Little Blue Zebra homepage makeover...

We're loving our new and updated homepage showcasing more of our alphabet, number, letter, and baby animal pictures for little ones (as well as a couple of our own little ones!). Hope you like it too...

Friday's fun fact - Have we got newts for you!

At this time of year the leaves outside burst with colour. Beautiful shades of red, yellow and orange signal that autumn is well and truly here. I (Joanna, not Lucy who usually writes our blog) am currently enjoying this fantastically colourful view from my kitchen window - it certainly makes doing the washing up a little more enjoyable! 

The subject of leaves brings me onto this week's fun fact! Did you know that some species of newt, including the red-spotted newt featured in our Letter N Print, wrap each of the 250 eggs they can lay in a season individually in its own underwater leaf? Using their hind legs and feet, the females fully enclose each egg so that they are protected by the leaves.

The Woodland Trust has 25 leafy autumnal activity sheets for children all in one place to download. Turns out there are lots of activities little ones can do with leaves aside from just running through them, kicking and throwing them in the air - something I think us adults secretly still enjoy doing too! 

Happy Friday all! x

Fun in the sun at the Weald of Kent craft show

We recently exhibited again at the Weald of Kent Craft Show in Penshurst and thankfully the weather was a vast improvement from the weather we experienced in May. Gone were the wellies and umbrellas and out came the sun hats! It was a great weekend where we got to meet lots of lovely new customers. John demonstrated how he creates his artwork by working on one of his spreads for his latest book. Unfortunately the sun was a bit too strong, which meant that the paint was drying too quickly so he was only able to do it for a couple of hours! Not that we were complaining though as it was so nice to see some glorious sunshine after the washout that was summer!

Friday's fun fact - Voles venturing out

Rearrange their name and you find 'love'. But did you know that some species of vole will trek huge distances in their quest to find a mate? Despite being only the size of a hamster, water voles in Scotland have been found to travel up to 15km (9 miles), crossing unsuitable habitats and dodging predators along the way. When they reach a suitable patch, they sometimes spend three or four days there looking and waiting for a partner. If they're unlucky in love in that patch they will set off again on their journey. Researchers at the University of Aberdeen who tracked the journeys of these furry little creatures over 13 years were astounded when they discovered the distances they will travel. Their findings could not only prove valuable for the conservation of the charismatic water vole, but other species with similar population structures as well, from small insects to tigers.

Water vole (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19503827)

Happy Friday all! x

Friday's fun fact - Rhino's nose

Did you know rhinoceroses get their name from their horns. The word rhinoceros comes from the Greek rhino (nose) and ceros (horn). Rhino horns are made of keratin, like our fingernails and hair!

Happy Friday all! x

Friday's fun fact - X marks the spot

The most distinctive feature of Pristella maxillaris is its translucent layer of skin that covers its body, hence its more common name X-ray fish. Did you know their skin is thought to be a form of protection as it makes them harder to spot amongst dense vegetation and shimmering water?

The transparency of this little fish reminded me of a photo I saw used to promote blood donation ahead of the Olympics. It is a very striking image which is obviously what they wanted as it certainly catches your attention.

Friday's fun fact - Crazy crocodiles

Did you know that crocodiles swallow stones? Not because they are really crazy, but in order to help them digest their food and to act as a ballast to help them dive deeper.

On a recent trip to the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford our little ones enjoyed getting up close and personal with all the animal exhibits, which included this crocodile skeleton. We would recommend the museum - it's fun for little ones and free!

Happy Friday everyone!

Olympic fever

So the Olympics have come to a close after two weeks of fantastic sporting action. On a recent trip to London for a birthday celebration we were able to soak up the fantastic atmosphere that the games generated. We were a little concerned about how busy it would be, but we needn't have worried. London it seems couldn't have been running more efficiently and everyone was so friendly. Not to say that it isn't normally a friendly city, it just seemed everyone was making that extra bit of effort to ensure everything ran smoothly. 

A little bit of light reading for the train...!

Outside City Hall they had a big screen and lots of activities to get involved in.

John even lent a hand at drawing some Olympic events...

 

Some of the Little Blue Zebra family were lucky enough to get tickets to see some of the action and experience the amazing atmosphere in the stadiums and Olympic park. 

We bought a few souvenirs home to inspire the next generation... 

Summer holidays - Our top ten activities and ideas for children

The summer holidays have arrived - six lovely school-free weeks! And the sun has even arrived here in the UK just in time for them. If you're wondering how to fill the days, we thought we'd bring you a few ideas to keep your little ones entertained. Here are our top ten ideas for this week. Since the summer weather has finally arrived (hooray!), we thought we'd start with lots of outdoor activities...

1. Get into the sporty spirit and hold your own Olympic Games.

2. Kiddy car wash - children love splashing about and even being helpful every now and then! So how about setting up a car/toy wash for them in your driveway or garden. All you need is a bucket filled with soapy water, a few sponges, cloths and their toys and away they go! 

3. Paint outside with water - if you don’t fancy getting messy with paints, let the little ones get creative with water - an old paintbrush, a cup of water and paving stones in the garden.

4. Go fruit picking - why not visit a local ‘pick your own’ farm and pick some juicy strawberries or raspberries. Take them home and make your own jam, a cake, ice lollies or fruit jelly.

5. Make a water wall - only a little bit of construction needed for this one and you’ve got hours of fun.

6. Make and blow bubbles - make your own batch of bubble mixture and go bubble crazy.

7. Go on a colour hunt - this would work equally well indoors and out, perhaps on the beach collecting pebbles and shells.  

8. Keep a holiday scrapbook or diary - we both loved keeping a little scrapbook of our holidays as children. They weren’t quite as fancy as this holiday scrapbook mind you.

9. Go for a walk and build a twig tower - for nature loving little ones, forget Jenga indoors and get out into the woods and build your own.

10. Feed the birds - our little ones love feeding the ducks in the park. How about feeding the birds in the garden too with this speedy bird cake or recycled bird feeder.

Friday's fun fact - Comedy lemurs and royal frogs

Did you know that an estimated 17,000 to 24,000 animal species are identified every year? A few mammals, hundreds of amphibians and many thousands of insects and other invertebrates. Some of them have familiar sounding names...the Bob Marley parasite (Gnathia marleyi), the Kate Winslet beetle (Agra katewinsletae) and the Beyonce horse fly (Scaptia beyonceae).

Two of our A-Z animals have famous connections...

John Cleese had a lemur named after him in 2005. The endangered Madagascan Avahi cleesei was given its name by the scientist who identified it as a tribute to the actor and comedian's promotion of nature conservation in films such as Fierce Creatures. 

Earlier this year a tree frog was named after Prince Charles. The Prince Charles stream tree frog (Hyloscirtus princecharlesi) was named after His Royal Highness in recognition of his charity work to protect their rainforest habitat.

 Happy Friday all!

Friday's fun fact - Wonderfully woolly yaks

The weather seems to be the topic of conversation here at the moment. Not only have we just experienced the wettest June on record, it looks as though the outlook for rest of the summer isn't much better. Rain is one thing, but it's the fact that it's also been so cold for this time of year. Inevitably this has led to a daily wardrobe struggle...what to wear when one (rather fleeting) moment the sun is shining and it feels warm, and the next it's cloudy and rainy making you want to reach for a woolly jumper?

It's with woolly things in mind that I share with you today's fun fact...did you know that over 90% of the world's yak population of nearly 15 million lives on the Tibetan Plateau in the Himalayas?

(Image: Khunu)

And did you know that yak wool is softer and warmer than merino, and more durable than cashmere? So why not try wearing their wool too? If it's warm enough to keep yaks cosy in the Himalayas then it's got to be good!

Happy Friday 13th all...hope it's been a lucky one!