Category Archives: Out and About

Muddlepuddle Camp Snippets

Posted on June 22, 2006 by | 8 comments

Helen has already blogged on Kessie, but I was reminded of things looking at the piccies.

So here are few of my personal snippets, in no particular order.

Ducks – One of her words of the week. Butterbean was endlessly running off to the bridge to look for ducks (which was rather tiresome at times…), and would look over both sides either commenting on the ducks she could see, or hopefully calling out ducks if their weren’t any. When they came into the campsite she was ecstatic :-) I do think my plan for tethering her down in the middle of the camopsite had merit though
Dik-dik – BB’s word for biscuit which she used endlessly.

Small boys - Small boy ‘holding up’ another boy with his water pistol. ‘Show me your willy or I won’t be your friend’ – ‘victim’ was happy to oblige :-)

Playing – the endlessly playing was lovely to watch, the big space opposite us was well used once the other tents had departed. Having friends and space and time to just play and play like that in the sun must be some sort of kiddie heaven.

Water pistols – well it was perfect water pistol weather/territory

Small Girls - one minute sitting playing with dollies, playing babies etc. then arming themselves up with water pistols for a battle :-)

Layla’s rants – I particulary liked the ‘come near this cake and I’ll chop off your arm’ one to assorted children desperate for chocolate cake.

Biggest embarrasment? – Knobbling Emma’s BMW. BB got her keys and dangled them into a mug of juice – which wasn’t very good for the remote keyfob/immobiliser thingy. Only discovered it wouldn’t work of course once they were all packed and the kids hidden by lots of gear….. Arrghhh! – Luckily the RAC man was able to dry it out with much blowing inside with his airjet.

Teapot – tea is designed to be made in a pot, not dangling a tea bag in a mug. So how can you not take a teapot camping. It also makes it much easier to keep your neighbours supplied ;-)

Chillin’ – so which tent shall we go and sit outside (and drink aforesaid tea) now….?

Gazebo’s? - you can never have two many gazebo’s at a Muddlepuddle camp. What is intriguing about them is the magnetic effect they havee on people – they even collect under them in the dark when there is no shade benefit to be gained.

Small children and shops – Well it probably was a bad idea? to let Big, Small and SB go to the shops by themselves – Big to get bread, Small and SB to get sweets.? Poor Small didn’t get his sweets, Buig did get bread, and her and SB each got? lolly, though apparently Big took the one SB wanted – she is still complainign about this. Just what confusion they sowed in the shop can only be inagined :-)

8 Comments

Posted in Butterbean, Daft Stuff, Out and About, Stringbean

Show and Tell Soup

Posted on June 21, 2006 by | Leave a comment

The day after we had got back from Kessingland, so feeling mostly like just being at home, but got ourselves together to get out.

Monday was a monthly gathering of one of the local HE groups, CHEF. normally there is a theme with activities, crafts etc. This meeting was a bit different. Everyone brought some vegatables and we all sat down and prepared them together – which was all very sociable and cooked them up in a big pot into soup. Some bread rolls were also made.
IMG 5837 IMG 5838
While the soup was cooking we had a ‘show and tell’ session, with a bit of prompting she decided to take stuff she had made at Muddlepuddle camp – the needlefelting, the basket and the kite.

IMG 5872

she did a good job of talking about them and showing them round, in fact most of the kids did. Kessingland Tie-dye was also in evidence,

IMG 5858
So some good plugs for MP camp. some people were quite impresed by the quality of the stuff produced.
Once that was over we spent the rest of the time eating soup, fruit cocktail and some cake , yum. Soup was fairly tasty, in a slighty nondescript vegetabley way, there was a good variety of veg in it, onions, leeks, courgettes, celery, peas, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, potatoes. Though these faces may not be a recommendation……
We like the soup - honest :-)

It made a nice change from the normal HE group stuff, i’d recommend it to other groups.

Came home via Sainsburys , where SB demonstrated why pushing a trolley a bit fast and then sliding to a stop is bad idea by crashing it – luckily into me rather than someone else. Oh for the little kiddie trolleys in Waitrose, just right for littlies, then summoned home by SMS as parents popping in, so got home to have a chat/play (as appropriate) with them.

Tuesday happened as well somewhere, filled with normal things such as storytime/library visit – which ends up taking up pretty much all of morning in the end, once we have got up, found books, read a few of them again etc. Dealt with lots of post camp washing, and other post camp sorting, some Explode the Code, got organised to go early to swimming lessons so we could go to the playpark near there for a bit first, quite a nice little park, with a few different bit of equipment – SB liked the little roundabout thing you worked by sitting on it like a bike and pedalling to make it go round. I’ve given up tryimg to watch the lessons, BB just wants to run about climb up and down the seating area etc. so I don’t really gte to watch so now I just go to the cafe stick BB in a high chair, and we drink coffee and nibble things, and I get 20 odd mins quiet time – which since on Tuesdays Helen is often lateish to very late home from work is very welocme by 5pm. Afterwards se wanted again to watch the Circuit Training session for a bit – she seems fascinated by this for some unfathomable reason. I think she probably fancies having a go at it.

In the event, Heklen didn’t get home until 11pmish, so a beear infront of CSI once they were both alseep in bed was very welcome.

Leave a comment

Posted in Butterbean, Cooking, literacy, Out and About, photos, SB-PE, socialisation, Stringbean's HE, writing

Arrr beee chur be durrp

Posted on June 7, 2006 by | Leave a comment

And so says Butterbean, or some such thing anyway, endlessy throughout the day. I love toddler pre-speech (well more than the odd real word) babble, it seems so full of meaning for them – as they point and wave at something, or give you something and then chatter away. No doubt about when she want’s you to read a book as she plonks it on your lap and says ‘book’ repeatedly :-) Her fave as the moment is Ten Little Ladybirds which she seems to BE endlessy dragging around, followed by That’s not my dinosaur . We were reading this earlier this morning and she was rather cutely getting my hand and putting it onto the textured bits to feel them :-)

Monday we went to the monthly sports session for one of the Home Ed groups, which Stringbean seems to enjoy. It’s only an hour, and starts at 9.30, which given it’s a fair journey for us, means a prompt start, but just about made it in time. We never leave in hurry though, SB likes to have play afterwards with other children, and i’m happy to sit and drink tea and natter so it makes the journey sem more worthwile anyway. So by the time we got back home, stopping for a bit of shopping) and had lunch and BB had settled down for her nap it was well into the afternoon.

Can’t really remember what else we did then – SB did some of the old DK World Explorer CDROM we have ‘New Version two – fully updated for 1998…….’, She needs a bit of help with where the places she needs to look for are, so it is probbaly helping her learn the continents etc.

Sspent some time in the garden, SB investigated the pond with a net we found – she was trying to catch the ‘pond monster’,

IMG 5166 ??IMG 5172

but when Helen got home from work she came bearing gifts of a couple of water pistols, so we all had good fun trying them out in the garden in the sun.

Licensed to Squirt? IMG 5138

Had the Panner that SB and Helen made for tea in a curry. It wasn’t quite firm enough to fry, as it just melted and started to stick tot he pan, but was nice pooped intot he curry at the end, though did start to fall part then. Probably need to be pressed with a lot more pressure to make it firmer.
Yesterday was an long one for all concerned, SB was awake, waking up Helen before 5 am, BB was awake again (after waking at 3 ish) at about 5.30, neither really went back to sleep and me and the girls were all up early. Not good start when you are going to have a long day and possibly night at work :-(

Did mean i had two lots of washing on the line by about 8 though.

Library day/storytime today, so morning passed in breakfast, some reading of the library books some tidying up, watching a bit of the kiddies Springwatch on CBeebies. Off to the library – they both took Teddies there for soem reason, so both looked cute/funny carrying these teddies up the road, nice that BB is giood enough at walking places now that she can just trot along with us and doesn’t need a carry (to short a journey for the pushchair). Tried to get soem books out for Helen, but not sure how successful that was really, at the same time BB was going round pulling books of shelves (just such a handy height you know…) and re-arranging them. SB wanted to choose a couple of books, so not quite sure what she choose or on what criterion.

After that, lunch – including more Little Toe Radio Show, napping BB, some Explode the Code, some more of the World Explorer CD, I’d cooked loads of beans earlier, so made some up into a nice Bean Salad to go with dinner later. finally managed to get the playroom back into some sort of order, havng been a mess for days, read some of the library books, played out side for a bit, went to swimming lessons

(via a shop, got to the checkout and didn’t ahve my cards, so could only pay for little bit of what I’d got….. Very grumpy woman had to take all my stuff off and put in a trolley to put back on the shelves- yeah like I really wanted to waste my time getting a load of stuff and then not being able to buy it….)

- SB insisted that we watch the circuit trainers for bit afterwards – not sure why they are so interesting, home again, dinner finshed and eaten. I dozed off when putting each of the children to bed, and was dozing off again when H finally got home at about 10.30 :-(. so evening was a bit of right off.

So of course we went to bed at about 1am….

Leave a comment

Posted in Books, Butterbean, Cooking, geography, IT, literacy, Out and About, photos, Stringbean, Stringbean's HE, writing

picnic day!

Posted on May 31, 2006 by | 8 comments

which was lovely. we met up with one of tbhe localish home-ed groups for a picnic in the park. It was sunny most of the time, and there were lots of people there. A lovely park too. SB had a whale of a time, running in and out of the play area and the paddling pools with her friends. BB was also very adventurous, and being her usual gorgeous self.

IMG 4859 IMG 4853

It was nice for both Chris and I to go, as we often seem to share the children like a relay race, rather than jointly.

IMG 4845 IMG 4867

It helped shake some of my cobwebs, as I really am fairly blue at the moment.

IMG 4890 IMG 4893

IMG 4903

This evening, SB did some paint and learn CD, and then we have watched another segment of sound of music. She was fixated by if they would have a wedding ball, and enjoying the songs – clearly missing most of the plot! Not got to the overt Nazism yet – thats the next installment.

8 Comments

Posted in Butterbean, General, literacy, Out and About, photos, socialisation

Drumming

Posted on May 26, 2006 by | 1 comment

This morning saw us head off to a local HE group meeting (arriving late due to 20 minute wait in traffic jam getting onto A1….) for an African Drumming Workshop which was great fun, and rather noisy Stringbean enjoyed the drumming, BB enjoyed the poddling about, saw Merry and Tammy and relevant children, though didn’t have that much time to chat. I was amused by Sam’s dislike of the drumming – standing there with his hands over his ears – and the desire to go off to the palyground :-)

Enjoy !? IMG 4677

The groups singing at the end was good as well. SB also made shaker and helped out cutting up fruit for the fruit salad, though she didn’t like eating it for some reason.

Shaker making Communal Fruit Salad Making
Afterwards we went down to the playground for a bit. There are a couple of older girls, 11yo twins who seem to have taken a shine to SB and vice versa and they have taken her under their wing abit, so she spent some time playing with them. They went into the woods at the back of the playground for bit, building a bridge across a stream and generally getting muddy and wet feet. BB just went paddling in puddles to get wet feet…. I at and chatted with couple of other parents, until we got fed up getting damp as it had started to rain.

Once home later on, not much happened. Both ahd dozed off in the car and were a bit sleepy, so we sat and watched a bit of TV – SB watched a bit of videoed CBeebies followded by variosu schools programs on geography, something about Egypt.Soem sort of potted histroy programme was showing ‘highlights of the 1980′s – had? bit about Live Aid, the Ethiopian famine etc.? so that prompted various questions about that, don’t think she could grasp the idea that the people couldn’t just go somehere there was food, or just buy some more, or possibly even the whole concept of not having food to eat at all may? have ben beyond her, seing as it is totally outside her experince.SB did a bit of Jump Ahead Maths later before and after dinner.

Poor Helen has been very tired (we did both go to bed post 2 am last night for no good reason) and has been asleep since she gave BB her bedtime feed.

1 Comment

Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, IT, music, numeracy, Out and About, photos, socialisation, Stringbean

Out and about

Posted on May 24, 2006 by | Leave a comment

today we went out with one of our local home ed groups to Denny Abbey. there was stained glass making and tile making put on, and for the older children a bit more history, but SB was having so much fun playing, that the youngest group played making arches and then sundry imaginative run around games! A huge turnout.

IMG 4559
BB was much taken by looking through the coloured plastic to see how the world changed colour, and did this will all the colours she could grab. SB had a lollipop design for her stained glass- rofl. She was quick to answer questions, and enjoyed the tile making too – she concentrates really well on crafts.

IMG 4575 IMG 4541

IMG 4542

A reproductive lesson too by a rather frisky bull in a field full of cows and calves. Ended on a sour note, as SB ran off with her friend M and hid just as I was putting BB in car. Took me 5 mins to find them. She knows she shouldn’t run off from carparks. grr! So she looked sad all the way home as she had been naughty – by which point I felt sad too!! And I hadn’t done too much of a major telling off either.

Anyway, got home. Chris went to the meeting with the council about the pubs request for musi 4 days a week. he got chatting to the owner, who prob isn’t going to use music so much, and it seems part of the deal is some kind of noise limiter device thingy. So we’ll see.

SB did some maths – difficult bit again, so we cut it short – its adding over a 10. She’s fine at adding and subtracting within the 10, and her understanding of tens and units seems fine, its just that making tens thing. Some playing with cuisinaire rods and pattern making with that and the ideal blocks. We also made a mask – it was SB’s present to me as a sorry for being naughty, she made me a make-a-mask kit and wrapped it up – ahh, all friends again, and a long cuddle! She really can be thoughtful[yep, there is one of me in the mask!]
IMG 4592 IMG 4590

We then spent most of the afternoon outside, running around, making up games, and SB and BB playing together beautifully. We lost track of time, so have had chips for tea listening to little toe radio – we are all enjoying the little house on the prairie adaption. We finished the day watching some more of the blue planet DVD series – shores this time. SB has become very taken by natural history DVD’s
IMG 4598 IMG 4601

Leave a comment

Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, General, history, numeracy, Out and About, photos, SB-PE, science, socialisation, Stringbean's HE

The New House visit

Posted on May 17, 2006 by | 5 comments

well, I needed a lightening of my mood, and when I saw Merry’s kind invitation on a previous posting, I jumped at the chance. BB can now say shoes btw.
it is a lovely house, all there things fit – and with some room [though for how much longer, knowing the home-educators skill at filling all available space?] i had the grand tour and loved it.

IMG 4430

The girls all played together – Josie and BB get on well, and Josie was impressive in calling BB by name. lots of role playing, girliness and barbies by the others. SB was introduced to the joys of a playstation with a Shrek game with Amelie. Chris and I kept having to play for a bit [neither of us have played before] as Amelie always uses her big sisters to help her out – and they wre swimming!]SWhe picked it up quickly, though we all got frustrated with the gingerbreadman, as he wasn’t very good throwing his cane!

IMG 4415

Merry cooked 3 times – a muffinicity award there! And all meals eaten in entirety – BB in particular was ravenous.

IMG 4420
SB enjoyed the wooden pattern tiles Merry has got, eventually moving to the table, as josie and BB were keen to rearrange them.

IMG 4426

merry and I gossiped. realsised neither of us has booked for Kessingland still, and it is really soon. Also need to sort out the craft thing that i have thought no more about. Max, bless him, brought wine back from tescos, so we stayed a bit longer [well, it would have been rude not to!] Girls fell asleep in car.

IMG 4433

5 Comments

Posted in General, IT, Out and About, photos, Stringbean

quick catchup

Posted on May 13, 2006 by | Leave a comment

Main computer has had a major wobbley, so have spent much fruitles time trying to sort that, as well as only (!) having one computer around for essential tasks like reading blogs. Also Helen has been in London for two days this week and not getting back until late-ish. so lack of blogs, lack of new photos on Flickr (we have them, but have to get the external drive and connect it to the laptop) – what’s the world coming too…..

That and? certain lack of blogging enthusiasm from me this week….

Main theme of the week has been enjoying the sun outside quite a lot, there has been Explode the Code happening most days, bits of Singapore maths, lots of reading. SB is reading soemthing to me most days now, she is gradually spotting more and more words straight off.

Anway, Tuesday was Library day, so went along to that, SB had found the book that I claimed last week that I had claimed not to have ever seen – so had to take that back and admit to incompetence. But ti’s a nice friendly volunteer run library and they are used to us…… Meant for under 5′s so Sb is much the biggest there now – older under 5′s must presumably be at playgroup or something. But she likes going, so we still go. I do the occasioanl session to keep in the good books :-)

I picked up a book that SB has really enjoyed. Incredible Everything?? about have various things? (bridges, doughnuts, CD’s Beoing 777 for example) are made and work, lots of detailed drawings etc. SB loves things like this and every day me or Helen have sat down with here and looked at it. she likes you to tell here what is going on in each bit.

Much of ther afternoon was probably spent outside, a lot of librbary book reading went on. We finshed sorting out the bed for the strawberry pants.

SB finally learnt how to get herself swinging on the swing, went outside and realised she was whizzing back and forth. she was Soooo pleased with herselfshe spent most of the next hour swinging, Swimming lesson later on, home to dinner, and Mummy getting home just as we sat down to watch Wallace and Grommet – Curse of the Were Rabbit.

Wednesday we went to my parents for most of the day. SB played some games, read, did some tracing (very well) in a trace the picture book mum had bought. BB poddled about, and scared Nanna by climbing up piles of old paving stones, up on top of the wall. etc. (they are redoing the garden). They have Sat TV, so SB gets a treat of watching CBeebies in the middle of the day :-) Lots of reading with Mum, looking at various books – she has been looking at some of the Picturepedia books as well – ‘Waht’s this, what’s that..’
Thursday ???? We planted out the stawberry plants, as in SB did two and then went of to play. BB randomly came up picked up plants and dropped then around the bed…, they seem happy enough though. Ballet lesson in afternoon, some time in the playground afterwards where SB found hitched up with another little girl, Sb kept trying to climb up everything, managed to whizz up the slide, then fell down it…. :-(. I tried to do a ‘A day in the life of BB’ series of piccies which will hopefully get posted.
Friday A day when we didn’t have to go anywhere at all which was nice. Should have gone to the shops probably though. SB and BB played for ages in the morning in SB’s bedroom with Happy Street, Cindy whatever, which gave me the chance to do interesting things like changing beds ‘unaided’.Can’t remeber much, but SB did some good reading from one of the Letts Active Readers (Ratman and the Big Cat or somesuch), we looked a lots of the Incredible Things book – wandered into a conversation about how people used to make things themselves or on a small scale and now things moslty get made in factories now.? did some basic stuff about Graphs from Singapore maths.? Did some stuff from the book, then did some of own – how many different coloured flowers etc. use the little plastic blocks (name? – forgot) to ake the graps which worked well. SB got the hang of it, and interpreting it/extracting info easily.

Leave a comment

Posted in Books, Butterbean, Dance/drama, gardening, history, literacy, numeracy, Out and About, Stringbean, Stringbean's HE

Sporty Monday

Posted on May 8, 2006 by | 2 comments

A local HE group is having a monthly ‘sports’ session, we didn’t go last month as SB was ill but made it this time. Though a 9.30 start and a 40 min journey meant getting going in the morning. BB helped by getting me up before 6 am ;-)

Basically it is a ‘teacher’ doing various games etc. using balls, hoops, skittles etc. and lost of running about. SB enjoyed it, BB kept wanting to join in – running and chasing games are her favourites. Though SB also wanted to join in the older session (nominally 7yo, but some were younger i think) afterwards as well as she liked the look of the netball. Spent another hour afterwards while she played with various children and I drank tea, chatted etc. You know the score. Someone we’ve met a few times is moving from their house to buy a boat (with a ‘little bit of?? land attached’ ) sound that was interesting to chat about.

Their headed up your way Merry, so will likley appear at local stuff there.

Headed off eventually. Rain put paid to vague ideas I had of? bit of? walk somewhere. We headed of homewards, via a bit of shopping . Looking for? wholefood shop, since we don’t have? a decent one in the nearer towns (H&B is not a decent wholefood shop…. In fact it seems to be all pills and potions moslty nowadays). anyway, found a different one than the one I was looking for, so stocked up on a few things, and? nice bit of halva for an evening treat. SB entertained/or was enterntained, i’m not sure which, by the man up packing various boxes of stock as she peered at what he had and nattered away. I over heard her counting up in 2′s as well. It was a rather wholesome wholefood shop, which was rather nice, not haveing been in one sicne we moved house really. I took the oppurtunity to peruse the rack of green/right on publications that they had and was left feeling somewhat? unfaithful to? a former self as I was for? moment or two back? 15-20 years ago (that long), shopping in wholesome shops, persuing similar magazines. I used to be? a pretty strict vegan, among other things, which has gone by the way side, that former self did try to care about things, even? if as is the way of things it was naive at times. I’m not sure the current self really does care much any more.

Still raingin, som popped into a cafe, for a ‘pretty cheap, but shouldn’y have really’ lunch (but the plan of something sat on the grass was out due to rain), and Beans were getting hungry. SB wooed the counter staff buy asking for? a straw in the most polite-est way possible. Then via a chinese grocers for some noodles. Spent some time just persuing the various options as this was new experince for SB as opposed to the standard Sharwoods ones from the supermarket. she then just went around the shop going, what’s this what’s that at the various interesting things in jars and tins and packages. I resisted the urge to buy various interesting things.

Then home to playing, Mummy home from work time, and dinner.? Stir fry with the aforesaid noodles, we also had? a bit of Arame with it(it’s a dried Japanse seaweed in case you wondered). SB was intrigued when she relaised it was proper seawed, not the fried cabbage called seaweed that chinese retaurants do. She gamley tried some at dinner time as well. She professed not to like it – but it’s not really at it’s best eaten by itself, but she was munching in with vegetables a bit later, she just didn’t want to be seen liking it :-)

Before bed we watched another epsiode of the DVD of the ‘Life of Mammals’ (it was meant to be half, but I dozed off…).? SB has really got into all these sort of things since she watched the recent Planet Earth series so we are working our way through various ones. Have watched some of the Blue Planet as well – from which she has remembered among othe things that the Blue Whale is the biggest animal that ever lived, and also that there are lots of recently discovered things deep in the ocean, also is very taken with the idea that there might be somethign even bigger lurking in the depths.

Then a quick ‘Thomas’? story (the originals – not the modern pap) for bedtime

2 Comments

Posted in Books, Butterbean, Out and About, Ponderings, SB-PE, science, socialisation, Stringbean, Stringbean's HE

Phew! What a scorcher :-)

Posted on May 4, 2006 by | Leave a comment

Well it was relativley here today, really hot day. Which had SB complaining when I made her take a fleece out with us when we went out this morning. SB part did jigsaw over breakfast. Went to a local HE group meeting today. Theme was Africa, with some Africa inspired crafty things.

IMG 4076

As usual it was down to line getting us out of the door, but we got there in time.

SB made a necklace, with beads made from rolled up sheets of paper glued together ,

IMG 4071

she then spent quite sometime making a painted on ‘leather’ picture which we put into a frame (hers is on the left)

IMG 4086

Though she did need assitance, in particular with the frame. They were very effective.

She then did a little bit of weaving with reeds/rushes:

IMG 4080

By the end of that it was time to have some lunch, which this time I was more organised with – though BB at some point had found someone half eaten pitta bread and helped herself to that :-) While all this was goign on, when not nicking others food BB poddled about, did bit of drawing, and kept trying to disappearr into the great blue yonder.

After the group we went down to the playground with soem others, SB complained of it being hot – it was. BB kept trying to climb up the climbing frames, and we bumped into the biggest three girls from the Puddle being given some relief from the stresses of house moving by Aunty Kate. SB was pleased as she got an Icecream out of it from AK :-)

Home, SB rather dozey, read ‘Where’s Wally ‘ to her, out to ballet lesson, back home, dinner, tears, when somehow I had BB on my lap, arm round her, cup of tea in other hand, she somehow lurched back over my arm, I couldn’t catch her and she hit her head hard on the door behind :-( big egg on her head but otherwise ok. not the best end to the day.

Leave a comment

Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, Out and About, photos, socialisation, Stringbean, Stringbean's HE