British Museum  Prehistoric Britain: Flints, Farms and Flesh Hooks, Monday 24^th – Friday 28^th 11 – 4pm, free, drop in, all ages. Watch an expert flint knapper make stone tools, contribute to an art instillation, make your own art to take home and join in family talks about art and animals, ancient Romans in Britain, The Bronze Age and more.  http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/events_calendar/october_2011/prehistoric_britain.aspx

 Natural History Museum Investigate Room, 11am – 5pm, free, drop-in, ages 3+, younger sibs welcome.  Join Science Educators in the Investigate room to go on a guided investigation of one of the specimens in the collection.  Learn about red tailed deer antlers, handle an ancient ammonite, touch a 7 metre snack skin, watch giant bugs moult their cocoons: your child will want to become a scientist!! http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/daily-events/investigate/index.html

 St. Martin’s In the Field Mini Maestro with the LMA Orchestra, Saturday 29^th October 4:30.  £8.50 adult, £6.50 child.  Bring the kids along to an interactive concert designed especially for children to explore and engage with the orchestra.  Lots of participation, investigating and learning about music and instruments.  http://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/jserv/concerts/view.jsp?id=3678

 Wallace Collection Hallowe’en Photography Project: Dream and Nightmares Friday 28^th October, ages 5+, free, drop in, 10:30 – 12:15.  Have your picture taken as a spooky or fantastic character.  Use make up, mask making, lighting and other props and effects to create wild, weird and wonderful versions of yourself.  http://www.wallacecollection.org/collections/event/3777

 Royal Albert Hall Family Ignite Myths and Legends Tuesday 25^th October noon and 2:30, all ages, free, tickets allocated on arrival (get there early) Held in the Hall’s Elgar room with an area for children reserved right next to the stage for children to sit and engage directly with the music.  Healthy snack boxes on sale (sandwich, carrots and grapes) along with teas and coffees. http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/family-ignite/myths-legends.aspx

 Sommerset House:    Mini Make Believe Hubble Bubble 12:45 -2:30, free, drop in, under 5’s.  Have a fabulous make and play session in Sommerset House!  Make crafts, dance and sing along to the theme of magic.  These workshops are perfect for little ones and enjoyable for adults, too. Shadows of Sommerset House, Saturday 22^nd & Saturday 29^th October 11:00- 1:00pm & 2:00 – 4:00pm, all ages, free, drop in.  Make your own spooks and glowing ghosties in these great family workshops. http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/learning/family/half-term

 Portrait Gallery:     Tour and Draw, ages 3+, free, drop in.  Mon 25^th – Fri 28^th 11-11:45 & 1:30 – 2:15.  Discover stories and secrets behind the portraits in the gallery, just as interesting for parents as the kids! Family Art Workshops, ages 5+, free, tickets allocated on arrival, 11:30 – 1:30  Monday October 24^th Colourful Collage wtih artist Seiwa Cunningham.  Tuesday 25^th Chasing Tales with storyteller Alia Al Zougbi.  Wednesday 26^th Caligraphy with artist Mustafa Jafar.  Thursday 27^th A Royal Tale with storyteller Seema Anana.  Friday 28^th Animate, learn how to make an animation inspired by the collection. http://tinyurl.com/64prndl

National Gallery:      Holiday Art Workshops: Tuesday 25^th, Wednesday 26^th, Thursday 28^th 11am- 1pm & 2- 4pm, 5+, free, places allocated on arrival.  Make a collage fashion plate with a collection of patterns and shapes with artists Charles Hustwick and Jo Rhymer. Storyscape 10:30 – 11am, Tue 25^th & Thu 27^th, under fives, free, spaces allocated on arrival.  Take part in an interactive storytelling session.  Drawing Stories: 10:30 – 11:00am, Wed 26^th, under fives, free, spaces allocated on arrival.  Tell a story through art and play. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/families/

V and A:     Digital Kids: Monday 24^th – Friday 28^th, 10:30- 5:00pm, free, all ages, drop in. Come join artist in residence Postler Ferguson and make a digital creation. Gallery Lights – The Boy Who Sat on the Dragon Throne, 11:00am, 1:00pm & 3:00pm Saturday 22^nd and 29^th October.  Come see the play about a two year old boy who reigns over the Forbidden City in the China Galleries.  Make-it Invent-it: Mon 24^th – Fri 28^th, 10:30 – 12:30 & 2:00 – 4:00pm, age not specified, £3 per child, call to book tickets.  Join a designer and work to bring your visions to life! tp://www.vam.ac.uk/page/f/family-events/

Mostly For Babies:

Sunday 9^th October, Little Angel Theatre,  11:00am, £8

The DaSilva Marionette Circus: This very special and intriguing marionette show has been touring for over fifty years.  The large marionettes perform circus tricks that involve balance, tricky movements and other feats of entertainment.  The Sunday performance is baby-friendly, so you can bring the littlies along.

Tuesday 11^th October, Big Scream, Gate Cinema, £8.50 (mention London-baby.com and have your £4 membership fee waived)

Tyrannosaur: Paddy Considine (the story of a working class man’s path to redemption after the untimely death of his wife)

Wednesday 12^th October, Classical Babies, Interchange Studios, Belsize Park, £10

Solo Violin Recital: This is such a treat with babies and small children, older children are very much welcome.  This is a proper classical concert, but there is room for your pushchair, places for babies to crawl around, toys and books for slightly older children.  It is extremely easy to get to from the Belsize Park Underground Station

Saturday 15^th October, Half-Moon Theatre, 11:00am, 1:00pm & 3:00pm, £6 (ages three and under)

Circles in the Sand: Take your very youngest children to the theatre for an interactive performance perfect for babies and toddlers.  An experiential performance about sand, everyone can watch and everyone can play, too. 

Tuesday 18^th October, Big Scream, Gate Cinema, £8.50 £8.50 (mention London-baby.com and have your £4 membership fee waived)

Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen’s latest story about a writer in Paris.

For Older Children:

Saturday 15th October, Storytelling with Art Activity, National Portrait Gallery, 10:30, ages 3+, free

Edward’s Expedition: Hear the story of a young boy’s adventure to a far away land and then make your own map to take home.

Saturday 15^th October, Treasure from Your Travels, National Portrait Gallery, 11:30 – 1:30, free, ages 5+

Work with Clay: What did Victorians like to collect from their travels?  What souvenirs did they like to return from their travels with?  Find out in this workshop and make your own mini-museum treasure using clay.   

Sunday 16th October, Family Day at the V and A, 11:00am – 5:00pm, free, all ages

Big Draw: Bring the entire family to the V and A and everyone can take part in various drawing activities.  Little ones can use the imagination stations, where they can draw, stick and cut out creations; older children can take part in the drawing workshops held hourly from 11:30.  Loads of other workshops, demos, events and competitions, too. 

Next week, look for half-term activities from the Wallace Collection, British Museum, V and A, Portrait Gallery and more …

 Hope you had a great Easter Holiday.  If you do not have school-age children you should know that London will be over-run the next two weeks with families on term break.  Most drop-in playgroups will be closed.  If you head out to the museums this week, get in the queue by 9:45 and be prepared for heaving crowds.

Below is a short list of events for children under five years of age, subscribe to London-baby.com to get the rest of the details.

Enjoy the next few weeks of school holidays,

Theatre:

Little Angel: Wednesday, 7th April – Sunday 11th April, 11:00 & 2:00 pm (2:00 & 5:00 pm Friday) Who’s Been Sitting in My Chair ages 3 – 7, baby friendly performance on Thursday 11:00 am. £8

 Unicorn Theatre: Wednesday, 7th April- Saturday 10th April, 11:00 & 2:00 pm, How Cold are my Toes, ages 2 – 7, £10.50, family ticket £30

 Puppet Theatre Barge: Tuesday 6th April – Sunday 18th April, daily 3:00 pm, The Hare and the Tortoise and Other Tales from Aesop. Ages 3+.  Tickets: Children £8.50, adults £10.00

Hands On:

V & A: Tuesday 6th April – Friday 9th April, 10:30 – 12:30 & 2:00 – 5:00 pm Drop-in Design Special: Quilts, Silks and Stories: design a textile panel to be added to the story quilt, no age restrictions, free

 British Museum: Monday 12th April – Friday 16th April 11:00 – 4:00 pm.  Come to the Great Court for a variety of activities. No age restrictions, free 

 Horniman Museum: Tuesday 6th April – Friday 10th April & Monday 12th April – Friday 16th April: Family Art Fun, 11:00 – 3:30 pm; Discovery fro All, 2:00 – 3:30 pm.  All ages, free

 Tate Britain: Tuesday 6th April – Friday 16th April, Art Trolley.  All ages, free

Stories and Songs:

National Gallery: Tuesday 13th April – Saturday 17th April, 11:30 – noon, Magic Carpet Ride, all ages

 London Transport Museum: Tuesday 6th April – Friday 9th April & Monday 12th April – Friday 16th April, 11:00 & 4:30 pm, Sing-along Suburbia. Under fives, free

By the time my daughter was born, I had been living in London for two years.  I had no family near me and the only friends that I had made were co-workers who, because they did not have young children, seemed to live on a different planet than me after my daughter came along.

We lived in a tiny, central London flat; not being much of a homebody to begin with, my new-born and I immediately set out in October 2005 to discover what London has to offer the under 5’s.   I have found this city to be amazingly friendly to carers of small children.  In 2007, we moved to a different neighbourhood and I discovered an entirely new part of Central London.  Now that our son has joined us in 2009, I can continue to discover London for babies, toddlers and mums with more than one small child.

My reviews are the result of nearly three years of caring full-time for my daughter, and now infant son, in London while also experiencing being a parent travelling to different cities and towns in Europe and North America.  This web site is based on all the friendly chats that we have had in playgrounds here in London and elsewhere about destinations and activities for our small children.  Further, as a teacher I have accompanied and led groups of children around greater Chicago and London and I bring these experiences to this site.

Having listened to and given so many reviews of these destinations and others, I guarantee they will have exactly the kind of information that you will need for you and your baby and/or toddlers. If you know of new playgroups and classes in your area, please let me know and I’ll add them to the site!

To find local activities, playgroups and great child friendly places, just click on a neighbourhood from the list above to get started.