This is surely a summer like no other! With restricted travel and lots of uncertainties, many of you might choose to spend the holidays in their own countries.
Like many others, our family's summer plans have changed and we will be off on a lovely UK road trip to explore places we haven't visited before. The good news is that I will be able to pack much more luggage comparing to a plane travel allowance! Considering this and the many hours we will be spending on the road inspired me to create this blog post...
Therefore, I started to thing of toys and activities for Daniel to keep him occupied during the long trip. Sure enough, being 6 years old, he will be having his own selection with few top-ups from mum. But in this post I will share with you my favourite Beesybox products to take on a trip, many of them tried and tested by me!
Children are active creatures and being tied to a car or plane seat is not easy for both - kids and parents. I always like to be prepared with appropriate activities and of course, lots of snacks!
No one likes to look for small pieces on the floor of a moving car, bus or plane. This is why magnetic toys and games are ideal for a journey. Obviously they are designed to stick together so loosing parts is less likely. Example is Haba Magnetic Game Box The Seasons. It has 4 backgrounds and 90 pieces to create seasonal scenes. All parts are stored in the box with its size being perfect for the children to keep on their laps while creating their magnetic pictures.
Haba Magnetic Game Box 1,2 Numbers & You is the alternative for number lovers.
Haba Magnetic Game Dress-Up Doll Lilli is another great option to stimulate creativity and imagination. The box contains 4 backgrounds and 54 magnetic pieces of clothes, hairstyles and accessories for Lilli.
Depending on the length of your journey, being prepared with more than one activity might be a good idea. In this case I always keep a hardback notebook in my bag and a set of pencils or crayons ready to use whenever needed. The hard cover provides enough support for comfortable drawing on the go and crayons/pencils are great to avoid upsetting husbands with permanent art in the car. Okonorm 6 Beeswax Crayons or OkoNorm 12 Beeswax Crayons are both great options. Made with a minimum of 25% pure beeswax and other non-toxic, food grade ingredients they have beautiful colours with high covering property and good abrasion.
For younger children I'd recommend OkoNorm Beeswax Crayon Blocks and OkoNorm Chubby Mini Beeswax Crayons as their size and shape makes them easier to grip.
Coloured pencils are Daniel's favourite. OkoNorm Natural Coloured Pencils are a very good option, especially if you are into eco art supplies.
Long plane flight?
I would not take it on a car journey, but play dough is simply perfect for the plane. It saved me on quite a few flights with Daniel over the years. A pot or so, few small tools and the tray table on the seat back is all you need for at least half an hour entertainment.
OkoNorm Eco Play dough - 4 colours set is great for the purpose. It is available in 6 colours set as well but even 1 pot would do the job. Kind advice: more children-more pots, let's not get into sibling fight 😃
OkoNorm Eco Modelling Clay is the space-saving alternative. This small pack weights only 220 gr and contains 10 colours. This clay is slightly harder than the play dough but its 'never drying' properties can save you on many journeys to come!
An old favourite or a new one, a never seen or a forgotten book could work wonders. Prepare some books, ideally relevant to the place(s) or activities you are going to experience and you will be surprised of that extra excitement. Have a look at our Collection of books here for something interesting and age appropriate.
And of course the classics: singing, quizzes and fun games, e.g. 'I spy' or our version 'Spy I' as called by Daniel. Simply name something you expect to come across on the way and whoever spots it first grabs a point. For example: Watch out for the next pink car/blue truck/lake, etc. and get the point if you see it first. Try it, it's fun!
You all did great during your journey and happily reached you final stop! Let the fun begin!
I prefer to pack sand toys even if we travel by plane. It's always easy buying new when we get there, but let's not add to the plastic pollution problem and use the set we already have. (I totally realise that it is not always possible to fit everything in a suitcase or two but trying won't harm and you might be surprised!)
Talking plastic, at Beesybox we offer a great alternative - Glückskäfer Metal Bucket Set. It is sturdy, feels much nicer and will definitely last long, plus it is great for the garden too!
Add Glückskäfer Metal Sand Moulds Set for extra fun. I like how this set of moulds could be used in the mud or play kitchen too!
In case you only need some tools, Glückskäfer 3 Piece Metal Garden Tool Set could be used for sand play too, mind the handles are a bit longer. Or Goki Metal Sand Shovel if you are looking for compact metal shovel.
We have a great range for little explorers! Terra Kids is the outdoors collection by the German brand HABA. They offer an extensive variety of toys and activities from child size tools to camping equipment. Bellow are my favourites to take on a holiday (clicking the photo will take you to the product's page)
We are set for the North of the UK this summer so rain is highly possible. Nonetheless, we are determined to embrace the weather and make the most of our travel in any conditions. In case of heavy rain we might have to spend few extra hours than planned in the hotel but I will prepare few toys to use in such occasion. Well, that's the beauty of travelling by car - you can always fit something extra! Here comes the open - ended play. One toy - many play opportunities. Glückskäfer All-In-One House for example, is an extremely space saving dolls house. All furniture fit neatly together under the roof to form this great stacking toy. It's available in red, green and natural colours.
Have a look at our Glückskäfer collection for more stacking open-ended toys.
All Toobs by Safari Ltd are perfect travel size too. They are collections of small figurines stored in recyclable plastic container. Great for small world play and learning activities. Have a look at the Safari Ltd collection here.
Finally, check out our Outdoor play collection in case I missed something that you would like to have for your holiday ahead or just to add some more fun to the daily life.
Thank you for taking time to read this article. I hope you found this little guide helpful! Enjoy the rest of your summer and try to make the most of it!
Stay safe and happy!
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This morning the good old Facebook kindly reminded me of some old photos. It was a nice warm Saturday back in July 2015. Daniel was 1 year and 7 months old and I was looking at different options of play to offer to him. So he got a big canvas, a chunky brush, a set of finger paints and 'Voila' - you can see the result on the pictures. Of course afterwards he had a good play in the bath as well. I still vividly remember his excitement and enjoyment of finger painting - the texture of the paint and the ability to create a good mess. Something he still enjoys three years later.
We all know that art and craft is highly benefiting for children. Fostering the fine motor skills, boosting creativity and helping children to express their emotions are just some of the many benefits. At Beesybox we have a good range of Okonorm ecological and non toxic art and craft products. And finger paints too :) Click on the pictures below to have a look at our collection of OkoNorm products:
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First of all, I want to thank you to our customers who chose Beesybox over the past three months. Your support means a lot to us and is making our shop existence possible.
Personally, I start this year with lots of plans and hopes. I will give my best to help my shop grow over the year and deliver even more exciting ranges and brands of toys and materials. I will keep relying on your support and patience as growing our range takes time.
In the past few months we moved house and we moved quite far from the previous place. Daniel has started a new pre-school and Hubby - a new job. Many new beginnings in our family and so far so good. And as now we are already settled, I can give much more time to Beesybox.
All the changes put some pressure on Daniel and he wasn't behaving himself for couple of weeks. But he quickly found new friends and he appreciated very much his new, larger room which comfortably accommodates his toys. So after couple of weeks and lots of reassurance from us, our calm and well behaved child was back. He turned 4 just few days before Christmas and it feels like he has grown up so much in the past weeks. His games has changed, the way he plays as well. It's a pure joy to observe him and because he is my main inspiration, that gives me lots of new ideas for the website.
You will hear from me again soon.
Stay warm!
Kristina
]]>Thank you for visiting Beesybox!
My name is Kristina and I am the founder of Beesybox and mother of almost 4 years old Daniel. Since my son was born in 2013, I started researching all kind of child related information, like most of you I assume. As I really appreciate the amount of information and products offered nowadays, I sometimes wished for only one book to be available (with all the right advises of course), only five toys to choose from... and how can you choose between thousands of cute baby items and to get only one ?!
I did well with clothes and accessories for the new baby - everything necessary and not too much. But when it came to toys I was little bit confused at the beginning. As you know the toys market is really crowded now and each and every toy looks beautiful and beneficial. I knew what I didn't want - noisy plastic toys with lights and need of batteries. So we limited these. With the time passing and my boy growing up, I was able to observe him and see what is he interested in. Simple things. Like most growing babies he preferred spoons and pans from our kitchen rather than expensive toys. At this time I discovered for myself the Montessori educational method and learning about it encouraged me to simply follow my child. I reorganized our home for him to have safe access to his toys and books and the kitchen cupboards of course (lower cupboards contained only safe items and everything dangerous was put out of his sight and reach).
With him getting older I wanted to introduce more and more topics, to start showing him the world around him and his respond was excellent. Children learn so much at this age, in fact first years are the years people learn the most in their entire life. Just imagine things we get for granted as adults - walking, talking, controlling our body and emotions, we learnt all this and many more in our first years. So children are , in fact, amazing with their ability to learn so I took it as my role to provide materials and explanation.
That is how my research begun. I've started looking for ideas, for materials - some I've had at home, others we collected from the park or woodlands and some I had to purchase. When purchasing , I was looking for quality and ethos as well as the educational value. That's how the idea of Beesybox was born. I found it difficult to find all I need at one place. I had to find and buy everything from different retailers which wasn't so time and cost efficient. That's why I've decided to offer you - fellow parents and carers, what I believe is a good selection of materials for you and your children to explore. Each Beesybox has a topic and few materials inside to combine during the learning process. And we also offer individually sold products - craft, board games, puzzles etc. The truth for me is - you don't need to have many things, you just need the right things.
This is a brand new venture for me and I am starting very small but full of ideas. I will work hard to grow and with your support I hope to offer more and more quality items for your children and family.