23.12.2011 par admin.

Venice escapes escape to Valbonne! By  Louis BB age 10 years old

In the quiet, cold, streets of Valbonne on a frosty Friday morning, who would imagine that a (quite) famous author, Mrs Sandra Arthur, would take some children to do a workshop.

They had a welcome drink and cake then they crept inside this wonderful book shop and started climbing up the stairs. The first thing that crossed their minds was the mask. The mask was this beige, red mask with decorations such as felt on the sides, glitter around the eyes and it had golden flowers around the glitter. Then they discussed an amazing book that Sandra wrote herself.

http://www.sandraarthurbooks.com/

Venice Escape “Maria’s Golden Gondola Adventures” by Sandra SC Arthur …Later they watched a fascinating film on all (or almost) the different type of music and then did a few bracelets and had a snack and to finish it off they finished their masks. How do I know this? Well I was there.

(editor’s note) The Children had an amazing time at the English Book Centre in Valbonne leaving us several hours to wander around the Christmas Market and purchase some local delicacies for the table on Sunday! They left with  a little gift bag including a copy of the book so early to bed tonight to catch up on some Italian adventures!

Posté dans Uncategorized | Aucun commentaire »

14.2.2011 par admin.

I really can’t beleve it is now 4 years since I opened the KidooLand doors to the general public. How my baby has grown from a tiny little baby to a little child. Rather like real babies we went through the teething process (french administration) enjoyed the first tentative steps into the big wide world (mum and baby clubs) and now KidooLand is gaining a independance from me,  meaning I haven’t had to be here 24/7 which means I can keep my own home-work life balance in check.

We have worked with many great people in those 4 years on one off projects and longer ongoing projects but a special thanks must go to the wonderful team Karen, Lizzy, Sarah, Sandrine, Helen,  Jo and Delphine :-)  who are here each week welcoming  nearly 80 different families visiting KidooLand each week for their activities.

A perk of my job is to meet so many babies and newborns - each one a little miracle and we are proud to be part of their Early Years and here to share information on local schools and things to do in the area. If you are moving to the areaplease do feel free to drop in and see us as we have a library of information to give you on what’s what on the Cote d’Azur.

To celebrate our birthday as well as tasting a delicious cake provided by La Tasse de Couleurs in Biot (pottery painting cafe which we have tested and highly recommend!) we are running a little competition worth 50 euros to the lucky winner. You will need to get on our Facebook page to enter http://www.facebook.com/KidooPage

Keep an eye on this page because we will be working closely with lots of partners over the next months to bring you some essential information on Riviera Living and some wonderful prizes!

OK well hope you enjoy the Holidays .. we will be closed for 1 week  19th -27th feb inclusive and then open for the schoolchildren only 28 feb-4th March for the Holiday camps. Normal play resumes for the term time crew on Monday 7th March.

So whatever you get up to - have fun and good luck in the KidooCompetition

Thanks

Antonia

Posté dans Top Tips | Aucun commentaire »

29.11.2010 par admin.

At the weekend we organised a party for a 9 year old boy and called on a scientist to come and help us!

Les Sciences on Folie travelled from Nice to our home and arrived half an hour before starting to set up. All we had to provide was a good size table and a plug point.

After a safety debrief, the mini - scientists got stuck in…a group of 12 inquisitive  8-10 year olds looked at air and what happens when you heat it,  how vaccums work, made their own volcano with lava, created their own silly putty, looked at how elements changed when heated, and a whole host of other things…

A fully charged, fun packed 1h30 . They all left with a party bag from the scientist and their home made silly putty.

It’s a number well worth remembering as for the first time in many years I felt totally relaxed rather than frazzled at the end of the party .. the children were totally engrossed in the activity - interacting and of course learning.

website  

Phone: 06 32 97 09 94

Posté dans Uncategorized | Aucun commentaire »

23.11.2010 par admin.

I am sure that you like me sometimes need inspiration in the kitchen. Or perhaps you have the inspiration and then think zut I should have got some … goat’s cheese/chives/apricots ..well here is your solution!

We have tried and tested for the last 2 weeks a greengrocer based in Vence. On a Tuesday we place our order and it’s ready on the Thursday (for us in the IBM car park of La Gaude but he possibly has other delivery point too! )

Not only de we receive a bag of wonderful, fresh and healthy vegetables and fruits but also little paper bags with the essentials to create something different.

This week ” a soup with vegetables from days gone by” which included the herbs needed to add that certain je ne sais quoi… and also a tarte aux epinards et chevres …with the little rondelles of goats cheese.

Last week we had little pumkin and apricot cakes and Mr Greengrocer had even included enough apricots to make the recipe a success.

Well I’m on cloud 9 - suddenly I have some new ideas and this time all the ingredients to actually do it.

My panier gourmande costs 25euros  which kilo for kilo worked out cheaper than another greengrocer - the apples were delicious (not always the case when buying from the big hypermarkets)

Check him out … http://www.lepanierdumarche.com

He delivers to…Vence..Saint Paul …La Colle sur Loup… Tourrettes sur Loup ..Nice……La Gaude…Gattières…Saint Jeannet  et les environs and who knows if enough of you wanted it at Kidooland perhaps we could have a word with him!

Posté dans Top Tips | Aucun commentaire »

15.11.2010 par admin.

I went along to this last year and it was a really nice afternoon out with plenty of little gifts for Christmas on sale!

Enjoy a day of Christmas Shopping and Indulgence at the
Beautiful Bastide St.Mathieu.
10am - 6pm
Molton Brown, iPhone Cases, Golf Accessories, Jewellery, Beauty
Products, Books, Hampers, Candles, Clothing, Beauty Treatments,
Christmas Cards and much more.
Champagne Bar sponsored by,
Lunch with Fashion show by Prêt à Porter.
Massage and eye lash extensions, visit our website to pre-book.
Advance booking for lunch only.
2 course lunch with wine €15.
Contact lisa@thorntonallan.com
Information for sellers contact sorayacolegrave@btinternet.com
35 Chemin de Blumenthal St. Mathieu, Grasse 06130
http://www.bastidestmathieu.com/

Posté dans Uncategorized | Aucun commentaire »

8.10.2010 par admin.

I guess any busy mum is waking up today with the same thoughts as me .. where did the year go? It really does seem like just yesterday that we were opening Christmas presents and I must admit that in the last couple of days I have started thinking about what I can get for the kids for this year!

Well before we get onto that we have autumn to enjoy. I think this is my favourite season although since moving to the South of France it’s true that summer is really great fun as long as you have water to cool off in

So what’s on the menu for October .. well this weekend there is the Salon de Maternage in  Mouans Sartoux for those who are perhaps pregnant and looking for information on what’s what in the early years and then for those who have older children there is an interesting exhibition in St Jeannet near la Gaude of bird feeders. Ok that sound’s a little strange, but it’s at the most delightful venue - Graine et Ficelle a wonderful natural farm for children which is a rare find here on the Cote d’Azur.

It is only a couple of weeks now until the school holidays and at Kidooland we will be having lots of creative fun with our theme “Abracadabra” .. we will also be visiting the Picasso museum and hopefully weather permitting an outing to Marineland and Adventure Golf .. or bowling if the weather is against us. Make sure you reserve quickly as places are going fast and if we do have that week of rain we so often get you will be glad of the indoor entertainment.

 Soon we will be getting into the festive season , I know that my calendar is starting to fill up and so you will perhaps be thrilled to know that the KidooTeam are available to members for babysitting. Send an email to jo@kidooland.com for details- remember this is a member’s service only!

OK that’s all for now enjoy the autumn walks!

Posté dans KidooLangues, KidooCamps - Holidays, Uncategorized | Aucun commentaire »

10.9.2010 par admin.

Pour ceux qui ont fait les KidooCamps de summer - dernier chance de gagner un stage d’une semaine formule matin en 2011 en repondant au sondage! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3M5PZ9J

Last chance to win a weeks KidooCamp in 2011 for those that joined our KidooCamps this summer by replying to our survey closes tonight!

Good luck and have a great weekend!

Posté dans Uncategorized | Aucun commentaire »

6.9.2010 par admin.

Well today we welcomed 8 little new friends to Kidooland to start their adaptation to the Bilingual playgroups. It all went really well for everyone … a chance to meet new friends (for the mums and dads too! ) discover a new environment and meet the new team. It’s a big step for everyone .. tot and parents alike and while there were a few tears on the whole everyone had smiles to share.

This year we are thrilled to welcome Gaelle to the team who was last year one of the playgroup mums. She liked it so much (!) that she offered to take on the French part of our playgroups. No stranger to the classroom, Gaelle has a degree in Science and Education and went on to leading her own class in a school in Vernon. She was also involved in the school’s programme aimed at combatting illiteracy. So bienvenue!

Tomorrow it’s the turn of the Mum and Babies who will be coming to meet Helen for the first time and get mooving and grooving! Last year this club was a sell out as it has everything .. activities for baby and coffee for mum. We’d love to hear from any of last year’s mums to see how things are going…

On Wednesday Sarah and Lizzy will be back ready to get the new sessions underway. For some this will be part of the discovery month but for many others who know us of old this will be the next step in getting to grips with the English language - we have a very exciting programme ready for you!

The fluent English speakers are not being left out either as on Wednesday afternoons, a Theatre club is being intorduced into the programme .. can’t wait to watch what comes out of that.

Saturday sees the start back of the Saturday morning groups. A few changes this time..starting a little later at 10h to avoid all the late arrivals (although there is an option to come and start @ 9h30 if you like!

Posté dans Uncategorized | Aucun commentaire »

1.9.2010 par admin.

In France this means taking at least one list from school and parading up and down the ailes of your local hypermarket, elbowing your way through the masses to get the paper with the right size squares, or pens of the right thickness!Negotiating with your children so that you don’t have to buy the most expensive Pet Shop or Ben 10 range and then carting it all home for labelling! The other day I found a good French site for labels www.a-qui-s.fr cost me 11eur for 75 labels and so we are now all labelled up!

Schools back tomorrow for most and for my (not so) little babes that means a new school and new friends again !

Next on the list is sorting out the extra-curricular activities as these are not covered in the school programme. Of course my non parent role means organising these for other parents and so I have spent this afternoon answering the phone non stop at Kidooland taking inscriptions for next week! Many classes are now full or pratically full so I left work tonight feeling like I’d accomplished a lot!

My own kids will be doing the new Theatre Academy and fun Piano with Lizzy for starters all in English and of course totally fun!

So from one parent to another have a smooth back to school and see some of you next week!

Posté dans KidooLangues, Uncategorized | Aucun commentaire »

29.8.2010 par admin.

Des septembre, pour les parents intéressés, nous vous proposerons le mois de découverte sans obligation de s’inscrire pendant lequel votre enfant se familiarisera avec son nouvel environnement. (sauf playgroup) - tarifs en-dessous. Pré-Inscription obligatoire *

Come and try KidooLand out in September before deciding if you want to join up for the year (excl playgroups) Tarifs below…

TARIFS POUR LE MOIS DE DECOUVERTE - 4 semaines**
Discovery Club 25 euros
Eveil Musique 30 euros
Baby Club 60 euros
Anglo KidooClub 60 euros
Anglais Ludique 120 euros
Italien Ludique 60 euros

* AVEC DOSSIER COMPLET Fiche d’inscription, fiche sanitaire, assurance scolaire & paiement soit 9-12h lun 30 aout-ven 3 sep  @ Kidooland ou bien par courrier KidooLand 1890 Ch. de St Bernard 06220 Vallauris

** les frais de dossier de 30 euro par famille sont obligatoires pour chaque participant

Posté dans KidooLangues | Aucun commentaire »