Website of the Month – Quibly

Quib.ly is a great resource for modern day parents who need a little helping hand to negotiate the world of technology and understand what is safe, suitable and of course educational for their children.

On Quib.ly you can browse for information on a subject of interest, perhaps you want to know which apps are best suited to your child’s age for example. Ask questions about a subject you’d like more information on and receive replies from other parents and experts on the subject like our CEO Chris Puttick, who is one of their E-safety experts. With discussions and articles like ‘Six baby gadgets you’ll actually use‘, ‘Why should we teach kids safe practice on social media‘ and ‘Half Term Hacks: Rainy day hacks that are genuinely useful‘, there’s always something that is relevant to your life and your children on there. So why not give it a go today and see how this great site can make your life a little easier.

Website of the Month -Topmarks

A great site for discovering educational resources, although as the site does cover all school age groups it’s worth noting that the search function does return results that aren’t suitable for younger children, so if you aren’t using TwoTen with your children it’s advised you monitor usage.

Visit Topmarks

We found the Gingerbread Man Game peculiarly addictive. You have been warned…

Image search for kids (Peepus has)

It’s early days (we’ve got plans…) but Peepus now has an image search for kids on his site. It’s designed for use by younger children, using content sourced from a number of places in a way that means the images should be suitable for young
children. At the moment you need to enter words for the search but we’re developing ways that children who can’t write (or talk!) yet can also find pictures they want.There are other features in the pipeline too.

screen shot of image search for puppy

The search results can include both photos and cartoons, including ones suitable for colouring in and can be shared with other children. Some more information on the image search can be found here.

We’d love to get your feedback on it, whether via comments, tweets to Peepus or email.

Website of the Month – Red Ted Art

This week it’s the turn of Red Ted Art, a fantastic blog absolutely brimming with things to make with the kids. 

Packed with how to’s, videos and craft ideas, there’s something to suit children of all ages, no matter how crafty they are. Perhaps try your hand at making some gifts for the children’s teachers, which will save you buying them gifts at the end of the summer term and they’ll love something the children have made themselves. Create some gorgeous designs with paper plate weaving or customise those school books and notebooks with a bit of easy decoupage. There’s so much to try and new craft ideas being added every day, you’ll never run out of ideas for things to make with the kids. Perhaps get them to pick out a few things they want to try over the summer holidays. 

Website of the Week – Monster High

Monster High’s popularity is showing no sign of abating, with lot of great new characters being released all the time. The Monster High website is a great one for fans of the dolls and films to visit. 

You can watch exclusive videos, meet the characters (including some really cool new ones), play games, create your own student profile and lots more. It’s safe and above all lots of fun, so why not check it out! 

Top Disney Frozen Crafts on the Web

Disney’s Frozen is a huge favourite with both adults and children alike, so it’s no wonder the internet is brimming with fantastic crafts, party ideas and even food you can make with the kids at home. So we’ve put together a few of our favourites from around the web just for you, just click on the link below the images to be taken straight to the web page: 

These great colouring pages from I am a Mummy Nerd are just what you need to keep little Frozen fans happy. Just print them out and let their imaginations run wild with pencils, paints and maybe even glitter. You can choose from Elsa, Anna, Kristof, Olaf, a few mazes to negotiate and even learn how to cut snowflakes from paper with Elsa’s help. 

Spoonful has lots of Frozen themed activities to try, but these gorgeous hair accessories have got to be our favourite. Little girls will love making these pritty hair clips before transforming into the beautiful Elsa themselves. 

Fans of sensory bins will absolutely love this Frozen Sensory Bin from Happy Hooligans. Made with rice, crystals, snowflakes, tinsel, cotton balls and more, it really will keep little ones happy for hours. 

Get this great free printable from Red Ted Art and see how they can be turned into puppets. The kids will love this easy craft and if you challenge them to put on a puppet show, they’ll be kept busy for hours. 

How unbelievably cute is this fantastic No Sew Elsa Costume from Let’s Do Something Crafty!?! So pretty and even someone like me with not a crafty bone in my body could have a go at something like this and I’m sure the kids would love getting involved in making it too. 

Playdough fans will absolutely love Elsa’s Frozen Play Dough from Here Come the Girls. It’s glittery, it’s colourful and you can squish it between your fingers, what more could you ask for!?!

Another fabulous Frozen themed crafts from Here Come the Girls is Elsa’s Ice Castle. It’s another easy craft the kids can easily make themselves and you can really go to town with the glitter and sparkly gems. 

There really are some hugely talented blogger out there! So why not take a look at these great Frozen crafts for yourself and get making with your very own Frozen fans.  

This Week We Love: Playful Learners

This great blog from childminder and freelance writer Adele, is brilliant for craft ideas to do with the kids. As you might imagine, it features a wealth of activities that have been tried and tested by the children in her childcare setting, as well as by her own three children.

Some fantastic ideas which have been on the blog recently are:

What a fabulous idea! The post Discussing emotions with cress eggs is a wonderful demostration of how you can use play to help children identify and deal with their emotions in a fun way. 

If you haven’t heard of Rainbow Loom or Loom Bands as they’re otherwise known, you’ve been living under a rock. Many a parent, including myself, have about 100 of these little things currently clogging up their hoover and may have even become as addicted to this new craze as their kids. In this post you’ll see how Adele and her daughter made this cute rainbow fish. 

With other great posts for making all kinds of playdough, sensory trays for little ones, baby and toddler play and much more, this is a great blog for anyone who needs a few ideas to help them get creative with the kids.  

This Week We Love: Funbrain

What it says on the tin: ‘Since 1997, kids, teachers, librarians, and parents have enthusiastically turned to Funbrain for its free educational games, online books, and comics. Funbrain, created for kids ages preschool through grade 8, offers more than 100 fun, interactive games that develop skills in math, reading, and literacy. Plus, kids can read a variety of popular books and comics on the site, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amelia Writes Again, and Brewster Rocket.’ 

For preschoolers, there’s The Playground, which is packed full of simple fun games that help little ones get accustomed to using the mouse while learning and having fun. 

This particular alien game ‘Simon Sees’ involves clicking on the alien’s eyes to match his reflection. It’s simple and helps little ones master the mouse while laughing at the funny alien. 

There are some great maths games which tailor the games to the player, you select your level and it suggests games for you to play. There are also some great books and language learning games too. The site even offers access to the popular ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ books. It’s sure to be a hit with children of all ages.  

Free Educational Printables from Paragon

Fans of Paragon’s ‘Gold Stars’ educational sticker books for kids will be glad to know they offer downloads on their website, enabling you to sample the kind of activities available before you buy the books themselves. 

You’ll find some great printable downloads for Pre schoolers to children of Key Stage Two age. Plus you can even print a certificate to reward your little one for their efforts in completing their worksheets.