Kwik Fit Insurance are calling on all schools in the North East region to remember to nominate their Lollipop person for the 2009 Lollipop Person of the Year Awards, which close on Friday 30th October.

The North East winner from 2008 was Eric Allen from St Oswald’s Primary School in Durham and time is running out for schools to get this year’s top child education entry in.

The 2009 competition is even bigger and better. Twelve regional winners from across the UK will receive GBP500 worth of holiday vouchers and each of the 12 schools will be awarded with GBP100 worth of book tokens. All winning regional entrants go forward with a chance to win the UK title, with GBP3,000 available to the winning school for new equipment and a holiday of a lifetime for the crossing patroller.

Brendan Devine, Group Managing Director of Kwik Fit Financial Services said: “We have had some fantastic entries already this year for the competition and time is running out for schools to get involved. There are unsung heroes all over the UK helping our children to and from school safely and I want to put out the message today that it’s not too late for schools across the North East region to nominate!”

Lorraine Kelly, who has been an ambassador for the campaign for the past 2 years, said: “The Lollipop Person of the Year Awards is a real heart-warming way of recognising the wonderful job our lollipop people do every day to make Britain’s roads safer for our children.”

“This year the competition is bigger than ever before, with schools from Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland all having the opportunity to show how their lollipop person makes a real difference to their journey to school. We want kids, teachers and parents alike to show their support for their local lollipop person and get voting!”

Source Kwik Fit Insurance

Celebrations on the 4th of July are set to conquer patriotic hearts once again. From picnics to fairs to fireworks, the family can enjoy the festivities just about anywhere you turn. Even though there are laws in some communities banning the use of regular fireworks, your child can still have their own fireworks display – in art, with these exciting children activities.

Your child can easily create fireworks artwork or decorations without having to worry about legal issues. Why not take the time to break out the craft supplies and get creative. The artwork they create can help them celebrate July 4th whether they have real fireworks or not.

While you may use the following craft ideas for the 4th of July, you can also use them for New Year’s Eve, Memorial Day, and even for Chinese New Year. The following items are needed for the first craft:

* Black or other dark construction paper
* Glitter
* A straw, toothpicks, or paintbrushes
* White glue
* Old newspapers

Spread out the newspaper to work on. Place a small amount of glue on the construction paper. Geometric shapes can be made on the paper by blowing gently through the straw on the glue. Your child can also use toothpicks or paintbrushes to create designs on the paper.

Once all of your glue has been blown into shapes, sprinkle some glitter over the top of the glue. Carefully pick up the piece of construction paper and gently slide the excess glitter back into the bottle.

If you want to, you can repeat the glue and glitter process with different colors. Let the glue dry between colors.

Another craft to consider making with your little ones is another display of fireworks on paper. This one, however, is quite different. You will need:

* Smocks to cover the kids’ clothes
* Aluminium foil
* Washable acrylic paint
* Black craft paper
* Sponge
* Flowers (dandelions or mums work best)

Start by getting all your materials together. Put a smock on each child making this craft with you.

Let the kids choose the colors of paint they want to use for their project. Using a folded piece of the aluminium foil, create a color palette for each child with the colors they chose. The best colors to show up on dark paper are gold, silver, red, blue or green. If possible, try to get the metallic paints.

Give each child a piece of sponge or a flower for each color of paint, showing them how to ‘load’ it with the paint. Dandelions and mums work best because of the many crevices they have.

Show the children how to gently dab their dark paper with their sponge to make imitation fireworks. By dabbing the paper gently and quickly, your children will be able to achieve fantastic looking fireworks to fill the “night sky” without having to leave the house.

These two fireworks art projects are sure to please your children. Make sure to share your children’s masterpieces with everyone after the paint dries. Let them sign their artwork before giving it away, including the date. Take any 4th of July fireworks pictures that remain and use them to celebrate the holiday at any time of the year.