Where did January Go?

Well I know there are a few days left but blogging has been a bit scarce so a photo round up may be in order!!!!

In no particular order…..

We went to a toy workshop at Cannock Toy Museum, great fun!!!

B has been working on his phonics and numbers amongst lots of playing-he really likes having his own book for his sounds and drawing!

Playing number thief and figuring which number is missing-a great game!

Ben discovered the joy of watching candles as the night draws in, instead of blowing them out!

We did lots of baking-Ot discovered he really liked lemon tart!

We all designed our own spring roll filling and made (and ate) them…yummy!

Our Nian the New Year Monster cake-perhaps more sugar than cake-the boys did make a lovely sponge though!

Ot is saluting not about to be sick honest!

Tig made a Lego snake, inspired by one of the Chinese zodiac animals.

We all went bowling-great fun!

We made a framework for a dragon head, then worked on Modrocking it together.  Tig and B enjoyed it but Ot was more into Robox the

A bit of early morning game playing…

 

We investigated fruit batteries, makings some, using LEDs drawing circuits, using a multimeter, making tables, ordering, talking about current and collage, learning about copper and zinc.

A bit of fingerprint art-B really loved this!!!!

B went on a magnet hunt and we took photos, thumbs up means the magnet was attracted, thumbs down it wasn’t.  He greeted me after a day in work with look mommy it’s attracted to my magnet-holding out his money tin :0)

We made floating super heroes, creating a net and using magnets.

A pocket money spend-Pig goes pop!

For Ot a paper Guitar and Tig some Halo Mega blocks.

We made a space collage

Robot stop frame animations

Finding a lost iPod-INSIDE the settee!!!!

I finished my mosaic lizard

Robots at Tuesday Club

A bit of Tweezers practice

There was lots of model making but we don’t have that many pictures here’s one…

Ot has a new love-air guitar!!!!

There was some handwriting-in books!

Lots of computing…and 100% club for Ot every week!!!!!!

And that’s all…..for now…..I think there are more pics on another camera!!!!

Robot Stop Frame

So,we’ve been talking about our ideal imaginary robots, Tig has been building them from Lego and Ot has been playing on Roblox (it’s robots honest mom!).  We’re all up to date with Whizz, spelling, drill maths, ‘dictation’, passport (which is our quick mental maths stuff), Ot has 1 reading eggspress book done, Tig has 2 but I’m not sure that the reading level is right….B has learned quite a few new sounds, done some nubers and tweezer stuff but is still in a crazy mood!  the heating/hot water is still bust but the dryer is fixed.  I am feeling better but tired and we haven’t done much Robot project stuff except this which Tig and I have been working on:

Stop frame with collaborative soundtrack

 

And here is Ot and B’s version

Christmas 2011

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On the Fifteenth Day of Christmas, the Kentish Family…

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Had a lovely start-Tig is trying so hard and successfully with dealing with frustrating things, ‘no’ and keeping calmer!  Ot is languishing in computer world and I’ve caught up on some emails and ordering that needed to be done.  Still feeling off but trying to just get through it all.  B totally enjoyed watching nightmare before Christmas (twice) he’s been persuaded to watch Rudolph the red nosed reindeer now-his fav song!  I must try and get a video of him singing!  Tig has been doing some Lego and grabbed out the playdoh. 

B and Tig made spoon Christmas characters a bit fiddly but they were pleased with the results Tig made  a penguin and B made Santa.  We had lunch and finally persuaded Ot to make his snowman which he was pleased with.  B made an angel magnet-he likes doing the making stuff but wants to do all of the Santas!

Tried to get tidy- R and E were computing and finishing assignments respectively and not all that much help really.  TBH the boys behaviour seemed to get worse as soon as they were up and about although there was no reason for that just an observation.  They eventually set of to dads just before tea time!  We managed between us (the boys and I) to get the washing upstairs and put away (after a fashion), the playroom tidied-there is a floor and bedrooms made vaguely neat.  In bits and dabs as I am still feeling yack with bursts of energy and lots of uncomfortableness and burning today :0(  Hey ho, hopefully it will get better although I am thinking that a trip to the quacks is becoming more necessary.

After tea we got into bed, Ot read stories whilst I finished putting some of their clothes away-rotten I know but the heap was a monster and by the time they found their clothes in the morning it would have been all over the floor!  B was somewhat horrid and very rough with Ot plus terrible at following his instructions and fell asleep super quick so I think he is hugely over tired.

I want to go to bed and just try to fall asleep so I can’t feel uncomfortable and stingy/burny but dh is not home yet so I am staying up-plus I am trying to get the loaves finished. *yawn*

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On the Thirteenth Day of December the Kentish Family…

…Went to Tuesday club and had heaps of Christmassy fun.  Shrinkles and Rudolph decorations were made, Christingles too, playing, Lego, games, a scratch nativity, painting, sticking and parachute fun-busy but great.  Followed by visiting nanny,eating heaps, decorating baubles for the tree at Nanny and Granddad’s, lots of chatting, watching some Christmas movies and a lovely afternoon.  Everyone is very tired and trying to et to sleep.  Our Yellow moon stuff arrived today so we’re (to great excitement) leaving maths and writing and all that stuff to do a craft a day (focusing on how we are, getting back some manners and perseverance that have slipped away a little plus listening and following our instructions whilst having some Christmas fun!)

On the Twelfth Day of December the Kentish Family…

…realised that they had not been keeping the blog up to date and ought to get it sorted!  It’s been a bit hectic and I am feeling somewhat under the weather so blogging has stuttered to a bit of a halt.  We’ve had fun at the December Tuesday Club meet ups, Winter with icy polar bears to rescue, ice lollies and a story from babushka, Santa’s workshop with madly spinning electric Santa’s, presents to wrap, cards to make and gingerbread to eat!  We’ve been plodding a long with bits of maths on the computer, reading eggs, reading stories, computer playing, using Scratch to tell the Christmas story.  It has been busy at work too, getting ready for the exhibition, which went really well on Friday.  S and P bought over our Christmas present of a fish tank which is now home to 6 fish, 2 plattys and four zebra danios-more to come fingers crossed.  One of the red plattys (Inferno) has been causing some concern-but he has finally come down to the bottom of the tank and is swimming around and seems loads better-hurrah!

I have realised that there are a few moments missing from the posts-mainly because I asked the boys to record a few days and didn’t go back to fill in the gaps so here are a few…

Way back in November we made some mosaic piccy frames for DH’s birthday and also all made a Christmas coaster-they are now grouted but these are the pics of them pre-grouting.

We put up the tree, the weekend before the 1st of December-somewhat early even for us but it was the weekend of DH’s birthday and we were all ready to stick up the tree!  The boys each chose a new decoration to add to their collection.

M has gone back home and is terribly missed by Tiger- I miss him just not the mess and cleaning!

On the First Day of December the Kentish Family…

…spent the morning doing  embossing and shrinkle making then headed out to the park with our bags of chips.  The chips were great and after a game of tag we went home.  Next we did Maths Whizz, Spelling Time and Scratch.  I was very pleased with how well the shrinkle’s worked and how tiny and cute they were.  My (Tiger’s) crystals have finished growing and look brilliant, they can almost pass for Energon.

When we got home we saw that our baby dinosaurs had been born then we did our formal work:whizz maths, spelling time and reading eggs except for B.  I (Ot) made a matching game on 2diy for B and he realy enjoyed it.  The best bit of my day was that my new psp wire had arived so that i can blast those dinos in to extincshon.

Dh’s Birthday

A quick photo round up-a lovely day despite both being in work and it feeling a little hectic.  Pizza for tea-thanks E!  Amongst daddy’s gifts Steve Jobs biography, a remote control Merc. , beer and chocs.

DH’s Birthday song, candles and cake

Super Science Fun!

Today,  we got out mom’s old paper marbling set to have an art and cooking day. First we put some newspaper  on the table so it didn’t get dirty. Secondly we read the instructions and got some paper to do the marbling on.  The way you do it, is taking a plastic tray or bowl, filling it with 2cm of cold water and then putting a few drops of marbling ink on top.  The ink is oily and spreads out and gets bigger on top of the water because oil is less dense than water and oil and water are immiscible (do not mix).  It is tricky to put on the right amount of oil and to know when to stop squirting with your pipette.  Also, it is hard to break up the dots of oil.  At the end we found that mixing quite a lot with a knife was good and I felt really proud of the last ones I made with the purple ink.  It was really fun and I would love to do it again sometime, possibly when I am grown up and have my own kids-ha ha! (By Tig)

After mom had tidied came snack time:

Ot decided to read to B over snack, no prompting, entirely his own idea!

 

Some reading and some Milo playing at snack

Next we made amazing concoctions:

There was mixing, separating, layers, colours, oil, density, solid, liquids, gases, reactions, sharing, cooperation, observation, pouring, counting, acids, carbonates, reactions, immiscible, relationships, air, bubbles, pockets of air-lots and lots of thinking, figuring out, expanding ideas and adapting thinking-all with messy fun!

 

 

Adding Bicarb…

 

 

Finally we made some sweets. Mom made a dough made of icing sugar and egg white.  We split the dough in to 4 bowls and put a different flavouring in each bowl. We used   lemon, strawberry, peppermint and orange.  After we stirred the flavouring we tasted the sugar to ,make sure the flavour was right. Next we mixed the colouring in and rolled the dough into sausages.  B and Tig chopped up the sausages  and rolled the souses in to balls.  They squashed the balls and put them on plates in the fridge to go cold.  When they were cold we melted some choc and dipped half of them in the choc.  finally we put the sweets back in the fridge.  i tasted one but………………………………….mom wont let me eat ‘em all doh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Ot)

Then I made brownies and carrot cake and tacos for tea, we swept, mopped, tidied and had baths-we waited fro Dad to sit and eat so tea was later at about 7 ish.  Tacos were a hit and everyone enjoyed them!

A great, busy, messy, fun day!

Relaxed but productive

err well I hope so anyway!  we’ve been relaxed but getting some computer stuff done like Whizz maths, free trials of Reading eggs all round, spelling on big IQ kids.  Lots of bits of reading but Ot needs to read more with and too me beyond bedtime and odd bits. 

Ot and I played a sentence game with dice, creating sentences using the different types so far, his total screen obsession is still on-going.  Tig wrote the end of his Zombie story (dictated) and B has been enjoying lots and lots of stories and spotting letters everywhere.

Ot and B can often be found making mischief together, enjoying a game or two, sword fighting, playing transformers and having messy fun.

There has been lots of bits of playdoh, some stitching with Tig, way back, which it would be good to get back too. 

The autumn themed meet up was fine, Tig is a little too OTT and not always thinking considerately so we’ll work on that but more perturbingly, Ot is hitting more and B is copying.  Big emotions (from anyone) result in him feeling the need to physically ‘act out’ e.g. Tig gets upset because I have told him off, Ot on his computer, picks up on the negative feeling (shouting/tone?) and grabs a sword and tells me that ‘That’s it I’m going  to…..’ etc. They both enjoyed making cakes but B was tearful and seemed unhappy again :0(

There are YouTube issues- Tig is watching and commenting on things with inappropriate language-not good!

We went swimming and then to a Christmas craft fair at Himley-would have been great if we could have stopped to have a look, between Ot and the number of people it was just a little frustrating!  Lists of toys have gone digital this year.  Some family members ask for suggestions so after b’days the boys have continued to add to their amazon lists.  I go them to have a look and take out and added some things that they had mentioned or pointed out whilst out and about.  It was a bit of a grumpy weekend.

On Monday we had the car and we headed out to Toys R Us after some work on the computer to spend pocket money, Tig and Ot got transformers and B go t a Transformer sword- thanks to the 3 for 2 offer they also treated themselves to Mc D’s.  After that we grabbed some spray cream and Tacos from Asda, some pom poms from Hobby craft and some marmite from the coop.  Back to do some playing and to laminate the playdoh mats for the Tuesday club as well as make the Pudsey spot game. 

Tig was super helpful and enjoyed testing out the game putting the pom poms on the velcro and checking them, B joined in too!

The meet up was quiet this week, some peeps were prob. at old fallings it was a lovely atmosphere still and computers were great.  Hoping to try and persuade someone to lend us some old laptops each week to use with scratch and maybe 2simple to try out.  Ot made a lovely Christmas bag and Tig played (noisily) with Dan-they had fun but I think some direction fro Tig’s energy is required! After the meet up we emptied the car and loosed Milo out then changed library books and had a play on the park. 

Today we have had lots of messy science fun, the boys will blog a little more about it soon!