Dressed in Red, Dressed in Red, Little Red Riding Hood...

Flowers for the forest

Thursday 27 June marked the first ever Theatre Arts performance at Gymboree Chiswick! It's a class I've wanted to offer for some time and with the launch of our drop-off classes this year it was the perfect opportunity.

For ten weeks our three little actors have been working on The Little Red Riding Hood and we've been amazed and delighted at what they've achieved.

Trees and bushes

The Theatre Arts course is designed to run as a cycle and it requires both regular attendance and a lot of hard work from its participants, both in and out of class. It's been fascinating to watch our children engaging with simplified versions of the same theatre games and performance exercises that I've done myself at both university and drama school. They've exceeded all my expectations in terms of their concentration and ability to understand the performance concept. A, H and S were only 3 (in fact in S's case 2!) at the time of the performance and it was one of my proudest moments in my six years with Gymboree.

Seeing how proud they were of their own achievements was also really special for us - building their own set

Mr Wolf & LRRH

and working on their own costumes has helped so much with giving them an idea of how a show fits together. It's also inspired us to start organising trips to the theatre and other kids activities which will hopefully be starting next month.

I strongly believe that this class represents the beginnings of the core performance skills of acting, singing and dancing and will give them a great base to continue these pursuits through school and beyond. Next month we begin rehearsals again although the script has yet to be chosen!

If you'd like your child to enrol please get in touch now as we have maximum of 8 spaces available - please also get in touch if you'd like to learn more about the benefits of the Theatre Arts programme.

Gymbo Moves House!

I've been very quiet on the blog the last six weeks, but there is a reason! We've said goodbye to the Chiswick Town Hall, our home of the last five and a half years, and moved to the Piccolo Play Centre a few roads down.

Hall before painting began

There's been a huge amount to do, not least redecorating the big downstairs hall that is now our teaching space. It's been a strange journey for me and I've found the move more emotional than I expected. My business has grown from three half days a week to five full days and it felt hard to say goodbye to the venue that's given me so much support and encouragement over the years.

We've had family and friends as well as all the staff working hard to effect the transformation and I'm so grateful for all their help and generosity.

Me, Jai & Keji

I'm very proud of what we've achieved so far and have been delighted with all the positive feedback we've received from our members. Our primary reason for moving was to offer our members a better experience through an expanded timetable, a cafe and outdoor play area in the same building, extra free play sessions and ground floor access for all classes. It's taken a lot of work and we're not finished yet so look our for more developments over the coming months!

Jungle loo phase 1!

Next month our new timetable will begin and I'm excited about hopefully seeing lots of new faces as well as our wonderfully loyal members who have made this move with us.

If you know anyone local with children under 5 please encourage them to book in for a trial class - from Sensory Baby Play up to drop-off classes for the older ones there really is something for everyone!

Looking forward to seeing you all soon....

Brickoven Milano: Italian Family Dining comes to Chiswick

Brickoven Milano on Chiswick High Road is my latest local discovery through Twitter. I met the lovely people there a few weeks ago to talk about running some classes in their playroom and was completely charmed by what I found. I took so many photos I'm going to have trouble fitting them in here, but also can't bear to leave any out!

I've now discovered the best coffee in town and all their wonderful baking is also done on site. There was a selection of four different cakes on the counter as well as the delicious mini-doughnuts being busily consumed by Nicoletta's daughter.

I recommended the coffee to a friend a few days later and he popped in to test them out. He explained they'd been recommended, thanked them for a fab coffee and was told with a smile 'It's on the house'. Now that's some awesome customer service!

The whole team are unbelievably warm, welcoming, and keen to talk to you about their menu and restaurant concept. Brickoven caters for all food intolerances offering a huge range of pizza bases and pasta. They're aiming to make eating out a family experience and they've come up with some seriously innovative ideas.

The restaurant is divided into three areas: the main restaurant, the playroom and the lounge. The restaurant is bright and airy with wonderful old Italian advertising posters on the walls - a legacy of the family's grandparents. There's also a view into the kitchen so you can watch your pizza being made!

All the bread is made daily and there was a heavenly smelling selection on the counter. It's quite an extensive menu with all sort of meat and fish dishes as well: so sure to be something to suit everyone!



The lounge is quiet and comfortable - also available as a function room for parties and meetings. It's certainly perfect for Gymboree parties so we'll hopefully be visiting again in that capacity too. Better still it's free to hire with a minimum spend.

Brickoven has to be the most family-friendly restaurant in Chiswick - not only do they have a separate playroom for the children but you can also watch a live feed through your smartphone or an iPad they'll bring to your table in order for you to keep an eye on them.



Busy weekends also mean a nanny on duty in the playroom as well.

Watch this space for my lunch review coming soon....

Brickover Milano
66 Chiswick High Road, W4 1SY
Tel. 020 8994 5834
Website coming soon www.brickoven.it
https://twitter.com/brickovenmilano


Petits Secrets by CB

I don't think Petits Secrets by CB should stay a secret. 

It's a truly fabulous idea that I can't stop telling people about!

Petits Secrets uses up-cycled fabrics to create one of a kind underwear - each one completely unique. I've sent some of my own unwanted clothes to be up-cycled and it's amazing to see them now as part of the current collection. Photos shown here: a new lease of life for my pyjamas!

It's all hand-made and each item has a tag telling you what clothing item it's been made from. I love the idea of unwanted clothes being turned into something new, and the fact that nobody else will ever have exactly the same design. Most items also have a matching sleep mask so you can siesta in style!



I think it's important for us all to think a bit more about where our clothes come from and to be prepared to pay a bit more for ethically-produced, eco-friendly products. Many of us have been horrified recently by the news story about the Primark factory in India, but the truth is that many high-street brands produce clothes in conditions we wouldn't be comfortable with if we knew the truth. A truth that is readily available but to which I and many others prefer to turn a blind eye rather than give up our bargains.

I'm no saint in this area but perhaps if I also choose to support more independent, British brands then I can consider myself a bit more of a responsible shopper - albeit with some way to go.

Celine also makes items to order so you can also send your own fabric and choose what you like to have made. It's the kind of treat we all deserve! All the pieces are beautiful, sexy and super comfortable - time to start lounging in style instead of slumming around in my old trousers at the weekend.

P.S. If you send clothes to be upcycled you'll get 15% off your order - now that's too tempting to resist. I'm off to raid my wardrobe for a custom order.....

http://petits.secrets.celinebakshi.co.uk/
(with thanks for the use of their beautiful photographs)

Gymboree Mumpreneurs: Sini's Satsuma Sweethearts

This post is the first in what will be a series about some of our fabulous Gymboree mumpreneurs. I've noticed increasingly over the last couple of years that more of our mums are starting up fabulous new businesses alongside their family life and I want to showcase them all to show my support and get the word out there about what they're doing.

My first mummy is the lovely Sini, creator of Sini's Satsuma Sweethearts. Satsuma Sweethearts is an online children's clothing store and I asked Sini to tell me where the idea had come from and how she's developed the business from selling the Naartjie brand to now selling her own beautiful designs.

"I have been running the children's clothing web shop since 2007 selling Naartjie clothing, which is colourful and different - and it has been my dream to design my own clothing for quite a long time. I just saw these cute Naartjie pieces and kept thinking that this would be perfect, if they would just change this and that in this dress etc.

With 3 and now 4 children at home, I didn't really expect that I would be able to start designing and selling my own pieces at the moment, but I met this amazingly talented Finnish lady who is very good at sewing - I asked her whether she would like to start sewing clothing for me if I gave her designs and that's how it all started.

For me it was something positive to think about and do because of Emma's horrible reflux [Sini's youngest daughter born October 2012]. After spending time in hospital with her and being too scared to sleep at night thinking that she would start choking when we were sleeping, and thinking about all the numerous medicines we had to keep giving her all the time…the clothing became my escape from reality. Emma is with me all the time and sleeping on top of my tummy or next to me when I'm working, so she is there but I am not thinking about the reflux.

So this is my dream come true - I have been dreaming about it for a while, but the decision to do it was very quick.

The dresses are all quite princessy - the kind of dresses you want to have when you are a little girl! I've always loved buying cute dresses and clothes for Matilda and now of course Juliet and Emma, so the interest in clothing has always been there. I have tried to cover quite a wide age group - there is a huge demand for older girls clothing in Finland especially.
 
The 'Emma' tunic and shorts "came to me" when I took Matilda and Ben to Karate and was waiting for them. I was bored having nothing to do for an hour so I started drawing.

I think being a mumpreneur is awesome! Especially when you make cute clothing and you have 3 girls at home - you have your own testers at home and the older ones can give you feedback too. The good thing is that I can work whenever I want or have time to. I can work from home and be with my children too (not at the same time though). I absolutely love what I am doing at the moment and it really does not seem like work at all. I work several hours a day but it is all so much fun! It's also so rewarding when people like your own pieces.

Also having 4 children of my own, I know what works and what not, what is practical etc. This added to the knowledge of what people want to buy for their children (after running the web shop for years) means you can say that I have quite a lot of experience of baby and children's clothing!"

So if you're inspired by Sini's story and have an business idea you've been thinking about - do it! If you're already a mumpreneur and would like me to write about you then please get in touch. Our next feature coming soon!

To browse and shop Sini's beautiful designs:

www.satsumasweethearts.com
www.facebook.com/SatsumaSweethearts
https://twitter.com/SinisSatsuma 
 
 
 
 

The Packed Lunch Project: Part 1

Jodi commented on my soup recipe asking for some ideas for packed lunches for her twins to take to nursery. Her family lives in Dubai and she asked me to exclude chicken and rice as she worries about food poisoning in the heat; also sandwiches as the twins aren't keen!

Since I started working on it a few weeks ago it seems to have grown into something of a marathon project so I'm splitting it into two posts!

The internet is full of cute ideas to do with presenting children's food in a novelty way and it's frankly a bit of a challenge to come up with new ideas. But I'm a believer in food looking like food (you can keep your smiley faces and star cutter sandwiches unless it's a party) and that children on the whole can eat whatever we eat once you bear in mind anything not suitable for young ages. Kids like flavour too! So most of these are going to be things that I love to make for my own lunch and would suit the whole family, not just the kids.

My own family lived in Hong Kong when I was younger so we also had the challenge of lunches that would stay fresh in a coolbag until lunchtime.  I'm therefore also going to try and remember some of my mum's ideas that my sister and I used to like: for two months after we arrived we had no permanent accommodation and she had to make lunches on a hotel room dressing table!

Here's my first four....

1. The Dubai Delicious

Especially for Jodi: Falafel, green couscous, roasted peppers, mint & green chilli dip

I made my own (not very good) falafel but Waitrose sells great ones. The green couscous has food processed fresh spinach and mint stirred in before adding the liquid - good way to get secret veg into kids plus the green colour makes it fun! Exclude the chilli if your kids aren't keen on spicy tastes.

2. The Next Day Barbecue

Sausages, halloumi bites, corn on the cob, griddled asparagus, courgette, cherry tomatoes, new potatoes

The principle of this is to just use your barbecue leftovers for a great and no-effort lunch the next day.

Try all kinds of veg on skewers or in big pieces, plus any kind of marinated fish or meat.

3. The Ploughman's Platter

Cheese, crackers, chutney, hard-boiled egg, apple, cherry tomatoes, pickles, houmous, crudités

Give the traditional ploughman's a shake up with a selection of cold nibbles. Let kids try chutney, pickles and slightly more unusual things - I know lots who love vinegary tastes.

P.S. I'm not advocating Laughing Cow - rather a selection of whatever you have in the fridge!

4. The Scandi Style

Smoked salmon trimmings, dill potatoes, lemon crème fraiche dip, cucumber salad

My favourite recipe so far - very quick to make and delicious. My cucumber salad is actually Delia Smith's Sweet Pickled Cucumber (highly recommended) but you could also just slice and dress fresh cucumber. I've also got chopped shallot and cornichons on the potatoes - you might want to exclude for kids.

These may not look easy but I promise they are - I've been having great lunches as a result of writing this post that were no more work than making a salad or similar as usual.

I haven't included full recipes for these but can do if required. Let me know if you give them a try and if you've got requests for the next post, please comment below!

Jodi is mum to twins Oscar and Bailee 3, and Maple Violet 10 months. You can see all her family's recipe favourites at www.facebook.com/JodiRecipes  and read her daily photo blog at http://www.blipfoto.com/JPS

Green Days at the Bedford Park Festival

This is just a really quick post about one of the reasons I love living in Chiswick and one I felt very strongly at the weekend.

There's a really strong sense of community here and I've never felt so much a part of it as I did at Green Days on Sunday - part of the fabulous Bedford Park Festival.

Gymboree had an area in the Children's Corner with a play area for the little ones and an art station for kids to drop in and make a flower headband to take away with them.

We had over 40 little people stop by for some fun on Sunday afternoon and had great fun meeting new parents and catching up with many we hadn't seen in a while. It still gives me a shock to see how quickly they grow up - the lovely twins I remember from class a few years ago are now 7 years old!

There's a wonderful community atmosphere at the fete and it's an amazing feeling that my business is now part of that community. I've been meeting lots of other local business owners, many of whom I'm looking forward to working with over the coming months. Everyone is so welcoming and supportive - I feel very lucky.

It was truly a village dream of a fete with all sorts of fabulous food, crafts and live music. I felt really sad when the day was over!

We were also selling the gorgeous baby and toddler clothes from Victoria Grace Clothing - sneak pic here but their online Etsy shop well worth a look. If you're local we'll be selling them at Gymboree all of next week.

A very happy day and looking forward to many more over the summer. My very biggest thanks for the organisers for asking us to be involved.

For more information on the Bedford Park Festival please visit http://www.bedfordparkfestival.org/

To see more of the gorgeous creations from Victoria Grace Childrenswear please visit https://www.facebook.com/victoriagracechildrenswear or http://www.etsy.com/shop/VictoriaGraceClothes

Party for a Princess: Happy Birthday Rebecca

The lovely Lozada Family

I had a really special day a few weeks ago helping to celebrate the birthday of one of our members. We've known Rebecca since she was 8 weeks old and first started coming to Gymboree with her lovely mummy Emma. To start with Rebecca couldn't stay awake for the whole 45 minute Baby Play class and they used to have to come back later in the week to do the other half of the session!








Shake shake shake!

One of the most wonderful things about my job is watching the children who come to our classes grow up and change. So much happens in that first year and it was truly a privilege to be part of Rebecca's first birthday celebration. It's such a milestone for new parents and I loved being able to share such a proud day with them.


Dancing Queen!


My job for a party is to make sure we deliver something really personal and tailored to the birthday child. Rebecca loves music and instruments so we included all her favourite activities and had lots of fun with maracas, dancing, parachute and bubbles. Emma wanted music to get everyone up and dancing as there were a lot of adult guests, so we included ABBA, The Beatles, The Bee Gees and lots more!

It's been wonderful over the last year to watch Rebecca changing from a tiny baby into such a lovely little girl. There's been so many changes it's hard to believe she's now almost walking on her own. I'll be looking forward, as always, to seeing her little concentrating face in Music on Monday. :)


Birthday Bubbles

Thank you to Emma to letting me write about Rebecca's special day, and to SM Studio Photography for use of their beautiful photographs.

Venue: Cupcake, www.cupcakemum.com
Photographer: Sigitas Matulis Photography, www.smstudio.co.uk

Want us to write about your special day? Just let us know!

Come Fly With Me: Gymbo's Holiday Essentials

With the summer approaching I thought I'd write a quick post about the holiday essentials we'd recommend to get you through long flights with toddlers and help you out keeping them entertained away from home!

So here's my shortlist:

1. At least 2 Putumayo CD's including one from the Dreamland range

The Dreamland range is great for promoting sleep and a calm atmosphere when routines get disrupted away from home. The Playground range are more upbeat and perfect for playing on long car journeys or on personal CD players during a flight (this worked perfectly for my friend's twins on a flight to New Zealand). Stories on CD are also good for this.

2. A Gymbo Beach Ball!

It packs down to almost nothing and it's perfect for beach fun.






3. Bubble Ooodles

They don' t take up much room in your suitcase and you can bring bubble fun to beaches, bath time and lots more....






4. Finger or Hand Puppets

These can provide hours of fun for children on their own or with parents. The finger puppet sets from The Puppet Company also feature an insert with songs or story to match the puppets.




5. Gymbo Rucksack or TrolleyBag

It's great to let kids have their own bag of toys for journeys and holidays: they can help you pack or make it a surprise. We love these two.

6. Putumayo Colouring and Sticker Books

These are a great surprise for in-flight or siesta-time entertainment. Choose from African, European or Latin for both options. The A3 size colouring book has lots of great pictures, while the sticker book folds out into a flat board with a big pack of reusable stickers for children to make their own scenes again and again. Match with your destination if you can!

7. Gymboree DVD's

For the 2+ age group these DVD's are like bringing a Gymboree class to your own home! I had an email from a mum this week desperate to track down The Very Brave Elephant in time for their holiday as her daughter has nearly worn the other one out with so much viewing! Good as a backup in case of rainy days or a bit of time out of the sun.

8. Your Joining Pack Gymbo!

Post your holiday snaps with Gymbo to our Facebook page and let us know where he's been travelling with you!


We're confident that with one of all of these additions, your summer travelling will be smoother than ever.

Do you have your own holiday favourites? Let us know below!

Stockists:

All available from your local Gymboree or via http://www.inspiremetoys.co.uk/
To explore Putumayos's full Kids range visit http://www.putumayo.com/kids/home
To see the huge range from The Puppet Company http://www.puppetsbypost.com/

SPECIAL OFFER: Buy the whole list from Gymboree Chiswick before 31 August 2013 and receive a 10% discount!

Soup, Soup, Beautiful Soup

I love soup, both cooking and eating. It's so easy to make and freezes really well, so ideal for last-minute suppers and feeding the whole family. Also perfect for taking to work.

If like my sister all your previous attempts at homemade soup have resulted in browny-green sludge then give my basic soup recipe a try. It's foolproof!


Emily's Basic Vegetable & Yellow Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

1 large onion
4 large carrots
3 leeks
1 bunch of celery
3 cloves garlic
500g bag dried yellow split peas
1.5 litres chick or vegetable stock
1.5 litres water
dried mixed herbs or any leftover fresh
salt and pepper
olive oil/fry light for cooking
your biggest saucepan




1. Trim vegetables and cut into small dice.
2. Put a dash of olive oil (or at least 6 sprays Fry Light which I'm addicted to) into the pan on a low heat. Add the onions and soften for five minutes or so.
3. Add all the other veg, herbs and garlic, stir together, them cook with the lid on for a few minutes.
4. Add the split peas and all the stock, plus some of the water (see notes below for how much). Cook with the lid on for 45-60 minutes until the split peas are cooked.
5. Blend all or part of the soup to achieve your desired consistency.
6. Season to taste - it will need more than you think!


Notes

* The amount of water you add will depend on how you want your finished soup to turn out and you will probably need to add more as you go along. If serving toddlers put less and keep a thicker, more stew-like consistency.

* Any root vegetables can be used for this, just be careful they're not all very sweet ones.

* The quantities are flexible so use whatever you have in the fridge, this is just a good base for any soup.

* You can also use any dried lentils in place of the split peas, I just love the taste these give and the nice yellow colour of the finished soup.

* This makes a big quantity (probably enough to feed 8 adults) but I think it's worth making in bulk and then freezing some.

* I usually blend about two thirds and leave some pieces of veg whole but it's good which ever way you do it! (for vegetable-phobic children - blend the whole thing super smooth!)

* Don't be shy with the seasoning, this quantity needs a lot. However if you're cooking for young children bear in mind that stock is already quite salty so you might prefer not to add any more.

* You will probably need to add a bit of extra water after freezing as it tends to thicken. Keeps for about 3 days in the fridge.

If you give this a try please comment below and let me know how it went! I've got all sorts of other great recipes just waiting to be shared. Happy Cooking!

May Fayre at Chiswick House

Lots of fun with my friend Claire and her gorgeous kids Teyah and Chael at the Chiswick House May Fayre on Sunday - plus catching up with some of our Gymboree families too.

We managed to spend quite a while wandering around unable to find the fayre (more signage needed?) but definitely worth arriving early before it got too busy. The queue for the (amazing smelling) barbecue when we left at 1pm was more than 30 people long.

 
 
 I loved the more unusual activities like the scent bag making - a great sensory experience for children selecting their own dried ingredients to make their own recipe. Freely admit having 'helped' Teyah to choose rose, lavender and rosemary but it smelt amazing! She liked being able to bash up all the leaves and petals in her own pestle and mortar.

Sadly we had to sacrifice the face painting - with a long queue and just one lady (and costing another £4 after having paid £5 each to get in), resulting in an unhappy toddler and a promise from me to paint her face myself next time. Better get some practise in....

The circus show was a big hit with kids of all ages, both watching and having a go at their own juggling and stilt-walking. Lots of ideas for me as well as we're hoping to help at the St Peters School Fete next month which has a circus theme.

The very kind lady on the coconut shy also gave Teyah a coconut for her efforts!

Highlight had to be Teyah trying to ride a spacehopper - a 2 year olds legs are far too short but it was very funny and she loved it!

Really beautiful morning and it reminded me how beautiful the grounds are down at Chiswick House. Time to start planning some picnics for when the sun comes out again.


Reading our blog? Please follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/gymboree_w4

 

Sprinkled with Magic for Keji's Birthday!

Just a quick post today about a wonderful Chiswick-based business I've just discovered. The lovely Sarah from Sprinkled with Magic makes the most fabulous cakes and cupcakes to order, and even delivers locally!

What could be more perfect to wish Keji a Happy Birthday than one of Sarah's bespoke Rose Cupcake Bouquets. Totally gorgeous in it's own little flowerpot - a very happy start to our week!

There were all sort of designs but I'm totally in love with the rose cupcakes (which come in every possible colour) and am resolved to give them a try at home. I fear my cake icing skills are far from up to the job but worth a try!



 It's amazing how many more local businesses I'm connecting with since joining Twitter, of which Sprinkled is one. I'm hoping Sarah will be able to work with us providing cake-catering for our Gymboree birthday parties.









And the proof of the pudding? Totally delicious and highly recommended. Now trying to think of the next occasion I can use as a reason for ordering some more.....



You can contact Sarah via her website http://sprinkledcupcakes.webs.com/

Our Little Sporting Heroes

I'm really excited at the moment about the new classes we've started this year. We now have three drop-off class options for the 3-5 year age group: Theatre Arts, Sport and Arts.

Sports has been running since January and has so far covered Gymnastics, Basketball and Track & Field, with Football's first session last Friday! A week ago saw the first Skills Showcase with parents invited to come and see what all the kids had been learning the last four weeks in Track & Field 1.

It was a huge success and I'm so proud of them all. They really enjoyed being able to demonstrate their new skills - very impressive hurdling and long jumps and a truly hilarious relay. As a new idea, each child who'd attended all the sessions also got a certificate of achievement and it was lovely to see how proud they were.

I'm really happy with the showcase idea as I could see how surprised the parents were at how much their children had achieved. With drop-off classes it's hard to know what your child is doing (particularly since if you ask they invariably tell you 'nothing'!) and I think introducing this slot every four weeks at the end of each unit makes it hugely rewarding for the adults as well. A lot of very proud mummies!

I'm really looking forward to teaching the class myself next week and I've been amazed at how far the kids in this group have progressed over the last few months.

If you'd like to try the Sports class just get in touch!
chiswick@gymboree-uk.com