kids, life

Five things you could do with 5 minutes peace

What we wouldn’t give for FIVE minutes peace and quiet!

We KNOW that the Holiday period is meant to be about being sociable, and playing with all of the new toys and gadgets – we KNOW that, yet, wouldn’t it be just delicious to sneak off and find five minutes peace and quiet to yourselves?

Our friends at Mahabis asked KidsChaos to share what we would do with those FIVE minutes, so we put our feet up and had a ponder…

Five things you could do with #5minutespeace and #thegiftofdowntime

1) Write a to-do list… even though that sounds like WORK, it will actually make you feel less anxious about things you may have forgotten about – jotting down your top priorities for the week ahead.

2) De-clutter your kitchen junk drawer (in fact, that could go for your handbag, your sock drawer and your magazine rack as options too!) Set an egg timer… and stop when it pings 5mins… (it’s actually very therapeutic!)

3) Give a friend a quick call on the telephone, just five minutes to ‘check in’ with someone who might like to hear your voice, rather than read your text!

Do-Breath-insta-incredibusy

4) Have a read of a chapter of Michael Townsend Williams’ book Do Breathe: Calm your mind. Find focus. Get stuff done.
“we breathe better, we think better, feel better and do better. Finding stillness inside, we create success outside.” Or take five mins to download his app here BreatheSync.

5) Put the kettle on, make a cuppa, and put your feet up!

It’s really amazing what can you do in five minutes hey?! It will honestly make you feel more productive and that you are on top of things, taking five minutes out to reflect.

Mahabis have published their very first Christmas advert, about finding 5 minutes peace this Christmas. This time of year can be so hectic, and we realise how rare it can be that you have time to put your feet up. Needless to say, spending five peaceful minutes away from noise will energise you, to be able to concentrate on the demands of family life (like making pancakes together, or being thrashed at the latest Christmas game)…

 

A post shared by mahabis (@mahabis) on

This post has been written in conjunction with Mahabis.

kids, travel

Futuroscope review

Summer family fun, and Futuroscope review

We’ve had a fab time this summer, with trips up to Lancashire, Swansea, and Hastings – and two weeks camping in France – at the end of our camping trip, we spent some time at a couple of theme parks, and I’ll let 11yo take over the story from here. This is his review in his own words:

Futuroscope review – age 11

This summer, after leaving the campsite at Dune du Pyla in Southern France, which we had stayed at for two weeks, my brother and I and family stopped off at an F1 Hotel near Poitiers, and slept there for the night to break up the journey back home.

Dune du PylaAs we woke up, my Mum and Dad declared that we were going for a surprise visit somewhere.

And so we set off, in our car, my brother and I stared out of the window hoping for signs of where we were going.
Not too long after, we spotted a big crystal shard building sticking out of the ground, in the distance.

We then started noticing signs marked Futuroscope, and there was then a turning on the motorway with a big sign directing us down a slip road, the sign was also marked ‘Futuroscope’!­

Futuroscope road signAs we pulled into the car park we started asking our Dad about Futuroscope and he explained that it is an amazing theme park which we have been driving passed every year and this year we were lucky enough to get free entry as my Mum writes a blog.

My first thoughts about Futuroscope was the fantastic large buildings: a city of cylinders, the great shard building, and we couldn’t wait to check out the rides.

As we walked through the theme park, I kept my eye out for rides and when I couldn’t see any I asked Dad and he said that the rides were all inside rides, so the first ride we went on was in the Shard building, which was a 4D movie with moving seats, wind, and on a moving conveyor belt so that it felt as if you were inside the screen – Rayman Rabbids Time Travel.

It explained all of the odd things about history and how they had been caused by the Rabbids. I really enjoyed this ride, as it was my first indoor theme park ride experience.

Futuroscope shardOur second ride experience was a driving experience. Were it seem like you were in a formula one car racing through the sharp cornered streets of a French city and nearly running people over. They made this experience work by using: moving seats, air fans and water jets; which sprayed at us.

Our next ride experience was my favourite because the staff strapped you into the hand of a robotic arm and asked you what level you wanted 1, 2 or 3. I chose number 3 and the arm span into action. Twisting and spinning, tipping upside down, all in the time of the beat. (there was music playing.)

The ride was called Dances with Robots. . . I’ve only included my very favourite rides as I would be here all day otherwise!

Ali: I would like to add a thanks to Futuroscope for their Premium passes – I can highly recommend, saves so much queuing time! The PREMIUM Pass gives:

• One-off priority access for 1 person to 5 attractions: “The Time Machine”, “Virus Attack”, “Dynamic Vienne”, “Dances with Robots” and “Arthur, the 4D Adventure” – we went on them ALL (although, the Virus Attack made me feel VERY ill!)

Follow Ali on twitter as @incredibusymum and twitter.com/MoreKidsChaos for more posts like this one… Erm, and funnily enough on Google+Facebook and Pinterest! Pop over to say hello x Like it? Pin it! and come say hello at instagram.com/incredibusy too x
Ali also writes over on AGreenerLifeforus.com
kids

ANKI overdrive review

Anki OverDrive Review – by SPIKE, age 14

As a kid myself (Ali @incredibusy writes) my dear Dad – a Formula One fan, took us to car tracks to watch the racing, bought us toy cars (he had two daughters – and gender seriously was not an issue!) and a Scaletrix track which we played with to its death. The big ice cream tub at Granny’s full of toy cars has be played with by my boys and their cousins, so the tradition and delight in all things motor sports has continued.

We recently acquired an Anki Overdrive track and a couple of cars, and I’ll have to say that I LOVE it (see my Instagram stories – much to the amusement of my followers)  – – however, I’m handing over to my 14yo to tell you more:

Spike age 14:

We’ve had train tracks, and car tracks before – and loved them, so I’m here to tell you that the Anki overdrive is a fun and immersive game for all the family. There are many engaging modes to play, both by yourself and with others. its quick and easy to set up and you can begin racing within minutes.

We easily downloaded the app onto both Mum’s iPhone and my Samsung Galaxy android. It’s really intuitive and simple to use…

The starter kit comes with enough tracks to build up to eight different courses to keep the game fresh and exciting. There are also two ‘lifters ‘ that raise the tracks and create even more customization options.

As well as this, the starter kit contains two supercars: ‘ground shock’ and ‘skull’ , my personal favourite supercar is  ‘ground shock’ as the glossy blue colour looks really cool.

kidschaos incredibusy Anki Drive Car track

The app interface is easy to understand and the graphics are amazing. There are many different races you can partake in such as ‘battles’, ‘battle races’ and ‘king of the hill’. There is also a solo challenging campaign mode were players can rack up wins and earn ‘money’ to spend on cool gadgets and weapons in the store.

The weapons are epic, varying from charge beams, to chain guns and psychokinetic rays. There are also boosts like healing boosts and revolver damage boosts.

The multiplayer mode is heaps of fun; me and my brother spend most of our time on Anki overdrive ‘battle racing’ shooting, boosting and swerving around corners. definitely our favorite mode!

The track is easy to dismantle and pack away when you have finished play too (Mum told me to write that bit) – overall we absolutely love it!

Find out more here: www.anki.com

Additional Photos: Ali Clifford, incredibusy.com

crafts, education, kids, travel

The Good Life Experience – family festival

The Good Life Experience

helter-skelter-good-life-experience
Helter Skelter na na na na na

We’ve had ourselves a full and active summer, we just didn’t want it to be over…

Youngest started at ‘bigger than ever’ school and we thought, that’s it, Autumn is on its way – And then, with great joy, we packed our tent into the back of the car and took ourselves off for a long weekend to North Wales. We were meeting my sister, husband and Gracie the dog, for an amazing family weekend at The Good Life Experience, and WHAT a wonderful family festival.

Located in the grounds of the Hawarden Estate, former home of Prime Minister William Gladstone and now owned by his great-great grandson Charlie Gladstone and his wife Caroline (they of vintage lifestyle brand, Pedlars). You may have seen us talking about Pedlars over on aGreenerLifeforUs.com too – as they’ve been one of our #sgiew (@sogoodineveryway) photo challenge judges.

It’s a stunning location, with a castle, rolling grounds, a lake… before you even start to take in the iconic helter skelter, the beautiful bell tents, and general loveliness that goes to make this such a fabulous spot for a family festival of Music, Culture, Food & The Great Outdoors.

andrew-berry-brui-good-life-experience-prints
Andrew Berry Brui good life experience prints

We bumped into so many people we knew from the world of Instagram, including the talented illustrator Lucie Sheridan, and sweetly lovely Ruby @RubyDiamonds and her family, the winners of our #sgiew_goodlife Photo Challenge earlier this year – you can read Ruby’s review here.

All of the workshops and stall holders were happy and enthusiastic, and a delight to meet bumping into a chatting to the nicest of people… nods at Amanda Banham ceramics, Ali Dover, Jennie Maizels (pictured below on the swing!), Beth from Decorator’s Notebook, YuyoHepple Gin (yep, I might just have sampled the gin), Edward Carefoot Journeyman, Dorte from Lewes Map, Elinor and Michael, Beachhutcook, Helen from Nellie and Eve; who have I missed!

A video posted by Ali Clifford (@incredibusy) on

The Good Life Experience was founded in 2014 by four friends Cerys Matthews, Steve Abbott and Charlie & Caroline Gladstone, and they’ve crafted a festival that is wonderfully entertaining, based around themes of slow living, hand crafts, and the great outdoors, with a bit of poetry and live music thrown in for good measure. Fabulous guest speakers, art & craft workshops, swing bands and lindy hop dancing, coffee stops, ceramics, archery, axe throwing, Jennie Maizels‘ sketchbook clubs, Alex Pole forge kitchenware, plasticine stop motion animation, bushcraft,  a dog show(!) and so much more!

the-amazing-scene-machine-goodlife-experience-2
Plasticine dogs for the Amazing Scene Machine
the-amazing-scene-machine-lea-and-spike
Lea and Spike’s Plasticine dog for the Amazing Scene Machine
the-amazing-scene-machine-goodlife-experience
Looking forward to seeing the finished animation Jim Parkyn!

Between the six of us, we managed to cram a LOT into the weekend, listened to the amazing (and hilarious) Doctor John Cooper Clarke, adventurer Ben Fogle talking about his life, DJ78 with his classic wind up gramophones,  and John Higgs, talking KLF and the spectacular Swing Patrol swing dance class… yes, I’ve looked them up on the internet, there IS a class near me!

ali-clifford-and-ali-dover-good-life-experience
Amanda Banham has us hard at work – the two Ali-s – Clifford and Dover

We marvelled at Neil from the Harwarden Estate and his amazing pumkin carving, we danced and cheered for the amazing Stealing Sheep.

stealing-sheep-good-life-experience
The wonderfully polka dot Stealing Sheep

As Tim at Gather Outdoors said, it’s great to meet up with so many like-minded people all in one place (and many that we follow and interact with on the ‘gram!)

We’re already planning our visit to The Good Life Experience next year and there are some Super early-bird tickets on sale here for 15-17 September 2017. We seriously can’t wait!

vodka-good-life-experience
Black cow vodka
tent-and-bunting-good-life-experience
Roll up roll up – the academy awaits
neils-amazing-pumpkins
Neil’s amazing pumpkins
moonlight-good-life-experience
That moonlit sky though…
jeremy-vine-good-life-experience
Jeremy Vine in full flow…
jennie-maizels-tent-at-the-goodlife-experience
Jennie Maizels brings the blue skies
gill-meller-gather-good-life-experience
Gill Meller and his smokin’ fish…
forest-bar-good-life-experience
The forest bar
Adam Stanley, Welsh seafood pit bake
Adam Stanley, Welsh seafood pit bake
fire-pit-seafood-good-life-experience-chef
Adam Stanley, Welsh seafood pit bake
fanfare-ciocarlia-cerys-matthews-good-life-experience
FANFARE CIOCĂRLIA and the wonderful Cerys
dj78-good-life-experience
dj78 – we like his style!
diabel-cissokho-good-life-experience
Diabel Cissokho wowing the crowds
clover-field-good-life-experience
A field of clover for Gracie the dog to bounce around in
climbingthewalls-good-life-experience
Instagram Stories came into their own! @incredibusy
cerys-poetry-good-life-experience
Cerys reads Sue Boyle – ‘a leisure centre is also a temple of learning’
cerys-in-conversation-good-life-experience
Cerys gets us all singing ‘let’s go fly a kite’
caught-by-the-river-good-life-experience
Caught by the river
apples-and-glitterballs-good-life-experience
Apples and Glitterballs

 

ali-clifford-jennie-maizels
Jennie Maizels and me, Ali Clifford on the best swing ever

xx

Words and photographs, Ali Clifford
Also writes over on aGreenerLifeforus.com

crafts, create, FREE printables, halloween, kids, monster

Milk Carton Skull Lanterns

So with much delight, we introduce our latest invention, the Milk Carton Skull Lanterns!Milk Carton Skull Lanterns

Spike age 14:

We really wanted to have a go at making some skull lanterns, and thought the milk carton would be perfect for this, and it wasn’t until we started planning the graphics for it that we realised how brilliant it was that the handle itself created two brilliant indentations that were perfect for the skull’s eye sockets!!

We’ve since made LOADS of these are they are so easy to make, you can either print off the FREE printable here, or use marker pens, like these * affiliate links which work really well on plastic bottles – for full instructions watch my Mum’s incredibusy youtube video here.

For the PRINTABLE Skull’s face template click here

For more FREE printables for Halloween click here for Pumpkins
and here for brilliant Witches Hats
Some fab paper skull potato print Halloween party bags
How about Toffee Apples!
And some wonderful FREE printable, Skull Bunting

Ali also blogs over on incredibusy.com and FunCraftsKids.com and is a lover of Instagram too… pop over and say hello!

crafts, key stage 2, kids

How to melt crayons into a rainbow!

How to melt crayons into a rainbow!

melted-CRAYON-rainbowThere are lots of creative things you can do with crayons!

Did you know about the hashtag #FunCraftsKids?

We have a few rainbow crafts on the blog that we can call upon, however, having teenagers and pre-teens in the house, it’s good to push and encourage their creativity, as they have become more and more drawn to staring at their screens and not wanting to be quite as creative as they used to be…

So we have FOUND A WAY and that is stop motion animation – so – check this out, we set up a tripod, take a series of photos, and make an animation! What fun…

For this particular craft, we took a square canvas* and some old crayons, and got busy, you can watch the stop motion in the youtube link below….

You will need:
A Canvas
Some Crayons
Hair Dryer
Glue Gun (or tape, glue gun is quick and easy though!)

ALI-TITLE-FOR-youtube-video-CRAYON-rainbowWatch the video here for instructions, basically, glue the crayons to the top half of the canvas.

Prop the canvas at an angle and start warming the crayons with the hair dryer.

Move the hair dryer to the top of the crayons, and start heating from the top so that they melt DOWN… note, the red didn’t melt as fast as the other colours, yet it still looks OK in the final result.

Lower the canvas to a smaller angle so that the crayons don’t drip off the end of the canvas, have fun, and don’t worry if the crayons ‘splatter’ that’s all part of the fun and creativity!

Let us know if you have a go too…

close-up-melted-crayons-on-canvas

melted crayons on canvas

Ali also blogs at incredibusy.com  aGreenerLifeforus.com and FunCraftsKids.com
Find Ali on instagram as @incredibusy too for other instagram photo challenges such as #sgiew (so good in every way!)

crafts, gardening, gardening with kids, google+ hangouts, kids

Toilet roll crafts – bird seed feeder

Chaos writes:

The one thing I really struggle to put into the recycling bin, is the toilet roll tubes, I can always think there is SOMETHING we can make with them, whether it’s planting seedlings in them, or making these lovely bird seed feeders. They are so easy to make, and the kids are tickled to be using peanut butter, to spread onto the loo roll tubes, cra-azy eh?!

KidsChaosToilet-Roll-craft

 

KidsChaosRedTedArt-screen-grab3So simple to do… basically, spread the peanut butter on the toilet roll tube, and sprinkle the bird seeds over the tube, pushing the seeds onto the peanut butter ‘glue’.

We do find some peanut butter a little dry, so – do as you do with toast! – paste a little layer of butter on to the tube before you spread the peanut butter onto the tube.KidsChaosToilet-Roll-craft-how-to



Then, slip the tube onto a thin branch, preferably in view of the window. We love eating our breakfast and watching the birds eat theirs – we have a favourite chubby blackbird in the garden, will try to get a photo of the bird seed feeder in action!

To see how our garden grows, follow our Gardening With Kids posts here.

and how to make an indoor watering can here!

To see me demonstrating the making of said bird seed feeder, click the youtube link, watch the video (also embedded below) and be inspired. – I joined the regular Google+ hangouts hosted by Maggy at Red Ted Art with some other fabulous creatives – Chris at Thinly Spread, Liz at Me and My Shadow Owls, Anthea’s Torus at ZingZing Tree, and Rebecca from herecomethegirlsblog. Cat in the Hat craft.

Are you on Google+ Follow me here, and say hello, and I’ll add you back to my circles.

Oh, and I’m on twitter.com/MoreKidsChaos too… Erm, and funnily enough on Facebook and Pinterest! Pop over to say hello x

key stage 3, kids

FlipOut Wandsworth Review

FlipOut Wandsworth Review

This week it’s the kids’ turn to write a review… it seemed appropriate – as this one is ALL about them, and we took them on the train to FlipOut in Wandsworth – really easy to walk there from the station, with a group of teenagers, and probably the most popular party destination for SW19 families it would appear! Lots of our friends had recommended it to us, so we were all eager to try it out… this is what they thought, over to Spike…

Spike (14yo) writes:

flipout-graffitiFlipOut IS AMAZING!

Last week it was my birthday, and having heard how brilliant FlipOut is from all of my friends I decided that FlipOut was the place to go; it didn’t disappoint, I have been to many other ‘trampoline parks’ but flip out was by far the best.

It has a massive array of things to do such as the bouncy basketball court that was hilarious and we had loads of games on that and challenges like shooting backwards and shooting after a 360, and there was a MASSIVE foam pit that you could flip into, or just jump (that is just as fun) and you could have a race in the foam but because it was so uneven and soft we all ended up sinking. My favourite thing however, was the ‘valley’ trampoline, this was basically two trampolines opposite each other making a ‘v’ shape and you could wall run and bounce from wall to wall.


flipoutlogoAnother fun thing about FlipOut is that there is loads of space to just bounce from trampoline to trampoline and to play games like tag or stuck in the mud if you are with friends. There are trampolines on the walls at an angle as well so you can bounce literally ‘bounce off the walls’ and there are also SUPER bouncy trampolines that spring you high up into the air. There is a really cool wall with a super bouncy trampoline next to it and kids and grownups compete to see who can get the highest.

The atmosphere at FlipOut is brilliant, there are walls lined with graffiti that makes the place feel really atmospheric. There is also a battered black London cab that serves as a clock because the time is shown in red on one of the blacked out windows. Loud and energetic music also fills the air making it a really enjoyable experience. At the entrance there are two really long trampolines that act like lanes and some really fun trampoline races can take place. If ever you get tired you can just take a short time out for a drink of water and a snack and then bound straight back on.

FlipOut caters very well for all ages because it has a pro zone where pros can back flip and wall run without disturbing any less experienced trampoliners. FlipOut also has a large area which is designated for little children only and it has a mini foam pit. As well as this the pro area can be accessed by anyone as long as they can land a back flip. on top of this there are three super bouncy trampolines in alcoves at the edge of the building so you can jump alone if you feel like it. Also, all under fives have to be accompanied by an adult.

After leaving FlipOut I was really energized and enthused to do some more trampoline activities and come back again because after you leave the weightless world of FlipOut then you are dying to go back again. The time allotted is perfect because you are exhausted after all the bouncing that you feel that you don’t NEED to go on again, even if you want to. overall I really enjoyed the flip out experience and would rate it a 10/10!!
for any extra information visit the FlipOut Facebook page:
@FlipOutwandsworth

cooking, kids

Eating for peace – Conflict Cafe

Eating for peace – grubclub

grubclub-conflict-cafeIf delicious food, finding out about other cultures, and a love of peace sound like your perfect evening’s entertainment, book your place at Conflict Café, in the atmospheric tunnels underneath London’s Waterloo Station.

Here chefs including Imad Ghossain (pictured) from Lebanon and Ruby Kughanathan (pictured) from Sri Lanka will delight diners with food from their home countries, helping to show how much we can get to know about others and their countries simply by breaking bread with them and sharing a meal.

imad

rubyBoth Imad and Ruby became passionate about food by watching their mothers at their stoves at home as they cooked for the family, and then joining in. They left their countries of origin for a safer life and believe very much in the power of food to help transform attitudes, hence their support for Conflict Café.

This pop-up restaurant is being run by peacebuilding charity International Alert for the third year running from 22
September – 2 October 2016.

Conflict Café was inspired by a tradition that is common to many cultures around the world: coming together and reconciling differences by preparing and sharing meals. Diners will sit at communal tables and enjoy traditional dishes while finding out more about issues facing countries affected by conflict. It’s hoped that strangers will be inspired to talk together and start conversations about building peace through food.

Rebecca Crozier, International Alert’s Head of Emerging Programmes, explains the reasons behind the idea: “Across different cultures and continents, food has the power to bring people together and encourage the act of sharing. In some Middle Eastern countries, it is custom for the perpetrator of a crime to cook a meal for the victim and their family as a way of fixing broken bonds. In Europe, too, we find ways of using food to calm domestic storms, to unite communities and bring neighbourhoods together.
She adds: “We hope that Conflict Café will give diners a glimpse into the diverse cuisines and complex histories of some of the countries where we work, highlighting the positive role that food can play in peacebuilding.”
The organisers say that eating a meal may not obviously be changing the world but, if a diner is giving a thought to Lebanon or Sri Lanka in their hurried life, they believe that they are already ahead. The event changes – or creates – that person’s perception of that country. People will not often take three hours to read everything about world events. But if they go out for a great meal and hear someone from that country talk, they will be experiencing human detail from that country. They may tell their friends about it or write on social media and that’s how change can take place.
The initiative kicks off with Conflict Café: Lebanon, a country which ended its civil war just 10 years ago and is now hosting more than one million refugees displaced by the conflict in Syria.

diners-at-conflict-cafe

The focus will then shift to the delicious flavours of Sri Lanka where, after nearly 30 years of conflict, more than a generation of Sri Lankans have grown up with no real experience of peace.

Conflict Café is part of the Talking Peace Festival organised by International Alert, a charity established by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other visionaries 30 years ago in a bid to secure an end to some of the world’s most bitter disputes. Once you’ve eaten you can take a look round the other tunnels in the House of Vans complex. These are housing other parts of the festival including the Create Syria multimedia exhibition.
This shows footage of exiled Syrian artists and cultural figures running workshops in Lebanon with refugee children and young people to help them to overcome their experiences of war.
The whole event is at the House of VANS, Arches 228 – 232 Station Approach Road, London SE1 8SW

Tickets are £35 for dinners and £20 for brunch. They are available online at www.grubclub.com/conflict-cafe

Twitter: @talkpeacefest
Instagram: @international_alert
Hashtags: #ConflictCafe and #TalkingPeace
Talking Peace Festival website: www.talkingpeacefestival.org

otto-schade-illustration‘Say it with flowers’ – a powerful image from Chilean artist @ottoschade for #ART4PEACE.