Theme: Wild Animals

Well, this week didn't work out quite so well. We were a bit busier and didn't do any of our themed activities until Thursday. As I sit here blogging on Sunday afternoon there is still one craft we haven't got to, although if Toby's feeling creative when he wakes up I may give it a go. Also, I ordered one of those bug viewing boxes for Toby, with the magnifying glass in the top. It was returned to the sorting office on Monday because I wasn't in to take delivery. Graham finally picked it up for me on Friday, we excitedly unpacked it, and... the viewer was hopelessly blurry. So much for that bright idea.

Anyway, enough of the stuff we didn't do. On Thursday we made birdfeed cakes. This was one of the reasons I needed those 16 yoghurt pots! I punched a small hole in the bottom, poked a piece of string through and tied a nice chunky knot.

Then Toby helped me measure out 2 pots of breadcrumbs and 4 pots of birdseed. I melted a 250g block of lard (although I believe suet is recommended), poured it in and we stirred it all up. I guess the breadcrumbs compressed, because it actually only filled 5 yoghurt pots in the end.

They've been in the fridge for the past few days and I just got one out to check that it would actually come out of the pot! A few snips in the base and a shove, and it came out quite easily - and almost all in one piece.

The RSPB do a nice children's bird book with a "guess who?" format. Toby has enjoyed reading it even though it's a little advanced for him, so hopefully once we get some visitors to our birdseed we can use it to find out who they are.

Our outing was a trip to Attenborough Nature Centre, over towards Nottingham. It's a network of lakes formed from old gravel workings, bordered by the River Trent. Graham wasn't working that day so was able to join us, and we had a pleasant walk round. We investigated a variety of insects, even without the bug box.

Damselfly?

Looking at a snail

Scarlet lily beetle

One of those flies that wants to be a wasp

There were lots of water birds with their babies, from the ubiquitous mallards to swans, Canada geese, coots, and something I've tentatively identified as an Egyptian Goose.

Coot with babies

Egyptian goose

Look! Ducklings!

Teenage mallards

Finally, there was a kids' section inside with beautiful pokerwork wooden blocks and puzzles, lift-the-flap questions, and colouring sheets.

The last craft is set up and ready to go, so I'll update you with how that goes!

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