Monkey made up this poem this evening while chatting to daddy about Limericks.
There was an old man who liked honey
He bought the spread with some money
He licked it with glee
And said “Yummy!”
That was the old man who liked honey.
Monkey is seven today. This is his birthday interview.
What would you like to be when you grow up?
A fireman
What’s your favourite colour?
Gold
What’s your favourite book?
Moody Margaret Casts a Spell, by Francesca Simon
What are your favourite toys?
Lego
What is your favourite food?
Mango
What is your favourite thing to wear?
My Iron Man costume
What do you like doing with mummy?
Going to the supermarket
What do you like doing with daddy?
Building big Lego kits
What makes you happy?
Today and the 25th December
Tell me a joke
What do you get if you cross a pig with a bush? A hedgehog
We have had a good half term break, and done lots of things that I would like to blog separately, but I don’t think it’s going to happen, so I will just put them all here in one place. On Friday 15th, we had a second go at the ice and water play. We froze sparkles in the coloured ice cubes and watched them melt, freed a plastic seal which we had frozen in a cup of water a while back and forgotten about, and added a fishing net and fish from the bath toys collection. It was a lot of fun, and we will be doing it again, I’m sure.
Saturday 16th was a busy day with Dramabuds, haircuts, choir practice and housework. On Sunday 17th, after church we went to the Thomas Day at the Kent and East Sussex Railway. It was a day of ups and downs, though overall a great success. We arrived and the children were very happy to see Thomas. Then they were very disappointed that the train we were booked on was being pulled by a different engine. Once we got over that, they really enjoyed the train ride and were all keen to come again another day. It was all going so well until Tiddler got his little finger trapped in the train door as we were about to get out, and it took daddy a very long 5 seconds to undo the door. He was checked out in the first aid tent and thankfully it was not broken, but looked very nasty which distressed him as much as the pain, I think. So while the big three watched a magic show, in which Rabbit was picked to go up to the front and sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, daddy and I took turns to try to cheer Tiddler up. Having another look at Thomas helped a bit, a go on a roundabout nearly worked but then he cried and they had to stop the ride to let him off, but in the end a packet of Smarties just about saved the day. The big three had a couple of goes on the roundabout, then watched a Thomas video while waiting for a platform ride on Thomas. All four children really enjoyed that, so the day ended well, and I’m sure we’ll be going again before too long, but we’ll be keeping Tiddler well away from the door.
After all that, Monday was a much needed quiet day at home, and the children enjoyed plenty of play time and computer time, while I caught up on washing and housework. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings, the big three went to a Dramabuds holiday camp, finishing with a brilliant show, as always. Tiddler had a Dramabuds session on Tuesday afternoon as well. We also enjoyed lots of visits from family on those three days. My aunt came on Tuesday morning, with my cousin and her very new baby, which was lovely. Then in the afternoon, daddy’s cousin came with his son for a sleepover. All the children had a good time, and played really well together, so we are hoping they will come again soon, as it was such a success! On Thursday, it was Grandpa’s birthday so he came for the show and stayed for lunch. Granny F came for the show as well, but had to leave shortly afterwards. Just as she was leaving, Granny B arrived, and the children were pleased it was a two granny day, even though they weren’t there at the same time!
On Friday, the big boys had their violin lessons, and then Granny F took Monkey and Rabbit shopping for birthday presents, and Supergirl looked after Owl and Tiddler while I did the birthday party food shopping. In the afternooon, all four children had a wonderful time with our very good friend and occasional childminder, while Supergirl and I made cakes. Suburban dad came home from work early to cook an amazing Middle Eastern meal for a family who had bid for it in the auction of promises at our church fair. He made enough for us too and some more friends (Tiddler’s godparents) came and ate with us.
Saturday, was party preparation day, with several last minute shopping trips for all the things we had forgotten, and lots of cakes to ice, as well as Dramabuds and choir as usual. And on Sunday, after church, it was time for the party. It was a joint party for Monkey, Rabbit and another friend from church, and there were over 30 children, but also plenty of helpful adults so it went very smoothly and the children had a lot of fun. And a lot of cake.
Today was Monkey’s birthday, and he spent most of the day playing with his new Lego, taking a short break in the afternoon to play with his Hornby set. We also had piano lessons, followed by lunch at Pizza Express, and a very enjoyable family evening with Granny F, and daddy’s aunt and uncle who called in to deliver presents, and ended up staying for supper, cake and bedtime stories. It was a good day.
On Wednesday evening I read this post about an amazing mother’s creative plans for Valentine’s day play with her toddler twins, even while her heart is breaking for the loss of her baby daughter less than two weeks ago. If she can do it, then I have no excuse, so yesterday morning I made some ice cubes with red food colouring in the water, ready for some messy play in the afternoon. I couldn’t find my heart ice cube moulds, so it wasn’t quite as Valentine-themed as it might have been, but I don’t think the children minded having Hello Kitty, Lego and star ice cubes instead.
In the afternoon, we found some sparkly bits in our craft stash and put them in a large plastic crate with some water. (We are going to do it again this afternoon, this time with the sparkles frozen in the ice cubes which I think will be even more fun.) The children enjoyed pouring the water into the crate and then ran to get some bath toys (first just one boat, and later some more boats and a dolphin) to put in before adding the ice cubes and watching them melt and turn the water red.
There was lots of tipping and splashing and stirring, and a certain amount of inevitable ice cube eating. They loved playing with all the different shaped ice cubes, and also enjoyed the patterns left on the plate that was under the star ice cube tray in the freezer.
They were having so much fun that when the ice had all melted they wanted more, so I found some extra plain ice cubes in the freezer. And then Rabbit started rummaging in the freezer, looking for anything else she could put in, which is where it got a bit random. I let her put some frozen green beans in, which made her and Tiddler very happy, and they started eating them too. Rabbit still wanted more, so I let her put some raisins in, which they happily played with, fished out and ate. I was a little bit worried about them accidentally eating the sparkly bits though, so I think I’ll lay the ground rules today, and no food will be going in. And then another day, we might do it with everything edible, but not a mixture of both!
So that’s how to do Valentine’s day sensory play in a completely haphazard and random way. If you want a more sensible, organised version, read Jennie’s account of her twins enjoying their ice and water play, and even getting in and having a paddle. Although the same activity developed in different ways, in both cases it was good old messy child-led fun. Thank you Jennie for the inspiration.
On Tuesday, I took Rabbit out to spend some of her pocket money that she had saved up. She chose two packs (eight pots altogether) of playdough. I love it when we have new playdough, because almost complete silence descends upon the dining room, and it lasts for a long time. This time Monkey, Rabbit and Tiddler decided to make cakes.
Next they made ham and cucumber sandwiches.
And then Monkey made a baby crocodile (because he was dressed up in a crocodile outfit at the time!) He made a background scene for it, which he mounted on a stand made of Lego bricks to make it stay upright.
It was a really fun afternoon and, as always with playdough, the children’s creativity was inspired in so many ways. When the novelty of the new shop-bought batch has worn off I think it will be time to make some ourselves. Good playdough recipes, anyone?
This post is written by Monkey.
Today I made a teepee with Granny. This is how you do it.
You will need:
3 chopsticks
sellotape
string
wrapping paper
scissors
How to make it
Today has been quite a hard day. Tiddler is not well, I think he has slapped cheek, and he has been needing lots of cuddles. This morning I had to take him and Rabbit to Granny’s house and then take the big boys to their piano lessons. We usually have a bit of table time first, but today I got the feeling that I would have to start getting ready straight after breakfast, allowing two hours to get everyone dressed and out. I was right! The combination of daydreaming and distraction from the big three and a very long tantrum from Tiddler – I don’t want a jumper and socks, I don’t want to go out – meant that it really did take all morning to leave the house. We walked to Granny’s house, which felt like a long way in the snow/sleet with Tiddler on my back, and then left the little two there and went on to the piano lesson. Afterwards, we went back to Granny’s house for lunch and the children watched Peppa Pig. Tiddler then reenacted his earlier tantrum for Granny to see – I don’t want to go, I want to stay here – for about half an hour, but eventually we got on our way. At home, we had hot chocolate and a snack, and then the children watched CBeebies and played while I recovered a bit. Some unauthorised painting occurred, resulting in rather a lot of mess, but it was quite peaceful.
Tiddler then spent another half hour, at least, trying to evade a nappy change, and when I finally succeeded I decided it might as well be bath time. So I bathed the little two separately, trying not to rush and gave each one my attention. We sang lots of songs, Tiddler played with bath toys, and Rabbit with a star-shaped bath melt which turned the water pink. Daddy came home in time to help the big boys with their baths, and then we all had supper together.
I have been thinking through the day, and wondering if it was more or less productive than days in which I try to direct the children’s activities more. I’m not really sure, but looking back I can see that a lot of thinking and learning went on without me having very much to do with it. Owl read the Usborne version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I read some stories to Monkey, and later to Rabbit. On the walk from piano lessons to Granny’s house, Owl said “What shall we chat about? I know, lets do some mental Maths.” He then asked me “What is £300.99 plus £120.99?” and then worked it out really quickly, and told me why it was easy to add on 99 to a number. In the afternoon the children watched Nina and the Neurons, and Owl explained to me afterwards how robots work. The two little ones did some lovely, if messy, painting, and we did lots of singing and talking together at bathtime. Rabbit and I talked about baby Matilda Mae, and she asked about heaven and how you get there. She said “I’m sad that she died because I wanted to play with her.” We talked about how it’s okay to feel sad, and sometimes it helps to talk about it, and you can pray about it if you want to. So we prayed for Matilda Mae’s family.
I’ve been reading Jennie’s tweets, as well as her blog, and what has really struck me is her grace and unselfishness, even at this time.
“If you have just half a thought of doing something with your little one, do it today! All week I wanted to get in Matilda’s bath with her”
“Please pls hold your children and kiss them all you can. Tell them you love them many times a day. You will never get a single second back”
“Sing your baby a lullaby tonight. I can’t ever do that for M”
Even as she has been going through this devastating loss and pain, her thoughts have been with others as much as herself. I know I am not the only one who has been moved, challenged and inspired by her words. On Saturday morning, Rabbit asked if she could have a bath with me. After a split second of thinking I would rather have a nice hot bath all to myself, I said yes, and it was lovely. Every day since I read those tweets, I have done things differently. Maybe only small things, but it adds up. I have been more present, listened more, cuddled more, minded less about the mess. It shouldn’t take something like this, but I am grateful to Jennie, more than I can say.
So today, we did nothing much and it turned out to be quite lot, and certainly enough. I think we might do nothing much again tomorrow.
This post is dedicated to Matilda Mae, to her selfless, loving mother, Jennie, and to all their family .
Past, Present, Future – from Jennie’s blog
Jennie Edspire – Jennie’s twitter account
Bliss – The Matilda Mae Precious Star Fund
For Jennie and David
For Esther and William
For Matilda Mae x
Another random catch up – pictures the children have asked me to take for the blog over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been feeling like a bad mummy (and a bad blogger) for not posting them sooner, so here they all are.
Rabbit made Yummy Delight, according to Monkey’s recipe.
Tiddler and Rabbit played with magnetic letters, numbers and shapes.
Somebody made a bedroom for teddies and dolls in the book corner, and somebody made a Brio layout which just had to be photographed. Sorry I can’t be more specific. It’s been a while…
They all played with Knex a lot. Monkey made the whale and Rabbit made the cat.
And Rabbit made this picture this morning.
Yes, I know it was a long time ago… I was hoping to get away with it by waiting for it to snow again, and then sneaking this blogpost in so it wouldn’t look out of place, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. So, I’m just going to publish it now anyway. This is what we did when it snowed!
We found ice in the garden, brought it into the house and investigated it. We discovered a beetle frozen in a block of ice, and melted the ice to get the beetle out.
We touched the ice to see what it felt like and looked at the different shaped pieces. The circle of ice came from inside a bucket. We found different ways to melt the ice, leaving it at room temperature, using the heat of our hands, placing it in cold, warm or hot water, and putting salt on it. Salt was really good for breaking a thick piece of ice quickly. We put a line of salt across the middle and that weakened it enough so we could break it with our hands.
We experimented with a variety of tools to break the ice. The hammer was the most fun!
We played in the garden. We made snow angels, threw snowballs, made a snowman and pulled each other on the sledge.
Some of us couldn’t resist eating the ice and snow from the garden, so we made some Lego ice cubes with clean water to play with and eat!
