How To Make A Bear Spoon Puppet

My little cubs and I were treated to a fabulous box of goodies from Bear, including their new Alphabites cereals designed especially for kids.  Included in our goodies was a fantastic craft idea for making bear puppets using wooden spoons, that I'm sharing here with you all.  It's perfect for the kids to do and they will love putting on a puppet show with them afterwards.

What You Need

wooden spoon

brown paint

glue

brown felt

googly eyes

black pen

ribbon

What To Do

Paint the head of the spoon and allow to dry.

Stick on the googly eyes.

Draw on a nose and mouth.

Cut out some ears from felt.

Stick on the ears on the side of the spoon.

Tie a ribbon around his neck.

Now put on a puppet show...maybe Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but instead of porridge maybe Baby Bear had a bowl of Alphabites!

Bear's Alphabite cereals come in two tasty flavours, Multigrain and Cocoa Multigrain. They have all the taste and fun that kids love but with none of the 'nonsense'!  They are made with natural ingredients and are sweetened using coconut nectar, which is packed with minerals and essential amino acids.  They contain no added sugar or salt, are high in fibre, have low GI and contain a portion of wholegrain to give kids a naturally better breakfast. 

The packaging is great with the back of the box dedicated to fun facts and activities based on a letter of the alphabet.  We had some fun looking at 'p' for pirates and 'b' for bears!  There are currently eight illustrated back of packs, with the remaining 18 letters being rolled out over the next year.

The letter shaped Alphabites were great fun for my little schoolboy Freddy who is just beginning to recognise the alphabet.  The cereals themselves are crunchy and taste sweet.  They provide the perfect solution to giving the kids a good breakfast : Mums know they are giving kids a healthy start, while kids happily tuck in to something that they want to eat.

Freddy is really enjoying the cereals.  He happily munches through a bowlful and likes them as an after school snack as well as in the morning.  I've never bought chocolate cereals before, so this was a real treat for Freddy, and I was happy knowing they are not laden with sugar. It's great to see a company making something that is healthy but also is fun and yummy!

Bear Alphabites are available in Waitrose, Ocado, Holland and Barrett and lots of health food shops and independents priced at £2.69.

We Met Alex Winters at The Lowry

We love Manchester.  It's where my eldest daughter lives.  It's where Ella plans to go to university.  It's a home from home for us.  There is always so much going on and so much to do. 

The Lowry is a great spot to visit.  It boasts an art gallery, three theatres, a cafe, gift shop, exhibition spaces, activity workshops and as from today a brand new family activity space known as The Lookout. I was invited to the official opening today along with Ella, Kizzy and Freddy.

It's free to enter the building and families get a warm welcome with a focus on fun and learning for all ages.  The Lookout is a lovely, light and airy space where children can play, curl up with a book or practice their drawing skills.  It overlooks the Quays with excellent views to inspire budding artists. The Lookout is sponsored by Derwent who supply art supplies for kids to use.

The space is open everyday 11am to 5pm except on Saturday when it is open from 10am to 5pm, and is free to use.  It is a great place to enjoy whatever the weather, adding another reason to visit The Lowry.  There is a great play area for the under 5's with puzzles and story books.

The Lookout has a programme of family friendly activities.  Freddy enjoyed taking part in a puppet making workshop. The activity was demonstrated and then the children were able to create their own.

He made a great horse puppet using a paper plate and some arty bits and bobs, based on War Horse, a theatre production of which is coming to the theatre soon.  He called his horse Ben and was very proud of it!

CBeebies favourite Alex Winters came to the launch event and was on hand to entertain the little ones.  Freddy was very proud to show him his horse puppet!  Alex liked his golden tail.

Alex entertained the children with a fabulous interactive story telling session.  Freddy was really excited to join in with Alex's version of We're Going On A Bear Hunt, which he knows from nursery.  It was lovely meeting Alex and he was so good with the children!

Photo by Andrew Robinson

We had a brilliant time in The Lookout.  We were treated to lunch and were really impressed by the latest family friendly facility available at The Lowry, especially as it is free to use.  It was great to catch up with some of my blogging buddies and to meet Alex too!

For more information visit www.thelowry.com