Free NASA posters for kids bedrooms

If you’re looking for a fabulous way to pep up the walls in your kids bedrooms, how about a free poster ?

Courtesy of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (part of NASA), there are 14 different designs, all free to download and print in poster size (20 x 30 inches).

The designs aren’t cartoon-cutesy or uncool for that tricky ‘grown-out-of-Disney-but-still-love-themes’ age bracket and they have a retro vibe; we love ‘The Grand Tour’ and ‘Jupiter’ posters in my house – which poster is your favourite?

Visions of the Future : The Grand Tour

Visions of the Future : The Grand Tour

You can download one or all of the ‘Visions of the Future’ space themed posters here: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-future/

A big thanks to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech for these super cool poster designs!

Théâtre shows for Under 3’s in Nice

There are plenty of playgrounds and outdoor activities on the French Riviera, but what do parents do if the weather is adverse or you fancy introducing your little one to the world of theatre shows?

Théâtre de la Cité in Nice runs regular shows for all ages including theatre, music, comedy, mime and dance.

Here are some suggestions below for upcoming shows at Théâtre de la Cité suitable for children under the age of 3 years.

I find this is a tricky age for entertainment in this region as little ones are often not in the school system, or old enough to subscribe to pre-arranged classes.

Tikitêt

Saturday 24 January – 2 shows – one at 10.30am and one at 4pm.

Duration: 25 minutes.

Recommended for age from birth upwards.

Show includes songs (French nursery rhymes) such as ‘Mes petite mains’ and ‘Maman regarde’.  Violin interludes.

Tikitêt - a concert for little heads

Tikitêt – a concert for little heads

Magie à la ferme

Monday 23 February at 10.30am and Tuesday 24 February at 10.30am.

Duration: Between 25-45 minutes.

Recommended for ages up to 3 years.

It is 8am when the farmer wakes up to a disaster. The rooster did not sing this morning and he is now missing!  The farmer and the animals have to investigate to find out what happened to him.

Magie à la ferme - comedy and magic  show

Magie à la ferme – comedy and magic show

C’est la vie

Saturday 11 April – 2 shows – one at 10.30am and one at 4pm.

Duration: 30 minutes.

Recommended for ages from 2 years upwards.

A theatre and marionette show about discovering the world through the four elements.

C'est la vie - theatre and marionette show

C’est la vie – theatre and marionette show

Une journée au zoo

Monday 27 April at 10.30am, and Tuesday 28 April at 10.30am.

Duration: 30 minutes

Recommended for age from 3 years upwards.

It’s a mad adventure! Sebastian is looking for work and finds himself the next day as the zoo keeper with no experience of working with animals.  The show has him share his experiences of meeting the animals at the zoo and the adventures begin – the sea lion is hungry, the crocodile has a toothache and so on!

Une journée au zoo - comedy and magic show

Une journée au zoo – comedy and magic show

Where:  Théâtre de la Cité, 3 rue Paganini, 06600 Nice

How to get there:-

By bus within Nice:  Lignes 12, 30, 64, 71, 75, 99 : Station Gare SNCF
Lignes 1, 2, 4, 17, 18, 22 : Station J. Médecin-Pastorelli
See bus timetables at www.lignesdazur.com

By train:  The nearest train station is the main Nice station (Nice-Ville) and the theatre is an easy 5-minute walk from the station.

By tram: Get off at stop Jean-Médecin, the theatre is a few minutes walk.

By car:  You will find carparking locations at:

Mozart – 11 avenue Auber
Le Louvre – 20 boulevard Victor Hugo (Angle Rossini/Karr)
Nicetoile Shopping Centre – 30 avenue Jean Médecin
Notre Dame – 28 Avenue Notre Dame

Price per person:  €6 per show (or €5 with special deals). There is also a pass you can buy from the theatre for 4 shows called ‘Pass Enfants/Parents 4 Spectacles’ which costs €22 per person for 4 ‘tout petits’ shows.

 

Théâtre de la Cité, Nice

Théâtre de la Cité, Nice

 

RAINY DAY ACTIVITY – Review: DJECO craft stamps

Another day of rain on the French Riviera, so it is the perfect opportunity to raid our craft box and get creative.

My son recently celebrated his 4th birthday and received a gift pack of DJECO craft stamps.

DJECO in a nutshell

DJECO is a French-designed brand and I like their children’s products as the products are great quality and hard-wearing, and the packaging is attractive and sturdy.

Over the past 4 years, we have bought or been gifted DJECO stacking cubes, silhouette puzzles and wooden puzzles and all have been thoroughly used and withstood knocks and scrapes without losing the colouring of the product or the functionality.

Prices are fair and for the quality I would definitely recommend this brand.

Review of the craft stamps (images à tamponner)

My son’s gift box is the Knights (chevaliers) set of craft stamps which includes an ink pad and 7 different rubber stamps.

The age range on the box says 4-8 years, but I think toddlers would also enjoy this set under adult supervision.

The box is shown below, the width is 21 cms, the length is 23 cms and the thickness is 2cm so it is roughly three-quarters the size of an A4-sheet of paper (for postage purposes).

Djeco craft stamp set - box dimensions

Djeco craft stamp set – box dimensions

The box is very light, approximately 250 grams in weight at most.

Can small children hold the stamps themselves

Each rubber stamp is 1 cm thick, so they are great for little hands to grip onto.

The photos below show a side-view of one of the stamps, plus a view beside a Hot Wheels car.

The ink pad is 1.5 cms thick, and it’s covered in a protective plastic dome to keep the ink moist – unfortunately, my son couldn’t open the ink pad himself, it’s quite tricky to open it so an adult will need to do this.

DJECO craft stamp set - stamp and ink pad thickness

DJECO craft stamp set – stamp and ink pad thickness

Test driving the stamps

The ink pad is average in size, but as you can see from the photos below some of the bigger stamps don’t fit well on the ink pad so you have to move the stamp a few times to get ink coverage.

DJECO craft stamp set - ink pad size is  too small with some stamps

DJECO craft stamp set – ink pad size is too small with some stamps

The results

Here are the results of using the DJECO craft stamp pack.

We found we had to really impress firmly into the ink pad to get good ink coverage, and as mentioned above some stamps had to be moved around to get full ink coverage.

Of 7 stamps included in the pack:

– 2 fitted comfortably on the ink pad

– 3 stamps just fitted within the dimensions of the ink pad

– The 2 largest stamps overlapped the ink pad and needed adjusting.

My son pressed all stamps firmly onto the ink pad, and pressed the designs onto a matt A4-sheet (the same type of regular paper you use for computer printers) and there was only 1 impression that didn’t transfer ink clearly.

The results!

The results!

Conclusion

For the price, this stamp set is good value.

The box is sturdy, and the rubber stamps are a good thickness and well made. The only downside is the ink pad – the lid is difficult for little fingers to open by themselves, and the ink pad size is too small for some of the stamps.

Overall, I would recommend this set due to the quality and results.

Where to find this set

You can find this set online at Amazon, or retail toy shops.

On the French Riviera, you can buy DJECO products at Cultura in Mandelieu who are open Monday to Saturday from 9am-8pm. This exact set is here: http://www.cultura.com/image-a-tamponner-chevalier-image-a-tamponner-chevalier-3070900088115.html

Other fun stuff

To see other DJECO products, they have a fun bilingual French/English website that they have clearly invested time into creating. There is an interactive animated product gallery to see product descriptions, a memory game for kids and a magic show and funfair page.

Their website is www.djeco.com

Happy stamping!

Disclaimer:  I am not affiliated or a salesperson for DJECO brand or products,  all opinions are my own.