Newsletter Issue 10 - March 2013

What’s Good To Do Newsletter

WELCOME TO OUR MARCH

NEWSLETTER

Issue 10: March 2013

www.whatsgoodtodo.com

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0161 787 8550

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March has lots to celebrate with Mother’s Day on 10 March, Easter Sunday on 31 March and also our new edition

of our FREE magazine will be available in Manchester and Beds/Herts/North London so if you live in these areas

look out for it in schools, doctor’s surgeries, tourist offices, libraries and many more places.

But don’t worry if you can’t manage to pick up a copy you can order one from our website, just pay £1.50 for

postage (the magazine itself is FREE) or you can always view the magazines online from:

www.whatsgoodtodo.com/pages/view/read_our_magazines

Want to say thank you to YOUR mum this Mother's Day?

Why not treat your mum to a day of indulgence, relaxation, luxurious beauty treatments and more at our special Mother's Day Event at The Nutri Centre, Park Crescent. On March 8th, The Nutri Centre will play host to a day of pure pampering, complete with the best in beauty treatments, hair, nail and skincare advice.

The Nutri Centre, Park Crescent is the wellbeing oasis for in-the-know local Londoners and savvy health conscious celebs far and wide. A-listers from Kate Moss and Jade Jagger, to Ann Hathaway and Elle Macpherson all come to this healthy hideaway to get the best in nutritional advice from the expert team of nutritionists. They also stock up on the latest super supplements, herbs, free-from foods and luxury make-up ranges.

Treat your mum to an A-list worthy pampering this Mother’s Day! Try one of our pre-bookable FREE beauty treatments to revive, relax and re-vitalise. Top beauty facials from the experts at Suti and Heaven Skincare will be available throughout the day.

Heaven Skincare will be offering bespoke Bee Sting Facials, magnificent manicures and stunning Shellac creations. Fans of Heaven include Danni Minogue, Victoria Beckham, Gwyneth Paltrow and the future Queen herself, Kate Middleton!

When you and your mum have been polished, primed and pampered collect your FREE goody bag, full of gorgeous hair and beauty treats, including Suti's sumptuous Rose Water Facial Toner.

Does your unruly, flat or flyaway hair get you into a follicle flap? Fear not, hair guru to the stars, Charles Booth, founder of LaCoupe Salon will be on hand to offer his expertise with personalised hair consultations and advice. Having trained with Vidal Sassoon himself, styled for Vogue, worked with top supermodels and founded the ORGNX haircare range, Charles is truly the master of manes!

Come along to our special Mother's Day event on 8th March and your mum will leave glowing, gorgeous and feeling like the best mum in the world!

Where: The Nutri Centre, 7 Park Crescent, London, W1B 1PF When: 8th March 2013 Time: all day!

To book one of our FREE luxury beauty treatments or personalised hair consultations please call us on 0207 436 5122 or go to www.nutricentre.com

Our March newsletter

is sponsored by:

www.magicfairywings.com

Educational toys, wooden toys, musical

instruments, designer clothing

http://www.twitter.com/whatsgoodtodo1

http://www.facebook.com/whatsgoodtodo

http://www.magicfairywings.com


Featured Review




The Slither Sisters

Lovecraft Middle School

by Charles Gilman

www.quirkbooks.com Reviewed by Shelley & Emily Owens This is end second book in the

Lovecraft Middle School Series.

My book mad daughter Emily

was thrilled to be given The

Slither Sisters to review! She is a

fan of the weird and wonderful and this book definitely ticks

those boxes!

The books holographic front cover is a quirky eye catcher with

its transforming images and knowing my daughters taste in

reading material it would definitely be one I would be drawn to.

Emily did say that as she had not read the first book in the

Lovecraft Middle School series, she didn't fully appreciate the

"imagery" at first. She adored this book from the moment I gave

it to her and took it upon herself to write her own review, which

I think you'll agree shows just how much she enjoyed it! Any

book that inspires a young mind is a wonderful thing! Here is

what she had to say:

I love this book. Personally I didn't like the front cover, the idea

of transforming images is great but holograms just aren't my

thing - it does make you want to pick up the book and take a

look though. The "blurb" is rather gripping, not just its content

but the use of the quote from Ransom Riggs at the top is short,

sharp and effective.

When I first started reading the book I was confronted by one

of my English teacher’s pet hates - the entire first chapter is a

dream! The advantage of this is that the reader gets a recap on

the previous storyline in a way that explains the plot so you can

enjoy the book without feeling like you have missed something

important.

You really get a chance to know and understand the characters

in the book and it is a great good versus evil storyline full of

monsters and an "alternaverse" (a whole universe inside our

own) and the excitement doesn't end in the last chapter!

The author saves a great surprise for the end of the book and

which will leave you in TOTAL suspense!!!

Overall I enjoyed The Slither Sisters and would recommend it to

my friends as a "good read" and I can't wait to read the next

book in the series when it comes out!

As a parent I thought that the book was very American, set in a

Middle School references to the Bleachers but this really

doesn't faze this generation as many of their favourite TV shows

are US imports and Emily was far more familiar with the terms

than I was! The Slither Sisters is well written and simple enough

for 8 or 9 year olds but gripping enough to hold the attention of

my 12 year old and it is really good to have a new series of

books to look forward to. The attractive, hardback cover shouts

"quality" and whether looking for a gift, a good read or what

promises to be a great series to collect, this is definitely one to

look out for! There is also a website where "students" can

"enrol" with interviews, maps and behind the scenes

information and activities, perfect for a modern reading audi-

ence!

Emily and I give The Slither Sisters a firm 5/5 and can't wait for

the next instalment!

Rating: 5/5

The Slither Sisters is available to buy from Amazon and other

good book sellers.

Read our other book reviews here:

www.whatsgoodtodo.com/pages/view/books



http://www.quirkbooks.com


Featured Article




We all know that there are not enough hours in the day. It’s a fact, once you reach parenthood, time just disappears, mostly absorbed by your children! And as parents we constantly feel guilty; guilty that we are not giving our children enough time and attention; guilty that we aren’t giving them the right foods or enough exercise; guilty that we aren’t doing enough to help them with their education; in a nutshell, that we are not doing ‘the best’ by our children. Yet finding extra time to do anything but the necessary with our kids is almost impossible! We all know we need to manage our time more effectively, but decid-ing what tasks are vital and which are less important is a mam-moth task in itself.

However, there is one thing parents can do to relieve at least some of the guilt; something that will enable them to spend quality time with their children, give them the focused atten-tion they need and enhance their education. So what is it? …..Reading to them.

That’s it. It’s that simple. From the moment your child is born, through their toddler years and all through primary school, read to them. It has been proven, time and time again, that children who are read to at home, WILL do better at school.

We aren’t talking about classical English literature or entire en-cyclopaedias, but simple short stories, picture books, poems and rhymes, and later, maybe a few pages a night from a chap-ter book. This simple activity will help your child in so many ways; youngest children will learn how to hold books correctly, how to turn a page, how to follow words with a finger from left to right. Toddlers will learn words repetition, alliteration, lan-guage patterns and rhyme. Older children will begin to build up a bank of stories, characters and settings in their minds which they will later draw on when it’s their turn to write at school. You will nurture a love of books and reading in your child, which will stand them in good stead for the future.

More often that not, once your child starts school, reading be-comes a chore, a daily battle, an activity you do just so you can ‘write in their reading diary and not look like a bad parent’. The pleasure of reading goes, it becomes hard work and children get turned off the idea of reading altogether. By YOU reading to your child they will still get all the pleasure from reading and

hearing stories, but if they enjoy it, they will want to do it for themselves too.

Research shows that reading to children works better than any other reading activity, expensive nursery education or reading tuition, in helping a child learn to read. It’s cheap to do, espe-cially if you join your local library, and its fun for both parent and child. It takes away some of the guilt you feel as a parent as your child is getting that 1-1 attention from you, you are giving them your time and helping with their education, all at the same time, all in one 10 minute chunk!

It doesn’t have to stop with bedtime reading either. Look at newspapers and letters together - talk about the address, and ask your child to identify who the letter is for. Write a letter to your child and send it through the post. They will love receiving mail addressed to them! Look at road signs, labels in the super-market, makes and models on the back of cars and registrations plates. Play I Spy, put magnetic letters on the fridge or sponge letters in the bath. Follow a recipe together; use icing to write letters or names. One of my favourite activities to do with my son is to write treasure hunt clues leading to a ‘treat’ – its amazing how quickly they will want to read then! The list is end-less.

As a final thought, please don’t think that your job is done once your child can read alone. Please don’t undo all your good work by taking away something both of you enjoyed together. People will always enjoy hearing stories, so continue to read aloud to our child for as long as they want you to.

So ditch the guilt and get reading! There is nothing better you can do for your child.

The benefits of reading to your children

Written by Joanne Watson Mother of 3, Primary School Teacher and Literacy coordinator

You can find some great bedtime

reading story books on:

www.magicfairywings.com,

visit your local library or take a look at

www.readingchest.co.uk where your can

rent the latest children’s books by post.




Featured Article




This spring independent children’s publisher, b small Publishing,

are launching the b small Little Linguist Award, a nationwide

competition which embodies their passion for children’s

language learning. The Award winner will see their foreign

language story published as an ebook by b small.

The b small Little Linguist Award is designed to provide parents,

carers and teachers with a framework for introducing their

children to foreign languages through words and pictures,

storytelling and imaginative thinking.

A dedicated web page for the award will provide story

templates inviting children to complete their own foreign

language book, in French, German, Spanish or Italian.

The competition will encourage fun through storytelling and

develop young children’s language skills as they complete the

story with their own words and pictures. The award will be

supported with notes for parents and teachers with hints and

tips for guiding their young language learners.

Learning a new language is fun, rewarding and enriching, and

for young children the benefits of language learning are

far-reaching, providing advantages such as early reading skills,

cognitive development and improved problem-solving skills.

This is especially important as these foreign languages are most

commonly taught in primary schools and foreign language

teaching is set to be introduced into the National Curriculum.

This is the perfect opportunity for teachers looking to

encourage their students to showcase what they’ve learnt on a

national scale and to promote the cause of primary modern

foreign language teaching. Parents and carers looking for

activities to keep their children entertained throughout the

Easter holidays can also embrace the competition!

The b small Little Linguist Award is open to all children in the UK

age 6-11 and will run throughout the summer term. A resource

pack will be available to download from www.bsmall.co.uk/

competition including:

The story template – a downloadable story template for

the children to complete in their own words with

accompanying pictures.

Notes for teachers/parents – hints, tips and additional

vocabulary and sentence suggestions to aid parents and

teachers in guiding their young language learners.

Downloadable entry form to submit the finished book.

The closing date for entries is 1st June 2013 and the winner will

be announced on 1st July 2013. The entries will be judged in 2

categories; children age 6-9 and children age 9-11 with a winner

and runner up in each category. b small will make the winning

story entry available for free on their website as an e-book. The

winner will also receive a library of b small language learning

books worth £100.

Visit www.bsmall.co.uk/competition for further details and full

terms and conditions.

Become a published author with the b small Little Linguist Award

www.bsmall.co.uk/competition







with Louisa Coffee Break Corner

Hello, welcome to the March edition of Coffee Break Corner with Louisa! I hope you are all enjoying my page each

month and finding it useful. I really enjoy putting it together each month and love finding new things to post about for you all to try. This month Easter will be upon us so I have been scouring the internet for some fun filled ways for you to spend it. Louisa x

Book of the Month The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith - A great book which tells the story of Easter but in a more child friendly way meaning the children will know why we celebrate Easter and that it's not just about Easter Eggs - Worth a read! RRP: £5.99

Available from all good book stockists.

Money Saving Tips

Easter doesn’t have to be expensive, here are a few tips to save you all a few £'s 1. Buy your Easter Eggs early, most

shops now sell a regular sized egg for £1 but then increase the prices as Easter approaches. 2. Use the internet to print out some fun colouring sheets and let your little ones get creative. spoonful.com is an excellent site packed with ideas! 3. Eaten too much chocolate? Go to a local park and get walking, you will feel 100% better for it and spend some quality time together as a family. 4. Daffodils are everywhere this month but instead of picking them why not make some? They last longer and are fun and easy to make (see below).

Craft Idea I found this amazing website www.busybeekidscrafts.com which is jam packed with fun craft ideas and will be giving the Paper Daffodils a go this month.

Easter Activities

Easter Baskets - Recently I noticed on Facebook a photo was being shared by lots of people showing how to make a simple, cheap yet fun looking Easter basket which looked fantastic.

It is so easy to do and both Children and Adults will have fun making these.

Easter Egg Hunt - Every year we like to hide our eggs and get the children to find them using clues we make.

Last year we had planned to use the garden but the weather wasn't on our side but we still had loads of fun hiding them around the house and giving the girls a basket and letting them hunt. Seeing the smiles of enjoyment on their faces when they found the eggs was priceless and we will be doing the same again this year hopefully the sun will come out though!

Time for a Giggle What do you call rabbits march-

ing in a hot sweltering parade?

Hot Cross Bunnies

How does the Easter bunny stay in

shape? Lots of eggs-ercise!



What’s Good To Do Newsletter What’s On in

March 2013




These may also interest you:

Caketopia’s Grand Opening, Letchworth - 2 March

St John’s Hospice Easter Egg Hunt, Bedford - 24 March

Cruise & Luxury Travel Show, Sharnbrook Hotel, Beds - 3 March

Billy Smart’s Circus, Stevenage - until 3 March

Little Explorer Day, Glasgow Science Museum - 7 & 17 March

Mother’s Day

Pamper Event 8 March 2013

Come along to our special Mother's Day event on 8th March and your mum will leave glowing, gorgeous and feeling like the best mum in the world! www.nutricentre.com

Ideal Home Show

Earls Court, London 15 March - 1 April 2013

With seven dedicated show areas catering to every need and

taste, and boasting over 600 exhibitors, the Ideal Home Show

is the only place to visit when making your home ideal.

www.idealhomeshow.co.uk

Easter Bunny Bonanza

Mead Open Farm 29 March - 14 April 2013

Meet the Easter Bunny - he's very friendly! Earn a chocolate

treat in the NEW "Hoppy's Hamlet"! Meet Real Easter Chicks!

www.meadopenfarm.co.uk

Ware Operatic Present

Sweeney Todd 26 February - 2 March 2013

A hilarious musical thriller about a man and his

razor - the demon barber of Fleet Street.

Tickets cost £13-£20

www.wareoperatic.org.uk

Michael Jackson

The Immortal World Tour

by Cirque Du Soleil 29-30 March 2013, Manchester Arena

Tickets cost from £30 - £100

www.men-arena.com

Easter Fun Day

Camperdown, Dundee 31 March 2013

Play on Wheels Playbus, Cycle Stunt Show, Funfair, Easter

Walkabout, Children's Art Activities, Sport Taster Sessions &

Radio Roadshow. Free event.

www.camperdownpark.com

St Patrick’s Day Parade

Worldwide 17 March 2013

Celebrate St Patrick’s Day with a parade in Birmingham,

Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and

more. To find a parade in your city visit

www.st-patricks-day.com







Competition Time We have some great competitions for March 2013!

For your chance to win some great prizes visit:

www.whatsgoodtodo.com/pages/view/competitions

Our competitions for March are:

B Kids Twist ‘n Learn Roller: 2 to be won!

Baby Secrets by Jo Tantum: 2 to be won!

Baby Wipes Box: 2 to be won!

Dawn of the Dreadfuls: 2 to be won!

Dreadfully Ever After: 2 to be won!

Fifty Plus £50 Voucher: 1 to be won!

Flip-a-Shape Go!: 2 to be won!

Flip-a-Shape Yum!: 2 to be won!

Halos N Halos Bath Sets: 3 to be won!

Ideal Home Show Tickets: 5 to be won!

Jimmy’s World Grill Meal: 1 to be won!

MagicFairyWings Gift Voucher: 3 to be won!

Malcolm in the Middle Series 4 DVD: 3 to be won!

Potted Potter Theatre Tickets: 1 to be won!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: 2 to be won!

Space Penguins: 5 to be won!

Splash About Swimset: 1 to be won!

Stock Gaylard Oak Fair: 1 to be won!

The Six Million Dollar Man S1 DVD: 3 to be won!

The Six Million Dollar Man S2 DVD: 3 to be won!

The Snow Centre Family Slope Pass: 1 to be won!

If you would like to run a competition on our website please email [email protected] with details

Terms and Conditions: Only one member of each household may enter in any given month.

By entering any of our competitions you agree that your first name and town will be posted on our website in the event that you are a winner.

We reserve the right to amend the end date of any competition.

Your personal details are only used for the purposes of sending out any prize you may win.

The judges decision is final

Prizes are as specified and can not be exchanged for cash or an alternative prize.

Some prizes may be sent direct from sponsors and we cannot be held liable for any prizes that are lost in the post.

Only fully completed entries via our Competition Entry Form will be accepted, all others will be deleted.

No bulk entries or entries from third parties and/or automated services will be accepted.

Good luck to everybody that enters!



http://www.whatsgoodtodo.com/pages/view/competitions





with Children’s

Fun Time www.whatsgoodtodo.com have teamed up with www.twinkl.co.uk to bring you fun time and educational resources for your children. Twinkl is

a primary resources website aimed at nursery nurses, teachers and parents designed to enhance children's learning experiences and save time

on preparing resources so staff and parents can get on with what they do best - nurturing the children in their care.

This and thousands more FREE resources can be found on www.twinkl.co.uk. Sign up to the

Twinkl Premium Subscription for £29.99 per year and get access to even more.



Do you want more exposure for your

business? Why not advertise with us with

these affordable options!

Magazines

We currently have 2 quarterly magazines covering Manchester and London/Bedfordshire/

Hertfordshire with a distribution of 2000+ each. Our rates are very reasonable and affordable

with prices from £18 for an eighth of a A5 page. At these rate can you afford not to? Our FREE

magazines are distributed in schools, doctor surgeries, libraries, tourist offices and many other

places in the areas that they cover. We can even add your A5 flyers into our magazines at £30

per 1000 (you will need to provide the flyer).

You too could run your own What’s Good To Do magazine in your area on a licence basis

subject to availability. Email [email protected] for details.





Advertise

Here

£5 Per Issue

Advertise

Here

£5 Per Issue

Advertise

Here

£5 Per Issue

Advertise

Here

£5 Per Issue

www.magicfairywings.com

BABY GOODS · TOYS · HAIR ACCESSORIES & JEWELLERY ·

PERSONALISED BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS, INVITES AND

THANK YOU NOTES · PERSONALISED GIFTS·

AND MUCH MORE!

[email protected]

www.colourwheelcreative.co.uk

Need a logo? a flyer? a banner?

in fact any promotional material for

your business? or maybe even a

invitation or thank you card for your

child's birthday present?

colourwheel creative have the

experience and creativity you are

looking for…

The Rural Shopping Yard

Castle Ashby, Northampton

NN7 1LF

3 Wishes Florist

01604 696555

Bouquets, Weddings, Funerals,

Events, Commercial & Gifts

www.welovefrugi.com






Magazines



with prices from £18 for an eighth of a A5 page. At these rate can you afford not to? Our FREE

magazines are distributed in schools, doctor surgeries, libraries, tourist offices and many other

places in the areas that they cover. We can even add your A5 flyers into our magazines at £30

per 1000 (you will need to provide the flyer).


subject to availability. Email [email protected] for details.


For more information or to book your advert space please email

[email protected] for details or download our Media Pack from

Product/Venue Reviews

Would you like more exposure for

your product or venue?

We can review your product or venue and feature in our

magazine, on our website or Facebook page.

Competitions

Maybe you would like to get your

product/venue known by running a

competition on our website or in one of our magazines.

This is a great way to get your product or venue known.







Magazines



with prices starting from £10 for an eighth of a A5 page. At these rates can you afford not to?

Our FREE magazines are distributed in schools, doctor surgeries, libraries, tourist offices and

many other places in the areas that they cover. We can even add your A5 flyers into our

magazines at £30 per 1000 (you will need to provide the flyer).


subject to availability.

Website

Why not add your business or event to our searchable listings or have a banner on our Homepage. Our searchable listings cost from as little as £10 per year! Another great

option could be one of our £10 or larger £30 per month home page banner advert spaces.

Want more exposure and a FREE searchable listing on our website?

If you provide an offer or discount for our Membership Card we give you a FREE Standard Listing for as long as your offer is ‘LIVE’. You also have the option of

paying the difference to upgrade to a sponsored listing.

Newsletter

Our newsletter is emailed out on 1st of every month to subscribers as well as being downloaded from our website

and being viewed online from our Facebook and Twitter pages. For a small fee of £5 your business/product/venue

can have an advert in this newsletter plus 2 mentions on our Facebook page (subject to space and approval).

http://www.whatsgoodtodo.com/pages/view/whats_new

http://www.whatsgoodtodo.com/pages/view/competitions



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Newsletter Issue 10 - March 2013