Random act of kindness....

 Or just plain oddness???

You decide!

I am really very lucky that in a built up residential town we are surround in the wider area by the beautiful Cannock Chase but that we also live about 2 steps away from gorgeous woodland with a few small walks to be had. 

It is lovely to be able to take the kids (dog in tow) for a little adventure and exploration without having to worry about getting them all on the bus or in the car. I seems to be used by many dog walkers and the local community in general but over the past few months I have been saddened by it's decline.

Maybe it has been the children being off in the holidays, I did see quite a few around on bikes, which may have contributed to the increase in litter, but there seems to also be a lot of beer cans and the like strewn across the path so I'm guessing it has become somewhat of a nightly meet up point for drinkers.

So Sad!

I have news......

I'M AN OFFICIAL

EEEEeeeeeek! SO excited by this new venture and so glad to be able to now officially tell you all!

I was first approached by Britax way back in May, when my blog was still relatively new, and was given such a wonderful compliment that they loved my blog *Shucks* and wondered if I would be interested in being a Britax Mumbassador.

Say what? A MUMBASSADOR???? And what might one of those be???

Melted bead Sun Catchers

I saw this fabulous idea on The Artful Parent's blog (see the link) and thought these sun catchers looked so easy to make but very effective when done so, me and the kids set about making our own.

The post we saw on The artful Parent arranged the beads in muffin tins so all of the catchers were round but we also tried with metal cookie cutters too for different shapes, which worked well, as well as just arranging shapes onto a baking tray freely. This also worked well particularly for flower shapes which would look fab glued onto hair clips or badges!!!

It would also be good to experiment further with different beads so next up we will try the glitter one and glow in the dark.

Small world play goes on a bear hunt!

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

                                                                                                                                    By Michael Rosen

We have been loving this children's classic for a while, the repetition of the book means that they all now know it off by heart and chunks of the book can regularly be heard chanted around the house.

Our last trip to the local forest resulted in an impromptu hunt of our very own. (Posted HERE) which the kids absolutely loved but we really wanted to combine their love of this book with their love of small world play (Blogged about HERE and HERE). My 2 year old in particular is particularly fond of small world now that her imagination is developing into a world of wonder and I really want to encourage this further. The use of books and small world promotes this perfectly!

Creating the bear hunt was also a great sensory/ messy play activity for my 1 year old to get involved in too as the trays used for the little people were also perfect size for little hands! 

An activity that holds the attention of children from 1 year old to 6 years old and beyond and all for free is always a winner with me.

Silent Sunday

Small world play on a budget - Shhhhh! It's our little secret...

So you may have seen recently we've been loving small world play in the garden, and even made our own fairy gardens which were great fun to make and super duper cheap!

But, if you are not one for crafting/ DIY....... forget about expensive plastic tree houses, cottages and the like. Quite frankly, they are not only expensive but also don't fit in for a 'natural' fairy scene or small world in the garden.

No, save your money and listen up to my little secret I'm going to let you in on.....

We can't go over it, we can't go under it. OH NO! We've got to go through it!

This week we have been reading a good old favourite book of ours again. In fact, it's everyone's favourite surely?

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

                                                                                                                                    By Michael Rosen

I actually don't think we will ever tire of this book!

After the 5th time of reading the book this week, we decided to get out and enjoy the sunshine with an impromtu trip to the local forest for a picnic.

As soon as we got there, unprompted by me, the kids started acting out parts of the story that they could see. The repetition in the book is just fabulous for learning, even my 2 year old knows the whole book off by heart!

"We're going on a bear hunt

We're going to catch a BIG one

What a beautiful day

We're not scared"

Silent Sunday