Children's notebook: Best foot forward
ORDER OF THE BOOT While wellies have become acceptable for just about every season, there is no denying that they do a child’s feet no favours if worn all day. They get sweaty in summer, cold in winter, are bulky to carry around and offer little in the way of foot support. With six children between them, two north London mothers have remedied this by creating the Splat, a lightweight, waterproof boot with a moulded insole and an adjustable Velcro strap to stop water getting in. Available in February, they cost £38 and come in five zingy colours in junior size 8 to adult size 1 ( thesplats.com ).
FIRST FOOTING There is no time like January to make sure that your children are starting the year on the right foot. While it seems to make no odds to my five-year-old whether he has got his shoes on the right feet on not, the Shoezooz (£4 for three sets, pookieandpeach.com ) stuck into his scuffed Start-rites are a talking point at the very least. The idea is simple: the front half of the sheep/pig/cow goes in the left shoe, the back half goes in the right. Put the shoes together correctly before putting them on and the animal has its head where it should be. Or not, if you have mean older brothers who swap things around…
Tried and tested WRITING PENS Does your child hold a pen as though it is a primitive tool? An ergonomically designed crayon will gently encourage them to self-correct: try the Griffix learn-to-write system from Pelikan. The ambidextrous Wax Pen (£5.75, including red, blue and black refills, pelikanpens.co.uk ) is designed to teach preschoolers to use the correct pressure and hold. (An alternative is a pack of six Easy wooden colouring pencils with grooved depressions for left or right-handers, £5.99 from staples.co.uk .)
BEST BUY Worn as a head torch for twilight football, a rear light for cycling home after school, or a warning light for a gloomy walk back from the park, the Burny (£15, mammut.ch , available from outdoor retailers nationwide) is a deeply useful bit of kit. With three settings (a strong white floodlight, red, and flashing red) and a clip and band for attaching to most surfaces, my only complaint about this tiny, super-lightweight gadget is the ease with which it can disappear into a boy’s pocket for reading after lights out, never to be seen again.
Pencil Grip In Children - News
As they progress to lead pencils, the Griffix propelling pencil (£6.75, pelikanpens.co.uk) has a smiley face visible when it is being correctly used. Correct holds can also be encouraged with a rubber grip pushed on to the tip of a pencil (try ultra
Each director grips a pencil ready to make crucial notes. “Rather than basing our next travel guide on one country I think we should have a castle theme because it will allow us to cover a greater period of history,” states Ned Mansfield,
Buying a Pink Ribbon pen or marker is such a simple way to show support, and we're thrilled consumers continue to make pink a priority when shopping our category. Their support demonstrates just how much consumers continue to care about the cause and
she asks pencil in hand. “No,” I reply. “Before Madonna then?” she asks. “After Madonna and before Lady Gaga. Now go away, I'm trying to load the washing machine without upsetting it.” Even Mabel is changing for the dawn of the new year.
The pencil For most of the 17th century the only source of this soft, greasy allotrope of carbon was a mine at Borrowdale, Cumbria. The French spoiled everything by developing graphite powder. The tin-can telephone The telephone may have been invented
