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I spent about two years when I was younger living with my Nan, one activity I really enjoyed at that age (11/12) was cooking. We would make bolognese, curry, onion bhaji’s, sausage roll, vol-a-vents, cakes etc….
When I moved back to my mum’s my brother and I would play ‘ready, steady, cook’, this game was based on a popular cookery programme (UK readers will know what I’m talking about). We would find a range of ingredients and have a cook-off to see who would come up with the …

The best way to ‘teach’ toddlers is to provide stimulating activities. When I worked at the nursery, we would focus on one topic each week and provide various activities that the children would enjoy and learn from.
Shapes
I would stick to the basics, circle, square and triangle.
Art & Craft
A Shape Collage – Pre-cut shapes from coloured paper, let your toddler stick them down onto a piece of card.
A Shape Mobile – Cut large shapes from thick card, punch a hole and thread with string.
Traffic Light Picture – A traffic light …

We had fun last week doing chalk drawings, it’s one of the easiest activities for Erin’s age group going. It’s simple to set up, only requires chalk and paper, and is pretty tidy too.

As easy as it may seem, as you can see it takes the ultimate in concentration.
Click on either photo to see more photos of chalk drawing.

A couple of other bloggers have written an ABC list for summer inspiration. I did it for Christmas so here’s my Summer edition.
Aeroplane Spotting
Bark Rubbing
Chocolate Krispie Cake Making
Dvd Night
Eating Competition (Dooking for apples or donut on a string?)
Foot Printing
Gardening
Hide & Seek
Ice Biscuits
Jigsaw Puzzles
Kite Flying
Library visit
Make a Mosaic from Old Cards
Nature Walk + Scavenger Hunt
Organize a Football/Rugby/Cricket Tournament
Paint a Canvas
Quiet Time (aah, I think this one is wishful thinking!)
Rounders
Start a Summer Scrapbook
Treasure Hunt
Under the Sea Collage
Visit a Museum
Websites for kids
Xylopohone and other Musical Instruments
Your Turn – Each family member takes …

Erin loves musical instruments and we have a pretty well stocked box. Here’s seven we have, and one that I’m going to add soon.
Maracas

We have a kid-sized wooden pair.
Castanets

Erin hasn’t quite figured these out yet, but I’m sure when she does, we’ll have hours of noisy fun!
Tambourine

Drum

This drum looks sooo much more fun than ours!
Bells
These remind me of the bells we used in the nativity play to symbolize the reindeer.
Rattles
These have a variety of bead type fillings.
Piano

And we’d like to add a recorder next!
Of course you don’t need to …

Sorry, no photo this time, camera batteries were out, which is a shame because this was Fun (with a capital F).

Erin was given these paint wands by her Aunty, they are really, really good. You simply leave them in water for 20 seconds the first time (the next time they should work quicker) and paint away. Erin was able to have full control of the painting experience without my worrying about her ‘overdoing’ it with the paint, the thin handle and weight make them suprisingly easy for her …

I found this idea in a very old book by Juliet Moxley. Erin’s too young for it yet, but it seems so simple, and ideal for mums and dads that aren’t that great with more in-depth projects.
All you need is some newspaper, a large piece of paper (wallpaper will do), masking tape, paint and a paintbrush.
Prep: Cover the work surface with newspaper.
1. Tear strips of newspaper and lay them across the paper, don’t be too tidy, the more raggedy (is that a word?!) the more interesting a pattern …

The Simple Dollar is urging us to have a money free weekend. Spending time rather than money is a lost art for many of us. Living on one (and a bit) income, and being an avid reader of the simple dollar for some time now I have thought a lot about the activities we can do as a family that are free.
Have a DVD Night
Dig out the dvd’s you haven’t watched for a while, use snacks from the house and make your own ‘in-house cinema’.
Teddy Bears Picnic
Younger kids …