In the run up to Halloween- the main event during half-term, I've been pinning dozens of Pumpkin-related ideas over on Pinterest. I have always been taken with all the pumkpin-styled glass votives that are around, but was a bit nervous about using them with a) a good handful of pre-schoolers and b) a live flame, especially after the terrible injuries that Claudia Winkelman's daughter last Halloween. So, I created the child-friendly Pumpkin … [Read more...]
Paper Plate Clucking Easter Chicken
I have been meaning to write this post for over two years, yet every time I make these chickens they get taken into school by The Girls and used and used until they crumble to pieces. I should be flattered that something I used to make long before I ever imagined living in the country and owning actual chickens that lay actual eggs and poo all over the lawn, long before I had children of my own, should be so popular. Did you ever make … [Read more...]
What to put in your Frozen birthday party bags
Wondering what to put in your Frozen party bags? Read on. In a matter of days in a village hall in Kent, there will be between 30 and 35 children running around being coralled by a woman bearing a remarkable resemblance to Elsa. For my part I am grateful that it is a joint party since this also means sharing both the costs and the responsibilities of hosting the entire Reception Year of Dimples' school. I got invitations, decor and party … [Read more...]
2014: a Year in Review printable
Last Year I made a printable version of what had previously been handwritten: I would ask the children their favourite things, and write them down in a book, to go with the random memories I had added throughout the year. You can see the 2013 Year in Review printable here. It's been a busy year here a DG Cottage: we've been learning to adapt to life in the country. I've have done the school run in floods for the first time- terrifying- and … [Read more...]
Christmas Tree Activity Party
It's always fun to mark then end of term and spend time with your friends in the school holidays, so when The Girls asked for a festive event, who was I to say no? The result was a Festive Christmas Tree Activity Party, where everything was tree-shaped. This printable on my Advent Activity Calendar board on Pinterest, via Vegie Smugglers. It's a great colour-and-cut printable that is a quick and easy activity for any … [Read more...]
Hama Bead Frozen Fractals suncatchers
We awoke this morning to grass covered in a thick layer of frost, so have been busy in the kitchen planning for Dimples' 5th birthday *sob* which will happen after Christmas. It will have a Frozen theme, so we've been looking for activities to do at the party and I have to say our Frozen Fractals Suncatcher made with Hama Beads have turned out really well. They are so simple. We used white Hama beads, as well as a mixture of blues. We have … [Read more...]
Wax Crayon Poppies: a Remembrance Day Craft
Wax Crayon Poppies: a Remembrance Day Craft A couple of years ago I made some Pumpkin/Jack-o-Lanterns from wax discs of paper and wax crayons. I found the post recently and it occurred to me that you could use precisely the same technique to make poppies- an easy and effective Remembrance Day Craft. It's quite simple: you grate the wax crayons- I used red and black- then arrange the colours on a disc of waxed paper. Mine are from the sets … [Read more...]
