Play Shops

I've been wanting to play shops with my daughter for a while. So we printed out some money...Printing out Money was a bit of an ordeal with both children at me and squabbling.

My Aunt and Uncle brought a little play cash register which beeps and talks for the children for Christmas.

My son (19 months) concentrated on trying to put his 'coins' in his wallet.

My daughter (4.5 years) worked on learning to recognize numbers bigger than 1-9 and understanding that you get change when you give too much money.

Now its just going to be a matter of making sure they are both happy and playing together and I'm not going round the twist.

Bucket Stove

When my parents came back from visiting my Aunt and Uncle in a little village in Laos they talked about how the food was cooked over a bucket lined with clay a fire built in the bottom feed by sticks.

Wow how cool is that! My daughters ears and brain kicked into action too.

"Let's make one"

So Dave brought us a bucket and now I'm try to find how on the net.

Bit grip but good instructions...no clay http://www.oism.org/nwss/s73p920.htm

http://www.theshedmag.co.nz/online/-previous-articles/feb-march-09/144-cook-without-power-by-daniel-mclaughlin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv8GwurHsgw

will get more info as we go

Visiting the Port

We took the kids to the local port, impromptu and great.

Walked out along the road beside the port to the jetty.

The children watched the bulldozer (but for shifting log chips so really odd looking) drive up the HUGE chip pile (My daughter when she told Dave over breakfast this morning "Dad the wood chip pile was....was as big...well as our house...no.... a mountain...much bigger than ours (garden pile of chips)). The driver stopped what he was doing drove out onto the road moved around lifted up and down and tooted his horn...to which my son just sad down on the footpath with his mouth open.

"Again!"

Next we visited the log grabber which did a little dance for them and lifted its jaws up and down. Then we were able to talk to the guy who was fixing it. My daughter asked what all the blue stuff was on the grass...grease. They climbed on the jaws, and poked at the tires.

My daughter was more interested in trying to climb the poor little trees beside the fences and the fishermen on the end of the wharf.

I've promised that we will be coming back often.

Great looking views too.

Computer games

I personally love playing computer games. We got Plant tycoon just for a quick easy game that I thought my daughter might like. I can't stop playing and nor can she.

I think so far my daughter has begun to understand money...the first few games she would spend every thing she had and wonder why all her plants would die.

Now she's saving money to buy "the good soil mum".

She's also put things into groups, colours, numbers and costs....number recognition is going well.

We also play this game in real life...but it has been a bit hard with the weather being so hot....nothing is living.

Flower love

Granny has heaps or great flowers at her place and my daughter can not stop her little fingers from picking them.

New Camera

back in action....but daughter loves playing games on the computer at moment...oh well catch ip soon

Camera loss slows blog

Photos are just so important I feel to show what we are up too. How else would you see my two kids playing with bubbles on a sunny day with the cat and their great grandmother watching on.

I can't explain how cool it was to see our two playing and caring for our new baby chicks. My daughter sitting holding one on her lap then the cat not realizing that there was a chicken there and jumping up for a hug....how funny.

This morning I feel like I've got out on the wrong side of the bed. Sooo I feel a bit bad about not doing something educational with my children.

We've gone from marble play

To painting with marbles

To painting

TO cleaning up the paint

TO Playing in the clean up water

TO ADDING MORE soap to the water and playing with bubbles

To my son putting the wrong end of the bubble blower in his mouth.....sigh

Morning tea stop .... take a breath.

Mum how do you make flour?

Ok....next round