April Showers, snow showers!

Well, the weather forecasters got it right! We woke to a blizzard and a covering of snow on Thursday The girls weren't very impressed as we had to cancel our plans to visit our friends.

We went up to the big garden

New plants in the polytunnel still need water.

Reuben and Rosanna found it very funny to find snow in the 'bonfire'.

First snow for the hens.

Snowdrops long gone, but plenty more Spring flowers emerging.

A quick science lesson on the trampoline:
Imogen found it really difficult to bounce on the trampoline.
Is the snow adding to or resisting her weight?

Off we went for a walk up the 'doggy' footpath.

The horse ran to meet us, hoping to be fed.

I love the view at the top of the hill.

Horizontal snow lashed our faces on the way back down the hill.

Back home, a welcome warm up and time for hot chocolate biscuit dunking,

and dippy eggs!

Taste buds & Tasting

We did this simple experiment with our friends to investigate the sense of taste.
Put different liquids in separate cups, lemon juice (bitter), salty water (salt), sugary water (sweet) and strong black coffee (bitter).

First we all drew a tongue map. Then we tested each sample. Without knowing which was which, the children dipped a cotton bud into the liquids in turn and dabbed them onto each area of the tongue in turn, taking care not to sweep across the tongue.

Some scientists believe that your tongue and brain work together to recognise certain tastes on different areas of the tongue. There is evidence that you can taste:

Bitter things at the back of your tongue.
Sweet at the front
Sour at the sides
Salty at the tip.

But some scientists have a different hypothesis, they believe you can taste all the flavours, bitter, sweet, sour, salty all over your tongue.
Which is the conclusion we came to, too!

Why not try this and tell us your results, our researchers are waiting for your data!

Easter Crafts, dandelion juice and a super hero

We didn't get off to a good start last week. The plumbers were fitting the toilets, an easy job we thought until an electrical cable was drilled through. Then Geoff lost his keys and I got a really awful headache. We had to move lots of our stuff quickly for the plumber, so we ended up with a big pile of clothes, toys and shoes in the middle of our home ed room!
As the week went by I got more and more tired. I was pleased when Geoff took the day off on Thursday, it gave me chance and space to think. I de-cluttered and sorted the messy pile and organised a lovely day of Easter crafts for me and the kids...

I love to see the children together, all doing different things, but happy being together. It's a question I have to answer a lot, 'How do you manage the different ages?'

Reuben played with the tadpole and caterpillar set.

Jemima and Rosanna made foam flowers and butterflies.

Imogen started this lovely craft set.

By 10 o'clock, we had started making buns!


Imogen made this Easter plaque out of Lego, she drew out the design first on paper.
Imogen says I've infringed her copyright, so if you want to see her version, click here
In the afternoon we went up to the big garden to enjoy the amazing sunshine.

We had our first barbeque of 2012.

Our six new little ladies, SURVIVED, their first fox attack.

As I was weeding, Reuben decided he wanted to make dandelion juice. There were plenty to pick in the garden.
We pulled off the petals

and placed them in a large pan with water and sugar ( I guessed the quantities)
Boiled for a few hours, cooled and then strained
I wonder if you can make Dandelion wine?

And after a full day of activities, Rosanna dressed up, I think it's inspired by the new cbeebies character Tree Fu Tom, which Reuben and Rosanna love. She's singing twinkle twinkle little star, like super heroes do!!!

April snow showers?

Is snow really coming our way?

A story walk - Burbage Peak district

We went off for a drive into Derbyshire, not really knowing where we were going to stop.

This view caught our eye!

Not very safe, but the kids enjoyed climbing on the boulders.

Rosanna has to join in with her big sisters.

Masses of frog spawn in the stream.

It was one of those walks where there is so much to look at that you think you'll never get anywhere, but finally we got moving...

A deep dark wood, for a mouse to take a stroll!

Come and have tea in my under ground house.

A fox took a stroll through the deep dark wood!

and we got the owl too!!!!

It will be weird for me when we no longer walk along enacting Julia Donaldson stories: The seaside and it's sharing a shell, any wood it's The Gruffalo, and we are always looking for Stick man and his Stick lady love!

Geoff never takes us on the easiest route!

O-oh we've got to go through it!
(I told you I live in a story land!)

and finally back to the car park, our first ice-cream van of the year!

Have you got any stories that follow you round?