2 From your Editor… In this issue: We're ready to party. If you are too, Sally J Hall has some fun theme ideas for your News & Views: 4 event. If you have creative flair you’ll run with her ideas and if you want initial inspiration, look no further. Parties: 6 With better weather on the horizon it's a good time to introduce children to Competition: 9 outdoor sport. Sports Journalist, Adrian Warner, presents some of the options. If you are concerned about the so-called ‘summer slide’, Brain Training, by Liat Education: 10 Hughes Joshi has some fun common sense ideas to keep children’s brain cells busy. Our half term What's On listing is fulsome and there are more events on line at Clubs & Classes: 12 www.familiesherts.co.uk. Half Term What’s On: 13 Lastly, enter the competition for a chance to win a family ticket to Willows Farm Village, where children will have a magical experience in the brand new Peter Rabbit Playground. Next Issue: July/August 2016 Copy deadline: 3rd June Where are we? Baldock, Bishops Stortford, Shelley Borehamwood, Chorleywood, Harpenden, Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, Hertford, Hitchin, Kings Langley, Knebworth, Letchworth, Radlett, St Albans, Stevenage, Ware, Welwyn GC. Families Herts, PO Box 434, Pick it up from cafes, playgroups, nurseries, Pinner, HA5 9AH schools, activity groups, selected shops, Tel: 020 8428 6384 surgeries, leisure centres and libraries. Email [email protected] or call to request copies for your venue. www.familiesherts.co.uk Image credit: ©lotosfoto1 www.depositphotos.com Next issue: SUMMER SPECIAL To advertise your summer camp or activity call 020 8428 6384 or email [email protected] Say you saw it in 3 News & Views Calling all Young Writers! Be a Museum Explorer! Is your child excellent with words? Do The ‘Museum Explorer Passport’ is back across they like telling stories? Or do you want to Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex, with encourage their creativity? If the answer is 40 museums taking part. In Hertfordshire, ‘yes’ to any of the above, then it is time for museums taking part are British Schools them to put pen to paper. The National Young Museum (Hitchin), Lowewood Museum Writers’ Awards judges are looking for the (Hoddesdon), Mill Green Museum and Mill best short story of under 500 words based (Hatfield), Royston Museum, St Albans around this year’s theme of ‘The Mash-Up’. Museums Service, Watford Museum and The winner of the competition will receive Welwyn Roman Baths. £500 worth of books for their school and a The scheme encourages children to explore trip to Disneyland Paris! the collections within the museums and The annual awards, run by tuition company beyond. Pick up a free passport from your Explore Learning, are now in their 8th year. local participating museum. Children will get This year’s judge is renowned author of the a passport stamp at every museum they visit. Charlie and Lola series of books, Lauren Child. For every exciting ‘mission’ they complete they To find out more and to enter, either pick will get a special sticker. up a form from your nearest Explore Learning The passports can be used from May and centre or visit www.explorelearning.co.uk/ throughout the summer holidays. youngwriters Find out more at www.museumexplorerpassport.com Centre 4 Excellence Happy Birthday Ma’am Does your child mispronounce words, often Her Majesty the Queen’s actual 90th birthday ask you to repeat things or struggles to was on April 21st and her official birthday is focus when there is background noise? usually celebrated in June at The Trooping Perhaps they find it difficult to follow more of the Colour. Of course this year is special than two instructions or have problems as it is Her Majesty’s 90th. So, as she ends spelling or reading. These could be signs of a her 9th decade and enters her 10th, how will condition called Auditory Processing Disorder, you celebrate? Street Parties are a traditional sometimes mistaken for Dyslexia, ADD and way of communities celebrating significant Monkey Music ADHD or ASD. events and to help you organise, Oakman The sound training programmes offered by Inns and Dr Rob Schafer have launched Monkey Music, Harpenden and St Albans, have Centre 4 Excellence help to improve auditory www.ourstreetparty.org. Street parties are announced two new venues in St Albans for skills and the main cognitive skills essential a wonderful opportunity to spend time with the Summer term: Thursdays at Trestle Arts for learning: memory, processing, sequencing, your neighbours and for children to play Base, and Fridays at Homewood Road United attention and focus. Children’s reading skills together in their traffic free street. To find out Reformed Church. Both venues have free can leap one to two years after three months more, sign up for a free information pack or parking and there is a lovely café at Trestle of work. At Centre 4 Excellence they believe join a meeting go to www.ourstreetparty.org Arts Base. every child can unlock their potential. or call 01442 332 603. Monkey Music classes are tailor-made for To contact call Florence 07919 067343 or children and families. The 30-minute sessions email [email protected] captivate children with a combination of catchy music, songs, percussion instruments, visual props and high energy. There is plenty of opportunity for children to get hands- on making music and exploring their own learning. Join our Family! Work with Families Online in Herts Adults attending Monkey Music often say We are preparing to celebrate the launch of a that the sessions are a family highlight for fantastic new website this summer. Destined their babies and children and for them too! to become the number 1 resource for local To find out more or book a free class go to families, www.familiesonline.co.uk will soon www.monkeymusic.co.uk, email have over 300 local sites across the UK. Like [email protected] or our magazines, the local sites in Herts are call 01582 620446 guaranteed to give users the very best ideas for spending time with their family locally. We have a number of home-based work opportunities available for Area Managers to run our local sites. As an Area Manager you will enjoy a fun and flexible role which fits around you and your family life, whilst affording you a great challenge – and the opportunity to make money! There are no set up costs involved, you will be and social media marketing industry. trained by industry experts and you will To register your interest, please email: develop valuable new skills in the digital, print [email protected] 4 Snappy Tag™ makes labelling clothes painless Labelling clothes was a time-consuming chore, because I thought this would mean sewing or until Snappy Tag TM, the one-click labelling ironing! In the package there was a Snappy system, came along. Forget sewing or ironing Tag applicator, tags with my name on and tag on adhesive labels. Snappy Tags look like small backs. The instructions were really clear - it buttons and are very simple to use. The names literally only took me 30 seconds to work are laser etched onto the Snappy Tags and are them out. Also, you can remove the tags guaranteed not to fade or wash off. with the applicator once you’ve outgrown Families asked 11-year-old, Isaac, to try the clothes, and then re-use the same tag on them out when he had to label his clothes for another item – you’ll need to buy more backs. Find out more and buy Snappy Tags at Scout camp! I’d highly recommend Snappy Tag – and so www.snappytags.co.uk Isaac’s verdict: “I was fed up when my would my mum – because she HATES sewing mum told me I’d have to label my own gear and ironing even more than I do!” The Sky’s the Limitless Limitless Academy of Performing Arts is a new part-time theatre school in Stevenage. The talent behind Limitless is three friends who are also professional actors: Ruth Burton, Peter Hepplethwaite and Peter McNally. To support the local community and to make professional performance education accessible to all youngsters, they are offering two full scholarships per term for disadvantaged students. The three have big dreams for Limitless, Peter says: “The fun for singing studio. We want to nurture talents and us comes from the work, and this is what we enthusiasm so that, whatever their end goal, hope to nurture in our students: pride in what they really can be Limitless.” they do, a sense of achievement, the glow of Find out more at creating something of their own. What we www.limitlessacademyarts.com or call offer reaches beyond the drama, dance or 01438213064 Holiday Fun at Re:Play in St Albans Re:Play are open every school holiday and will be running throughout the summer. Re:play has been established since 2005 and they pride themselves on providing a safe, stimulating and fun place for children. They have lots of activities going on including: arts & crafts, team games, sports, imaginative areas, den building and competitions. In addition to the regular daily activities there are special outings and workshops. Indoors there is a wide range of toys and equipment. The amazing outdoor facilities have tennis courts, playing fields and a park! Re:Play maintain a strict adult to child ratios and places are limited. Parents have total flexibility, choosing half days, full days or extended days, as they require. Places must be booked in advance.