This moment - (a day late) Balancing

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
inspired by Amanda at Soule Mama

These are a few of our favourite things

These are a few of our current favourites for simple play....

Rascal is loving these big, fat, liquid chalk pens - nice bright colours and so easy to use on the black board, windows or black paper (plus no chalky fingers for those littles who don't like icky fingers!) ...

 

bubbles ...  a perennial favourite  .....

  ...  and of coarse playdough. These garden printable are perfect for creating our own little garden with a bit of green play dough.

What are your current favoirte simple play ideas?

Racal is 4!

 Last weekend my middle boy turned 4! Such a big boy now and really looking forward to Kindy next year.

 He started the day with birthday candles and presents over breakfast and then we had a small party in the afternoon with a few friends and family.

Firemans are still a favourite so that was the them for the day. Free printable cake toppers, water bottle labels and party bag labels were all found here.

Autumn leaf crowns

It is starting to feel very autumn like now in Perth so the boys and I have been doing a bit of autumn craft. 

We gathered a bowl full of gorgeous autumn leaves and with a few strips of cardboard and a stapler we made a some Autumn crowns.

Puggles turned out like bunny ears...

.. and even Jack Dog has a new crown!

Tape resist art.

I have been meaning to try this tape resist art project with my boys for a while and when I saw these mini canvas boards at the Educational Art Supplies shop last week I knew what I would use them for straight away.

I taped the first letter of the boys names onto each board using some masking tape and then let them paint whatever they wanted.

At first they painted over the masking tape but with a little encouragement they soon took to the whole board with enthusiasm.

I particularly liked Rascals approach where he painted over the board with a brush and then started drawing patterns in the paint with his fingers.

The paint bled a little under some of the tape so I might outline the letters with a felt marker (Sharpie) but I think the results are very pretty and will make a nice addition to the boys bedrooms. Puggle was asleep when the boys painted these so I have painted over his board with a pale green and I will let him loose with some marker pens which will be a little easier for his little hands to tackle (and I hope a little bit less messy)! 

Perth Zoo

Last week I took my two littlest boys to the Perth Zoo. We have been members on and off for a number of years and very time we go it remands me that we should visit more often.

At three, Rascal is the prefect age for a visit to the zoo and we had a great time exploring the African Savannah, watching the Orang-outangs hanging about and visiting the tigers and the elephants.

After a break for morning tea the boys had a great time paddling about in the play ground before we headed home.

Unfortunately we missed Rascals favorites - the Penguins so we will have to go back again soon!

Shape sorter painting

Yesterday I was after a quick and relatively simple painting activity for Rascal so I grabbed some paint and the shapes from Puggles shape sorter.

Rascal was quite happy stamping away telling me about the colours and shapes he was using.

However it didn't take long before he just wanted to try a little bit of finger painting instead - always popular with my tactile boys!

What is your favourite quick and simple painting activity? 

Fort Friday

This morning before school the boys got busy with some outdoor play equipment, an old car cover, some pegs and bulldog clips.

 

They made a rocket to go to the moon - complete with moon buggy and digital imaging equipment. Such a shame to drag them away for the school run but it will still be there when they get home!

Warming up

It feels as though the nice mild spring we have been having is finally over with the temperature forecast to reach 36 degrees today, and 37 tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it because I'm not really a sun loving girl. With three boys that love being outdoors it also restricts what we can do for a large part of the day. So this week there will be ...

 several trips to the local (air conditioned) library,

lots of water play (especially in the mornings or late afternoons)

and lots of racking my brain to come up with some new indoor activities that will keep my little ones entertained without them totally trashing my house. Wish me luck!

Where have I been for so long

It seem like ages since I posted on this blog and the year is just flying by. Aussie Dad has been away for a couple of weeks which has made life pretty hectic for me but even with him back I'm having difficulty finding the time. I keep taking photos of what we have been up to but they haven't been making in into regular blog posts and with December almost here that may not change much. I have lots of Advent ideas swirling in my head but none of them have made it into reality yet - fingers crossed they do before the first of December. Anyway here is a little photo guide how we have been spending our days over the last few weeks. 

 Baking and eating

 Playing ball

 Drawing

and painting.

Playing with tongs

 and sorting lots of things.

Playing with dough

Making a splash.

 Trying to keep up with this young man (who is into everything).

and just hanging out. We have also been loving Naturescape at Kings Park but that is a whole other post. Hope to be back in the space again soon!

Wordless Wednesday - Old MacDonald's Farm

Pop on over to My Little Drummer Boys and see who else is joining in with Wordless Wednesday!

Rainy day play

Winter is with us with lots of rainy days last week so we have been relying on lots of old favourite play ideas to keep us going. There has been lots of colouring and drawing ...

Playing with the wooden train tracks ....
A spot of dinosaur hunting ....
Some cutting and gluing practice
Lots of playing with duplo and playmobile ...
and a bit more tipping and pouring with rice. What are your favourite play activities when the weather keeps you indoors?