Fireworks Picture

I am ridiculously bad at most kind of arts and crafts with the kids.  Seriously, it's embarrassing.  I have these good ideas, or see something that looks easy, but when it comes to actually doing it, they never turn out very well and I get disheartened.

Dear Son saw this while watching Mister Maker last week and I figured even I could manage this one!  We enjoyed some small fireworks in the garden last week too so he was even more interested in this very topical theme ;)

Our results!  (Top: Mum's attempt, bottom left: DS (4 years), bottom right DD (2 years)

You will need:

Black / blue card
Poster paints (i.e. the type you can splodge on)
Brush
Squeezy glue (i.e. not a stick)
Glitter 

Squeeze blobs of paints at random points on the card.  Using your brush, flick outwards from the centre of the blob to create an "explosion".  

When the paint is dry, dab glue all over the card and sprinkle over the glitter.  Shake off the excess and display proudly on the fridge ;)

Little Green Frogs

Earlier this year, I discovered Little Green Frogs, a weekly singing class held in Godalming and Liphook.   It is a drop-in session, meaning you don't waste money on a pre-paid course if you can't make it one week and you can also buy a Ten Session card which offers you a saving on the weekly cost. 

Be prepared...Jacqui is lively…and if you haven’t had your caffeine fix it can take a bit of getting used to!  But that is exactly what the kids love about her – she throws herself around whilst singing and doing the actions to a variety of songs using cuddly puppets and props.  The class finishes with the children gathered round a colourful parachute for more songs and fun.  There is an ideal mix of fun and educational value too, with the children learning and re-enforcing colours, days of the week and animals. 

The singing session lasts for 30 mins, which in my opinion is just the right amount of time to keep the kids interested.  Afterwards, Jacqui puts out two large bags of toys for the kids to delve into while mums can socialise for the next 30 mins, whilst enjoying tea, coffee and biscuits that are provided.

Monday classes are held at Borough Hall in Godalming and Wednesdays in the Church Centre in Liphook.  There are two sessions on each day - the first at 9.30 and the second at 10.45 (should the kids give you a lie in one morning!) 

Jacqui also offers parties either at your house or in a hired hall and although I have no experience of these, I can imagine the kids would love it.

DD and I have been going regularly for a few months now, and I took DS along with us today for the first time as he is on half term holiday, and he loved it just as much! 

Fruit Squares

I made these for the kids yesterday and although DD (fussy eater that she is!) didn't like them, I had to wrestle DS away from them after he had eaten five!  I got this recipe from One Handed Cooks - there are some great toddler recipes on the website, take a browse for some inspriration.

 

Ingredients
1 & 1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup plain flour
3/4 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, etc)
1/2 ripe banana
1/2 grated apple
1 tsp cinnamon
1 & 1/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp honey

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 and grease a slice tin with a little butter.  

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and pour into the tin.  

Bake for 40-45 mins.  Remove from the oven and cut into small squares while still warm.

The Spotted Cow

We had an impromptu Sunday lunch at The Spotted Cow yesterday.  I heard about the pub through a few friends but we hadn't yet got around to trying it.  It is tucked away down a little lane so you won't pass it by chance but once you know about it, I can imagine you will become a regular visitor!

 

It was pretty busy when we turned up and as we hadn't booked we had to wait for a table.  The staff however were happy for the kids to sit at the bar with a juice and between the drizzle showers, DH took them to play in the garden.  As soon as a table became free, I ordered our lunch at the bar so it arrived at our table within about 15 minutes.  DH had a Thai Green Chicken Curry and I had a Roasted Vegetable Jalfrezi, while the kids shared Scampi & Chips, and we finished off with Homemade Chocolate Cheesecake and Chocolate Ice-Cream for the kids.  They also have a traditional Sunday lunch menu, as well as a large Specials menu and they do a few offers - kids eat free during the week between 6-7pm (when accompanied by an adult buying a main meal) and between 4-7pm on a Sunday, all starters are £5 and all mains are £10!  All the food was well cooked and delicious, and the service was friendly and efficient.  

There were plenty of families eating there, and quite a few dogs too - it had a very comfortable atmosphere.  We will definitely be going there again!

Breadsticks

When I saw Domestic Goddesque's post on making breadsticks with only TWO ingredients, I was heading over to read it right away.  We eat a lot of breadsticks in this house (since my dentist told me the cause of DS's slight tooth decay was eating too much fruit!) and as I've been really strapped for time lately, the two ingredients part made me think that it must be a super speedy recipe.

Although the original recipe calls for equal amounts of yoghurt & flour, it was far too sticky for me to do anything with so I kept adding more flour until it was workable - I think next time I would start out with these amounts:

1 cup of plain yoghurt
1.5 cup of self-raising flour

Mix them together and knead on a well-floured board.  It will look like glue to begin with but stick with it (no pun intended!) and keep adding more flour a little at a time if needed.

Break off small pieces and roll into sausage shapes.  Brush with a beaten egg and add a topping if required - I sprinkled some with sesame seeds (the fatter ones in the centre of the plate) but the tastiest ones were those I generously sprinkled with Parmesan before baking (the skinnier ones around the edge).

Bake for 10 mins at 180 and enjoy.