Summer survival is not so bad

Summer survival is going better today, one might even describe it as thriving rather than surviving! (That said, I realised I have started mentally counting down the days rather than weeks, I am really starting to feel it now.  There are twelve more week days before nursery/toddler groups recommence!)

Here is a round up of today's altogether more wholesome than TV activities (these were interspersed with periods of watching TV)

Today looked like it was going to be raining all day.  I had planned on washing the car with the children (clean car plus they think they are playing with water) so I had to come up with something else in a hurry.  My children LOVE messy play, I do not.  I do, however, recognise the benefits to them so I try to do something once in a while.  My brother-in-law is here which meant I could do something a little messier as he would be able to entertain the children while I tidied up.  Therefore I let them do this...

I put out a big sheet of paper (we use the ikea mala rolls, it's really convenient to just roll them out if you want/need something bigger) and a few different things to print with.  There was an orange cut in half, an apple, some wool, a toilet roll tube, a toy car to make tracks with, a few wee tubs, some of those scrunchy things you get for using in the bath/shower (I always end up with loads at Christmas), some foam I had lying around and of course some paint brushes.  I put them all out with some tubs of paint and just let them do whatever they wanted.  I wanted to put out a potato masher but I don't have a dishwasher and wasn't convinced I'd be able to get all the paint off so it could be used again!

As someone who HATES (did I mention I don't like messy play) messy play here is my top tip.

Have a a basin of water ready, at a height the children can reach, so cleaning up can happen in an INSTANT!

Here are a few pictures of them enjoying the fun

mala

And here is the finished creation (hanging up to dry on my washing line, the rain didn't seem to materialise)

Then came snack (on a blanket, outside, because everything is better when done on a blanket outside!)

Trying to be a Dad has an amazing job that is really flexible and is also situated in some beautiful grounds so we all went down to have a picnic with Daddy at work

Unfortunately N is terrified of ducks so we had to cut things a little shorter than we might have (not helped by the fact she threw some bread to try and make them go "over there" not understanding this would make them come back looking for more!).  This did have a pleasant side effect though, it meant when the rain started to come down very suddenly we were already quite close to the car!

This afternoon N was in a bit of a foul mood so I let her do some baking (despite the fact that I normally I have a 1 messy activity OR baking per day rule)

We made Cheese and Tomato Melts from N's "I Can Cook" recipe book. We got given this book as a gift but N loves it and actually, so do I, the pictures mean she can follow a lot of the recipe herself and there are loads of handy tips for being able to include your children in cooking and even a little bit about gardening.

I won't bore you with another picture of my child standing at my worktop (if you are desperate you can see one here) but here is a picture of our savoury biscuits.  They were yummy!

Summer holiday goings on

Continuing with my activities for the summer holidays here is a run down of what we are up to today...

Lots more playing in the garden, it's supposed to be raining tomorrow so we need to make the most of the sun.

Baking! This is less stressful for me that crafty messy play because at the end of it you at least get to eat something yummy!

While I am at it I shall try and share my tips for making it as stress free as possible.

1.  Unless your child is old enough to help work the scales measure out everything in advance so that the activity is more one of pouring and mixing

2.  Adjust how you do things a little.  For example, I wouldn't normally use a pastry brush to butter my dish but N can understand the concept of "painting" the dish so it's not so messy (I got this idea from watching Katy's "I can cook" on cbeebies.

3.  Avoid your child getting frustrated by recognising the things they CAN do.  N is really good a cracking eggs so we do it in a dish first in case we get bits of shell escaping in but she is always proud of herself when she achieves it

4.  Make sure they are working at a sensible height.  I let N stand on a chair so she can reach the work surface, you can buy special things but this does the job as long as I stay close so she is safe.

5. Enjoy your spoils! (in this case with some cbeebies)

Today we made baked oatmeal, ideal because it is a shove-everything-in-and-mix type of recipe

Ingredients:

3 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soft butter
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
A handful of sultanas

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celcius

Mix all ingredients together and pour into 13 x 9 inch buttered pan.

Bake at 190 degrees for 25 minutes. (so said the recipe but my oven is rubbish and it took an extra 10!)

M is now having a nap so I let N finish her toadstool picture from yesterday

and the finished article (well, once the glue is dry)

We have a friend coming round to play this afternoon so that will just take care of itself!  How are you occupying your little people today?