 3 years as well as a nursery programme and birthday party entertainment for up to 5 years old. Classes contain a mix of yoga, massage, signing, music and sensory play, to aid development with fun!

I was delighted to launch Tots Play at Sherfield Park Community Centre in June 2015 and since then I have been running 3 different classes aimed at different age groups, every Monday morning at the Community Centre. I also run classes on a Thursday afternoon at Christ Church, Chineham.

The three different classes are as follows:

Baby Development Course – suitable from birth – Short course where you will learn fun ways to play, interact and communicate with your new baby, including massage, yoga, music, sign language, and lots more. A great place to meet new mums.

Discovery Tots – From 8 weeks – Stimulate, delight, and boost the development of all baby’s senses at this fun, interactive class with yoga based movement, music, sensory play, sign language and more.

Social Tots – From 8 months – Older babies and toddlers will love to join in with a wide range of physical, musical, sensory and social play activities, learning and fun – all in one!

The Baby Development Course is a 6 week course with the next ones starting w/c February 27th (limited spaces remaining for these course so please complete the booking form at www.totsplay.co.uk/basingstoke to reserve your place) The course costs £60, and this fee includes a full colour workbook, CD of the music used in class and a bottle of massage oil so that you can practice everything you learn at home.

The ongoing classes (Discovery and Social Tots) run throughout term time and can be joined at any time during the term. For those new to Tots Play I offer three classes as a trial period for the discounted price of just £15 for the three sessions.

Take a look at the timetable to see when and where the classes are running:

Day Time Class Age Range Venue
Monday 9:50 – 10:30am Social Tots 8 months – 3yrs Sherfield Park Community Centre, Sherfield Park, RG27 0FP
10:40 – 11:20am Discovery Tots 8 wks – active crawling
11:30 – 12:20pm Baby Development 6wk course Birth – 6 months
Thursday 12:10 – 1:00pm Baby Development 6wk course Birth – 6 months Christ Church, Reading Road, Chineham

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1:20 – 2:00pm Discovery Tots 8 wks – active crawling

In addition to the weekly classes I also provide Tots Play parties to help you celebrate your child’s birthday or any other family occasions, and I also sell some of the resources that we use in class so you can continue the fun at home, ie foil blankets, flashing balls, scarves etc.

Please take a look at the website, www.totsplay.co.uk/basingstoke or Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/totsplaybasingstoke or get in touch with me, michelle@totsplay.co.uk for more information or to book.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I hope to see you soon!

Michelle 🙂

I will leave you with some customer testimonials:

“I’ve been taking my daughter to this class since she was 13 weeks and she loves it! With a fab combination of sensory, yoga and signing I’ve seen her development really come on, she loves the interaction with the other babies and all the singing and actions to the songs, she smiles all the way through!! And I come away with a very sleepy baby! A fantastic class with a great price and Michelle is fantastic, super friendly and remembers what my daughter enjoys every class. I’ve signed up for the whole term, the summer sessions and will definitely sign up for the next term!! Would definitely recommend!”  – Karen and Maya

“I took my daughter Freya to a taster session of this class and she loved it so much we have carried on going ever since. She loves the singing and exploring the sensory play (particularly the pool full of jelly!) – I would recommend this class to others” – Kate and Freya

“Our little boy loved his baby development classes. Michelle was really friendly and very clear with what we needed to do! Looking forward to the next term” – Keri and Jensen

“Florence isn’t a very confident child and can take a while to warm up, but she’s really got into Tots Play. Michelle is brilliant and Flo loves her, there’s singing and dancing and sensory play bits and Florence loves all of it. I enjoy the fact that it’s really involved and the children really focus on what they are doing, and I don’t have to deal with the mess at home! Michelle makes everyone feel welcome and is really good at looking after the new people. Florence gets excited when she knows we’re going, she really enjoys it.” – Rosie & Florence

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Thula Mama singing group for mums!

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in General, Mums, New Classes, Pre School 0 Comment

Rebecca sent me a lovely email asking me to let you know about Thula Mama

thula-mama-logo

Thula Mama singing group for mums!

I’m a mother of a 2 year old – Elliott – and I live in Bramley. I’ve just started a new career path as a singer and singing teacher and as part of my new ventures, I’ve become a franchisee of Thula Mama (pronounced ‘Tula Mama’).

cropped-photo-for-poster

Thula Mama is an alternative and inspirational singing group for mums of bumps and pre-crawling babies. Unlike most musical singing groups for babies and toddlers, this one is all about the mothers and giving them an hour and a half to relax, unwind, meet up with friends and enjoy singing beautiful but simple harmonies together.

thulamama_advert_oct16

We learn lovely songs and lullabies from around the world – not a ‘wheels on the bus’ in sight! The babies really benefit from hearing the sound of their mother’s voice singing to them and the soothing harmonies created by the group.  There is absolutely no experience necessary and it’s an extremely inclusive and gentle process, with all songs and learning taken at an appropriate pace for the group.

thula-mama-pic

I’m starting my sessions on Wednesday 2nd November from my home in Bramley and will be running them every Wednesday at 10am. The introductory price will be £5 with everyone’s first session being free.

You can find out more on my facebook page www.facebook.com/ThulaMamaBasingstoke and also on the website www.thulamama.co.uk

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Summer born children (those born between 1 April and 31 August)

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Pre School, School

Louise sent me the details for this as it doesn’t seem to be well known, even though Hampshire is one of the most flexible counties.

I really wasn’t aware of this, so thank you very much Louise for the details!

I’m sure it will be useful to a LOT of NHM Readers.

https://www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/admissions/applicationprocess/changeorlateapplication/summerbornhttp://www3.hants.gov.uk/education/admissions/ad-guidance/ad-summerborn.htm

There’s also a Facebook group called “Flexible School Admissions for Summer Borns” if you want to join the community.

Thank you to Charlotte for the following links too: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-born-children-school-admission

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Will your “baby” start school in September 2015?

Toddler Games: Making Gloop!

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Games, Pre School, Toddlers 2 Comments

This post is for Jo who thought I said “Goop” and then thought I was best friends with Gwyenth Paltrow because she has a blog called “Goop” :-D.

I’ve been wanting to do this for ages with Miss NHM, since before she was born! I can’t even remember where I first found out about Gloop, but it’s such a simple idea and a very cheap activity.

What you will need

1 cup cold water

2 cups corn flour

Random buttons

Making the Gloop

Slowly add one cup of water to two cups corn flour in a bowl.

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Stir until the water is absorbed by the corn  flour.

Add buttons. Fishing buttons out of the gloop is great for your little one’s fine motor skills.

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Miss NHM played with the Gloop for about an hour. We had a brilliant time playing with it and fishing the buttons out added another dimension to her interest.

Tips

Go to the toilet before you start. I didn’t do this and spent most of the time playing, wishing I had gone beforehand! The thought of leaving Miss NHM on her own or trying to get her to stop playing just wasn’t an option!

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Don’t use fabric buttons like I accidentally did. Duh.

Do this somewhere that you don’t mind getting dirty. We found the kitchen was the best place. I probably wouldn’t do this in a carpeted room.

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You can also step it up a level by adding either food colouring or food essence. We might try this next time.

Also, if the weather is nice next time we try this, I will try this outside.

Let me know if you enjoy this activity as much as we did!

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