What do you do when you get some really big bits of cardboard after an Ikea purchase, but they are not in box form and there is only two of them so all attempts at making a cubby fail miserably?
You paint BIG, that’s what you do!
Ikea is also a good resource for drawing big too!
Trying to keep all the Picklebums entertained on a day when it is either too hot or too wet to go outside (and we’ve had both since new years!) isn’t always easy. But sometimes I forget the joy of simple things…
It had been so long since we’d made play dough, and if I remember rightly that might have had something to do with Muski eating a large amount of play dough last time. Not to mention sticking it in some rather inconvenient places and the mess… ah yes the mess. But I am getting over myself when it comes to mess (I do have a fancy new vac these days and that helps) and well everyone is older and wiser and more annoying…. So we made play dough.
I went with the quick and easy microwave recipe –
2 cups of flour
1 cup of salt
2 table spoons of cream of tar tar
2 table spoons of oil
2 cups of water
colouring – food dye or paint.
Zap it in the microwave, stirring and checking every minute or so until it appears to come together and seem ‘cooked’. Allow to cool.
This makes enough for my three to have a good lump each. Half this recipe is probably enough for two and more than enough for one. It’s not as lovely and smooth as the cooked on the stove dough, but it’s a lot less stirring. And don’t worry leave the microwave container to soak in some warm water and the horrible looking mess comes of quiet easily.
Even the big girls played for ages. See sometimes it is the old, tried and true simple things that are often the best!
It’s the end of third term here.
Two weeks off from kinder and ballet and a couple of other things that we attempt to squeeze into our life. Two weeks to sleep in and take it easy. Two weeks to go on adventures and paint and draw and stay in our pyjamas all day!
We do have a few things planned. The girls are doing swimming lessons every day next week, which is an adventure since they’ve not had lessons before and are VERY excited. We also have plans for some arty stuff and some sewing. If the weather is good for us we have plans for seeds and planting and, fingers crossed, a chick or two hatching, not to mention building a house for the ducklings!
I’m sure we won’t actually get half of that list done… because I am voting for doing nothing a lot of the time!!
Today, we took a family car trip to the Kids Town Park at Shepparton. With the portable DVD player the kids really enjoy a good car trip and the Baldy Boy and I love to drive and chat and look out the window and play ‘what if we moved out here!’, so we often take off for a day out. The park wasn’t quite as fabulous as the web site said it was, but the kids had a great time and it was just nice to spend a whole day together as a family.
If you happen to be on holidays too.. what have you got planned?
The sun is shining.
It’s not blowing a gale.
That’s it… everyone… OUTSIDE!!!
Wear you gumboots so you can dig in the mud.
Put on sunscreen because the sun has bite and I know your hat won’t stay for long.
Pick flowers and herbs, add a splash of water and a sprinkle of dirt to make a potion.
Eat the peas right off the plants.
Have running races in the newly ploughed soft and fluffy soil of the veggie patch.
Feed weeds too the chooks.
Make up a circus act and perform it for everyone.
Dig in the sand pit, make sure you make brrrroooming noises for the trucks.
Climb the peppercorn tree, despite it only being a little higher than you are.
Look for worms and caterpillars.
Lie in the sunshine and watch the clouds sail by.
And when the sun sets and you finally do drag yourself inside… come and take a look at Mumblers – a fab new blog and forum for Aussie Mum’s. You’ll find me writing over there from time to time too!
Ah how we love Duplo and Lego!
All three kids enjoy building with our HUGE collection of Duplo (big toddler lego). Muski has been able to fit the blocks together and build towers since he was about 18 months old and the girls create amazingly detailed and elaborate constructions and stories to go along with them.
Zoe built Antarctica!
Duplo and lego are not cheap but they last forever and you can often find them second hand on ebay (most of our duplo is second-hand). Lego is great for developing fine motor control, not to mention spatial awareness, concepts of size, number, and colour. As well as social skills of sharing and working together, and creative expression and imagination.
All three kids have begun to play with a set of little legos that used to belong to my brother and I. Muski still hasn’t quite got the fine motor control to master the little blocks but it won’t be long till we are trade in our duplo for lego.
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