Paint, glitter glue and bug hunting

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On Wednesday, we had home education group at our house again. I was anxiously watching the weather, as I had planned a messy painting activity and was hoping to be able to do it in the garden. Jennie asked earlier in the week if people could do some pink and purple messy play in the week leading up to Matilda Mae’s Mile in Memory walk which is taking place tomorrow, so I stocked up on pink and purple art and craft materials, as well as a multicoloured selection to give the children plenty of choice. It was cloudy and wet in the morning, but by lunchtime the sun was out, and by the time everyone arrived it was warm enough to be in the garden. There were five families this time, and a total of fourteen children ranging in age from four weeks to nearly nine years old.

I set up the pink and purple materials in one Tuff Spot and the multicoloured ones in the other. We had glitter glue, paint, paper, feathers, foam hearts, fabric stars, pipe cleaners, water beads and a few other random bits and pieces. I also had a big table with an assortment of boxes, cardboard tubes and glue for model-making, and a small table with finger paint and sponges for painting directly on the table as well as on paper. And inside, I had pencils and paper on the dining room table for anyone who wanted a quiet place to sit and draw.

It was a lovely afternoon, the children were busy and happy, the adults had time to chat, the artistic creations were wonderful and there was, as always, a good satisfying mess. As well as painting and drawing, the children enjoyed climbing and swinging, scooting and riding bikes, and the inevitable bug hunting. The children were also very excited to find a nest with four eggs in, right inside the “talking bush.” This is a bush at the bottom of the garden which the children love to play in, and they think it is funny that from the outside we can’t see them so the bush appears to be talking. By the end of the afternoon, the model-making had become quite elaborate and there is now an extensive and luxurious Matilda Mae Bug Hotel in our garden! We will always remember Matilda Mae here, even if we show it in unusual ways.

We are also showing our support for Jennie and her family by walking a Mile in Memory for Matilda Mae tomorrow at the Rare Breeds Centre in Kent. If you would like to help, you can donate here to support the work of the Lullaby Trust, and you can buy something lovely in the Matilda Mae Memorial Auction which will be launched tomorrow. Sharing this post, and any of the posts I have linked to, would also help, so please do that too as much as you can. Thank you.

Morden Hall Park

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On Bank Holiday Monday, we went to Morden Hall Park in the afternoon. It’s that time of year when I start to think we must visit some National Trust properties again, and it is our nearest one. After we had already planned to go there, we found out that there was a May Fayre on. So instead of a walk in the park, which is beautiful – and free, it became a rather more expensive outing. It cost £15 for our family to get in, so I was hoping to avoid spending too much more money at the fayre. There were some really good free stalls with plenty for the children to do, but unfortunately there were also some very expensive fairground rides and attractions which inevitably distracted the children from the free stuff. We started off in the National Trust area, where we picked up our 50 things to do booklets, and did our first two activities. One was to walk barefoot in the grass, which all the children did, and then they had to draw round one of their feet in the booklet. The second activity was to plant some seeds, which at this point only Rabbit wanted to do. She planted some radish seeds, and then we had to move on as the big boys were very keen to go on an enormous inflatable slide. It cost £3 for 5 minutes, and the big three all went on it. They all enjoyed it, but it was a very expensive 5 minutes. Tiddler was too young, so we paid £2.50 for him to go on a smaller inflatable slide, but he came straight off as it was a bit too scary. We couldn’t get our money back, but were offered a voucher for another ride.

Next we went to look at an army camp which had been set up as it would have been in 1815, with people dressed up as soldiers from the period. It was really interesting to talk to them, and there were lots of other historical stalls around the fair which I would have loved to explore more. However, it was difficult to get the children to look at them, because they just wanted to do all the stuff that cost money.

We met up with our friends from 3 kids and a gluestick, who had won an enormous cuddly dog on one of the fairground stalls. The children obviously thought it was wonderful, and wanted to do the same, but I didn’t want to spend money and risk winning something so big!

We managed to distract them for a while by looking at some of the animals. I am not sure exactly which ones the children saw, but there were ferrets, dogs, chickens, rabbits, horses, Shetland ponies and goats. We then sat down in the shade (it was a very hot day) to watch the dog races in the main arena. After a few races, the children were called up to see if they could run as fast as the dogs. Owl had a go, and did quite well, but it really did show how fast dogs can run as even the biggest children couldn’t quite keep up with the smallest dogs. After that the children started to get quite grumpy as it was very hot, we had nearly finished our shared bottle of water, and all they wanted to do was go on the fairground rides but we didn’t want to spend another ten pounds or more. We thought we might have to leave, until we discovered a great stall raising money for Great Ormond Street hospital. They had Knex kits for sale, but also an amazing display of models including a huge rollercoaster. They also had a very simple game in which you paid a pound for a jar and there was money wrapped up inside which you could keep. We had several goes and won lots of 1p coins, but I didn’t mind spending the money on a good cause, it kept the children entertained and was in a nice shady area.

We then found a small bouncy castle which Tiddler could go on with his voucher. He only went on for about 2 minutes, but he was quite happy. Next, we went into the Riverford tent to escape the heat and have a chat. We are huge fans of Riverford veg boxes and we always try to go and see them when they have stalls at local fairs. Next to the Riverford tent was a stall selling freshly squeezed lemonade, and I would rather spend money on that than on bottled water, so we bought two cups at £2 each. The children all really liked it, and daddy got very excited about the idea about buying a proper citrus juicer and setting up a stall at our church fair, outside our house and anywhere else he could think of. He has been happily occupied researching this idea all week so I’m expecting to see a business plan any time soon.

Before we left, we headed back to the National Trust area because Rabbit’s compost and seeds had been spilt, and luckily she was just in time to plant some more. This time Owl and Monkey decided they would have a go, and planted some rocket and courgette seeds. Owl and Rabbit also wrote and drew on paper leaves the things they liked most about Morden Hall Park. All four children also had a go at archery, which was right next to the National Trust area. It was quite expensive, but the kind of thing I don’t mind paying for. I know they really enjoy it so we try to do it whenever the opportunity arises, which isn’t very often. So although it had been a little difficult at times, we ended the afternoon on a high. It was by this time cool and pleasant, the crowds had diminished and it was hard to tear them away. We managed by telling them we would go and buy ice cream and cones at the Co-op on the way home, because the ice creams at the fair were £3 each. We spent less money and the children got two ice creams each instead of one, so they were happy!

I love Morden Hall Park and we will definitely go back soon, but I think it will probably be even more fun on a normal day when we can explore more and spend less. However, the children have of course asked to go back to the May Fayre next year! We probably will, but I will be warning them in advance about exactly what they can and can’t do. And if it is a hot day, I will take more water! It was a good event, with a lot of interesting stalls and activities, but it would be so much better without the fairground stuff. So how about it, lovely National Trust people? If you are reading this (and I will be tweeting you the link in a minute!) then please consider cutting out the commercial side of it and just leaving the good stuff in. If so, I would happily pay the £15 entrance fee, and have some money left to spend in the National Trust shop at the end of the day!

Our Bank Holiday Weekend

An auction to remember Matilda Mae

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On February 2nd Matilda Mae was found sleeping. On May 2nd she should have been celebrating her first birthday. This month sees the launch of the Matilda Mae Memorial Auction, running from May 11th to May 20th, to raise funds for the Lullaby trust, the charity which works to support those who are affected by SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.) Please do support this worthy cause in any way you can.

Here are the links you need to find out more:

Information about the auction from Tots100

Susanne’s Page about the Auction

The Lullaby Trust

Information about the Mile in Memory Walks

Bubbles and a Trifle Smash for Matilda Mae

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Yesterday was a special day. It should have been a day of celebration for Jennie and her family as their baby girl Matilda Mae toddled around the farm on a holiday specially planned for her first birthday. But, as many of you know, baby Tilda died three months ago from SIDS. Since then both her parents have been amazingly strong, supporting each other, grieving but also celebrating the life of their baby girl and raising awareness of the Lullaby Trust. They have also been carrying on as much as possible with their everyday activities, outings and treats, and wonderful messy play at home for their toddler twins. Like many others, I have been impressed by the way they have put the twins’ needs first, whilst at the same time doing everything they can to honour the memory of Matilda Mae and trying to find the space they need to grieve.

And so they made the decision to continue with the holiday they had planned, and to make the 2nd May a celebration, a positive day in as much as it could be and a happy day for the twins. And then in the evening, when the twins were in bed, they said their own goodbyes to Tilda. You can read their story here.

Like many other bloggers and tweeters, I was thinking of Jennie all day yesterday in everything we did. We wore pink and purple and stars for Matilda Mae, as Jennie had asked people to do on the day of her funeral. In the morning we made jelly, ready for our messy play in the afternoon. I had been planning to do a Trifle Smash for a while, having been inspired by Susanne, and it felt like the right thing to do it Tilda’s birthday. I took Tiddler for his swimming lesson (he wore his star swimming shorts) and then came home for lunch. Next we went out for an ice cream, and then we came back to blow bubbles in the garden for baby Tilda. The children were worried they weren’t going high enough in the sky, until Owl decided that when bubbles pop they reappear in heaven.

Later in the afternoon, I set up both Tuff Spots outside, cleaned them thoroughly with help from Rabbit and Tiddler, and got everything we needed for our trifle smash: the jellies we made earlier, custard, trifle sponges, butterscotch angel delight, bananas, sprinkles, snowflakes (leftover from Christmas but I decided they looked quite like stars!) and lots of bowls, plates, cake cases, spoons and assorted utensils. All the children joined in enthusiastically and played, ate and made a wonderful mess. They decided trifle sponges were too hard so we soaked them in fruit juice, which made them too mushy so they didn’t eat many of them, but everything else was very popular. They played for a long time, and I suddenly noticed that it should have been supper time but of course they were too full to eat anything else. Later, while Owl was at Cubs, I gave the little ones toast and peanut butter, cheese and milk, but when Owl came back I forgot to give him any. I remembered at midnight that he hadn’t had any supper. Spectacular mummy fail! However, he didn’t seem too bothered when I pointed out to him this morning that he hadn’t had supper last night. I have always said that of all my children Owl would be the one who would forget to eat because he is too busy playing. I don’t think I’ve ever forgotten to feed him before though. Rabbit has asked to play with Angel Delight again this afternoon, but this time I think I will give them their supper first!

Jennie, we will always remember Matilda Mae xx

An eventful swimming lesson

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Today I took Tiddler to his swimming lesson. I really enjoy spending time with him by himself, and he likes having the extra attention. He loves swimming and is becoming more confident and independent. He swam by himself today, with armbands and was very proud of himself. We had been in the pool for about 15 minutes, which is half way through the lesson time, when the fire alarm went off.

We had to leave by the exit which is right next to the teaching pool, and as I walked out I could see our towels hanging up about a metre away the other side of the barrier but couldn’t get them. As we lined up by the door, we were given foil blankets, but I only got one which was quite small and didn’t go round both me and Tiddler. So obviously I wrapped it around Tiddler and managed to get it round my shoulders a bit, which meant that I had to walk out and round past the main entrance of the building and across the car park with rather a lot of the rest of me on show! I was glad that I had my decent Boden swimming costume on (at least it never happened when I was wearing my old baggy maternity swimsuit that had done four pregnancies) but even so I wasn’t particularly impressed.

I was also annoyed about having to walk across the car park which seemed to be rather unsafe. I couldn’t help imagining what it would have been like if I had been with all four children – and even worse, what it would have been like three years ago if I’d been there on my own with a 5 year old, a 4 year old, a toddler and a baby. I suppose that’s like a weird kind of reverse disaster planning, worrying about how bad things might have been if they had happened when the kids were younger. But of course it could happen to someone in that situation now, so I really think that they need to rethink the location of their meeting point. The other problem with it was that there were a lot of cars moving around and leaving the car park at once – presumably all the people who had all their possessions with them (and their clothes on) when the alarm went off – so it was even more dangerous than usual.

I was very lucky that as soon as we reached the meeting point, we saw Granny and her friend (our neighbour) who had just arrived for a swimming session that was due to start just after Tiddler’s lesson. They kindly lent us their towels so we were able to warm up and cover up a bit, which was good because it was about 5 minutes before a member of staff came to offer me an extra blanket. It was a nice sunny day, but we had got very cold in the first few minutes after we came outside so it took us a while to warm up. I don’t want to imagine what it would have been like in the middle of winter. After 15 minutes the fire brigade arrived, and 5 minutes later we were allowed back into the building. Tiddler had by then missed the rest of his lesson, so we just had to get changed and go home. It was rather disappointing and confusing for him, but it least he got to see a fire engine and four firemen!

Pink pudding and gloop!

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Today we had home education group at our house again. It was a sunny day, hot enough for sunhats and suncream, and the children played in the garden all afternoon. It was really good to see our friends, including some who hadn’t been for a while. It was nice to have the old crowd back together (with the addition a very lovely baby boy who was born two weeks ago!) and the children had a brilliant time. We made the most of having two tuff spots, and set up one with pink pudding (strawberry angel delight) and one with gloop (cornflour and water), and an assortments of bowls, cups and utensils. I also added cake cases this time, and some of the children enjoyed making angel delight cakes. Between the two tuff spots and the play sink, the children were very happy and busy all afternoon.

More messy play in the sunshine

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Sometimes the best things in life are unplanned. This is certainly true of the best opportunities to play. This afternoon it started with the arrival of our second tuff spot – one just wasn’t enough for four children (and all their visiting friends!) As soon as it arrived, the children were very keen to unwrap it and take it into the garden. We put it next to the other one and started to discuss what we might play with, but it was time for the big three to go to Dramabuds so I told them they would have to wait until after supper. While they were out, Tiddler wanted to sit in it, but the plastic had got too hot so I put some water in. He really enjoyed sitting in it and just splashing with his legs, and for a while he didn’t really need anything else. When he seemed to have had enough of that, I suggested he added some rocks from our collection, and he split them between the two tuff spots to make two beaches. We collected some boats from the bath and I gave him some pots and bowls for tipping and pouring. He played with them for a while, then went inside to look for something else to add. He returned with a bowl of lettuce which he had found in the fridge, which was rather cheeky, but funny, so I let him have it and we decided it was seaweed!

When he had finished playing with his beaches, we combined the two into one tuff spot, and he and Supergirl played with playdough in the other one while I got the supper ready. When the others came back from Dramabuds we had supper, then I gave them a big bowl of strawberry angel delight in one of the tuff spots, with lots of spoons and other kitchen utensils. They had fun playing with it, making patterns, writing letters, drawing pictures and eating it! I think the big boys may have eaten most of it, so I gave them all a yoghurt afterwards to make sure they had enough pudding. Anyway, angel delight is a big hit and I’m sure we’ll be playing with it – and eating it again. I just won’t look too closely at the list of ingredients. After years of serving up organic fruit and yoghurt for pudding, with the occasional home-made apple crumble, it is a bit of a U-turn to be giving them angel delight. But they love it, and it certainly makes a good satisfying mess!

Painting stones

Playing with water beads and ice

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On Friday afternoon, we played with our new water beads. They arrived on Thursday and I soaked three packs overnight in two plastic tubs of water – red in the red tub, pink in the pink tub, and clear beads split between the two tubs. I had been going to add food colouring until I remembered we didn’t have any, so instead I added some peppermint essence which made the water smell lovely. I also made peppermint-scented ice cubes (hearts and fish.) When we were ready to play, I put the tubs with the water beads on to the Tuff Spot which was out in the garden, and the children helped me to add the ice cubes. They spent a little while exploring the textures of the beads and the ice in the tubs, before deciding to tip them all into the Tuff Spot. This made it easier for all four children to play with them at once. Tiddler spent quite a long time concentrating on carefully placing the water beads in the empty fish ice cube tray, and Rabbit did the same thing with the heart tray. Monkey was wearing his new tool belt, so used his hammer to explore and play with the beads. Luckily, he did this very gently as it is a real hammer. Tiddler then went to get his toy hammer and bashed the ice and beads as hard as he could! Owl made a picture of a helicopter by placing the beads on the studs of a Lego Duplo base board. After a while, Rabbit and Tiddler couldn’t resist getting into the Tuff Spot so I added quite a lot more (warm) water and this extended the play for a while longer. I enjoyed watching them play, some of the time together and some of the time alongside each other, and I think they all found it quite absorbing and calming. It’s a good addition to our water (and ice) play, which we do quite a lot, and I’m sure we’ll be getting the water beads out again very soon.