April 9, 2019 | Leave a Comment
Easter Holidays are upon us and we have some great hints and tips for different fun activities to experience with the whole family for Easter.
Do you love a woodland day out with the family? Wanting to ensure your children have a great run around during the holidays, then take your children to the Woodland Trust. All the Woodland Trust woods are free to visit, find your local woodland trust wood here; https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/map/. Over the Easter period they have different Easter Activities for all ages, specific activities for ages 3-5 and 6+. You can download and print their activity sheets and take on the woodland adventure with you! Or set up your own mini adventure, using their activity sheets and placing Easter Eggs around for your children to hunt for.
Enjoy the glorious Easter weather with picnics. The fun can start prior to the picnic with making Easter themed foods, such as chocolate rice crispy Easter nests. Easy to prep and make and fun for the whole family! All you need is:
• Chocolate
• Butter
• Rice pops/krispies
• Golden Syrup
• Cupcake cases
• Easter themed chocolate and sweets to decorate
Hot Cross Buns can also be enjoyed throughout the Easter break, you can purchase all different flavours in different supermarkets. There are also Dairy Free and Gluten Free buns for allergy sufferers. Check your local supermarkets. Spend time making lovely foods for the picnic and then go on an adventure whilst searching for a great place to enjoy your picnic!
There are fantastic Zoo’s all over the Country and a great way to break up the Easter Holiday. You may be a parent busy working all week and want to have family fun at the weekend, then take a trip to the Zoo! Or planning a camping trip for the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, whether its raining or shining a trip to the Zoo will make everyone’s day great.
Looking for a Zoo near you, we have created a list of some of the best Zoo’s in the UK:
• ZSL London Zoo
• Yorkshire Wildlife Park
• Colchester Zoo
• Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo
• Chester Zoo
• Dudley Zoo and Castle
• Bristol Zoo Gardens
• Banham Zoo
• Edinburgh Zoo
There are always different offers for trips out at the Zoo, whether you are travelling with a Railcard or collecting Club Card vouchers. Look at deals you can get!
Perhaps your children love farm animals and having a muddy day out at the farm is more of the perfect day for your family. Make a picnic and take a trip to your nearest Farm.
Looking for a Farm near you? We have created a list of some of the ‘free’ Children’s Farms in the UK:
• Georgie City Farm, Edinburgh
• Deen City Farm, South-West London
• Stonebridge City Farm, Nottingham
• Bath City Farm, near Bath
• Surrey Docks Farm, South-East London
• Vauxhall City Farm, South London
Found inspiration for a day out? Search the internet and find a local Animal Farm to you!
Looking to Jazz up your Easter eggs this year or have children that have allergies and you all feel safer making your own eggs, then spend days making your own extra special chocolate eggs.
BBC GoodFood have four stages to make your own chocolate egg, so no need to fear >> https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-make-easter-egg
You could also make other Easter treats… perfected your Rice Krispie Easter Nests? Take it to the next level and make Rice Krispie eggs. Easter cupcakes and even homemade Hot Cross Buns. Baking can always be fun for the whole family and children can learn so many different skills. Sometimes it is worth spending less time in the outdoors and more time in the kitchen… with tasty treats to enjoy at the end of the day!
Planning a big Easter event over the weekend and wanting to make outfits extra special? Easter Bonnets are a tradition for many families and schools all over the Country. Spend time making Easter Bonnets with your children and jazz up their outfits. For boys, if they do not want a ‘bonnet’ you could make an Easter Cap! For extra fun, make this a competition with family friends and have Easter treats and gifts as a prize for the best bonnets or caps… Parents can dive into their competitive side!
Easter Baskets for Easter Egg Hunts. If your children are waiting all week for their Easter Egg Hunt Egg..stravaganza, start the excitement early with crafts to add to their hunt. Such as making their own baskets for the hunt.
Make an Easter Tree. At Christmas many families have Christmas tree’s and if your children love decorating a Christmas tree… then make a special Easter Tree and let your children decorate with all different egg-style decorations. You could also spend time making decorations for the Easter Tree. The perfect family tradition!
We hope these different days out and activities have helped give you some ideas of what you can do with the children this Easter holiday. Happy Easter from Harmony at Home x
February 6, 2018 | Leave a Comment
Nannies and Families, it’s nearly time for Pancake Day. This year Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday) falls on Tuesday the 5th of March 2019. It is the one day of the year that it is acceptable to have pancakes for dinner. It is a day that all children, nannies and families can enjoy and get involved with cooking and creating pancakes. It is a perfect opportunity for nannies and families to get the children involved with cooking. Nannies can use the day to encourage the children they care for to help in the kitchen, cooking up some delicious pancakes. Children can also be encouraged to put their creative minds to the test and see what topping flavours they can come up with.
Here are some pancake toppings that are known and loved by all children, nannies and families… and some slightly more obscure ones:
Sweet: Lots of different combinations that children will enjoy…
Savoury: Some people have their pancakes savoury… check out some of these topping ideas…
There are so many flavour combinations that can be created. Why not try a few different combinations and see which one is your favourite!
To make your pancake that little bit extra special, why not create an exciting design/shape with your pancakes or use your toppings to do so?
Here are a few deigns/shapes that you can have a go at creating:
A fun way to try out new designs and get creative with children. All you need to do is draw the outline of your desired shape with pancake mixture onto a heated pan, let it cook for a few seconds, fill in with more pancake mixture, cook further until golden brown and then flip to cook the other side. It may take practice and may not work out the first time, but it is a great way to be inventive and have fun in the kitchen.
You will need:
100g of plain flour
2 eggs
300ml of semi skimmed milk
1 tablespoon of sunflower or vegetable oil (plus extra for frying)
A pinch of salt
To make:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3374/perfect-pancakes
If you or someone in the family has a special dietary requirement, maybe you have an intolerance to gluten, dairy products or eggs, you don’t have to miss out on Pancake Day. These recipes are tailored to suit almost all requirements:
You will need:
125g of gluten free flour
1 egg
250ml of milk
Butter for frying
To make:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2920665/glutenfree-pancakes
You will need:
125g of plain flour
1 egg
300ml of help of coconut milk (used as a replacement for regular milk)
Sunflower or rice bran oil for frying
To make:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2920663/dairyfree-pancakes
You will need:
125g of gluten free flour
An egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg
250ml hemp of coconut milk (used as a replacement for regular milk)
Sunflower or rice bran oil for frying
To make:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2920662/egg-dairy-and-glutenfree-pancakes
Written by Emily Martin for Harmony at Home Limited. All Rights Reserved, 2017
July 11, 2017 | Leave a Comment
Nannies and Parents, do you get the ‘I’m hungry’ after school from your children or charges? After a full day at school, it is expected for your children or charges to come home hungry.
Instead of reaching for those unhealthy, sugary snacks, try mixing it up a bit with a variety of healthy snacks for your child to munch on. It can be hard to know what snack is best to give that is suitable to be consumed before dinner. The last thing you want is for them to feel full and not want to eat their dinner that you have prepared.
Cooking and baking is lots of fun and an activity that most children enjoy. It is a fantastic way to encourage them to eat healthy and allows you to introduce them to some new foods. Cooking also provides you with an opportunity to introduce some new skills, for example, weighing/ measuring out the ingredients, reading along with the recipe and identifying the correct ingredients. These skills are perfect to understand and establish when children are young.
When children need energy fast, a snack plate is the perfect thing to create. A small plate of their favourite healthy snacks always go down a treat.
A few great snacks to include:
These snack options also work really well on the go. If you find that your child or charge is hungry as soon as they come out of school, prepare a few of these easy snacks and take them with you to the school gate. A quick and easy food fix.
If you find that your child is still hungry or is looking for something slightly more filling, have a go at making these quick and simple snacks, perfect to fill a hole:
Fruit kebabs are fun, easy and healthy snacks that children love. Simply choose from a selection of different fruit, cut it into small, bite size chunks and let your child have a go a creating their own fruit kebab. Perfect treats to make that are not time consuming and are hassle free. A great way to encourage children to eat fruit by letting them get involved. Add some excitement to your kebabs by offering some yoghurt, honey or even chocolate dips on the side. This might be added as a special treat on a Friday to celebrate the end of the week.
A great snack to make after school with your children or charge. There are so many recipes available for you to choose form. The main ingredients include: butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and porridge oats. Adding extra’s to your flapjacks including, dried fruit, nuts or seeds can make a special addition to them.
Mini omelettes are the perfect snack to create and enable you to use up any vegetables. Simply whisk up some egg, add your chosen vegetables, pour the mixture into a muffin tin and bake. Extras (cheese) may also be added if desired. the great thing about these is you are able to store any leftovers in the fridge for up to a week.
A new spin on an apple. A great way to encourage children to eat fruit is by disguising it by turning it into a crisp. Simply slice up an apple, space it out onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and cook in the oven. Prior to putting in the oven add some cinnamon to give a dash of spice. These can take a little while to cook in the oven, so it might be a good idea to make a batch at the weekend ready to be served after school. They are perfect to store in an air tight container and keep in the cupboard as simple snacks.
Written by Emily Martin for Harmony at Home Limited. All Rights Reserved, 2017