If you'd told me 2 months ago I would have a 7 foot tall cardboard model pirate ship in my house I'd have laughed, however I do and it's brilliant! A playhouse, a den, the best place to eat your sandwiches and the starting point for a million stories and games - and my boys can even colour it in or paint it however they like...


I asked my boys which Wiplii cardboard model they preferred and although secretly I really hoped they'd choose the Castle, they chose the Pirate Ship. I knew that our Manchester weather doesn't really allow for playing outside with cardboard very much, so the ship would be indoors for now at least, but I still didn't appreciate how big it was going to be - it's super impressive!

Today we had a special job to do as my 6 and 7 year old boys had been asked to review Vietnamese Street Food at Pho in Manchester Corn Exchange.  They were going to be on film talking about the food, and I was a little worried about what reaction they were going to have...and possibly also just how sensible they'd be for the camera lady... I was also a bit concerned about how well vegetarians were catered for, as 2 of us don't eat meat or fish.


Thankfully I needn't have been concerned, my small boys ate absolutely loads, as did we all. Vegetarians are very well catered for, but be sure to mention it to your hosts, as they will omit fish sauce from your meal.

This post is written by Andrew Burgess

Is There a Separation of Government in Homeschooling?

There are many reasons that parents choose to homeschool their children. Some families move around frequently, so parents want to provide some kind of stability. Some want to provide their children with a safe learning environments. Still others believe that the government is too involved in the public school system. While there is some separation of the government in the homeschooling setting, it can't be completely avoided.

Some jobs are just plain fun, and being asked by SleepyPeople if I could share my fort-building skills was definitely something that appealed on a rainy afternoon during Easter break - as my 6 and 7 year old boys ran past screeching at the fleeing cat.

I may not have the neatest or best fort-building skills, but after 22 years as a parent I'd hope I can put together something suitable, and SleepyPeople sent new pillows and duvets to work with. They proved an instant hit...

Yes it's true. The long wait is over and Game Of Thrones: Season 6 starts on Monday 25th April. The public have been listened to, and it will be broadcast simultaneously with the US at 2am GMT on Sky Atlantic and then repeated at 9pm. Plus the Catch Up episode will be available from around 3am. You can find out if Jon Snow is going to come back at exactly the same time as everyone else on your Facebook friends list. Spoilers may be a thing of the past...

My youngest child is a climber. It wasn't a complete shock to me, his older sister was a climber too and had fallen off the dining room table and split her head open by the time she was 12 months. Her 2nd glue-job was when she was still under 4. Thankfully so far those are the only trips to hospital with small people who have fallen, however that is some sort of miracle.

Aged around 18 months she climbed barefoot to the top of our 8 foot tall wooden garden fence. Sadly no adult is able to climb up a fence like that, and I actually had to leave her up there and run into my house , go all the way upstairs to fetch a stepladder and not trip up on the way back to get her down. She thought it was hilarious, she could see the neighbour's dog and she liked dogs. And cats....(I don't have a picture of a dog and I've heard cats attack you in the night if they think you are the enemy).


We knew our youngest was inquisitive, and more than a bit lively, from very early on. A walker by 11 months, he had already learned how to undo stairgates by twisting the two bottom supports until they were loose, and then just pushing the gate to crawl under it. It was no coincidence the gate at the top of the stairs was screwed completely to the wall.

The FabLab Metallic Tattoos kit from Interplay has over 120 temporary tattoos in gold, silver and black. Recommended for age 8+, I can think of a few adults who would get a lot of fun out of this kit - including myself as it turns out...


The kit has everything you might need including the 4 sheets of tattoos, plastic scissors, a big piece of sponge which you can cut to a manageable size to help apply your tattoos and an instruction leaflet.


The tattoos themselves are lovely designs! Really varied, there definitely is something for everyone, and a lot are really very generic and could suit almost any potential temporary tattoo buyer.

Updated to add Minecraft Vloggers and other TV and internet stars and celebs! - see the end of the article!

This October the first ever Digital Kids Show will take place at Event City in Manchester. A 2 day event bringing to life digital entertainment in a fun a friendly format for children and their grown ups. Six different zones will ensure there is something to interest everyone - I'm just now sure how long we'll be spending at each!

I get tons of press releases each day and I read them, but mainly I don't have time or inclination to share, however when it's really relevant to my audience and something I think is pretty awesome, then it's great to be able to tell you about it.

The long-standing Children’s TV duo Dick and Dom will kick off proceedings - which is enough to get my teenagers giggling and wanting to go...hmmm...

The six zones will include:

Gaming and Retro Tech - well, what more do I need to say, this is one of our favourite things. The very best retro and next generation computer games and tech, everything from Mario to Minecraft. There will also be some of the latest VR gaming and gadgetry.

It's not every day you can see a giant pair of wellies on Blackpool beach, but Madame Tussauds have taken a pair onto the sand to promote their newest area inside the attraction - Festival Fields. They didn't only have giant yellow wellies braving the elements - Olly Murs, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran were there too, as the festival headliners...


We are a house full of music fans, and most of my lot are no stranger to festivals either, so Festival Fields sounds right up our street. It's also got it's very own camper van to go with the wellies - throw in the wet wipes and you've got my 3 festival essentials!

I've been to Blog On conference in Manchester for the last 3 years and I've had an awesome time. As was pointed out to me today, I rarely ever get the chance to switch off and unwind, and Blog On is 6 hours for me to just be Jenny. There is a linky to introduce yourself, and I really don't know everyone, so here are my answers the list of questions as set by Chelsea Mamma. 

1.) Share a picture of yourself  - there are very few photos of me - this is the only one taken by someone over the age of 6 in the last 2 years where I wasn't stood next to someone in a costume!


2.) If you had to describe yourself in three words... Truthful, sarcastic, broken

3.) How long have you been blogging and what made you start? I've blogged for a long, long time, but The Brick Castle is 3.5 years old and just celebrated my 1000th blog post - it's all in there. This is post 1001.