Author: Ania Brown

One, two, three, four, five,… What comes next? We knew you would know – of course it’s six (6)! Since we are all getting so fabulous at counting, we thought we could create our own counting games!

Here are a few ideas for a game of counting the spots on ladybirds!

• Can you paint or draw ladybirds and their spots on stones? How many spots will your ladybird have? What colours are you going to use?

• You can print this picture off or you could draw your own ladybird! And when it comes to spots you could draw them, use little stickers, paint them or even cut little spots out!

• Here is some more counting! Why don’t you put a few spots on one side of the ladybird and a few on the other wing? Now count them altogether – how many spots does your ladybird have? Can you stick or draw the spots so they are symmetrical (that means they are in the same place on both sides – just like on the picture below!).

• And here is a little blank ladybird – you can print it out or you can draw it copying this one! Is it going to be a big or small ladybird? How many spots on the left wing will it have? How many on the right one? And how many altogether?

If you click on the link below, it will take you straight to a counting-spots-on-a-ladybird game that you can play on your computer, laptop or iPad:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/ladybird-spots

And whilst you are out and about on your daily walk, why don’t you keep a note of the number of ladybirds you see! Can you get close and count their spots, too?

———————————————————————————————————————————-

Since we’ve got our thinking caps on and our brain exercising – here is another game for you!

Why don’t you make your own jigsaw puzzles? You could use boxes, packaging, pictures, newspapers, magazines – so many materials to make your own jigsaw with! Simply cut the material you have chosen into as many pieces as you’d like, mix them all up and then try to put them back together again!

What a great way to work on our cutting skills, problem solving and critical thinking! And not only that – you are also doing something good for our planet! Instead of throwing the packaging in the bin, we are using them to create our own games (just remember to give them a good clean before cutting them!).

 

The Spring is well and truly here! Although sometimes the weather tries to convince us otherwise 😉 We all know that one of the signs of the warmer days are dandelions! But – did you know there are so many ways we could use dandelions? You can make it a mission to collect as many dandelions as you can on your next daily walk! Have a look!

1. Create your own dandelion picture using paint and a fork! Simply cover the back of the fork with yellow paint and stamp it on a paper making a little circle. For the stalk you can use your finger, a string, a paintbrush or even the handle of the fork!

2. Dandelion stamps – we wonder what shape can dandelions make when we stamp them? To find out, dip the dandelions in paint (or even food colouring!) and make your own prints on a piece of paper! You can use lots of different colours and sizes of dandelions – why don’t you try making a dandelion rainbow?

3. Dandelion chain/crown – now, I think most of us have heard of a daisy chain, but… We could also make pretty chains or crowns with dandelions! For this we will need the full flower including the stem. Twist the stalks together – make sure they are tight and secure! How big is your dandelion chain? Is it going to be a necklace? Or a crown?

4. Dandelion honey – we know, we know! It sounds crazy, but… It’s something to try with your family, especially with the grown ups! Did you know that dandelions are edible (this means we can eat them!)? Although we do need to make sure that they are clean and picked from safe spaces. Dandelion honey is popular in vegan diet. If you’re going to have a go at making it – please remember! Only pick dandelions where it is safe to do so – the best place is a lawn or field away from roads and dog walkers. Also take care not to pick anywhere that may have recently been sprayed with pesticides (an adult will help you decide where the best and safest place is!). Here we go!

What we need:

• 4 cups densely packed with dandelions (only flowers, we don’t need the stalks)
• 4 cups of water
• 3 lemon slices
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 2 1/2 cups of sugar

Steps to make it:

• Pick your dandelions during daytime while they are in full bloom.
• Soak the flowers in cold water for five minutes.
• Remove the petals, then measure the petals only – throw away the centre of the flower and the stem.
• Place the petals in a heavy saucepan along with the water, lemon slices and vanilla bean.
• Bring it to a boil (let a grown up do this part), reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes; Remove the pan from the heat and let steep for 6 hours (we know, it’s a long time – you could do it overnight, too!).
• Strain the dandelion tea through a cloth or a very fine sieve.
• Place the dandelion tea in a saucepan and bring it to a low boil.
• Gradually add sugar to the boiling liquid while stirring until the sugar dissolves.
• Lower the heat and let it simmer uncovered until it turns thick and syrupy – just like honey (this make take around 4 hours – we know it’s so long again, but it’s so worth it!).

And here we are – dandelion honey! You can enjoy it on your toast, pancakes or however else you like your honey! Let us know if you gave it a go! 🙂

Hello, everyone! How are you all? We are sure missing you lots – and not only us! All of our paints, paintbrushes, instruments, the stage… The resources are missing being explored by you, too!

We thought we would start this week with a little sing-a-long. Do you remember our “Guess what’s in my box today” game? We are sure you do as it’s one of our favourites, but if not – don’t worry, it is easy to follow and you are more than welcome to join in!

And since we are doing fantastic singing, why don’t we try to make our own musical instruments to go along with our songs? Here is a few ideas of how to make your own instruments at home! Have lots of fun!

1. Water xylophone – simply fill the cups with different amounts of water and tap the glasses with a spoon – can you hear different sounds?

2. Harmonica – for this musical instruments you will need straws and some tape. Cut the straw into different sizes and tape them together – now blow through the straws and hear the music!

3. Guitar – to make your own guitar you will need a box (you could use an empty box of tissues, but don’t worry if you don’t have one, any box will do – just make sure to cut a big hole in the middle!) and elastic bands. Stretch the elastic bands over the box, you could also add a longer piece of cardboard as a handle – and voila! Here’s your own homemade guitar!

4. Cymbals – all you need is two CDs (or something else that’s round and won’t break when you hit it together!). Attach a little string or a ribbon to create handles and bang the cymbals together! WOW, how loud can they get?

And of course… We need a microphone for our beautiful signing! You could use anything – a hair brush, spatula, plastic bottle! But if you feel a little bit more creative, here’s an idea! You can make your own microphone with a tube (for example kitchen roll tube) and a ball of kitchen foil!

Let us know how you got one! Did you like our digital “Guess what’s in my box today” game? Is there anything else that’s missing from the box? Or are there any other musical instruments we could make at home? Can’t wait to hear from you in the comments!

Stay safe!

 

We hope you all enjoy the lovely sunshine today and have  a lovely bank holiday Monday.

For a little fun and as suggested by some of the lovely parents, we have decided to create a little fun challenge for you all!

Every week we will be sharing a photo of one of the ladies from when they were little! It might be a baby photograph or a photo from when they were your age! The challenge is for you to guess who it might be! Have we all changed a lot or not at all? 🙂

Just pop your guess in the comments! Good luck!

Here we go… First photo is this smiley cutie! Do you know which lady this might be?

It was so lovely to have a chat with some of your parents – and some of you, too! It made us miss you even more! We are so glad to hear that you are all doing okay and staying safe.

We know some of you have been super busy exploring your gardens, making pictures and trying out the ideas from the blog… But – we did get a couple of requests for games and activities that haven’t been posted yet. So! Here we go – we hope you enjoy and have lots of fun!

Georgia and her family have asked if we could share a colour wheel game and our penguin dance – Georgia’s mummy shared that it’s one of Georgia’s and her brother’s favourite dances!

Is there anything else you would like to see on our blog? Would you like any ideas and inspiration for new games and activities to try out? Have you got any favourite stories that you would like to see on the blog?

1. Colour wheel game – the idea of this activity is to spin the wheel and see what colour the arrow lands on. The next step is to go around your house, garden or even the environment of your daily walks and collect as many items of this colour as you can! For example, if the arrow lands on the red colour you could collect… Red leaves, red lipstick (ask mummy first!), red buttons, red pens or crayons, red T-shirt – anything red! You can make your own spinning wheel or you can print it out. Let us know how many items you managed to collect!

 

2. Now, here is one of our favourite ways to exercise and have lots of fun! Let’s keep those muscles growing strong with these dances!

Is there anything else you would like to see on our blog? Would you like any ideas and inspiration for new games and activities to try out? Have you got any favourite stories that you would like to see on the blog?

Please – let us know in the comments! We are here for you and we can’t wait to keep you busy and happy!

Have fun and stay safe, everyone! 🙂

Did you know it was Twiggle’s birthday the other day?! Here’s a little story all about his special day…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Twiggle! We miss you and all your friends very much!

How old do you think Twiggle is? Is he older or younger than you?

What did Twiggle get for his birthday? What is your most wanted present?

Can you remember the names of Twiggle’s friends? What are your friends called?

Can you design a birthday cake for Twiggle? What would it taste and look like? Do you think he would like this one?

 

And here is something for your mummies and daddies..

This is a link to PAThS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) blog with lots of strategies and ideas to use with your children. It provides a lot of valuable information about Social and Emotional Learning – especially important in these difficult times:

http://www.pathseducation.co.uk/pdfs/public/Pre-school_Blog_1st_May_2020.pdf

Let us know in the comments! 🙂

Following on from the story about “The Crocodile who didn’t like water” we thought it would be a good idea to do some fun counting! This will help us practice to recognize numbers and counting, too! You can choose to count up to 5 or up to 10!

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/underwater-counting

Did you like this game?

Were you able to count the sea creatures all by yourself?

What number can you count up to?

Can you count back from 10?

Let us know in the comments, we can’t wait to hear how you got on! 🙂

Following on from the well liked story about a certain crocodile who didn’t like water we decided to take a trip to the Underwater World! WOW – what can you spot down there?!

Let us know if you’d like to swim deep into the ocean to discover what’s hiding there! How do you think we could get there? And what would we see?

And here is a couple of different stories about the ocean’s creatures…

 

It is without a doubt that drawing pictures with chalk on pavements is one of the favourite activities for children! It promotes creativity, hand-eye coordination, gross motor skills, balance and interactions with others! So many benefits! And all we need is a pavement and chalk – instant canvas for our wee ones! Here are some ideas:

1. Shape jumps! Draw lots of different shapes on the pavement and ask somebody to shout out the names of them in no particular order – see if you can hope from one to another!

2. Follow the line! Draw a line – long, short, straight, wavy – use your imagination! See if you can follow the line… Where does it lead to? Does it have swirls, bends? Is it longer or shorter than you?

3. Long jump! Draw a few parallel to each other lines (just like on the picture) and number them on the side. Then draw a start line at the very bottom. Standing on the start line, use all of your energy to jump! What number did you land on?

4. Pavement obstacle course! You can ask your family to help you draw lots of shapes and write different instructions. You can tip-toe on little circles, go round and round on a circle, go backwards on a line… The possibilities are endless!

5. Hop-Scotch! We all love a little bit of hop-scotch! Can you hop on one foot? It takes a lot of balancing!

You could also draw lots of beautiful pictures, too! We wonder… Does it feel different using chalk on dry pavement to drawing on wet pavement? Let’s experiment and find out!

We would love to hear from you – do you like drawing pictures using chalk? Do you know any other games? Please, let us know in the comments! 🙂 

Today, Mairead chose a story written by Gareth Edwards – “The disgusting sandwich”. Ohh we wonder what could be in such a sandwich… worms? mud? leaves? What do you think?

Enjoy! 🙂