In my last post I wrote about the challenge of keeping kids entertained at home during the Summer holidays, but what if you want to take a trip out? Not all activities have to cost the earth. For example our local shopping centre Westfield Derby runs kids events throughout the summer, all of which are free! For some of the events, such as craft activities you just turn up on the day. For others (like character meet and greets) you need to obtain a timed wristband from the concierge desk on the morning of the event. Westfield operate shopping centres throughout the country so it’s always worth checking out the website of your local mall to see what’s on.
We toddled along to Westfield Derby yesterday to meet SpongeBob Squarepants in the flesh/sponge. As you might imagine all my children were very excited at the prospect of meeting SpongeBob in ‘person’, so they prepared a short selection of jokes to share with him. Jokes such as:
Why did the hamburger cross the road? To Ketch-up with the fries!
Why did the Octopus cross the road? To get to the other tide!
Knock Knock! Who’s there? Fish! Fish who? Bless you!
That’s some comedy gold right there!
SpongeBob wobbled about in appreciation (his nose spun in circles!) before pausing to take a photo with the kids.
They all received a sheet of small SpongeBob stickers from NickToons, where SpongeBob is having a ‘Pant-tastic Summer’ on the channel everyday from 9am. See Nicktoons.co.uk for details.
As we left SpongeBob gave them all a larger sticker so they could proudly display their visit to the world!
For More information
For more wonderful events ranging from indoor shows through to craft activities visit Westfield Derby online.
Or you can contact the Westfield team on Twitter, or through Facebook.
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I have long been fascinated by the skill required to make stop motion animations. Most of which I can probably attribute to watching the Wallace & Gromit films from Aardman animation every Christmas as a child. I vividly remember my attempts at animating my jointed teddy bears and other toys, they weren’t all that amazing 🙁 So when I was asked to review the Hue Animation Studio with my kids I was more than enthusiastic to agree 🙂
Here’s the official product blurb:
TheHue Animation Studio contains everything a budding animator needs to begin creating stop motion animation videos. Children can discover, imagine and create stop-motion animation through powerful, easy-to-use, animation software complete with Hue’s market leading Plug ‘n’ Play HD camera with built-in microphone and a unique flexible neck for unlimited positioning options.
The software (used in schools and at home) helps children to create simple visual adaptations using toys, modelling clay, play figures and stop-frame animation techniques. The process of animating with the Hue Animation Studio encourages children to learn a diverse range of skills in both a fun and stimulating way. They can create a story, create characters, make them from clay or plasticine, design and make sets, compose soundtracks or select appropriate recorded music to enhance a film.
Whether you’re five or 95, you can’t go wrong with Hue’s full feature animation suite!
Excited… just a little bit! We received a red camera, I know that has nothing to do with the performance of the product but I always appreciate an attempt to be aesthetically pleasing.
My twins wrote a story together and set about building props from Lego. Their film also included a Mollie Makes hedgehog and a Sylvanian Family rabbit. They did need a little help and direction, but the included software suite is very straightforward and easy to use. Within minutes they were animating.
The camera takes still pictures which then appear on your computer screen, when you are ready to take the next still you see a ghost of your previous image which makes it easy to place your model(s) in slightly different poses while making sure they don’t jump about. I love love love this feature, especially when our youngest kept stealing the props and running away with them! Once the film was complete my husband read out their story to lay over the video.
Here is their completed film, I feel immensely proud of them! Plus I think the whole process was extremely educational. They used:
Teamwork and cooperation to compose their story
Penmanship and English to write their script
Dexterity and Imagination in prop building
Concentration and Patience to animate
All very valuable life skills I think.
The animation studio isn’t just for kids though, here’s my husband’s first little animation of a Sylvanian Family wedding dance. It’s such good fun it’s hard to stop animating! The program also has an option to upload your videos, we chose to host ours on YouTube.
I should also point out that we didn’t have the best lighting on the day we made these films, with a nicer background image and better lighting I think we could have produced even crisper films!
Would I recommend this product?
Definitely! No longer do you need prohibitively expensive equipment or even great skill to animate. This product helps you to make genuine animations in minutes!
Could it be improved in anyway?
I’m struggling to think how. Maybe an option to upgrade the camera to a higher spec if you really find yourself hooked, but otherwise no, it’s great!
If you’re a parent then chances are you’ll be familiar with the challenge of trying to keep kids entertained during car journeys. Thankfully the good people at Salisbury’s have done the hard work for you in today’s guest post and have given me their top tips for a stress free family outing.
One of the challenges of a long family car journey is trying to prevent a riot breaking out on the back seat! Negotiating unfamiliar roads and traffic systems is hard enough, so you could do with out distractions from the kids behind you. With that in mind, here are some suggestions for keeping the little ones quiet and content during your journey.
Take plenty of breaks
Children have short attention spans at the best of times, so it will benefit everyone if they can get out and stretch their legs once in a while. Every time you stop it gives your children something different to do, and breaks up the journey. A break every hour is ideal, but try and stop every two hours at least, in a safe, suitable location.
Keep them entertained
This gets easier by the year thanks to new technology. These days, it is not unusual to see children watching DVDs on screens attached to the back of the head rests of the front seats. That’s something that can work for kids of all ages, including teenagers.
Everyone loves games
There are many great games that your children can play in the car, and a lot of well known board games are available in travel versions, with features designed specifically for moving vehicles.
Of course, with just one child in the back it can be harder to keep them entertained, but there are plenty of games that require nothing more than a little imagination – the old favourite ‘I spy’, for instance.
You could also try ‘red car blue car’. All you have to do is choose a colour of car to watch out for. Whoever sees the most cars of a particular colour in the allotted time wins.
And how about some colouring pencils and paper in the back to bring out the little one’s creative side?
Feed them up
A surefire way to keep kids happy and occupied is giving them something to eat and drink (it will keep them quiet, too!). Of course, common sense is required – the more liquid they take in, the more toilet stops you’ll have to make!
Have some music handy
Most children respond very well to music, and while your three-year-old might like nursery rhymes a bit more than you do, anything is preferable to a high-pitched whine from the back seat! Be warned, though – you might have to join in.
Prepare for your journey in every way
There are many things to think about if you have to plan a long journey, and keeping the children entertained is just one of them. Make sure you have adequate car insurance for the journey before you set off. Little extras like roadside assistance and courtesy car availability can make all the difference if you run into problems with the whole family on board.
In my last post I wrote about the challenge of keeping kids entertained at home during the Summer holidays, but what if you want to take a trip out? Not all activities have to cost the earth. For example our local shopping centre Westfield Derby runs kids events throughout the summer, all of which are free! For some of the events, such as craft activities you just turn up on the day. For others (like character meet and greets) you need to obtain a timed wristband from the concierge desk on the morning of the event. Westfield operate shopping centres throughout the country so it’s always worth checking out the website of your local mall to see what’s on.
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