make magical creations to take home and follow the special fairy trail. Free admission (£2.50 for activities). Contact 0116 266 6590 Thursday 22 August - Make a Farm Animal Mask, Gorse Hill City Farm, Anstey Lane, Leicester, LE4 0FJ. £1 per child from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 4pm. Contact 0116 2537582. Monday 26 August, National Forest Wood Fair at Beacon Hill Country Park, 9am to 6pm. Have a go wood craft sessions, children’s fun and games, exhibitors and demonstrators. Entry costs £9 per adult, £6 Concessions, Families £25 including parking. Contact 01283 551211. Saturday 31 August Great Glen Whellbarrow Race and Summer Fete, Recreational Ground, Bindley’s Lane, Great Glen. Starts at 12pm, Junior
race (under 16) at 2.15pm, adult race at 3.15pm. Race entry fee £10 per adult team, £5 per child team. Prizes for winners and best decorated barrows. Side stalls and licensed bar. www.greatglenwheelbarrowrace. co.uk
September
Friday 6 September, Saturday 7 September and Sunday 8 September The Victory Show, Countesthorpe. Reenactment camps, miniature steam train rides, 1940s vehicles remote controlled aircraft and an air display subject to weather, serviceability and availability. Tickets £15 for adults, children £5. Sunday 8 September, Seaside Special Steam Day, Abbey Pumping Station. Enjoy sun, sea and sand, relax on the museum beach, enjoy fairground rides and the beach cafe. Tickets cost
£8 for families, children/concessions £2.50, adults £3.50. Contact 0116 2995111. Saturday 12 September Big Buggy Push 10am Beacon Hill Country Park, Woodhouse Eaves. Entry costs £20 plus additional sponsorship. To sign up visit www.thebigbuggypush. co.uk or call 07903 349475. Saturday 20 September and Sunday 21 September 10am to 5pm. Return of the Garrison, National Space Centre Leicester. A family weekend of Star Wars fun to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Return of the Jedi. Saturday 21 September and Sunday 22 September. The Belgrave Hall Good Food Fair, 11am – 4pm, Belgrave Hall and Gardents. Eat drink and take home tasty treats. Adults £1.50, under 16s free.
Puddle Ducks Baby Swimming Tips Advertising feature
B
aby swimming is one of the most amazing experiences you can share with your baby! Babies have a real affinity with water. They spend nine months in the womb, and more and more expectant mothers are now choosing a water birth as the most natural introduction to the world.
Babies can be taken into the water from birth - Puddle Ducks welcomes babies in their classes from as young as a few weeks and very young babies love the freedom, massage and gentle exercise that the water offers. The benefits to both parent and baby of swimming together are immense and include: Plenty of eye and skin contact it’s a wonderful way to bond with your baby. Fantastic opportunity for working parents to spend quality time with their baby – especially at the weekend! Helping you and your baby feel relaxed and confident in the
water and help to develop a love of swimming for life. Makes swimming a fun and socially stimulating activity (for both you and your baby!) It is the only time your baby can be completely independent, move freely and develop actions they wouldn’t otherwise be able to in their first year of life. This gives “swimming babies” the opportunity to develop crucial
“Classes have a strong emphasis on fun” higher brain functions, core muscle development and coordination far earlier than they would otherwise be able to. Even though gentle, baby swimming classes provide a complete physical work-out: strengthening your baby’s heart, lungs and respiratory system, which again aids development of the brain
Encouraging a baby to take regular exercise from such a young age is also an extremely healthy routine to instil which may prevent childhood lethargy Regular swimming improves eating and sleeping patterns Classes can vary, so take time to find a class that will give you the experiences that you want – whether this is just water familiarity or a more progressive approach. Puddle Ducks classes are full of carefully designed but simple activities, gentle submersions and are packed full of songs and rhymes to provide gentle stimulation to communicate with your baby. Classes have a strong emphasis on fun, but are also progressive with many children are able to swim 10m independently before they start school. For more information about baby swimming and classes in your area, please visit www. puddleducks.com 15