Edition 58 • July/Aug 2016 @FamiliesManch The local magazine for families with children 0-12 years facebook.com/familiesmanchester FREE www.familiesonline.co.uk ® MANCHESTER In this issue > School’s out! Local holiday camps and loads of things to do > School’s back! Ease the transfer to secondary school Covering: Altrincham, Trafford, Salford, Manchester, Bolton, Bury, Rochdale, Didsbury, Stockport, Cheadle, Bramhall, and surrounding areas. Welcome News In this issue Chester Zoo’s newest attractions Summer Reading Challenge 2016 02: News Dinosaurs! The Next Adventure is now 04: Education open at Chester Zoo until Friday 2 The Big Friendly Read will feature 07: Holiday Camps September, and is free with normal zoo some of Roald Dahl’s best-loved 10: Parents’ place admission. characters and the amazing artwork of 12: Summer/What’s on Featuring twenty-three life-like robotic his principal illustrator, Sir Quentin dinosaurs including the giganotosaurus, Blake. It will encourage reading on a the utahraptor and the brachiosaurus, the giant scale and will feature themes such exhibition will aim to highlight the threat as invention, mischief and friendship as of extinction faced by species at the zoo explored in Roald Dahl’s books. such as the Eastern black rhino, Sumatran The Big Friendly Read will encourage Hello! orangutan and Sumatran tigers. children to expand their own reading by And make sure you also visit their exploring similar themes across the Happy days! It’s nearly holiday time, we’ve caught sight of the sun once or Islands Zone, which recreates the best contemporary children’s writing. twice, and we’ve got a new website! amazing tropical environments of six This year’s Big Friendly Read Children can sign up free of charge With so much going on over summer, we can’t possibly cram it all into 16 South East Asian islands – Papua, Bali, Summer Reading Challenge which for the Summer Reading Challenge at pages – and now we don’t have to! Our new team of local mums is Sumatra, Monsoon Forest, Sumba and will run across the school summer their local library as the school summer constantly updating information for you, so look no further than Sulawesi. Explore them on foot, as well holidays, is linking up with the term ends. www.familiesonline.co.uk for everything you need! as on the Lazy River Boat Trip. global year-long Roald Dahl 100 www.summerreadingchallenge.org.uk Happy browsing, have a fabulous break from school and safe travels! www.chesterzoo.org/islands celebrations, honouring the world’s No.1 storyteller. Caryl Hall Jayne Keep Park Lives returns to Manchester New Website for Families! Next issue: Sep/Oct 2016 Design: Paul Wilson Graphic Design, Congleton. This year the programme will offer Tel: 07743 111 694 www.withpaul.co.uk Circulation: 25,000 copies of Families Manchester are nine different fun and informal activities information about a wide range of things available through nurseries, schools, libraries, selected Print: Bishops Printers, Walton Road, Portsmouth, each week, with brand new sessions to do both close to where you live – as shops and other points throughout Greater Manchester. Hampshire PO6 1TR If you would like free copies for your organisation, including multi-activity fun camps for well as across Greater Manchester. Tel: 023 9233 4900 www.bishops.co.uk please let us know. families and social dog-walking, You can look forward to seeing the best of Families Manchester is part of Families Magazines Contact details: Families Manchester, Ltd, a franchise company. All franchised magazines in alongside returning favourites such as the current site, including places to go and 3 Hall Hill, Bollington SK10 5ED the group are independently owned and operated Tel: 01625 801 801 www.familiesmanchester.co.uk den building and donkey grooming. what’s on events and activities, education, under licence. Families® is a registered trademark of Editorial: [email protected] Families Magazines Ltd, Remenham House, Regatta The action runs throughout the childcare, classes and clubs and parties, as Advertising/artwork: [email protected] Place, Marlow Road, Bourne End, Bucks SL8 5TD. The summer holidays in Alexandra Park, well as some great new features, including Events, diary dates, what’s on: [email protected] contents of Families Manchester are fully protected by Philips Park, Plant Hill Park, Heaton Park eating out and local services. copyright and none of the editorial or photographic Summer fun on the farm Cover Photography: Shutterstock matter may be reproduced in any form without prior ParkLives, a programme from and Platt Fields Park. Our new website is here! The areas The site is more comprehensive than www.shutterstock.com consent of the publisher. Coca-Cola Great Britain in The timetabled sessions are an hour covered by this magazine will now ever and easier to use, offering inspirational We take every care preparing the magazine, but the Editorial contributors: publishers and distributors can’t be held responsible partnership with Manchester City long and led by a trained activity leader be covered by 8 websites covering ideas for things to do with the kids locally and Liat Hughes Joshi: Parenting journalist and author of four for the claims of advertisers, the accuracy of the Council, offers free and fun activity from the local area. A full timetable can the local areas of Bolton, Bury, helpful parenting tips and advice to support books including ‘New Old-fashioned Parenting’ and ‘How to contents nor for any consequences. sessions in parks and green spaces. be found at www.parklives.com. Manchester, Rochdale, Salford, you and your family. It’s also fully optimised Unplug Your Child’ (both published by Summersdale) and Raising Children: The Primary Years (Pearson). Stockport, Trafford and Warrington. for mobile devices! Bookmark it now – Claire Muffett-Reece: Freelance journalist who writes on @FamiliesManch The game is afoot for the This new hyper-local approach will www.familiesonline.co.uk parenting, lifestyle, health and general interest. Mum to Jack, allow Families Online to bring you It’s the new word of mouth! five, and Max, three, her work has been published in The www.facebook.com/familiesmanchester Evening Standard, The Metro and Cosmopolitan, among others. award-winning Just So Festival 2016 and lakeside spots in the Rode Hall Terms and Conditions of Families Competitions Estate, Cheshire. 1. This competition is only open to families living in Cheshire/Greater Manchester. 2. Only one entrant from the same email address or household will be accepted. 3. Under 16s must obtain parental consent before entering. 4. Entries must be received Just So was awarded Best Festival in by the closing date and proof of sending cannot be taken as proof of receipt. 5. Winning entries will be randomly drawn from all correct entries. 6. Automated/bulk entries and entries from third parties will be disqualified. 7. All decisions of Families are 2015 by the National Outdoor Events final and no correspondence will be entered into. 8. No prize is exchangeable for cash or any other prize. 9. Winner’s details Association and with an incredible mix will be supplied to the Promoter of the competition. 10. Families is not liable for any delay or failure by the Promoter to deliver any prize or for the quality of the prize or for any loss or damage arising in connection with the competition. 11. By entering the of regional, national and international competition, entrants will be deemed to have accepted and agreed to these terms and conditions. 12. The winner is selected artists and performers, it promises to via a random selection process from all correct entries and contacted via the email address provided by the entrant. If the promoter does not obtain a response from the winner within 21 days (or, for date restricted prizes, within 10 days of the event), take you on an expedition of mischief we reserve the right to select another winner at random. and mayhem, to lands full of magical The award-winning Just So Festival midnight feasts, raucous pillow fights, Looking for something different to the café or a delicious Cheshire Farm (19 – 21 August) has revealed its tribal tournaments, curious creatures entertain the kids this summer? Ice Cream whilst the kids burn off some marvellous programme for 2016: and breathtaking beauty. Kenyon Hall Farm in Warrington is a energy on the playground. Codes & Ciphers, Detectives & Dis- Weekend camping tickets: £125 fun-filled family day out, and From early August, they also have guises, Mysteries & Mayhem! adult, £50 child; Weekend non-camping educational too! their a-maze-ing Maize Maze to lose the An annual, intimate, weekend-long tickets £75 adult, £30 child; Day tickets Why not try your hand at picking your children in! It’s a unique maze camping festival for children and their £50 adult, £20 child. Under3s free. own fruit & veg – from strawberries and constructed out of the tall stalks of the families, the Just So Festival showcases For the full line-up, information and raspberries, to garden peas and maize crop that grow on the farm. the best art, music, literature, comedy tickets visit www.justsofestival.org.uk pumpkins, there’s so much to choose Open every day 9.30-5.30 and so and theatre for families in a wondrous or follow them on Twitter from in the 50 acres of fruit and veg fields. easy to find - just off J22 of M6! Find landscape of woodland clearings, (@justsofestival) or Facebook After all that picking you can treat out more at www.kenyonhall.co.uk rolling parkland, arboreal amphitheatres (www.facebook.com/justsofestival). yourselves to a home-cooked lunch in 2 Families Manchester | www.familiesonline.co.uk Families Manchester | www.familiesonline.co.uk 3 Education Education 10 mistakes to avoid when your child starts school How to help your child transfer Stick on Clothing Labels – The quick & By Liat Hughes Joshi to secondary school easy way to label your children’s clothing 5.