Families Thames Valley West Magazine

Blenheim Palace is easily reachable for a day out, and my children and I went there the other day.

Excitingly, visitors to Blenheim Palace can now spend the day rowing, kayaking and paddleboarding on the Great Lake, offering a unique opportunity to see iconic landmarks at Britain’s Greatest Palace from a new perspective!

We work with lots of brilliant local schools and love to include their latest news in the magazine. In the current issue we have included news stories from Queen Anne's School, St. Joseph's College and Crosfields School. Check out pages 6-7!

Families Thames Valley West July/August 2024 PRINT Enjoy loads of fantastic summer activities in 2024!

It's lovely contacting winners of our competitions and nice to imagine them enjoying their prizes. Here are Tatiana and Elena with their prize copy of Ruby Luna's Moontime by Tessa Venuti Sanderson.

Commiserations to those that didn't win our recent competitions, but please do keep e-mailing your entries in.

We are looking for people to join the team distributing copies of Families magazine, to start at the beginning of September. Please get in touch if you would like to find out more about this paid opportunity: [email protected]

Come along to the Shaw House Community Garden and enjoy a morning of exploring nature!

The morning will involve making bird feeders to take home with you, a mini wellbeing walk around the Shaw House grounds looking at the nature that surrounds us, bug hunting and storytelling in the amphitheatre.

Friday 16 August & Saturday 17th August | 10am - 12:30pm | Free

It's great to discover a new local business via a child's review, and in this issue Grace tells us about getting her ears pierced at , which is a friendly local salon.

This is a really good time of year to get ears pieced, due to the healing period allowed by the long summer break.

Caversham Park Village Beauty Salon Treatments Perry's Beauty is a Beauty Salon located in Caversham Park Village Reading and offers beauty treatments, services and products

Here Comes the Fun!

South Hill Park have a sizzling line-up of activities, workshops and shows for families and young people. In conjunction, they are also taking part in ‘Summer of Fun’, organised and funded by Bracknell Town Council.

Wed 31 July – Fri 30 Aug.

Calling all LEGO Fans!

Join Master Builders Club in Cholsey, Sonning Common or The Story Museum next week for a LEGO adventure with 1000's of bricks, minifigures and accessories. This two-hour immersive experience is perfect for 'Brickies' aged 5+.

Have your seen our FOUR giveaways on page 4 of the summer issue?! There's something for all ages there: apply now!

Thank you to Tessa Venuti Sanderson, QuestFriendz, Families Magazine and Nine Peas Publishing for helping organise these prizes.

Stay SAFE in the water this summer! remind us of four basic rules:

SIGNS - that warn of danger
ALWAYS go with other people
FLOAT on your back
EMERGENCY: know whom to contact: 999 or 112

.theatre are back with a delightful new adaptation of Beatrix Potter’s family favourite, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck!

Fri 2 Aug, Amphitheatre at South Hill Park

If you're still looking for a summer holiday club, Apollo in central reading have some friendly and affordable sessions from 29th July - 23rd August. Contact them on [email protected] for more info.

Odds Farm Park have a Summer Sizzler from 24th July - 3rd September: you can get unlimited access to the park all summer for only £34.95, meaning you don't have to limit the fun to just one day.

A great visit for families!

It's lovely to support local businesses, and we are pleased to present Travel Counsellor in our summer issue. Stacey can help create a holiday package tailored exactly to your needs, she is friendly and has a wealth of travel experience: very appealing when the prospect of organising a family trip seems daunting!

have some lively workshops this summer, based just south of Reading town centre.

From 5th - 9th August children from school years 3-8 will be working on a play to be performed at the end of the week.

If your child would like to be involved, find out more at https://progresstheatre.co.uk/youth-theatre

We were really pleased that solicitor Carrie Crown from local firm Foster Harrington was able to contribute an article to our latest issue.

A relationship breakdown can be especially difficult when there are children involved, and this article talks through the options for making arrangements for children under these challenging circumstances.

For more information, go to www.fosterharrington.co.uk

https://issuu.com/familiesonline/docs/tvw131jul-aug_issuu/9

Families Thames Valley West July/August 2024 PRINT Enjoy loads of fantastic summer activities in 2024!

Ultimate Activity Camps are amazing, and we have several of them going on locally this summer; venues are

Reading Blue Coat School
Crosfields School
St Gabriel's School

Book now at www.ultimateactivity.co.uk

Immersion Theatre invite you to soar away to Neverland as they proudly bring their trademark energy to their most magical musical to date, Peter Pan!

Please bring your own seating/rug, warm clothes and picnic. The café will be open selling snacks, drinks and ice cream.

Shaw House | Monday 12 August | 6pm | Adults £13, Children £9

The Alps are a wonderful place to spend a holiday at any time of year. In the summer you can expect fresh air, green spaces and outdoor activities galore.

offer family accommodation and meals in Morzine, France with the chance to really recharge amongst stunning scenery.

Here we are at Tessa Venuti Sanderson's recent book launch at . If you would like to be in with a chance of winning her beautiful book "Ruby Luna's Moontime", find out more on page 4 of our summer issue!

The Summer Reading Challenge launches in libraries tomorrow. This is a fun way to keep children reading over the summer holidays. They are challenged to read six books and collect rewards, such as stickers, along the way.

More information at www.summerreadingchallenge.org.uk

The Beehive Club always organises fantastic holiday clubs, and this summer is no exception! Children can enjoy street dancing, a circus workshop and a pirate party amongst other things during the summer holidays!

Check out www.beehiveclub.co.uk for more information and booking.

The Beehive Club Wrap Around School Care and Holiday Clubs Providers of wrap-around school care and school holiday clubs for 3-11 year olds in Bracknell, Wokingham, Finchampstead, Crwothorne and the wider Berkshire area. Play-led breakfast, after-school and school holiday clubs. Healthy snack included in every session and wide range of activities including:...

Following the success of Twelfth Night, Immersion Theatre are thrilled to be reviving their acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s funniest, most magical comedy of all: A Midsummer Night’s Dream!

Please bring your own seating/rug, warm clothes and picnic.

Shaw House | Sunday 4 August | 6pm | Adults £13, Children £9

Customers can grab a free jacket potato topped with Heinz Cheesy Beanz in any Morrisons café when they ‘Ask for Henry’!

This offer is available from July 1st – July 14th while stocks last.

If your child wants to be a superhero this summer, these dynamic holiday courses from Perform are a perfect opportunity for them to enjoy drama, dance and singing while making new friends in the holidays!

This summer sizzler is out this week! Pick up a copy to enjoy a great riverside walk, local boat hire and loads of family activities over the summer!

The Hurst Show and Country Fayre is happening this weekend: expect a dog show and a classic vehicle show amongst other things!

Hurst Show and Country Fayre 29th and 30th June 2024

For a refreshing splash about, check out our guide to local paddling pools and splash pads here: https://familiesonline.co.uk/thames-valley-west/places-to-go-thames-valley-west-paddling-pools-splash-pads/