TOYS & GAMES
Treasure baskets - our revolutionary discovery for baby play
We have recently discovered treasure baskets in our house and they really have been quite revolutionary for play. I am full of play ideas for my eldest daughter Lily, who is two, I create toys from cardboard and love thinking up fun games we can play with things we have around our home. But for ...
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FASHION
Good Work Ethic & Entrepreneurial Teenagers
When I was growing up, and as teenagers, we didn't get an allowance. We didn't get pocket money. And we didn't expect to get all the things we wanted. This may sound harsh, but it wasn't at all. It was normal to us and totally fine. We knew that we could work, we could find ...
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PARENTING
Black History Month -- it isn’t just a month
[caption id="attachment_80686" align="alignnone" width="640"] Nelson Mandela by Chris Van Wyk[/caption] As we arrive in November, you will have recently learnt a lot more about Black History than you will have done since, well, maybe June. 2020, it seems, has been a bumper year. October was Black History Month here in the UK (February takes that title ...
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TOYS & GAMES
Black owned games brand for all the family - Very Puzzled
I wanted to share this glorious black owned puzzles brand on here. I discovered them earlier this year before being gifted another of their products, their colour- in tshirt, more recently. Very Puzzled is a toys and games brand and is Dad-run. It was born from a mission to provide black children and families with ...
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CELEBRATIONS
How we do Halloween, when we don’t do Halloween.
As a child, growing up in a part of South London which was, at the time (early 90’s) rather under-represented, Halloween was a given. Halloween seemed to be everywhere, and everyone celebrated it. Or at least that’s how it felt when I was 7 years old. I had a couple of very makeshift outfits, remember ...
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BOOKS
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai - an autobiography for older children
I have fallen in love with the work from Thanhha Lai and her poetric writings. Inside Out & Back Again is an autobiographical novel written in verse. It captures one year in the life of ten year old Kim Hàbook which reflects Lai's own childhood experience of fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and ...
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BOOKS
Seasonal book rotation, do you do this too?
We completed our seasonal book rotation! Every few months, we update our home with something special and we also pull out some books to acknowledge the season. We keep it quite simple but some of our family like to go all out. And that is fantastic for us when we get the chance to visit ...
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SERVICES
Creating a Rosemood custom photo book -- documenting our summer travels
Not so long ago I spent an evening on a lagoon beach in Galicia. I was eating sardines straight from the tin with crusty pieces of bread. The last sunny rays of the day were warming my back as I was lazily watching my husband navigate his SUPboard in the shallow waters in front of me, ...
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SERVICES
Discussion -- What Subscription/Delivery Services do you use?
I've always loved drawing inspiration and reading discussions on this platform, whether small or more complex parenting topics. So I wanted to pop in here and quickly ask a very profound question; what subscription-based delivery services does your family use that you would recommend? Ha! Serious question. I'm curious if there are any subscription-based services out ...
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HOUSEKEEPING AND ORGANIZATION
Organising your child's wardrobe for the school year
Even if you haven't done it yet, you may have started thinking about a re-org in your child's closet and updating their wardorbe for the season. Every spring, like many do, we spend some time deep cleaning our home. We put the heavier coats and boots away and bring out lighter clothing and sandals. But in ...
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EDUCATION
Autumnal Artworks for Home Learning
As the wind brings in the seasonal change, we are welcoming in the Autumnal opportunity to incorporate some art appreciation into our home learning. My children are under 5 so art appreciation is about the visual right now but slowing creeping in is the background and stories behind the works. By using famous artworks we ...
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PARENTING TIPS
Moving abroad made eas(ier) - 5 tips and thoughts
This week on Instagram, I shared the news of my family and I moving abroad (indefinitely) to France. I received so many wonderful messages of congratulations, excitement and support as well as a lot of questions about how we had done it from people wanting to do the same. I’ve shared below the main ways ...
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TEENAGERS
Clothing allowance -- when, and how much to give?
A few months ago we started giving Sara a clothing allowance. She is now 15 years old, and it seemed appropriate to start giving her some financial independence and ownership of her choices concerning style and fashion. With the decision of giving her 'clothing money', as we say here in The Netherlands, came the immediate ...
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BOOKS
"Tiny, perfect things" by M.H. Clark and Madeline Kloepper
"Tiny, perfect things" is one of those picture books that help you find joy simply by observing what goes on in your own neighbourhood. And that's quite delightful! A recommendation from a while back, it made its way to our collection this summer. I am so glad it did! In this beautiful story by M.H. ...
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PARENTING
And So, September Is Here
It felt as though it would never come, but the longest summer is now over, and we have truly hit Autumn here in London. My children and I are preparing for new starts – my daughter begins reception next week, my son starts nursery the week after and I will head back to work after ...
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BOOKS
My Hair is a Garden, written and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera - A lovely book to celebrate beauty in diversity!
I discovered this beautifully illustrated book when trying to find a book to help my daughter appreciate her hair. I'm very intentional about curating my daughters toys and books. I want her to learn from every experience and I want every experience to give her tools to see herself in the most positive light. This ...
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PARENTING TIPS
10 Tips for Working at Home with Kids during COVID-19
How's everyone doing? School? No school? Back-to-work? Still at home? I want to preface this post by saying I am by no means an expert at working from home fulltime with kids also at home fulltime. It's a big difference from working at home while your kids are at school or camp. Just before COVID, I accepted a ...
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BOOKS
'Counting on Katherine' by Helaine Becker, Illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
Having recently watched the movie, 'Hidden Figures' with the girls I was beyond excited to have found, Counting on Katherine. It's an excellent biography of Katherine Johnson who was the genius mathematician who helped make the Apollo 11 landings on the moon possible. She also helped at a critical stage in the return of Apollo ...
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CRAFTS AND DIY
DIY "ABC" Letter Tracing Chalkboard
My daughter is nearly three and lately she has shown an increased interest in writing. She has been holding a pencil and pretending to write for ages, but now she she is able to identify letters and attempts to draw them. I wanted to find a way to help her practice writing letters. I prefer ...
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OUTDOORS
Little Green Fingers for the Summer Garden
Summer here in London is still young enough that we can get a good crop of veggies and herbs going in even the smallest of city gardens or balconies, and with that comes many opportunities of learning for my two little gardeners. Even though I am a trained Montessori teacher, it has been a learning ...
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HEALTH & CARE
Aromatherapy, a gentle way to soothe our minds anytime
Regularly, we use aromatherapy in our home to help soothe our minds and create an ambiance. It subtly makes the air like nature has entered the room and helps us feel more relaxed. In the cooler months, I enjoy candles. Especially the warm gentle fragrance of natural beeswax candles. It's such a treat then. But ...
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PARENTING
Welcome, Mari! Our new contributor from Chicago :)
What wonderful, strong and talented women have joined our team recently. It fills me with so much pride and gratitude... Our community is growing, on all levels it is! I'm incredibly happy to introduce our third new Babyccino contributor today. I met Mari when we connected online, after she reached out to us when we ...
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DECOR AND FURNITURE
The LEMO chair -- the easiest adjustable high chair from Cybex.
In the beginning of 2020 (pre Covid -- gosh, it feels like such a long time ago!), I travelled to Frankfurt to see the trade fair stand of Cybex, where one of my friends was working at the time. It was such fun to see her, but also to discover all of the innovative products ...
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