Well Hello there! If we are meeting for the first time let me introduce myself! I’m Mary-Anne, a Nanny, Author and Business Woman who lives in Glasgow.

If you are like myself during this pandemic then you will have probably taken your kids to the park a good 104,985 times as lots of other options around Glasgow have closed their doors. Not that I have anything against parks, they are super! Plus we are so lucky to have lots of parks dotted around Glasgow.

However, it can get a little repetitive.

With usual options such as swimming, soft play areas, many cafes and children’s groups closed there comes a time when we think “what else is there to do”!?

Fear not fellow Glaswegian’s! I have the answer! Below I have some super fun ideas to keep your kids entertained and mentally stimulated even if you are like me and do not drive.

Learning Books

I Nanny a a girl who is soon to turn 2 years old at the end of this month. Normally, I pack our days with lots of fun, stimulating activities to meet her all round developmental needs. We would normally attend a lovely music class, she loves a good boogie and lots of lovely play areas and museums where we would learn about animals.

Especially when the parks were closed, there really wasn’t much for us to do which in time ended up with us having to stay indoors which really started to make out brains into mashed potato!

So, I know a lot of blogs and great Pinterest accounts share free worksheets so I began printing them out so she could continue learning new things

They were great! However one worksheet took up a good 15 minutes if our time and we were then back to wondering how we would fill up our day.

So, I made her a learning book! I filled it with lots of activities where she could learn about her emotions, the weather, months, seasons, a nice daily affirmation, animals, food, vehicles and oh so much more!

I found it perfect. I laminated each page so she could fill them in with markers and I used velrco strips so that she could physically move things around such as when she was learning the letters in her name.

If you would like to have a look at my books, please click here!

Strathclyde Pumpkin festival

Held at M&D’s Theme Park, a super fun festival for the family will include fun activities such as Pumpkin picking, spooky stories, a theatre, a pumpkin game, a pumpkin treasure tail and you can pop aboard the pumpkin express! Check it out here!

Visit the Children’s wood

Based in the West end of Glasgow, this little wood is truly a hidden gem! I was recommended to it by a Mother from one of my pervious nanny families. Not only does it have lovely walks and treehouses for the kiddos, it even does play groups, beekeeper tasting sessions, an outdoor learning club and a group growing club!

If you are like me and do not drive this is the perfect place to walk to in autumnal weather! Check it out here!

Sightsee on our iconic red busses

This is something that I plan to do with my nanny kiddo once she is slightly older, she adores busses and I want her to be old enough to understand and remember the day! What a better way to explore beautiful Glasgow than to plan a trip with the family where you can hear all the historic facts about our hometown! If you are like me and definitely plan on it, here is their website!

Social distancing Santa and Elf experience

Based at multiple locations around Glasgow, I think normal Christmas days like this will be really essential for kids this year. It really has been a strange old year so little days like this with the family are really lovely! If you fancy it, here is the link!

Halloween at Cafe hub

If you haven’t visited Cafe hub yet, I highly recommend it! The cafe is lovely and it was a frequent place I would take my Nanny kid pre Covid, as they have lots of lovely toys and books for her to play with while I could grab something with caffeine in it.

As far as I know, children who attended the Halloween party won’t be able to sing and run about like they normally could, however, they will get a Halloween snack and activities, woho! Here is their handy dandy website.

How to help children master their emotions

Emotions are so rarely talked about! Over all the years of experience that I have had I have noticed that the way we guide children to understand their emotions and process them has a fundamental effect all parts of their life.

If you have a particularly angry child, what do you do when he or she has a sudden explosion of anger? Many people tend to do whatever they can to quickly shut that emotion down because it’s unpleasant to deal with or let it all erupt because we quite honestly don’t know what to do.

I wrote a book recently that has proven strategies dealing with all emotions I have taught families I work with. How to help your child grow up happy, how to approach meltdowns, and how to ensure your child has positive mental health are just a few examples of my blueprint methods that work every time.

I read this book cover to cover and was impressed with how loving and caring the author is. She writes in a way that affirms and gives encouragement to parents, and never diminishes the importance of children’s feelings.

How to help children master their emotions

Bricklive at Inveraray castle

Inveraray castle are planning on showing a colourful exhibition of brick models during October! Check it out here!

Bookbug online

Bookbug is filled with super fun sogs stories and rhymes that the little ones just love! So for the days when the weather is typically Scottish or you just want a lazy day, this is just the ticket. Bookbug online

Christmas inprired candle and wax melt making workshop

For the older kiddos, this would be a lovely day out! Hosted in the East End of Glasgow, you’ll be able to make candles and have a snack half way through! Check it out here!

Other than visiting places, this time of year is a great time for…

Flying a kite

• Foraging

• Autumn themed treasure hunts

• Berry picking

• Star gazing

• Camping

• Pumpkin carving

• Leave pictures

• Fall themed activities

I hope my idea’s really help all of you that might be struggling to come up with new idea’s for your little ones!

If you haven’t done already, please please check out my book! I have put my heart and soul into it and I would love to help as many families as I possibly can around the world.

Until next time,

Nanny M x