Activity Village Blog

New research has found that a third of 11 years regularly break the law online by accessing illegal file sharing sites

2011-11-09T12:49:00.000Z

11 years old has been revealed as the pivotal age for parents to discuss responsible internet use with their children, as new research found that more than a quarter (28%) of children first start visiting illegal websites by this age.

A study of 1,000 11-16 year olds, carried out by youth research specialists Dubit on behalf of the music, film, TV and video industries, discovered:

By age 11, one in five (21%) of children regularly access illegal music, film, TV and video file-sharing sites
By age 12, over a quarter (28%) of children regularly access illegal music, film, TV and video file-sharing sites
By age 13, almost half (42%) of children regularly access illegal music, film, TV and video file-sharing sites
Almost three quarters (73%) of children are introduced to illegal file-sharing websites by their friends

While more than half (53%) of 11-16 year olds now access the internet unsupervised from their bedrooms, or while out an about on Smartphones and other internet enabled devices, parents may take heart in the fact that almost half of children say they would appreciate more information about safe and responsible internet use from their parents (40%) and teachers (51%).

Author of The Byron Review (2008) and child psychologist, Professor Tanya Byron is supporting internet safety charity, Childnet International, to help parents and teachers talk to teens about safe and responsible internet use.

Supporting Childnet’s Music, Film, TV and the Internet guide, they’ve penned a set of conversation starters for parents and teachers to begin discussing how to enjoy the internet responsibly with children and young people. The guide also provides information on the safety and security risks of downloading entertainment illegally or visiting illegal file sharing websites – such as being exposed to computer viruses, receiving offensive material or theft of personal and financial information.

Professor Byron spoke of her reasons for launching the campaign:

“The majority of parents will confidently tell their children that it is wrong to steal or shoplift in the real world, but it’s vital that they also help kids understand what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour online, and why it’s just as harmful.

“The new leaflet and our conversation starters provide parents with concise, up-to-date information and practical advice to start conversations about responsible internet use with their children. These will not only help parents address the issue of illegal film, TV and music file-sharing with their children, but will help them to discuss online responsibility together.”

Four tips from Tanya Byron and Childnet to help parents start conversations about responsible internet use with young people:

1. Download the Music, Film, TV and the Internet guide – find out how you can access and enjoy digital entertainment legally online and talk to your children about the consequences of illegal file-sharing or streaming sites. E.g. show them the ‘Staying safe and responsible’ section in Childnet’s guide and let them know you could face legal action if the household account is identified as being used for unlicensed file-sharing.

2. Agree a code of acceptable internet use – sit down with your children and agree an internet code of practice you’re all happy with. Discuss what your family’s online needs are and agree what online content is and isn’t acceptable to access or share. E.g. just as you wouldn’t share your house keys with a stranger, think about what content - including personal and financial information - you should share online.

3. Inhabit internet space together – normalise the right behaviour in the home for responsible internet use, in the same way you do offline by doing things as a family wherever possible. E.g. in the same way you might have a family meal together, or a trip to the cinema, is there something similar you can do together online – such as legally downloading or streaming a film or album to enjoy together.

4. Consider parental control software and security software – although parental control software doesn’t offer a total solution to protecting children and young people from illegal and age-restricted material online, it can help to limit the websites your children can access.

The tips can be found at www.childnet.com/downloading, along with the free downloadable guide - Music, Film, TV and the Internet.

Lucinda Fell, Director of Policy and Communications at Childnet International, said:

“We know that many parents are concerned about keeping up with what their children are doing online. We know from our work in schools that parents often tell us they are confused about what can and can't be done safely and legally online.

“The Music, Film, TV and the Internet guide gives parents and teachers some free practical information and advice about accessing entertainment online, and supports the concept of responsible digital citizenship – the idea of behaving as safely and responsibly online as you would offline."

Calling All Families - Put Your Best ‘Fancy’ Foot Forward & Help Save Lives

2011-04-18T13:11:00.000+01:00

Join VSO’s First ‘In Her Shoes’ Charity Walk -

VSO is holding a series of fun walks across the UK called ‘In Her Shoes’ on Sunday 8th and 15th May and is urging mums and dads to sign up with their friends and family to help raise vital funds for its life saving maternal healthcare work in some of the world’s poorest countries. Everyone involved is being encouraged to go glitzy and decorate the walking shoes they’ll be wearing on the big day!

Emily Maitlis' shoes for VSO's In Her Shoes

People across the country can follow the examples of; the queen of daytime TV Lorraine Kelly (with her ITV morning show ‘Lorraine’), highly accomplished BBC ‘Newsnight’ and ‘News’ presenter Emily Maitlis and famous comedy writer and actress Miranda Hart (known for her award-winning BBC 2 sitcom ‘Miranda’) in personalising footwear for VSO’s In Her Shoes. And the top fundraisers from across the country could win a number of fantastic prizes, including Lorraine’s autographed shoes and those personalised by Emily and Miranda!

Zoe Wanamaker's shoes for VSO's In Her Shoes

So come on! Put your best foot forward and join one of the walks scheduled to take place in Belfast, Cambridge (on 8th May), Cardiff, Cornwall, Kendal, London, Warwick and Worcester. They’re designed for all abilities and each walk will range from 1K to 16K, depending on the location. They’ll be really good fun social events which aim to raise crucial funds to help save the lives of mothers and their babies in developing countries – through VSO’s vital volunteering work in maternal healthcare.
In Her Shoes is also about increasing peoples’ awareness about the large number of women who tragically die every day in Africa and Asia from child birth or pregnancy related issues. According to the World Health Organization, a woman dies every minute in childbirth. Many of these deaths could be avoided if there was access to the right maternal healthcare.

Fundraising for In Her Shoes is imperative. It will help VSO to continue to send skilled volunteers such as doctors and midwives to share their knowledge, experience and train local staff in the healthcare profession to be able to carry out these critical roles, which could lead to more lives being saved in the long term. VSO volunteer doctors and midwives are also busy treating patients right now overseas, resulting in an immediate effort to save lives in the developing world.

Grace a 19-year-old woman from southern Malawi’s Mwanza District in Africa had tragically endured three miscarriages before she became pregnant again. Grace was just seven months expectant when she went into premature labour with her first, much longed for daughter.

After encountering an arduous two-hour walk to reach her nearest health centre – she thankfully gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Grace was absolutely ecstatic. This was the daughter she and her husband had wished for and she was named Chimwemwe (meaning ‘happiness’).

Being so premature her daughter was really tiny, weighing an alarming 3lbs. Because she was so small and fragile, Chimwemwe had trouble feeding and staying warm so Grace decided to take her back to hospital. This involved another long and tiring half-day walk for the new mother.

With no facilities for premature babies at the hospital, Grace was given a bed in the postnatal ward where she had to try to keep her vulnerable baby cosy. However this was a near impossible task without heaters or bedding and an outside temperature of just 10⁰C.

Struggling to maintain any body heat, Grace had no warmth to pass onto her daughter, as she clutched her close – holding on to her for dear life and fearing the worst would happen. Tragically, it did. Three days later Chimwemwe passed away. Grace had encountered the horrendous loss of her daughter because of cold conditions and inadequate facilities.

Many of the fragile babies born early in Mwanza die – particularly if they’re being transferred to the main regional hospital. So VSO volunteer Dr Marike Maijers has introduced ways of caring for the babies on site. She’s trained staff to provide ‘kangaroo care’, where mothers of premature babies keep them warm through skin contact.

In a dedicated, clean and heated room mothers press their tiny babies against their naked chests and wrap a traditional sarong around them both. This way, the mothers act as natural incubators. Dr Marike also fundraised in order to buy three much needed incubators for the unit, which have provided crucial support.

As a result, more local babies are now surviving, despite their small birth weights. It’s the kind of care Grace should have found waiting for her at the end of her long walk but regretfully didn’t.

Kangaroo care is just one of many ways VSO health volunteers are working in hospitals and communities to help mothers detect problems early enough and access medical care. They set up special maternal clinics and nurseries for sick babies and teach the next generation of midwives, obstetricians and nurses.

VSO’s fundraising development manager, Jane Quayle said: “The impact of our health volunteers’ work is significant but we urgently need more funds to maintain and strengthen the flow of volunteers to where they’re needed most. Even today in Malawi one woman in 18 still dies in childbirth; in Sierra Leone it’s one in eight. Every woman, regardless of where she lives in the world, should have access to good maternal health care. Your involvement in our walk could prevent future heartache for women like Grace.

“So why not round up your friends and family, sign up and get together for a really fun day out. And this includes the men too! You’ll all be out enjoying yourselves, being active and spending time with your nearest and dearest which will be really great and even better for those in the world’s poorest countries who’ll benefit from the money raised. Please join us and walk together for a great cause that could help save lives.”

VSO is aiming to raise around £40,000 in total from all its UK walks for its vital work in maternal healthcare.

For more information or to sign up for the walk visit www.inhershoes.org.uk. Registration for adults is £10 per person (this is non-refundable) and each walker needs to raise a minimum of £100. For more information on VSO visit http://www.vso.org.uk/.

Save the Children Libya Appeal

2011-03-04T15:25:00.001Z

Save the Children launches £1million appeal for children affected by Libya crisis, as humanitarian situation deteriorates.

Save the Children has launched a £1million appeal for children affected by ongoing unrest in Libya, as the humanitarian situation in the country continued to deteriorate.

The charity estimates that one million children are at risk because of violence and potential food shortages in the west of the country.

Esree is a ten year old girl from Egypt who usually lives with her family in Libya

Save the Children has emergency response teams in Eastern Libya, Egypt and on the Tunisian border, and is taking the first steps to meet the humanitarian needs of children caught up in the crisis.

Money raised by the appeal will be used in Eastern Libya for child protection activities and for support for essential services such as schools and hospitals. The funds will also be used to prepare for a wider humanitarian response in parts of the country currently beyond the reach of aid agencies due to the situation.

Of particular concern is situation in Western Libya, where government forces are continuing to vie with opposition for control of towns. More than a million children live in the area, and are at risk of being caught up in violence, being affected by potential shortages, and suffering trauma as a result of their experiences.

Children we have spoken to in Libya have been telling us how frightened they are of what could happen next, from running out of food to being orphaned by the violence,” Owen said. “It absolutely essential that we are ready to help as soon as we can reach them.”

Save the Children has an emergency response team in Eastern Libya assessing the needs of the population in opposition controlled areas, as well as emergency specialists on the Tunisian and Egyptian borders monitoring the needs of refugees as they cross. To donate to our work in Libya call 0800 8148 148 or visit
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/libya-appeal

Here are some examples of how your donations could be put to good use:

£15 - Children’s schoolbag kit
Designed to provide a child with basic education materials for 3 months while they are displaced, in transit or with no permanent school site

£50 - Teacher’s replenishment kit
Designed to replenish teachers’ supplies for a class of up to 50 people with basic materials

£1000 - Multi-purpose Tent
These provide rapid and flexible solutions and can be used to create child friendly spaces, temporary schools, clinics, nutrition centres or accommodation

£2,300 - Child Friendly Space kit
Designed to provide the temporary infrastructure required for an initial response. Can also be used for setting up temporary schools, clinics, nutrition centres or accommodation

£5,500 - Emergency Health Kit
Designed for a population of 10,000 for 5 months – consisting of a both basic medicines and equipment, and a supplementary unit of comprehensive medicines, essential infusions (e.g. iv medicines) and medical devices (e.g. catheters, feeding tubes).

Can you spare something today to help?
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/libya-appeal

A transition camp has rapidly been set up for all the people fleeing the last week of violence in Libya

The Big Bang Explodes Into Life

2011-03-03T13:35:00.000Z

London ExCeL event aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers

This March, The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair is preparing for record numbers of people to take part in what is the UK’s biggest ever FREE celebration of science and engineering for young people.

Thousands have already registered to attend the science extravaganza at ICC London ExCeL from 10 – 12 March, and organisers are urging families and schools to register now for free tickets. The 10 and 11 March are for schools with Saturday 12 March open to the public.Aimed at unleashing passion and excitement in the next generation of scientists and engineers, the large-scale event will host 120 interactive activities, exhibitions and live shows, as well as the finals of the National Science & Engineering Competition.

Headline acts include live performances from BBC One’s Bang goes the Theory and an explosive line up of daredevil experiments from Sky TV’s Brainiac Live! TV’s favourite fictional duo Wallace and Gromit will also be bringing their ‘World of Invention’ roadshow to The Big Bang, where visitors can get creative at the clay station.

To show just how fun and inspiring science and engineering can be, other show-stopping activity zones include:

Go Global

Discover how to weld big structures using chocolate
Test your robotic skills by designing and programming a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® robot to help discover solutions to real world problems
Join geoscientists to make your own earthquake and try your hand at fossil hunting

The Next Factor

Find out how the liquid crystals in your LCD TV can be used for bullet-proof vests
Feel Good Vibrations with a workshop designed to uncover the weird science behind sound
Meet real-life astronomers who have turned their curiosity for the universe and life beyond earth into a career

Body Talk

Take a look at your blood up close and visit a Stem Cell Lab of the Future
Have a go at handling real bionic implants and uncover where they fit in the body
Step inside the BodPod and discover your body shape and why what you eat matters

Energise

Use your pedal power to help generate electricity! Challenge your friends to see who can create the most energy
Find out how Algae can be used to produce hydrogen, electricity or other forms of green energy

Capital Hall

Get in the fast lane and see how McLaren are using the latest technologies to create a range of high-performance sports cars. Feel the power and take your seat inside some of its newest innovations

Professor Brian Cox, one of The Big Bang’s biggest advocates, will also be attending The Fair to judge in the finals of the National Science & Engineering Competition. Visitors on Friday 12 March will see the TV science star rewarding some of the UK’s most inspiring young talent.Paul Jackson, Chief Executive of The Big Bang 2011, said: “The line-up for this year’s event guarantees a spectacular experience for young people of all ages. As well as showing just how much fun and inspiring science and engineering can be, it is also the ideal place to find out about the exciting career options out there.”

To find out more and book your place visit http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/

Peter Corey’s top 10 tips for making reading a great experience for kids of all ages

2011-03-02T16:23:00.000Z

It's World Book Day tomorrow and learndirect has teamed up with top children’s author Peter Corey to help parents boost their children’s reading skills Mums, dads and their children can enjoy two free online storybooks by logging on to www.learndirect.co.uk/readtogether. Great for entertaining families, both are perfect for helping prepare children for the challenge of starting or going back to school.

“The Journey to Darkest Somewhere” and “The House of Scary Words” let kids become the lead characters and change details within the stories. The books also encourage readers to use basic English language while they play, so kids and parents can learn together.

Here are Peter’s top 10 tips for making reading a great experience for kids of all ages:

1. Read little and often – ten to fifteen minutes every day is great. For younger children, use bedtime or bath time if finding a moment isn’t easy during the day.

2. Reading should always be fun so try not to pressure your child if they feel too tired or lose interest. Laugh together at the funny stuff and enjoy the rhyming words – you’d be surprised how rewarding it feels.

3. Relish the story – talk about it and encourage your child to ask questions. You’ll be able to see how well they have understood what they have read.

4. Enjoying the pictures in a book is as important as the text. They can make the words easier to understand and help bring the story to life.

5. Be brave in your choice of books. Always search around, even if you think you’ve already found you and your child’s favourite author.

6. Use a library to borrow books. Libraries give us lots of choice and are like a dating agency – helping match the right person with the right book!

7. Don’t be scared of long words – they can be broken down into smaller parts which will make them far easier. Some English spellings just don’t make sense at first, so don’t worry if you or your child stumbles, it might be the word’s fault!

8. Don’t be afraid to judge a book by its cover and check what’s written on the back. This should help you decide if you and your child will enjoy the book.

9. Don’t worry if your child wants to read the same book again and again. Kids enjoy repetition as it helps them understand the story.

10. Always praise your child for trying hard at their reading and let them know it’s okay to make mistakes. After all, we all get words wrong – even parents! Practice makes perfect and solving reading problems together is part of what makes story time fun.Mums, dads and their children can enjoy two free online storybooks by logging on to www.learndirect.co.uk/readtogether. Great for entertaining families, both are perfect for helping prepare children for the challenge of starting or going back to school.

It’s Time to Pick Your Nose!

2011-02-03T13:11:00.000Z

Red Nose Day 2011: Friday 18th March

It’s not very often you get encouraged to pick your nose and sit in front of the TV but on Friday 18th March you get to do just that. Emma Bunton NOSE what an important date it is so she’s roped in three of her newest pals to tell the whole nation that it’s Red Nose Day!

Chucklechomp, Honkus and Captain Conk are the three mischievous monster noses just itching to jump on the end of your nose. They are hiding out in Sainsbury’s, Oxfam and at http://www.rednoseday.com/, so make sure you pick your favourite and wear it with pride. You can also check out their amazing interactive home, The Academy of Fun, at www.rednoseday.com/monsterfun. It’s packed full of exciting games, fun activities and crafty challenges to give you loads of ideas on how to get involved in Red Nose Day.

The monster Red Noses have also been joined by Emma Bunton and a host of celebrity chums to help launch Red Nose Day 2011. The Wanted, Dick and Dom, Sam & Mark, Emma Bunton, Alesha Dixon, Alexandra Burke and even Jedward have all been snapped donning the essential Red Nose, along with the fabulous new Red Nose Day T-shirt by Vivienne Westwood. All are calling on the nation to do something funny for money this Red Nose Day.

You never know, doing something funny for money could even get you on TV. Sam & Mark will be encouraging kids across the country to stage ‘Glee for a Fee’ shows at home, at school or even in the playground. By filming your own tuneful fundraising effort and sending a clip to the CBBC website there’s a chance your footage could be shown on CBBC Glee Club. Starting on BBC One on 14th March, eighteen Glee Clubs from around the UK will battle it out in the five-part TV extravaganza in a bid to be crowned ‘CBBC Glee Club 2011’ and your home-made video could be up there among the stars.

There will also be a brilliant night of TV on Friday 18th March on BBC One at 7pm with Comic Relief: Funny for Money. The amazing line up of presenters is also revealed today - Lenny Henry, James Corden, Fearne Cotton and Claudia Winkleman are just a handful of famous faces taking to the stage to show their support.

If you can’t wait that long for your first televisual treat then fear not, Saturday nights are set to become a whole lot brighter with the hugely anticipated return of ‘Let’s Dance for Comic Relief’. The One Show’s Alex Jones will be joining Steve Jones to host this year’s lycra-clad line up.

Finally, what Red Nose Day announcement would be complete without a word from fearless Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton? Fresh from her Amazing Amazon Adventure, when she kayaked 2,010 miles down the whole length of the Amazon, Super Skelton is now getting a head for heights as she trains for an extra-special high wire feat. The details of Helen’s special circus themed challenge are top secret right now – but all will be revealed on Blue Peter very soon.

Helen says: “Let me give you the three steps to Red Nose Day 2011: Have a laugh, raise some money and change lives for the better. It really couldn’t be simpler.”

Whatever you’re doing to raise money for Red Nose Day just make such you have tons of fun doing it and remember that Comic Relief spends all the money raised through Red Nose Day to give extremely poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa a helping hand to turn their lives around.

Red Noses
The three monster Noses are available at Sainsbury’s, Oxfam and online at www.rednoseday.com and costs £1 each with at least 70p going to Comic Relief.

Red Nose Day TShirts
A collection of eight designs by Vivienne Westwood the stylish Red Nose Day T-shirts include a Pirate design and Mother and Baby Elephant. Available in-store and online at TK Maxx and www.rednoseday.com. Priced between £5.99 and £14.99 with between £2.50 and £7 going to Comic Relief. Made from 100% Fairtrade certified organic cotton.

Website
Join the monster Noses at the Academy of Fun. www.rednosedaycom/monsterfun

How accurate is new research claiming that television is hindering children’s language development?

2011-02-01T16:16:00.002Z

By Dr. Lin Day, Baby Sensory

Research out this week has found that too much time spent in front of the television is hindering children’s speech. The survey of 6,000 people, including 3,000 parents, conducted by the Communication Trust, also found that more than half (51 per cent) of those questioned think youngsters can suffer from speech problems if their parents do not talk to them enough. There has always been speculation amongst both parents and professionals about the effect that television can have on a child, but it is also important to realise its benefits. There is some research to suggest that quality TV programmes can have a beneficial effect on literacy activities, comprehension and recall in three and four-year-olds.

Interactive programmes that encourage singing, signing, clapping and dancing can promote language development and imaginative play. Programmes that have themes of repetitive content can make it easier for children to learn new words. Studies show that toddlers who watch their favourite alphabet characters fare better in their knowledge of letter sounds when they go to pre-school than children who have no screen time. Children also benefit from snuggling up and watching television with an adult. The physical contact is good for them and parents can talk about the programme that they have watched together. High quality educational programmes can provide a window on the world for toddlers and help them to make sense of it. Some programmes can also inspire parents to play with their child. For example, a nature or craft programme can be a starting point for an outing to the park or a messy play activity.

Convincing data supports the view that the content, editing speed and the length of viewing time are what really matters. Indeed, short periods in front of a television can help babies to focus on pictures, lights and colours a short distance away. Nevertheless, watching the screen for an hour or more may affect depth perception and long-range vision. Television programmes that have slow editing speeds, continuous narrative and a single gentle voice are much better for the under-twos than fast-paced programmes with lots of zooms, cuts and multiple voices.

In an ideal world, babies and toddlers would be happily entertained with activities other than television. However, it does play a big role in today's hectic society and preventing the under-twos from watching it may be an unrealistic goal for most parents. The key is to provide good quality age-appropriate programmes as part of a balanced schedule and to limit viewing to 10 minutes for babies and 20 minutes for toddlers at any one time. Television should not displace important activities such as outdoor play, social interaction, talk, physical exercise and going to the park. If used responsibly, the risks of harm are very low.

Mum Knows Best - Britons’ money habits are most influenced by their mothers

2011-01-27T12:53:00.000Z

Editor's note: the results of this survey are worth noting if we want to make sure that our kids grow up handling their money well!

Britons’ money habits are most influenced by their mothers

36% of Brits say that their mothers have had the most influence on the way they handle their money
We are twice as likely to consult Mum than Dad on our daily spending
More than half of people say their father took control of their household finances when they were growing up

New research from M&S Money reveals that our mothers are the biggest influences on our financial habits.

M&S Money surveyed 1000 people to find out about how their family has influenced their finances. The research reveals that 36% say that their mothers have had the most influence on the way they handle their money, compared to 32% who say it is their fathers.

Grandparents (3%) and siblings (1%) have little influence while 24% say their family have no influence over their financial habits at all. It seems we also follow our own gender as a role model; women are most likely to say it is their mother that has most affected their financial habits (39%) while men are most likely to say that it is their father (36%)

When it comes to their daily spending, more than twice the number of people would consult Mum for her point of view instead of Dad. 22% would ask their mother about their day to day finances, while just 8% would consult their father on matters such as shopping or saving. Indeed, 6 in 10 people say they are not like their fathers at all when it comes to their finances.<.div>

It is only when the stakes are high that we turn to our Dads for occasional advice. When making large financial decisions such as buying a house or a car, one in five (20%) would turn to their father for advice compared to 11% who would ask their mothers.

Despite more people saying their Mum has been the biggest influence on their money habits, more than half (55%) of people say their father took control of their household finances while they were growing up, while for 40% it was their mother.

Colin Kersley, Chief Executive of M&S Money, said:

“While it may not always have been our mothers who controlled large financial decisions and the overall household budget when we were growing up, it seems they are now the ones who we are most likely to turn to for advice on day to day matters such as saving and spending.

“Our fathers do still have a clear role in being first point of call for advice on bigger purchases. It is great that we see the value of both parents in helping us through the many different financial decisions we face on a daily basis such as choosing the best home for our hard earned cash.”

New parents urged to seize nursery tax benefits

2011-01-27T12:26:00.000Z

New parents who pay higher-rate tax are being urged to ensure they join their employer’s nursery voucher scheme before 6 April otherwise they could lose more than £1,000 tax relief due to planned cutbacks, says Baker Tilly.

Changes to employer supported childcare to be introduced on 6 April will mean that higher-rate taxpayers, both at the 40% and 50% rate, stand to lose at least half of the current annual relief offered if they have not joined an existing scheme before the new rules take effect. Tax relief is also available to parents using any form of ‘registered’ or ‘approved’ childcare.

Under measures announced in the June Budget, employees taxed at the higher and additional rate, who join a scheme after 6 April, will have their weekly allowable reliefs reduced from £55 to £28 and £22 respectively, as the the maximum relief for all taxpayers will be equalized to approximately £11 per week. Employees already part of a scheme will not see their relief affected by the changes.

Currently, higher rate tax payers can make annual tax savings of £1172 on childcare but those who join after April 6 2011 can expect to see their annual saving reduced to only £597. With two parents claiming, the amount of tax relief is worth more than £1,000.

Mark Collins, Head of the Employers Consulting Group at Baker Tilly, urges employers and employees to act now or they will lose their entitlement before the 6 April.

“Any employees who can join an existing scheme before 6 April will still be sure of obtaining tax relief at their top income tax rate – couples potentially avoiding a reduction of over £1000 a year in tax savings.”

“Employers who are considering setting up a new scheme or changing the terms of an existing scheme would be well advised to do so in time to enable all eligible employees to join in time. It will not be enough for the scheme to be in place: the employees must also have joined before 6 April.”

Celebrate the New Year with £500 worth of LEGO® DUPLO® vouchers!

2010-12-01T23:59:00.000Z

We’re delighted to offer one UK reader the chance to win £500 worth of vouchers to spend at the LEGO® DUPLO® online store – what a great way to start 2011! Find out more here:
Lego Duplo Competition (only open to UK visitors)

Activity Village's Advent Calendar 2010

2010-12-01T23:55:00.001Z

December has arrived, and this year's Online Advent Calendar has gone live today! Hunt each day for the right number, then click through to find brand new colouring pages, puzzles and crafts, including our special advent calendar Christmas decorations to hang on the tree!

Activity Village's Online Advent Calendar 2010 Now Live!

About Activity Village's Online Advent Calendar 2010

Ideas for using Advent Calendar 2010 printables

Tell others about the Advent Calendar (printable)

More Advent Activities For Kids

Royal Wedding Paper Dolls

2010-11-29T23:46:00.000Z

We've just added these fabulous Royal Wedding paper dolls to the website. They come complete with three different wedding dresses for the princess-to-be to choose from! We have a colour and a black and white version for colouring in.
Royal Wedding Paper Dolls
With Prince William and Kate Middleton due to get married at Wesminster Abbey in April 2011, you might also be interested in this new Westminster Abbey colouring page!

Halloween Is Just Around The Corner...

2010-10-03T18:28:00.000+01:00

Halloween is a few short weeks away and we are beginning to add some fabulous new Halloween activities to Activity Village. Head on over to the website to see what's new, or explore the links below.

Perfect for Halloween costume parades, parties and the classroom...
Halloween certificates to print

Get crafty with these 15 new Halloween scrapbook paper designs!

It's always fun to theme your classroom activities around the holidays or seasons, and your students will really appreciate it if you do! Here are some great ideas...
20 Fun Halloween Activities For Your Students

Celebrate the annual Fright Night with these seventeen fun (and not so scary) ideas, especially for young children.

Halloween Activities For Young Children

Start planning some fun for this Halloween! We've added three new Halloween crafts to our already-huge collection!

Monster feet craft

Broomstick bookmark

Lollipop ghost craft

See all Halloween crafts

And last but not least, our latest premium printable Doodle Fun booklet. Add some imaginative coloring fun to your Halloween celebrations this year! Original and deliciously spooky, Halloween Doodle Fun is a real treat!
Halloween Doodle Fun - Spookily Creative Coloring Pages For Kids!

We've got more Halloween activities coming up soon...

Fly A Kite This Summer

2010-06-08T14:52:00.001+01:00

Save the Children get the festival season off to a flying start

This summer thousands of families and festival goers across the UK will take part in Save the Children’s kite flying festival.

Kite flying is hugely popular with children across Asia and the Middle East where children and adults spend hours on the roofs of buildings flying their kites. Save the Children will be popping up at family friendly festivals encouraging people to sign up to Save the Children’s EVERY ONE campaign to help save millions of children’s lives, and to make a kite as a visible demonstration of their support.

Over the course of the summer, at four of the UK's major festivals, Save the Children is aiming to see over 10,000 kites flown in support of their EVERY ONE campaign. By flying a kite high over the heads of the crowds, festival goes will be helping to raise awareness of Afghanistan, the country where children currently face the worst chance of survival anywhere in the world.

Afghanistan, famous for kite flying, is currently one of the worst places in the world to be a child. The country has experienced decades of natural disasters and is torn apart by conflict. Afghanistan is in a fragile state with a shattered health system. There is a huge shortage of trained medical staff. Hospitals have limited equipment and medicine leaving the majority of people in Afghanistan extremely vulnerable, and children are dying of easily preventable diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia.

Jude Bridge, Save the Children, said "A staggering one in four children die before they reach their fifth birthday in Afghanistan – that is 850 children a day - the worst rate of any country in the world. We want festival goers to support our call to the Prime Minister to rally world leaders to do more to stop children dying of easily preventable diseases. The thousands of kites in the sky will be a visible sign of their support. This activity is easy, it's fun, and it means an enormous amount. Come and find us at the festivals. Let's go fly a kite!"

Which and where in the Festivals you can go to fly a kite for children:

Shoreditch Festival, July 17th http://www.shoreditchfestival.org.uk/

WOMAD, July 23rd/25th July http://womad.org/ Location: Charity Area

Bestival, July 30th/1st August http://www.campbestival.co.uk/ Location: Kid’s Field

The Big Chill, 5th/8th August http://www.bigchill.net/festival Location: The Lakes Field

NEW AV-Daily Newsletter - Daily Fun Activity Ideas For Kids!

2010-05-30T18:56:00.001+01:00

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new daily newsletter, just in time for half term and the long summer vacation!

If your children need something to do and you get stuck for ideas, subscribe to AV-Daily! We’ll send you themed activities each and every day of the week, right to your inbox. We cover three age groups so the whole family can take part, and we’ll suggest everything from imaginary play to crafts, printables to rhymes, clapping games to thinking games! And we've got a full year of emails ready for you...

Never be stuck for activities again!

Instead of searching the net and the library for inspiration, we’ll bring it straight to you. You could set aside a time every day to enjoy our ideas, or print out the emails and keep them in a file for later. If you get your emails on an iPhone or Blackberry, you could by carrying around a huge store of activity ideas at your fingertips!

Who needs AV-Daily?

We think parents, grandparents, teachers, carers, nannies or au pairs could benefit - basically anyone who could do with a little extra inspiration every now and again!

Always have something new and fun to do with your kids
Look forward to our emails every day
Enjoy a new “theme” every 7 days, to develop your children’s interests in new directions
Involve the whole family in the fun
Encourage your children to enjoy our activities together or alongside each other (great for sibling relationships)
Three different age levels covered (2-4 years, 4-7 years and 7+)
Be the “go-to” person in your group or family, known for always having something up your sleeve to keep the kids busy!
A whole year of daily emails ready for you!

You can’t lose! Subscribe now and, for a limited time only, you’ll receive the first month’s emails completely free! Then, if you decide to keep receiving AV-Daily, we will charge you only £2 per month. That’s about 7p a day! And of course, if at any time you decide you don’t want the emails anymore, you can cancel in a jiffy.

Still not made up your mind? As a thank you for subscribing we’ll send you a pack of 20 of our printable Lunch Box Notes at the end of the first week, completely free, and another pack every 4 week’s thereafter when you stay a subscriber! So you’ll be getting our Lunch Box Jokes, Lunch Box Tongue Twisters, Lunch Box Proverbs, Lunch Box Fun Facts and more! (Even if you don’t do lunch boxes, you’ll find all sorts of uses for these). Our Lunch Box Notes sell for £1.45, so that's almost the cost of the subscription refunded!

The quicker you get started, the quicker you will start getting AV-Daily and the quicker you can start having some fun with your kids! Click the button to subscribe below. Remember, the first month’s emails are free.

World Cup For Kids

2010-05-12T15:53:00.000+01:00

Soccer fans can celebrate the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with our brand new page - World Cup for Kids! The jam-packed World Cup month kicks off on 11th June and during the following month through to 11th July we will see 32 teams competing for the title!

We've got lots of ideas for you to use in the classroom and home, including some fabulous colouring pages, printable bookmarks and worksheets. And we have puzzles, games, soccer jokes and football crafts coming soon too!

World Cup For Kids

Search Amazon.com for world cup 2010

68% of families ‘can’t afford’ to spend time together, the average family spend just 49 minutes a day together, and kids reveal what the most important aspect of parenting is to them.

2010-05-04T12:16:00.000+01:00

National Family Week, the largest coalition on family matters, commissioned a poll exploring current perceptions of both parents and children and issues facing modern family life in the UK. National Family Week, the largest coalition on family matters surveyed 3000 parents and 1000 children in the UK as part of the build up to National Family Week (31st May to 5th June) with fascinating results.

· New research indicates that children seem to have a better idea of what parenting should be about than their actual parents and highlights the short amount of time families actually spend together.

· The average family spends 49 minutes a day together, barely enough time to share a meal and worryingly, the majority of parents are happy with the amount of time they spend with their family, as are children

· The biggest issue facing parents when it comes to spending quality time is money with 68% citing it as a barrier to spending time with family but kids disagree that time with family has to break the bank with 66% happy to spend time with family at home rather than going out.

· Days out and family holidays were perceived as the best examples of quality time by parents, whilst more cost-effective alternatives like engaging in sports and reading together fell by the wayside.

· Children cite boredom as the hardest thing about spending time with family.

· More than half of parents feel they spend enough time with family.

· Only 14% of parents would introduce more flexible working arrangements if the could

· Only 8% of children want their parents to work less

· What children think are important aspects of parenting differ greatly from what parents think

· Parents are underestimating the important of being a role model to children who place this as the greatest priority

· Boys and girls show huge differences when it comes to expectations of parents

· Facebook more important to children than sport and has a bigger influence over them than school, siblings, celebrities and even their grandparents

· Only 3% of parents think making a healthy meal is one of their important roles

· Children are actually more committed to traditional family values than their parents

· The cliché Mummies boys’ and Daddy’s girls’ still stands true

Backed by all major political parties, National Family Week is the largest coalition on family issues in the UK, with over 180 national and thousands of local organisations on board including charities, councils, sports associations and community groups. The initiative celebrates the diversity of the modern day family, championing the benefits of quality family time and encouraging a healthier and more active approach to family life.

National Family Week and its supporters are encouraging families to improve on the time they spend together. After the huge success of 2009’s inaugural event, National Family Week 2010 is set to be bigger and better. Between 31 May and 6 June, over 5000 events will take place up and down the country run by a huge range of community groups, charities, sports associations, local councils and more. Families will also have access to a huge range of special offers and savings on products, services, days out and more, which should be received well by children as more than half of those surveyed (52%) said they would like to go on more outings with their family.

The summer half term holiday will see the return of activities including the Family Week Picnic, Family Week Film Day, Family Week Story Time, Family Week Games Night and Family Week Sports Day, with fun family features like a Guinness World Record Attempt for the largest three-legged race and a UK exclusive preview of Shrek Forever After one month ahead of its general release locked in for 2010’s Week of family fun. National Family Week 2010 is summer’s ‘must-do’ family event.

Highlights of National Family Week

Monday 31 May
Family Week Picnic – Hundreds of picnics organised throughout the country with eight regional flagship events

Tuesday 1 June
Family Week Film Day in association with Pizza Hut and Vue. Families can enjoy a day out with special offers from Pizza Hut and Vue. 1 June will also feature an exclusive UK-wide one-day-only release of Shrek Forever After, a month before its general release.

Wednesday 2 June
Family Week Story Time – Thousands of story time sessions and activities organised throughout shopping centres, local libraries, 50 WH Smith stores and more. The National Literacy Trust will launch their new campaign aimed at improving family literacy at home.

Saturday 5 June
Family Week Sports Day – National Guinness World Record attempt for the Largest Three-Legged Race in Multiple Locations. Sports Days running across the UK including eight regional flagship events.

Find our more here: www.nationalfamilyweek.co.uk

Crafting tips

2010-04-08T15:53:00.008+01:00

After a major crafty burst in our house over the last few days, I am just in the process of writing up our labours for Activity Village and I wanted to share a tip that is relevant for so many of the crafts.

Invest in some cheap pet litter trays. We put items in them to paint, which means that they can be easily transported elsewhere to dry. And they are absolutely essential for glittery crafts as they are very good for limiting glitter spread (and means any waste can be tipped back).

Do you have a top crafting tip? We would love to hear them, email Lindsay at editor@activityvillage.co.uk and the best ones will feature in future newsletters.

7 New Easter Craft For Kids!

2010-03-22T11:33:00.001Z

We've added some really super new Easter crafts from Sarah and the boys to the site this year, including 7 new crafts today.

Easter bonnet collage

Easter basket craft

Easter Egg Suncatcher

Wooden spoon puppet bunny

Wooden spoon puppet chick

Cup and ball bunny

Cup and ball chick

Felt chick

Foam egg cups

Felt Easter egg

Kids Around the World Sing 6th Grader's Song to Save the Earth

2010-03-22T08:45:00.000Z

Kids from around the world have joined their voices together - singing voices that is - to save the earth. All are part of kidEarth, a children's environmental movement started by Aitan Grossman, a 6th grader from California.

Aitan's mind is spinning with ways he can mobilize kids to help save our planet.

Aitan wrote "100 Generations," a ballad he says is about "the integrity of nature we're taking for granted," and sent it to schools on six continents in search of children like him who wanted, through the power of music, to fight global warming.

Children from countries threatened by droughts, fires, rising sea levels, and melting glaciers - Botswana, France, Taiwan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, and the United States - eagerly volunteered to be part of Aitan's global music project. Their song can be found with a search for "kidEarth" on iTunes or Amazon.
Aitan posted the "100 Generations'" anthem on his kidEarth website and is inviting school children around the world to add their voices to its chorus. All they need to join in is music from the website, a digital video camera, and lyrics sung in their own language about local natural landmarks they hold dear.

KidEarth kids hope their message will go viral so that all kids, who are about to inherit an earth vastly different from their parents', will learn what they can do to turn the world's climate around.

The efforts of these kids, along with the "amazing things adults are doing to un-endanger endangered species and to save the planet from the bad effects of global warming" Aitan notes, are cause for optimism. But just in case adults need some help, Aitan wants people who share his concern to plunk down 99 cents and buy the "100 Generations" song which can be found on kidEarth's website. He plans to give the song's profits to environmental groups that are doing their part to save the planet.
Two of Aitan's favorites are the World Wildlife Fund, which echoes kidEarth's international global warming message with its work in 100 countries, and the Alliance for Climate Protection, whose mission is to teach the world about climate change, started by Aitan's hero, Nobel laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore.

What's next for a kid like Aitan who has stepped onto the international music stage and tried to change the world, all at the tender age of 12? He would like kidEarth to be the voice of any child anywhere who is concerned about the environment.

Perhaps these kids are thinking of Professor Dumbledore who counseled Harry Potter to think of music as "a magic beyond all we do here." KidEarth is out to show the world just what magic its music can perform.

"100 Generations" Credits
"100 Generations" Lyrics

To purchase the song:

Search for "kidEarth on iTunes or Amazon MP3

To find more about kidEarth:

kidEarth Website

Facebook: kidEarth

YouTube: kidEarth

Twitter: kid_Earth

More details on Aitan's favorite charites:

Alliance for Climate Protection. With 2 million members signed up since its July 2007 start, the Alliance is building political will to solve the climate crisis and persuading the world of the importance and urgency of implementing solutions. The Alliance also is working to re-power nations with electricity from clean energy sources.

World Wildlife Fund. The World Wildlife Fund has been protecting nature for more than 45 years. As the largest multinational conservation organization, working in 100 countries with close to 5 million members globally, WWF is changing the attitudes of governments, communities and businesses about global warming by shaping international policy through science, reducing carbon through its forest programs, helping high-risk ecosystems adapt to unexpected change, and helping corporations reduce their carbon emissions.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS STRIKING A BALANCE

2010-03-05T13:47:00.000Z

Over half (53%) of women setting up their business are parents as well, according to a new UK poll of over 1,000 women entrepreneurs from Business Link. Whilst many found that owning their own business helped them spend more time with their families, a worrying 24% actually had less time with their children.

The poll took into account the views of women entrepreneurs throughout the UK. It found the majority of women business owners started their new company when they were already mothers, often with the intention of working more flexibly and having more time to spend with their family.

Whilst over half achieved this, almost a quarter (24%) found that the demands of starting a business meant that they spent less time at home. Women starting recruitment, legal or finance companies reported the biggest impact, with over half stating they had less time with their families after setting up in the business world.

Diana Robertson, marketing and communications director at Business Link in London, comments: “Many entrepreneurs start their own business driven by a desire for a better work/life balance. It’s something many achieve, but the first few months and years of a new enterprise can be an incredibly busy time. If the last couple of years has taught us anything about the business world, it’s that it can be challenging to create and maintain a solid and successful organisation.

“The key is to go into it with your eyes open. The rewards – both personal and professional – of running your own business can be immense, but it isn’t something that comes easily. Establishing a reputation and building firm foundations for a long term business can be a time consuming task. The short term impact on things like family life need to be considered.

“That’s not to say that, with careful planning, a better work life balance can’t be achieved in the short term. If you’re thinking of setting up on your own, go out and get advice from all the sources open to you. Speak with Business Link, speak with your friends and family, speak with other successful women entrepreneurs – get a firm grip of what you need to do to succeed and make a balanced decision on what impact it will have on your home life.”

The same poll also found that the gender barriers were beginning to close for women entrepreneurs. 20% of women entrepreneurs feel they have to work harder than men to prove themselves in the business world; a significant improvement from this time last year, when a similar poll showed 38% felt they had to work harder.

Diana Robertson, continues: “Women entrepreneurs in the SME sector are making noticeable inroads to gender barriers. As International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8th March, these entrepreneurs have never been in a stronger position.”

For further information on how Business Link can help your business, call 0845 600 9 006 or visit www.businesslink.gov.uk.

Thomas & Friends Steam In To Hamleys For The Ultimate Birthday Party!

2010-03-05T09:03:00.003Z

Family fun and party madness to celebrate Thomas The Tank Engine’s 65th and Hamleys 250th Anniversaries

Make tracks to a fabulous destination on Sunday 7th March 2010 as everyone’s favourite little blue engine, Thomas the Tanks Engine, celebrates his 65th Anniversary in style at everyone’s favourite toy store, Hamleys!

The double celebration, as Hamleys celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, will see an afternoon of FREE family fun and Thomas & Friends based activities taking place at the famous Regent Street store.

Date: Sunday 7th March

Time: 12pm onwards

Location: Hamleys, 188-196 Regent Street, London

Entry: FREE

Children and grown-ups alike will be able to participate in fun storytelling sessions, exciting competitions and Thomas & Friends screenings. There will also be a fantastic Thomas window display, the opportunity to meet the Fat Controller and make your very own Fat Controller hat to take home at special workshops.

On the 7th March, Thomas & Friends will also be setting out to create the world’s longest Thomas train cake at Hamleys. With help from National Autistic Society’s patron and renowned cake maker, Jane Asher, everyone coming along to the party is asked to help by baking their very own carriage cake to be added to a very special Thomas cake created by Ms Asher.

Find out how to make your own carriage cake to bring along, visit http://www.thomasandfriends.com/thomas.mvc/anniversary

for the perfect recipe and video guide from Jane Asher herself.

Throughout March, the following fun and free Thomas & Friends activities will continue at Hamleys:

* Storytelling sessions at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm everyday

* Meet the Fat Controller: Saturday 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th March at 11am or 3pm

Sunday 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th March at 12pm or 4pm

* Fat Controller hat making workshops everyday at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm

* Daily competitions to win great Thomas prizes

Pancake Day Fun!

2010-01-27T17:33:00.000Z

Pancake Day in the UK is also known as Shrove Tuesday, and is celebrated as Carnival and Mardi Gras elsewhere in the world. Enjoyed on 16th February in 2010, it falls just before Lent, and was traditionally a day of fun and feasting before fasting for 40 days of Lent. It's less than three weeks away now, so we've been working on our Pancake Day page and this is what we've added:

Two cute new Pancake Day colouring pictures and a pancake doodle - what would you like on your pancake?

Ten pancake tips and twists on the classic pancake recipe to try this Pancake Day

Four steps to perfect pancakes - and some delicious ideas for topping them, too!

We've also got ideas for games, puzzles, crafts and all sorts of pancake themed activities here:

Pancake Day

Valentine's Day - Lots NEW!

2010-01-27T14:53:00.000Z

It is less than three weeks until Valentine's Day, so it's a good time to plan some activities, make some Valentine's Day cards, print out some colouring pages and have some fun!

We've added 8 really pretty new Valentine's Day coloring pages this year

Two are also available as Valentine's Day coloring cards

Of, for something new and original, try our Valentine's Day coloring jigsaws!

If your child doesn't want to do their own coloring, we have a new collection of Valentine's jigsaws to print. They make a fun, quick activity (and can be adapted to all ages) but they also make a very exciting Valentine's Day jigsaw card to give to that special someone! Valentine Jigsaws To Print

Snowflake Crafts - Lots New!

2010-01-11T10:24:00.000Z

Is the snow still falling where you live? Celebrate the beauty of the snow with our five new snowflake crafts - they look wonderful displayed in the window and will cheer up even the chilliest of days!
Snowflake crafts

New Year Doodle Fun - Creative Colouring And Goal Setting For Kids

2010-01-07T18:58:00.000Z

New Year Doodle Fun - Creative Coloring and Goal Setting For Kids!

Here is the latest in our range of Doodle Fun books - a perfect activity for the New Year! We encourage children to think about and take a look at the year just past, by drawing and coloring some special occasions - and then we start to think about the year ahead. It is a clever way to bring about some gentle goal setting for all ages of children, from the youngest up. Many of the pages are suitable for year round use, so don't worry that they will all have to be completed at once, and we think that teachers might enjoy them for the classroom as well as parents find them useful at home.

Available as a downloadable pdf file only, there are 33 printable pages featuring 24 original illustrations by Adina, who has been creating some or our most popular recent coloring pages at Activity Village. Nine of the pages are repeated with faint lines in case you would prefer the children to use them for writing projects, especially for classroom use.

Click here to buy or find our more about New Year Doodle Fun

Customer comment: "As there is no comment or review section on your site that you often find when you purchase products I felt the need to email you to say thanks for this excellent resource. As a primary school teacher of children with Additional Support Needs I love your site! I have used so many of the ideas and resources. I recently purchased the New Year doodle book. It is just what I need and has saved me HOURS of trailing through websites or creating my own worksheets! I have already planned how to make use of most of the pages and can ideally spread them across the year. I hoped to let others know this to encourage them to buy your products. Thank you very much for a fantastic website and super resource!"
Emma (4th January 2010)

Click here to buy or find our more about New Year Doodle Fun

Driver Dan's Story Train - new CBeebies show

2010-01-07T18:42:00.001Z

ALL ABOARD FOR DRIVER DAN’S STORY TRAIN ON CBEEBIES!

Weekdays 12.30pm - Starting Saturday 9th January

Launching on CBeebies this January 2010, “Driver Dan’s Story Train” is a CGI animated/live-action series that welcomes its young audience aboard The Story Train, with its cast of loveable new animated friends, led by the grown-up lion, Driver Dan.

The series features a colourful and inquisitive group of 3D animated animal characters of pre-school age, who love stories and adventure. Each full of personality and individuality, the animals join the ‘grown-up’ lion, Driver Dan, on his Story Train as they play games, have adventures, solve puzzles and find out that there is a book for absolutely every occasion.
Read more about Driver Dan's Story Train ...

Chinese New Year 2010, Year of the Tiger!

2010-01-07T18:38:00.000Z

Kung Hei Fat Choy! 14th February will bring in the Chinese New Year, and this year will be the Year of the Tiger! This is one of the biggest and most popular sections at Activity Village, and we have so many ideas to help you enjoy Chinese New Year and study China, its people and its customs. And of course, this year we have added all sorts of tiger crafts and printables, too!
Chinese New Year

Happy New Year!

2010-01-07T18:33:00.001Z

Happy New Year 2010! Our New Year pages have had a big revamp for 2010, and we have lots of great new activities! Get the printer warmed up for jigsaws, booklets, colouring pages, colouring cards, puzzles, bookmarks and lots more! And of course you can try your hand at some super New Year crafts, too.

Happy New Year 2010

Did you submit a collage for our 2010 collage competition? Have a look at the winners, runners-up and other collage entries with a "special mention" here
New Year Collage 2010 Entries

Merry Christmas To All!

2009-12-23T14:03:00.000Z

A merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our visitors from Activity Village! We've just added even more Christmas activities to the site, so if you are still looking for inspiration, have a look at the pages below:

New puzzles added...
Christmas puzzles and mazes

This pretty Christmas wreath is made from torn magazine paper and buttons, and is a perfect Christmas craft for all age of children, from youngest up.
Wreath collage craft

How can something this simple be so pretty? Little children love to rip, scrumple up and stick tissue paper, and with a result like this you will be hanging the wreath for many years!
Tissue paper wreath

This beaded wreath craft requires only a few craft cupboard supplies but will hang proudly on your Christmas tree for many years! Suitable for all ages.
Beaded wreath craft

This glitter glue wreath makes a quick and easy decoration for the Christmas tree which kids can make themselves in all sorts of designs. It catches the light and sparkles very prettily - the photos don't do it justice!
Glitter glue wreath

Quick, simple for all ages, and pretty!
Sequined wreath

Print out our "Make A Snowman Game" for some family fun - it's just like beetle but snowier! Younger children might just like to print, cut and assemble a snowman to display.
Make A Snowman Game

Here's a little something that you can sprinkle on your lawn to make sure that Santa's reindeer pay you a visit! Make some for your family and perhaps for your friends too... (includes printable tag)
Reindeer food sprinkle

3D Christmas snowman and tree - use for display or as Christmas cards

Christmas Fun - So Much New!

2009-12-17T10:21:00.002Z

It's not often you get to throw a Christmas pudding about, but you can if you make our Christmas pudding beanbag to play with!
Christmas pudding beanbag

You just need some simple supplies and some imagination to make your own pretty snow globe!
Make your own snow globe

Use our Christmas scrapbook paper to make some cute little Christmas present decorations to hang on the tree .. you could even fill them up with a little treat to be opened on Christmas morning!
Christmas present decorations

Here's a way to make a gingerbread house without having to do any baking!
Gingerbread house craft

Absolutely the best way to make gingerbread houses with a group of kids!
Gingerbread house cookies

Sarah, Jack and Sam's gingerbread house - isn't it fantastic?
Make a gingerbread house

Those busy elves need good shoes to keep them going, and we've got an idea for making very cute elf shoes which you could hang on the Christmas tree, use to hold a small gift, or just put out on display! For older children ssome fairly tricky blanket stitch required!)
Elf shoes

Here's a simpler elf shoe collage craft. All you need are a few craft cupboard supplies and our template! This would make a fun home-made Christmas card, too.
Elf shoe collage

New to Activity Village, these cute printable jigsaws come in 5 Christmas animal designs and 4 levels of difficulty - and each jigsaw features a hidden "shape" at its centre. They make a simple, quick and easy portable Christmas activity!
Christmas jigsaws to print

Print these fun new Christmas language posters for the classroom or home and learn the words for "Christmas" and "Santa Claus" in different languages from around the world.
Christmas language posters

Print, cut out, glue and hang this very cute Snowman Mobile - there are 8 different cheerful snowmen to entertain you as they drift in the breeze!
Snowman Mobile

Mini booklets to print with Christmas covers - perfect for a shopping list or "to do list" to tuck into your pocket or handbag. I can't live without these now! Kids can use them to write stories, keep notes, make lists of present they would like...
Christmas pattern booklets

Fun Christmas organisers to print - December calendar, planner, shopping lists, to do lists and more!

Quirky, charming and very cute! We put this angel on the top of our tree every year.
Wooden spoon angel 2

A pretty new window angel craft. Hang your angel in the window and watch the winter sun shine through and make her sparkle!
Window angel

6 fun new Christmas cards to print
Printable Christmas cards

5 lovely new Christmas coloring cards for older kids.
Christmas coloring cards

2 new Christmas lacing cards for little children

New Christmas classroom printables - great for all sorts of writing projects, shape books, notebooking, and more..
Christmas classroom printables

4 new Christmas templates - great for making homemade Christmas cards, shape books and other projects.
Christmas templates

5 pretty new Christmas scrapbook paper designs for your crafty projects!
Christmas scrapbook paper

A fun way to give money or a gift certificate at Christmas! Three designs...
Christmas money envelopes

If you took part in our online advent calendar last year (2008), you might have had a go at this charming nativity scene to print, cut out, colour and assemble. If not, it is now available on the website...
Nativity Scene to print

Four new writing paper printables have been added - and we think they are very cute!
Christmas writing paper and frames

Two lots of new Christmas bookmarks to print - we now have 8 designs "ready to go" and 1 set for colouring...
Christmas bookmarks to print

National Autistic Society - Keeping Christmas Fun

2009-12-10T11:55:00.001Z

All information regarding coping with Christmas is available at www.autism.org.uk/christmas. The NAS Autism Helpline is usually open 10am – 4pm, Monday to Friday on 0845 070 4004. However, please check the website for opening hours over the Christmas period.

Christmas help for families affected by autism

2009-12-10T11:49:00.000Z

As advent calendar doors begin to open The National Autistic Society (NAS) has put together a guide to the festive season for families affected by autism.

Individuals with autism can become confused or distressed by the change in routine, unusual foods, noisy shops, flashing lights and increased social activity. The online guide and information pack offers advice to ensure that families can find ways to enjoy this year's festivities.

The NAS has put together ideas on creating specially designed schedules, Christmas free zones and how to prepare for a trip to Father Christmas’ grotto. The guide also gives information to parents on how to ease their children into returning to a normal routine once Christmas is over. The NAS provides support for families throughout the year, but this also allows parents to hear hints, tips and experience from other families.

Pamela Frisby is approaching her fifth Christmas with her son, Sam, who is diagnosed with autism. Pamela and her family use lots of clever ways to help Sam join in the celebrations, and she will be sharing her experience through a number of video blogs on the NAS website, throughout December.

Pamela said ”We fit Christmas around Sam rather than trying to fit him into Christmas. We make special plans like having a Christmas tree outside and cooking Sam a specially designed Christmas dinner to coincide with his gluten and dairy-free diet”.

NAS Helpline Manager, Emma Delaney, said “Over half a million people in the UK have autism and we aim to provide the right support to make a difference in people’s lives all year round. Christmas can be a stressful time for anyone, and particularly for people with autism, so we are putting together this package of information and advice to ensure families affected by autism have the right help to see them through the festive season.”

All information regarding coping with Christmas is available at www.autism.org.uk/christmas. The NAS Autism Helpline is usually open 10am – 4pm, Monday to Friday on 0845 070 4004. However, please check the website for opening hours over the Christmas period.

Advent Calendar 2009 Online and Live!

2009-12-02T08:30:00.004Z

Activity Village's Advent Calendar 2009 is now live! Every day we've got a special, original mini colouring page for our Colouring Advent Calendar (make a banner or book), as well as new printables, games to play, activity suggestions, videos to watch, jokes to enjoy and more! Bookmark the appropriate page for your time zone and come back every day until Christmas to join in the fun!
Advent calendar UK and Europe
Advent calendar Australasia
Advent calendar US and Canada

Love the new Christmas Gap ad!

2009-11-27T18:48:00.000Z

Christmas Doodle Fun!

2009-11-27T16:15:00.002Z

We are thrilled to bring you our latest publication, Christmas Doodle Fun - Creative Christmas Coloring For Kids! Get out the pencils and crayons and use your imagination this Christmas! Decorate, design and create with our fun doodle pictures for all ages. Use them in the home or classroom, and print as many copies as you like! There's one activity for every day of Advent...

Available as a downloadable pdf file only, there are 30 printable pages featuring 24 original illustrations by Adina, who has been creating some or our most popular recent coloring pages at Activity Village. Some pages invite children to write, too, but it isn't necessary at all! See sample pages below.

Only £2.95* That's 12p a page - and remember, you can print them as many times as you like. You could even print out Christmas Doodle Fun, bind it and give it to your younger family members this Christmas!

* Please note - you can easily pay in your own currency! That's equivalent to about $4.85 or E3.25.

Christmas Doodle Fun - more information, sample pages and Buy button!

2009-11-27T16:01:00.004Z

Firstly, an apology - and a warning! A few weeks ago I fell ill with the swine flu and (as an asthmatic) almost immediately went down with a severe chest infection, too. I was in bed and completely incapable for the first week, and not much better for the second. I had worried about my children falling ill, but really hadn't thought what would happen if I did. Please, if you are looking after little children, make sure your cupboards are full, your freezer is stocked, and you have contingency plans worked out with family, friends and neighbours. My children are old enough to look after themselves now, and my husband was also able to help, but if the same thing had happened to me 10 year's ago, I simply don't know how I would have coped. Be prepared, just in case!

OK, that's the warning out of the way! As you can imagine with two weeks in bed, I got very behind with everything, and unfortunately this Advent Calendar message is going out much later than I had originally planned. It gives everyone only the weekend to prepare for all the exciting things we have coming up in our Online Advent Calendar - but please do read on, because we have some great things planned!

Online Advent Calendar

Last year's Online Advent Calendar was hugely popular, but we think this year's is even better! Firstly, we are really excited to be providing a Colouring Advent Calendar this year. We've never seen anything like it before, either on the internet or for sale. We will be providing a mini-colouring page every day which we hope you'll put together into a fantastic Advent Calendar Banner (ours looks so pretty!) or Advent Colouring Book during December. Get more details at the link below.

In addition we'll have a special activity every day - sometimes a craft, sometimes a printable, sometimes a cooking activity - and on top of that we will have games to play, activity suggestions, videos to watch, jokes to enjoy, fun facts and more!

Find out how to get ready for the Colouring Advent Calendar here:http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/coloring_advent_calendar.htm

Links to the Online Advent Calendar

Here are the links for the various Online Advent Calendars:

Advent Calendar 2009 - UK and Europe
Advent Calendar 2009 - Australasia
Advent Calendar 2009 - US and Canada

Crafty Bits And Pieces Needed For The First Week

If you'd like to take part in the craft activities in the first week of the online Advent Calendar, you will need to assemble a few bits and pieces:

Red, white and green pipe cleaners; a yogurt pot and a small jar; gold tissue paper; tracing paper, decorations such as sequins and glitter; ribbon or yarn in Christmas colours; metallic pens; glue and double sided tape.

We have one recipe planned on Tuesday 1st December, for which you will need:Plain flour, caster sugar, butter, vanilla extract, salt, icing sugar (confectioners).

We hope you'll join in the fun with the online Advent Calendar, and tell your friends and family about it!

Maths Games Which Help Kids Get Better At Maths!

2009-09-28T11:52:00.003+01:00

Do you worry about helping your child with their maths homework?

Are you home educating your child and dreading the daily maths lessons?

Is your child falling behind in maths at school because they need more time to understand and practise the basic principles?

Perhaps your child is bright at maths and needs to go faster than the rest of the class to stay interested?

When my daughter lost confidence in maths a few years ago, I subscribed to a then-new online animated maths tutor, Maths-Whizz. Within a few months Tilly was not only right back where she should be, but was actually working at least a year above expectations for her age group at school (and sadly she had taken Maths Whizz as far as it would go). She enjoyed her animated lessons and games, and was never reluctant to sign in to her "room". She has remained confident with maths ever since.

Since then, Maths-Whizz has gone from strength to strength.

* It has added an extra two years to its offering, and now caters for children from 5 to 13.
* It has successfully entered the US market with Math-Whizz.
* Over 4000 schools in both the UK and US have signed up for its online services as well as over 30,000 home users.
* Results over the years have shown that students who use Maths-Whizz for at least 45 minutes a week get better at maths.

And now a free version has been launched which offers a "taster" of the Whizz service - and I'm thrilled that I am able to offer that free version for you within Activity Village. All you need to do is click on the link, choose whether you are following a UK or US curriculum, and create a free account - then your child can start getting better at maths!

Try Maths-Whizz

Incidentally, Whizz have furnished me with the following interesting facts:

* Students typically make an internal decision in their own mind by the age of 9 on whether they are good at maths or not. Once they have made that decision it is hard to turn it around if it is negative.

* Students who are confident and good at maths at primary/elementary school typically end up doing well in maths at secondary school. Students who struggle by the end of primary/elementary school usually fail in maths at secondary school.

* Students who leave secondary school with a pass grade in maths have, statistically, higher incomes in their working life.

* Being confident in maths contributes to success in other school subjects.

In simple terms, the sooner you support them to become confident in maths, the better their future prospects are.

OK, but why personalised tutoring? Isn’t school enough?

Each child really has their own unique maths profile. This is why it is so difficult for teachers in school to cater for every child’s individual needs – because they are all so different! More confident students may find their “maths age” (ability) is ahead of their actual age, whereas less confident students may find their “maths age” is lower than their actual age. Furthermore, their ability may vary across the different topics. An eight year old may find that she is ahead in addition, but struggling and behind in fractions.

It is virtually impossible for a teacher to cater to each individual child’s specific needs in a school / classroom scenario. As a result many students who don’t use Maths-Whizz, or some other form private tuition, find they are unchallenged or, worse, left behind and can lose confidence and fail to reach their potential as a result.

This can affect students for the rest of their lives. Many adults lack confidence in basic maths and this can affect their personal confidence, earnings and employment prospects.

Give your child the Maths-Whizz Advantage! Compared to other forms of tutoring, such as private tuition or taking your child to learning centres like Kumon, Maths-Whizz Tutoring Plus:

* is more fun, which means students gain more enjoyment out of maths
* provides you with measurable results (you can view those with live progress reports)
* is more convenient. Access over the internet from the comfort of your home
* generates proven results (see website for details)
* is better value for money.

Try Maths-Whizz

Chess For Kids!

2009-09-28T11:49:00.002+01:00

Chess is an excellent game for kids. It teaches them strategic thinking, logic and it's fun, too! We have the rules of Chess, here, written so that children can understand them. Read online or download a printable version. And if you are desperate to start playing chess straight away and don't have a chess board or chess men, we have some printable versions of those, too!

Chess For Kids

Diwali - Lots NEW!

2009-09-24T11:40:00.010+01:00

Diwali is celebrated from 17th October this year, and we have lots new on the site if you are interested in learning about this Hindu Festival of Light - or celebrating yourself.

We have many original Diwali craft ideas, including ideas for creating your own diya and rangoli.

Diwali Crafts

Diwali cards to print, New Diwali and Bhaiya-Dooj cards to print and colour, Fireworks acrostic printables, Happy Diwali gift/money envelopes, diya alphabets, and more!

Diwali printables

Celebrate this special day for brothers and sisters with our new "Brother" and "Sister" printables

Bhai-Dooj printables

We've got some really pretty Diwali colouring pages and "Happy Diwali" colouring cards. New this year are Bhaiya-Dooj colouring pages and colouring cards, too!

Diwali colouring pages

A new "How Many Diya Lamps?" puzzle

Diwali Puzzles

Rangoli are a beautiful designs drawn outside the entrance to a house by Hindus at Diwali. We have 18 new rangoli designs...

Rangoli colouring pages

Rangoli - Ideas, inspiration and colouring!

2009-09-24T10:28:00.004+01:00

A traditional rangoli design

Rangoli are beautiful, often symmetrical, designs drawn on the ground outside the entrance to a house by Hindus during Diwali celebrations. There are many different ways of creating rangoli, and different regions of India have different traditions.

Some of our rangoli colouring pages

Our rangoli craft ideas have been up on the site for a few years now and have proved very popular, but this year we have updated the page and added some photos of wonderful rangoli to inspire your creative efforts! We've got grid papers to help you design your own rangoli, and we have also added 18 pages of fairly simple rangoli colouring pages for those who would like more of a head-start. These look beautiful when coloured and cut out, and can also be used as outlines for rangoli designs using glue and glitter, coloured salt or rice, or pulses.

Jack painting his rangoli design outside

Monsters Theme!

2009-09-21T12:31:00.003+01:00

Children - boys in particular - enjoy inventing, drawing and playing with "monsters" - especially as monsters break all the rules and have as many eyes and legs and tails and colours as children can imagine! We have some really cute monsters in our new monsters theme, and you will find some imaginative monster craft ideas, cute monster printable games, monster worksheets and story starters ... in sort, lots for monster fans! And of course, monsters are fun at Halloween, too...
Monsters Theme

Halloween Printables - Yes, more!

2009-09-21T12:22:00.004+01:00

Good practice for little hands! Use these Halloween cutting shapes to make a mobile, decorate the house, or stick to cards and invitations.
Halloween Cutting Shapes

We've got lots of new printable Halloween games today: a matching game, a sorting game and a set of Halloween dominoes...
Halloween Games

Halloween Printables - New Halloween Stationery, Posters and Booklets To Print

2009-09-14T09:40:00.007+01:00

We've added some great new Halloween printables to the site over the weekend.

10 new designs this year, each of which can be printed blank, with handwriting lines, or lined for older kids. Great for all writing projects at home and school...
Halloween Stationery

These are designed for the classroom but are fun for home too. Print out 2 posters to display with Halloween words...
Halloween Words Posters

Print, fold and read - or practice writing on traceable letters. 3 mini-booklets on a Halloween theme!
Halloween Words Booklets

Lots more Halloween Printables

Last minute Grandparent's Day printables!

2009-09-13T11:23:00.003+01:00

For those of you celebrating Grandparent's Day today, we thought you might like to have a look at these last minute Grandparent's Day printable bookmarks ... the top one of each sheet is ready to print, cut and give, and, if the kids are inspired by the design, they can do their own version with the black and white outline bookmarks below! And as grannies and grandpas do lots of reading, why not make them all!
Grandparent's Day Printables

Autumn Printables - Lots NEW!

2009-09-09T10:42:00.003+01:00

We've added 3 designs of cute new autum / fall writing paper (each design comes blank, ruled and with handwriting lines) as well as some gorgeous autumn bookmarks, 3 autumn lacing animals for little ones (a squirrel, a hare and an owl) and some printable animal finger puppets, too. The animals are the start of a new British Wildlife theme which will be taking shape on the website over the next few weeks!
Autumn / Fall Printables

Autumn / Fall Coloring Pages - 8 NEW!

2009-09-09T10:39:00.004+01:00

We have 8 fabulous new autumn / fall coloring pages on the website. We love them - they are full of detail and surprises, and perfect for older children. One is specially for Harvest Festival, and a few are perfect for Thanksgiving too.
Autumn / Fall Coloring Pages

Win a sample Waybuloo magazine (UK)

2009-09-09T10:35:00.001+01:00

Waybuloo Magazine has developed an online game to mark the launch of the magazine. Simply play the Waybuloo online game, Flight of the Narabug, and enter your details – there are 5,000 free samples to give away.

The game is another way for children to extend their enjoyment of the series and magazine. Children can play with De Li and her ‘Narabug’, helping to collect strawberries to share with the other Piplings. In addition, the game will give young children the opportunity to learn to mark the launch of Waybuloo Magazine, the pre-school title based on the new CBeebies programme and the first magazine to help children learn about feelings, understand emotions and their impact on the world around them. and develop their computer skills.

About Waybuloo Magazine
Waybuloo is the first pre-school magazine to help children learn about feelings and understand emotions. Through their engagement with De Li, Nok Tok, Lau Lau and Yojojo (the ‘Piplings’) in the land of Nara, the magazine aims to help a child’s development in a number of ways:

Feeling Good – helping children to understand how to care about themselves, their world and other people;

Communication – having fun sharing stories, making choices, thinking and talking about feelings and emotions;

Being Creative – confidently making things for themselves and others;

Finding Out – discovering more about things in the natural world and learning to appreciate them;

Physical Development – keeping fit and healthy with the Piplings, eating fruit & vegetables and trying yogo (a simple, gentle form of yoga).

8 Activities to Aid Social and Emotional Learning in your Child

2009-09-09T10:33:00.001+01:00

Social skills involving sharing, interaction and expressing views are viewed by parents as valuable to a child's development, so children’s educational specialist and editor of Waybuloo Magazine, Stephanie Cooper, has put together some fun and practical activities to encourage really positive behaviour with young children.
Read Stephanie's suggestions here:
8 Activities to Aid Social and Emotional Learning in your Child

Helping Our Children Survive Their School Years

2009-09-03T18:51:00.002+01:00

By Nancy Kelsey Smith

With the school year having already started for most and on the verge of starting for many, problems that were "tucked away" during the summer months are now back in full force. Parents often battle mixed emotions as they send their children off to school, happy to have them back on a scheduled routine and sad that they'll see less of them for the next 9 months. First time mothers of kindergartener's are often reluctant to accept that their little ones are now going to be "out into the world", realizing that they are stepping into new territory from which there is no turning back. For others, the end of summer hasn't come soon enough. For the millions of two working parent families, covering the bases for their kids during the summer months is a tough assignment.

But what about the kids? How are they feeling about beginning a new school year?

Continue reading Helping Our Children Survive Their School Years

Toddler Activities - For Your Kids Growth And Your Sanity

2009-09-03T18:48:00.001+01:00

By Jayce Broda

The great thing about having young children is that your perspective can be their perspective. You just have to sell it right. For example, today I took my kids to volunteer at our local humane society. Now even-though they spent most of the time picking up dog poo, all three are pumped to do it again next week. Why you ask? How is that possible? Because to them, it was not a crappy job. It was a chance to show how they could help animals in need. It showed how they could help a dog be adopted, who would otherwise be euthanized. It was a chance for them to show mom and dad how they could do a job all by themselves. By the time we left the dog shelter, our kids felt like heroes. I spent time the day before talking to them about the above points; I sold them a positive perspective on cleaning up dog poo...

Read the rest of this article here

Halloween Coloring Pages - 16 new!

2009-09-03T18:29:00.003+01:00

We are thrilled to have added today 16 fantastic new Halloween coloring pages - there is something here for all ages!
Halloweeen Coloring Pages

Bodypopping tricks - This boy is unbelievably good!

2009-09-03T11:30:00.003+01:00

This is my favourite of our series of "Learn A Skill Videos" for kids. My kids and I have been practising the wave, the glide and the robot and we haven't laughed so much in a long time. Of course, it's really me they are laughing at! I just wish I had learned to do this when I was the same age as this boy, who is really incredible.

More Learn A New Skill Videos

Learn Some New Skipping Tricks!

2009-09-03T11:00:00.002+01:00

Here's the latest in our series of "Learn A Skill Videos" for kids - this one featuring some really clever skipping tricks:

More Learn A Skill Videos

Coolest Basketball Tricks Video

2009-09-02T23:59:00.004+01:00

Watch and listen to our expert basketball kid showcase a range of the coolest skills, then break each skill down into bite-size doable chunks for kids everywhere to learn.

More Learn A New Skill Videos

Getting Kids Ready For The New School Year

2009-09-02T23:57:00.002+01:00

As soon as summer starts to wind down, it is time to purchase the essentials you need to get your child ready for another (or even a first) year of school. Making "preparing for school" into an event that the whole family enjoys will help your child feel ready-and also show him that you are interested and involved with his education. Take some time in the weeks leading up to the big day, and plan a few outings and activities to be sure you both are ready. Try a few of our tips to get started...

Read more of Getting Kids Ready For The New School Year

Balancing Homeschooling And Working At Home

2009-09-02T23:54:00.002+01:00

By Michelle Shaeffer

A common reason for moms to homeschool their children and work from home is that the at-home lifestyle appeals to them. It sounds like an ideal situation - you're home, the kids are at home, and everyone's happy.

But juggling a home business with homeschooling usually doesn't look as peaceful as it might sound. In fact, this is a more likely scenario:

You've planned to do a math lesson with your children at 9 am. Since you have a few minutes of peace while the kids are finishing breakfast, you decide to fit in a quick email check.

There's an email from a prospective client, who wants a proposal from you right away, for a juicy contract. There's still 20 minutes before you had planned to start your school day, so you start to reply. Well, one thing leads to another...

Read the rest of Balancing Homeschooling And Working At Home

Grandparent's Day Coloring Pages

2009-08-25T17:03:00.003+01:00

We've added 4 fun coloring pages for Grandparent's Day. Perhaps the children could color them in and send them to Grandma and Grandpa, to let them know they are special! Grandparent's Day will be celebrated on 13th September 2009 in the US and on 4th October 2009 in the UK.

Grandparent's Day coloring pages

Grandparent's Day

Back To School Coloring Pages

2009-08-25T16:09:00.001+01:00

We've added 6 gorgeous new "Back To School" coloring pages today, including a school bus, children eating school lunch, a lollipop lady, a playground scene, an old-fashioned schoolhouse, and children walking to school. We think kids will love them, and hope they'll enjoy them year round, not just at the start of a new school year!

Back To School Coloring Pages

Back To School Coloring Pages

2009-08-21T16:19:00.003+01:00

We've added 7 new Back to School coloring pages today - just simple "objects" (we've got more detailed coloring pages coming early next week) but they are great for getting nervous used to the idea of starting a new school year. They can also be used as posters for the classroom.
Back To School Coloring Pages

2009-08-21T16:10:00.002+01:00

Just to let everyone know that we've had a mighty revamp of our Coloring Pages entry page. We think what we've done will make it much easier to find what you want out of the 961 coloring pages (and counting) which we think there are on the site today!
Coloring Pages

Alphabet Matching Game

2009-08-19T18:43:00.002+01:00

Print these gorgeous Alphabet Matching Game cards and use them in many ways in classroom or home - as a file folder game, memory game or as ABC flashcards.

Alphabet Matching Game

Ideas for using the alphabet matching game cards:

* As mini alphabet flashcards
* As a file folder game. Cut out and glue one set of cards randomly on the inside spread of a file folder. Cut the other cards out, and store each set separately. Can your child match up the cards?
* As a memory game. Shuffle two sets together (or a matching selection from two sets). Place them all face down on the table and take turns turning two cards over. If they match, remove them from the display. If they don't, try to memorise where they are and turn them back over again. Turning another two cards over.
More alphabet game ideas

Picture Alphabet Posters - Bright And Cheerful!

2009-08-19T17:13:00.004+01:00

These bright and appealing posters make a cheerful display around the classroom or home, cut and pasted, or viewed on a computer screen...
Picture Alphabet Posters

Balloon Modelling Tricks - New Video

2009-08-18T23:32:00.000+01:00

Watch this short video of balloon modelling tricks and learn how to make some really cool balloon animals and object! Make a dog, a sword, a flower and a monkey up a tree!

Finger Tracing Alphabet To Print

2009-08-18T17:56:00.001+01:00

This Finger Tracing Alphabet is and a good way to start your child learning the ABCs, upper and lower case. Trace over the letters as if you were writing with a pencil, making sure that your child starts and stop in the right places. If you are printing them for the classroom or expect a lot of use, you might want to laminate first. You could also make them into a ring bound flip book. And of course, because they are outline letters, you could ask your child to color them in, too!

Another idea is to use the pdf file of the complete set on your computer (full screen) or white board in the classroom.

Finger Tracing Alphabet

7 Back To School Lunch Tips

2009-08-18T16:30:00.002+01:00

Don't look now, but school's here! Are you ready for one of the biggest challenges for Moms of school-age kids - preparing school lunches day after day?

There's hope and help for you yet. Here are 7 back-to-school lunch tips. Hey, I can't come over and make your kids' lunches for you, but these tips will surely make it much easier:

1. Make dinner do double-duty

You're already in the kitchen preparing your family's dinner, why not use that time to get a head-start on the next day's brown bag lunches?

Make a double batch of meals that taste just as good "the morning after," you know, like fried chicken. Or cook dishes that can be transformed into something "new", such as pasta sauce that's just as yummy as pizza topping (on ready-made crust of course).

To make meal planning easier, take a look at Dine Without Whine. It's a monthly service for planning your family's meals and grocery shopping.

2. Include lunches when meal planning

To do tip #1, you need to be more organized. This means including your kids' lunches when planning your family dinners.

3. Let the kids participate

Lighten your load and teach your children some important life skills at the same time. Even small children can help prepare their lunches.

If morning is too stressful, then make this an after-dinner activity - which brings us to...

4. Make advance preparations

Do whatever you can do ahead of time. For example, cook in batches on the weekend, or put leftovers in packable containers the night before.

5. DIY fast food

Commercial packed lunches are attractive but unhealthy. But who says you can't make your own? Buy your own colorful and attractive lunch boxes, such as a bento-style lunchbox.

Fill it up with a variety of healthy food. Think of mixing up foods with different textures and colors. And cut them up into small pieces so they're easy and fast to eat.

6. Soup it Up

Soup makes a quick and healthy lunch. You can cook a large pot in the weekend and pack it in a thermos for a warm and satisfying lunch. Serve with whole wheat bread and some fresh fruit and you've got a complete meal!

7. Sprinkle in some fun

Sneak a little surprise into your child's lunchbox once in a while. It could be a little chocolate treat, stickers, or a sweet note from you. Getting something unexpected makes lunch fun.

With planning and creativity, your children can have healthy, delicious lunches without too much work for you.

For meal planning help, go to Dine Without Whine. It makes meal planning a breeze, while helping you save time and money.

Then you'll have time and energy for those school lunches.

For a limited time, you can try Dine Without Whine for a penny. Click here to find out how.

More Back To School at Activity Village

Back To School Dinner Tips

2009-08-18T16:07:00.005+01:00

Is school really just around the corner? You know what that means - early morning scrambles, after-school tizzies and ragged nerves at dinnertime.

It's still possible to have pleasant family mealtimes even after school has begun. Check out these back-to-school dinner tips for busy Moms:

1. Have a meal plan

The most important key to having relaxed family dinners even on school nights is having a meal plan. This will simplify both food shopping and meal preparation, and help you save money to boot.

If you need help, check out Dine Without Whine's meal and grocery planning service.

2. Try freezer meals

Cut down on cooking time by cooking large batches and then freezing them for future use.

3. Simplify your schedule

With school comes extracurricular activities that could have you running - or driving around - like a headless chicken. Keep things to a minimum. Overloading children with too many after-school activities is not good for them. They need downtime too.

4. Get the kids involved in cooking

Get some help by mobilizing your own troops - your husband and children - as your kitchen helpers. Cooking is an important life skill and now it's bonding time as well.

5. Have an emergency plan

No matter how well you plan in advance, something always comes up. Plan for that as well. Always have emergency supplies in the pantry so you can throw together a home-cooked meal at a moment's notice.

It could be a frozen dinner you prepared during the weekend. Mine is pasta, a can of tomato sauce and whatever vegetables are in the refrigerator.

6. Post your family schedule

Keep a large calendar on the wall where you can see every family member's schedule at a glance. It will also help you plan activities around your family dinner times.

7. Set a routine

Decide on an earlier dinner time, bedtime and wake up time and start following them a few days before school officially begins. This way, everybody's adjusted when the real thing comes.

8. Stay flexible

Sometimes you just can't afford disruptions to your meal times. An occasional missed family dinner is no big deal - when you know you'll have more throughout the week.

9. Consider school schedules

Take note of school events and other activities in your family calendar - so you can plan your family dinners with them in mind.

10. Cook once, eat twice

Every so often, cook a double batch of meals that can easily be transformed into another entree or side dish. For example, roast 2 chickens. Have one for tonight's dinner. Chop up the other for chicken salad for later in the week.

11. Organize your kitchen

If you haven't done so yet, now's the time to take stock of your kitchen. Make sure the items you use most often are accessible from your food prep area. Replace the tools that are broken, and get those gadgets that will help you get dinner ready faster.

12. Have a special meal

Make Friday night Teen's night - which means they plan and prepare the meal. That is, if you have teens or any child old enough to prepare meals. They'll learn how to cook, you get the night off (from cooking), and everybody has fun. The only condition is: everybody has to eat what's prepared.

13. Make it educational

This idea is for preschool-age kids. Make or buy a special placemat with letter or numbers. Laminate it with Con-Tact paper so it becomes a wipe-off board. Use it only for dinnertimes.

14. More mealtime learning opportunities

Plan some meals to coincide with specific topics your child is studying in school. For example, on the night after a field trip to a pioneer town, have a pioneer-style meal.

15. Celebrate school successes at dinner

Celebrate school successes with a special family meal. Prepare the child's favorite meal and prepare a nice dessert. It's more important to have a meal that's relaxed and delicious, than one that tool hours to prepare.

16. Nurture school relationships

Get to know your children's closest school friends by inviting them to dinner once in a while.

Follow these tips to make family mealtimes simpler, easier and more fun. For meal planning and grocery shopping help, go to Dine Without Whine.

Your monthly subscription includes a weekly meal plan with recipes for main dishes, side dishes, 2 desserts and 2 brunches.

You'll also get a weekly grocery shopping list of everything you need to create the recipes. The list is categorized according to grocery sections, so your shopping will be easier and faster.

For a limited time, you can try Dine Without Whine for a penny. Click here to find out how.

More Back To School at Activity Village

Alphabet Coloring Pages - New Set Added

2009-08-18T12:33:00.003+01:00

We've just added a new set of alphabet coloring pages (capital letters only for the moment) - they are simple, bright and cheerful and we think they will make learning ABCs fun!
Alphabet Coloring Pages

Handwriting Alphabet Worksheets

2009-08-18T10:44:00.001+01:00

We have a new set of handwriting alphabet worksheets today, giving plenty of tracing practice for each letter, both capitals and lower case, as well as room for drawing or cutting and pasting. Download separately or as a set.
Handwriting Alphabet Worksheets

Tracing Alphabet Worksheets To Print

2009-08-17T00:15:00.005+01:00

We've just added a set of fun tracing alphabet worksheets for little ones. Trace the letters, trace and colour in the picture (great pencil contro practise) and learn the letter sound! You can download the whole set of 26 together, or each letter individually.
Tracing Alphabet Worksheets

Back To School Crafts - Even More NEW!

2009-08-15T23:11:00.002+01:00

Here's another seven fabulous ideas for Back to School crafts:

Pipecleaner and bead bagtags

Sheep bagtag

Ladybug pencil topper

Bumblebee pencil topper

Bead figure pencil topper

Portfolio craft

Spiral pencil topper

More Back To School

Back To School Crafts - Lots NEW!

2009-08-15T10:27:00.007+01:00

We've added four fun new Back To School Crafts to the website today:

Keep out - I'm doing my homework! Just what every industrious child needs...
Pencil door hanger

Use this schoolhouse collage idea at home to help nervous children get used to the idea of being at school - or at school to help children learn the names of teachers and classroom assistants.
Schoolhouse collage

Commemorate a special school event - or perhaps your child's first day at school - with this schoolhouse photo frame.
Schoolhouse photo frame

Raid the junk drawer for supplies for this cute 3d model schoolhouse!
Model schoolhouse

More Back To School

Coolest Hula Hoop Tricks!

2009-08-15T08:21:00.002+01:00

Can your kids hula hoop? They can learn some really fantastic tricks by watching this video!

More Kids Skills Videos here

Pesto And Pasta - Kids Favourite!

2009-07-27T09:27:00.003+01:00

Kids love pasta more than any other meal and they love it most with Pesto!

That’s the result of a recent survey commissioned by the Oxford Children’s Food Festival which showed that the tasty green sauce from Sacla’ is much more popular than other nursery favourites including Macaroni Cheese, Toad in the Hole and Bangers and Mash.

Pasta and Pesto was voted top of the tea-time treats by 18 per cent of youngsters with its nearest rival, Macaroni Cheese, trailing behind with 12 per cent.

The final results were:

1. Pesto and Pasta
2. Macaroni Cheese
3. Toad in the Hole
4. Spaghetti Bolognese
5. Bangers and Mash
6. Chinese
7. Chicken and chips
8. Chicken Curry
9. Roast Dinners
10. Pizzas

Sacla’ Pesto is irresistibly tasty and incredibly quick and easy to prepare. It’s a nourishing speedy supper simply stirred through pasta or an absolute winner with kids is classic Pesto alla Genovese. Sacla’ Pesto can add colour and vibrancy to all manner of kid’s meals so if you need a little inspiration on how to perk up with Pesto visit www.sacla.co.uk for a whole host of delightful ideas for all the family to enjoy or why not use this Pesto alla Genovese recipe tonight...

Pesto all Genovese

Ingredients:

250g of linguine
250g of potatoes cut into 2cm (1in) chunks
150g of green beans, cut into 2cm (1 in) pieces
½ jar of Sacla’ Classic Pesto or Organic Green Pesto
6 tbsp of double cream or crème freche
3 tbsp of freshly grated Grana Padano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions:

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the potatoes for five minutes. Add the pasta to the pan and cook for another five minutes.* Lastly add the cut beans to the pan and cook for a further two to three minutes.

Drain the pasta, potatoes and vegetables and make sure you hold back a cupful of the cooking water.

Turn it all into a heated serving dish and mix in the Sacla’ Pesto, the cream, the Grana Padano and two or three tablespoons of the cooking water.

It all needs to be mixed well and served with all the joy of an Italian summer’s day!

*Please adjust cooking times according to the type of pasta you’ve used.

Learn How To Beatbox - A Video For Kids!

2009-07-26T10:33:00.003+01:00

Beatboxing is cool, but only if you do it right! If you want to learn how to beatbox, this video will show you how!

More Learn A New Skill Videos

Ping Cup - Hours Of Fun For Kids!

2009-07-25T12:22:00.004+01:00

Here's a new skill to master which could keep you busy all summer long! And all you need for Ping Cup is a plastic cup and a ping pong ball:

More Learn A New Skill Videos

Kick-Ups Anyone? Learn Some Soccer Skills!

2009-07-23T19:03:00.005+01:00

Here's a skill that your kids can learn - and once they master kick-ups like this it will certainly impress their friends and make them look cool in the playground! Soccer fans watch and learn...

Grandparents Day cards to print - and more!

2009-07-21T18:48:00.003+01:00

Whether you celebrate Grandparents Day or not, grandparents can be a wonderful asset to children's lives - and children can use these new printables to let their Grandmas and Grandpas know they are thinking of them any time of year! We have Grandparents Day cards to print, mini-booklets to print, fold and fill, and writing paper for letters and thank you's too.
Grandparents Day Printables

Calling all potential UK athletes!

2009-07-21T10:48:00.004+01:00

Her's an idea for a free family day out when you can try out your athletic skills and meet top team GB athletes!

DATE: Wednesday 22nd July

TIME: 11am – 4pm

LOCATION: Trafalgar Square, London

WHO:

Olympic gold medallist Sally Gunnell
Perri Shakes Drayton
Marylin Okoro
Steph Twell
and many more...

Wednesday's event is the sixth of eight McCain Track & Field Roadshows running this summer up and down the country (there will be another in Newcastle on 15th August and the final event in Cardiff on 22nd August). McCain Track & Field Roadshows give everyone the opportunity to give athletics a go in a fun and relaxed environment. Based in a huge inflatable pod erected in city centres, activities available to try out on the day include testing reaction and strength as well as jumping, throwing and sprinting exercises, with the support of Team GB and UK Athletics coaches. Those looking for more information should go to www.mccaintrackandfield.co.uk.

Farm Animal Room Decorations

2009-07-18T23:54:00.003+01:00

Our farm animal room decorations are the perfect room accessories for kids who would like to be down on the farm! Just print, cut out and use to decorate bedrooms and playrooms. We have a farm animal mobile, room signs and door hangers, too.
Farm Animal Room Decorations

Find your way around our huge Themes section!

2009-07-18T23:50:00.003+01:00

OK, this is the first post for a very long time! Somehow I have been so busy updating the website that updating the blog has played second fiddle. But I'm trying to turn over a new leaf, and hope that you will follow along.

As the number of pages at Activity Village has grown (we now have over 5,000 pages of activities for kids), finding your way around the site has become increasingly difficult. We aim to try to tame the site a little by creating site maps of the bigger sections, and this site map for the Themes section is the first. We have 39 theme units already, and many more in the pipeline, so please come and explore and find the huge number of activities we have to offer.

Themes section at Activity Village

Site Map of Themes Section

African Children's Choir accompany Josh Grogan...

2009-05-12T12:07:00.001+01:00

NB: Please do not allow your children to browse video sharing sites unsupervised.

Reading Logs and Diaries

2009-05-11T18:08:00.005+01:00

We've got some fun new printable reading logs and diaries today to help you keep track of your child's daily reading. Print out our charts, stick to the fridge or noticeboard, and start to keep a record - adding a sticker whenever you get to the end of a book, perhaps? Alternatively, print out one of our mini booklets - perfect for going back and forth to school every day or tucking into a pocket or handbag for odd "reading" moments.

Reading Logs and Diaries

The Tudors - our latest theme!

2009-05-09T17:57:00.003+01:00

We have just put the finishing touches on a huge new Tudor theme at Activity Village. Whether you are studying the Tudors at school, doing some extra investigations at home, or just interested in some of the larger-than-life kings and queens of the Tudor dynasty, we are sure you will find something of interest!

We have lots of printables, including writing frames, notebooking pages and our very popular mini booklets, and a large collection of colouring pages relating to Tudor life, fashions and of course the kings and queens themselves. We have a great collection of worksheets, too, to encourage the kids to learn a little bit more (and have fun in the process). You'll also find some really super craft ideas to bring your study of the Tudors to life!

Included in the Tudor theme are some printables and colouring pages for some of our favourite characters from the time - Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake and of course William Shakespeare. We'll be looking at Shakespeare a bit more closely in the future...

Tudor Theme

Fun with Teddies - New Preschool Video

2009-03-26T09:48:00.001Z

Fun With Teddies - our latest preschool video gives little ones the chance to count teddies, discover what the teddies are doing, and think about opposites, all while listening to The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss!

NB Please do not allow your children to browse video sharing sites unsupervised.

Valentine's Day - Lots NEW!

2009-02-11T10:55:00.010Z

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and we have lots of new printables, crafts and other activities for the family to enjoy.

How about colouring in your own special Valentine card?
Valentine's Day Coloring Cards

We have some pretty new Valentine's Day coloring pages to print.
Valentine Coloring Pages

Valentine's Day Printables

We also have new printable Valentine's Day cards, games and scrapbook paper, as well as stationery, paper dolls, some really pretty new bookmarks and lots more!

Making your own Valentine Cards
Making your own Valentine Cards is fun - and a homemade Valentine Card is bound to be appreciated even more than a shop-bought one, even if they are as quick and easy for the kids to make as some of ours!

Valentine's Day Crafts
If your children are feeling crafty but you are stuck for inspiration this Valentine's Day, please come and have a look at our growing collection of Valentine crafts for kids!

Also for Valentine's Day we have:

A simple Origami Heart which is just perfect for kids. Fill it with a lollipop for a cute Valentine treat!

Valentine's Day puzzles
Valentine's Day Cryptograms
Valentine Sudoku Puzzles
Valentine's Day Mazes

Valentine's Day Recipes

Valentine's Day Games and Activities

Valentine's Day Jigsaws

Valentine's Day Jokes

Valentine's Day Links

Such a cute video!

2009-01-27T18:54:00.001Z

NB Please do not allow your children to browse video sharing sites unsupervised!

Animal Coloring Pages

2009-01-20T08:40:00.002Z

We've added over 40 new animal coloring pages to the site this week!
Animal Coloring Pages
Pets Coloring Pages

Birthday Printables - Lots NEW!

2009-01-20T08:37:00.003Z

We are beginning to update our Birthdays section, and we've started by adding lots of great new Birthday printables - gift envelopes (for giving cash, vouchers or gift cards) and birthday cards to print. Check them out here:
Birthday Printables

New "Fold-ups" for thank you letters - a card and an envelope in one!

2008-12-29T23:20:00.004Z

We introduced some fold-ups just before Christmas and they proved very popular. Combining the letter and the envelope in one makes them fun for kids to print and write - and we are hoping that our latest fold-ups will make writing their thank you letters less of a chore! We've got flowers, butterflies, robots and space ships so far, and will be adding lots more over the next few days.
Fold-up stationery to print

Australia Day colouring pages - Lots NEW!

2008-12-29T23:16:00.004Z

Australia Day colouring pages - ready for 26th January!
Australia Day colouring pages

Chinese New Year coloring pages - Lots NEW!

2008-12-29T23:14:00.002Z

We've got some great new Chinese New Year coloring pages for you ...
Chinese New Year Coloring Pages

New Year Crafts To Welcome 2009!

2008-12-29T23:09:00.002Z

It's nearly time to welcome in the New Year, and we have lots of new craft ideas to get the kids involved, including a memory box, a handprint poster and textured numbers:
New Year Crafts for Kids

More New Year Activities For Kids

Chinese New Year - The Year of the Ox!

2008-12-17T07:26:00.000Z

26th January will see the start of a new Chinese New Year - The Year of the Ox. We have started getting ready for the new year at Activity Village and you will find all sorts of new activity ideas:

Year of the Ox Puzzles

Year of the Ox Crafts

Year of the Ox Printables

Year of the Ox Jigsaws

Christmas Origami for Kids!

2008-12-17T07:22:00.000Z

We've added 9 new Christmas origami projects to Activity Village this month! If your children enjoy this paper folding activity, they will find lots to keep them busy here. Hang your origami models on the Christmas tree, use them as place names or to decorate the table, turn them into festive napkin rings, or use them to make handmade Christmas cards!

Christmas Origami for Kids

More Christmas Craft Ideas...

2008-12-17T07:19:00.000Z

We've turned a wooden spoon into this gorgeous angel, a santa and a reindeer. Our wooden spoon crafts make great puppets - and the angel looks very pretty on top of the tree too!
Christmas Crafts for Kids

Handmade Nativity Scene Craft

2008-12-17T07:16:00.000Z

Sarah and the boys have had fun making this delightful Nativity Scene, using paper cups, polystyrene balls and other bits and pieces from their craft cupboard.
Handmade Nativity Scene

The Tale of Despereaux - exclusive puzzles and printable crafts!

2008-12-17T07:09:00.000Z

Have you read the book? Are you going to see the film? We are thrilled to be able to offer you some exclusive printables from the Tale of Despereaux, including some wonderful finger puppets, two colourful bookmarks, puzzles and more!
The Tale of Despereaux Puzzles and Printable Crafts

Christmas Games - some printable, all fun!

2008-12-08T11:01:00.000Z

We've got some fun new Christmas Games for you this year, including this Christmas Tree Game Board and Cards to print, cut out and play with your children. Other favourites include the Christmas Card Jigsaw Game and Race, Pass The Bauble, and our printable Christmas Boxes.
Christmas Games

Christmas Jigsaws - New Nativity Jigsaws

2008-12-08T10:59:00.000Z

We have added two new Christmas jigsaws for kids - both on a "nativity" theme and in various different sizes to suit all ages...
Christmas Jigsaws