Posts Tagged ‘Children’s Holiday Courses’

What are little girls made of?

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

This is hardly an exhaustive survey (though it might qualify as ‘exhausting’), but – give the blog a prize – boys and girls really are different. Oh yes, pop that Phd in the post. An outing with a goddaughter yesterday afternoon (English National Ballet’s Angelina Ballerina in Holland Park: completely adored by the overwhelmingly female, under-five, audience) revealed a few differences to the mother of boys who took her. For what it’s worth, here are her thoughts.

  • Little girls like clothes. Love and worship them, and might just sell the family pet for cash to hit Baby Gap with. Boys, on the other hand, simply don’t care. (Until the ‘trainer’ years, from about eight, apparently.) It must take hours to get ready when gorgeous girlie pulls everything out of the wardrobe, tries it all on, does it all over again until finally happy with look du jour. Boys? You bung it on, they then concentrate on important things like breakfast, and the number of different cereals they can cram into a bowl.
  • Girls show off. While boys run around like crazy, climb everything that moves, and chase pigeons/dogs/pigtailed girls, their exuberant behaviour is fuelled mainly by that scary mix of testosterone and adrenaline. Girls pirouhette, twirl, prance and skip, and go into overdrive if they suspect anyone of watching.
  •  Feeding girls is cheap. Boys like bulk, girls munch on half of half a sandwich and are good till bedtime.
  • Watching me, watching you. Girls are acutely aware of what other girls are doing, wearing or eating. Teeny tots wearing tiaras and top-to-toe ruffles and sparkles are likely to bring on an attack of, ‘can I have that? All of it??’, followed by disatisfaction with own tiara/ruffles/sparkles. And they’re not above pointing out how superior their own sparkly skirt is if it’s more frou frou than anyone else’s.
  • And what is it about pink? If it’s pink, girls want to wear it, smile at it or eat it. Despite boys being invariably dressed with something blue in the mix, they don’t swoon every time they see the sky or an empty crisp packet.

So there  we have it, girls will be girls,  and very nice they are too. Though blog angels & urchins now feels a little bit more solidarity with SMOG.

Any young for cricket?

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
James Anderson gives Asda KWIK Cricket the green light

James Anderson gives Asda KWIK Cricket the green light

They only went and did it. Well done those brave boys in white who reduced Australia to, well, ashes, in order to reclaim them. Never one to miss jumping on a bandwagon, blog angels & urchins is polishing the bat and stumps, and making the most of the temporary removal of rain to the far end of the cricket ground. First stop is finding a centre offering ASDA Kwik Cricket. This simple and fun introductory game for children aged five and up can be played indoors and out, and is getting almost as popular with girls as with boys. Jaques Bounceback helps you practice bowling and batting (plus football, tennis or pretty much anything else involving a ball) in the garden or park. If you need a bat, look no further than Willostix Tiddlers Bats. Not the cheapest on the market at £27.50, but they won’t fall apart the moment a cricket ball hits them, are designed just for juniors, and emblazoned with funky (and tasteful) motifs, including a can’t-miss-it-even-if-you-miss-the-ball cobra design. Even Hollywood is getting in on the crease, with Sam Mendes getting a team together for a cricket based film. And if rain does stop play, visit the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) website for some free desktop wallpapers. A current favourite is England’s Ashes’ win in 2005 – something tells me that by the time you read this the numbers might have changed.

Monster facts for little monsters

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
Early learner meets Fact Monster

Early learner meets Fact Monster

Know any little monsters? Us too. Here’s how to turn them from bouncing-off-the-walls into clever-little-swots, and we promise they’ll love every moment. Fact Monster is an information-crammed website devised for children aged (a bright) seven and up. It’s American, which - kinda fair enough – means something of a US bias (on the plus side, you’ll find loads about this week’s big story, the moon landing). Maths problems, science equations, historical dates and geography galore – they’ll be teaching teacher by the time September rolls in.

Future Wimbledon winners?

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
Should have gone to Tennis Head

He should have gone to Tennis Head...

At Blog Angels & Urchins, we feel a little bit sorry for the redoubtable Mrs Judy Murray. Spending all that time courtside with her heart in her mouth, not to mention being constantly flicked by the girlfriend’s mane of hair. We salute you, Mrs M, and wish your slightly grumpy son well (though we can forgive him after Monday night’s epic, not to mention today’s three-set scorcher). Wouldn’t it be great to have tennis more readily available to give everyone the chance to become a future champ? Tennis for Free is a campaign to make publically managed courts free to use. It’s supported by such lawn luminaries as Pat Cash and Greg Rusedski, and you can log on to find your nearest free court. Nestle Go Free! vouchers can be exchanged for free lessons supported by the LTA. And finally, no point in lobbing balls at them if their racket is too big or small. There’s a handy guide to buying the right racket at Tennis Head. Now we’re off to make a jug of Pimm’s, dig out the Union Jack, and fashion a fetching hat accessorised with tennis balls.

Mini media darlings

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Lights, camera, holiday action

Lights, camera, holiday action

We’re all for keeping the children occupied during the holidays, particularly if they’re learning a skill which might bring in Jonathan Ross’s income in a few years time (remember, little darlings, we taught you all you know…). So we were all ears when we heard about a kids’ media course. It’s aimed at 8-to-11-year olds, and runs over three consecutive days. Attendees get to write, shoot and star in their own short film, create a magazine-style TV show, and, thrillingly, learn tricks of the trade from a real stuntman – a veteran of countless Indiana Jones and James Bond movies. There’s a behind-the-scenes trip round BBC TV Centre, and sessions covering the basics of hands-on editing. They get to play with serious bits of kit such as HD cameras, green screen backgrounds, sfx (doh, special effects, mum), and might even meet an A-list film star (keep watching for updates – we’re always breaking celebrity news on Blog Angels & Urchins!). At the end of the course each mini movie maker takes home a DVD showing the fun they’ve had – an early show reel, anyone?  It’s Spielberg meets Newsround to punch life into Blue Peter for the iPod generation.

WHERE Knightsbridge School, SW1 (07712 559912)
WHEN Wednesday 15 – Friday 17 July 2009, 9.30am to 4.30pm.
DETAILS £300, including RDA juice, fruit and cookies. Bring a packed lunch.