Classes for babies and young children

In the UK you can expect to find classes or groups for parents and carers of babies and young children taking place on most days of the week in your local area. Such groups are usually hosted in church halls or at community centres. Here’s some ideas of classes you might try and that are popular in the UK; please note that these are just the big franchise companies of the baby and children’s activities world, you’ll find details about groups more specific to your area in your nearest supermarket (on the community notice boards), from your local SureStart centre (they’ll give you a leaflet about what’s on near you) or at the Netmums North East website: http://www.netmums.com/home/global-homepage-map-page-1/netmums-in-the-north-east

Baby Massage Classes:
International Association for infant Massage:
http://www.iaimbabymassage.co.uk/baby-massage-classes.html

Music groups and classes:
Jo Jingles: http://www.jojingles.com/
Music Bugs: http://www.musicbugs.co.uk/
Piccolo Music: http://www.piccolomusic.co.uk/

Dance, Gym and Movement classes:
Tumble Tots: http://www.tumbletots.co.uk/
Jittabugs: http://www.jittabugs.com/

Sensory Groups and Classes:
Baby Sensory: http://www.babysensory.com/
Messy Monkeys (this is specific to the North East):
http://messy-monkeys.com/

Sports Classes:
Little Kickers (football): http://www.littlekickers.co.uk/

Baby and Toddler signing classes:
Tiny Talk: http://www.tinytalk.co.uk/
Sing and Sign: http://www.singandsign.com/

Swimming classes:
Water Babies: http://www.waterbabies.co.uk/
Puddle Ducks: http://www.puddleducks.com/

Let me know what sort of groups and classes you might expect to find in Poland by posting a comment or emailing me at the usual address, Thanks! Rachel

https://twitter.com/PolishNewcastle

Made In Poland Festival 2011

It's time for the North East's fifth annual 'Made In Poland Festival'. A great line up of Polish cultural events will land on your doorstep from 14th May - 25th June, so here's a sneak preview of what to expect.

Saturday 14th May, 7pm
The Polish Comedy Show by Limo: The Space, Newcastle College, Rye Hill Campus, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE4 7SA

The festival kicks off with The Polish Comedy Show featuring “Limo”. Join us for a night of laughter with this hugely popular comedy group. Limo have been the mainstay of festival line-ups for the past 12 years, they've appeared on TV shows and have three PAKA Comedy Festival awards. No taboos! A night of laughter gauranteed.

(please note: This performance is in Polish).

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Saturday 28th May, 12-3.30pm
International Children's Day Celebration: Newcastle Exhibition Park, Claremont Road, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

A popular annual event for all the family.The Polish Saturday School ( part of NEPCO CIC) and Wonderland Children’s Place in co-operation with Challenger Multicultural Organisation, invite you all to a family picnic and barbecue in Exhibition Park. There will be games and competitions for all age ranges. All refreshments will be supplied by the North East's leading Polish food retailers, Malgosia’s, European Foods and Groszek.

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Wednesday 8th June, 6pm
Polish Shorts and Docs: Tyneside Cinema, 10 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6QG

A night of short films and documentary from young filmmaking talent in Poland.

This is your opportunity to see screenings of ‘Twist and Blood’ and ‘Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Room’ by short film director Kuba Czekaj, and ‘Warsaw Available’ by documentary makers Karolina Bielawska and Julia Ruszkiewicz.
The screenings are followed by a qusetion & answer session with director Kuba Czekaj.

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Sunday 19th June, 6-9pm
Polish Art Exhibition and Poetry Recital: The Cloister Café, St. Mary's Cathedral, Clayton Street West, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5HH

Enjoy an evening of Polish art by some of the North East's leading Polish artists including Malgorzata Chalupka, Jadwiga Jasinek, Marcin Reweda, Artur Burchardt and Tymoteusz Sulek. This event is accompanied by a poetry reading and a concert from PoEzja Londyn (Poetry London).

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Saturday 25th June, 8pm
Warsaw Village Band - A concert: The Sage Gateshead St Mary's Square, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 2JR

Influenced by the musical genres of ‘hardcore folk’, ‘bio-techno’ and ‘Polish folk rock’, Warsaw Village Band offer a diverse and contempoary sound. They mix their traditional Polish grassroots with hints of reggae, rock, hip-hop, the blues, Indian raga and Swedish polka played out on traditional accoustic instruments including hammered dulcimers and violins, while singing in the Polish ‘white voice’ style.
Tickets: £16.50 - £7.50, available online from http://www.thesagegateshead.org/

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Rusza Festiwal ‘Made In Poland’ 2011!
14 maja – 25 czerwca

Z ogromną przyjemnością chcielibyśmy zaprosić Cię na tegoroczną edycję festiwalu promującego Polskę i inspirowanego polską kulturą Made in Poland. W tym roku będziemy starali odciągnąć Cię od szarości dnia codziennego i przeniesiemy w inne rzeczywistości. Daj się nam porwać!

Festiwal zaczynamy od występu polskiego kabaretu Limo – zabawny komentarz do rzeczywistości. Gwarantujemy zrywanie boków i przecieranie oczu z niedowierzania. Mnóstwo dobrej zabawy!
Występ Kabaretu już za 2 tygodnie w sobotę 14 maja o 19.00 , The Space (Newcastle College).

Razem z nami będziecie mogli świetować Dzień Dziecka w Newcastle Exhibition Park. Będą gry i zabawy dla wszystkich grup wiekowych oraz przekąski, napoje i słodycze ufundowane przez sklepy: Malgosia’s, European Food i Groszek. Planujemy rozłożenie namiotu – zapraszamy więc bez względu na pogodę! Start już 28 maja o 12.00.

W ramach festiwalu zaprezentujemy młode talenty polskiego kina. Krótkie filmy: ‘Twist and Blood’ i ‘Ciemnego pokoju nie trzeba się bać’ reż. Kuba Czekaj oraz dokument: ‘Warszawa do wzięcia” reż. Karolina Bielawska i Julia Ruszkiewicz
Uwaga! Zaprosiliśmy reżysera krótkich filmów Kubę Czekaja na spotkanie z widzami. Nieczęsta okazja na rozmowę z twórcą młodego kina. Tego nie można przegapić! Pokazy - 8 czerwca o 18.00 w kinie Tyneside.

W tym roku nie zabraknie wieczoru poświęconego sztuce. 19 czerwca zapraszamy na wystawę prac lokalnych polskich artystów: Małgorzaty Chałupki, Jadwigi Jasinek, Marcina Rewedy, Artura Burchardta and Tymoteusza Sułka.
Pozwól przenieść się do krainy słowa. W ten sam wieczór odbędzie się czytanie poezji przez członków grupy PoEzja Londyn. Impreza odbędzie się w the Cloister Cafe, w niedzielę 19 maja od 18.00.

Jednym z najbardziej emocjonujących wydarzeń tegoroczej edycji festiwalu będzie koncert Kapeli ze Wsi Warszawa w The Sage Gateshead 25 czerwca. Folkowa grupa, której muzyka jest określana jako „harcorowa muzyka folkowa”, „bio-techno” czy „polski rock folkowy”. Grupa powstała, żeby zachować tradycyjne polskie piosenki folkowe, ale muzycy nie stronią od reggae, indyjskiego raga, szwedzkiej polki, rocka, hip-hopu czy bluesa. Uczta dla ucha!
Po więcej szczegółów zapraszamy na stronę www.madeinpolandfestival.co.uk i na strony naszych partnerów. Prosimy przekazać to zaproszenie Waszym przyjaciołom i każdemu, kto może być zainteresowany.

Do zobaczenia na imprezach!


Organizatorzy Made in Poland Festival
http://www.madeinpolandfestival.co.uk/

Useful Information for parents in Newcastle, UK

Here’s a list of some useful websites for families living Newcastle upon Tyne. Some of these websites may also be useful to parents living more broadly in and around the North East of England.

Netmums (Newcastle) - parenting advice and local listings:

http://www.netmums.com/local//newcastle

The Little Pages - free magazine for parents in the North East and Yorkshire listings events and activities for families:

http://the-little-pages.co.uk/

Sure Start Centres (Newcastle):

http://www.surestartnewcastlecc.org.uk/site

Baby Dines Out (North East) - child and baby friendly restaurant reviews and advice:

http://www.babydinesout.com/location/the-north-east

Newcastle Children’s Information Service:

http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/core.nsf/a/childrensinformationservice

Families Recommend - reviews of family friendly days out in the North East (including some useful reviews for families with special or additional needs):

http://www.familiesrecommend.co.uk/things-to-do-north-east

Newcastle Toy and Leisure Library - supporting children with disabilities:

http://ntll.co.uk/

Family learning courses in Newcastle - including courses on crafts, sports, literacy, numeracy, budgeting and ESOL:

http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/core.nsf/a/familylearning

What’s On North East - up-to-date events and activities listings:

http://www.whatsonnortheast.com/listings

Kids Days Out (Tyne and Wear) - events and activities listings for the family:

http://www.kidsdaysout.co.uk/tyne_and_wear.htm

**More useful websites for parents in the UK, and specifically in the North East, can be found here:

http://polishfamiliesnewcastle.blogspot.com/p/about-my-family.html

Where to take the kids at Christmas?

Kids Don’t Whine- It’s Christmas Time!

Czas na Święta! Dzieci nie marudzą

Wrapping paper ripped, ribbon in their hair, glitter glue on their clothes- it’s time to get the kids out the house for some festive fun! 2B Magazine’s Rachel Clements brings you her top six North East festive time highlights.

Papier do pakowania prezentów podarty, tasiemki zaplątane we włosach, a klej z brokatem na ciuchach – czas wreszcie zabrać dzieci z domu i podarować im odrobinę świątecznego szaleństwa! Rachel Clements wybrała dla czytelników 2B sześć, jej zdaniem najlepszych, gwiazdkowych atrakcji w północno-wschodniej Anglii.


Fenwick’s Window Display
Wystawa sklepowa w Fenwick’s

Queuing down Northumberland street to peek in the 30ft long shop front window display during the festive period is somewhat of a local pastime popular in the North East since 1971. Fenwick’s hires a German company each year to make the window display which usually features puppets, loud music and festive theme. Themes have included a depiction of Dicken’s Oliver Twist (2008), the nativity scene (2009) and this year’s ‘Santa preparing his reindeer for their big night’.
When? Mid Nov- Early Jan

Where? Fenwick’s Department Store, Northumberland Street

Price? *Free!*

Alnwick Garden Santa’s Winter Wonderland
Zimowy cudny świat św. Mikołaja w ogrodzie Alnwick

A Christmas market under the canopy of the beautiful Alnwick Garden Treehouse, with mulled wine and festive treats for the adults and lantern making workshops for the children. Children can also visit Santa hard at work in his toy workshop and receive a small gift from the man himself!
When? 11am-3pm Fri- Sun

Where? Alnwick Garden

Price? £3 for adults and £5 for children (including a visit to see Santa) - booking essential.

North East Pantomimes
Świąteczne przedstawienia

If you haven’t experienced your first British Christmas Pantomime (Panto) don’t delay. These festive theatre treats are usually about two hours in length and the local theatres sign up minor celebrities to dress in bright costumes, sing classic pantomime songs and recycle the same catchphrases and jokes. Such events require audience participation so do not sit on the end of the seating row unless you want to appear on stage yourself. This year you can see:
Puss in Boots, The Customs House, South Shields, 1st Dec – 18th Jan, tickets start at £7
Jack and the Beanstalk, The Journal Tyne Theatre, 10th Dec- 7th Jan, tickets start at £10
Robin Hood, The Theatre Royal, 30th Nov- 15th Jan, tickets start at £10
Or, see the ‘Metro Gnome’ Pantomime when shopping at the Metro Centre at various times throughout the day for *free*!

New Year’s Eve Winter Carnival
Sylwestrowy zimowy karnawał

Dress the little ones up in festive costumes (or just warm clothes) and take them down to Grey’s Monument on New Year’s Eve for the annual Newcastle winter procession. This year the Ice Queen will lead the parade which will include musicians, drummers, dancers and character actors as monkeys, pigs and skeletons. The parade will conclude at the Civic Centre finishing in a celebratory firework display.
When and Where?
New Year’s Eve (Dec 31st)
2.30pm -music and carnival around Grey’s Monument
5.15pm -parade toward Newcastle Civic Centre
6.00pm - Firework display
Price? *Free!*

Times Square Ice Rink
Lodowisko na Times Square

Well it’s not exactly Times Square in New York, but the so-called Times Square opposite The Centre for Life in Newcastle city centre does have a temporary ice rink for all that festive falling over! You can look for offers and promotions, including details about ice rink Christmas parties by visiting the website: www.life.org.uk/whats-on/skating-at-life.
When? 15th Nov 2010- 27th Feb 2011

Where? Times Square, Science Centre

Price? £7.95 adult ticket, £5.95 child ticket

Public Carol Service and Switching on of Christmas Lights
Kolędy i świąteczne światełka na ulicach naszych miast

An excellent way to get into the Christmas spirit is to stand outside in the cold watching minor celebrities switch on street lights. Newcastle Civic Centre light switch-on is usually accompanied by a good old fashioned Christmas carol service, free to all. Do not despair, light switching on ceremonies (which are attended by large crowds of eager locals) take place in most cities and towns across the North East, so check your local newspapers for details. The temperature will no doubt be chilly but the atmosphere is guaranteed to be festive!
When? Mid Nov onwards

Where? Various towns and cities

Price? *Free!*

Tłumaczyła Joanna Lompart-Chlaściak in 2B magazine

This article appeared in the December issue of 2B magazine. To read the article in full with the full Polish translation please visit: http://www.2b.nepco.org.uk/assets/issues/49kol.pdf