It’s imperative to understand and determine how much coverage you need to protect your loved ones. Unfortunately, death is inevitable. We have no idea when we will die, so it’s crucial always to be prepared. It’s even more important to be ready when you have a significant other and family relying on your money or time. Putting together a plan should include purchasing a life insurance policy because this will give your loved ones the money they need to pay their bills or hire extra help. There is no one-size-fits-all for insurance, so you must take time to research and determine the amount of ..read more

Make no mistake, this household loved The Runaway Pea it is a witty, clever read, perfect for cheering up primary school kids after a long day at the cutting edge of education. This new book (also aimed at 0- 5 year olds but perfect for snuggling up reading with up to 11 years in my experience) about a pea who gets washed away is just as good. It has been a while since a book made us all laugh out loud, especially at the moment when times are challenging, but this book did just that; it’s just the absurdity of a pea having an adventure as much as anything else. Our household is at the sta ..read more

It can be hard to get children reading, but it does help if the stories can appeal to their interests and this is what Sophie Deen has achieved with Agent Asha. The book features Asha a coding genius from a British Indian family who is recruited to join the top secret Children’s Spy Agency. With the help of her little drone, she hacks into the world’s biggest tech company (run by a teenager) in order to save the world. The book has story which is engaging on its own, however there is the added bonus of lots of top tips and tasks scattered through the book. My 8 year old really enjoyed these po ..read more

One of the sheer joys of this lockdown period for me has been the opportunity to read more. I don’t know about you, but I spend an awful lot of time rushing about taking various children to various locations alongside working full time and running the household. I really struggle to find the time to read books of my choosing, so its been a real indulgence. I must admit the amount of time I have to read was assisted by an enforced period of sitting down which was resultant of tripping over and doing something horrific to my ankle, but less said about that the better. I’ve also been really dete ..read more

It was with some irony that shortly before the lockdown this fabulous book dropped onto our doormat. 100 Adventures to Have Before You Grow Up is one of those books that I wish I’d have been given when I was a child as its absolutely full of things you can do, mainly outside and generally quite achieve-able. This is a really positive book which although written by the UK Ambassador for Girl Guiding is as suitable for boys as it is for girls. The nice thing about it is that unlike lots of adventure books its really clear on how to go about each of the activities, what you might need and inspira ..read more

The home-schooling has been going on in this household for over two months and at times its been challenging, but we have finally got into the flow of things. All schools will be teaching in a variety of different ways, my children have mainly had interactive lessons, PowerPoints and links to various bits of information on line. The eldest is now at Secondary school so is fairly self sufficient, but i’ve had to do a fair amount with the primary school children. Through some of this i’ve been working full time and it has led to me come up with a few tips and tricks which seem to be effective ..read more

Here in the UK we are about 10 weeks into the lockdown with restrictions gradually being eased. I have to admit i’m enjoying the time again with the children. So, what have we been up to, aside from the school work? Learning about nature I am always really surprised how many adults can’t identify plants and animals, as a result I take every opportunity to try to encourage my children to learn about nature so they can benefit from the joy of being able to identify a tree or a bird. We have been watching Chris Packham’s Self Isolating Bird Club broadcasts on YouTube, going around the garden look ..read more

We always put a lot of thought and effort into the look of our homes and it’s understandable. It’s the place we relax, come to after a long day and the place we feel most comfortable. With all this in mind, it’s very important that we enjoy the look of our home too. Flooring can make or break a room and is often the first thing you notice when you walk into a room. Most of the time we can decorate to our heart’s content but with flooring we need to consider practicality. Let’s go through some common flooring types and how they can work in your home.   Be Kind to Your Pocket with Laminate ..read more

With a real flavour of the Secret Seven books,  Cake for the Gestapo tells the story of the Nazi occupation of Jersey. Based on real life accounts this is an adventure story about friendship, kindness, bravery, resilience and how families survived during the darkest of times. There is a wonderful, evocative sense of the landscape and geography of Jersey during the Second World War and the impact that the occupation had on daily life for the children and their families. Often children’s books about the Second World War can be quite worthy but this is a great introduction to the topic particul ..read more

Ever since I was a little girl i’ve been completely fascinated by Tutankhamum and Egyptology, in fact this led to me becoming an archaeologist and museum curator, which is what I do today! As a result of all this I can be a bit blase about exhibitions and the children have seen and done it all before. Often I go along and I spend most of my time looking at how the objects are mounted, whether the lighting is any good and whether there are too many words on the panels and labels. I’m not going to lie, when I received and invite to a press viewing of Tutankhamum; Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh ..read more