Paperclip Treasure Hunt

DS bought home his library book from school recently, and it was Sonny's Treasure Hunt - a cute little tale about a duck that gets bored and his grandma sets up a treasure hunt for him.  We enjoyed reading it, and when daddy was trying to get 10 minutes peace to watch the rugby a few days later, I thought I would set up a hunt for my two monkeys.

I googled images of pieces of furniture around our house (or things in the garden if you're doing it outside) - see my lists below for the kind of things.  I chose things I was pretty sure I could find an image of on the web, then printed these out.  

House: 1) rocking chair, 2) beanbag, 3) toy kettle, 4) cat basket, 5) dining table chair, etc.
Garden: 1) wheelbarrow, 2) dustbin, 3) playhouse, 4) bench, 5) seesaw, etc.

Keep the first item aside then hide the next.  Using the numbers above as an example, it's like this - hide number 2 (the beanbag picture) in the number 1 space (the rocking chair); hide number 3 (the toy kettle) in the number 2 space (the beanbag), and so on.  You can make it as short or as long as you like, and I made sure that the next one was as far away from the last as possible in terms of distance i.e. number 1 was upstairs, number 2 was downstairs, number 3 was upstairs...this ensure it wears them out a little running back & forth :)  If you're doing it in the garden, space them out at opposite ends of the garden.

I folded up each printed picture and "secured" it with a paperclip of a different colour.  This gave DD a role - she collected the paperclips that DS gave her, and ticked them off a list I made for her on a little clipboard - check boxes she could tick alongside a coloured paperclip image.  They worked really well together doing this, and it was lovely to see.  

I used two gold chocolate coins for the treasure at the end, which they were delighted to find!

DS finds a clue under the dustbin!

We've done this a few times since too, and they just love it!  It's a good one to remember for quiet afternoons at home and / or rainy days.

Beautiful, Magical, Amazing BALLET

If you have a little one besotted by ballet and everything about it, then this is one for them.   Beautiful, Magical, Amazing BALLET by Mary Lee is one of three stories in this range about a little girl called Mia and her adventures, and is available in paperback or in a Kindle version.

The story follows Mia as she attends her first ballet lesson.  She can't wait to get there - she already knows everything there is to know about ballerinas and is sure she will be good at it.  But when she sees the girls already in the class practising their moves she feels a little self conscious and an attempt to impress them goes wrong.  The girls rally round Mia making her feel included and by the end of the lesson, Mia cannot wait to go back again next week.

I really love the illustrations in this book - the colours are very appealing - and DD loved them too.  This is a lovely little story to share while snuggled up together on the sofa during these cold afternoons.

My Big Shouting Day

DD is having lots of protests right now about a variety of things so when I saw this book, I knew I had to buy it for her.   

 
The story is great - it goes through the day as Bella lists all the things she gets cross about, and her reaction to them.  At bedtime, she finally calms down and says sorry to her mum for shouting all day and her mum tells her that it's OK, we all have days like that sometimes but perhaps she will be more cheerful tomorrow.

DD absolutely loves reading it, and asks for it constantly.  When the melt downs are coming, like this morning in the supermarket, I keep reminding her that she doesn't want to behave like Bella and it seems to be working - fingers crossed!

This is a great book with a lovely perspective - if you have a two year old, or thereabouts, I would thoroughly recommend this.

The start of education...

It’s been an emotional 10 days for us in Three Counties Castle.   DS started school last Wednesday…wow, where did those four years go?!...and DD started nursery the next day. 

I knew I’d probably be a little teary at DS’ journey into the Big Wide World but I was NOT prepared for how hard it hit me.  He happily trotted in, very excited to be there at last after talking about it for so long, and with a hug and a kiss waved me goodbye.  It was all I could do to get out of the classroom before he saw the tears streaming down my face.  Only it wasn't just tears...they were followed by sobs.  You know the kind that rack your whole body?  Add to that a screaming two year old who didn't want to leave her brother having fun after she'd had his company every day for almost 9 weeks, and it was not an easy journey to get back to my car.  It was made all the more difficult by very kind teachers and mums alike that kept stopping me to ask if I was OK.  I couldn't get back to my car fast enough.  Luckily by that time the car park had emptied out so there wasn't anybody to see me sit in the driver seat and sob my heart out.  The bawling continued on the drive home with my bemused 2 year old DD watching me quietly from her seat.

I couldn't understand it - DS has been going to nursery for 4 days a week, and loving every minute of it, for the past year so it wasn't as if this was the first time away from each other.  I don't know if it was because we'd had a lovely fun-filled 9 weeks summer holiday together and our bond had grown tighter again, or if it was the permanence that hit me, but I felt like I had a hole in me.  I got through the day with a heavy heart and raced to collect him at 3.30.  When I thought about it later that night, I came to the conclusion that what bothered me most was having to relinquish some of my control.  When he was attending nursery, if I wanted to keep him home for a day I could easily do so.  But now he had set foot on to a ladder that he was going to remain on for the next 9 years, and there was little I could do about it (no, homeschooling is not an option for us!)

Already scuffed after only 8 days of wear!

The second and third day were harder - although I managed to keep my emotions in check, DS couldn't and he sobbed as hard as I did the first day, begging me not to leave him there.  I felt as though my heart was breaking.  I made it clear to the teachers that I had a very strong concern that he was a whole year younger than some of the other children in his class and that I would be staying put until he was feeling more comfortable.  On the second day, I found a selection of photographs in his school bag that the teacher had sent home...various shots of him enjoying all the activities throughout the day, and it reassured me just a little.

This week has been easier on us both - I have ensured we have a distraction each morning, whether it be taking in something to show what we did at the weekend or talking about what would be happening that day in school, and its been enough to take the focus off me leaving so that he hugs and kisses me goodbye without tears.

I also bought a book called Starting School which helps to explain the school day and what they can expect, and DS and I have been reading that together.


DD was altogether much braver, and with a brief protest, happily settled into nursery.  I guess it helps that she has been dropping her brother off there every day for the past year so she knew what to expect!

It's been quite a time for us all but in true mother fashion, I was fit to burst with pride when I picked him up this afternoon and discovered he had won a trophy for numeracy!   

My babies are growing up...I guess I better find a hobby ;)

Favourite Books

Books are a big part of our life.  Both my husband and I are avid readers with books adorning the walls of our house from top to bottom so it was natural the kids would be introduced to them from an early age.  I recently had a reorganisation of the children’s books in their bedrooms, and it got me thinking about all the books they love.  Most nights it will be the same old favourites trotted out for bedtime story so I’ve started taking them to the library every week to choose some different ones.  Despite this helping a little (if only to relieve my boredom of reading the same books over and over!), the kids still have a group of firm favourites.

Of course I have to mention The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, as it’s a classic.  Our dog-eared copy is holding itself together by a thread – it’s seen us through DS’s early years and has now been passed on to DD, who loves it just as much as he did.

Rod Campbell is another classic, with Dear Zoo being on most children’s book shelves and Oh Dear! is of a similar vein but equally loved.  In addition to those two, we also have I’m Not Scary! which remained DS's favourite for a long time before he outgrew it.

Judith Kerr is another hit in our house – The Tiger Who Came to Tea prompted DS’s first visit to the theatre when the stage show was put on in London, and who doesn’t love Mog the Forgetful Cat?

But I don’t want to talk about all the well known books like these, as wonderful as they are (and believe me, my kids love Julia Donaldson as much as the next) but instead want to share some of the more unusual ones we’ve found.

DS was recently bought Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg and he just loves it. Right now, we are reading the book together at least twice a day and today I saw him sitting on the sofa reading it himself.  The book shows kids how mistakes can be turned into something else, and how you don’t always need to start over - such a great idea!  It has bright colours throughout, and lots of flaps & pop-ups for little fingers.

I remember scouring the shops for books about bedtime when DS was a baby, and I found The Big Night-Night Book by Georgie Birkett.  Both my kids have loved the rhyming text and touch-and-feel elements to the pages but best of all it really conveys the concept of bedtime in a way they can understand.  Reading this book became a staple part of DS’s bedtime routine!

Somebody bought DS The Story of the Little Mole – Plop-up Edition by Werner Holzwarth for his second birthday and I have to admit I wasn’t keen at first glance so put it away for a few months.  He stumbled across it one day and loved it right away – it has bits to pull, move or turn and the subject matter is extremely appealing to children as Mole investigates to find out who did a poo on his head!

Gallop by Rufus Butler Seder is a “scanimation picture book” – both kids loved this one from an early age, as turning the pages causes the pictures to move!

One of DD’s current favourites is The Busy Little Train by Anna Claybourne & Jo Moon.  Again containing that rhyming text that kids seem to love so much, it follows Monkey as he drives his train picking up all his friends on the way.  It is beautifully coloured, and the pages contain more detail than you first think, enabling the child to find new things with each reading.

The Magic Bed by John Burningham is a really lovely story – and another huge hit!  A boy is bought a magic bed and after saying the magic words, flies off on different adventures round the world each night.

I found The Teeny-Weeny Walking Stick by Karen Hodgson & Sally Anne Lambert in a small independent book shop, and the owner told me it was one of his favourites.  I think kids can really identify with the story – Edward finds various things in his garden that he feels are proof there are tiny people living there, and spends the book trying to convince his sister Hattie to believe him.

And I love that a couple of my own childhood favourites are now appreciated just as much by my kids: The Fuzzy What-Was-He by Peter Seymour, The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman and Harry The Dirty Dog by Gene Zion.

Have you recycled any of your childhood books on to your kids?  What books are your kid’s favourites?