Finally it's the weather for it. Big festivals are currently not something we could consider going to, so we took advantage and enjoyed a little autism friendly mini festival in our own garden.
Big festivals are currently too chaotic and there's no control over the things that could potentially upset or possibly even worse, entice our autistic kids. Anthony has recently got over his fears of fireworks, which is great, but can still be upset by loud noises or music. David loves light shows, possibly to the point of not understanding that he can't follow them. Our youngest Jane, is a neurotypical three years old, who is desperate to have fun in the sun and constantly asks for 'parties please'. The solution... starting them off with a mini festival in our own garden.
We used a Big Little Tent Festival kit we were sent by the Caravan Club. This an initiative to get families joining in the fun in a way that works for them, pitching a tent in the back garden, making memories together and discovering local wildlife near home. We have previously camped in the back garden which went down well, but we also used the flags and festival things to have our own party in the garden.
So what did we do?- We put up bunting around the garden
- Planted a flag in the bushes
- Played hide and seek
- Made a pretend campfire using sticks
- Had a picnic
- Danced to music
This was great because we could go with an activity for as long as the kids were interested, control things like volume and even get the kids to pick their own music. If Jane wants to dance to the Frozen theme tune fine. If David needs to sit out making a campfire and play on the iPad instead, that's fine too. We ate, danced and played all afternoon. It's all exposure and fun at the same time. And.. we can do it all again next week if we want to!
What would you do for your own mini festival?
Links
Our blog - Turning fears into fancies
Our blog - Yay for the holidays?
External
The Makaton Charity - #wetalkmakaton sign of the week
The Caravan Club - Big Little Tent Festival
This post supports the #wetalkmakaton sign of the week 'To dance'
Why not give it a go?
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This is a really great idea, I love that you can create your own mini festival!
ReplyDelete#marvmondays
And it's so easy to do!
DeleteAw this is a lovely idea, we might have to do this in our garden :) x #MarvMondays
ReplyDeletePlease do!
DeleteWhat a fab idea...It sounds like you had a great time x #MMBC
ReplyDeleteWe certainly did. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThat is a brilliant idea and sounds like lots of fun! I reckon my two would like something along these lines. They both have birthdays this month.. hmm.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to use it at a birthday theme!
DeleteThis is such a great idea, well done for setting this up. It's such a lovely thing to do for your kids. xx
ReplyDeleteWell entertaining the kids gives me a break too!
DeleteI register to this website few days ago so that we can enjoy having a fest in our terrace too!
ReplyDelete#mmbc
Yay, let us know how you get on xx
DeleteThis is a great idea and one that we can all follow the example of and do our own. Glad to hear your children had fun, that is the main aim! Enjoyed reading this. 1st time on your site. #MMBC
ReplyDeleteWelcome! They certInly did have fun! Thanks for comments and hope to see you again soon xx
DeleteAw, this is such a wonderful idea. My brother would've loved it when he was younger as he hated being around crowds. Thanks for linking up to #MarvMondays. Kaye xo
ReplyDeleteCrowds can be quite scary and overwhelming sometimes. Thanks for commenting
DeleteIt sounds like you had a fab mini festival. I had seen a lot of people doing them. I'm quite jealous #BloggerClubUK
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to do, doesn't have to be in a garden, could do a little bit of it at a local playground or park if you wanted to try xxx
DeleteI'd be a bit put off a big festival too with little ones - too much going on! This looks like a great idea and fab to do at home and in comfort. My daughter would dance to frozen all day if she could!! Let it goooooo! Thanks for sharing with #bestandworst x
ReplyDeleteI'd probably like tot dance to frozen all day to 😉 Thanks for stopping by
DeleteWhat a fantastic idea and definitely great preparation should you attend any in the future. #MarvMondays
ReplyDeleteProbably not this year, but it's good prep even for things like local fetes etc too. Thanks for stopping by
DeleteI love that there is a tent kit like this. Big festivals are a little too much for even me. This would be so fun for a summer activity for pretty much every family. Thanks for sharing this at the Happy Now Link-Up!
ReplyDeleteSo easy because you can do what fits with you.. Very good fun. Thanks for commenting
DeleteIt sounds like you had a fantastic Big Little Tent Festival. We did ours this weekend. It was great fun decorating the garden! #countrykids
ReplyDeleteLovely, I hope you had a good time xx
DeleteWhat a lovely little festival you had. We're not ones to venture into the big world of festivals, well not yet at least. I'm still organizing our festival which I'm hoping we can do this weekend!
ReplyDeleteawww that sounds absolutely lovely - may need to have one for my nephew!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking to #ablogginggoodtime
What a really cool and sweet idea
ReplyDeleteMy 3 year old loves camping in the garden so o imagine E he would be thrilled with this. #365
Oh wow! What an amazing idea! Love the idea of festival theme! #littlemakes
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