Top Festivals Child Friendly Festivals

Posted on May 25, 2012 by admin

Magic Loungeabout

Returning for a third year with three headliners and an increasingly enticing programme of music and arts, this is a boutique festival where you get the chance to see arena filling acts in an intimate setting. Short listed for best new festival in 2008 and best grass roots festival in 2011, Magic Loungeabout considers itself to be one of the most imaginative festivals in the north and the ultimate escape to the country for those in the know. And better still our YogaBugs Yorkshire team will be there too.

Venue: Broughton Hall, Yorkshire (www.magicloungeabout.net)

When: 27 to 29 July

Tickets: Check website

Underage Festival

Now in its sixth year, this super-cool one-day festival for 13-17 year olds only is all about the music. With five stages to choose from, your teens will be spoilt for choice with 22-year-old soul and folk sensation Lianne La Havas (whose influences include Nina Simone and Lauryn Hill) London’s lively grime and dance-punk act Hadouken! and Outfit, a guitar-pop quintet from Merseyside who’ve been compared to New Order and Franz Ferdinand.

Venue: Shoreditch Park, London N1 (underagefestivals.com)

When: 31 August

Tickets: £19.50

Sunrise Celebration

Last year Sunrise won the Green Parent Magazine Best Festival Award and they’ve just found out that they’ve won for this year too! The festivalwill have an larger kids area this year, focused around a giant helter skelter, with a fairground ride, a safe toddlers’ area and a teen space with a skate ramp. There will also be a wide range of workshops for kids from basket weaving to learning about home-grown food.

Venue: Gilcombe Farm, Bruton (sunrisecelebration.com)

When: 21-24 June

Tickets: adult £115, age 16-17 £70, age 5-15 £25, family £255

Standon Calling

This imaginative festival is particularly child-friendly with its special area set aside for children, which features an art and crafts area for painting, drawing, playdough, mural making, beatboxing classes and more. The organisers recently reported that as many kids tickets were issued for 2012 as in the previous two years combined. Not surprising, as under 13s go free.

Venue: Standon Lordship, Herts (standon-calling.com)

When: 3-5 August

Tickets: adult three-day £99, two-day £78, one-day £25-£39, under 13s free

Cornbury Festival

Cornbury is well-known for its magical children’s zone, featuring storytelling, yoga, parachute games, a ventriloquist show, Punch & Judy, face painting, mask making, arts and crafts, clay modelling, the Orange Hat Puppet Show and circus skills African dance workshops.

Venue: Great Tew Park, Great Tew (cornburyfestival.com)

When: 29 June-1 July

Tickets: adult £150-£275, age 13-16 £75-£150, age 3-12 £10-£25

Larmer Tree Festival

This intimate festival, held at the beautiful Larmer Tree Gardens, is packed with activities for children including the Emmy-award winning Farmer Jason and his infectious music show. Look out too for Vasalisa and the Peacock from Hinged Theatre, who host an origami puppet, workshop for kids, as well as kids’ drumming with Inta Africa, and a YouthZone for 11-17 year olds.

Venue: Larmer Tree Gardens, near Salisbury (larmertreefestival.co.uk)

When: 11-15 July

Tickets: adult five-day £190, age 11-17 £155, age 5-10 £130, four-day £105-£165, three-day £90-£140, one-day £24-£60

Camp Bestival

Children are superbly catered for at this quirky festival, with the Upper Kids’ Garden on the Castle’s back lawn providing a big top, theatre workshop and bouncy castle, plus a separate toddlers’ area and the pioneering Breastival Mother and Baby Temple. The Lower Kids’ Garden caters for slightly older children, and features the English National Ballet tent, the Insect Circus and Museum and the Little Big Top. Look out too for CBeebies Mr Tumble and antics from Dick and Dom.

Venue: Lulworth Castle, Dorset (campbestival.net)

When: 26-29 July

Tickets: adult £175-£185, student £170, age 15-17 £110, age 11-14 £95, under 10s free

New Olympic Activities On The Fun Zone

Posted on May 23, 2012 by admin

Here at the YogaBugs Mission Control, we’ve been getting into the Olympic mood by devising new activities for our Fun Zone. If you’d like to make your very own Olympic Torch, follow this link to find out how to do so. We also show you how to make an Olympic crown. Leaves from olive trees may be hard to come by in the UK, but we find green sugar paper works just as well!

We’ve also put together a fantastic set of Olympic class plans for schools. If you’d like to trial one at your school, nursery or children’s centre, please contact us at info@yogabugs.com.

How To Make A Yoga Mind Jar

Posted on April 27, 2012 by admin

We love creative, crafty ideas that encourage kids to take an interest in yoga and meditation. So when one of our teachers shared a link they’d found about how to make a Mind Jar, we wanted to share it with you straightaway.

So what is a Mind Jar? A Mind Jar is quite simply a meditation tool to use whenever your child feels stressed,overwhelmed or upset. Imagine the glitter as your thoughts. When your child shakes the jar, ask him/ her to imagine their head full of whirling thoughts, then watch them slowly settle while they calm down.

So how do you make a Mind Jar? It’s best to use a plastic jar – perhaps an old peanut butter one. Then mix 1 tablespoon of pink glitter-glue with about 1 cup of hot water. Add pink food colouring and a tiny tub of glitter. The glue makes the water so thick and gooey that the glitter just slowly and gently swirls around, it takes about 5 minutes for all the glitter to settle, perfect for you and your child to o gather your thoughts!

Thank you to “Here We Are Together” for this fantastic suggestion! Let us know how you get on with this.

50 Things to Do Before You’re 11¾

Posted on April 16, 2012 by admin

Last week the National Trust launched a nationwide campaign to encourage sofa-bound children to take to the outdoors and enjoy classic adventures. Its ‘50 Things To Do Before You’re 11¾’ campaign provides a checklist for under-12s (and those who are young at heart) with activities ranging from running around in the rain and bug hunting, to setting up a snail race and making a mud pie.

The ‘50 Things To Do Before You’re 11¾’ initiative has been developed to respond to a report the National Trust commissioned which highlighted research that fewer than one in ten children regularly play in wild places compared to almost half a generation ago. A quarter of all children never play outside, one third have never climbed a tree and amazingly one in 10 cannot ride a bike. Children are more likely to get bumps and bruises falling out of bed than from falling out of trees. Meanwhile, children spend an average of four-and-a-half hours a day sat in front of a TV or computer screen.

But the National Trust report suggests it may be parents who are stopping kids exploring the great outdoors. More than 80% of kids said that they want more freedom to play outside – to build dens, swing on ropes and go camping– but fewer than 10% get the opportunity because their parents won’t let them.

The National Trust have formed a group of five Elite Rangers who will share their expert tips on enjoying outdoor adventures and their enthusiasm for encouraging children to play outdoors.
The elite five will be showing their top tips over a free weekend (21st and 22nd April) when the National Trust will open up over 200 of its houses and gardens for free over the weekend.

Kids can pick up a free 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11¾ scrapbook from participating properties – and start ticking off their ‘outdoor adventures to do’ list. The fun can continue at home by visiting nationaltrust.org.uk/50things where children can fill in their completed activities and earn points towards their very own explorer badge.

A Yoga Inspired Space Routine

Posted on April 13, 2012 by admin

The Resources You’ll Need

- A copy of the YogaBugs Guide to Popular Yoga Postures, found on the Fun Zone at www.yogabugs.com.

- ‘Sponge In Space’ (SpongeBob SquarePants) by Dan Crisp, ‘On The Moon’ by Anna Milbourne, ‘Q Pootle 5’ by Nick Butterworth or one of your favourite intergalactic adventures

- Musical accompaniment for the following songs:

Five Little Men In A Flying Saucer *
Climb Aboard The Spaceship*
Nine Planets *
A soothing piece of music suitable for relaxation

Warm Up

Start by warming up your voices and bodies by singing and dancing along to ‘Five Little Men In A Flying Saucer.’ Then warm up your bodies with these postures:

Concertina Breath For Special Mission Energy

Concertina Breath is an energizing breathing exercise that warms you up, gets oxygen to the brain and helps you feel more active. It’s a bit like playing a squeezebox. With the fingers interlaced under the chin, raise your elbows up and take your head back whilst you breathe through your nose. Breathe out through your mouth and lower the elbows down, resting the chin back on your interlaced fingers.

Sun Salutations for YogaBugs

Hello Sun: Stand up tall and stretch your arms overhead. Shout “Hello Sun!”

Hello Earth: Bend down to touch the floor into Ragdoll. Shout “Hello Earth!”

Lunge: Step one foot backwards into a lunge, the way runners do when they’re starting a race. Shout “beep, beep!”

Dog Pose: Take both legs back so that your hands and feet are on the floor and your buttocks are in the air (the shape of an upside-down triangle).

Lunge: From dog pose, bring one foot forwards between your hands. Shout “beep, beep!”

Ragdoll: Bring both feet together. You will now be folded forward with your arms and shoulders completely relaxed. Come back to standing.

Repeat this sequence of moves three to four times.

Candle: Lay on your back and raise your legs in the air to form an L-shape. Count down to blast off, 10, 9, 8,7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF

Cycling: Spaceships are quite small inside, so we need to move around to exercise our muscles. Start off by lying on your back. Cycle your legs – slowly at first and then faster. Slow down again to a stop.

Rocking Horse: Roll up and down on your mat. As you do, try to touch the floor behind you with your feet. Do this 5-6 times. Come up to a sitting position with your feet together in butterfly pose.

Cobra Pose: Lie on your stomach, feet together, palms on the floor. Raise your head and shoulders and look up. This will enable you to look out of the spaceship and see what’s on the moon!

Moon Walking: Climb out of your spaceship and walk around the moon. Lift your knees up high and take big strides.

Story Time

Get ready for your space adventure by singing ‘Climb Aboard The Spaceship.’ Then read ‘Sponge In Space’ (SpongeBob SquarePants) by Dan Crisp, ‘On The Moon’ by Anna Milbourne, ‘Q Pootle 5’ by Nick Butterworth or one of your favourite intergalactic adventures. As you read through the story, introduce the yoga postures from the YogaBugs Guide To Popular Yoga Postures.

End with the song ‘Nine Planets.’

Winding Down

Sleepy Star: Sitting upright, bring your legs into a diamond shape. Extend your arms out to the side. Sway gently over to one side and then to the other, singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as you do so.

Relaxation Pose: Lie flat on your back, arms at sides, feet slightly apart. Alternatively you could lay your child on your tummy and take the opportunity to massage his/ her back whilst the music is playing. (You could put your legs up against the wall whilst you’re doing this). Close your eyes and rest. Listen to a soothing piece of music for a couple of minutes.

* If you don’t have CD of these songs or haven’t got them downloaded to ITunes, you’ll find them on You Tube.

Five Little Men In A Flying Saucer

5 little men in a flying saucer
Looked around the world one day
They looked left and right
But they didnt like the sight
So one man flew a way

4 little men in a flying saucer……and so on till you have 0

Climb Aboard The Spaceship (Sung To Incy Wincy Spider)

Climb Aboard the spaceship,

We’re going to the moon,

Hurry and get ready,

We’re going to blast off soon,

Put on your helmet and buckle up real tight,

Here comes the countdown,

10, 9. 8. 7. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…….

Blast off!

Nine Planets (Sung to Ten Little Indians)

1 little, 2 little, 3 little planets,

4 little, 5 little, 6 little planets,

7 little, 8 little, 9 little planets,

Orbiting round the sun.

Mercury, Venus and the Earth,

Mars, Jupiter and Saturn,

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto,

Orbiting round the sun.

Activities To Do Over Easter

Posted on April 4, 2012 by admin

With our variable climate and forecasts of snow in mind, we thought you may want some ideas for Easter inspired activities to do at home with the kids. So here are just a few!

1. Netmums

Netmums have put together a list of crafty ideas that make use of recycling materials. From Easter Flower Pots to Daffodil Head Boppers (you’ll have to look to find out what these are!) you’ll find plenty to do here.

2. Kaboose

This website has a whole range of craft activities. Is there a limit to the number of bunny inspired activities?

3. Topmarks

How much do your kids know about Easter? Find out where the customs that have grown up around Easter originate here.

4. Visit Britain

With so many activities available, often involving chocolate eggs, Visit Britain have brought together their selection of the best here.

5. Woodland Trust

As well as arranging outdoor activities in their woods, the Woodland Trust has activities for budding nature detectives which you’ll find here.

6. YogaBugs Fun Zone

And finally, but most definitely not least, we have all sorts of resources for you to download on the YogaBugs Fun Zone. You’ll find a yoga inspired Easter routine here. We also have activities going on over Easter so check out the Find A Class page on the website. Many of our Franchise Managers have Facebook pages so do look them up.

Happy Easter!

A Yoga Inspired Easter Routine

Posted on March 30, 2012 by admin

The Resources You’ll Need

- A copy of the YogaBugs Guide to Popular Yoga Postures, found on the Fun Zone at www.yogabugs.com.

- “Spot’s First Easter” by Eric Hill, “The Bunny Who Found Easter” by Charlotte Zolotow, “Peter Rabbit Seedlings: Peter Rabbit’s Easter” by Beatrix Potter or another favourite story book about Easter.

- Musical accompaniment for the following songs:

Sleeping Bunnies
I’m A Spring Chicken
A soothing piece of music suitable for relaxation

Warm Up

Start by warming up your voices with Sleeping Bunnies and doing the actions to the song. Then warm up your bodies with these yoga postures:

Cat Pose: Kneel on the floor on all fours. Arch your back like a cat and make some meowing noises! Move into Cow pose.

Cow Pose: Kneel on the floor on all fours. Raise your head up and sink your back down into a deep curve. Move back to Cat pose. Repeat this sequence 3-4 times.

Dog Pose: Take both legs back so that your hands and feet are on the floor and your buttocks are in the air (the shape of an upside-down triangle).

Cycling: Start off by lying on your back. Cycle up the hill – slowly at first and then faster. Slow down to a stop

Rocking Horse: Roll up and down on your mat. As you do, try to touch the floor behind you with your feet. Do this 3-4 times. Come up to a sitting position with your feet together in butterfly pose.

Butterfly Pose: Sit up tall, bend your knees and bring the bottom of your feet to touch. Flap your butterfly wings to warm up your hips. You can ask the children to tell you what colour their butterfly wings are.

Tree Pose: - standing up tall, imagine you are a giant tree with roots growing out of the soles of your feet into the ground. Draw one foot to the side of the calf and balance on the standing leg. Bring the hands first to the heart, and then raise them in the air to form branches. If you’re a bit wobbly, put your hand against the wall for support. Repeat on the other side.

Bumblebee Breath: – This breath is great for relaxing and soothing. Bees hum their days away, visiting flowers and making honey. As you hum, think about what makes you happy! Close your eyes and take a big breath in. As you breathe out, hum like a bee. Repeat this for three to five rounds.

Story Time

Read “Spot’s First Easter” by Eric Hill, “The Bunny Who Found Easter” by Charlotte Zolotow, “Peter Rabbit Seedlings: Peter Rabbit’s Easter” by Beatrix Potter or another favourite story book about Easter. As you read through the story, introduce the yoga postures from the YogaBugs Guide To Popular Yoga Postures.

End with the song “I’m A Spring Chicken.”

Winding Down

Flying Hearts: This pose is a chest opener and helps us to see the brighter side of life. It is used by adults to prepare for meditation, so the effect on children is calming too. Start in Butterfly Pose (see above). Place your hands on the floor, behind your hips. Lean back slightly and lift your chest upward. Keep your head lifted up.

Kiss Your Knee Pose: Sit opposite your child. Stretch one leg out in front and bring the other foot against your thigh. Inhale to stretch your spine. As you exhale, bend forward to kiss your knee! Repeat on the other side.

What To Do This Weekend: 23 March

Posted on March 23, 2012 by admin

With Easter around the corner, we wanted to find some Spring themed activities for you to do at home with the kids. You’ll know from our YogaBugs classes that a favourite pose is Butterfly. So we were delighted to discover an album of Spring mandalas on the Omazing Kids Yoga Facebook page. We hope their selection of downloadable mandalas will give your children lots of pleasure. We’d love to your beautiful drawings so do photograph and email them to info@yogabugs.com.

Enter Our Art Competition!

Posted on September 12, 2011 by admin

To launch our new website and programme of classes, we’re asking all YogaBugs to send in an A4 sized picture or collage of a favourite YogaBugs adventure. The winning entrant in each age range – MiniBugs (walking age to 2 years) MegaBugs (2 to 3.5 years), MightyBugs (3.5 to 5 years and 5 to 7 years) and Yoga’d Up (8 to 12 years) will win a selection of books. Winning pictures or collages will feature on our website.

For kids in the Yoga’d Up category, we’d like you to take inspiration from the theme of dragons, drawing on the “How To Train Your Dragon” series of books by Cressida Cowell. Cressida Cowell recently launched Dragonese Day (6 October) to raise awareness and funds on behalf of the National Literacy Trust. As we’re going to be back in the Dragons Den next month, we thought this would be rather apt! For more information about Dragonese Day, see: http://www.howtotrainyourdragonbooks.com/funstuff/dragoneseday/.

The competition is also open to classes in nurseries, children’s centres and primary schools. In this category, the entry should be a whole class entry of an A2 sized picture or collage showing a favourite YogaBugs adventure. The winning class in each category will receive a £25 book voucher to spend on the books for the class. Winning pictures or collages will feature on our website.

Please be sure to put your name, age, email and postal address on the back of your picture or collage. Where we have an email address, we will send you one of our YogaBugs stories. (Unfortunately we won’t be able to return your pictures). Entries should be received at YogaBugs Mission Control by Friday, 7 October and be posted to:

Art Competition,

YogaBugs Mission Control,

Centre Court,

1301 Stratford Road,

Birmingham B28 9HH

What To Do This Weekend: 26 August

Posted on August 26, 2011 by admin

We’re hoping for more warm, sunny days to see us through to the Autumn Term but just in case there’s the odd shower, we’d like you to enter our art competition (see details below). How about:

Flying A Kite: Most homes have at least one kite forgotten in a cupboard – or you can make your own, using dowelling and paper and glue. If you’re really keen, there are even professionals who’ll give you kite-flying lessons in windy spots across the country – see www.kitevibe.com.

Stargazing: It might take a while to work things out, but stick with it – and once you’ve identified a constellation, you’ll always find it easy to spot. It’s always magical to go out at night – see popastro.com.

Cycling: Check out routes on www.sustrans.org.uk If you haven’t got any bikes, hire them out and exploring your neighbourhood in a whole new way. Get ready for cycling to school in September.

Entering Our Art Competition: We’re asking YogaBugs to send in a picture of their favourite YogaBugs adventure. The winning entrant in each age range – MiniBugs (walking age to 2 years) MegaBugs (2 to 3.5 years), MightyBugs (3.5 to 5 years and 5 to 7 years) and Yoga’d Up (8 to 12 years) will win a book or CD prize and your picture will feature on our website. Unfortunately we won’t be able to return your pictures. Please be sure to put your name, age, email and postal address on the back of your picture. Entries should be received by Friday, 7 October and be posted to: