OK .... IT'S OCTOBER!

[loocyloo]

Hello everyone and hello October!

I was out for a walk for a friend and we both ended up filling our pockets with lovely shiny conkers. I, at least, work with small children. She works with animals and had no excuse except they were shiny !

Looking forward to my house slowly filling with a myriad of autumn leaves, conkers, acorns and assorted other seed pods! Thinking about some activities as well as just sensory play and using them for assorted art activities. In previous years, I've had the children threading the leaves onto string using some large plastic children's needles, but I'm not sure if any of mine are big enough for that yet. I do somewhere, have a plastic box with a squirrel on and a hole for the children to post conkers and acorns into it. I need to find it! I still can't find all my autumn books

Any other autumn ideas, or in fact, Harvest? as it's about to head into School and Church Harvest Festivals here.

[Mouse]

This is definitely the time of year to come home with pockets full of Autumn

I haven't got any conkers yet, but I'm sure I'll end up with plenty. My son has been at the park today with my grandson - they're both trained to collect anything I might find useful!

Last week the children helped cut lavender from our big plant in the back garden. It was already pretty dry, but we hung it up anyway and this week we'll use it to make lavender bags. We do it most years and the children love having them to take home.

This week we're going back into the garden to see if all the spiders are still there. We found some huge ones last week!

[Maza]

Omg Mouse, don't talk to me about spiders! Spider season seems to have arrived early this year - I hope it finishes early too. We have had some massive ones in our house. Has anyone else got loads of daddy long legs too? They don't scare me like spiders do, but they are absolutely everywhere, inside and out at the moment.

I had a very sweet afternoon. My next door but one neighbour works at a wildlife rescue centre and she brought a hedgehog home today to be released back into the wild. She invited us round to see it. She has hedgehog homes in her garden and popped it in there. Tonight, she'll open the doors on the little 'house' and it will be free! She showed us a video of two which she released last week. So exciting.

Loocyloo, I remember your little one wanting to make a potato garland or something similar last year (or did I dream that, lol!)

DH has been watching the rugby world cup and I have been watching the strictly results. Do you think the right person went home?

[loocyloo]

Sounds lovely Maza.

Yup ... loads of spiders here too! i don't like them, or Daddy Long Legs either!

Oooo..i don't remember anyone wanting to make a potato garland, but i wouldn't put it past any of them!

I didn't see everyone dance for Strictly, but judging by the dance off, yes, i think the right person went home.

Mouse.. my family are also trained to collect anything useful, and also not to throw anything out without checking first I've even had DH bring me 'rubbish' from work!
That's lovely to make lavender bags with the children.

Have great days everyone xxx

[Mouse]

I'm obviously a bit strange - I love watching the spiders Luckily we don't get many indoors. Or, if we do, I've a got a feeling that cats get them before I see them!

We've currently got one spider living in the retractable washing line. It's web stretches from the casing to the nearby fence. If you look closely you can see one leg sticking out, touching the string of the web. If anything touches the web, the spider shoots out, obviously thinking it's food. It's fascinating. We also saw one that had trapped a bee in it's web. We watched it wrap it up and by that evening, it had gone!

[SYLVIA]

My favourite season and favourite month. I’m off to Devon next week and looking forward to lots of walks and fresh air

[loocyloo]

I'm obviously a bit strange - I love watching the spiders Luckily we don't get many indoors. Or, if we do, I've a got a feeling that cats get them before I see them!

We've got one cat that 'loves' a spider ... to chase, catch, play with and then eat. often walking round with a spider leg stuck in her whiskers!
The other one opts for my approach ... 'If i don't acknowledge it, then it isn't there, can't see me/I can't see it, and all will be fine'

[Pixie dust]

It amazes me how early it gets dark now, we close the curtains, light some candles and its lovely and cosy.

Just to add to the spider discussion we have had quite a few inside, I was hoping they would eat those annoying fruit flies we have been plagued with this year !


Maza...yes I think they right person went home based on ability but Les Dennis was a fun to watch and he did give it his all. I did say to DH I was quite surprised he was the first to go as I thought he would be the one the public wanted to watch each week just because he lacked dancing skills

We have used conkers with our playdough today, some very interesting creations were made.

Have a good week, we have just had a storm and heavy downpour of rain.

[Maza]

Pixie I was also very surprised that he went because of the reasons you said, but based on dance ability, yes he deserved to go. I was a bit irritated by Layton's comments about 'basic'. I thought his reaction was a bit immature.

[loocyloo]

I hope everyone has stayed safe in the latest storm.

Happy half term and wishing you many great adventures if it is your half term.

We have another week to go until half term! .... It's been a long old half term so far!

What does anyone have planned for next week? I'm bowing to the inevitable and doing some halloween craft/activities. Spent yesterday with a friend exploring pumpkins which was good fun. I'm going to get out my usual 'sensory tray' with orange/white/black ( dyed ) rice and lentils, plus halloween sequins and assorted spiders etc to scoop etc into little pumpkins and cauldrons. Not sure what else ... but i think i have several activities in my halloween decoration box in the loft! I'm thinking we might make magic wands when we go to the woods.

And then ... on 31st October ... I feel a bit mean ... but i'm not working! I can just about cope with doing halloween after school, but a WHOLE DAY? The older ones just appear to need constant activities/stimulation! and it gets a bit full on being Halloween!

[Pixie dust]

I hope everyone has stayed safe in the latest storm.

I just came on to say the same thing! We had a lot of rain but compared to other areas we were lucky.

We are on half term this coming week, I am only working 3 days and those days aren't particularly busy as most of my little littles ones are term-time only and no one has booked any extra sessions. On Wednesday I only have 2 older ones so will go out somewhere with them.

Halloween is such a funny one as people seem to really love it or hate it.....I never let my own children go out trick or treating when they were younger. I have a few decorations that I will put up for the day and we have a sensory tray for the little ones to explore. Our village is holding a Halloween event for children reading 'ghost stories' in the local park and a pumpkin lantern competition.

Before we know it it will be the 'C' word and all the fun that goes with that!

[Maza]

We've got another week until half term. I'm taking the Friday off to go shopping with DD to get her some new clothes for her birthday. Not sure where we'll go yet. We quite like going to a new town/area. Since we only located to the midland just before covid, we're still discovering new places/the wider area. We've done Birmingham. Telford and Cheshire Oaks in the past. We might revisit one of these, or try somewhere new. Chester, maybe? (Not the midlands, I know, but we have a direct train to there.)

We'll do a few bits for Halloween. Not sure what. We'll bake some biscuits as I've got some Halloween cookie cutters. We've also got a can of pumpkin pulp. I was going to use it for pumpkin pie, but DD fancies something different this year.

Have a lovely week everyone. Hope it's not too wet.

[Pixie dust]

I didn't realise the holidays were so staggered as my cousin lives in Leicestershire and they were on half term last week, we are this week then some of you are not until next week!

Looks like I am down to one tomorrow so need to plan some exciting fun as one older one is always a bit tricky!

[loocyloo]

I didn't realise the holidays were so staggered as my cousin lives in Leicestershire and they were on half term last week, we are this week then some of you are not until next week!

Looks like I am down to one tomorrow so need to plan some exciting fun as one older one is always a bit tricky!

Oooo, good luck Pixie! One older one is hard!

Could you cook/ bake scary/ Halloween food?
We've made pumpkin soup today, could also make damper to go with it? (That was my plan, but we got sidetracked making potions in the water tray )

(Water with food colouring, and then a bit of oil, plus assorted Halloween sequins/pompoms/ plastic spiders! Doh! Just remembered i thought about adding glow in the dark bugs ... but forgot and have hot glue gunned the lids now! )

[Maza]

I actually went 'out out' last night... DD and I went to the cinema to watch the Taylor Swift concert. Omg, it was amazing. I knew it would be decent, but I was blown away. She's my new favourite person. She looked amazing (total outfit envy) but there was nothing provocative or overtly sexual about her performance.

Tonight, I'm back to my usual - lounging on the sofa watching tv in my pyjamas. Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

[Maza]

Wow it was windy today! We felt like we were in a snow globe today whenever we were in our porch and seeing all the leaves being blown around in the air!

I'm just trying to get Christmas presents sorted for mindees. I've got one who will be starting a couple of weeks before we break up for Christmas - so I'll have to get her something too! Oh well!

Hope you are all keeping warm!

[loocyloo]

I was glad i wasn't working/ having to do a school run yesterday!

Still raining today!

Well done Maza. I've just about sorted Mindee presents ... apart from one little chap, and everything i think of is expensive! I try not to spend too much per child. For the past few years I've given all the children books/christmas books, but having looked this year, i couldn't see any i liked and i also can't remember which book I've given to whom in the past, so i thought I'd better stop for a few years!

DD has had a couple of presents early that she needed! But other than that, i barely have anything sorted, or even any ideas for anyone!
Apart from a map book for my car (why don't i have one any more???I always used to!) And a new pair of boots, i don't want anything either! I don't want people/ family to give me money, but neither do i want to be having to think of things (i don't really want/ need) to be given. I've asked in the past for things like an Oxfam 'Goat' etc, but no one seems to like that, even though that is what I've gifted many times in the past!

[Pixie dust]

Morning! It's actually dry and sunny here but still a little windy. We have lots of the usual bugs going around here at the moment so keeping fingers crossed I don't catch anything.

I have no idea what I am getting the little ones this year, I don't spend a lot but it's getting trickier every year. As for family I have started shopping, I have ideas for some but for others have no idea so hoping for inspiration when I go to London at the weeknd! I find I start off being organised then all of a sudden Christmas is here and I haven't done half what I had planned

Hope everyone gets some dry weather this week.