Six Really Great Books About Geology

One of my son’s latest obsessions is geology. Last week we went to Cornwall for a short break; while we were there he went on a geology walk which fuelled his obsession no end. We already had a few books about rocks and geology on our shelves; but the geology walk meant we needed to visit a bookshop and expand our selection of books about geology a little more. After consulting with the boy, we’ve chosen six of his favourite books about geology.

Six Really Great Books About Geology

Usborne Naturetrails: Rocks and Fossils by Struan Reid – this is an absolutely brilliant book. It’s got bags of full of colour pictures, and easy to understand information all about rocks. There are fantastic facts boxes and short experiments to enhance understanding. The end section contains a field spotters guide listing the main rocks, minerals and fossils to be seen; plus tips and advice on collecting rocks. It’s a great all round book for junior geologists!

Everything: Rocks and Minerals by National Geographic Kids – Packed with facts and anecdotes from experts and bursting with colour photographs, learn all about rocks, minerals, fossils, types of rock, tectonics and gems in this informative and fun educational book from National Geographic Kids.

Rock & Fossil Hunter (DK Eyewitness) by Ben Morgan – this books explains everything you never knew about rocks, fossils, minerals, gems, and shells. There are more than 30 hands-on practical projects to try out at home; start your own rock collection, grow your own gemstones, make a fossil bone, build a sandstone castle, or even create an erupting volcano! Each activity comes with easy step-by-step instructions to help you. This is a great book for learning about the geology of rocks, Earth’s changing landscape, and much more.

My Book of Rocks and Minerals: Things to Find, Collect, and Treasure by Dr Devin Dennie – For children aged 5+, this guide is the ideal starter companion for any child interested in starting their own rock and mineral collection. This is a fantastic introduction to the world of rocks, gems, and minerals. Children will learn all about where rocks and minerals come from, what a fossil is, and how they can go about starting their own rock collection, as well as how to identify any rocks they find.

Rocks and Minerals Sticker Book by Natural History Museum – For children who love activity books, this is full of fun stuff; with colourful stickers, fantastic facts and fun learning pages, this activity book is a great introduction to 100 rocks and minerals from around the world. Written and designed for younger readers, it contains 100 re-useable stickers. There are lots of bite-size facts about what rocks and minerals look like and where they come from; plus exciting puzzles and games, including a colouring in activity and spot the mineral quiz. You can build your own rock world by adding stickers to a colourful double page landscape. This book is ideal for children who want to know more about rocks and minerals.

The Street Beneath My Feet by Charlotte Guillian is something a little bit different than the rock spotter books listed above. This double-sided foldout book takes you on a fascinating journey deep underground. One side of the foldout shows the ground beneath the city and the reverse side shows the ground beneath the countryside. The underground scenes include tunnels and pipes, creatures’ burrows, layers of rock and the planet’s molten core. Covering subjects such as geology, archaeology and natural history; this expansive concertina book opens out to an impressive 2.5 metres long; perfect for spreading out on the floor to pore over for hours.

Geology is a fascinating science; whether you’re interested in rocks, minerals, fossils or gems, there’s a really great book on this list that can help you learn more. What’s your favourite book about geology?

If you enjoyed this, you might also like these five books about science or these six books about space.

Six Really Great Books About Geology

Review: Higher Nature Kids Vitamins

Getting kids to take their vitamins can be a tricky business. We’ve been trying Vital Vits and Smart Focus from Higher Nature – an independently owned business that’s based in the UK. Higher Nature make high quality, ethical and well researched nutritional products for the whole family.

After pushing for tests for a number of years, over the summer my son was finally diagnosed with having an iron deficiency. We were sent away with some dietary advice (which we’d already been following for forever) and told to come back in a couple of months for a re-test. What was clear that however good his diet is, he still needed top ups of iron and other vitamins to keep him healthy.

Giveaway & Review: Higher Nature Kids Vitamins

The worry is that he has inherited a genetic blood disorder – Alpha Thalassemia Trait from my side of the family. There’s not a lot that can be done if he has, he will just need to look after himself, which means taking vitamin supplements and getting lots of sleep, amongst other things.

The problem is supplements are often boring or taste horrible. Kids vitamins and supplements have come a long way in recent years and are easier and more enjoyable to take. We’ve been trying some of the children’s health range from Higher Nature, specifically the Higher Nature Kids Vital Vits and Higher Nature Kids Smart Focus.

Higher Nature Kids Vital Vits

The Higher Nature Vital Vits (£14.99 for 90 tablets) contain 19 of your essential vitamins and minerals (including Iron) and is a good all-rounder. They are suitable for children aged 3+ and you take just one a day. The Vital Vits are designed especially for fussy eaters to support their daily diet.

They come in three delicious fruity flavours with fun-shaped characters – mango robots, lime aliens and raspberry teddies. They are small-ish, chewable tablets and they’re really easy to take. These supplements are gluten, lactose and dairy free and don’t contain any artificial preservatives, colours or flavourings. They are also suitable for vegetarians and vegans and have not been tested on animals.

I’ve tried them and they’re really fruity and not at all chalky. My son really liked them too and would gobble them all up if we let him (which is why we keep them out of reach). These are a real winner for us; knowing he’s getting a daily vitamin boost is a weight off our minds too.

Giveaway & Review: Higher Nature Kids Vitamins

Higher Nature Kids Smart Focus

These Higher Nature Smart Focus Jellies (£9.99 for 27 jellies) contain omega 3 EPA and DHA with omega 6 GLA, all of the essential omegas in one delicious fruity jelly. The jelly is free from added sugars and artificial sweeteners. The jellies have been formulated to help children keep focussed in the classroom.

Getting kids to take fish oil supplements can be tricky. Thankfully my son thinks these jellies are a bit of a treat. They’re intensely fruity flavoured and have no fishy aftertaste which is a bonus. They’re best taken with food, so we usually give my son one with his breakfast.

I think we all need a boost sometimes, especially with the cold and flu season coming up. My son needs an iron boost and taking a multivitamin every day will help him to absorb iron better too. It’s peace of mind for me and the building blocks of good health for him.

For more information about Higher Nature Vitamins and Supplements, visit their website.

We were sent these products for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Review: Seven Seas Perfect7 Supplements

AD – we were sent a selection of these Seven Seas Perfect7 supplements for review purposes.

This year I’ll be 40 and although I try and look after myself as best I can, I’m well aware that I’m starting to age. I hate taking loads of tablets so I was looking for a good all rounder, something that would suit someone of my age and something that would help me fend off creakiness for a little while longer. I was sent some Seven Seas Perfect7 to try out.

Seven Seas Perfect7 comes in two different kinds, one for men and one for women. I tried the Seven Seas Perfect7 Woman which contains a blend of Marine Oil with Omega-3, plus essential multivitamins and minerals. The specially developed formula encourages the effective absorption of nutrients to support you from the inside as you get older.

Seven Seas Perfect7

Seven Seas have identified 7 key needs for women and have developed Perfect7 Woman to try and meet those specific needs. Perfect7 Woman has been scientifically designed to support:

Skin & Nails – Zinc helps to maintain normal skin and nails
Hair – Biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal hair
Energy – Magnesium contributes to energy yielding metabolism
Brain – DHA contributes to normal brain function
Vision – Vitamin B2 contributes to maintenance of normal vision
Heart – EPA & DHA contribute to the normal function of the heart
Hormonal Activity – Vitamin B6 helps to regulate hormonal activity

Seven Seas Perfect7 comes as a 30 day duo pack. It contains two different tablets to take each day with water. There is one slightly squashy marine oil tablet and one brown speckled tablet. They are shaped like little bullets and although they’re not small, I managed to swallow them easily. I hate taking tablets and often gag them back up, but these were fine for me.

I’ve been taking the Seven Seas Perfect7 for a little over 3 weeks now, although it’s probably too early for me to notice much of a difference, I have noticed that my normally brittle and flaky nails are a bit stronger than they have been for a while and my skin is glowing a bit more, several people have commented about that recently.

I find the tablets easy to take and as they are a good all rounder, containing the following vitamins and minerals.

Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin C
Thiamin (Vitamin B1)
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
Niacin
Vitamin B6
Folic Acid
Vitamin B12
Biotin
Pantothenic Acid
Magnesium
Iron
Zinc
Copper
Manganese
Selenium
Chromium
Iodine

The marine oil tablets contain both fish oil and gelatin making them not suitable for vegetarians which is a shame. I would like it if a vegetarian version of these supplements were available so veggies could take advantage of the benefits of Perfect7.

For me Seven Seas Perfect7 is worth sticking with, in two tablets I can get pretty much everything I need to supplement my diet and hopefully see me into middle age in a more sprightly fashion.

You can find out more about Seven Seas Perfect7 on their website.

Kids Health: The Smart Kids range from Bioglan

Like most parents I have a niggling worry that despite his love of broccoli that somehow my boy is lacking the essential nutrients he needs in order to thrive. Last October he had to take a week off school and was really quite poorly, he had a very nasty ear infection and spent the week on the sofa looking miserable. I’m keen to make sure he’s as healthy as possible so his body can fight off future infections. I was interested to try the Bioglan Smart Kids range of supplements and to see how my boy liked them.

bioglan

We were sent the full range to try, here’s what the small boy thought…

Smart Kids Omega 3 Brain Formula
These supplements contain Omega 3, B Vitamins and Iron which all play a vital role in transporting oxygen to the brain and the rest of the body, as well as contributes to the normal cognitive development of children. I tried these first and they are little gummy capsules which you chew and they have a squirty liquid inside which tastes of citrus. I really didn’t think he’d like these very much, but once he’d bitten into one he enjoyed it. Half the battle is getting kids to take the tablet and this is a little bit different.

Smart Kids Fussy Eaters Multi
These multivitamins have been designed for fussy eaters, they contain a wide range of essential vitamins and minerals. The tablets are small, chewy and taste of red berries, they’re also a bit fizzy in your mouth, these were my favourite. I warned the boy that they were fizzy and he made that lovely “sherbet face” you get when you eat something slightly sour. I’d be very happy to take these and I think he would too.

Smart Kids Happy Tummies
These were his very favourite, though he was skeptical at first. They are strawberry yoghurt balls designed to boost your child’s live culture intake and provide their tummies with the good bacteria they need. He loved these so much he would happily eat them as sweets and kept demanding more, which we didn’t give him obviously.

Smart Kids Superfood Shake
This is a very different product and I was looking forward to trying it out with him. I don’t know a child who doesn’t love a milkshake so this is potentially a great way to get some extra nutrients inside them without much fuss.

The milkshake is apparently packed with lots of hidden fruit and veg. It’s simple enough to make, just mix it with milk, but it doesn’t dissolve like normal milkshake powder so you do need to whisk it. He did drink it and say it was yummy, but he did take his time over it and I thought it smelt a bit veggie. I’m not sure it’s something he’d drink every day, but as an occasional boost when he’s run down I think it would work well.

bioglan

I like the fact that the Smart Kids range from Bioglan has thought about different ways to help supplement and boost kids’ diets. I’d like to see more of the yoghurt ball style of supplement because that’s what our boy likes the best; but all kids are different and differently fussy and I think there is something for everyone in this range.

Bioglan supplements are widely available from a range of retailers.

Note: We were sent this selection of Bioglan Smart Kids supplements for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.