Posts filed under 'Indoor Activities'
With a steady stream of visiting friends over the Christmas holidays, and many with young children, we have been busy! Whilst we treated them to the hedonistic pleasures of the Aussie beach culture, we also spent a great deal of time indoors appreciating the ‘higher arts’. This can be tricky with young kids in tow, especially those who are jet-lagged and tantrum prone, but Melbourne has some fabulous museums and galleries, several of which are especially wonderful for children. Here are my top 3.
1. Melbourne Museum – This fabulous museum, located on the northern border of the Carlton Gardens behind the Royal Exhibition Building, is futuristic and interactive and connects architecture and nature – in the middle of the museum, you can walk through a forest! The Children’s Gallery is designed for children 3 to 8 but I would think it would delight even the younger toddler. The children’s exhibition, entitled 1,2,3 Grow, explores the many ways things, including humans, grow. Activities, children’s art, stories, an indoor sandpit with fossils beneath the sand which children are encouraged to discover, a kids puppet theatre and an outside play/picnic area including games such as skittles for the whole family, are just some of the attractions. It doesn’t matter how often we visit (we try to put our membership to good use after all) my children are always stimulated and engaged. Young children particularly love the insect section and the Forest gallery. Click here for more details.
2. Scienceworks – My kids’ favorite! This museum is situated in an old plumbing station and is simply brilliant. It is dynamic and interactive and a must for children who are inquisitive especially in matters relating to science and technology. The museum collection objects are combined with hands-on exhibits so you can test your reflexes, jumping and kicking abilities and are designed to be explored. Amazingly the exhibits continuously changes so repeat visits never get repetitive. The Planetarium is particularly fabulous and without fail my children always protest when it is time to leave! For more details click here.
3. Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) – One of our newest art spots in Federation Square, dedicated to the moving image in all its forms including cinema, television, computer games and interactive media arts. This place is amazing. I think the official emphasis here is on older kids but I could not get my 2-year-old out the first time we visited. In addition to the babies screenings there is so much child-centred programming, all very high tech — with free animated flicks and the annual International Childrens Festival. Kids can even create their own short film! The Games Lab is a changing exhibition of computer games with exhibits showing the development of the game and several consoles on which to play the current game. Needless to say, kids love this area and given that so many young children are techno savvy these days, even the toddlers can be seen having a go. The Memory Grid has more than 200 short films in free futuristic ‘lounge rooms’. Just brilliant. Small pods of seats surround a screen from which short films can be chosen from the touch screen. I cannot recommend it highly enough, for kids and for adults! See here for more information.
- Sara
Sara in Melbourne
March 16th, 2010
These days I’m so busy with work, I don’t have much time for my much loved little creative projects (sewing, baking, drawing). But I love looking at craft and cooking blogs instead!
Joel Henriques is a Portland-based artist who has two little kids and does the most amazing craft projects with them. Just have a look at his blog — these yo-yo balls are so sweet, and this design-tree-toy is to die for! Or this doll house…
If you have a printer at home you can print these cool designs for your kids to colour (just click on the picture to go to the original post for the download). I really love them!
xxx Esther
P.S. Through Vlijtig
Esther in Amsterdam
March 16th, 2010
When the girls asked me to write for Babyccino one of my first ideas for a post was Kew Gardens. We got to know the Royal Botanical Gardens when we moved down South and immediately became members. We now go every couple of weeks and still love it just as much — it is such a great place for kids.
Apart from being a huge space to run around with fascinating trees, flowers and plants, there is also a dedicated indoor children’s area called Climbers and Creepers. All the zones have an educational element relating to plants and their habitat and have been so cleverly thought out to cater for a really wide age group (quoted as age 3 – 9 but there are great touchy-feely bits too which are good for babies).
On the other side of the gardens is the Treetop walkway (designed by the architects of The London Eye) which is 18 metres up in the air and 200 metres around — giving you an opportunity to see the tops of the trees and those who inhabit them. At ground level there is a tunnel with an exhibit giving insight to what happens under the trees (good for any bug and creepy-crawly enthusiasts!).
The duck pond in front of the Palm House (near the Victoria Gate) is great for spotting all sorts of water birds and they even have an explanation of the different species with sound-buttons to hear their different calls (fondly called the ‘quack-board’ in our house and it is always the first thing my 3-year-old wants to go and play with — our favourite is the call of the Eider).
And this is just the start of the fun, with Badger Sets, an aquarium and greenhouses* full of exotic plants, trees and plant life (The Evolution House exhibits Stromatolites, which are the oldest living organisms on the Earth and we see them as small bubble eruptions in a sandy pool of water at the entrance — coooooooooool!)
Kew is also well equipped for fuel stops with plenty of cafes and restaurants all serving good children’s options (they do those clever lunch boxes where you can pick 5 picnic-esque bits to make up a lunch, and in every box there is a pack of seeds to take home and plant).
So why has it taken me so long to write this post? Kew has been working on a new outdoor children’s playground for outside Climbers and Creepers. They had some issues with planning permission (it was meant to be up and running in the Autumn of last year) so I wanted to wait to be able to tell you about it and when it would be ready. Well we went to Kew last weekend and it is well and truly underway (see pics). It will be launched in time for the Easter holidays on 2nd April. It is called Treehouse Towers and looks a whole lot of fun for up to 300 children — a properly exciting place to let off some of that chocolate-easter-egg-energy! We are very excited about its launch and will definitely be heading down there to try it out.
Have fun. Mo. x
* Note the greenhouses at Kew are not your ordinary greenhouses — they are possibly the most beautiful greenhouses in the World! The Palm House has 700 panes of glass and is considered the most important Victorian glass and iron structure in the world. And The Temperate House is the largest surviving Victorian glasshouse in the World — pretty impressive stuff.
Mo in London
March 15th, 2010
Another fabulous interactive colouring book just begging to be illustrated! They seem to be popping up everywhere these days and with good reason too. Created by talented Melbournian Nicole Mandile, in the first of her My Picture Storybooks series, The Magical Milky Way’s Super Galactic Zoo kept my rambunctious 4-year-old son in check on a long-haul airplane flight recently. So naturally I am a big fan. He was totally engrossed in creating, drawing and pasting away, each page providing the perfect canvas for his masterpiece. It helps that he has a complete fascination with all things galaxy-related.
The book is created using uncoated paper, a great surface to sketch on and is staple bound so the pages open flat. It is printed in Australia on 100% recycled paper. It isn’t too long or too short — just perfect to capture their little attention spans.
Available through weheartbooks for local and international shipment.
- Sara
Sara in Melbourne
March 7th, 2010
It was lovely to meet Courtney recently as she began her big adventure along Australia’s east coast. It’s funny the feelings it stirred in me. I really wanted her to have a good time in Sydney. And I wanted her to love my neighbourhood of Bondi as much as I do. So I sent her off a quick list of things to do with children, and I thought it might be useful for anyone else visiting Sydney.
Of course, this list is not exhaustive and is skewed to areas near where I live. So I’d love to know your suggestions if you live locally.
Nielsen Park, Vaucluse – a Harbour pool that is kid-friendly with the most amazing view of the Harbour Bridge while you swim. There is a kiosk where you can get takeaway food, a café or you can just take a picnic. There are a few walks in this area too. There’s loads of great advice on this blog – Family Fun Sydney too.
Watson’s Bay – you can get ferries here to the city or just enjoy the park and wander around the streets which have the cutest cottages – used to be a fishing village although now highly coveted for real estate so everything is made over. But still has lots of charm. You can eat with your family at the pub there – Doyles or get takeaway fish n chips.
Oceanworld, Manly – You can get a ferry from Circular Quay to Manly which is a really beautiful journey across the harbour and I’m pretty sure at this time of year at dusk all the little penguins come out onto the beach.
Powerhouse Museum - No Sydney museum is going to compete with London or New York – but the Powerhouse Museum has a section for kids that’s very popular. It’s called Zoe’s World and it’s a mini construction site with bricks made of foam that kids can build with in a mock construction zone.
Redleaf Pool, Double Bay – Another beautiful Habour pool that’s kid friendly. There’s also a kiosk here.
-Natalie
Natalie in Sydney
March 2nd, 2010
It has seriously been freakishly cold here in Paris. We have seen snow, snow, snow and more snow. First it was fun, then it was plain cold, and now it is just fustrating. It means that children have to play indoors most of the time and it is really hard to keep them from going completely stir crazy…
So we have been building forts, castles, caves and jungles — it is amazing how much you can do with some chairs and a couple of blankets… and some dress-up items.
One of the big hits of this winter has been a lion mask we got from the gorgeous Shak Shuka online eco-boutique. It looks great and it is amazing how much one mask can stimulate a game that is starting to go stale. I am really glad there is no one living under us right now, as I am not sure what they would think of the lioness and her cubs roaming around in the flat above them…
- Emilie
Emilie in Paris
March 1st, 2010
I do love New York but there are also a lot of things that I really hate about it.… the lack of parks and open spaces, and the complete absence of places to just sit down. The other day I took my girls to the New Museum on the Bowery. I have been wanting to go since it opened and there was an exhibition by Urs Fisher which looked bizarre and cool. There was, after all, a croissant hanging from the ceiling on fishing wire with a butterfly on it! Anyway– the exhibition was indeed cool but the best discovery of the day was the little cafeteria with tables and chairs that they had in the back of the main lobby. It’s a nice place to sit (for free!) and shockingly, it was very kid friendly – they even serve peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So for those roaming around Soho or the East Village with a stroller looking for a place to just sit for a few minutes — stop in. Admission is free for everyone under 18.
-Dina
Dina in New York
February 27th, 2010
My kids love going to the cinema. The crowd, the sounds, the visual experience — a promise to go to the cinema makes them get so excited they have difficulty sleeping the night before!
Luckily enough, here in Paris, the children’s cinema scene is huge, between the Forum des Images and several yearly children’s film festivals. Cinema is so much a part of the culture over here that the city organises screenings for school classes at least once a semester.
A great cinema event here on a Sunday is the monthly ‘Pochette Surprise’ event at the Balzac, an art house cinema off the Champs Elysees. On show are a series of short classic films, some of them over 100 years old, mixed in with some classic Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy and some old-school Tex Avery animation shorts. Every short is silent and the whole programme is accompanied by a musician, so even if you are completely anglophone, you will not miss out on anything… and to make it even better everyone gets a tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream!
- Emilie
Emilie in Paris
February 19th, 2010
My daughter really loves audio books — she curls up on the floor in front of the speaker behind the couch and patiently listens to the story. So cute, and much more calming than television.
I strongly believe that reading a book (or listening to an audio book) enhances creativity and imagination more than watching television. In fact, even though we do have a television for watching the occasional DVD, we don’t have a cable connection in the house and I’m pretty sure we don’t miss much.
In an effort to bring more peace and calm to our household after dinnertime, I’m currently testing out a fairytales relaxation CD from Relax Kids. (My son especially needs to unwind; last night we caught him making a complex puzzle in his room 45 minutes after we put him to bed!)
The CDs from Relax Kids are meant to help children relax with the aid of meditative stories and soothing music, believing that a calm and confident child will have an easier time falling asleep. The CDs can also be helpful for over-active or anxious children, or for kids with specific problems like bed-wetting or nightmares. You can listen to an intro of each CD on the website, and you’ll get the gist.
Even though my kids need to get used to it still, their mama gets so super relaxed I’m sure it must eventually rub off on them! There are specific themes available, we have ‘Up, up and away‘ but I’m also very intrigued by the Princess and Superheroes CDs.
xxx Esther
Esther in Amsterdam
February 17th, 2010
If you have a sewing machine, this Valentines decoration is easily made, and my kids really liked the project!
Just potato-stamp hearts on paper; I used recycled paper but you can use any sort really, even newspaper. No need to be perfect here, my 2-year-old had quite some production going. Let the paint dry and cut the hearts out. Again, slightly outside the outline of the stamp is fine, my 4-year-old girl was perfectly capable of doing it all herself! How typical for this age…
My machine had black thread in it and I didn’t bother changing it. I think it actually looks quite nice like this. Make sure to leave some thread at the ends for attaching!
My daughter’s bed looked lovely instantaneously! (The wallpaper bird is from Inke, more about that later.)
xxx Esther
P.S. Inspiration for this project came from Maya*Made
Esther in Amsterdam
February 12th, 2010
I sat down to talk to my 3-year-old son about Valentine’s Day this weekend. I’m big on grabbing any opportunity for a celebration, and a day that celebrates love — I’m in! So I explained that Valentine’s Day is the day when you tell the people that you love that they are special to you and one way to do that is to send them a card. We then decided to create a list of people he loved — it was long! So we had a LOT of cards to make. Luckily I had a relatively easy idea up my sleeve that even a 3-year-old boy could get into for long enough to make quite a few.
The idea is to cut out hearts and butterflies from coloured paper (using the old trick of folding the paper in half first to get symmetrical shapes) and let the kids decorate in any which way they choose.
Crayons, glitter pens and stick-on-jewels were our embellishments of choice (but seriously anything works here). These will make the inside of the cards. For the outside of the card write up some typical valentine’s slogans, I used the alphabet stamps from Impress Stamps that Courtney wrote about and that I love! But this can be done on a printer or hand-written by your child if they are old enough.
Our slogans tied into the decoration inside — so “you set my heart all a flutter” has the butterfly inside and there were a few jewel and gem references.
Then stick the decorated heart or butterfly inside so the centre crease of the card matches up with that of the decoration. NB: Let the glue dry with the card open — if it is closed the decoration might move slightly and then the card might not open properly.
Easy-peasy!
-Mo. x
Mo in London
February 10th, 2010
I love traditional toys that allow my children to use their imaginations — toys that inspire their creative play. I also love toys that look great in my home. (Hey, I haven’t earned the title ‘toy snob’ from my friends for nothing!) Enter Dobbin and Drum’s hobby horses. Just gorgeous. They are made from 100% natural fabrics — Australian hardwood dowel, leather trim and are filled with the highest quality 100% lightweight pure Australian merino wool. Now these hobby horses are no ordinary run of the mill horses, they are of heirloom quality and completely and lovingly hand-made. In a world of electronic toys and high tech gadgets, I am proud to say my children love their hobby horses and they regularly feature in their creative play. To be honest, they also make the odd appearance when they are fighting….
Dobbin and Drum are a small Australian company that produce a select range of natural fibre quality crafted toys — toys with ’soul and substance”. For the full range of hobby horses (including the fabulous unicorns and dragons) and for stockist information, refer to their website. Despite being a little tricky to wrap (I always end up resorting to just a ribbon) they make the perfect gift for a young child.
P.S. I can also recommend Dobbin and Drum’s teepee’s and drums — the very best I have seen.
- Sara
Sara in Melbourne
February 4th, 2010
Most parents discover fairly early on that if they want to meet in a cafe with friends and have any hope of conversation (one that spans more than 10 seconds), then a distraction for the children in the form of a book/toy is imperative. It allows at least some semblance of communication between the adults whilst in the company of young children — where you can form a full sentence… in one go!!
Many cafes in Melbourne answer this need, providing crayons and butcher paper to occupy the kids. And that certainly helps! But Family Life Home & Café in Grattan Street, Prahran goes one step further. Not only is it a divine Balinese inspired space, incorporating a cafe and boutique, but it has a gorgeous imaginative play area for the children.
So… whilst you leisurely sip your cappuccino on a comfy couch, chat to friends, read the newspaper (without being interrupted every. single. sentence) and shop for hand-made toys, eco homewares, exotic recycled furniture and some great kidswear — the children are happily playing nearby in the enchanted forest or putting on a show in the gazebo! Happiness all around!
If you are visiting, be sure to check out the kidswear. Not only do they carry some great Aussie designers like Mill&Mia, Sudo and Jellyfish but they also carry a more obscure Balinese designer called Paul Ropp. His distinctive and vibrant pieces are truly amazing!
Family Life will also throw a fantastic kids birthday party, with every little detail taken care of!
- Sara
Sara in Melbourne
February 1st, 2010
My children hit the Parisian nightclub scene for the first time yesterday — and had a blast. I took them to a kids party at a nightclub, organised by the Kids event organisers So Chic Kidz. It was called “Every Child is a Superhero”.
About 100 Superheros all got together to party the afternoon away, have their face painted, eat loads of bonbons and play games. It looked a little bit like a small people’s comic book convention considering 80% of the children were dressed up as Spiderman (or Speederman as he is known as over here) but it was a lot of fun, and there are many worse things to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon than teach my kids some moves on the dance floor…
Check out the website for updates on upcoming events!
- Emilie
Emilie in Paris
January 23rd, 2010
The Mother Huddle is a fairly new blog which, in addition to great recipes, craft ideas and other interesting topics, regularly posts fantastic bullet lists from fellow bloggers. Such a great idea!
Molly from My Favorite Things wrote a list of 10 tips + tricks for traveling abroad; Gabrielle (the world-famous Design Mom) wrote about 16 Things she likes about Early December, and I am proud to announce that the latest bullet list is mine: Fifteen original activities to keep your kids entertained in- house on a rainy autumn or winter day, without turning on the computer or the television (I know, that title is insanely long). Check it out!!
xxx Esther
P.S. The super-cute picture is from last-century’s Dutch illustrator Rie Cramer…
Esther in Amsterdam
December 21st, 2009
It’s such a great thing to do art projects with kids. They really enjoy it, and it’s so fantastic to see them explore their creative skills. My 4-year-old is especially fond of craft projects, and she’s getting really good at them too!
Sometimes, though, I admit that my life is a bit too hectic to plan around complex art projects. I always have the best intentions, but I just end up without the right materials, without a great idea, or simply without the time to plan the whole thing. And this is exactly why Eye Can Art is SUCH a great idea!
Every Eye Can Art kit is completely developed by professional art teachers and provides everything you need for a fantastic and original art project (including scissors!). There are currently four art projects in the range, and there’s enough material in every box to repeat the project multiple times.
My daughter invited her neighbour the other day to road test one of the kits, and within an hour they finished the two self portraits pictured (and two more prints), and, with my guidance, were able to do all the steps needed by themselves! The instruction booklet was very easy to understand, and also gives very useful background information to the children, in our case what print-making exactly means, and examples by professional artists who use the same techniques in their work.
I’m seriously impressed by these kits and am planning to never be without one again — they’re just so great to have around. And, I also think they make fantastic gifts for birthdays… or for under the Christmas tree!
In the US, Eye Can Art kits are available through the website; for the rest of the world, you can use the Etsy site.
xxx Esther
Esther in Amsterdam
December 14th, 2009
Sometimes we experience moments with our kids that bring tears to our eyes. Like recently, when my 2-year-old boy bravely stepped forward to sing his St. Maarten song for the strangers in the doorway, raising his homemade lantern in his hand, trying to sing the well memorized song but barely making himself heard thanks to losing his voice to a bad cold… So brave. So sweet. SO totally adorable.
Or this morning, when I downloaded Peekaboo Farm for him on my Iphone and the sweetest look of happy surprise on his face made me nearly eat him up! (I immediately downloaded peekaboo Wild too, another instant success.)
Peekaboo Farm and Peekaboo Wild are super cute educational Iphone applications aimed at one and two-year-olds, available in both English and Spanish. All the graphics are designed by Divya Srinivasan, regular contributor to the New Yorker, and are seriously very well done.
A total recommendation, both from my snotty son and me!
xxx Esther
Esther in Amsterdam
December 4th, 2009
Cookie baking is big in our house, especially when the weather is grim like today, and as you can see from the picture we’ve started to collect quite a variety of cutters. My son loves picking out which ones to use (currently the bear and the lion are particular favourites). I pick cutters up from all sorts of places but I do find Cakes Cookies and Crafts Shop a corker — especially as they usually offer 4 for the price of 3. Cox & Cox also do some good ones (but more on them later as they definitely deserve their own post).
Today however we used our new kid-friendly cutters
by Swiss cooking brand Kuhn Rikon. They are brilliant because they have handles for easy pressing, and the shapes are less fiddly for transferring from work-top to baking sheet. In fact the whole Kinderkitchen range is fantastic for young cooks and is a big feature in our letters to Father Christmas (I’m personally yearning after the Mouse Measuring Cups
).
I’ve tried various cookie recipes that are suitable for using cutters on and I find most to be a bit bland and dry, so I usually stick to using Jane Grigson’s recipe for shortbread (see below), which is delicious, easy to ‘cut’ and particularly good splattered with melted chocolate. If you have a fab cookie recipe that works with cutters then please let me know!
Jane Grigson’s Recipe for Shortbread (taken from her book English Food
):
-225g Plain Flour
-75g Corn Flour
-200g Butter
-100g Caster Sugar
Sift the flours together into a large bowl, add the butter (at room temp) and sugar mix to combine into a dough (a good 4 or 5 mins). Roll out, cut into shapes and then bake in the oven at 180 degrees for about 12 mins (or until very slightly browning at edges).
How easy is that!
For a printable version of this recipe, click here.
(NB1: if you do decide to take a look at English Food check out the Parsnip Cake on page 318 (of Hardback version) – it has become a firm family favourite in our house).
(NB2: Again if you do have a look at the book I must warn you it is not very glossy as there are no pictures but it is a fascinating history of English recipes and every recipe I’ve tried from the book turns out great!)
-Mo
Mo in London
December 1st, 2009
I’m not sure where the name ’sand cookies’ comes from, but my mum used to bake these cookies when I was little; I remember sitting on the kitchen counter helping her decorate the cookies with almonds and raisins… and making sure the dough was tasty, of course!
Yesterday I tried making them with my kids and it was a hit. The recipe is quick and simple and the cookies just need 15 minutes in the oven, so you get fast results which is always a good thing when cooking with kids. They’re tasty too and don’t require a lot of sugar.
Here’s the recipe:
- 250 grams flour
- 1 bag of vanilla sugar (or a teaspoon of essence)
- 100 grams sugar
- 125 grams butter
- 1 egg
Mix all ingredients in a bowl (I used the hand mixer first and then kneaded the dough with my hands). Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, about ¼ inch or ½ cm thick. Cut into shapes and decorate with walnuts, almonds and raisins. Brush with some beaten egg to give a nice shine to the cookies.
You can also use my mum’s technique: roll the dough into a thick sausage (about 5 cm / 2″ diameter), put it in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes and slice cookies from the sausage, about ¼ inch or ½ cm thick. Decorate with almonds, walnuts and raisins and brush with egg.
The cookies need 15 minutes in a medium hot oven (200° C or 400° F).
Enjoy!
xxx Esther
PS For an easy-to-print PDF of this recipe, click here.
Esther in Amsterdam
November 20th, 2009
You would think that in a city like Paris the patisserie market would be saturated. But there was one thing missing — a patisserie specializing in kid’s cakes! Now we have Chez Bogato, a fabulous kids bakery that makes the best birthday cakes ever! Castles, crowns, tigers and shoes…there is nothing they cannot make into a cake.
If your little one is such a cooking enthusiast that only a cake he has made himself will do, you can throw the birthday party at the Bogato atelier where the kids get to decorate their own cakes. Another option is to have the team come to you with all the equipment needed and throw a party in the comfort of your own home.
Finally you can order the cakes via the online boutique or go visit the patisserie in the 14th arrondissement at:
7 rue Liancourt, Paris 14e.
Open for Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 7pm.
Tel. 09 61 05 04 00
As I said, a patisserie like Chez Bogato was seriously missing here in Paris….
- Emilie
Emilie in Paris
November 14th, 2009
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