Disclaimer- this is a gifted item sent for this post.
As you have seen before I was previously sent a book for Father’s Day for Elijah too give you his dad as a present! We absolutely loved this book so when they asked us to try another we couldn’t say no! With Christmas coming up and my dads birthday I thought this would be the perfect time to order for my dad something from Elijah they can read together!
So making the book is quick and easy you can customise everything about the characters to freckles and hair styles! You put your family’s names in and have chance to dedicate a page to them too! The personalisation is lovely and makes it a truly unique gift. As well as personalising it you can choose what stories you have in the book too!
Elijah already loves it and says he can’t wait to wrap up for grandads birthday as he’s starting to understand birthdays more. He knows that it is Elijah and grandad on the front too! My dad is quite young so it’s great that he is still able to look his age in the book too which I find is a issue when buying personalised gifts for a grandparent.
These books are fantastic quality and made to last for years! I am excited to give him a great keep sake he can have for years to come and store away for memories as Elijah gets older. Maybe he will give back to Elijah when he is older too!
They sell plenty of different stories and personalised bits so make the perfect place for presents for parent, grandparents or even themselves! Go check them out at
One thing I struggle to do as a blogger is find new bloggers when I put out a call for other bloggers to be featured in a blog post so others could be featured they where all more than eager to join! So if your looking for new things to read I’ve got a bit of everything here!
Reading is so important and with so little resources readily available at the moment such as bookshops and libraries it’s hard to think of new ways to both entertain and educate your child. Elijah has always been interested in learning through play. He’s always loved stories and learning activities and without access to shops to find more we have had to adapt. We where very lucky when the people at reading eggs asked us to collaborate with them gifting us a chance to trial their reading app.
This app enables your child to not only learn to read, but also to write and puzzle solve. There are so many varied activities for many different ages from two upwards. Elijah loves that the app is interactive. He likes to be able to touch the screen on an app and also to be able to hear an activities noise too. The apps are super colourful and age appropriate.Elijah is enjoying identifying the alphabet that bit more better and learning about words. We are currently trying the handwriting app and he seems to be getting the hang of it. He doesn’t get bored of it like most apps trying to close it and move on but stays engaged and completes each activity before wanting to move on to the next. This is something that i’ve really enjoyed about this app because anything that can keep a child’s focus is amazing in my eyes.
My favourite thing about this app is that it talks your child through the activity as well as praising their good work. The app is available on many platforms and app stores but we love using it on the chromebook because of the bigger screen and not having to hold the tablet. We will certainly be using this app for years to come and it is a app that he will grow with. The app is also perfect for homeschooling too!
Since getting my new kindle it’s been no secret I’ve been reading a lot more ebooks than I normally would. However since buying my kindle I still read paper copy’s too. There’s something about a new book that excites me to no end. But one thing I don’t really do is read outside of my comfort zone. I don’t experiment and read something random I have to really want a book to spend money on it. But I have felt this has hindered my chance to read good books as I have so heavily limited myself in the past.
This was until I decided to give kindle unlimited a try. Kindle unlimited is a very large ever growing collection of ebooks you can read and then return to read different ones. You don’t have to buy each individual book and you don’t have to have a ever growing collection. Instead you just pay a set price a month which doesn’t exactly break the bank and is only really the cost of one new book a month.
Since purchasing kindle unlimited i have read lots of new books I would not normally of read. I have read different genres and haven’t just stuck to what is popular and in the shop window with a pretty little front cover. I’ve took the time to read the blurb and decided there and then if I’m interested to read it. My favourite thing is not that I get to read different things but that I get to return them so I don’t take up loads of space in either my kindle or my ever growing bookshelf/magazine holders/ spaces on the floor/any stack of books on a surface collections. I also love that I can read the books anywhere so if I forget my kindle I can read on my phone or anything that has the app and my amazon log In.
I’m excited to read more and find more books that I wouldn’t normally read and get lost in the adventure that is reading.
A book I’ve seen a few times in the book stores but always forgot to buy is The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse. This is a beautifully illustrated and written book for all ages. For people going through a rough patch, for children learning that they are enough and they’re feelings are valid this simple little book may just be one of the best books I’ve read. It’s short and sweet and only takes about ten minutes to read so perfect for children too. I brought this book in the mindset of reading it to my little boy as he gets older and when he is older giving it to his children. It’s so simple and perfect and really is a beautiful read and really made me feel happier reading it.
I resonated with the book a lot and a few of the quotes I will keep in mind for the future when I have certain feelings experienced in the book. I want my son to be raised in a world knowing that feelings mater and are normal and that he is enough and he cannot base his feelings on others or rush through life without living in the slow lane. So get the book, borrow the book, download the book and read it. Read it to yourself, to your children or to your family or friends. The perfect mental health booster and feel good book.
Growing up I loved trips to the library to get a new book and was always so eager to go. I remember running with my books into the door and how much I loved scanning and stamping them in and out. It wasn’t just about getting a new book but also being able to go somewhere and see what I wanted. Since being a adult I don’t think I’ve gone to the library since I was around 13 years ago which is now almost 12 years ago. Scary!
One thing I’ve always enjoyed is reading and it gives me joy knowing I’ve been passing that onto Elijah. Elijah loves reading and we have 100s (not a exaggeration his books shelf is full to the brim and he has a book box full that’s overflowing and around 45 books on a shelf). I’ve come to think it’s wasteful to have so many books and we should start donating some we don’t read and going to the library instead. Obviously if he really likes a book I’ll probably still buy it but I’m trying not to be so wasteful:
We signed Elijah up and he absolutely loved it. He ran over grabbing all the books he could read and played in the kids section. He did colouring and played with the toys. We choose some books and I got them out and we brought them home. Did you know you can get up to 20 books at one time for three weeks? That’s a lot of books and a lot of time. It’s also completely free and better for the environment. What a great way to have a trip out the house and also learn while we do it! Visiting the library also keeps them too and it’s such a great part of the community, they also do classes and activities regularly for all the family.
When choosing books for little ones i always just get fun books i think he will enjoy bright and colourful is the main thing i like to look for. However i saw a few books in the works on deal and for 3 for 5 it was hard not to not browse. I had spent quite a while looking for little books that teach lessons in a kind way and these books do just that.
Tiger has a tantrum is the first book that I looked at it is something that grabbed my attention straight away. Elijah is really going through the tantrum stage and this book teaches him how to understand his feelings and not be naughty. Essentially it uses pictures and words to explain this in a nice kind way as well as the other books.
It’s not always easy to share The book about sharing is also a good book which shows from the child’s perspective that is having other children snatch from them.It shows how the act of snatching makes them feel bad and how the other child is snatching. It shows also something as a mum i didn’t realise i did and make my child share everything because another child wants it. I know think and tell Elijah to tell the other child done he is playing right now and they can play together or wait till her is done. It shows what its like for that person when you snatch from and teaches not to snatch and you do not always have to share. A very intresting take on explaining sharing which would be great for older brothers or sisters.
My favourite book is Harrison Spader personal space invader. This book is really great it teaches not to squeeze when cuddling, touch other people all the time, sit to close and lots of other things. One thing ive found with elijah is that he can be very cuddly, i love this about him but hes started cuddling children so hard they fall over a bit of gentle guidence is really good.
I know at this age hes not going to take in the information but reading over and over as he gets older i think hell learn and it will help him understand more about his feelings and others. If it can help Elijah with tantrums, sitting on us constantly and insisting on rugby tackling his mates with love i am all for it.
One thing I’ve done since taking a cleanse of social media is read more. My books that I have been buying but not “having the time to read” had been gathering dust on my overcrowded book shelf.
Since giving up social media for my mental health I’ve had so much time! After cleaning the house I have so much free time now so I choose to read a book or watch a tv or both at same time loosely listening or reading. I read all sorts and I’m currently in between two books. I’m taking a break from reading the flat share mainly because I left it downstairs one night and couldn’t be bothered to fetch it so started a new book. I am hooked at the moment reading the tattooist of auschwitz which I’m reading on my kindle. I’ve polished of three books in the last week I have not been glued to my phone and it’s amazing I feel my brain working and like I’m transported somewhere else where the stress just disappears while i am in my imagination.
I’ve also been brought a new kindle from my lovely husband which I adore. My old kindle had been broken for a year and in usable and I hate using kindle on iPhone/iPad/kindle fire as the blue light gives me a headache and I’m tempted to go on social media or I get a notification and I’m distracted. This way it’s comfortable and feels lighter than my phone and I have a unlimited library for my books instead of my bookshelf’s pile either side that’s growing.
One thing I will recommend to anyone who’s feeling particularly stressed. Get off your phone. Search for a good book and read it. Take your time it’s no rush and relax let your mind escape and focus on something else. It also gives you something positive to talk about other than what you’ve seen of Facebook/ Twitter or instagram today.
Life with the Hazelwoods 