Sammy is doing so well at school.

Settled, confident, the class character. He's brought home his first reading book and is relishing the challenge of learning to read.

I wanted to practise his letters at home in a creative way that Ollie would benefit from too. 

At 2, trying to get him involved in the book work is beyond his capabilities, but this idea went down a storm with both of them!

You need:

• baking trays
• magnetic letters
• icing sugar
• little sieve

Let them loose with the letters and after they have made their word, let them sprinkle the letters with icing sugar and then remove the magnetic letters.

The boys thought it was magic!

Simple pleasures, best played in the garden as the icing sugar goes everywhere!

Of course licking their icy fingers was the best bit.

What creative ideas have you tried to get your small people learning their letters?!

I have had an incredible week. I have hundreds of photos to share from my trip to Pedlars in North Wales, but for now, whilst I get them all looking lovely for you, here's a silly ditty I wrote.

 Mums on the Run

When the traffic is building up at half past eight

there is usually at least one mum running a little late.

That one Mum is usually me,

more likely to hit the school gates at eight forty three.

There are mums with immaculate make up and perfectly curled hair,

but some more like me, with a flick of lip gloss, a face practically bare.

It's an achievement to have my hair washed and blow dried

oh wait it's usually drip dried, sorry I lied.

Instead I spend time crafting a lunch - Bento style 

but it's worth the extra effort, even if it takes a while.

As I race past the Mums walking idly by,

whose children have already hung up their coats, I vow to try.

To not make the school run such a terrible rush,

not watch an episode of Peppa Pig before school, even though lush,

It's just not conducive to an organised morning.

So maybe we'll encourage a jigsaw or one little drawing,

that will give us more time and we must not lie snoring.

A lazy day can be saved for Sunday,

a day for pyjamas and maybe a local Funday.

So tomorrow I will attempt to be one of the Mums

having a chat in the playground as our littlies start their sums.

I am proud as punch of my boy starting school,

but I need to make sure I follow this rule.

To enjoy the walk from the car to class without watching the clock tick

and pulling his arm yelling "Quick, quick, quick! "

For those are the most precious times,

when we talk just the two of us (it's corny I know but I'm almost done with these rhymes)

Because one day my small boy will be taller than me

and not want to hold hands and yell "One, two, three, wee!"

I'm lucky I get to be on the school run at all,

that I can work around the boys and be on hand should the school call.

It's actually quite a privilege when the routine of drop off is done,

that I get to be one of the mums on the run.

ps. This photo is in the local press both available online and in print. So there is no breach of confidentiality!  

pps. This is not meant to offend any Dads on the Run - Richard is often the one dropping one of the boys off, it's just that Mums on the Run worked with the pun!

A little while ago, on a glorious Spring day, we were lucky enough to visit the historic dockyard which is home to the magnificent SS Great Britain, ​for Mums Diary Magazine.

​Mums Diary is a fantastic local resource to parents across North Somerset and as their resident blogger, it was a great opportunity for the boys to have their first museum experience. 

After lunch in the adjoining harbour side restaurant, we raced through the ticket office and straight on board.​

The ship itself is housed in a dry dock that is cleverly made to appear like it is floating. The boys were completely overwhelmed by the scale and size of the ship and we were equally overwhelmed with the ​imaginative engineering.

The ship itself is breathtaking, under the glass water ceiling, you get an eery sense of the power of this enormous vessel and the way you can get so close and feel the texture of the hull makes ​the experience much more real. Ollie ran around with no sense of fear but Sammy, who at almost 4 is more aware of his surroundings, initially refused to stand near, fearing it would topple over.

There is loads to read and interactive learning points, where children can lift porthole covers and discover interesting facts. Our boys enjoyed lifting the covers more than than the learning, but I suspect that is partly because of their age and also down to the level of excitement at the time!​

After lapping the hull a couple of times we headed back up to the dockyard and into the main museum building with the children's ship's wheel learning tool which encouraged you to read the information through the museum with prompts to look out for and stamps to collect.​

There is so much to explore and take in. There are videos to watch on a huge projector, ship's wheels to turn, whistles to pull. It's an interactive experience and there is even a photo booth set up ​if you want a souvenir, professional photograph.

The trouble we had, is that Sammy, who is almost 4 was desperate to get on the deck of the ship and it was tricky to keep him focussed on the facts and figures. In hindsight, we would have been better to take them straight on board, explore the ship itself and take the museum tour afterwards, when they would have been more likely to listen and less distracted!​

All of us adored touring the ship. We played Captain at the ship's wheel, took comedy photos and I lusted after the vintage luggage!

It was lovely to see a complete mix of age groups visiting, including several couples relaxing on deck, in the sunshine reading a newspaper!​

Once below deck you have the chance to see all the rooms on board complete with life like models, sounds and smells. I am convinced the ship's Doctor's cabin has a "medical cabinet" smell to it! Sammy found the life like models a little too real and took a little coaxing to stand by them! They loved running up and down the ballroom, and were particularly fond of the little details like a couple of model rats on a cabin bed!​

We would definitely recommend a visit to the SS Great Britain, the best thing for us is that the boys are small enough that next time we visit, we have a different experience waiting for us. We perhaps didn't make the most of the museum tour and it will be good for the boys to learn more about the history of the ship, when they are a little older and happier to stop and listen. ​

Thank you to the SS Great Britain for providing our tickets as part of the Mum's Diary review.​

You can find out more details of how to plan your visit on the SS Great Britain website. Children 4 and under are free and all tickets include a year's unlimited entry (excluding group, school and venue hire tickets). There is a public car park within a minutes walking distance and you can redeem the cost of your parking in the visitor's centre, at the prices shown on the website. We decided to leave our buggy parked up in the dockyard as Ollie loved running around but you could easily take your buggy round with you as there are lifts in both the museum, dry dock and on board the ship itself.

Visit the Mum's Diary Bloggers Network to hear more from our bloggers and join up by emailing info@mums-diary.co.uk.​

ps This has been an incredible week for my blog, not only am I a Finalist in the BritMums Brilliance in Blogging Awards Photo category, but I have been shortlisted as a Loved by Parents Blogger of the Year! Wowzer! I would love your vote - it takes less than a minute - you'd make my day! Vote HERE.​