Autumn Applique T-Shirts

The majority of mums seem to buy their children's clothes from 2 main stores.

Also as a mum of boys I seem to have the narrow choice of trucks, trains, monsters, or cheeky monkeys!

I would like more natural images which are so rare unless they are uber-designer...

So I made my own set for Autumn.

I bought a set of 4 plain long-sleeved t-shirts from Marks and Spencer

and lovingly browsed around Spoonflower fabric designs for lovely samples.

They arrive in the post and I await inspiration over the week.

This one is called "Splat".

The fabric is a lovely watercolour paint print.

Tree with branches back-stitched in place.

Squirrel...my favourite for Little Seed...

and Big Seed.

Why not rebel against the masses and make some sweet designs for your little ones?

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 Have you entered our book giveaway while you are here?

Making a construction site & how to make moonsand.

We created a real Construction Site Scene with their small construction vehicles

and a plastic playmat from Ebay for £2.50 on the kitchen table.

You could design your own on a huge piece of paper.

We made our own builder's sand which can be moulded into bricks and things.

This is how you make moon sand:

1 cup of sand to 1/2 a cup cornrstarch 

( however much you want to make this is the ratio)

Mix water with cornstarch first and add food colouring.

Then add to sand.

Add glitter if you want.

Keep in an airtight box and add a few drops of water if it dries out.

Simple!

Part of our construction unit

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ps it sticks to your socks/feet/clothes when playing

so wash off before you run around on the carpet!

A Tiny Door To A Gnome & Fairy Land

What could possibly be behind the door?

Where are those 2 gnomes going?

You'll never know because they go in there at night when children are asleep.

I think they are going to appear in every room in the house, different shapes and sizes!

( A piece of wood painted with a button stuck on, attached to the wall with blu-tak...)

India Topic Craft # 3 - Glamorous Indian Trucks

 Continuing our theme, we decorated our own Indian Trucks.

They are amazingly decorated, they look fantastic.

We used some old trucks from our collection at home and recycled them 

for this unique activity.

As an alternative children could decorate a print-out.

We took inspiration from these photos their grandfather took over in India.

Don't they look fabulous?

There are lots more pictures on the internet for inspiration.

We used permanent markers, stickers, sequins and glitter glue.

When else will he get a chance to colour on metal?

Little Seed's tractor.

Indian Independence Day is August 15th...use it as an excuse to do something different!

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Winter Wonderland Activities

Here's some of what we are doing for the next few weeks on our Winter theme:

Beautiful real snowflake pictures- matching game

I bought an image sheet from this fab Etsy shop called Piddix
Printed two and cut out the most distinctive shapes.
This is great for older children as it can be quite challenging if you want it to.

I laminated and cut out the rest to use for counting activities.

Counting cards.

Spooning/transferring winter sequins

Antarctic Animals 3-part cards from here.

Sorting Wintry beads

Using his iceberg stacker: he had to arrange the pieces in as many
different ways as possible.
He really enjoyed this.

Snowball soap surprises:
grate white soap, stick some "treasure" in the centre,
build the ball up with warm moist hands and let dry.

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Make A Hedgehog Hibernate

We have been reading about hedgehogs and hibernation.

So we made our own:

His hedgehog made from self hardening red clay and cocktail sticks broken in half.

Yes they are prickly but he is sensible, and after all you do need gloves to pick up a real one...ouch!

(And most of all...I have the freedom of home educating...if I want to use dangerous sticks with a 3 year old...I can!)

I gave him a basket of natural materials:

twigs, leaves, teasels, branch blocks...

But instead he spent ages making his 2 toy hedgehogs have a chat. Sweet.

Then taught him how to hide the hedgehog for his winter sleep

so that the foxes can't see him and to keep him safe and warm.

Big Seed made him a winter home.

He did a good job.

Sleep well hedgehogs!

Easy Peasy Bracelets

These are really easy for 3 year olds to make.

Thread beads onto a pipecleaner.

Twist one end around the other and tuck into a bead.

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Seashell Chimes

Off to the beach to look for Sea Treasures.

Inspired by Pinkandgreenmama 's seashell mobile

we collected a big bag of seashells.

However, 3 year olds do not have a filter so he picked up each shell he could see!

And this one, and this one and this one...

When we got home, Big Seed cleaned each one with a toothbrush

and was fully engrossed for 30 minutes!

He naturally sorted them as he went along.

Oh yes, and washed the pine cones he found too!

We only found 5 shells with holes in...

so I had to get out the power drill and make holes in the rest.

You wouldn't believe how tough some shells are..I needed a masonry bit!

Tied them up with rainbow wool to a sturdy piece of branch which was going to be firewood.

This is the one made for the garden. Looks prettier in real life.

I wanted to tie it to our tree but our branches were not co-operating...

So I tied it to our greenhouse to keep the birds away from our blueberries.

Mobile/windchime/scarecrow all in one.

This is the one for Big Seed's bedroom tied to a nice piece of driftwood.

Now what to do with the 200 shells leftover?

We made crayon rubbings and made imprints in playdough.

Now where can I find a nice glass jar to store some of the rest?