How to spend your last few months in London...

So I've just got a new job and will be relocating the family out of London (home for over 10 years) and into a more leafy countryside environment. Exciting, scary, all number of emotions spring to mind - especially terrified at the thought of moving the kids out of their current nursery which they TOTALLY love.

But anyway, we are moving. And have less than 3 months left of living in London. 

So what is on your "must do" list for London-based activities? This is what I've got so far - some things we've done lots of times but just love doing, some of them I've been meaning to do for ages but haven't got round to yet.

Any other ideas or suggestions very gratefully received!

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V&A museum
I'm a bit embarrassed that in 10 years I have only been here twice and both for fleeting visits. 

Science museum
Not been here for ages but really want to take D. Apparently they've got loads of great stuff for toddlers including water and bubble shows.

Kings cross fountains
These look awesome - how much fun to be a child again and just feel uninhibited running through these?! The next hot day that I have off work we are definitely hitting this - Iz will be in her element!

(image from www.urbanpixxels.com)

Diana fountain
D and I went here just before Iz was born and he loved it. Perfect way to cool down on a hot summer day. 

Diana playground
Ditto above. D has been there but Iz never had. His favourite bit was the water play area so I guess it's lucky we are coming into summer!

 

Vertigo
Awesome super high up bar with views across London. I went there on one of my first dates with Mr MFDS so would love to go again before we move.

Aquarium with new penguins
The London aquarium is a firm favourite (unlimited entry all year thanks to my Merlin annual pass) but they've just revamped the penguin area (to make it much nicer for the penguins) so we can't wait to see that.

 

Theatre
Not sure what I want to see but would love to go again whilst it's still very easy to just "pop in" to the West End.

Musical
I really want to see Mamma Mia. Mr MFDS does not. We'll see who gives in first... ;)

London eye
Another attraction I get unlimited access to with my Merlin pass so it seems rude to not go on it when we visit the aquarium ;) both kids love it, especially spotting all the tiny boats and trains when we're near the top.

 

Camley Street Nature Park
We've never been here but I've heard it's a lovely secluded park where kids can go pond dipping etc. It's also near Kings Cross (so perfect to combine with the fountains above!).

Certain restaurants
Bluebird cafe - we had our post-registry office wedding celebratory lunch here 4 years ago and I would love to go back there one date night with Mr MFDS.
Annie's - love this place, lovely memories of family meals out
Riccardo's opposite the Marsden - slightly random but this was one of my mum's favourite places to eat and they used to really look after my dad when she was having treatments

Heathrow gym
If you are local to west London (or are going anywhere near Heathrow during the daytime) then this is such a great place to take kids. Massive soft play, loads of trampolines, 2 sensory rooms and a massive foam pit that you can slide or swing into! And all for £2 - bargain!

South bank
I know some people think it's touristy etc but I love just wandering down the South Bank. Before kids I used to go there quite a lot with Mr MFDS so it would be nice to have another walk along the river there.

Trampolining park
This place in Acton is amazing. I've been there twice with friends (sooo much fun for a work night out!) but haven't taken the kids yet. They have dedicated toddler sessions on weekday mornings so we're hoping to get to one of those.

Kew Gardens
My mum gave me an annual pass for Kew for my birthday 2 years ago and it's great. It's only a 20 minute bus ride for us and so lovely to have such massive open areas for the kids to explore. The daffodils were especially beautiful this year and the kids also love when the old-school fair comes to the gardens. We'll definitely visit a few times before we move.

Richmond Park
Beautiful place to spend an afternoon walking/picnicking/playing/snoozing. And you can also see bonus deer if you keep your eyes open.

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So those are the top 17 things I want to do over the next 3 months. Have I missed any of your favourites out? Let me know and we'll try to do them all!

Sensory bottles

We've made quite a few sensory bottles but these two are by far my (and the kids!) favourites...

Floating Lego man

Squeeze a bottle of glitter glue into an empty water bottle (I got ours from Amazon) and fill with warm water. Add some extra glitter and add a Lego man of your choice (beware that you may be limited by the size of the bottle opening though - we had to use an astronaut as lots of our other ones wouldn't fit!). Top up to the top and glue the lid on tight. Shake the bottle up and watch as the glitter slowly clears from around your Lego man :)

Galaxy bottle

Fill a bottle with water and add a small jar of Barry M dazzle dust (other loose eyeshadows would probably work equally well, that's just what I used!). Glue the lid on and that's it. Shake it, swirl it, sooooo pretty. Photos definitely don't do it justice. It's completely mesmerising in real life (there is a video of it on my Facebook page)!

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Have you ever made any sensory bottles? We always love hearing new ideas :)

Science jars

Following on from how much ad enjoyed our rain cloud glasses I've been on the lookout for other similar activities. Here are 3 others that D's enjoyed recently :)

Snowstorm in a glass

We followed the instructions on Growing a jeweled rose. First we filled the glass 3/4 with baby oil and diluted some white paint with warm water. D then pipetted the white mixture into the glass, added some glitter and once the snow settled added a quarter of an Alka Seltzer. This was so simple but so pretty to watch. D was mesmerised and kept adding more tablets as soon as one "storm" finished!

Watching the snow fall

 

The storm is nearly over...

Fireworks in a glass

This one is even more simple - you just need to fill the glass with warm water and in a separate glass (we used disposable shot glasses) add a drop of food colouring to a spoonful of oil. Mix the colour drop so it separates into lots of tiny drops and then pour into the large glass. Start with the lighter colours (eg orange/red) and do the darkest ones (eg purple) last - you can see why from the bottom pic below!

The first colour

The second

A few more...

After adding a dark colour! Lol

DIY lava lamp

I loved this one - I think it's my favourite - although D was a bit non-plussed and preferred the snowstorm one. This one is great though because you can do it in a bottle with a lid and then keep it for ages (ours is still going strong 10 days later) - definite bonus! Puts actually even worked better *after* the first day! Anyway to make it half fill the bottle with water and half full with vegetable oil. Add a few drops of food colouring and wait for it to get to the water later. Then add a quarter of an Alka Seltzer... pretty pretty pretty!

Pure concentration!

Patiently waiting for it to settle...

Adding the Alka Seltzer...

Yay! Bubbly fun :)

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Have you done any "glass" experiments? Or got any ideas? Let me know as we love doing them!

DIY rain clouds

When I saw these on Growing a Jeweled Rose blog I knew D would have so much fun with them. Shaving foam? Water? Pipetting colours? What's not to love? And in fact those are pretty much all his favourite things to do!

How pretty are these? I love his concentration and his exclamations of "ooooo" and "wow" as the colours started to seep through, and then very excited "it's raining!!". He definitely grasped the concept of the activity :)

The next time we made multi-coloured rain, using all the different watercolours (he'd just finished using them in his star painting for Toddler Book Club) - so pretty!

We did talk about rain coming from clouds but he's still a bit little for this to be much more than something cool to look at/do. But with older children you could definitely build more of a "learning" aspect into it, with where rain comes from, why it falls etc. 

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And even better this activity leads perfectly onto making shaving foam pictures - you can just scoop the foam off the top and reuse it - perfect!

Have you done any cute weather-related crafts with your kids?

Magic milk

Aka Doof's first science experiment

If you've never heard of magic milk then you definitely need to try this out. Super simple (you will already have all the ingredients needed) and it kept D engrossed for over half an hour (a long time in toddler-time!).

What you need:

-  Milk (not skimmed - we used full fat and Iz's discarded formula)

-  Food colouring

-  Liquid soap

-  Cake pop stick (could also use a cotton bud or cocktail stick but I like cake pop sticks because they aren't sharp but are thin enough to be good fine motor practice for D)

What to do:

Pour a thin layer of milk into a bowl (if the layer is too deep the colours will get lost) and add a few drops of food colouring

Watch as they initially spread a little - weird how some colours spread much more than others! Then the fun bit - dip your stick into the liquid soap and then hold it in the milk

The colours will initially "run" away from it.But if you keep holding it in the same place they will then dance back towards it

Pretty patterns

We also made some pictures by dipping watercolour paper on top of the colours as they were spiralling. It was quite tricky for D to get the timing right though!

I love how simple this is to do but yet how much it held D's attention. Once we'd "used up" all the fat in the milk I just poured it away and poured out some more and D could start again. 

Sometimes it's nice to recognise just how many learning opportunities there are for toddlers in even simple activities. In this one D:

    - talked about colours

    - used new words like "swirl/whirl"

    - practised fine motor skills when squeezing the food colour bottles

    - followed new commands (eg "hold the stick still") 

    - learnt about cause and effect (after a few seconds he realised if he put the soapy stick end into an area of colour it would quickly swirl away and change its patten).

I'm not sure you could ask for much more from an activity with such a simple set-up?! If you're interested in the science behind it then you can read a great explanation here.

ilk is mostly water but it also contains vitamins, minerals, proteins, and tiny droplets of fat suspended in solution. Fats and proteins are sensitive to changes in the surrounding solution (the milk).
The secret of the bursting colors is the chemistry of that tiny drop of soap. Dish soap, because of its bipolar characteristics (nonpolar on one end and polar on the other), weakens the chemical bonds that hold the proteins and fats in solution. The soap's polar, or hydrophilic (water-loving), end dissolves in water, and its hydrophobic (water-fearing) end attaches to a fat globule in the milk. This is when the fun begins.
The molecules of fat bend, roll, twist, and contort in all directions as the soap molecules race around to join up with the fat molecules. During all of this fat molecule gymnastics, the food coloring molecules are bumped and shoved everywhere, providing an easy way to observe all the invisible activity. As the soap becomes evenly mixed with the milk, the action slows down and eventually stops.
Try adding another drop of soap to see if there's any more movement. If so, you discovered there are still more fat molecules that haven't found a partner at the big color dance. Add another drop of soap to start the process again
- See more at: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/milk-color-explosion#how-does-it-work

How Does It Work?

Milk is mostly water but it also contains vitamins, minerals, proteins, and tiny droplets of fat suspended in solution. Fats and proteins are sensitive to changes in the surrounding solution (the milk).
The secret of the bursting colors is the chemistry of that tiny drop of soap. Dish soap, because of its bipolar characteristics (nonpolar on one end and polar on the other), weakens the chemical bonds that hold the proteins and fats in solution. The soap's polar, or hydrophilic (water-loving), end dissolves in water, and its hydrophobic (water-fearing) end attaches to a fat globule in the milk. This is when the fun begins.
The molecules of fat bend, roll, twist, and contort in all directions as the soap molecules race around to join up with the fat molecules. During all of this fat molecule gymnastics, the food coloring molecules are bumped and shoved everywhere, providing an easy way to observe all the invisible activity. As the soap becomes evenly mixed with the milk, the action slows down and eventually stops.
Try adding another drop of soap to see if there's any more movement. If so, you discovered there are still more fat molecules that haven't found a partner at the big color dance. Add another drop of soap to start the process again.
- See more at: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/milk-color-explosion#how-does-it-work

How Does It Work?

Milk is mostly water but it also contains vitamins, minerals, proteins, and tiny droplets of fat suspended in solution. Fats and proteins are sensitive to changes in the surrounding solution (the milk).
The secret of the bursting colors is the chemistry of that tiny drop of soap. Dish soap, because of its bipolar characteristics (nonpolar on one end and polar on the other), weakens the chemical bonds that hold the proteins and fats in solution. The soap's polar, or hydrophilic (water-loving), end dissolves in water, and its hydrophobic (water-fearing) end attaches to a fat globule in the milk. This is when the fun begins.
The molecules of fat bend, roll, twist, and contort in all directions as the soap molecules race around to join up with the fat molecules. During all of this fat molecule gymnastics, the food coloring molecules are bumped and shoved everywhere, providing an easy way to observe all the invisible activity. As the soap becomes evenly mixed with the milk, the action slows down and eventually stops.
Try adding another drop of soap to see if there's any more movement. If so, you discovered there are still more fat molecules that haven't found a partner at the big color dance. Add another drop of soap to start the process again.
- See more at: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/milk-color-explosion#how-does-it-work

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Have you tried this with your kids? If you've ever tried any variations or twists on it I'd love to hear :)