If poems is a brilliant new IPhone and IPad app designed to allow children to explore and listen to over 230 poems brought to life by the melodic voices of Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy.

The brainchild of two mums, Allie Esiri and Rachel Kelly, the app is storming up the download charts and being downloaded in around 30 countries. 10% of all sales goes to Save the Children and, in just the first day of the app’s release, it had raised enough to pay for educational books and toys for almost 100 children living in poverty in the UK.

Allie and Rachel said: “We created the app as we thought it would be interesting today to provide poetry in a new way. We thought that hearing two brilliant actors reading the poems was something beyond just a book…. If children turn to poems on their devices instead of video games, then we shall be very pleased. And when they recite poems and record them we shall dance a jig!”

The If Poems app is currently available to download for the Iphone and Ipad at a cost of just £1.99 for the Iphone and £2.99 for the Ipad.

We think it’s a remarkably inspired and a wonderfully economic way to teach children classic poetry!

Here at BFB we like to think that the baby-friendly villas, cottages and hotels we feature are run by people who truly understand little ones but the fact one of them is actually a CBeebies programme writer really makes us proud!
Lowri Jones, owner of West Wales favourite,  Blaenwenllan Cottages, tell us that her latest project, The Abadas, has fast become one of the most watched programmes on CBeebies and, having witnessed the amazing silence in a cinema filled with under 4s at the launch last month, I can believe it!

The Abadas in Action!

If you haven’t already seen it, download an episode written by Lowri here and watch your little one’s reaction:

BBC IPlayer – Abadas Episode http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/cbeebies/episode/b017ld0p/Abadas_Buoy/
We are wondering if Lowri will be offering Abadas themed breaks at Blaenwellan Cottages soon? With her partner Ludo a former finalist on BBC’s Masterchef the Professionals, and due to appear on Britain’s Best Dish next month, perhaps Abadas and Appetisers will be on the menu!
More about The Abadas…

Abadas is a brand new show which encourages language development, by introducing new words as well as reinforcing known words. It also helps develop mini viewer’s awareness of the world around them and what various words do. The Abadas – the characters and series – encourages children to think and investigate clues for themselves, whilst enjoying catchy songs and simple, visual humour.

It is the series is the first ever to be launched simultaneously in English, Welsh and Gaelic (Cbeebies, S4C, BBC Alba) and is currently airing on all 3 channels as well as RTE in Ireland. It’s also being viewed worldwide and has already been sold to a channel in New Zealand called TV NZ, Al Jazeera in the middle east and Hop! In Israel.

We’re really proud of you Lowri (Blaenwellan Cottages)!

We love this new guide to helping your little one through those first years at school.

Goodness knows, that first day is scary but the second term can be the most worrying because that’s when you hope to see your little one settle in but some take a bit longer. So if, like me, you’ve the second term nerve-wrecking, the great tips and advice below from Sarah Ebner, the Times journalist and author of the Starting School Survival Guide, will really help…

As the school term continues, you, and your child, will learn so much. But all this pales into insignificance if your child isn’t happy when you drop him off in the morning. So, what can you do?

1) Just go:
Top of the list is to disappear as soon as you can, and ignore your child’s tears. Many teachers say this helps to establish a routine as quickly as possible, as having a parent hanging around means the child won’t settle. It can also set up an expectation that the parent will stay if the child cries hard enough (negative behaviour that can be very hard to shift).

If you can face running away, despite the tears, then this may be the solution for you. You could always ring the school office later on to check that everything has worked out all right. It nearly always will have.

If you planning to follow the “just go” line, then my advice would be to have a proper plan, rather than a simple vanishing act. Whatever you do, stick to what you’ve told your child in advance. Don’t say that you will wait and say goodbye, and then not do it. You need him to feel safe.

Some children have real separation anxiety – they genuinely fear that something will happen to their parents, or even to themselves, while they are at school. If this is true of yours, then you need to agree a plan and break the separation down into gradual steps. For example, you could say that you will bring your child in, hang his coat up, and wait for class to begin. After a few days, explain that while you will hang the coat up, you won’t stay until class begins. Then you suggest simply bringing your child into the classroom. Take it in small steps.

2) Distraction:

This is something we’ve all done ever since our children were small – stopping a tantrum or tears by bringing out a toy or giving them a job to do. The teacher can get involved here too.

3) Stay for a while:

Not all teachers will want you to go straightaway, so if you are having problems, find out what your school’s policy is. Staying for 10 minutes might make a real difference.

4) Stick it to them!

Children often like charts, at least if they have a reward at the end and this often works well if you suggest a star or sticker each time a child goes into the classroom nicely. Build up, so that if they do a week’s worth, they will get a good treat.

5) Disappear before drop off:

Sometimes children misbehave with their mums, but not with anyone else. Separating at home might be easier to manage, so if you can organise some (hopefully temporary) help, this may prove to be a breakthrough.
6) Remind them of you during the day:

Psychologists call this giving them a “transitional object”. And giving them a bracelet, watch, necklace, or even a note in a lunchbox can be a great help.

Good luck!

Sarah Ebner is the author of the Starting School Survival Guide: everything you need to know when your child starts school, published by White Ladder.
Click here to buy a copy

Ah those were the days… back in a former life as a luxury pr ‘guru’ (well that’s what we told the clients anyway!) there was more than the odd evening spent at The Collection in Brompton Cross. Who’d have though Motherhood would give me a good excuse to revisit…

Hope to see some of you and your monsters there!