And a few more pictures…

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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.

Yummy delight 2

Rabbit made Yummy Delight, according to Monkey’s recipe.

Tiddler's magnets Rabbit's magnets

Tiddler and Rabbit played with magnetic letters, numbers and shapes.

Teddies and dolls Brio layout

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…

Knex whale Knex cat

They all played with Knex a lot.  Monkey made the whale and Rabbit made the cat.

Lola picture

And Rabbit made this picture this morning.

Snow and Ice

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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.

Ice 1 Ice 2

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.

Ice 3 Ice 4

We experimented with a variety of tools to break the ice.  The hammer was the most fun!

Ice 5 Ice 6

We played in the garden.  We made snow angels, threw snowballs, made a snowman and pulled each other on the sledge.

Snow 1 Snowman

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!

Ice cubes 1 Ice cubes 2

Stargazing Live

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Stargazing 2 Stargazing 3

This post is written by Owl.

On Saturday 12th January, we went to Oxford.  We had lunch in Cafe Rouge, and then we went to Stargazing Live in the Physics Department of Oxford University.  When we went in, we were given a card with a picture and some information on it, and there were 19 cards to collect at the different sections of the exhibition.  Then we went to the Hands-On room and daddy pointed out a robot which was on a wooden table with a galaxy projected onto it.  When I looked more closely, I realised it was a Lego Mindstorms robot, controlled by a computer.  I had to use the arrow keys to move the robot over the galaxy, and when it was in the right position it projected a star into one of the holes in the raised edge of the table.  Next we tried an activity where you had to move coins around on a piece of paper, and they showed up on a computer screen which was divided into two parts.  On one half you could see your coins, and on the other half a picture of a galaxy based on the position of the coins.

Then we went to the Science cafe to build a virtual Lego universe, which was our favourite activity last year.  You use different coloured bricks to represent quarks.  Yellow bricks are up quarks and red bricks are down quarks.  I put some red and yellow bricks together to make neutrons and protons.  Then I put two neutrons and two protons together in a square shape to make Helium 4.  Monkey and I built towers which were stacks of Helium 4.

The Lego activity took quite a long time and the little ones were getting restless, so we took a break.  We went down to the Astro Crafts room and made spectrometers out of cereal boxes and CDs, and a model of a planetarium which showed the distance of each planet from the sun.  After that, we returned to the Science cafe to finish the Lego towers.  We also watched a demonstration of how to make a meteor, and I crushed some dry ice (made from Carbon Dioxide) with a hammer.  We ended the afternoon with some sandwiches, chocolate cake and juice for supper, before setting off on the journey home.

Castle

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castle 1 castle 2 castle 3 castle 4 castle 5 castle 6 castle 7castle 8 castle 9 castle 10

This post was written by Owl.

When we went to Granny’s house a few weeks ago, we played with the big wooden castle.  In the night, when the little ones were asleep, Monkey and I were allowed to stay up so we could make a battle scene with the castle.  We placed the drawbridge just the right distance away from the castle.  Then, we decided to make a moat out of blue paper.  Later, the scenery around the castle grew to include green grass and and a little bridge made out of brown paper leading to the prison door, so that the guards can go in and out.  Then Monkey put on some paper logs, and we both made some fish to go in the moat.  Then we put the soldiers in place, and the battle began.  It was England against Scotland, and we can’t tell you who won because the battle hasn’t finished yet.  Some battles last a very long time (like the 100 years war, which was really 101 years.)

Some photos

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After Owl’s excellent round up of the last few weeks, I think I’m about ready to start from where we are, but I have a few photos to post before I move on.  The first is of some pictures which the children made for daddy for Christmas.  (Owl’s is a Lego minifigure daddy.)  The next two are a robot made by Owl from a kit he got for Christmas, and some collage pictures which Rabbit and Tiddler did while Owl and Monkey were out to play with a friend on the last day of his school holidays.

Daddy pics

robot collage

And finally, better late than never, here are our Winter and Nativity displays.

winter display nativity display

Christmas and New Year

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Owl’s round-up of the highlights of December and January so far

On the first day of December, we opened the first door of our Lego city advent calendar, and in the afternoon we went to our church fair.

On the fourth, we went to see Rabbit’s Dramabuds show.  Rabbit was very good as the witch, Horrid Hagrid.

I sang in my choir concert on the ninth of December, and Mummy, Daddy, Granny and Monkey came to watch me.

The next weekend, on the 15th, it was Mummy and Daddy’s choir concert and Granny and I went to watch.  The following day it was our Home Ed group nativity, talent show and party.  After the party we went to the Christingle service at our church.

On the 21st we went to the theatre in the afternoon to see the Elves and the Shoemaker, and in the evening Monkey and I performed in our violin concert.  The next morning, we went back to the theatre to see another show, called All I want for Christmas.

On the 23rd, we went to the Italian restaurant near our house for lunch with Mummy’s aunt, uncle and cousin.

On Christmas Eve we went to see Father Christmas at the Garden Centre.  On the way there, our car broke down, but we were very lucky because Granny and our friend came to take us all there in two cars.  Then Daddy managed to get a minibus from a car hire company just before they closed for Christmas.  In the evening we went to church for the nativity service.  Tiddler and I dressed up as shepherds, Monkey was a sheep and Rabbit was a king.

On Christmas day we woke up very excited.  We opened our stockings, had breakfast and then set off for Granny and Grandpa’s house.  When we got there we opened our presents and had smoked salmon sandwiches for lunch.  We played with our new toys and in the evening we had Christmas dinner.

A few days later, we went home for the family Christmas dinner at our other Granny’s church.  Then we went back to spend New Year at Granny and Grandpa’s.

On the third and fourth of January, Monkey, Rabbit and I went to the Dramabuds holiday club, ending with a winter wonderland show.

On the sixth we went to see a pantomime at Epsom Playhouse.  It was Snow White and we all really enjoyed it.

On the seventh, Monkey and I had our piano lesson and then went to play at a friend’s house.  We made a big Lego city scene out of his new and old Lego.

Now we are staying at Granny and Grandpa’s house again.  We have been on treasure hunts inside and out in the village, and we have played with Lego, games and cars.  We have been doing Maths and English websites and lots of reading.  We had to hire another minibus for this week because our car is still broken.

My First Midi Hama Beads

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A few weeks ago we tried out an excellent Maxi Hama Bead set from Craft Merrily, and today we had a go at a similar starter kit for Midi Beads.  My First Midi Hama Beads comes with about 2400 beads, 3 transparent pegboards, printed design cards, a frame to keep the design secure under the board and some ironing paper.  I’d been saving it until we had plenty of time to get stuck into it, as I knew it would keep us all busy for a while.  So today, after a morning of violin lessons (the big two) and Musicbox (the little two), a bit of Mathletics and Reading Eggs, and a “Feed Yourself Friday” lunch, we settled in for the perfect craft activity for a rainy Friday afternoon.

We managed to do all the designs from the set, as well as some original creations using both Midi and Maxi Hama beads, and this time I even did some myself as well as helping the kids with theirs.  So, out of the main set, Rabbit did the teddy, Monkey the kite and the butterfly, Owl the parrot and the cat and I did the fish, sun, car and boat.

Hama lots

In addition to all that, Owl made a circular design (which I think is a firework), Monkey made a hanging star decoration, Rabbit a snowy tree picture and Tiddler completed his first ever Hama Bead creation, a teddy.  Rabbit then made another teddy, using up all but the last six Maxi beads.

Hama snowy tree Hama teddies Hama star Hama circles

It took us about three hours, and with the ironing as well (of all fourteen designs!) we ended up having supper rather late.  It was a good afternoon though.  There really is nothing quite like Hama Beads for keeping all my children happy and quiet at once for a very long time, and now that Tiddler can do it too it’s even more satisfying.

Hama Beads are certainly on our Christmas list, and if you are looking for last-minute presents there’s still time to order some here.  Suitable for children of all ages and the young at heart.  I’m not the only adult who would like to receive Hama beads for Christmas, am I?  No, I think I’m in good company.

About time

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It’s about time I did some blogging again, and as long as I can type one-handed while cuddling Tiddler and singing “Horsey horsey” on endless loop it should be perfectly possible.  That sentence took me about 5 minutes to write so this may take some time.

I’d like to be one of those bloggers who writes about their Advent traditions and Christmas crafting, but I don’t know how to fit it in.  I think I’ve been more organised this year than ever before, but still my usual late-night blogging spot has been taken over by internet shopping, wrapping presents and writing cards, and I just can’t start blogging after midnight!

… And it is now 1am, so it will have to wait, again.  I have been to the cinema this evening with a very good friend, and it was lovely.  We went to see Great Expectations which I enjoyed, and it has made me want to read the book again, just to compare it to the film.  It’s been about twenty years since I’ve read it so I can’t remember it all that clearly.

It was nice to go out, although not so much fun to come back to the to-do list which has taken me another hour or so.  Now I really have to stop and go to bed.

Friday round up 30th November 2012

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On Saturday morning, Tiddler went to Dramabuds with daddy, and the big three played while I did some housework.  In the afternoon, there were two birthday parties, a real one and a pretend one, and some Maxi Hama beading.  On Sunday, Owl and Tiddler went to church with daddy, while Rabbit and I tidied and hoovered – I’m not sure what Monkey was up to, but he was quiet.  In the afternoon, we did more housework (it seems to expand to fill the weekend), and after tidying their bedrooms the children had some computer time.  We had supper at Granny’s house, and then the big three made the Christmas pudding with daddy, while I tried to get Tiddler settled to go to sleep.

On Monday, we did some Maths in the morning, starting with some workbooks (Owl – adding hundreds, Monkey – 3x table and area, Rabbit – counting and writing numbers) and finishing by playing Yahtzee.  Then we did a little bit of English (Owl and Monkey – spelling, Rabbit – writing practice), and then some work on the computer – the addition trainer on Maths is Fun, and Reading Eggs.  After a bit of playtime, Owl did some Science work on fossils, and Monkey started a bar chart about how many hours sleep he has this week (from his Science book).  In the afternoon, I went Christmas shopping while Supergirl looked after the children.  They played, had some more time on the computer and watched a Lego DVD they borrowed from their friends.

On Tuesday, the boys and I went to the Greenwich Observatory, while Rabbit stayed at home with Supergirl and went to her Dramabuds lesson in the afternoon.  On Wednesday, we did some Maths in the morning, starting with workbooks (Owl – adding 9 and 99, and Monkey – 3x table and something else I can’t remember) and ending up with the Maths is Fun website.  Owl discovered the chess game on there and spent a long time playing it.  He also wrote his blog post about his sleepover.  In the afternoon we went by bus to our friends’ house for Home Ed group.  On Thursday, I took Tiddler for his swimming lesson, and then later Supergirl took Rabbit for hers.  The boys spent part of the morning with our friend who is a childminder, and as always they had a lovely time with her.  In the afternoon, the little two went shopping with Granny and then went to her house to make cakes, while I took the big to another Home Ed group.  It was nice to see our friends there, but Monkey wasn’t feeling well and spent most of the time sitting on his own or on my knee.  In the evening, Owl went to cubs.

This morning, Supergirl took Rabbit and Tiddler to Musicbox while I had a quiet morning with the big boys.  Today it was my turn to be ill (well this is nothing new, but I felt quite a lot worse today) so we spent part of the time in my bed doing puzzle books, and then Monkey disappeared off to do some Very Secret Making.  When the little ones got back, they had a good time playing with Supergirl, and made a tree house out of chairs, cushions and blankets.  At least I have been informed it is a tree house.  I’m not sure that’s how it started out, but that’s what it is now.  The boys did some Science, and some music practice, and apart from that they spent the rest of the day playing and watching television, as I wasn’t feeling well enough to initiate anything else.  If the scene of devastation in the play room is anything to go by, they had a very good time!