Martha's Marvellous Munchies

This was the last activity from the Wild Animals theme, that drifted over into the next week, so I thought I'd give it its own entry.  The idea was inspired by a blog post of Ellie's , who made bugs with pine cone bodies and pipe cleaner legs.  We didn't have any pine cones handy, but we had plenty of yoghurt pots. I covered them with paper, keeping the designs pretty simple as I knew Toby wouldn't have the patience to make many.  I punched holes in the sides to poke the pipe cleaner legs into.  And look!  I was even organised enough to put everything into little bowls! Toby picked out the legs for each bug.  He needed a bit of help threading them through the holes, but had the right idea.  Then he put glue on the goggly eyes (PVA would have been better than PrittStick) and we made a face on the base of the pot. Selecting a leg Intense concentration And then it was off to show Dad! Look what I made! Making another on...

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 me...

It was starting to feel like the routine was getting a bit stale.  Toby and I would go to a couple playgroups, get the shopping and housework done, and walk to the playground down the road.  Time to shake things up, I thought.  So for the next six or eight weeks I've planned a theme for each week - just something simple to hang a few activities on, and give me a reason to think of some crafts in advance.  It's very frustrating when you keep thinking, "well, we could do that ... if I'd saved 16 yogurt pots... or this ... if I had any idea where the chalks were".  So: planned and prepared and ready to go!  Week one was farm animals. Well, hi there. The big event was a visit to an actual farm, Highfields Happy Hens .  This is a great setup for kids, with a ton of play equipment as well as the animals, and they do wonderful work helping young offenders too.  Good all round.  It was a perfect time to visit, as they had lots of baby animals...

The first thing that strikes you is the length.  Step through the ancient wooden door and two hundred and fifty feet of building unrolls in front of you, arches upon arches marching down to a tantalising glimpse of glittering glass.  As your feet take you further in, your head tips back and the muted greens and reds of the painted ceiling resolve themselves into panels of prophets.  Micah, Isaiah and Hosea, grey-bearded and gaudily robed, hover over you as you walk the central aisle.  Suddenly they are swept aside as the stonework swoops into the form of an eight-pointed star, hurtling upwards to a single stunning point: the face of Christ. Ely Cathedral is awesome.  There is no other word for it.  There's just so much of it.  Swathes of shimmering stained glass glowing ruby and sapphire.   Masses of marble carved in ridiculously over-the-top detail.  A tangle of twisting tendrils formed in wrought metal.  Arch...