Kids Activities – Mediocre Mum

Summer Holiday Camps for Kids

Outdoor Holiday Activities for Kids near St Albans

I really didn’t think this one through. On Sunday we arrived home after two weeks of camping; playing in the woods, tenting it and building fires. So, when I checked my diary and realised I had booked my daughter in for a Bushcraft Survivor Course with Wild Child Activities first thing on Monday morning, I wasn’t sure how she was going to take it, but she absolutely loved it. It probably helps that she is obsessed with Bear Grylls.

Wild Child Activities is based at Phasels Wood Activity Centre in Kings Langley (near Hemel Hempstead). They do an exciting selection of Holiday Activities for kids 7+ including Archery, Animation, Fencing and Residential Camps for kids 8 and over. I’m all up for getting kids outside. Upon dropping her off, I was rather impressed with the facilities. The Centre is set in 95 acres of rolling meadowlands, woodlands and fields in Hertfordshire. It’s only 20 minutes from St Albans, access is via Kings Langley and the return journey takes you along the A41.

I’ll leave the 7 year old to tell you more about it.

So how was it?

‘It was really good.’

What did you do?

Water Filtration

‘We roasted marshmallows, made dens and then played games. We had to try and clean water by ourselves. We got a trouser leg and one big pot of clean water, they asked us to put mud in it and all stuff icky like leaves, we had a tipi thing and we tied the leg of the trouser to it, we then tied a knot in the bottom of the trouser leg and we poured the dirty water in it and clean water dropped out of the bottom of the leg.’

Games

‘We played a game of Man Hunt which was different to normal. Two teams go off and hide and then they have to try and spot each other without getting spotted first. If you are spotted you lose. It’s a good game. We played 4 rounds.’

Den Building

‘We were given a piece of rope and a sheet, so then we had to try and make a den, we could use all the materials that were all around us in the woods but we were not allowed to pick things off the trees.’

How come there were so many adults?

‘Two teams always stick together, there are three adults. Two of them go into the woods and one stays with each team and the third stays at the base camp getting the fire and everything else ready for when we came back.’

Would you do it again?

‘Yes, because I enjoyed it and I found it interesting. My favourite bit was playing the games, because we got to go into all the parts of the wood except the boundary line.’

How many kids were there?

‘There were 10 children in the group.’

Did you meet some nice kids?

‘Yes, I was the youngest and the oldest person was 10 or 11. I worked well with another little girl, we worked as a team when playing Man Hunt and Den Building.’

Residential Camps for Next Year

We will definitely be looking to book more sessions next year. I’m particularly interested in the Residential Camps but she won’t be 8 years old for a few weeks. The Residential Camps include two full days of outdoor adventures and Bushcraft Activities and an overnight stay in a Bell Tent Village.

We had the opportunity to stay in a Bell Tent during our Camping Trip and fell in love with them.

Trampoline for a Small Garden

I don’t know what possessed me to agree to an 8ft Trampoline from Asda. Our garden is tiny, at most measuring approximately 20 x 30 feet. The look on my husband’s face when the trampoline arrived said it all really as I hadn’t told him it was coming. It took a bit of persuading to get him to help put it together as he wasn’t convinced.

However, with Summer looming and no prospect of a big trip this year, I really need stuff to entertain her and she’s always wanted one. Our garden isn’t that enticing and she rarely plays out there. We did try a small Wendy House but she has outgrown that now.

Assembly

It really wasn’t that difficult to put together. It came in two boxes, with all the pieces, including a tool to stretch the springs and a set of instructions. Like with any instructions for self-assembly, they could have been a bit clearer but we managed.

I’d read a lot of the reviews beforehand and was prepared for it to take about 3 hours. It took us about 2.5 hours and very few domestics. We did have to improvise on a few occasions as a few of the punched holes didn’t line up but nothing a hammer wouldn’t sort. We did end up with 6 random plastic disks left over, but they don’t seem to be an integral part.

Design

I opted for the 8 foot design so it wouldn’t dominate the garden, but if I’m honest it does a bit, but we still have enough space to shift it around so the grass underneath survives. I love the fishbowl design of the netting as it gives kids more space, on a smaller trampoline, to wave their arms about. It’s low enough to the ground so you don’t really need a ladder. The black looks more stylish/contemporary than the usual green or pink ones. But most of all the springs are on the outside of the netting so no danger of trapped fingers or toes. A few reviews mentioned issues with the zipper but we haven’t experience that yet.

Capacity

According to the literature, it’s designed for one child up to a maximum weight of 50kg. But as you can see, which I wouldn’t recommend, my husband had a bit of a play on it as well. As a parent, I’d be happy for her and one other 7 year old child to play on it.

Value for money

The 8 Ft Plum Trampoline comes in at just under £200, you can get cheaper 8 ft trampolines, but I’d rather spend a bit more for the safety features and quality. It’s a bit heavier which means it’s not going to blow away the next time the wind kicks up but still light enough to move around the garden.

Our Verdict

It’s one of the best things we have done, we have had to sacrifice a part of our garden, but our daughter is hysterical with happiness.

She spent most of the weekend on it and we had to drag her off it this morning before school. She can’t wait to have a friend over to play soon.

How to build a simple den with kids

How to Make a Den

You know when you see something so simple and genius and have to share…….

As a child I spent hours building Dens which we call Forts in Canada

We went to Lollibop UK last weekend at Hatfield House in Herts, a lot of it was targeted at younger children but we noticed an area on the map for Den Building and Bear Grylls Survival which we thought would be great for slightly older children. We eventually found ‘ Den City’ (clever name) tucked behind the main tent. My initial reaction was ‘is that it?’ as it was just a series of ropes tied to the trees.

Den Building for Small Gardens

But boy was I wrong, the girls aged 6 and 7 were supplied with a series of sheets and clothes pegs. The girls were completely engaged and spent a good hour or hour and a half building dens.

How to build a den

I was inspired and have now hit the local charity shops for sheets and curtains, Wilkos for clothes pegs and the local DIY shop for some rope and tent pegs. We now have a basket of den building supplies, perfect for keeping kids entertained during the school holidays. Our garden is tiny but we do have a tree so this should work a treat. I’m all up for anything that gets the kids outside and develops their imagination.

Outdoor things to do with Kids Near St Albans

Mead Open Farm, near Leighton Buzzard and Go Ape, Black Forest

With Summer holiday looming I thought you may be interested in a few days out I discovered for kids recently near St Albans, Herts. These two places are perfect for letting kids burn off a bit of that energy.

Mead Open Farm

On the weekend we went to Mead Open Farm, it’s about 30 miles from St Albans, Herts near Leighton Buzzard. I’d heard good things about their Christmas Grottos in the past but have never made it. It was absolutely perfect for two nearly 7 year old girls.

Open Mead Farm, Leighton Buzzard

It’s your typical Farm, but was a great time to visit (early July) as there were loads of new babies. Upon entering the farm you are faced with a wonderfully new adventure playground. Luckily as the weather was nice we managed to avoid the soft play area, it is perfectly adequate but I have an irrational fear of the places.

Go Karts Mead Open Farm

Even though the car park was fairly busy the site is big enough to swallow people up. There were absolutely no queues and plenty of places to sit and enjoy a coffee whilst the girls played. They absolutely loved the Go-Karts, I have to admit that I imagined they were motorized but was pleased they were not. Once the girls got them going, they zoomed around squealing with laughter.

Mead Open Farm Leighton Buzzard

Within minutes they were rigged up in climbing harnesses and exploring the Sky Train. There was no time limit and they could stay on as long as they liked. At this point, I want to commend the young staff that work there, true professionals, if the children wobbled they joined in and helped them overcome their fear with gentle encouragement.

Rock Climbing Open Mead Farm

Similar happened on the climbing wall, my own daughter was struggling, so the attendant put a harness on and climbed alongside her encouraging her. She didn’t manage to make it to the top, but was pleased with her efforts.

There was also mini-golf, which could have used a bit of TLC, but the girls still loved it. Thankfully for us, we managed to avoid the tractor ride. :-)

All in all a really good day out. If you decide to get a yearly membership they will deduct the cost of your day ticket, so it may be something worth looking into.

Black Park, Near Slough – Go Ape

Go Ape Black Park

We’ve been to Black Park before and absolutely love it, it’s only about 30 minutes away from St Albans. It’s a beautiful site with a lake you can walk around, a very impressive adventure playground, cafe, open spaces and recently they’ve added Go Ape Tree Top Junior. Kids can climb through the trees and zoom down the Zipwire.

Go Ape Junior Tree Tops

The sessions are one hour long and they can go around as many times as they like. It’s suitable for children 6+ years. What I really like about it is the children are connected to a safety rope the entire time they’re in the trees, so there is no chance of them falling.

Go Ape Junior Treetop Black Park

I really was tempted to have my daughter’s birthday party there this year, but the only thing that held me back was worrying if some of the younger children bottled it. I may wait till next year when they are a bit older. It’s £17 per child for parties and you can also hire the Forest Shelter and lay on your own picnic. It’s definitely on the list of future birthday venues.

Even if you don’t fancy Go Ape, I would strongly encourage you to visit Black Park, take a picnic and enjoy the facilities. There are also cycle tracks.

We’re off canoeing the week after next and will let you know how we get on.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Tears and laughter!

At what age do children show empathy?

To give myself a bit of a break on the weekend, I’d checked the weather report and it looked grim, so I booked my daughter and hubby into the Cinema to see How to Train Your Dragon 2. She’d watched the first one and has also watched How to Train Your Dragon Legends on Netflix along with countless other kids films on there.

Textbook lesson in ‘How to Do A Sequel.’

My husband came home and raved about it, saying it was just as good if not better than the first. He said she was sitting on the edge of her seat most of the time smiling, totally taken by the story. However, I don’t want to spoil it for you, but there was a part that made her cry, apparently someone dies but I’m not going to tell you who. It sounds like the writers have taken it to a deeper darker level, maybe they realise the children who watched the original in 2010 have grown up a bit. As I haven’t seen it, do you think it’s too dark for littlies?

Personally, I think it’s a sign of a good movie if it can make you laugh, cry or think.

With School Holidays looming, I’m doing my usual panic of things to do, especially if it rains. I’ve been trolling the net looking for Dragon Activities and was inspired by the movie How to Train a Dragon 2 and it’s characters.

All Things Dragon – How to Survive Summer Holidays

How to Get Rid of Hiccups

Teach her how to get rid of hiccups by drinking a glass of water upside down. I’ve done this for years and it really does work.

Create a Joke Book

How to Train Your Dragon Jokes – my daughter is really into jokes at the moment. We may sit down and create our own Joke Books and see if we can make Toothless Laugh.

Shadow Puppets

Shadow Puppet Template from British Museum

We hope to do a fair amount of camping this summer and shadow puppets are genius at night in the tent with a torch. You can find instructions and a template for making your own at the British Museum.

Play a Game of Tag

If we can get a few of her friends around I love the idea of playing Dragon Tag. It requires to teams, children form a human chain, with a scarf as a tail and try to steal each other’s tails. Chains can’t become separated.

Learn a New Song

I may take the opportunity to introduce her to one of my all time favourites ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ by Peter, Paul and Mary.

Bake a Cake

How to Make a Dragon Cake

Personally I think this one would push me over the edge, but if we’re really desperate we could have a go at making this Dragon Cake.

Dragon Boat Festival

I’ve never been to one but I’d love to check out a Dragon Boat Festival.

I really have gone off on a tangent but now have a few more things in my arsenal to survive the school holidays. :-)