Many articles refer to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in terms of learning modules such as maths, reading and writing. While these are all very important traits, music and movement play equally pivotal roles. For instance, exposing young children to these stimuli at an early age can offer advantages such as:  Enhanced fine and gross motor skills.  Improved coordination and balance.  Children will be more likely to express feelings and emotions. In fact, eve infants will respond positively to music if given the chance. How can you incorporate these practices into the daily life of y ..read more

This Photoshop manipulation idea is pretty similar to the last post I shared, shark attack, but it’s not quite as scary! I used a photo taken at the same time but Cherry was looking to the other side and smiling instead of screaming. I changed the sky then added a free stock photo of a dolphin. I matched the colour, added some shadows and highlights using hue and saturation adjustment layers then cut some of the bubbly water from the waves to go around the bottom using the clone stamp. I then added a camera raw filter and that was it. Here is the final image… I’m really enjoying learning h ..read more

This shark attack Photoshop manipulation is pretty simple and lots of fun to do. I will share a rough guideline of how I achieved this, I’m by no means an expert so my way might not be the best way but I think the fun thing about Photoshop is that you can just play around until you create something you are happy with. When I was at the beach last week taking photos for the rainbow image I shared a few days ago, I also got a few shots of Cherry stood on a wall with the waves crashing around her. I didn’t have any plans in mind when I took them but when I got home and looked through them I knew ..read more

If you would like to take a photo of a child holding a rainbow then hopefully this post will give you some inspiration. I watched a video tutorial the other night about how to add rainbows to photos using Photoshop and the next day I was desperate to give it a go so I dragged the kids down to the beach as I thought that would make a nice backdrop. This is the video tutorial I watched, I used the second method in the video. I preferred it as you can choose your own colours. I took a photo of Cherry sitting on this rock, I got her to hold her hands out as I wanted it to look like she was holdin ..read more

Last week I had a fun photo idea, I wanted to get a photo of me push pressing a barbell with my kids hanging off each end. Given that they weigh 50kg between them I knew I couldn’t actually do it in real life so needed Photoshop’s assistance. I started by getting Matt to take a photo of me on my own. Then I got Matt to hold the barbell so the kids could hold on and make it look like they were hanging, they weren’t actually able to hold on long enough for me to get a photo as they kept slipping off so they kept their feet on the floor. As their feet weren’t off the floor I also got them to ha ..read more

I’m by no means the best Photoshop editor but I love using it for fun photo ideas like this so thought I would share with you how I did it. This isn’t the only way, it might not even be the best way but I think the fun thing about Photoshop is that you can just start messing around and find your own way of doing things. I have two kids but lockdown in a tiny house during winter has me feeling like I have about ten kids so this morning I thought it would be fun to multiply them. I set my camera up on a tripod, you definitely need a tripod for this. You also need to make sure the light is consis ..read more

I was literally in the worst mood when I woke up this morning, I’ve been in a bad mood all week to be honest (my weekly update goes into more detail why) but my PMT has kicked in this weekend so it hit a whole new level. We had decided to do something today as it’s the one day Matt wasn’t working but we sat around not being able to agree on what and almost didn’t bother but eventually decided to drive to the next town along for a walk. However when we got to the roundabout out of our village we noticed snow everywhere, especially at the top of all the surrounding hills so we decided to change ..read more

MEH. That pretty sums up my week. I struggle with winter at the best of times but this has taken it to a whole new level. I guess on a positive note, if a winter ever exists when we aren’t in a lockdown (currently looking doubtful) then I will definitely try not to moan about it… at least not as much. I think the biggest problem for me right now is the weather, I hate winter so much. I need that feeling of warmth on my skin. I am desperately hoping we have another good year for weather and that spring starts early. I cannot wait for that first sunny day when I can sit in my sun lounger and rea ..read more

We live so close to Dartmoor but have only visited once in the whole time we’ve lived down here, that was when we went to Spitchwick during a heatwave a few years ago. So I did a bit of research and decided on Sourton Tors for our second visit. The car park is just off the A30 (exact location here) and there is a service station there too with a separate toilet block which is perfect for stopping at before beginning any long walks with kids. There is a cycle path at the bottom, I’m not sure where it leads to but there were a few families there with kids who were heading off with bikes so I gue ..read more

We are 1 week into lockdown 3.0 here in the UK and I’ve decided to keep a weekly record of it, just sharing the things I’m watching, reading, cooking, fitness goal progress etc. Ever since this lockdown was announced I’ve been on real rollercoaster of emotions, almost like working through the stages of grief. Initially I was in denial, then the anger kicked in and I was fuming!! Poor Matt was on the receiving end and anything he did would result in me snapping and going mad at him. Then the depression and sadness kicked in before a mix of everything which resulted in me having a total meltdown ..read more