Learning letters, maths games and baking

My early night paid off and I felt re-energised this morning for a good day ahead. I did think we might go out somewhere today but a rather impressive bruise and swelling had come up around Harry's little toe overnight after he bent it back at gymnastics, so we stayed in as it hurt to put a shoe on. 

We painted this morning, which was the craft activity for our James and The Giant Peach study we are doing this week. Harry and I also played some maths games (the details are in the linked previous post) on paper - boxed numbers and target, which focus on place value and adding large numbers. 

We all went upstairs after lunch to read together. I read Peppa Pig stories and Mr Gum and The Cherry Tree and Harry read some parts too. This is a naturally tired time for Harry and Peter, as Peter is still struggling to get through a full day without a nap (although he can rarely be persuaded to have one!) and Harry never stops to rest so he gets tired too. It is a good time, therefore, for us to sit down to read. We came downstairs to tidy up after this as the Lego games of yesterday had left a trail of destruction. 

I also set up some sticky back plastic/contact paper on the hall wall for an alphabet activity for Peter. I saw this activity on No Time for Flashcards as a number activity but I used it today with the letter 'P' as I am starting to get Peter familiar with the letters of his name. I attached a piece of contact paper to the wall with blu-tac and drew letter 'P's using pen. I gave Peter a tub of craft jewels and asked him to decorate them. He really loved this and didn't move until he had finished - he was so focussed. Harry also wanted one and he drew his own numbers - 1,000 and 1. We will definitely be doing this again - they look so effective and I have left them on the wall.

We then baked and made chocolate buns, ginger biscuits and mince pies. They both hardly need any help with these and shared the jobs really well so it was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours. I put last night's BBC Stargazing Live programme on iPlayer while we did this and we liked seeing some amazing pictures of storms on other planets and the Northern Lights. Stuart and Harry have booked onto a family astronomy event at Kielder Observatory later this month and are really looking forward to it.

I love the way Peter is watching Harry here! 

The boys decorated their buns with squeezy icing later.

Harry's foot hadn't got any worse by tea time so he put his crocs on and they both went to play in the garden while I cleaned up the kitchen. Harry stayed up with Stuart reading some more of a non-fiction book about the North and South Poles while I put Peter to bed. Harry is looking forward to watching Stargazing Live tomorrow on iPlayer as Chris Hadfield, the recent commander of the International Space Station, took part tonight.

Muddy park and Lego play

We started today by doing some more of the James and The Giant Peach activities we are working through this week. I wanted to start early as we had arranged to meet friends at the park at 10am and it was nice to have already done some work by then. Despite the availability of lots of play equipment, all the boys chose instead to congregate by and in a huge muddy puddle! They were covered and I have had to wash coats and the inside liner of boots as well as clothes! Mud and water must be some of the favourite things of small boys though, so they enjoyed it and I got to chat while they were busy. 

After warming up with hot chocolate at home, Harry and Peter played with Lego for an hour. Harry was playing mines using Lego lights and small bright bells as jewels and Peter built a garden for animals.

They then had baths as we don't have time for bedtime baths on a Tuesday due to Harry's gymnastics class. A wash in the sink is usually enough but the mud monsters needed more today!

Harry played his cello before we went out to his first New Year gymnastics class. He is really enjoying cello at the moment and he played some of his own music as well as following the book. I asked him to play some sad sounding music and some excited sounding music and he did this very well. He looking forward to classes starting again on Saturday.

Harry read to us again at bedtime. It has been a full and busy day and I feel more tired than after our quite relaxing day at home yesterday. Must aim for an early night! 

Reading together and history

We have survived our first 'normal' day since before Christmas as Stuart went back to work today. It's been so nice having him off for two whole weeks (this is the first time, other than paternity leave). 

We started by completing some of the James and The Giant Peach activities I had planned after we finished reading the book - we have been measuring peaches and talking about events in the story. We enjoyed this and we still have some more to do so I will post about it in more detail all together later this week. I planned some activities for Peter to be involved with us too and we have followed this up by spotting circle shapes around the house and letter 'p' in the books we have read.

Harry also finished writing his Christmas thank you cards, then the boys went off and played with lengths of string for a while. They love making pulleys and rescue lines for various toys with them! 

After lunch it was very dark and wet outside so we all set up camp in Harry's top bunk and I read for over an hour. They are both spending a lot of time being read to at the moment. We read a chapter of Mr Gum and The Cherry Tree (which is provoking lots of laughter all round) followed by Peter's choice of book several times in turn. Harry then played on the iPad for half an hour while I built and played with marble runs with Peter, before we all played with Lego together, making rescue scenarios.

I read the next chapter of our history book out loud before tea and we looked in the atlas to identify Iraq, as the chapter told the story of Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and how the days were named. I love this book and find it really engaging so I am reading it for me as much as Harry - it tells a chronological history of the world in short chapters. I don't think he would ask me to read this to him but he always listens intently when I do, so I will continue! 

Harry has been telling the time today while wearing a Lego watch he got for Christmas (thank you Granny, I know you will read this!). He is good at recognising the times past an hour but still a bit confused about the times to an hour. He wants to be in charge of telling the time when we next go out so I am sure he will have learnt soon! 

Harry read to me while Peter got in the bath first. He finished Uncle Max, an Oxford Reading Tree book. We talked today about the goals for the year. Harry has two main ones - to speak more loudly and clearly to others and to read alone. He is good at reading (certainly at the 'expected' school level) but  gets very impatient when he doesn't know a word straight away so we are focussing on lots of reading this year from lots of different sources so he can become more fluent and confident.

Electronic science kit, beads and cold park

We started today with some Hama beads. Peter completed a maxi bead dinosaur in his own design. Harry followed the maxi bead butterfly pattern and we finally finished our Christmas tree design we started a few weeks ago then forgot on a shelf!

We also opened one of Harry's Christmas presents - this electronics kit - and used it for over an hour. It has a very detailed book with experiments so Harry looked through to find the ones he wanted to do. He also joined some parts together in his own designs too. I think he will get many hours of use from this.

He made a circuit which powered a bulb and a buzzer then tested different materials to see if they worked as conductors to complete the circuit.

I have started a notebook specifically for writing up parts of this kit so we shared writing about this with Harry dictating some for me to write.

He complained a lot about the writing so we didn't write about the next part. He made a circuit using two battery packs and added a combination of a motor and two bulbs to see what happened when extra components were added to or taken away from the circuit.

Harry noticed that the bulbs were dimmer when two rather than one were in the circuit and lots dimmer when the motor was also added. He said that they needed to share the power.

The next part was very popular. The kit contains a small fan which can be placed on the motor to spin. The motor was so fast that the fan flew up into the air with some force.

Peter and I made cakes. He is really good at breaking eggs and even spotted some shell in the bowl and fished it out.

Everyone was starting to feel a bit dozy after lunch so, after some reading and sticker books, we went to our local playground. It was very cold but it did the trick and we all felt much fresher. Stuart and the boys played with a fallen tree and we took the frisbee to throw.

Riding bikes and relaxing

We split up this morning to take advantage of a fairly dry and mild morning. Stuart and Harry went for a bike ride and ended up at the allotment to check nothing has been damaged in the wind. They brought back some huge parsnips so I may make some soup later. I took Peter to the local playground on his bike. We were the only ones there - he had a great time and was pushed for a long time in the swing before cold fingers got the better of him (he did wear gloves most of the time but not in this photo!) and we came home for hot chocolate and stories.

Peter had a nap after this as he has needed a catch up of sleep all week. Harry and I went to the supermarket for our shopping. He was very pleased to be able to push the trolley as Peter wasn't with us and he was really helpful.

Stuart, Harry and Peter are now watching Toy Story together, one of the films I recorded over Christmas. The boys don't often want to watch films but we like to cuddle up with them when they do. I plan to go into town to do a couple of jobs. We are all feeling sad that Stuart's time off work is coming to an end so we will enjoy these last two days before normal routine begins again on Monday.

Swimming and a morning at home

Harry wrote more of his Christmas thank you letters this morning followed by cello practise, with Peter accompanying on his keyboard. It was an interesting sound! We also watched some YouTube videos by The Piano Guys and looked at their website. They are young(ish) men who play modern songs on piano and cello and are performing concerts in April but unfortunately only in London or Manchester or I might have taken Harry.

I have been doing some planning too. I have printed activities ready for Chinese New Year and the Winter Olympics from Activity Village and will look for some supporting library books when we next go. I have planned some activities for James and the Giant Peach, which Harry and Stuart finished reading tonight - he has really liked the Roald Dahl stories we have read so far. I have written Harry some spelling stories too and have made up funny stories about him and Peter with words missing for him to write the word.

We also played some Lego rescue scenarios and built marble runs.

We spent a really fun afternoon in the swimming pool. Peter was very upset to leave as he had such a super time and unfortunately took the prize for Loudest Screaming Toddler in the changing room (one of them has to I suppose)! Harry was enjoying the waves today which splashed right over his head.

We were all quite worn out after swimming so we played some games of Shut the Box, Pop up Pirate and Insy Winsey Spider and did some sticker books while we waited for tea to cook. Harry and Peter tend to get very silly and boisterous when they are tired so I try to engage them with sit down activities before that happens.

New Year, cello, games and bubbles

Happy New Year! I am full of hope for another year of wonderful things - seeing the children grow and develop, sharing new experiences and lots of family time. Peter is three soon so it will be great to see him get more involved this year and to see Harry develop his interests and get even bigger!

Harry, Peter and I spent yesterday in Harrogate with my family while Stuart did a very good job of thoroughly cleaning the house and taking the Christmas decorations down. His day 'off' (do parents ever really get one of those?) was marred by the fact that the coffee machine broke on one of the only days in the year it was not possible to go straight to a shop to buy a new one! Stuart was out early this morning, therefore, at John Lewis and balance is now restored on the coffee front! 

We had a morning at home today. Harry did some great cello playing. He hasn't done any over Christmas but sounded superb. He will be doing lots of practising ready to start lessons again next week. We also played a CD of this book, which was one of Peter's Christmas presents, several times and pretended to be the various vehicles, which was a very popular activity! 

We have changed over some toys in the playroom so we all played shops and cafés with the re-discovered toy boxes and Harry did some writing to take down orders.

Harry started reading a new Oxford Reading Tree book, Uncle Max, to Stuart and I read to Peter. It has been really nice having one-to-one time while Stuart has been off work and the boys love having him at home. We played a family game of Crazy Chefs, an Orchard Toys game, then Harry and I played Ludo.

We went to a friend's house this afternoon to see some of my NCT group, whose children are all at school now. We try to catch up in the school holidays as Harry is still friends with them and I like to see the other mums.

When we arrived home, the boys played with bubbles in the garden for over an hour and had a great time! Peter loves the bubble gun he got for Christmas and it really makes an impressive amount of bubbles. Harry enjoyed chasing the bubbles with a racquet. It was really nice being out in the fresh air after a few wet days indoors.