Wednesday 31 October 2012

Halloween 2012

Last year for Halloween we went to town, decorating, dressing up, only to find that no one on our street was celebrating....cue four very disappointed kids (especially Sienna who spent the evening in tears). This year I decided to do something a little different, to get them out of the house and having fun, but still keeping safe. 

This afternoon I made up a series of clues for a mystery walk. I chose the Hamilton Gardens, as the girls know it pretty well, and there is a lot of space to explore. The clues all lead to various parts of the garden, like this one below Dad + {rose} = the answer? One of the little sub gardens named Roger's rose garden.

This one was of course the English garden.


And this one for the cemetery.

This one was 'Turtle Lake' the big lake in the centre of the gardens.



I number and decorated the envelopes, half would be mine and half Roger's.







Then I packed two backpacks with the envelopes, candy and a map, in case either of us forgot where to go. Unlikely, but best to be prepared.



 The girls got in their costumes this afternoon, they knew I had something planned, and were trying their best to guess what it was.

Sienna as Red Riding Hood 

 Denver as Regina, the evil Queen from Once Upon a Time.


Madison as Snow White.


Kyla as Belle, from Beauty and the Beast.


When Rog got home he changed and then we loaded them into the car and drove to the gardens, where I finally let them in on what was going on. I gave Madison a map and my phone, and they headed off to find Roger at the first clue.





I, meanwhile, made my way to where I'd be giving them the next clue, the American Modernist Garden. And waited.



And finally they found me!!


Next clue....Turtle Lake!!


Then I went to the English garden, and got stalked by the local dove colony. They wanted my candy. 


'Give me all the candy and I won't peck out your eyes!'


The girls eventually came to rescue me. Kyla was convinced they were pigeons and tried sending them on a homing mission.




At the Indian Garden I hid the clue, (we can't make things too easy now can we?) and Kyla managed to find it.





While the kids ran off to get the last clue, I ran up to the cemetery, and got comfortable behind some gravestones. When Rog brought them up, I leapt out from behind one snarling. Everyone aside from Madison got a good fright, and Denver's face was the funniest thing I have seen in ages. Totally worth an afternoon's hard work.





We figured we owed them a treat after that, so we headed to the Hog's Breath Cafe for some dinner. All in all, this Halloween was definitely a winner!





Tuesday 2 October 2012

Making Stuff.

You may remember this post from all the way back in 2009. Or like me, you may not, hence the creation of this blog to record these things. Anyway, I decided to finally invest in the Usbourne Art Treasury, knowing that Sienna just loves to get her art on. Yesterday we got to work on one of the activities.
Inspired by Alberto Giacometti's 'City Square', the activity immediately caught her eye because it required the construction a wee dog. After a quick dash to the shops for pipe cleaners, we got to work. It was harder than it looked, and much of the time I was the one who wrapped the tin foil around the figures, while Sienna sat next to me and created pictures with the excess pipe cleaners. In the end, this is what we had.


Friday 28 September 2012

Fly Day










Sweet girl decided that she wanted to learn about 'those little birds that are always outside' , AKA sparrows. So after printing and colouring a picture, she drew her own version, made labels and stuck them on. We made some little feeders to hang outside as well, although Gilby and the neighbour's dog scare all the birds off, and it's still hanging, sadly neglected. In the afternoon we went to the zoo and saw some more birds.













The Word Party

Loving words clutch crimson roses,
Rude words sniff and pick their noses,
Sly words come dressed as foxes,
Short words stand on cardboard boxes,
Common words tell jokes and gabble,
Complicated words play Scrabble,
Swear words stamp around and shout,
Hard words stare eachother out,
Foreign words look lost and shrug,
Careless words trip on the rug,
Long words slouch with stooping shoulders,
Code words carry secret folders,
Silly words flick rubber bands,
Hyphenated words hold hands,
Strong words show off, bending metal,
Sweet words call each other 'petal',
Small words yawn and suck their thumbs,
Till at last the morning comes,
Kind words give out farewell posies....
Snap! The dictionary closes.

-RICHARD EDWARDS.