Need information about parenting - education, kids and schools in the UK? Curriculum, homework, bullying, nits, school dinners, maths, literacy, early years, name tapes, uniform, Primary ... This website is for all families who want the best for their children - with a little extra for adoptive familes who face a pretty steep learning curve.  

Why not clear up and clean out this weekend - check out our best idea for a housebound weekend.

Adopting soon? we have all you need to know about raising an instant family.

Membership of Pleasemiss.co.uk is now free - just register for access to hundreds of curriculum linked homework sheets - today!  

• CAN FAST FOOD BE HEALTHY?  We check out burger chains to see if they are delivering on their healthy food promises.  If you've ever had problems getting the fruit bags in kids meals, please enter our survey on the left.
• Adopting school age children? - why you should start building your network NOW!   

Grandma’s Blog……………….

Spooks, Sparklers and Santa - a busy time for grandparents is upon us

Well, another half term, Halloween and Guy Fawkes have passed and here we are faced with shops full of Christmas fare trying to entice the hard earned coppers out of our pockets.

Half term was great in our house – our five year old granddaughter, come carer, come jailer, come head girl came to stay.   Our daughter always asks if we are sure we want her for a ‘whole week’ as if we are committing ourselves to some torture from which she cannot save us!!  Well, we all have  a great time – our granddaughter seems to enjoy herself, despite declaring that she misses her brothers (who she spends the majority of her time fighting with) and her Mummy and Daddy.  This ‘missing’ lasts all of one or two minutes – usually when she has just failed to get her own way!!

Great ideas for half term are – a visit to a ten pin bowling alley (provided you can lift the bowls and are relatively fit) – a visit to the local theatre – if you have one – can be magical.   We went to see the local production of Oliver and were enthralled – our five year old loved it – the children coming up out of the trap door – the ‘adorable’ Mr Bumble – the cheeky artful dodger and of course Fagin.   Do take every opportunity to visit these live productions – the enthusiasm and dedication and sheer enjoyment they provide is fantastic.

Cooking is another time filler – and very satisfying too – for the young cook and the appreciative grandfather who has to sample everything!

Halloween is always enjoyable for us – my husband and I live over 100 miles away from our family but the local children all make up for that.   We had 23 visitors this year – all painted and dressed up and very well mannered and appreciative of the bags of goodies we had prepared.  

Fireworks are my biggest nightmare and I dread the days leading up to and following the 5th.   We were horrified this year to see all the BIG supermarkets selling fireworks – all displaying them in the key spots as you enter the stores.   What a shame they can’t make the same show for the Remembrance Day poppies – we haven’t found any yet!

So, what can we find for the kids to do for Christmas?   We have two boys and a girl for grandchildren and they are all artistic and very keen to make things.   I thought one nice thing they can do is to make cookies and spicy biscuits and pack them in to jam storage jars. Topped with some gingham and a bow.   Lovely for the recipient and very satisfying to produce.   I have added a couple of recipes at the bottom.

Another thing we used to do with our daughter, a couple of days before Christmas, was to assemble a Gingerbread House.  This is a great way to spend a few hours and all the children can join in.  You can buy the complete kits from somewhere like Waitrose or John Lewis.   The finished product is quite stunning and makes a lovely centre piece as well as a conversation piece when people come.  

The old favourites like making chains with paper to hang around the room is also fun.   There are so many different types of paper and card about nowadays and very good quality paper glue – so the finished items can be strong enough to hang.   You can add tinsel and glitter and streamers.   Last year our three painted all of theirs – brightly colored individual colored chains that really did look great.

During the holidays why not plan a winter picnic?  Pour  some hot soup into a big flask, and pack enough polystyrene mugs for everyone to have some.   Soft or crusty rolls  can be taken to dunk into the soup.   Then ham and cheese sandwiches, or whatever fillings you prefer.   Small boxes of cucumber, carrot and tomatoes and some fruit will go down well.   Then, one of the Christmassy sweetmeats – mince pies, stollen, cake – all washed down with some hot drinking chocolate, with coffee for the grown ups.   Make sure you go to a wooded area, or a protected beach or somewhere you can let the children have a good run around.

Top Marks for every grandparent or parent who has bought their Pantomime Tickets.   In our small town you have to book them early – there are only 100 seats and they are always in great demand.   No matter if the theatre is small or large you will enjoy it – oh yes you will!!  Be prepared to get a little wet and perhaps splattered with flour if you are near the front.   But it is all worth it when you hear the children shout back the responses and cheer and laugh for the whole event.

And, of course, do try to find some local carol services – either open air or in a Church.   There is something magical about these events – even if you are not a Christian – just all getting together and celebrating all the good things that we still have in this terribly frightening and dangerous world is surely worth doing?

If  you have some spare Christmas cards from last year why not let the children cut them up and make their own cards – I think most people would be thrilled to have an individual hand cut, hand stuck, hand written Christmas card instead of all these Chinese produced masterpieces.

Please remember all those children who aren’t going to have a good time this Christmas – who may be abused, or beaten, or neglected – and spare a thought for all those charity workers who are going to be out and about this Christmas helping them.  If you know of a Charity near you that provides care why not pop along there with your children and spend an hour or so, and take a gift or two.

Good luck with the shopping and the cooking and have a great time.

About Please Miss...

more....