Beamish Wild School Holiday Camp - Another Big Day Out

We were recently invited to road test Beamish Wild School Holiday Camp.

Obviously we jumped at the chance to have another Big Day and go build dens. climb trees and take part in a host of fab activities, here's how our day went...

Beamish Wild is an activity centre set unsurprisingly in the beautiful countryside of Beamish, well in the grounds of Beamish Hall to be exact. 

We arrived on a bright Sunday morning in plenty of time to have a play on the rope Park and then went to meet Tom our leader for the day.

Safety first

Our first activity was crate stack tower. The kids were tasked with building the tallest crate tower they could WHILE TWO OF THEIR TEAM MATES WERE STANDING ON TOP! Peanut was very pleased to get 10 crates high!

We had lots of fun and Tom was helpful and encouraging always ensuring everyone's safety. He even managed to rope (literally) me into taking part....

Then we went tree climbing and Tom talked first about setting a personal goal and how this wasn't about achieving what someone else said but a personal challenge!  The kids all did really well and we were very ready for a lunch break after all the excitement.

I was really pleased at this point that Peanut had chosen her lovely Aspen Ecco Boots with goretex, as you can see from the pictures we were very muddy but these boots kept her feet warm and dry and didnt hinder her adventures at all 

Huge thanks to www.thatspeachy.com for this awesome picture of my girl 

The first activity after lunch was den building, I won't lie this is one of my favourite things to do with the kids and everyone really got into the spirit of things. There was espionage, spying, wanton destruction and some very serious interior design going on in the kids den, the adults I think had so much fun helping them and watching them really get along that we totally failed to build anything of our own. 

I think the kids would have all happily played in this little clearing for the rst of the day but the activity came to an end with the kids being declared winners

We wrapped up the day with a round ( I don't think that is the right term) of Archery and then drove home some very happy, mucky and tired children !

Image courtesy of  NorthEastFamilyFun.co.uk

I wouldn't hesitate in recommending these school holiday camps, my boy who never wants to leave my side has asked if he can be booked in for the next holiday! They are an awesome way to develop creativity and confidence a lovely environment to make new friends and I guarantee a good nights sleep for the kids afterwards! I think they are really good value for money (especially if you use discount code BLOG17 for 10% off) and if you happen to have a spare day and kids all in the right age range you can drop them off and head straight to The Stables to enjoy some of their scrumptious food and drinks, and spend the day chilling in the peaceful grounds 

But don't just take my word for it, you can watch our video ..

and check out these reviews from My Boys Club, North East Family Fun and Here Come The Hoopers 

The summer camps run every school holiday from Easter through to the end of October. We offer a 1, 2 or 3 day option, with a wide range of dates throughout. To check availability click the tab at top of this page. The days run from 8.45am (earliest drop off) until 15:30pm.

Costs start at £20 for 1 day £38 for 2 days and £54 for the 3 day option (Lunch not included). Your little ones are sure to be entertained with activities including:

• Den Building
• Fire Lighting
• High ropes activities including Crate Stack, Leap of faith, Tree Creeper
• Woodland Crafts
• Treasure Hunts
• Sports
• Rounders
• Arts and Crafts
• Mini Olympics
• Ultimate frisbee
• And more

Huge thanks to Tom for being patient, kind, encouraging and looking after our offspring. Also huge thanks to Beamish Wild for inviting us 

We are Goretex Ambassadors

Fashion for Children with Sensory Processing Issues

My boy is a very sensitive soul and has issues with sensory processing so we try and stay away from the things that cause upset like bright flashing lights, loud noises and too much sensory input,but we have things in place that help.

Sometimes if we want to go to a party or a show on holiday The Golden Child will take with him his ear defenders and happily watch while not feeling overwhelmed. We try to keep noise and music to 'normal' levels and when asking him to do things we make instructions short concise and check he understood. 

When it comes to clothes he has certain things that he takes issue with, he doesn't like tags in his t shirts and he hates the seam on the inside of his socks he like soft comfortable clothing and natural fibres.

So without making a big deal out of his sensory issues here are some of our ideas for clothing that is comfortable and doesn't irritate

We choose tees that are collarless and soft cotton is our favourite.

We cut out our tags this is easy it doesn't take a lot of effort and it means we aren't cutting out a whole swathe of wardrobe, he loves wearing funky t-shirts and we both love this skull t-shirt from Asda which comes with a waistcoat and scarf. 

Trousers are normally elastic waist and his absolute favourite are his cotton waist jeans and any joggers!

We buy plain black socks which go on inside out, simple and perfect for him, no fiddly seam and he is as happy as can be plus you can't tell they are on the wrong way.

And for shoes we choose easy on and no laces, we found these ECCO Urban Snowboarder boots were perfect for us, they have a lace which is tightened using a slider and they literally just slide on his feet, no fuss no messing. Also because they are made with Goretex they withstand any amount of puddle jumping, sand running, hill climbing fun! Weve worn these all through autumn and winter and they are still standing the test of time!

We were sent these boots as par of our Goretex Big Days Out Ambassador role

Wild Science Global Science Challenge

Wild Science have launched their Wild Science Global Science Challenge and to celebrate we recently received a Wild Science Cake Soap Factory

They look good enough to enjoy with a cuppa  BUT THEY ARE NOT FOOD

The Cake soap was fun to make, it does need adult help for the melting parts but both the girls loved making the Cake Soap creations and are very proud of themselves.The soap in this kit is melted and moulded to make almost any solid shape. Whipping the soap creates a stable foam that can be piped onto soap cakes to make any sweet creation you can imagine. Learn about solids, liquids, stable foam, floating and sinking. Make cupcake soaps, foamy buttercream and soapy decorations. Then use as soap or give to loved ones as gifts!

I love that these kits feel like just a fun activity but actually open discussion about loads of sciencey stuff (that is a real technical term!)

The kit has everything you need 

Ready to Create

Here are some things we learned , and by we I mean mammy...

1- the melting process is quick, concentrate and do not try to multitask, forget the microwave and then melt the whole beaker....

Post 'distracted mammy - microwave explosion'

2 Food colouring stains, aprons and even gloves may be a good idea...

3 When it comes to glitter more is apparently best

4 melted soap base and water when whisked hard creates the best foamy play substance! 

The Wild! Science Global Science Challenge is giving families (2 adults and 2 children) everywhere the chance to win:

• A trip to Orlando Florida,
• Entry to Disney World,
• Accommodation t a 5-star resort for 7 days
• Car hire for 7 days
• A full set of Wild Science products
• Entry to the Kennedy Space Centre to meet a real astronaut! (I'm actually too excited about this part!)

How to enter:

1. Buy a Wild! Science Kit and send a receipt copy with your online application
2. Design and create an awesome new Wild! Science Kit
3. Write and illustrate a basic instruction book to show other kids how to use your awesome Wild! Science Kit.

Cake Soap Factory is available from Flair and is priced at £14.99

 Here are some more pictures from our creative fun