Tag Archives: things to do with kids

Explore British Wildlife with Curiosity Club

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Arcana Living has just launched Curiosity Club, a letterbox-sized subscription designed for children aged 7-12. The monthly creative activities provide a time each month for families to connect with nature together with minimal effort. It makes a thoughtful screen-and-plastic-free gift that will last for three months or longer.

I absolutely loved this and so did my children. It gives hours of fun and it is clever. It gets the children outside and educates while also being fun. The embroidered vibrant collectible patches are also a gorgeous keepsake. Love this. A great gift for children and parents alike.

Creator of Arcana, Ria Mishaal says: “I know as a mum, that finding the time and energy to create meaningful, screen-free activities is a challenge. Curiosity Club is a beautiful, tactile monthly pack of nature-inspired activities delivered to your door doors. All parents need to do is get everyone outside!”

Each edition focuses on what’s happening in Britain during the current season. From £18.50 per month (first month half price) at arcanaliving.com/products/curiosity-club.

Nurturing curiosity, creativity & confidence in the company of nature.

Curiosity Club is for parents who long for their children to grow up with a deep connection to nature, insatiable curiosity, and the confidence to explore the world around them.

Each month, this beautifully illustrated subscription, designed for kids aged 7-12 years with enchanting guides, engaging workbooks, and vibrant collectible patches and pins featuring different species.

Founder of Arcana Living and Curiosity Club Ria, is a mother of two (ages 5 and 9), a science communicator, and an illustrator. She says: “I want my children to grow up with curiosity, creativity, passion and excitement about nature, to cherish their belongings, and to value the world around them, but I struggled to create ways to support this development with all the demands of daily life and to find resources that didn’t add to the throwaway culture.

“Curiosity Club is my answer to this struggle. It’s the resource I wish I could find: a simple, stunning and sustainable way to connect with my children, nurture their love for the natural world, and help them grow into confident, creative individuals.”

Each month features a DISCOVERY GUIDE with at least 10 different activities, including some of these:

  • Nature education
  • Guided nature observation
  • Mini experiments
  • Outdoor exploration
  • Crafts with recycled materials
  • Recipes inspired by nature
  • How to draw
  • Reading and comprehension
  • Sticker activities
  • Quizzes
  • A glossary each month of new words and concepts

Plus every quarter each child will receive their very own FIELD JOURNAL, a beautiful space for them to work through three months of the guided activities outlined in the Discovery Guides. With dedicated sections for nature observations, mindfulness pages and experimental projects.

Curiosity Club members also receive an exclusive 30% off Arcana’s full range of Wildlore Patches and Biodiversity Badges.

Limited Time Offer: First month half price for 3 month subscription.

Curiosity Club

Teresa Mills’ Mosaics Review by Margaret Graham

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At Frost we love to see something just that bit different, and Teresa Mills’s products certainly fit the bill.

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Teresa is the author of four best selling books on mosaic art which I found interesting  even before I laid eyes on the Pixelated Mosaic Kits, because I have had  a fascination with mosaics ever since I saw my first Ancient Roman floor. But wouldn’t Teresa’s kits be a fiddle? Wouldn’t any child end up having a tantrum as they struggled to cut and grout the tiles?

No, actually, that’s the beauty of the kits. The tiles fit the pixelated design exactly without cutting and grouting so absolutely no need to run screaming from the room with grout in your hair, pursued by your child, or grandchild who has been driven to fury by the fiddle of it all.

These tiles are a manageable size, and the quality is excellent. My favourite (because I like them)  is the butterfly. Everything comes in a cotton bag, the base board is wooden, and the tiles are glass, glitter and silver.

Megan Cannell, who edits our Young Voices thread, had a go. She is 15 but you’re never to old to be creative and she found, as did I, that the tiles are not too small, and are easy to fix. The colours are vibrant, and we felt they’d be just right for Mabel, who is eight, or for a young lad we know.
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I do like quality products and I hope that Teresa is on to a winner here, especially with winter and Christmas not too far away. Grannies, who seem to do a fair bit of child care these days, will welcome these kits with open arms. I just feel that anyone, young or old, who produced the finished article would find a sense of satisfaction – a piece of creative craft well done. Let’s face it, it must encourage the creativity that lies within everyone, and that is always a good thing.
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These Pixelated Mosaic Kits are handmade in the UK, and the team at Frost highly recommend them. They are reasonably priced too. The three above are £11 each.

Available in a variety of designs, from insects and animals to shapes and letters, they are an ideal way to delve into the wonderful world of mosaics.  Each kits contains all you need to make your very own mosaic masterpiece.  Handmade in the UK from high quality materials, each kit comes in its own beautiful cotton bag with the design printed on the front.  They are suitable for all ages and are perfect for keeping the kids busy or as a boredom buster.

For more details: www.teresamillsmosaics.com