Carnival day!

Today we helped out at our friend's church community carnival. Daddy is away this weekend, we are really missing him but this took all our minds off it. The kids were very excited as between 3 and 4 pm we had agreed to run the coconut shy stall. Freddie' s best friend was keen to help out too. We got there early so the kids could enjoy the other stalls before their big job! Lovely aunty came along too.
The kids enjoyed connect 4

Loved playing a hoopler game...

The highlight was definately the donkeys..

Then it was off for our very important job!

The boys took their job very seriously. They gave the balls to the throwers, picked up the fallen coconuts, gave out prizes...it was great for them building their confidence up speaking with new people.

Then after our job they let off steam on the bouncy castles...

A certain little girl had by this stage definately had enough...home time...

So home we went after a day of working and playing...

Lunch and playing at friends house and then autumnal walk foraging for autumn goodies!

We had such a special day today and I feel so annoyed that I went out without my phone so have no photos to share! We went over to Freddie's best friend's for lunch. The kids are very independent there and all of them go upstairs to play leaving us mummy's and baby J downstairs. We can hear great fun, going on upstairs, the girls playing together in their room and the boys in theirs! Sometimes all 4 play together. I could over hear dinosaur games going on, imaginative games about the Titanic going, lots of jumping on and off beds. We make lunch for them which they barely eat as they can't wait to get back to playing!
At 2.30 pm T, G, and baby J  went off for their swimming lesson and we decided to go for a walk through the woods behind their house. It was gorgeous, beautiful sun shining through the autumnal leaves. We took a bag and collected chestnuts, leaves, acorns and conkers. A little cat followed us all the way, meowing and climbing up trees to the kids amusement! We met a lovely couple who we talked to for ages and they told us all about the trees and also directed us to some blackberry bushes and even gave us tubs to collect them in! We came home with the tubs empty but both bubs had blackberry stains all round their mouths. I think they may have eaten their body weight in blackberry s!

The Importance of Play

Really interesting article written by a psychologist about the importance of play...
I love watching mine play, it's so interesting to see the themes that arise in their play, gives you a little insight about their inner world!

http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human/children-today-are-suffering-a-severe-deficit-of-play/

Lots of things about Play in the media today! Stumbled across this too....interesting...

Don't throw marshmallows! He he! X

A very social day!

Freddie got absorbed into his books as soon as he got up...

And Mia straight into painting!

It didn't take long until both were busy making "worlds" out of boxes

As they were busy I popped of for a few seconds to get dressed, look what I returned too!

Hmmmm creative mess!!!!

Then we went to a birthday party. The kids really enjoyed it, so much so they were happy for me to leave them there whilst I went home to have the dishwasher delivered and fitted. So thrilled to have a dishwasher again!

Pictures of them at the party...

Then we went home in time for our friends to come over...

We all played in the garden and lots of fun was had. They played on the trampoline, picked apples, played football and rugby, climbed on the play house and ate the cakes I cooked last night. Fred didn't want them to leave, saying " I wish T could stay for dinner!" He seems to really like T!

Then we had aunty over for dinner. She is so good with the children, so patient and giving with her time. She is very equal with them both, giving them both what they need effortlessly. She will make a beautiful mummy one day!

Music class and library

Freddie loved his class this morning. He come out so full of it! We stayed for a pay and chat after and then headed to the jobs for some errands and then to the library to pick some new books. It is so hard to reel the children in, they are so enthusiastic about books that they choose about 40 books that I have to help them whittle down to the 20 we are allowed! At home they got stuck into them. Love how they are becoming "booky"!

Lots of play done today, Mia made a fab shop from a box which she filled full of food from the kitchen. She then had a till and Sainsbury s bags which she filled for her customers! We were her customers and we ad a fab time paying with real money.

We had visits from grandad and aunty and we said goodbye to grandad as he goes off again for 3 weeks. We will really miss him.

Lolipop stick art and matchstick hedgehogs!

We started our day with yummy pancakes

The tuff spot was filled with beading buttons and cotton reel so we started off with some beading and making "wormeys" as Mia says!

Then we started doing some activity books. Mia quite enjoys them but Fred looses interest quite quickly, instead he wanted to draw. He drew a picture of the Titanic and the ice burgs and a map of h route that the Titanic took! Was fab! Somehow this took is to talking about shapes and we drew all the basic shapes. Then we got lolipop sticks and matchsticks out and glue with the aim of making shapes with them.  The children were keen to make there own art though! Mia made a fantastic ladder picture and Freddie went into his imagination and created a picture to give to builders for them to build!

The final pieces up on our wall....

Fred had time on his reading computer game, 

He really enjoys it!

Mia made us and Rex lunch...

And then somehow the kids got to making hedgehogs from play doh and match sticks! They called both called theirs "spikey".

Mia's hedgehog had 3 eyes!

Then we headed off to the park with our friends. W loves starwars as much as Freddie so they play lightsabres together and Star Wars figures. At the park howeve all 3 were pirates...Fred was "bad boy pirate", Mia "princess pirate" and W "sharpe chin pirate" !!!! All chose their own names!

Leaf Fossils and park fun!

Lots of Lego play this morning

Then we read some dinosaur books, we were reading about fossils and looked at all the types of fossils there are, e.g there are fossils of bones, eggs, teeth, leaves and even poo!!!! Freddie decided that he wanted to make leaf fossils so we went out in the garden a found interesting leaves and we set to work making prints in the salt dough.

Freddie also made "poo fossils" ha ha!

Then our friends arrived and we did a bit of painting...

And then headed to the park...

Lots of hide and seek was played!

And writing of names with sticks in the gravel...