PARENTING
Our Sunday constitutional
We have a routine in our house, which, until now, I hadn't even identified as as routine. On Sunday I drag everyone out of the house for a Sunday constitutional, as I like to call it: a Sunday stroll. We do this in most weather conditions and it is one of my favourite moments of ...
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TOYS & GAMES
The Best Sand Toy - a pail for the beach and beyond
This packable and very useful pail has become our number one toy on every holiday we have taken over the past year, and it is an essential anytime we go where water and play are the plan! We usually prefer natural baskets like this one for walks and collecting items. But, this pail is FDA food safe, BPA ...
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THE LITTLE THINGS
The Little Things: Apple picking and traditional Dutch apple pie
It's been over a year since our last The Little Things post! Maud had a little baby boy called Max in the meantime, and you know, life has been overall so very busy. But we both love these little projects of ours, so I'm super happy to finally share a new The Little Things story ...
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TEAM FAVOURITES
Team Favourites : Fifteen Best Rainwear Options
Rain, rain, go away... What do you and your family wear outdoors when the weather is wet and you don't want your clothes or spirits soaked. Rainwear is key! When Courtney and the family were in New Zealand, it basically rained for a month. You need really reliable rainwear so you can face the weather ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
A Perfect Summer Activity -- Solar Prints
Growing up I absolutely loved making solar prints, and now I get to create them with my daughter who loves them as well! Solar prints are also great to do with friends on weekends away, and has been a big hit. Solar prints, also known as cyanoprints, or sun prints, are made using photoreactive paper, ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Fun Nature Hunt Memory Game
Last week, during a lazy afternoon in St James' park, the kids and I came up with a game to while away some time in the sunshine - we're calling it the Nature Hunt Memory Game. I actually remember playing something very similar to this at Brownies when I was younger and I'm sure it's ...
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EDUCATION
Biology and Beauty -- Hatching Butterflies at Home
While on holiday last month, we received the most exciting parcel in the mail. On the box, it said 'LIVE INSECTS, OPEN IMMEDIATELY!’ And sparked a lot of curiosity and excitement. We opened up the box, a gift sent from our very clever friends, and inside was a cup of caterpillars waiting to become butterflies! ...
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OUTDOORS
The Micro Beach Wagon -- an excellent companion, even in the city
One of the pesky little things of living in this beautiful city of mine is transport. All my friends who live outside of Paris own a car. The simplicity of jumping into a car and driving to a shop, loading the groceries or bigger items from the trolly to the boot of the car and ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Painted Leaf Skeletons
Spring has definitely sprung here in London. The bare streets are now lined with billowing cherry blossom trees, daffodils are springing up in every park corner and the first of London's magnificent magnolias are starting to open up. I particularly love this change in season, it feels like the city is awakening after a long ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Family walks and how to display collected treasures
What do you normally do with those little treasures that children find on family walks? The inside of many jacket pockets and the back of many drawers are often their final resting place. Such a sad end, considering how much excitement, enthusiasm and pride accompanied their discovery. So instead of losing these beloved little ...
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OUTDOORS
Sowing seeds and planting beans in pretty paper plant pots
Last weekend we went to an outdoor food and craft market here in Amsterdam, and we came across a beautiful stand full of bags filled with dried beans in every size and colour, coming from every corner of the world. The children were completely captivated by the beauty and origin of all of these beans, ...
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FOOD
The Little Things: bread on a stick!
We have seen the first signs of spring here in Amsterdam, but still, they say it's going to be the coldest week so far this winter. So a good time to celebrate a bit of outdoor coldness for this new The Little Things post! We got together with three families in our team member Nina's gorgeous country ...
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BIRTHDAY PARTIES
A dolls' garden party for Ava's 5th birthday!
Ava recently turned 5 -- the age where a birthday party really, really matters. We had family and friends over on the day of her birthday (the so-called 'family party'), but she was also really looking forward to the party for her little friends. I had been really, really busy with work and all sorts of ...
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FOOD
Foraging (or collecting edible weeds)
Have you ever gone to your local park, forest or garden to collect edible weeds? My kids and I love to go out and pick our dinner in 'the wild'. It's fun, and I think it teaches them something about food and nature. Also, it motivates them to help prepare dinner (and eat it). We've been making ...
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BIRTHDAY PARTIES
Ivy's colouring party
Ivy turned six last week and we hosted a little party in our back garden to celebrate her big day. It's become a tradition in our family of hosting parties at home and on the actual day of the birthday rather than waiting for a weekend day to celebrate -- it's our way of keeping ...
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OUTDOORS
When the sea calls...
This past Saturday, despite the weather being quite cold and windy, we felt the urge to drive out of London and get ourselves to the seaside. Friends laughed at us when we told them we were going to drive two hours only to spend a cold day at the beach, but it turned out to be ...
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OUTDOORS
How to care for your tulips
I grew up in a small farming town about half way between Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. The area is known for the wonderful produce that is grown there, including all the delicious berries in the summer, but is probably best known for the hundreds of acres of tulip fields that bloom each spring (I have previously ...
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AUTUMN CRAFTS
A fun way to use all those conkers your kids have collected
My friend, AC, is one of those wild outdoorsy types (in the coolest of ways, of course) who embraces the outdoors, no matter the weather, and comes up with the most creative and fun ways to entertain her kids. She's such a fun mama, and I'm really hoping she'll rub off on me a bit in the ...
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OUTDOORS
This boy, and balls!
Pim's football (soccer) season has started and yesterday we went to the first training of the term. Pim really enjoys his weekly football, and Tamar and I always joke that he is a real team player, but certainly not a champ. Meaning, he loves to be in the company of his friends, chit-chatting with the boys and having a good time -- ...
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AUTUMN CRAFTS
The Little Things... A Nature Scavenger Hunt
Beautiful leaves are falling on the forest grounds, beechnuts, hazelnuts and chestnuts can easily be found (a tasty discovery!), and upon close forest floor examination, a world of interesting insects can be explored. A little walk outdoors, just a few steps in the autumn nature, opens up an entire world! Ava and her two little ...
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FOOD
Perfect Picnics!
Did you know that last week was National Picnic Week here in the UK? It's an initiative to encourage people to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. (With this lousy weather we're having, it's true we all need a bit of encouragement! Blaaah!) Anyway, we thought we would roll with the picnic theme and ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
Don't forget the birds!
This is a project I remember from when I was a child. Every winter my mum would buy a big bag of peanuts, and we would sit down and string them together in long garlands, to decorate the trees and feed the hungry birds. This week, the birds must be especially hungry (it's freezing cold ...
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INTERESTING ARTICLES
Stick significance
Right next to our front door there's an ever present collection of sticks. Our 5-year-old son Pim is like a dog, seriously! Every time we go to the park, he will find a stick and insists on taking it home. Some of them are too big for him to carry alone, so he has to ...
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