Category: Coulsdon

Children, Coulsdon, Families, Family Life, Kids Days Out

Finding New Places To Explore:Chipstead Mead Playground

by thejoyoffive1 Comment on Finding New Places To Explore:Chipstead Mead Playground

I have come to the conclusion that I am allergic to being indoors!

I literally go stir crazy being at home and am always looking for new places to get out and about with the children.

My Dad had been out on his bike and came across a new playground in Chipstead Village so we went along to check it out today.

It was still thick with frost when we arrived and we spend a good while shooting pebbles across the frozen pond.


Tucked away just behind the pond is a lovely new playground with beautiful wooden equipment that I would say is most suited to under 10’s although there is a cool looking zip wire and a pretty high climbing frame that would be good for older children too.


We stayed for a good while checking everything out and number five throughly enjoyed climbing, swinging and running around.


We stopped for a while and hid away in one the little hideaways to have a little bit of coffee shop role play before heading home to warm up with a proper coffee!


This was a great little find for us and we will be back for some more exploring very soon.

Cafes, Caterham, Coulsdon, Crafts, Messy play, Mothers Day, Parks, Presents, Soft Play

Mother’s Day Cards With Monkeybeans At Mother Kitty’s

by thejoyoffiveLeave a Comment on Mother’s Day Cards With Monkeybeans At Mother Kitty’s

Our house on Mothering Sunday usually involves my husband having a last minute panic and rushing off the the petrol station to get a quick card and the obligatory croissant breakfast.

To save him one little stress this year I thought I would take number four along to Mother Kitty’s in Coulsdon to do a craft session with a group called Monkeybeans.  The sessions are run by a super friendly Mum and daughter team that really engage the children in their activities.  They also run sessions at the Caterham Arms which we have been to before that involve a sing-along session at the end which rounds the activity off really well.  These sessions are perfect if you like your little ones to expore their artistic side without the mess in your own home!





With a beautiful glue sodden card in hand number four and five had a run around the soft play and then donned their Mother Kitty masks that they were given in the session to take home and colour in.



What are your plans this Mother’s Day?

Cafes, Cakes, Coulsdon, Crafts, Kids Days Out, Painting, Parks, Soft Play

Quality Time With My Biggest At Mother Kitty’s 

by thejoyoffiveLeave a Comment on Quality Time With My Biggest At Mother Kitty’s 

In the blink of an eye that tiny precious little bundle that you bought home helpless and solely dependant on you will pass each wonderful milestone at such speed, that before you know it they will have become a teenager launching out and becoming their own independant person.

My number one is nearing her eighteenth birthday and is now her own person with her own interests that take her away from the family home alot.  This means it is really important to set some time aside to have a good catch up and for her younger siblings to spend some quality time with which we all love.

Our best option is somewhere the little ones will be kept occupied so we can have a natter and most importantly to any teenager free wifi!!



We picked a newly opened play cafe in Coulsdon called Mother Kitty’s.  The disused football changing rooms on Rickman Hill recreation ground have been lovingly restored to create a cosy soft play cafe with a vintage twist perfect for the under 5’s.



The play area hosts a large slide with a cute little play house tucked underneath, a mini climbing wall, ball pit and a sectioned off area to stop the littlies getting squished.  The cafe serves a good selection of sandwiches and cakes with a babychino at a bargain price of 25p. This will definitely  be a regular haunt for our catch ups from now on.



All played out and on our way back from the school run tonight number three had noticed that the evenings were getting lighter, which lead us to a discussion about the start of spring and what that entails.

Once indoors with our chat in mind and looking at my vase of yellow crysanthemums in the kitchen I decided to get the children involved on some still life painting using the beautiful flowers as inspiration.  There were certainly a personal twist on their creations but the thought was there.





Art Galleries, Cafes, Coulsdon, Fitness, Kids Days Out

Park Fitness And Cool Cafes

by thejoyoffive4 Comments on Park Fitness And Cool Cafes

My husband and I are both qualified personal trainers and find it very important to get exercise and healthy eating into the little ones daily lives.  

It was a lovely sunny morning so after the school run I took number four and five along to one of our local parks to get involved in some exercise together.  We are very lucky that this park has an outdoor gym so whilst the boys sat and had a snack I could sneak in a quick workout while getting number four involved in press ups and star jumps which he loves then racing him alongside the assault course.

I hope that getting them involved at a young age will instil good practice that will take them to adulthood.



To reward ourselves for all our hardwork we popped into one of our favourite cafes Art Rebellion in Coulsdon.  This fantastically quirky cafe/art gallery offers an array of coffees, cakes and light lunches whilst taking in the magnificent art it has on display.  



The staff and surroundings are extremely kid friendly and number fours allergies are always catered for.  It makes him feel very special to be able to enjoy his babychino whist sitting in an uber cool converted mini.

I would highly recommend popping in for a drink whilst perusing the impressive artwork and gifts they have on offer.  I have plans for one of their brightly coloured stag heads if the hubby allows!!