Kids Archives - Mami To Five

Does your child know what a birthday is?

A birthday. The day we celebrate a person’s life and the fact they have reached another year older. It’s obvious that’s what it is. Isn’t it?

Today, I learnt that my fiveyear old had no idea what a birthday actually is! Just as a bit of a backstory, his birthday was last week and mine was 8 days before his, so birthdays have been high on the discussion list for a good while now. This is how that conversation went:

O: Mami, how do you remember when my birthday is?

Me: Because it’s your birthday, I’m a Mami it’s my job to remember.

O: But how did you know it was my birthday?

Me: Ermmm……Do you know what a birthday means?

O: It’s the day I get presents.

Me: Do you know why though?

O: No.

Me: Your very first birthday was the day you came out my tummy.

O: Whhhhaaaaaaaattttttt!?!? When I was borned?

Me: Yes!!! On July 9^th every year means you are exactly a WHOLE year older from when you were born. So it’s been 5 years since you were born. That’s why we celebrate birthdays, because you are bigger and we are happy.

O: Well wow! I did not know that! He said shaking his head

This conversation happened about 10 minutes into a 20 minute car journey with just me and him in the car. I spent the next 10 minutes tittering to myself as he occasionally muttered under his breath about how cool that was and how he did NOT know that before! It was like I had blown his little inquisitive mind!

It is funny the little things we just presume kids know, when actually they might have no idea at all! Do your kids know what a birthday really means?

You know, that elephant dinosaur!

The one thing that definitely can’t be said about my youngest is that he has a lack of imagination! When his older siblings talk about dreams they have had, he will join in with some wild and wonderful tales about his own dreams. He talks in his sleep so I am well aware of the fact that he does actually have some fantastic dreams, but I often wonder how much he makes up as he goes along.

Being a typical four year old little boy he’s never really been one to sit and read, write or colour. He’s far appier bouncing around being a Power Ranger Transformer, making ships out of pillows, or staring goggle eyed at a TV screen. So every time he shows any interest in sitting and actually drawing I try and take full advantage of it. One of the ways he’s always happy to draw pictures is when we get the chalks out and he goes to town on our living room floor. It’s painted concrete so ideal for using chalks on, and him drawing on it means I then have to actually clean the floor, which is a chore I tend to put off far longer than I should!

Dinosaurs have been a big thing with O this year and when he wanted to get the chalks out this week I wasn’t surprised that they played a big part in his drawings. His story to go around them made me giggle though so I thought I would share them with you!

I would like you all to meet O’s Elephant Dinosaur and before you ask no it isn’t a mammoth silly, can’t you see her spines on her back!?

O says that this Elephant Dinosaur is called “Inmhinw” and she doesn’t live in our world. She lives in a world with lots of other dinosaurs like spinosauruses and T-Rex’s. But she doesn’t fight with them. She has a baby inside her belly (She has quite a few legs herself but her baby seems to be a mutant jellyfish baby dinosaur because it has LOADS of legs!) But the baby has now come out of the Elephant Dinosaur’s Fairy (yes that’s what our family calls it, don’t judge!) and is going away to live on it’s own because baby Elephant Dinosaurs don’t need their Mamis. I made the mistake of saying that there were TWO baby Elephant Dinosaurs, the one inside the tummy and the one on the right hand side, it seems I was very much mistaken and this is a picture that takes us through time all in one image!

I thought that would be all from this little world of his, he disappeared for a bit, but then came back announcing that he’d forgotten someone!

This is ‘human with a snake’ seriously, this kid couldn’t even say Mami until he was two and a half and now he’s calling us Humans!

The snake, which I first mistook for a balloon, is going to be turned into a spoon so Human can eat cereal. I didn’t dare ask what Human was going to put his cereal in. Maybe he was planning to eat it right out of the box?

Human and his spoon snake live in the same world as the elephant dinosaur but they don’t hurt each other. Human can control the elephant dinosaur with the two buttons on his spines. The one makes him go fast and run around, the other does something else.

At this point he got bored and left. I have no idea whether Human managed to turn his snake into a spoon, what that second button does, or what happened to the baby elephant dinosaur. Will it go and find it’s own human? Talk about being left on a cliffhanger!!!

I love listening to the stories he makes up, even ones without pictures to back them up. It makes me wonder if I have a future writer (and illustrator) in the house!

Do your kids have wild imaginations too?

Review and Giveaway ~ Win one of two Mokuru Fidget Toys!

Fidget toys really are the ‘in thing’ this year and if your house is anything like mine you have spinners of all shapes and sizes, and with lots of broken bits, coming out of your ears! But move over fidget spinner, there’s a new kid on the block!

When I was first offered to review the Mokuru fidget toy I was a bit dubious it would be a hit with my kids. After all, it is basically just a big colourful piece of wood! But then we looked at some videos on YouTube and learnt about all the tricks you can do, they were all very excited and couldn’t wait to try it out!

What I love about the Mokuru fidget toy is that it is a very simple design, so no possibility of bits breaking off or fingers getting stuck in holes etc. And after watching the videos and seeing the kids play with it there are obviously endless possibilities in its use. The kids love trying out new tricks, like getting it to rollend ways between each other, or getting it to bounce and land on it’s tip. Personally I find it quite relaxing just spinning it in circles when I’m on the phone.

Mokuru is currently available in the following colours:

We are still learning to do even the simplest of tricks here, but this video shows you plenty of tricks from beginners level right through to games you can play with friends! But there are no rules to Mokuru, you can play with it in as a simple or creative way as you wish!

Mokuru is available in Smyths stores as well as on Amazon but am really pleased to say that not one, but two of you will have the chance to try out a Mokuru fidget toy for yourselves just by entering the giveaway below. Here are the rules for entering:

This giveaway is open to residents of the UK only
Two winners will be chosen at random via rafflecopter and announced on this page
Winners will be contacted via the e-mail address provided within 3 days of the giveaway ending, if they do not respond within 28 days another winner may be chosen
Your details will not be passed onto any third parties by Mami To Five
The winner will be sent ONE MOKURU fidget stick, colours cannot be specified and will be random
Mami To Five is not responsible for delivery and they may take some time to arrive
Mami To Five is not responsible for any damage or problems with the prize, although we will try to help if issues do arise
Entries made using software or automated process to make bulk entries will be disqualified
There is no cash alternative

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway appears on Offer Oasis.

Review ~ Stikbot Pirate Movie set

Being a typical 11 year old boy, LV loves anything to do with computers, movies and video games. So when he was given the chance to review the Stikbot Pirate Movie set he was over the moon!

We had one lonely little stikbot already that LV hadn’t really known what to do with yet, but as soon as the Movie set arrived, and he saw the costume stickers, he started planning his epic battle between the pirates and the continental soldiers!

The set comes with everything you need to create a stage for your movie, we just added a big blue background with the help of an old sleeping bag.

The instructions are very simple to follow. You just pop the numbered pieces out of the page and slot them altogether. Everything is numbered, even the holes! Apart from a couple of fiddly bits LV managed to assemble everything by himself, although younger children will probably need a fair bit of help. The pieces are made from what looks like laminated foam, they are pretty sturdy, but longer, thinner pieces like the flagpoles might easily get bent if you are a bit heavy handed with them.

The Pirate Movie Set comes with one Stikbot, who is already dressed as a pirate captain, and there is also a page full of other costumes to choose from. These can be a bit fiddly to get off the page, LV couldn’t do it as he has no nails, I have nails but still struggled getting the plastic sticker off the paper! Not sure where I was going wrong but I got there eventually and the pieces were all shaped perfectly to go on to the stikbots body parts. The bodies are articulated which makes it very easy to pose your characters as you like and when they are on a flat surface they are very good at staying stood up, even when they are holding themselves in odd positions.

The set also contains a full array of weapons that the stikbots hold with the help of these little white clips that slip over their ‘hands’ which are actually suction cups. The suction cups are also on the feet too and they are great for getting your Stikbot to climb up or down anywhere!

We had a few practice runs so we could figure out how much to move the figures to stop them looking like they were bouncing around the set. We also learnt how important it was not to move the camera AT ALL, or the scenery looks like it’s all swaying in the wind! We don’t have a tripod for my phone but a shoebox and some blu tack to hold the phone still worked great for us.

We used the Stikbot app to create the actual movie. It was very simple to do, it is just a case of taking the pictures and the app does the rest of the work for you! Once you’ve finished taking your pictures you can then either add sound effects or music that are already available, or record your own voices over your video.

Here is LV’s finished Stikbot Pirate Movie:

What do you think? I think he did a fantastic job! It may only be 7 seconds long, but those 7 seconds took pretty much an hour and a lot of patience to create!

LV gives the Stikbot Pirate Movie set a big thumbs up and can’t wait to get creating more movies soon!

The Stikbot Pirate Movie set is available to buy from many stores including Amazon. The following link is an affiliate link meaning if you purchase the set after clicking through I will get a small percentage from the sale. This won’t cost you anything extra though!

My Sunday Photo ~ Paint Party

Here is shot from the paint party at the start of the Ty Hafan Rainbow Run the girls and I took part in last weekend. Expect plenty of colourful images when I update you all about it soon!

Remember it’s not too late to donate!

Tŷ Hafan Rainbow Run Barry Island

With five children we have had our fair share of the usual children’s diseases and the odd longer term health issues, but I really can’t imagine how hard it must be to raise a child with a life limiting illness. These parents really give their entire energy and being to care for their children, making sure they live full, happy lives knowing that they are unlikely to reach adulthood.

Tŷ Hafan is the only children’s hospice in Wales and are a source of comfort, care and support for these families. Not only are they a safe haven during the darkest hours, providing expert comfort and assistance during the end, and beyond. Tŷ Hafan are also there to offer advice, support and assistance to ensure each child lives their life to the fullest. Providing care at home, school, in the hospital and in the hospice. They are often the only people able to care for children with serious medical needs to allow parents and siblings a chance to relax and recharge their batteries.

It costs over £3.7 million each year for Tŷ Hafan to provide their specialist one-to-one care and outreach services to life-limited children, young people and their families but because they are a charity and not part of the health service they get a very small amount of statutory funding a year. This means that Tŷ Hafan depend on donations to carry on their fantastic and much needed work. The Tŷ Hafan Rainbow Run is just one way people can raise the funds.

Raising a child with an invisible illness: Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

This is LM:

LM is your typical pre-teen. She is silly, stroppy, giggly, shouty, loving, stubborn and very silly (seriously that needs to be there twice). First impressions most people would make is that she is small for her age, very slight in build, active, happy and healthy. And yes she is all of those things, but those first impressions are where the problem lies.READ MORE »

Fungus Amungus Review

Recently a mysterious package arrived at our door. A parcel so dangerous it needed the word CAUTION written on it yet inside was, what can only be described as the perfect toy for any child!

These new collectables, called Fungus Amungus, are icky, sticky, germy, gooey little creatures that are sure to elicited ‘yucks’ and ‘ewws’ of joy when they are squished or splatted against any surface. The Funguys are a collection of germs, spores, bacteria, moulds and more – some are creepy, some are gross but they are all super sticky and sure to be a hit with any child!READ MORE »

Christmas Gifts for Older Children

The third of my Christmas gift guides is for the older children your family. This age can be difficult to buy for, especially if you are trying to find something that isn’t merchandise for the latest big film or video game release. But there are plenty of great products out there that will keep any older child occupied for hours.

For more inspiration please check out my gift guides for teenagers and younger children.

Moochies for Kids
If your anything like me, you will worry about where your child is whenever they leave your house. LV is of the age now where he disappears off on his bike or scooter and often looses track of time and rarely has his phone on him. The Moochies watch solves this problem bynot only being a phone, your child can phone two preset numbers and can be contacted by ten. But it also has a gps tracker so as a parent you can see exactly where they are and even get contacted if they go outside of the predetermined ‘safe zone’. There are four designs so there is something that will suit every one.

4×4 Salt Water Engine Car Kit
Construction kits are always high on the list when I’m looking for Christmas presents. This impressive looking car needs to be put together before adding a few drops of salt water to get the wheels turning. This is a simple and fun way to encourage engineering skills and also teach children about clean, alternative energy.

Kano Computer and Coding Kit
I wish I had found this kit before Santa had finished buying everything on a certain young lad’s Christmas list. This kit comes with everything you need to build a computer (apart from the screen) and even start to learn coding, a vital skill for any child growing up in this day and age. Kids love computers and playing games so getting to build their own games is a real winner in my eyes and to them it will seem like nothing but fun, which is brilliant!

Dining Table Ping Pong Set
Even the least sporty child will find it hard not to enjoy a game of ping pong. I myself can’t hit the ball for toffees due to a major lack of hand eye coordination, yet I still enjoy trying. Unfortunately a table tennis table is huge and completely impractical to have in a normal sized house, but this dining table set has everything you need to enjoy a game of ping pong, from the net right down to the wrist bands, and it all packs away into a sturdy red tin. This will be a real winner while the grown ups are snoozing off their turkey dinner.

Santa and Friends Paint your own Mug
What is Christmas day, without a Christmas craft to wile away some time while dinner is cooking? This mug set comes preprinted with a festive image and your child uses the special paints provided to jazz it up. You can bring it back out year after year as their very own special Christmas Mug.

The Art of Children’s conversation Game
This is a great little game, which helps develop communication skills simply by getting kids talking. Packaged in a small box it’s handy to keep in the car and hand luggage if you are travelling. It consists of a pack of cards, each printed with various questions and conversation starters aimed at getting kids to think about their answers. All mine join in when we play, although a game often takes hours because the kids keep expanding on the original question. O, who granted is a little young for the game only ever answers by putting his finger to his chin and saying ‘Ummmmm. Two!’ which is hilarious.

I’m sure you can agree that all these would be great gifts for your children who are too old for kids toys, yet not quite at the teenage stage yet!

Disclaimer: I was sent a few items on this list to review, these were items I requested and thought would be great gifts.