Outdoor Spaces

Don't you love Autumn sunlight?

I went to a professional development course recently, at one of our local marae. It was about Outdoor Learning Spaces and gosh it was inspiring! The speaker was Robin Christie, of Childspace and he spoke a lot about how children NEED to be outside-at least 70% of the time. According to him, anything that can be done inside can be done outside (yes,really, there are these "forest kindergartens" in Scotland, with actual "toilet trees", if you know what I mean?)

He said "children will love what they know, and they will protect what they love." I adored that quote, and dutifully scribbled it down in my diary, and it's stuck with me because we all want our children to love and protect our environment, don't we?

He also talked about how we as adults are so protective of children when it comes to weather! And he was so right! I mean, I can't begin to count how many times I've been outside with a group of children, and it's started to patter with rain, so immediately I've gathered them all together to go inside for shelter! A wonderful teacher I worked with once cut up a tarpaulin into squares, with a hole for the head, and made a set of rain ponchos so that the children could stay outside in the rain-because it's rain-they've got to experience it!

Anyway, it got me to thinking, about how I could implement these ideas at home as well as at work. Winter is fast approaching, but I still want my children to be outside as much as possible. (Anyway, Winter Schminter-apparently there are preschools in Denmark where in their Winter there are only 4 hours of daylight in an actual day, but they still spend almost the whole day outside, they have these amazing snowsuits and the playground is lit by these HUGE globe-like lamps. It's incredible!). So I've set up an outdoor play space round the side of my house. It's close enough that I can have the door open and still hear them, but still outside enough that I can now officially utter that phrase of old that I remember so well from my own childhood...

"Run along outside and play now!"

It seems to be going down quite well so far!

Fluro Day!

I feel like I'm the world's slackest blogger currently-it's funny, but the same thing happened this time last year-I guess life interfered with blogging! Craft-wise I'm not up to much, just still slowly chipping away with the squares. I've got this whimsical image in my head of myself snuggling under the completed quilt in front of the Winter fire, watching one of my favourite movies, which I received on DVD for my birthday and am yet to actually remove from it's plastic wrapping...

But I just had to stop by and say "Happy Fluro Day Everyone!"

Giddy Up!

I've been flat out, flat out, making horses! No less than 5 in the last week. Here are two- going to my lovely colleagues' children-as Christmas presents I think so sssshhhhhhh...

And the other thing taking up my crafting time is below. Yes folks, it's time once again for the town's Christmas Float Parade, and I've been busy crafting 25 or so Superhero costumes. It's been fun, colourful, sparkly, all those things that make me smile. The parade is next weekend and I can't wait!

In other news, I'd like to wish a huge (albeit rather late) CONGRATULATIONS! To the beautiful Janelle of Heart Felt, on the birth of her lovely little son Oscar.

The annual Kiwi Christmas Ornament Swap is on again! Check it out at 2o Cent Mixture

And here are two things I can now definitely say for sure... Firstly, Summer picnics are gorgeous, even if they're only in the back garden.

And, after last night's power cut, I can promise you that candlelight really does make things look more magical.

Still Here

It's not that nothing's been happening. On the contrary, I feel as though this is the first time I've sat down since my last post! This made me very sad, and at the same time, love, appreciate and value my children's safety even more, if possible, and for that I will always be grateful to little Aisling. My heart goes out to her family at this time.
Then there's been work, stockings, work, housework, the flu and all those other general miscellaneous things during which time seems to be sucked down a huge vortex and leaves you wondering where it went so quickly.
So, this is my 100th post, and that is the only real news I have to share, but I still wanted to stop in and let you know that I'm still here.

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years"

Abraham Lincoln

A good week so far...

A stick, a marshmallow, a fireplace...

Children rolling down a grassy bank, laughing in the Winter sun and racing around, drunk on fresh air and friendship...

Finishing a little something for a workmate...

And these...

Making bread pudding, using my own recipe. If you're interested, it goes a little something like this...

6 slightly stale fruit buns

3 Tablespoons Apricot Jam

3/4 cup boiling water

2 eggs

3 tablespoons caster sugar

500ml milk
2 teaspoons vanilla essence

Break the buns in half and cut into rough cubes. Place in dish. Whisk together milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Pour over the bread and leave to soak for an hour. Mix the apricot jam and the boiling water together and pour over the top. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 40 Min's or until golden on top.

Serve with custard and think "Winter's not so bad after all"

Teaching the children a little bit of yoga...

A good week so far, and you?

Around the World in 80 Clicks

I love this. I first read about it this morning, here on Tiny Happy, my favourite blog ever. It's a kind of tour around the world, through the eyes of mothers. Each one writes 5 things they love, or maybe don't love so much, about being a mother. Here's my contribution.

1. I love that becoming a mother showed me how resilient and brave I could be. I've gone from being someone who freaked out about having a blood test to a much stronger woman who's been through a massive hemorrhage, post natal depression, years of sleep deprivation... For me, motherhood kind of opened up the boundaries of extreme. Showed me how bad things could get, but also how good. From the agony of labour to the joy of seeing your baby smile for the first time, becoming a mother has widened my range of experiences.

2. The sharing of ideas, the empathy, the understanding, the support... The connection to other mothers is amazing, and was one of the unexpected joys of motherhood, for me.

3. One thing I dislike about motherhood is sleep deprivation. neither of my children have ever been huge fans of sleeping. A night of unbroken sleep is a major gift to me, and a rare occurrence. I am tired. Getting up in the night and early in the morning has taken a lot of adjustment!

4. Becoming a mother made me a better Early Childhood Teacher. Teaching is my passion and I thought I was pretty good at it... but when Isla was born, it gave me a whole new understanding of just how precious those children in my care were, how much of a responsibility I had to them and their families, and how trusting those parents were to leave their babies with me. All the theory I had learned was futile in comparison to the actual experience.I became more sympathetic, more patient, more gentle and more holistic in my approach to teaching.

5. I love the inspiration, the constant inspiration my children provide me with. They make me want to sew fairy dresses, make banana cakes, blow bubbles, look at clouds, sew quilts, make scrapbooks, take photos, write stories, sing songs, dance around, go for walks... Really live.

I could never thank them enough for all that they've given me.

Lime Green and Sparkly.

I've written about my life as a mother, a friend and a crafter, but have neglected to share another important facet of me, my job. I'm an Early Childhood Teacher. I spend my days at work painting, singing, pushing swings, digging in sandpits, making homes for bugs and reading stories (well, when I'm not doing paperwork, planning or in a meeting...) I LOVE my job. LOVE it, and I'm extremely fortunate that my children come to work with me. In my 6yrs+ of teaching, I've tried out quite a few different recipes for Playdough. In my professional opinion, this is the best one...

1 cup of salt
2 cups of plain flour
4tsp cream of tartar
2tsp canola oil or similar
2 cups boiling water
food colouring
glitter if you wish

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, add the oil and boiling water, knead together and add colouring and glitter. Simple!

My favourite bit is adding the glitter!

Playdough is fun. It's great for many different age groups, social or individual play, fine motor development, hand-eye coordination, creativity, storytelling, self expression and more. If wrapped in Glad Wrap or put in an airtight container, it will keep for ages in the fridge. Enjoy!