Lots of photos for you to make up for a lack of them!

I haven't posted many photos recently, so we've taken loads today. They are all outside and we've got at least one of every child.

I could nearly climb to the top!

It's bigger than me!

How far can you jump?

Can you put the correct amount of items on the number?

Ordering numbers

Is anyone in here?

Monster play!

Week beginning 4th April is week 3

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY TO ALL YOU LOVELY MUMMIES XXX

Easterleigh animal sanctuary

We're really shocked, saddened and absolutely disgusted to hear the news of the arson attack on the Easterleigh.  Nine cats, 11 hens and 1 rabbit were all killed and there is a lot of damage to one of the buildings. 

As you know, April is National Pet Month and you all donated pet food last year and we took it to the Easterleigh.  We will be doing the same again this year, so if you would like to make a donation of pet food we will be visiting the sanctuary during the Easter holidays.

The roof itself at the sanctuary is going to cost around £15000 to replace so they are looking for people to hold sponsored events and to basically raise some money to be able to pay for repairs.  If you would like to donate any money as well as pet food, then we will take this with us when we visit.  If you know of anyone who would be willing to volunteer to help with the clean up, then the telephone number is 01253 789185.

If anyone is on facebook, here is the link to the Easterleigh's page:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Easterleigh-Animal-Sanctuary/123191704397740

Easterleigh have now set up an account for the "clean up appeal". For those of you who wish to donate funds you can now do so straight into the account.



HSBC - sort code 404002 account number - 21405578.

Week beginning 21st March is week 2

Suncream!!

We played outside for most of the day today and the temperature got up to 18 degrees on our decked area!
We got the children to wear their sun hats and applied sun cream to exposed areas.  We do have suncream from last year, but it would be a good idea to supply us with a new bottle to ensure the children are fully protected. 

Just donated to Comic Relief

Just to let you all know that I have just donated £25 to Comic Relief.  Thank you to all of you for your donations and for buying cakes this week. 

Tesco for Schools vouchers

We are collecting these vouchers at the moment so if you do have any to spare, please consider passing them on to us.  We would really appreciate them.  Thank you to those of you who have already donated.  :)

Bike sale

Blackpool Council's 'Cycle Blackpool' Team are holding a sale of reconditioned bikes next Sunday, 20th March from 11:00am to 3:00pm at Stanley Park Visitor's Centre.  Second hand adult's and children's bikes will be on sale from as little as £7.50.  All of the bikes have been donated by members of the public and reconditioned by Blackpool's Cycling Mechanics in order to encourage more people to get on their bikes in Blackpool.  Various cycling accessories including bike lights and reflective armbands will also be available to buy and Cycle Blackpool maps will be on offer.  For more information visit http://www.cycleblackpool.co.uk/, email cycling@blackpool.gov.uk or call 01253 476261.

New 'grass'

We had the new grass laid yesterday.  The men were working all day and got it finished around 4.30pm.

We have put up William's goals which he got for Christmas, and the children have enjoyed playing football a lot today. 

We've been selling lots of cakes this week too, so thank you to all of you who have bought some.  We will have some more for sale tomorrow!

Duck pond and cakes

We visited the duck pond this afternoon.  We fed the ducks some stale hot cross buns, which they seemed to enjoy!!

After our tea-time snack, the children decorated some fairy cakes for Red Nose Day.  They used a piping bag and piped red (well pink actually as I didn't use enough red food colouring!) buttercream over the buns and then sprinkled some red edible glitter on to them.  They look great.  Alice has already bought 6 for £1 and so had Victoria's mum.  Thank you!  We will be making cakes throughout this week, so please feel free to buy some!

Thomas made a sign for the front door advertising our cakes and Joel and Victoria decorated it with stickers. 

Week beginning 14th March is week 3

Zoos, water painting and blogging!

The children played with the small-world animals this morning and used the wooden blocks to make enclosures for the animals.  One of them was a water enclosure for the penguins. 

Later on we went out to play.  We bought some paintbrushes from B&Q last week, specifically so that the children could 'paint' outdoors with water.  They really enjoyed it - it's nice sometimes to create on a large scale.

We also went on the children's blog this afternoon and looked at every child's page.  The children enjoyed reading about each other and what they'd been doing at home and they all had a chance to post something themselves.  Disney was the theme that they all chose today.  Have a look when you get chance. 

Grass

We're really excited because next week, all being well, we are getting some new artificial grass to replace, and slightly extend, our existing lawn.  It looks just like real grass, but comes with the added benefit of it being usable all year round, rather than just in the drier weather.  The children love to play on the grass, kicking balls, playing in the tents, rolling around etc, so we think it will be a fantastic addition to the garden.  Of course, there will still be a 'natural' area to the garden, where we are hoping to include a little bridge (Erin's mummy's suggestion) and possibly a water feature of some sort - we are just trying to work out whether this would work, or whether just providing the children with a regular supply of water would be better.  It's one to think about...........

We are open to suggestions for the outdoor area, so please, if you have any ideas, let us know.  Our aim is to provide the children with lots of 'open-ended' resources that can be used as and when they wish.  For example, the wooden planks we have recently purchased have been used as car ramps and for construction.  We could do with some more wood actually if anyone has any spare they would like to donate :). 

The children love to be outdoors so it's important that we provide an interesting, exciting and challenging area in which they can play and explore.  Please have a think and let us know if you have an idea. 

Red Nose Day and sunflowers

The children decorated a flyer with lots of Red Nose Day stickers - you will have received said flyers tonight (those of you who we remembered to give book bags too - oops)! 

We also planted our sunflower seeds today and discussed how tall they were going to grow.  The children think they will grow taller than Chris!  We agreed that we would need to water them regularly and look after them really well for them to grow that tall.  Once the seeds have germinated, the children will be bringing them home. 

"I love you"

Victoria said to me, just after tea, "I love you."

Adam then said, "I do too,"  he then went over to Kaiden and patted him on the shoulder saying, "I think Kaiden does too."

Things like this just make me realise why we do this job.  It really doesn't matter what Ofsted say - the most important people in all of this are the children, and if they are happy and feel loved, then we are doing our job well.  Those few words make it all worth while xxx

Pancakes

We made some pancakes this morning.  The children helped to make the mixture and gave it a good whisk.  They enjoyed a pancake for their morning snack.  Yum!

More bark!

We had some more bark delivered this morning, so the children have helped us to move it from the front to the back. 

We went to B&Q last night to buy some bits and pieces for the children to play with, which could be used for whatever their imagination dictates.  We bought some foam tubes, which have today been used as a horse, light sabres and hoses, and some planks of wood.  They have been used with the workbench and tool set and also outside as ramps and roads for the toy cars. 

Patterns and outdoor play again

The children played a sorting game with some printed socks.  They all had a variety of patterns on the socks, which we sorted together.  Afterwards, the children played at 'going to work' and the socks became props for their 'jobs'. 

This afternoon the children played outside.  We have recently pruned some shrubs, so they played with the cuttings and twigs.  They made a 'bonfire' with a big pile of twigs and used small pieces of fir tree as small trees for the small-world animals. 

What a beautiful day!

This morning, before going to play out in the lovely sunshine, the children painted some daffodils for St. David's Day.  They are all beautiful and are up on our wall for you to see. 

We played outside for the rest of the day - it was quite warm and we didn't need coats!  The children dug the bark, brought us delicious food made from pebbles, built 'bark castles', played in the cars and on the slides.  Eszme and Kaiden had fun outdoors too, exploring the bark.  Kaiden loved the swing and Eszme climbed into one of the trucks, to be pushed around by Victoria. 



making 'bark castles'



Week beginning 28th February is week 1

A quick hello

Hope you have all had a nice break.  We've had a good few days together.  We've been walking at the Crook O' Lune, had a trip to the dentist (not so good!) and done some shopping.  We're going to watch PNE v Burnley this afternoon which we're all looking forward to.

We had some bark delivered on Wednesday, so on Thursday Chris and William spent the afternoon moving it from the front to the back.  It took them a long time, but at least it was sunny.  The bark goes quite muddy during the winter so we always get some fresh bark delivered around this time of year. 

Madhatters again

We visited Madhatters this morning.  The children had a good run around and lots of fun.  We will hopefully go next Tuesday to give Thomas and William a chance to play there, whilst they are on holiday from school. 

Children's Blog

The children's blog (homefromhomechildren) is for your children to use, both at our house and at home.  They love to look at their own page and would be very excited to show us, and the other children, photos from home.  It honestly doesn't take very long to write something and downloading photos probably only takes around the same time as they do on Facebook (if you have Facebook that is!).   

Tesco for schools

Tesco are starting their vouchers for schools on 28th February, so if you collect any, we would be very grateful for them. 

Learning Journeys

Please remember that, although we only complete our summary termly, you can take your child's learning journey home whenever you wish.  We're quite surprised that nobody has asked to see one as yet as we're sure you must be interested in reading what your child has been doing whilst with us.  Please, just ask for it whenever you want - it belongs to your child and is yours to view as and when :). 

Kites

We made some kites today.  William made one at school yesterday and the children really liked it, so they had a go today at making their own.

We've put them on the playroom wall for you all to see.

 

Happy Valentines Day!

Hope you've all had a lovely day. 

Thank you to Eszme's mummy again for making some delicious cup cakes for everyone. 

Week beginning 14th February is week 2

Madhatters and playdoh

We went to Madhatters this morning.  All the children had a good time. 

This afternoon the children have played with the playdoh.  They have dressed up too and used the playdoh as biscuits and cakes.  They have had a really great time!

We've done lots of cutting and sticking today too, so there will be lots of lovely collages heading home. 

Thank you to Tyler's mummy and Adam's mummy for putting photographs on the children's blog.  It is great to see photos from home.  Please use the blog to post any photos just to write a quick sentence about what your child has done at home.  It is your blog to use as you wish.    The more we all use it, the more interesting and exciting it will be for the children to look at and discuss.

Happy birthday Tyler!

Tyler was 1 yesterday and his mummy kindly sent in a birthday cake for all the children to share.  We sang 'Happy birthday' and helped Tyler to blow out the candles. 

We've played in the tents and tunnels, done some dressing-up and played with playdoh today. 

Week beginning 7th February is week 1

Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy birthday to Tyler who is 1 on Sunday.  Hope you enjoy your party tomorrow! x

Happy birthday Joel!

A very happy birthday to Joel who is 3 today :-). 

We visited the duck pond this morning.  We had a walk through the woods and fed the ducks. 

Noodles!

The children created some lovely pictures today using maize noodles.  They used lots of different colours and enjoyed sticking the noodles to paper.  They described them as 'squishy' and had fun squeezing them in their hands and between their fingers. 

Biscuits

We made some delicious biscuits today.  The children chose which shape they would like to use and we talked about the names of all the shapes. 

RNLI

We visited Fleetwood lifeboat station yesterday.  The shop opens especially for SOS day each year and the two staff members recognised us from last year and had a little chat with the children.  They all got a sticker too.  We donated £20 into the collection box.

We saw a lifeboat in the sea - it had visited from the Isle of Man and was on its way back again.  The children also had fun following the metal fish along Fleetwood prom and were quite disappointed when it was time to come home for lunch!

Week beginning 31st January is week 3

Little schools birdwatch

Yesterday the children made some binoculars using cardboard tubes.  They decorated them with lovely stickers.

We did the birdwatch today and recorded the different types of birds on special sheets.  We saw 25 different varieties of birds in the hour!  I've copied and pasted the record for you below. 

Bird Number seen


Black headed gull 8

Blackbird 2

Blue tit 2

Carrion crow 1

Chaffinch 1

Coal tit 1

Collared dove 2

Common gull 0

Dunnock 2

Feral pigeon 5

Goldfinch 9

Great tit 1

Greenfinch 1

Herring gull 3

House sparrow 0

Jackdaw 0

Long tailed tit 3

Magpie 2

Pied wagtail 0

Robin 0

Rook 0

Song thrush 0

Starling 22

Woodpigeon 2

Wren 0

67

RNLI SOS day on Friday 29th January

Next Friday is RNLI SOS day and we will hopefully be going to visit Fleetwood lifeboat station again, like we did last year. 

We will be looking at our RNLI magazines next week and talking about how the RNLI keep us safe.  Like last year, we will be collecting for them, so if you would like to donate any money we will take it with us on the Friday.

William is a member of Stormforce Sam, which is a membership of the RNLI for children.  The link is as follows if you are interested:

 http://www.rnli.org.uk/how_to_support_us/membership/storm-force/

Madhatters

We went to Madhatters this morning and the children had a good time playing in the play area and also on the bus!

Week beginning 24th January is week 2

Feeding the birds

We will be taking part in the 'Little Schools Birdwatch' again during the next couple of weeks, so we filled up all the bird feeders this morning. 

Little Kaiden really enjoyed listening to the wind chimes and kept shaking them to make them jingle! 

We've been blogging!

We showed the children their own special blog today.  They had a chance to write a little something on their own page and put on some photos of their choice.  They all seemed to enjoy it and are keen to have another go.  We've explained that their mummies will get a password and that they might have a chance to post at home sometimes.  If not, we will look at the blog regularly here anyway so they will have plenty of opportunity to contribute. 

Thank you!

Thank you for my birthday wishes and to those of you who sent me cards.  Thank you to Adam and Victoria for the lovely presents too - they are very much appreciated xxxx

Guess who!

The children have recently been talking about the colour eyes, so we had a chat together today about what we looked like.  We all looked in the mirror and at each other, and talked about hair colour, eye colour, skin colour and other features of ourselves. 

The children then painted a picture of their faces, which we've cut out and put on our wall.  See if you can guess who is who when you come in!

Rhymes and songs

We had a great time this morning with the musical instruments.  The children played with a variety of instruments; shakers, rattles, drums and whistles.  We sang lots of songs and did some actions. 

Little birthday celebration

Eszme's mummy and daddy sent a beautiful birthday cake for us all to share today.  It was Eszme's birthday last week but her mummy had the week off to celebrate with Eszme, so this was her first day back after Christmas!  We sang 'Happy Birthday' to Eszme and all shared some cake.  It was delicious!

Week beginning January 10th is week 3

Baby news!

Lots of love and congratulations to Emma, Will and Erin on the birth of Kirsten Rose Phyllis yesterday evening.  She kindly arrived 10 days early and all is well.  She has arrived on a great day too - it was my dad's birthday yesterday; he is 75 years older!!

We can't wait to meet little Kirsten! XXX

Madhatters

We took the children to Madhatters this morning.  William and Thomas don't go back to school until tomorrow, so it gave them a chance to play and run off some energy.  All the children enjoyed themselves. 

Week beginning January 3rd is week 2

Happy New Year!

Hope you all had an enjoyable New Years Eve and that 2011 brings you health and happiness. 

See you on Tuesday!

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas!

Did anyone look at the Santa website?

Just a reminder of the fantastic Santa website if you haven't had chance to look (see link below).  It really is worth taking a look.  The message is great if you include photos :-)

Calendars

The children had fun making calendars today.  I think tomorrow we'll take down the displays and the children can bring home their Christmas creations.  Get ready to make room in your houses!

Sam leaving at the end of this week.

Just to let you all know, it is Sam's last day on Friday.  He is off to pastures new at the start of next year and we wish him well.  Chris and I will miss him, as I'm sure all the children will too.  xx

Week beginning December 13th is week 1

Number 7

We were going through numbers yesterday and found that the number 7 is one which some of the children aren't familiar with.  We now have a number 7 on our wall, on which the children have drawn 7 dots, which we use to remind the children of the number.  If you spot any number 7s whilst at home or out and about, it might be a good idea to bring them to your child's attention. 

Fantastic website for a message from Santa

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

You can make a personal video, including photos of your child.  Its lovely :-).

Mmmmm, chocolate!

We made some special treats for mummies and daddies today.  I won't go into detail, but YUM!!!

More Christmas creations

We made some more pictures today.

Here are some photos of our Christmas displays.  Don't they look great?  The children have done really well.

I've got my phone back!

No mobile at the moment

Just to let you all know, I lost my phone in Preston on Saturday.  It has been found, but I won't get it back until Monday or Tuesday.  If you need to contact us, please call either Chris' mobile or our house phone.  Thanks.

Week beginning December 6th is week 3

Snow!

We had great fun in the snow this morning!  The children picked it up, threw it in the air and just generally had a good time. 

Norad tracks Santa

There is a fantastic website that the children might enjoy (adults will definitely!!). 

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html

Have a look and see what you think!

Fireman Sam

Joel's mummy told us today that Fireman Sam will be at the Grand Theatre on January 15th if anyone is interested :-)

Christmas creations

Yesterday, the children did lots of painting.  They painted some lolly sticks to be used in todays activity, a large piece of paper, covering it in lots of shades of green (now a Christmas tree!) and they each made a beautiful snowy picture, using white paint and glitter. 

Today, the children made Christmas cards, using the painted lolly sticks from yesterday, and some lovely decorations for the Christmas tree at home.