5 GREAT ACTIVITIES FOR THE KIDS FOR CHRISTMAS DAY 2020

For parents with young kids, there are always plenty of things to do on Christmas Day. But worrying about keeping the kids busy shouldn’t be one of them. We’ve got your backs with some top tips for keeping the children occupied this Christmas!

Considering presents, meal prep, decorating the house, setting the table, and cooking, there’s not much time to directly supervise the kids on Christmas Day.

But fear not. We’ve got some great activities that will engage the kids all day until lunch is served! So here we go: 5 great activities for the kids for Christmas Day 2020!

1. Get the Kids on Zoom with the Wider Family

This year, Christmas is, unfortunately, going to be a bit different. COVID-19 vaccines are in sight but far enough away that many families around the world will be enjoying this special day in much smaller groups than normal.

If that’s the case in your family, turn it into an opportunity! No doubt you, the parents, will be speaking to your kids’ grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins – but get those family members to virtually babysit while you manage the kitchen!

After all, it is Christmas, and there is still an opportunity for Uncle Johnny to impart his wisdom on the kids!

2. Watch Videos on kiddZtube

With thousands of licensed videos to enjoy and new content every week, kiddZtube is the number one safe place for kids’ content.

We’ve got plenty of fun Christmas-themed goodies for this year’s festive period. Super fun cartoons, songs, stories, and crafting videos were handpicked by our teachers so you know your kids are in good hands. Also, because it is important to expand their horizons, there is a list of videos to help your kids learn about other winter holidays besides Christmas.

Let’s be honest, we all know how much kids love watching videos! So when they are begging for the tablet, tune into kiddZtube, rest easy, and get back to those roast potatoes.

3. Setting the Table (and Other Helpful Tasks!)

Slightly older kids should be encouraged to help out with the Christmas prep as much as possible.

Safe, straightword tasks like setting the table can be delegated, helping you out and providing the children with a useful activity.

You could even encourage them to be creative with decorations for an arts and crafts activity tied in! Check out this great article for some inspiration.

4. Watch a Christmas Movie

There’s nothing cozier than a Christmas movie.

While you get everything ready, a movie is the perfect way to distract the kids for a good hour and a half.

With endless classics to watch, you might be thinking that it will take too long to decide which movie to choose! And you need to tend to that turkey – we get it.

But don’t you worry! We’ve compiled our top 10 Christmas movies 2020 in a separate article. Enjoy.

5. A Candy Cane Hunt

OK, so this activity will require a bit of preparation from the parents. But it is worth the effort early on in the day as it is a real blast for the kids.

Taking inspiration from a different holiday – Easter – hide some candy canes around the house early in the day. The craftier the hiding spots, the better!

Wait for a moment during the day when the kids seem bored or too energetic. Then reveal the news of the hunt!

Trust us, this will keep them busy!

There you have it. 5 great activities for the kids for Christmas Day 2020!

December 23, 2020/0 Comments/by magikbee

BEST 10 FAMILY CHRISTMAS MOVIES 2021

Blog, Christmas, Parent Tips

Movies are a staple of Christmas fun.

After stuffing yourself with turkey, potatoes, Christmas Ham – or nut roast and veg, depending on how you do Christmas! – there’s nothing better than snuggling up as a family on the sofa and settling in to a Christmas movie.

The question is, however, what the heck should you watch?

Here are our best 10 family Christmas Movies‘ 2021, in no particular order. Enjoy!

1. Home Alone

Let’s face it, no Christmas movie list would be complete without this all-time classic.

After being sent to the attic for misbehaving, young Kevin McCallister’s family heads to the airport the next day for their Christmas vacation, mistakenly leaving behind poor Kevin. The young lad finds himself home alone for several days.

Unfortunately for Kevin, two local crooks find out he’s alone. But Kevin is smarter than them both. The hilarious encounters that ensue are sure to delight the whole family.

This is a hugely nostalgic film that will bring back Christmas memories for parents of a certain age.

With a PG rating and some slapstick violence, parental guidance is advised, particularly for younger kids.

2. Elf

Elf is the hilarious tale of a human, played by the hysterical Will Ferrell, who is accidentally transported to the North Pole as a baby and is consequently raised as one of Santa’s elves.

Realizing there’s something a bit different about him from the other elves, Buddy travels to New York in search of his real father.

This feel-good Christmas classic is not only very funny but also carries a positive festive message, making it a perfect Christmas watch.

3. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch

The Grinch is the tale of the miserable creature who lives with his dog, Max, on Mount Crumpet above Whoville.

As the residents of Whoville, known as the Whos, expand their Christmas celebrations, the Grinch attempts to steal Christmas.

In his attempt to get back some peace and quiet, the Grinch poses as Santa Claus so he can ruin the Whos’ Christmas once and for all.

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch is a great update on a classic tale that is suitable for the whole family.

4. Klaus

Who wouldn’t want to watch an Oscar-nominated Santa Claus origin story?

This gorgeous animation is about a lonely toymaker who makes friends with a postal worker.

Guess what happens next!

Parental guidance is advised as there are a couple of slightly scary scenes in what is overall a very sweet movie with a great message.

5. Mickey’s Christmas Carol

Mickey’s Christmas Carol is the story of Charles Dickens’ classic novella, A Christmas Carol, told through Disney’s favorite Mickey Mouse characters.

Staring Scrooge McDuck as the Christmas-resenting money lender, this short film of just 28 minutes features many classic Disney personalities.

6. Frozen

Although not strictly a Christmas film, as it is actually set in the summer, Frozen contains plenty of Christmas elements – like snowmen, elves, and reindeer.

First released in 2013, Frozen has become a worldwide sensation and instant classic.

Frozen is a wonderful tale about sisterhood, jammed packed with catchy songs and dazzling animation. A great movie that the whole family will enjoy.

7. A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa

In this fun adventure with these classic stuffed characters, the Muppets head to the North Pole to try to deliver letters to Santa Claus.

Whether your kids are Muppets fans or new to the franchise, they’ll love this fun film.

Parents will enjoy this heartwarming tale, which at 56 minutes is a short blast of fun.

8. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

New from Netflix for Christmas 2021, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is the story of a grumpy toymaker who has lost his mojo.

But a visit from his granddaughter helps the old toymaker, played by Forest Whitaker, find his magic touch again.

Filled with dazzling festivity and Christmas songs, this is an easy watch that will please young kids.

9. Arthur Christmas

From the British team that created Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas is a lovely Christmas tale filled with positive messages.

Starring Hugh Laurie, James McAvoy, and Bill Nighy, this funny movie answers the question of how Father Christmas visits so many homes in just one night.

The story covers Christmas’ spirit and family, and is packed with wholesome values.

10. The Snowman

The ultimate Christmas classic, the Snowman is a wordless tale of a – you guessed it – snowman who comes to life.

The snowman and the young boy who built him explore the lad’s house, and move outside when it gets a bit warm for the snowy fellow.

They then go outside and take to the skies, heading up to the North Pole. The highlight of this short film is Howard Blake’s spectacular song, Walking in the Air.

A delightful tale and perfect watch at Christmas.

…And a bonus suggestion!

Not a film, but don’t forget to download and tune into KidsBeeTV this Christmas! Packed with festive content, this safe video app for kiddies – available on TV, tablets, and mobile devices – crams in hours and hours of kid-friendly, teacher-curated content. You will find a lot of songs and Nursery Rhymes, cartoons, stories, and crafting videos handpicked specially for this season. And there is more… As a gift to our users, until the end of the year, KidsBeeTV will premiere a total of ten new series:

Bubu and The Little Owls
Christmas with Om Nom
Pinkfong
Where’s Chicky?
Pat a Pat Como
Horaci, The Inuit
Monsikids
Learn and Play with Paprika
Traffic Safety with Poli

Your kid will simply love it!

December 22, 2020/0 Comments/by magikbee

3 Ways To Make Christmas (Positively) Different this Year

Christmas, Parent Tips

2020 has been a tough year – there is no doubt about that. Sadly, this Christmas is going to be different for many families around the world who won’t be able to gather all their relatives together due to the risk of spreading COVID-19.

Although the coronavirus vaccine will start to be distributed soon, we are in for a tough Christmas and winter in the meantime.

But that presents us with an opportunity to find positivity elsewhere. Perhaps to have a positively different Christmas in 2020.

Following such a challenging year, what can we do this festive season to positively impact our communities and our planet? We’ve thought hard about this subject and have come up with 3 ways to make Christmas (positively) different this year.

Here goes!

1. Buy a living Christmas tree and be more eco-conscious about the decorations.

The two most common ways of getting a Christmas tree are buying a chopped down tree or buying a fake one.

A real tree, recycled properly, can have negligible emissions, according to the Guardian. However, many trees end up on landfill after the end of the Christmas period, and can each release up to 16kg of carbon as they decompose. And that’s before you’ve considered the emissions from transporting the tree in the first place.

Meanwhile, fake trees are made of plastic. A 6.5ft plastic tree has a carbon footprint of about 40kg. If you already have one, your best bet is to keep it for as long as possible.

But there is a third option: a potted tree. These living plants come rooted in soil and will last for as long as you take care of them. After the end of the festive period, you can put the tree outside and even plant it if you have space.

That means you can reuse the same living tree year after year, with a carbon footprint of zero or possibly even negative!

Buying a living tree is an amazing way to look after the planet this Christmas.

Also, you can decorate it by recycling things you have at home, like newspaper, wood pieces and branches. You can even do some arts and crafts with kids! They love to collaborate. With the special holiday crafting playlist on kiddZtube, they can watch a lot of videos to learn how to do simple ornaments, by themselves or with a little bit of your help.

2. Be conscious with present buying.

It is easy to fill stockings with stuff that your kids don’t really need.

That includes plastic toys that have a pretty short shelf life and end up being given away – or, much worse, thrown away – within months.

However, there are plenty of gifts out there made from more sustainable materials. Rather than buying a cheap plastic or electronic gizmo, consider a toy that is more useful and will last longer.

Digital products can also be a great present – a kiddZtube subscription, for example – as they have a minuscule impact on the environment compared to mass-produced toys.

A kiddZtube subscription is a wonderful gift to kids, but this season it comes even better. Until the end of the year, we will release a total of ten new animation series. We are talking about more than 600 safe and educational videos and super fun content!

3. Donate to charity as a gift.

We all love giving and receiving presents. But equally, we can all probably admit we give and receive a few too many!

A great present idea for Christmas 2020 is to donate some money on behalf of the person you are giving to.

It’s a great way to make a positive difference. You can make it personal by choosing a cause that your friend or relative feels strongly about. For an animal lover, for example, you could donate to WWF.

Parents can also use Christmas time to educate their children about being grateful and understanding their good fortune. You could even take the opportunity to go over all of the kids toys and choose some to donate to kids’ charities.

For the lucky ones among us, Christmas is a wonderful time of year. But we shouldn’t forget that it can be very hard, and very lonely, for the less fortunate in society. That’s important for our kids to learn!

There you have it! 3 ways to make Christmas (positively) different this year! Thanks for reading!

December 18, 2020/0 Comments/by magikbee

6 Fun Fall Activities For Parents with Toddlers

Blog, Parent Tips

Many of us are under restrictions, with some people around the world in full lockdown due to the situation with coronavirus.

Cinemas, restaurants, and shopping malls are closed in many places. But that doesn’t mean you and the kids can’t have fun this fall!

Here are our favorite 6 fun fall activities for parents with toddlers!

Take a walk in the park

While a lot of entertainment venues are closed right now, there are plenty of green spaces that are open for the whole family to enjoy!

A walk in the park is great exercise for you and your kids, and is highly stimulating and educational for toddlers. Exploring, running around, and shouting to their hearts’ content are activities that young children will love in the park. They’ll be stimulated by the colors – especially during the fall – the sounds, the birds, the trees, and the sky.

So check out your local park or, if you are lucky enough to live near one, national park!

Leaf art

While you’re in the park, grab a bunch of leaves of different shapes, colors, and sizes! Bring them home and you are ready to get started with some fun leaf art.

This is a great activity for toddlers as the textures of the leaves are an awesome sensory experience. Arts and crafts will encourage your child to think creatively, too. Plus, it’s great fun for the parents!

Fall finger art

Another great indoor option is finger art!

Cute autumnal finger art!

For fall-themed fun, help your kids get started by drawing or painting the trunk of a tree. With a selection of yellow, red, and brown paints, kids can use their fingers to decorate the trunk and turn it into a beautiful fall tree!

Autumnal baking

This is, of course, an activity that will have to be lead and very carefully supervised by a parent. But including your toddler in some autumnal baking is a great way to get them interested in baking and cooking from early on!

Halloween has come and gone, but it’s not too late to try our delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies recipe!

With supervision, you can include your kid in the whisking and in the shaping of the cookies before they go in the oven.

We guarantee that will light their baking spark! 😉

Watch kiddZtube with the kids

With thousands of kid-friendly, super fun videos to enjoy, kiddZtube is the perfect antidote to a rainy fall day.

We work hard to find the best content out there for your kids, so the selection never gets old.

Watching videos with your kids is a fun activity, and you can make it educational by asking them questions and getting them to think about what they’re watching.

Kids enjoying kiddZtube!

Start your very own vegetable garden

Do you have a garden?

If so, growing your own vegetables is an amazingly fun and incredibly satisfying experience for the whole family. Digging up the dirt and planting the seeds are activities that even the youngest kids will love to be involved in.

You’ll also be teaching them about biology, self-suficiency, and environmental sustainability.

Check out this list of plants that you can plant in the autumn.

Don’t have a garden? Fear not. There are plenty of vegetables that you can grow inside. Check out this list, which includes carrots, herbs, and potatoes, from Allrecipes.

So there you have it! Our 6 fun fall activities for parents with toddlers.

November 17, 2020/0 Comments/by magikbee

The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies this Halloween

Blog, Parent Tips

One of the best things about any holiday – whether it is Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Halloween – is the food.

Halloween, of course, is all about eating as much candy as possible. But let’s be honest, it’s more fun and much more satisfying making your own treats. It’s a great activity for the kids, too.

Looking for a fun snack and baking activity with the kids this Halloween? Well, you’re in luck – here is our best pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Cookies are great at any time of year. But adding the pumpkin touch makes them extra delicious and super festive. Trust us, these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are amazing. Yum.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies – Recipe

Yields	Preparation time	Total time
35 cookies	15 minutes	1 hour

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups of flour

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. of baking soda

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter softened

½ cups of granulated sugar

¾ cups of brown sugar

¾ cups of pumpkin purée

1 large egg

2 tsp. of vanilla extract

2 cups of chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃) and prepare two baking trays with parchment paper.
Whisk together in a bowl the flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt.
Using a handmixer, mix in a big bowl the butter and sugar until you get a light, fluffy texture. Beat in the purée, egg, and vanilla, and then add the flour mixture from step 2). Beat on low power until the flour is fully mixed in and then add the chocolate chips. Once you’ve done that, stick the cookie mix into the fridge for half an hour.
Scoop 1 inch (2.5cm) balls onto the baking trays, with two inches (5cm) between each ball, and bake for approximately 12 minutes or until browning lightly around the edges (but still soft in the center).
Eat and enjoy your pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Looking for pumpkin design ideas? Head to our post 4 Fun Last Minute Pumpkin Designs for Halloween 2020 for some awesome pumpkin inspiration.

October 21, 2020/0 Comments/by magikbee

5 Important Tips for Parenting During the Coronavirus Crisis

Parent Tips

If somebody had told you a year ago that everybody would be stuck at home, with schools and many workplaces closed, you would have struggled to believe them.

However, that is the exact reality we find ourselves in, as a result of the social distancing measures governments have put in place to protect health care systems and the vulnerable from the coronavirus.

We all understand the reasons for these measures, but that doesn’t make them easy to live with. Parenting, which is hard work at the best of times, has become even more intense and stressful with the kids home from school and requiring supervision and care twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

While in some places there are signs of the lockdown easing, in the near-term, we have to learn to deal with this new, difficult reality. Parenting has become more challenging than ever before in our lifetimes.

It is also crucial that parents are able to take care of their own wellbeing. It isn’t easy, but with the right approach, parents can take steps to manage work, child care, and their own mental health during this unprecedented crisis.

Here are five tips for doing so from the parents at Magikbee.

Create a routine/schedule

Creating a schedule for each day, and sticking to it, helps enormously in getting things done and juggling work, childcare, and managing the house. If you are living with a partner or family, build your routines together to make the best use of your time and divide up taking care of the kids.

Below is an example of a schedule created by Magikbee team member João to manage responsibility for the care of his three-year-old niece.

Taking control of your time by creating a schedule is a great start for managing the many tasks a parent has over the course of the day with kids home from school. Hopefully, it will give you some peace of mind, too.

Don’t worry too much if you think the kids are behind at school

Schools are shut, and kids are at home. In most cases, they have work assigned and video classes to attend. But let’s face it: it isn’t the same as going to school every day, and managing a group of kids digitally is really challenging for teachers.

A video lesson from home

Many parents will be concerned about their kids’ education in this period. Are they falling behind? Will there be a long term effect on their schooling?

There are two important things to remember. First, that all families with kids are having the same difficulties. Second, social distancing measures and school closures are temporary.

Are you kids falling behind? They might be, slightly, but it is nothing to worry about. Even if the lockdowns extend into the summer, children will be missing a few months of real school at the very most.

Bottom line? They’ll catch up!

A couple of months off is not going to have any effect on your kids’ education in the long term. So don’t worry too much if you feel your kids are being less productive than they would be at school.

Let your kids play or watch TV

When the family is stuck inside, there are fewer ways to keep the kids busy (though if you are looking for some ideas, check out our blog post on indoor activities).

You will probably run out of ideas – and time! – for keeping them busy. That might result in more TV or video game time than you would normally allow.

If your kids end up watching more TV than normal, don’t stress. It’s not the end of the world, and like the education point above, it’s only temporary and won’t do any damage in the long-term.

Plus, choosing the right content helps a lot. For preschoolers and kids up to 12 years old, our app, kiddZtube, offers thousands of fun, educational videos. We’ve also added workouts, arts & crafts and other activity videos to entertain your kids in the lockdown period.

Some of the themes covered on kiddZtube!

Make time for yourself

This is going to be really hard. But you must set aside time for yourself! Even half an hour a day in a quiet space just to relax with a book, the radio, or a bit of Netflix will help you destress.

Make sure the kids, your partner, and anyone else you live with is aware of your me-time, and make sure they understand not to interrupt it!

Be gentle on yourself

This is an incredibly challenging period for you as a parent. If you don’t get things right, don’t beat yourself up about it!

Your kids may fight more, study less, watch more TV, and generally be a pain in the neck! That’s stressful, but it doesn’t mean you are a bad parent. So go easy on yourself and remember that this is all temporary.

Equally important as taking care of your kids is looking after your own physical and mental health. Make both an absolute priority so you are in the best possible shape to deal with this difficult time.

April 17, 2020/0 Comments/by magikbee

How to Make an Effective Sanitiser at Home | Scientist Approval |Magikbee

Run Out of Cleaning Products? Make an Effective Sanitiser in Five Minutes

Parent Tips

How to Make an effective sanitiser at home?

The Magikbee team is focused on sharing constructive ideas for families at home while we practice social distancing. Today, following our first blog post “5 Indoor Activities to Do With the Kids”, we are going to look at cleaning products and how you can make an effective sanitiser at home. We spoke with microbiologist Dr Joana Moscoso graduated from Imperial College London about the correct use of cleaning products.

Demand for cleaning products such as hand sanitisers and disinfectants is extraordinarily high at the moment. Supermarkets and pharmacies are churning through stocks of these products. Some outlets have imposed restrictions on the number individuals can buy at once.

You might be wondering if there is anything you have at home with which you can create a disinfectant suitable for protecting your family from the coronavirus. Well, there is, and you need just one common household item: bleach.

Here’s what Dr Moscoso says about hygiene and the virus:

“Everyday we have new information about the new virus, SARS-CoV-2, which is causing the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, we know that the virus is easily transmitted from person-to-person and that it can persist in the environment from a few hours to a few days. For these reasons, and to stay safe and prevent the aggravation of the existing health crisis, it’s important to:

Practice social distancing and clean regularly our hands and all types of surfaces.
For our hands, the best solution to kill the virus while protecting our skin is to wash them thoroughly and regularly with soap for at least 20 seconds.
For our clothes, a normal washing cycles should be used as far as detergent is added.

Soap and detergent are effective because the coronavirus is involved in a fat layer that is destroyed when it comes in contact with soap or detergent. For fast disinfection of surfaces, research studies and the WHO recommend the following magic lotions: either 0.1% solution of sodium hypochlorite (bleach), 70-80% solution of alcohol (if available and for smaller areas), or a 0.5% solution of hydrogen peroxide.”

How to safely use bleach

Bleach, a common household item, can be very effective in removing the virus from surfaces, as noted by Dr Moscoso. But there are a few things to consider when you homemake a sanitiser from that product:

Precautions with bleach

Bleach is a great disinfectant but in high concentrations can irritate your eyes, nose, mouth and skin. It also decomposes in light and heat and reacts with other chemicals, so must be used with caution.

2. Materials

To create an effective sanitiser, you will need:

Water
Bleach (usually found at a concentration of 5%)
An empty bottle
Spray bottle

3. How to make the sanitiser

For an effective, less irritant solution that can be used to clean delicate surfaces:

Mix one part bleach with 49 parts cold water. That translates to 4 teaspoons of bleach per litre of cold water.

For a stronger solution for dirty surfaces:

Mix one part bleach with 9 parts cold water.

Precautions:

⚠️ Do not use either solution on your hands or skin.

⚠️ Wash your hands after you have mixed the solution.

⚠️ Keep the solution in a safe place away from the reach of children.

⚠️ Keep the solution away from heat and light.

⚠️ Place a warning symbol (like this bullet point) on the bottle.

Products with this symbol can burn your skin. Be careful using them.

4. Tips for use

Volia! You’ve made a great sanitiser in just five minutes! Here are three ways you can use the solutions:

Distribute the sanitiser through the spray bottles
Take it with you when you go shopping
Cleaning the house (doors, keys, floors, surfaces)
Cleaning your car (doors, steering wheel)

You can use it to clean by wetting a cloth in the solution and wiping surfaces with that cloth.

Dr Moscoso adds that “we have adopted these recipes and practices of disinfection at home since we started the social distancing. We haven’t looked for those ready-to-use disinfectant products available on the market, making them available for those who need them most, like people in hospitals and health centres, or workers are unable to work from home given the nature of their jobs and are at an increased risk of exposure. I hope these tips help Magikbee’s followers, keeping them safe and preventing the dissemination of the disease.”

We hope these tips help parents and families transform this difficult time into something positive. If you have any suggestions for things to do at home, we would love for you to let us know. Email João at Joao@magikbee.com or get in touch via social media and we can share your ideas with other families. Let’s all contribute to improving the day-to-day lives of many families!

April 6, 2020/0 Comments/by magikbee

5 Indoor Activities To Enjoy with Kids While Staying At Home

Parent Tips

Indoor activities with kids

We are facing a challenging period thanks to the coronavirus. The foreseeable future, all of our daily routines have drastically changed and it is essential to come up with strategies to organise our “new life”. Here at Magikbee, we thought of various ways to help you and we will over the next few days share a range of fun indoor activities suggestions for you to enjoy at home with your kids.

We hope that by the end of each article, you’ll have more ideas and plans for how to organise your time. Ready?

1) Plan your work schedule

Good planning is essential to getting things done. Start by considering the time slots you have available each day. Assign each slot to the various tasks you must complete, such as professional work, caring for your children, cleaning, cooking, and physical exercise.

For example, let’s look at how Magikbee team member João has been managing childcare. The below shows the calendar that he created to organise his family of four (three adults and one three years old) that have been in isolation for twelve days now.

The materials used were simply: a ruler, a pencil, cardboard, and stickers.

Each sticker represents a family member – the bird is the child’s mother, the moustache the father, and the eye is the aunt. The three-year-old this way is supervised all day, allowing time for the adults to organise their remote working, cooking, and cleaning.

2) Hide and seek

So, what to do with the kids? Think back to your childhood and remember the games you used to love to play. While kids today are more exposed to technology, the old school games are still universally loved. And hide and seek never fails!

There are dozens of other fun games you can play, too. See here a great list of ideas on Wikipedia.

3) Enjoy safe and fun videos on kiddZtube

Kids love traditional games, but they are also crazy for technology (who knew…!). With kiddZtube, you can offer your kids a fun way to watch videos… knowing that it is educational and, most importantly, 100% safe! If you need to keep your kids busy and entertained while you focus on working, cooking, or cleaning, kiddZtube is here to help. Check out more about the app – which is available on Android phones and tablets, iOS devices, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV – here.

4) Indoor sports activities

One thing we must be alert to when spending so much time at home is our health. There are many ways we must look after ourselves. But make sure you continue to be physically active is a relatively easy but crucial thing to consider.

Below are 25 exercises that the whole family will love! Here’s a tip: set aside time for one of these activities twice a day – 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening, for example. If that sounds like too much, 10 minutes for each activity is still a great start. Any physical exercise is better than none!

5) Help your kids’ schoolwork

Many kids will have to continue their schoolwork from home, whether a worksheet, drawing, or reading. Parents can set aside time, such as in the above calendar, to help their children with this work. It a great opportunity to work and learn with your kids.

We hope these tips help parents and families transform this difficult time into something positive. After all, we just want that #EverythingWillBeAlright.

If you have any suggestions for things to do at home, we would love for you to let us know. Email João at Joao@magikbee.com or get in touch via social media and we can share your ideas with other families. Let’s all contribute to improving the day-to-day lives of many families while at home!

March 25, 2020/2 Comments/by magikbee

4 Fun Last Minute Pumpkin Designs for Halloween 2020

Blog, Parent Tips

Guess what? It’s already Halloween! ?

Crazy, I know! It comes round faster every year…

But don’t worry if you are still unprepared. Run down to the nearest store and buy a pumpkin ASAP because we’ve got for you here 4 fun last minute pumpkin designs for Halloween this year.

Let’s get spooky!

Stitchface Pumpkin

Looks extra spooky with green light!

The stitched look of this pumpkin is like something out of a nightmare.

This design is pretty straightforward, and mistakes won’t matter too much since it is supposed to have a terrifyingly messy look.

The green light adds an extra spooky touch!

The Big Pumpkin Eating a Small Pumpkin

Nom nom nom

This isn’t one pumpkin; it’s two.

It’s easier than it looks, though – and cute! Just make sure to measure the smaller pumpkin before you get started so the mouth of the big guy is the right size.

The teeth are the most fiddly part, which you could always skip if short on time.

Use toothpicks to hold the small one in place!

Bat pumpkin

You could make it look like Batman’s Bat-Signal!

A bat carving is something a little different, while still easy! They look awesome from far away.

Either you or one of the kids could combine it with a Batman outfit for a really bat-tastic night!

The Classic Pumpkin

The classic Jack-O-Lantern. Tried and tested!

You were going to do it anyway, weren’t you?

Triangular eyes and nose, jaggedy smile. There’s no shame in resorting to a tried and tested classic!

Adding a couple of details, like a fun hat, can spice things up! Bonus points if it is a witch hat.

There you have it! Our top last minute pumpkin designs.

Let us know what you think! Or feel free to share with us your favourite Halloween designs.

October 30, 2019/0 Comments/by magikbee

The Importance of Mindfulness for Preschool Parents

Parent Tips

You have probably heard of mindfulness by now, but are you aware of the benefits of mindfulness for preschool parents?

Though an old concept, dating back thousands of years to ancient Buddhist practices, there has been a huge rise in interest in mindfulness in the press and popular culture in recent years.

Mindfulness is often confused with meditation. The practices are related, but not the same.

Mindfulness can help people of all walks of life, including parents. Let’s look at how.

So what is mindfulness?

Mindfulness, according to the American Psychological Association, is

“…a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment. In this sense, mindfulness is a state and not a trait. While it might be promoted by certain practices or activities, such as meditation, it is not equivalent to or synonymous with them.”

Mindfulness has been shown to help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, while helping to encourage positive emotions and improve quality of life.

These benefits are relevant to parenting, too.

Mindfulness and parenting

The fact that mindfulness reduces stress, anxiety, and depression is a good enough reason for it to benefit parenting. Stress and depression are strongly linked to negative parenting, while children whose parents have mood or anxiety disorders are more likely to suffer from them themselves.

But that’s not all. The practices of mindfulness, such as acting with awareness, observing, and non-judging of inner experiences, each have their benefits to the way you interact with your child.

Acting with awareness, meaning being fully attentive and conscious of the experiences in the present moment, is essential to good parenting. That’s because if you are truly present in the moment when interacting with your child, you can better emotionally connect with them and respond more effectively to their needs.

Observing, meanwhile, allows you to recognise your own thoughts and feelings, improving emotional intelligence and enabling you to empathise as a parent.

Non-judging is the acceptance of thoughts and feelings and teaches parents acceptance of their mistakes and their child as a human being.

Mindfulness at the Preschool stage

Mindfulness in parenting benefits children of all ages, but is particularly relevant during the preschool stage.

Dealing with tantrums requires patience and understand.

At this stage, frustration and displeasure in children often lead to bursts of emotion in the shape of temper tantrums – as preschool parents are all too aware! And as kids learn to socialise, they must learn that they cannot get what they want all of the time.

Mindfulness can help parents deal with these conflicts by reducing their stress, allowing them to respond more calmly to tantrums, and by being a better example to children of how to manage emotions.

Slowing things down

Sometimes, with the day-to-day management of running a family, parents just feel too busy to be fully attentive to their kids’ needs. That’s a problem.

Being a mindful parent often means slowing things down. Take a breath, and listen to what your child is trying to tell you through their behaviour! This is particularly important for parents of children with behavioural issues.

Be in the moment.

Meanwhile, stress can be detrimental to family life. As well as impacting relationships between parents, children pick up on stress; they notice it and they feel it. And in fact, studies show that parental stress is a larger source of stress in kids than schoolwork or peer pressure.

Mindfulness can help mums and dads manage their stress, benefiting the whole family. For more great tips on mindfulness techniques that you can use right away, check out this article from the INLP centre.

Thanks for reading about mindfulness for preschool parents! Have you practised mindfulness before? Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments!

Child Mind Institute; Mindful Parenting

Looking to destress your mornings? Check out our five favourite healthy & easy breakfast ideas.

October 16, 2019/0 Comments/by magikbee

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