Dear friend,
Will you try something out with me? Think about someone WONDERFUL.
It can be somebody in your family or a special friend (humans or animals will do!).
As you think about them, what pictures does your mind show you? Is it their smile? Is it a memory of where you’ve been together? Or is it more like a feeling? Maybe you remember what holding their hand is like, how they smell or the googly things they do to make you laugh. Do these thoughts make you feel happy? Sounds like LOVE!
For me, love is like a warm fuzziness in my tum which makes me feel safe. For some people, love feels more like a big party, for others it’s like a calm sea.
Love can be funny, silly, exciting or comfy. Love can make us feel brave, and it can help us when we don’t feel brave at all.
Even if we can’t do all the things we want to at the moment, it’s good to know that, whatever happens, we can keep loving – and being loved back!
Here are five ways to show love:
Use words
Why don’t you tell someone that you think they’re fabulous? You could even write them a letter or make up a song about them. Sing it loud – it will make them feel amazing!
Be kind
I know a tortoise who always lets me ride around on her shell. As we trundle along together, I feel grateful to have such a thoughtful friend. Can you think of a kind thing to do?
Draw a picture
Giving people gifts you’ve made shows them that you have been thinking about them. If you don’t like drawing, you could find them a pretty leaf or interesting stone next time you’re at the park.
Spend time together (if you can!)
As my bat friends would say, there’s nothing quite as nice as just hanging around with your loved ones. You might not be able to spend time with everyone you’d like to, but do enjoy the people who are right there with you. Go somewhere together, play a game or just sit really near each other on the sofa and have a chat (that’s my favourite).
Give hugs
It’s always good to ask a person if they want a hug first – and if they say yes, then dive right in. We can’t snuggle up with everyone we want to right now, but soon we will be able to do it again – and just imagine how many cuddles we’ll have stored up by then!
So, show some love today!
And always remember that there are people (and animals) out there who feel warm and fuzzy when they think about you too. And one of those people (and animals) is me!
Stay fantastic,
Banjo x
For rainy days or long afternoons check out this list of 6 free, creative ideas for your little ones. We hope you enjoy it!
All morning activity
Transform your kitchen table into a press room for the day! This is particularly good for kids who are already writing but there are always jobs for smaller ones too. Invent a newspaper and everyone can oversee a different department from sports to recipes to local stories. Write articles, draw pictures, create comic strips and invent a fun logo before sticking it all together. Why not get it photocopied and give it out to neighbours or friends too? One of our Banjitos has become quite the roving reporter after creating a newspaper for her street last summer!
Check out our free printable for this activity here.
30 minutes
Make a list of things for your kid to spot around their home. Be sure to include a few tricky ones so that the game’s not over too quickly. The last scavenger list we received from a Banjito parent included: a word that’s been written in another language, an animal wearing clothes, a picture of a person with a moustache, a book with a pink cover, a food beginning with ‘e’ and an enormous spoon.
Check out our free printable for this activity here.
One hour
Let your child go wild in your closet! Allow them to wear any of your clothes, shoes and accessories- and you can even ask them to do their best impression of you at the end of it. Guaranteed that this will end up in a giant mess but it’s very funny and they will love how forbidden it feels to raid the wardrobes! Don’t forget to take photos…
45 minutes
Select a few books that everybody who’s playing will recognise, then take it in turns to act them out. Smaller children will have a whale of a time pretending to be all three little pigs or The Gruffalo whilst bigger ones will enjoy the challenge of trying to make you guess a specific volume of the Harry Potter series.
10 minutes
This is a simple idea from a 6-year old Banjito who says he’s the reigning champion in his house. Set the timer and see how many things of a certain colour they can find. Send them off with trickier colours like fuchsia or teal if they’re too speedy!
5 minutes
Get an armful of socks from every member of the household and put them in a pile. Set a timer and see how many your kid can put on in 30 seconds. It’s harder than it sounds and always ends up with lots of giggles. You should definitely try this one too, just don’t try and walk down any stairs with your massive sock foot afterwards.
Find out more about Banjo Robinson on our website here.
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This Christmas, we would love to share some of our favourite Christmas books, as well as tips for making reading magical! Reading happily is amazing for your little one’s development and can unlock whole worlds of possibility!
Christmas is a great time to get cosy with some new stories. There are plenty of absolute classics too which you might recognise from your own childhood days!
Check out our blog that can really help kick start your child’s love of literacy! We go through tips for family reading, encouraging older children and some resources that can really help.
We all know this absolute classic about a very grumpy Father Christmas who is dreaming about summer, and certainly doesn’t want to get up in the cold to deliver presents!
We LOVE letters. And books about letters, too! In this classic, it’s Christmas Eve and the Jolly Postman is delivering greetings to various fairy-tale characters. Watch as your little one realises that they are reading about Red Riding Hood, Humpty Dumpty and many more!
This Christmas favourite is all about one of our favourite cats, Mog, and the antics she gets up to at Christmas. Lots of laughs and a heartfelt story.
Another beautiful story based in Paris, the girls are whisked away on a magic Christmas carpet ride!
Get ready to sing a Christmas song and blow a Christmas kiss, but watch out for the elf’s naughty tricks! You’d better keep your wits about you if you want to make it on to Santa’s Nice List. A fun book to read together, Tom Fletcher has a number of Christmas-themed books that are great for the whole family!
With a heart two sizes too small, the Grinch is the meanest creature you’ll ever meet. He hates Christmas and the whole festive season. But when he hatches a dastardly plot to steal Christmas, he’s in for a big surprise! This is another Christmas classic.
‘’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.’
This modern adaption of the masterpiece has amazing pictures as well as bold writing for your little one to read.
And for a special Christmas Eve surprise, who not treat your family to our brand new picture book, Banjo Robinson and the Christmas Kitten? This delightful story of friendship, mystery and magic will surely become part of your cosy Christmas holiday traditions!
Make sure that you have a look at the Book Trust for other Christmas book recommendations too and let us know if there’s any that you think we have missed. Remember, early reading ignites creativity, sparks curiosity, and stimulates the imagination in young children. Also (and this is very important!) – it is so lovely to have a cuddle while reading a good book together!
Stay FANTASTIC!
Lots of love, Banjo HQ x
Find out more about Banjo Robinson on our website here.
Check out our other blogs here.
Banjo thinks Greece is extraordinary! Do you want to learn more about it? Start here!
Read all about Greece here and check out the gorgeous pictures too!
Want to get ready for your own adventure in Greece? You can learn some useful words here.
Get moving with this short lesson in how to dance the traditional hasapiko!
Want to learn about ancient Greece? Maybe you can draw some pictures of what you imagine it was like, too!
WARNING: your mouth will definitely start watering if you read this list of yummy Greek foods!
Pause for a moment, close your eyes and imagine you are on a Greek island… Now open them and check out beautiful Santorini. Is it how you pictured it to be?
Find out more about Banjo Robinson on our website here.
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Halloween is fast approaching and here at Banjo HQ we’re already dreaming of all the spooky snacks we’ll be eating tomorrow. We’ve been sharing some of our favourite quick Halloween recipes with each other that we’ll be making over the weekend and naturally, we decided to share them with you too!
Incredibly tasty and super quick to whip up (for those of us that are tired from a long week at work), these treats will surely make you go “YUM!” instead of “YIKES!” this Halloween.
Now, this is probably the simplest and quickest spooky (and healthy!) recipe on our list. The base of this treat are bananas and chocolate chips!
If you want to keep it super simple, you can just peel a bunch of bananas and cut off their tips. Take some chocolate chips and place them on the bananas to make eyes and a spooked mouth for your banana ghost. That’s it, super simple, isn’t it?
Want to make it a tad fancier? Here are our favourite takes on this Halloween classic:
Bats and Halloween go hand in hand. Add chocolate and biscuits into the mix and you have a delicious spooky and quick Halloween recipe on your hands!
This simple recipe takes only 20 minutes to make and makes 30 biscuits which is the perfect amount to enjoy with your family and share with trick or treaters!
Very simple and quick to make, taking only 20 minutes to prepare these jack-o-lantern peppers are the perfect way to serve your dips on Halloween!
You’ll need:
Prep Time:
We can’t possibly make a bat-themed snack for Halloween and not do a witch-themed one, right? And with these simple and tasty broom cheese sticks, you’ll be sure to munch on them the whole day. So, be sure to make loads!
Ingredients:
Prep time:
This is a quick Halloween recipe that will make you run screaming by how healthy it is for a pizza! As per all our previous snack ideas, it’s also super quick to make, only taking 30 minutes to do and guaranteed to be very SPOOKY and tasty.
The base recipes guides you into making spider shapes on the pizza but feel free to get creative with your spooky pizza decorations. Maybe use eggs or mozzarella to make a scared face? Tomatoes and triangles of cheese to make a vampire’s mouth? What can you come up with?
We hope you’ll have a scarily tasty Halloween by following these quick recipe ideas. Banjo would love to see how you get on making them so make sure to share photos of your results on Instagram and Facebook and tag us with #bemorebanjo!
Banjo Team x
P.S.: Are you expecting trick or treaters? Print out and colour in Banjo’s Pumpkin poster to let trick or treaters know you are taking part in the Halloween festivities! Get yours here.
Find out more about Banjo Robinson on our website here.
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Banjo is in magical Mongolia this week! Why not get stuck into these extra resources so you can learn more too?
Start with some of great photos and interesting facts about this amazing country.
From musk deer to marmots – read about Mongolia’s wildlife here.
Check out this brilliant Mongolian song performed by a traditional throat singer.
Planning to visit Mongolia? Watch this short video introduction first!
Finally, check out this amazing Gobi desert footage, taken by drone!
Find out more about Banjo Robinson on our website here.
Sign up to receive free printables here.
Check out our other blogs here.
Banjo is learning all about magnificent New Zealand this week. What can you find out about this awesome country? Here are some extra resources to get you started!
Check out interesting kiwi facts and lovely photos here.
Here’s a more detailed map – can you learn the names of some towns and cities?
Do you want to learn some words in Māori? Start here!
Then you can try singing Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Māori too!
New Zealand has AMAZING wildlife! Why not read about some of its animals?
Finally, relax and enjoy this wonderful video tour of a stunning country!
Find out more about Banjo Robinson on our website here.
Sign up to receive free printables here.
Check out our other blogs here.
Banjo is in magical Morocco this week, and he’s utterly enchanted! Why not get stuck into these extra resources and you’ll understand why!
Start with some interesting facts and stunning photographs of this amazing place.
Like cooking? Check out this great selection of Moroccan recipes!
Why not learn how to say the names of your favourite fruits and vegetables in Moroccan Darija?
From sand cats to macaques, investigate Morocco’s rich wildlife here.
All sorts of wonderful crafts come from Morocco, read all about them and have a go at making some yourself!
Finally, to get a real feel for Morocco, why not enjoy this enchanting tour of the country?
Find out more about Banjo Robinson on our website here.
Sign up to receive free printables here.
Check out our other blogs here.
Banjo’s having a wild time in the USA. You can imagine you’re there too with these extra bits and pieces!
Start with some interesting facts about this huge place!
Want to learn all the states and their capitals? Start here!
There are cities, deserts and forests in the USA. There are also beautiful national parks to explore.
The United States is home to people from all over the world. Check out this video in which some kids share their own cultural traditions.
Lots of wonderful things were invented in the USA including… tap dancing!
From alligators to wolverine – you can find all sorts of brilliant animals here.
Finally, relax with some soothing Native American flute music.
Find out more about Banjo Robinson on our website here.
Sign up to receive free printables here.
Check out our other blogs here.
Banjo thinks Zimbabwe is AMAZING! Dive into these extra resources to find out why.
Start with some facts about Zimbabwe’s geography, history and more.
Do you like music? Why not listen to these traditional Ndebele songs?
Zimbabwe is home to LOADS of cool animals. Check them out here.
Want to learn a kids’ song in Shona? Start here!
Finish up with this inspiring tour of the country. No wonder Banjo loves it here!
Find out more about Banjo Robinson on our website here.
Sign up to receive free printables here.
Check out our other blogs here.
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