Theme: Body

I didn't plan this to be a theme week, but Toby's new refrain has become, "I want to do something else" (how does he know it's the school holidays?)  Something else turned into my digging out my body-themed activities and roll of cheap wallpaper.  So here we go!

First thing to do is draw a body, and fortunately I had a handy template.  Lie down, Toby!

Just ignore the face.  And lack of neck.  I know it's not a great likeness, but he really is that tall.  How on earth did that happen?

He knew pretty much all the body labels already, so I can't really claim it as a learning opportunity.  Still, revision is good, right?  And everyone enjoys colouring on a huge sheet of paper.

Another sheet of wallpaper became a blank canvas for hand and foot painting.  Fortunately it's been great weather, as outside is always the best place to do this.  Even with a strategically placed tub of water for washing off in.

I've gone green!

Time for a different colour

Splat!

Who needs green fingers when you can have green toes?

And we've managed quite a few activities that are good for our bodies.  Swimming (or in Toby's case sitting on the edge of the pool - he's still a bit nervous), a version of Simon Says, and today we went cycling!  First Toby wanted to cycle, so he rode his balance bike to the playground.

Then I coaxed (OK, bribed) him into the child seat on the back of my bike, and we zoomed - er, wobbled - away.  It's only the second time I've used it, and it certainly takes a while to get used to the top-heaviness.  I realised again the paradox of cycling, where the faster you go the safer you feel, even though everything in you is screaming to slow down and be careful!  Fortunately there's a lovely flat cyclepath just near our house, so we didn't have to contend with traffic.  We pedalled to the Trent  & Mersey Canal to watch a couple of narrowboats go through the lock, then turned around and made our way to Alvaston Park, where we rewarded ourselves with an ice lolly, lunch, and the second playground visit of the morning.

Am I really safe in here?

 And in a throwback to the planets theme: Alvaston Park has models of the four innermost planets, and we walked around to see them all.  Here's Toby cosying up to Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.  The cycle helmet was for protection from passing asteroids, I guess - he liked it so much he didn't want to take it off!

Mercury

Venus

Earth: You are here.

Mars

 

And a human sundial brings us neatly back to the body theme.  Toby's stood on June so it's a bit off, but when I stood on July it said just about 12:30 BST, which it was.