Down on the farm

During half term we decided to take a trip to the farm. The girls enjoyed getting up close and personal with the small animals and newborn lambs. They even got to help feed the baby lambs by giving them bottles of milk.

The staff were great at giving lots of helpful educational information for the children and explained lots about the different animals.
The girls also got to go on a Tractor ride around the farm which was fun and we spotted a few Pheasants in the fields along the way.
The outdoor play equipment was also a huge hit, especially the large bouncy pillow (like a trampoline).

More handprint art

With 2 family birthdays coming up it was time to get creative and make some cards.
The girls had great fun and as ever loved covering themselves in paint.

We made a Monkey card for Daddy (from his Cheeky Monkey's!) 

And a Fishy card for Grandad.

Both cards were gratefully received :)

Fishtail Braid

Ive finally mastered how to do this fishtail plait. Ive always looked at this before and though it was just too tricky for me to even attempt but it was actually quite easy. I love the look of this plait and just wish I could learn how to do it on myself!

Spring Planting.

Now spring is finally arriving and the weather is slowly starting to warm up we been able to get out into the garden. I love spending time outside and looking forward to planting and making the garden beautiful.
The girls helped me plant some spring bulbs. They really enjoyed getting stuck into the soil and getting mucky!
It encourage lots of chat about the parts of the bulbs (roots etc) and what plants need to grow and they have promised to remember to water them. I fear this is going to take some prompting though! :) They were very pleased with their efforts and study them daily to see if they have bloomed yet or not.

  

Hair clips

Following on from my new found obsession with new hair styles, I branched out onto hair accessories!
Still working on the new styles and have done a few but keep forgetting to photograph them!
Heres some of my hair clips and bows that I have made.

 

 

Paddling pool Ball pool

The girls love visiting soft play places and especially playing in the ball pools. A simple way to recreate this at home is to fill your paddling pool with balls. You can buy the balls easily from toys shops and its a great way to get more use out of your paddling pool. Here in England it lucky to come out a few days a year! 

Word Bottles

I came across this Idea on Pinterest and thought I had to try it out on Abigail.  Its been a huge hit and great for early reading skills like putting sounds together.
Its very simple to make and very cheap too.
You need a plastic bottle, This can be any size. I happened to have a large 1ltr bottle ready for the recycling so used that. Then some kind of filling. I used rice but I guess you could use anything small enough to fit through the neck of the bottle. Split peas, lentils etc would work just as well.
I chose to colour the rice to make it more fun and I think it works well.

To colour the rice:

1 cup of plain white rice.
2 tbsp of white vinegar.
food colouring.
freezer bag.
Wax paper.

Place the rice into a freezer bag. In a separate pot mix the white vinegar and a few drops of your chosen food colouring. The colour strength depends on how many drops you add.
Pour the mixture in the bag then seal making sure you get as much air out of the bag as possible. Mix the rice into the colour until its all coloured.
Pour out the rice onto a tray lined with wax paper and leave until its dry.

Add the coloured rice into the bottle. I used 4 different colours for my rice.
Then add appropriate words of your choosing. I chose mostly simple 3 letter words as Abigail is a pre-reader. I printed mine off on paper and laminated them but you could easily just write them out of hard card. Remember not too big though as they need to fit through the neck of the bottle.
You could also adapt this to include numbers instead/as well.

When you've added your words then replace the bottle top. Make sure the top is screwed on VERY tightly!  You could add a few drops of super glue if you wanted to be sure.

Give the bottle a shake and then discover the words. Abigail loved this and took it to Nursery for a few days to show off. The teachers loved this idea and plan to add some to the Nursery for all the children.

Steam train ride

During the half term holidays we thought we would take advantage of the local steam railways offer of Children travelling for £1! 

We went along with a friends and her 2 girls and made it a lovely day out. 

We took along packed lunches and had our lunch aboard the train. The girls had a great time on the train and enjoyed seeing what they could see out of the window. 

They found it great fun when the train had to stop as some sheep were on the tracks and the train driver had to show them away.

The Girls were quite interested in watching the train take on water and watching its wheels turning. They did get a bit of a fright though when the train tooted very loudly right next to them! 

It was a great day out and I had 2 very sleep little girls on the way home.. Who'd have though a steam train ride could be quite such hard work :)

All Aboard!

Admiring the view

Lunch on the train

Taking on water

Waiting at the Station