Silent Sunday 25th August 2013
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Saturday Snippets 24th August 2013
{practising} origami, still at a rather basic level
{braving} Ikea
{making} a mess with oats again
{playing} in the woods
{organising} the dining room and making progress with the laundry room and sitting room
{hoovering} a lot of cobwebs
{creating} topic boxes
(releasing} butterflies
{exploring} Chastleton House and Garden
{snapshots} Owl has been reading as many books as he can find about World War I and World War II. Monkey made a great picture of an owl with the Hammer and Tap set (one of the many toys we have rediscovered since I have been decluttering.) Rabbit has been making towers with Multilink Cubes which has led to some good addition and multiplication practice. Tiddler has been playing with number tiles and can easily identify all his numbers now.
Linking to Jax again for some more Saturday Snippets.
Building dens and climbing trees
On Wednesday we went for a walk in the woods with our Home Education group. We hadn’t gone far when the children discovered two dens which had been partly built and started to add to them.
Monkey and Rabbit were especially keen on this and carried on for some time while the others were exploring the woods and collecting bugs. We also spotted some interesting fungi.
After a while we moved on a little further, to a tree which the children love to climb because someone has helpfully built a platform with a den underneath. This kept them busy for so long that, after a quick snack, it was time to leave. It made for a rather short walk but they had a great time playing with their friends. I think we will have to find some creative ways to get them wanting to explore further next time, or we will never get past the tree house again!
Little Mouse’s Big Book of Beasts
We have been sent another lovely book to review by Macmillan and this one has inspired us so much that it was hard to know when to write this post as we have more ideas we would like to follow up. However, we have had the book a while so I thought we should let you know what we think of it, and what we’ve been up to so far.
Little Mouse’s Big Book of Beasts by Emily Gravett is a picture book with a difference. It is the follow up to the multi-award-winning Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears which was published in 2007.
Little Mouse has found a book about the world’s most terrifying and ferocious beasts, but they are all a bit too scary for him. So he changes the book to make it less frightening.
He gives the lion some pretty mittens to cover up his sharp claws, and removes his loud roar.
He removes part of the instructions for making an origami shark, and adds his own for making an origami mouse instead.
The rhinoceros is given a selection of dainty shoes.
The jellyfish is crossed out and replaced with a dish of jelly.
And at the end, the mouse is cleverly transformed into a monster using parts he has torn from the previous pages.
When I first shared the book with the little ones (aged three and five) I think they were a bit bemused, and I felt I had to do a lot of explaining. The older boys (aged seven and nine) liked it immediately, so I thought it might appeal more to this age group despite being a picture book. However, the younger children did enjoy it and it definitely grew on them. I liked it because it sparked off so many ideas for activities we could do together.
We talked about how it would be fun to draw our own pictures of animals with a difference and we decided to play heads, bodies and legs (like consequences but with pictures.)
Then we decided to have a go at some origami. First we made some origami planes using an excellent kit from Djeco.
Then Rabbit and I tried out the much more fiddly Safari Origami kit from 4M. We just about managed the butterflies and birds which are for beginners but quite hard. We haven’t tried the rest of the animals yet but we will!
The following day we had another go with the much easier Djeco origami animals kit.
Next, Owl wants to try following the origami instructions in the book to see if they work. Will they make a shark or a mouse or something else?!
And we are also planning to draw some animals and then change them in the way the Little Mouse has done. That should suit all the children, as the older ones love drawing and the little ones love cutting and sticking!
So what else would you do? Any more ideas gratefully received. I have a feeling that this book is going to be keeping us busy for a while!
The book was given to us free to review. The origami kits were our own but I have linked to Craft Merrily because that is where I would go to buy Djeco products.
Pond dipping and playing with trains
We are lucky to have some brilliant places to visit within walking distance from our house. Two weeks ago, when daddy’s cousin and her son were staying with us for a few days, we had a lovely afternoon out in our local area. We walked to the Ecology Centre first, where the children did some pond dipping.
They really enjoyed spending time with their big cousin, and also with our friends from Three Kids and a Gluestick who were there too.
There was a lot of leaning over into the water, but this time Tiddler managed not to fall in!
When we had finished pond dipping we explored the grounds some more and found some big stepping stones and a den.
We then moved on to the small museum next door, where all the children started by playing with the trains. Some of them explored the museum further, but Owl and Tiddler were having such a good time at the train table that they didn’t move until it was time to go.
The museum looks out over the ponds and it is very peaceful and relaxing.
At the end of the afternoon we went to the park. The children had fun testing out the outdoor gym equipment, before finishing with a quick play in the playground.
It was a lovely afternoon and looking back on it now makes me realise how lucky we are with our friends, our family and the area where we live.
Messy Play: from Oats to Moon Sand
Looking back through my photos of the Summer holidays so far, it is clear that of the many posts I wrote in my head, the majority never made it to the blog. A couple of weeks ago, we decided to play with oats which is one of our favourite messy play materials. I knew that the little ones would want to add water and get into a lovely sticky mess, but Monkey would not enjoy it. So I divided the oats between two Tuff Spots and made it clear that one was to remain dry. They managed to keep them separate, so all the children had a wonderful time playing in the way they wanted.
In the dry Tuff Spot, Monkey spent a long time setting up a farm with some help from Owl. They really enjoyed their intricate, careful play while the two younger children were happily occupied with their messy kitchen. With help from Supergirl, Rabbit and Tiddler stirred and poured, made porridge and enjoyed the texture of the wet oaty mess. They also collected apples from the garden and rolled out some pink icing to make cakes. I love seeing the different ways my children play and the way it reflects their personalities.
We haven’t done quite as much of this type of play recently as we usually do, but looking through the photos from this activity reminded me how much we love it so we need to get back into the habit. We have saved the dry oats, so we’ll be playing with them again soon. And yesterday the children played with moon sand, which they haven’t done for ages. I was about to put it in a Tuff Spot in the garden when it started to rain, so we came inside and played with it at the table. They were having such a lovely time that I let them (the younger three) climb on the table and feel the sand between their toes. It was fun, but without the Tuff Spot to contain it, a lot ended up on the floor so they really haven’t got much left. I think it will be on the Christmas list, but before then I need to get round to making some because I’m sure it’s not that difficult.
I’m linking up with Jennie’s Messy Play for Matilda Mae, a great place to look for ideas and inspiration.
Silent Sunday 18th August 2013
Saturday Snippets 17th August 2013
{feeling} refreshed after seven and a half hours sleep (I’d forgotten what not-tired felt like) and grateful to Granny for having all the children for a sleepover again.
{rediscovering} special books, toys and pieces of art work as a result of major decluttering. After failing to complete my #40bagsin40days challenge in Lent (think I got to 13 bags then got distracted) I have picked up where I left off. So far this summer I’m up to 15 bags to the charity shop, and more to go.
{labelling} everything so there are no excuses for not tidying up – I am in organising heaven. There will be a place for everything and everything in its place by the end of the summer if I achieve nothing else.
{reading} Little Mouse’s Big Book of Beasts and I’m a Chicken, Get Me Out of Here from Macmillan – reviews to follow. We are enjoying them both.
{learning} origami
{completing} some of the many art, craft and science kits we have collected – working our way through them has been one of the most enjoyable parts of the decluttering process.
{wondering} why I let the children play with moon sand in the house, and then realising it was okay because I have a 9 year old who knows how to use a hoover. He did a more thorough job than I would have done, I am sure.
{enjoying} delicious food cooked by the lovely husband – lentil dahl last night, hummus for lunch and roast pheasant for supper tonight.
{playing} yahtzee with the big three when they should have been in bed, because they were just being such good company.
{snapshots} Owl has been learning to iron this week, practising on daddy’s handkerchiefs. Monkey has been building towns with blocks and wooden railway and is planning to make an enormous city with all types of Lego, Playmobil, blocks, train sets and cars. Rabbit has been learning origami with me and Tiddler has been enjoying playing with Monkey’s towns.
Linking to Jax again so you can go and read her Saturday Snippets too.
A Railway in the Garden
On Tuesday it was daddy’s birthday and he had the day off work. We had a lovely day together, and the highlight was an afternoon visit to some friends from our church who have a model railway layout in their garden.
The children had a wonderful time. They operated the engines and watched the trains go round, and Owl talked non-stop to our friend who patiently answered all his questions and remarked what an intelligent boy he was!
Daddy and I spent some time discussing the possible model railway layouts we could have in our garden if we ever have the time and money to do it!
Maybe one day!
Oliver Fibbs and the Giant Boy-Munching Bugs
After enjoying Oliver Fibbs: Attack of the Alien Brain, the children were keen to read the second book in the series. Oliver Fibbs and the Giant Boy-Munching Bugs, by Steve Hartley, is another adventure of the comic-reading, storytelling boy whose vivid imagination allows him to escape his dull and boring life and become a superhero and defender of planet Earth.
This is Rabbit’s book review. What is the story about? A boy who tries to get bitten by a bug to catch Wenghi Benghi fever. Do you like this book? Yes. Why? It was funny and I like the giant bug pictures.
This is Monkey’s review. What is the story about? A boy who makes some comic stories about him getting Wenghi Benghi. Do you like this book? Yes. Why? I love it because of the tropical jungle comics he made.
This is Owl’s. What is the story about? A boy who pretends/ tries to get bitten by a tropical bug to get a fever for something good to tell at school. Do you like this book? Yes. Why? I like the Wenghi Benghi comics. The latest episode of Superboy is “Superboy and the Jungle of Death.”
So they all loved it, and I enjoyed reading the story to them and seeing how they were inspired by it.
I recently took the big boys to a bookshop and they wanted to check if there were any more Oliver Fibbs books yet, so I think that is a good sign. Steve Hartley, your next book is eagerly awaited here!
We received the book for free in order to write this review.