Flower Pots

My children made these sweet little flower pots for Mothers Day. They filled party cups with rice and then made flowers out of cardboard and twigs :)

Happy Mothers Day

My lovely card of my daughter :)

From Rags to Telescopes

In honor of International Womens day we looked at a famous Astronomer who truly lived a Cinderella fairy tale. She was rescued from her prince of a brother who changed her life from rags to telescopes and gave her her fairy tale ending.

Once upon of time there was a girl called Caroline Herschel. She lived in Germany with her Mother, Father and her nine brothers and sisters. Caroline had scars on her face and was very short. Her family didn't think anyone would want to marry her so she stayed at home and worked as a house maid looking after her family and doing all the chores.

Meanwhile Caroline's brother William was living a fairy tale life. He had moved to England and had become a musician. Caroline felt like Cinderella trapped in her home, held back from all her hopes and dreams.

One day something happened to Caroline that changed her life forever. She escaped her life of misery and chores and went to live with William in England. Caroline worked hard as Williams house keeper and he learnt her how to sing. 

By night William loved to watch the stars in the sky. He wanted to learn more so he built powerful telescopes to help him to see deeper in to space. He loved it so much he  left his job as a musician and became an Astronomer. William became well known for his work and went to work for the king.

We decorated tubes to use as Telescopes

Caroline helped her brother and became his apprentice. She loved studying the sky and worked along side her brother discovering  the mysteries of the skies.

We  made our own Constellations :)  

William gave Caroline a telescope as a gift and Caroline started making discoveries of her own. She discovered eight comets, eleven nebulae, and updated a book on the position of the stars.  Caroline became the First  lady of Astronomy

Hand Print Comets :) 

Not only did she discover eight comets but she showed that even with the odds stacked against her she could get her fairy tale ending and be an inspiration to astronomers and people all over the world. 

Comet Collage :) 

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Saucepan Man

For world book day my daughters got dressed up as the Saucepan man from the The Faraway Tree stories by Enid Blyton.

Saucepan man is her favourite character. She adores his silliness, and finds his riddles and the way he gets muddles up hilarious.

Here she is making her costume :) 

Healthy Chicken parmesan

Ready to go in the oven :) 

Serves: 2

Cooking Time: 30 mins 

Ingredients 

2 Chicken breasts

2 slices of Wholemeal 400g bread crumbled and blended into breadcrumbs 

1 egg beaten

2 Laughing Cow triangles extra light 

28g grated cheese 

Method 

1. Preheat Oven to 200
2. Wrap the chicken in cling film. and bang with a rolling pin to flatten. 
3.  Dip chicken in egg and then coat in breadcrumbs.
4. Place in the middle of the oven on a tray lined with foil and bake for 25mins. 
5. Remove and cover chicken in Laughing Cow. Place under frill for 2 mins
6. Sprinkle with grated cheese and place under a grill until it is melted. 

Homemade Turkey Burgers

I love getting my children involved when it comes to making tea. They always sit around the dinner table grinning from ear to ear, proud of what they have accomplished.
Here is a healthy Turkey burger recipe that is simple, quick, and fun for children to make.

To make 6 burgers you will need:
500g lean turkey mince 
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp mixed herbs 
1 egg beaten 
season to taste with salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and divide and mould into 6 burger shapes. 

Grill on a medium heat for 6-7 minutes on each side. 

Dinosaur Island

I gave my little boy a bowl of porridge oats and some yogurt pots and let him decide what he wanted to do with them. He got his box of dinosaurs out and excitedly announced he was going to make a dinosaur island. :)

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Singing with Flash Cards

My children love playing with Flash Cards but after a little while they start to lose interest and want to do something else. To keep them interested a little longer I decided to use the cards a little bit differently. We look for words that are used in our favourite songs. 

There is a few different ways you can do this. The cards  can be grouped beforehand and the children can read the words on the cards and then sing the song associated with those words. The cards can be laid out so the children can pick some pictures and then sing the song or you could ask them to find the cards that match a song. 

Children could also be given the chance to use their imagination and be creative. Let them pick cards at random and make up their own songs. 

Here are a few examples :) 

Twinkle twinkle little star, my dad drives a rusty car

Turn the engine, pull the choke

Off he goes with a puff of smoke

Twinkle twinkle little star, my dad drives a rusty car 

Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick sick sick

So she phoned for the doctor to be quick quick quick

The doctor came with his bag and hat

And he knocked on the door with a rat-a-tat-tat

He looked at dolly and he shook his head

And said Miss Polly put her straight to bed 

He wrote on a paper for a pill pill pill 

I will be back in the morning with my bill bill bill

Hey diddle diddle the cat and the fiddle 

The cow jumped over the moon

The little dog laughed to see such fun 

And the dish ran away with the spoon 

How much is that doggie in the window

The one with the waggley tail

How much is that doggie in the window 

I do hope that doggie's for sale

Row row row your boat 

Gently down the stream 

Merrily merrily merrily merrily 

Life is but a dream 

Rock Rock Rock your boat 

Gently down the stream 

If you see a crocodile 

Don't forget to scream

Row Row Row your boat 

Down the Arctic river 

If you see a Polar Bear 

Don't forget to shiver

Rock Rock Rock your boat 

All the way to shore

If you see a Lion there 

Don't forget to ROAR!

Wind the bobbin up, wind the bobbin up

Pull pull clap clap clap 

Wind it back again, Wind it back again 

Pull pull clap clap clap

Point to the ceiling, point to the floor

Point to the window, point to the door

Clap your hands together 

One two three

Put your hands down on your knee. 

Old MacDonald had a farm ee-i-ee-i-ooo

And on that farm he had a pig ee-i-ee-i-ooo

With a oink oink here and a oink there 

Here a oink there a oink 

Everywhere a oink oink

Old MacDonald had a farm ee-i-ee-i-ooo

(repeat verse with other animals)

The wheels on the bus go round and round

Round and round, round and round

The wheels on the bus go round and round 

all day long

The cat on the bus go Miow miow miow

Miow miow miow, miow miow miow 

The cat on the bus goes Miow miow miow 

All day long 

(Stray away from the traditional verses and mix the verses up with whatever animals/ things your child desires. The children will have a giggle imagining all the bizarre things on the bus. )

Five little monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr crocodile 'you can't catch me'

Along came Mr crocodile hungry as can be

Snap!

There are four little monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr crocodile 'you can't catch me' 

Along came Mr crocodile hungry as can be 

Snap! 

There are three little monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr crocodile 'you can't catch me'

Along came Mr crocodile hungry as can be

Snap!

There are two little monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr crocodile 'you can't catch me' 

Along came Mr crocodile hungry as can be 

Snap! 

There is one little monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr crocodile 'you can't catch me'

Along came Mr crocodile hungry as can be

Snap!

There are no more monkeys swinging in a tree

I love you to pieces

We made some lovely little homemade gifts for my children to give to their grandparents. They painted jigsaw pieces red and we stuck them on a canvas we had painted blue with the phrases 'I love you to pieces' :)

Gingerbread collage

Playing with gloopy glue is just the best!!! We  had lots of fun decorating some paper gingerbread men with random bits and bobs.

Homemade glue recipe

1 cup of flour 

 ⅓ cup of salt 

1 ½ cups of water 

1 tsp of vinegar 

Mix the flour and salt in a sauce pan.
Add 1 cup of water and mix into a thick paste without any lumps
Add the rest of the water and stir until the paste is smooth.
Add the vinegar and put on medium heat until it thickens.
Cool and transfer to a air tight container like a jar.

The glue will keep for a few days at room temp or a  month if stored in the fridge.

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