Packing for a School Trip

My son is off today on his first overnight stay with his school and I am pretty apprehensive. I wrote about it in my daily blog: https://mydailythougthsandfeelings.blogspot.com/2024/05/my-son-first-trip-away.html

I did almost pack the kitchen sink but had to remember he has to be able to carry it so downsized my originally idea of what to pack and what he’ll actually wear as he can be fussy when it comes to clothes.

He doesn’t like hoods so I found this waterproof tracksuit which comes in its own bag which is handy.

This is from Amazon by a company called Regatta Outdoors.

I have showed him and tried them on him and is a good purchase and bought him some wellies and showed a hack on Instagram and TikTok Putting his socks and pants into his welly boots and his toiletries in the other:

@typicallondongal

Packing for school trip and did this hack to pack toiletries, pants and socks #travelhack

♬ original sound – typicallondongal

Because he won’t wear a hood I am going to pack a baseball cap and have labelled all that he is taking as kids will leave things behind. So the more you can do to prevent this from happening the better they will remember to pick their belongings up.

I bought some miniature toiletries from Boots. There are Shower Gel, toothbrush, Flannel and sun cream, and labelled these aswell.

Depending on the weather make sure you apply sunscreen, and wear light cool clothing and a jacket and a sweater should the weather turn cold.

I bought him some thick socks from TU Sainsbury’s when I bought him knew wellies and have put in a pair of sunglasses and then there is water and snacks.

The school are providing lunch and then will have dinner at the place they are going to and so going to be a great adventure for him.

It is going to be hard and was getting a little upset as I am worried about it, but will be so good for his independence and is overnight so going to not show my emotions, as I want him to enjoy it and often it is best to keep your feelings and fears to yourself because, you don’t want your fears to pass on to them, but ask if they are okay and if they have fears and go through it their emotions, so they get as much out of the experience as much as possible.

I have prepared him for it as the school did a little leaflet about it to go through of the itinerary with my son and won’t be on his own when it comes to bed time so feel good in that, and so its just getting him dressed and ready.

If you have any advice or a comment about this blog, then please leave a comment below.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Planning Your kids future

It is time for me to look for secondary schools for my son Henry because his school wants us to choose now because of getting a place and what is going to be suitable for his needs.

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The school he goes now is a LAN school because he has ADHD, possible autism because the doctor when we last saw him said he could be, and has development delay. This his third school because the others said they couldn’t reach his needs initially when they said at first they could, and has been a battle, to be heard and for them to find somewhere suitable. He is a good kid, he will play up but he can is respectful and has a kind heart. Its his communication he still struggles with and not making conversation.

So is it certain that we have to prepare for his future, and meet his needs need to start now, and now he goes to a holiday club during school holidays and clubs at the weekend, and now goes to an afterschool club has really helped him with that.

The important things are money, dressing, being able to cook, follow hygienic habits and communication.

Then there is interests and hobbies and life skills. Henry has been interested in cooking, but he will quickly lose interest. His concentration has got better, he will sit down and read, but he loves his sport, and I am not going to stop that. I want him to be happy and continue to do the things he loves, but monitoring what he consumes, that will teach to be careful online too, for when he becomes an adult.

The more you teach them when they are younger the more they will continue, and learn about time keeping, how to keep places nice and tidy and practice too hygiene.

Practicing good eating habits and excellent table manners.

Taking turns when playing games and good listening and paying attention.

It is all about making sure they are somewhat prepared for when they venture out into the big wide world and building their life skills, to have good solid relationships and communicate correctly and are heard.

So I hope that you are finding the blogs helpful and thank you to those already subscribed and if you are not would encourage you to do so, and then you will be notified when I post a blog on this site, and check out my Pinterest and my social media platforms where I share my content and other blogs and content I publish each week.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Rewarding Your Children

So I have started to give my son pocket money. He has to do some reading each day, keep himself dry at night and help with errands, example he enjoys helping his Grandpa with the bins as he works in a school, and is saving up because he wants to buy a Chelsea T-Shirt.

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Do you do the same? You can leave a comment below

That is how I learned about money and would save it for something I really wanted, but it doesn’t have to be money. You can do a different reward, like getting marbles and everytime they do something good, they get a marble in their jar, a method they use at my sons current school. Then can give an extra award once they have gotten a certain amount of marbles in their jar.

Or you can do it with lolly sticks, where you write on om them of chores and as they do this they can have a reward, like going out to eat at their favourite place or watch a film.

An Idea that I got from Jordan Page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwiWP41wLx0&list=PL23Z9xu_4WdggzSVNFafl6HWnuri7JVmZ&index=16

We humans are like animals that when we do something like a chore we do it again, when we reward ourselves, and the same with children.

It is good to have children be responsible as they grow so they can look after themselves and not be helped all the time. I want my son to know how to read and write, and do errands like setting them a budget when out shopping if they behave and help them with your shopping, and makes the shopping trip much more easier.

Have them have a morning routine by time. So when gets up around 6 to 6:30am, which is the time he wakes up, must make his bed, then have breakfast between 6:30 to 7am, and then must get dressed, the at 8:15am he is to put on his shoes and socks.

When he returns from school around 3:45am, he is to take off his uniform, and can play, until dinner time between 16:30 to 17:30, have a bath or wash and then do some reading once his dad has gone to bed, and then watch something, or play some more before he has to wind down before bedtime.

He then before bed which is usually between 19:30 to 20:30, but is rewarded if he doesn’t moan with a bedtime story and if he eats his dinner he can have a sweat treat, and in the day at the weekends, he can play football or rugby, or go to his favourite park where we like to walk, or go on scooter around another local park where I allow him to scooter on his own and where I can easily see him.

If you didn’t know my Life Coaching programme, Summer Project 2024 begins tomorrow and already filmed a video talking about it, if you’d like to know and starts from May to August 2024, and help you have a better life and a better year: https://youtu.be/-E2LmAU0xBg

Thank you for following me on this site, and I usually film vlogs on my Channel Typical London Gal and so a new vlog will be up this week, tomorrow Wednesday and so please subscribe if you’d like to keep up with those videos and have a new Educational Youtube channel too: CarrieEducationalYoutube-ws4xp

I will be uploading each week as I start this years programme.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Helping children to concentrate

So not sure if you have read my other blogs but my son has ADHD and so he finds it hard to concentrate on one thing for very long. He has gotten better, but he gets so easily distracted, so here are some tips I have learned that you may find useful too.

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Learning at home: If you do home schooling then set the scene so there is no easy distraction. I make sure the TV is off, the lighting is okay and then once they finish learning, like reading or writing, then they can play.

Travelling: Henry was pretty good when it came to travelling, only a few times have I have had problems but if they are restless then bring a toy with you, download some apps if they have a tablet or a book, just something that will help you and them enjoy the journey as you can wish you had stayed at home.

Eating: With learning set the scene. When Henry was a baby I would put on the tennis or Countdown. As my son got older we would have our son eat before we had our dinner, but in my experience if you are eating too with no distraction, then the chances are they will stay at the table or have them do an activity like drawing, especially if you are eating out.

Playing games: Just a few moments ago we were playing cricket for a bit, and this morning we played basket ball and table tennis in a local park, but soon after my son wanted to carry on scootering through the park to go to the supermarket, but with my mums help set a challenge to hit the ball across the table tennis table 5 times, and so setting challenges, can really help them want to continue. When my son finds something difficult he will tend to shy away from it, so keep it simple at first and try not to make it too competitive as learning the skill and getting the right technique, is more important and can increase the challenge, once they have got the basic understanding of doing the activity.

At first my son wasn’t interested in his scooter and he will lose interest for a bit, but then will shortly want to play it again, and give praise each time they have done some learning, been good travelling, eating nicely and playing activities and then they will think wow okay let me do that again, rather then be put off.

Please check out my books The Parenting Adventures pregnancy to the first 9 months and The Parenting Adventures Baby to Toddler years. They are available on Amazon under my name Carrie Challoner.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Getting kids to eat their food and enjoy it

As a kid myself I was super fussy and couldn’t have food touching each other on a plate and there were lots I didn’t eat. This changed as I got older but could be hard work as I liked plain food and wouldn’t eat a lot of chocolate which is good but would eat crisps.

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When I would go round to a friends houses I would feel anxious about having a meal and felt this inner dread in case it was something I didn’t like, but didn’t want to appear ungrateful. Thankfully my son likes many foods. He did go off vegetables and when it came to a sandwich like, Ham he would take it out and just eat the bread. Yet he has tasted curries, not the shop but the food, and Chinese, and wasn’t overly keen but gave it a try.

Cooking a meal together can help, and I showed a cookery book on Youtube and got a lot of views and so check it out: https://youtu.be/zMu_MGX5uBc

Now he will eat vegetables, but he is obsessed with chocolate and so had to limit his in take and really trying to not allow too much snacking, but still make nice meals and a variety.

Teaching kids to cook can be so beneficial and he likes to get involved and we do have weekly favourites, but no longer restricted and just put it on their plate even if they don’t touch it, as their taste buds can change, and along as they are drinking and eating something is important. I think it can stress us up when they are fussy and you feel mean when to persuade its good and they point blank push it away.

I had times I’d have to take 5 minutes to leave the room, when my son would cry and refuse. So would use meals like sausage and mash and blend it down and same with roast dinners and then he was fine, and making your own food can save you a lot of money.

Porridge with banana or Weetabix, or baby yogurts can be great for breakfasts and keep it simple as they begin to wean.

Take note of the meals they like and didn’t, along with allergies and if out and you are worried about then bring some food with you and if eating out check prior to going of the food they serve and if they do a kids menu.

Thank you for reading,

Carrie X

Cheat Sheet: Getting Kids to do their chores

Hello and happy Monday, so kids are off to school again, and for my son I make sure he makes his bed, brushes teeth, has eaten his breakfast and gets dressed. It is good to have a routine and set chores. This is not heavy tasks but simple ones, as it helps them be independent and that is what we want for our kids.

So this weeks cheat sheet that I do each Monday and I do this with my other blog: https://everyonecanbuildacastle.com

This week it is, Getting kids to do their chores:

getting-kids-to-do-their-choresDownload

My son, Henry wants responsibility and help with cooking, cleaning and on Saturday’s he will help my step dad to do the bins in the school he works at. He thrives on routine and wants involvement, and having them do chores it is great for their development and growth.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Getting ready for school Holidays 2024

So it is half term here in the UK and my son has gone to his holiday club, and then we off to a cat cafe and book swimming, but there are other things you can do so check this weeks Cheat Sheet for inspiration.

getting-ready-for-the-half-term-1Download

Please let me know if you like these cheat sheets, and I enjoying putting then together to share ideas of having fun and stress free, and are completely free to download and print off.

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie Challoner

Weekly Cheat Sheet: Planning your evening

Hello and welcome! If you didn’t know I now do weekly cheat sheets, which is a free printable, to help your days and get the most out of your life.

This weeks one is ideas on Planning your evenings as we head towards spring.

planning-your-eveningsDownload

I have also shared this sheet on my other site, https://everyonecanbuildacastle.com

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

My weekly Cheat Sheet: Ten Minute Habits

Welcome to my blog where I share tips as a parent to help you too. Each week I am posting Cheat Sheets to help you get ready for each day and week, and this one is ten minute habits:

ten-minute-tasks-1Download

Many thanks for reading, and do pass these on if you wish and to keep up to date with my blogs subscribe.

Carrie X

Weekly Cheat Sheet: Making life simple and stop getting overwhelmed in getting your life together

Hello and it is new week and means that it is time for a new Cheat Sheet, which I have begun doing for 2024 to help you get your life together. This one is about, Making life simple and stop being overwhelmed.

weekly-cheat-sheetDownload

Please share with others, who may need a bit of support in getting their life together and print off. I like to share my life to inspire others in growing themselves and so I do have three Youtube channels, check them out below:

https://www.youtube.com/@typicallondongal

https://www.youtube.com/@mywayofliving1602

https://www.youtube.com/@carrieseducationyoutubecha4891

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X