The last day of summer!

My favourite season used to be Autumn. The colours of the leaves, the treasures for the children to collect on walks in the woodland and the cooler weather were all things to look forward to. Now I only have one of my little ones left at home during the day, summer has definitely become our favourite time of year! It simply represents freedom for us, and we love to be wild and free.

We have had such an amazing summer. Awesome, The Boy says. It's been a long, hot summer and we have packed it with fun and freedom.

We have tried not to think of going back to school. I managed to get most of the things the children needed without having to take them with me or mention school. We sneaked a shoe trip in with buying casual shoes too.

I tried to think of something lovely to do with our Final Day of Freedom. It was a hot day, 29 degrees at 5pm as we drove home. A local nature reserve was the perfect place to enjoy the last day of our summer holidays.

Spotting the first signs of Autumn, tiny acorns on this Oak tree.

 The children loved the sculpture trail.

 

A cocoon in the trees.

Climbing has been number one on our list of 'favourite things to do' this summer.

Determination to complete the rope course.

It really was quite a challenge!

Paddling, who doesn't love paddling!

Little bear paddling!

Beanie played on this for ages!

More zip wire fun!

Balancing on the wobbly bridge.

 

We're looking forward to an autumnal return visit! It will be wonderful to see such a beautiful place change through the seasons.

 

 

Play Day!

We went to a Fun Day! Here's our pictures! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It was so much fun, we can't wait to go back!

Change

Change is in the air...


We get our eggs from a lovely farm, not too far away, who make their own ice cream. Any excuse for us to have a tub, then a walk in the nearby woodland. It's lovely seeing the subtle difference each time we go. Everything seems green, alive and vibrant this time. You could tell change was afoot, just a little...

The kids 'do' the season table themselves and collect things, make things and also change things on the table when they think its time to. When we got home, they fetched the basket and made a subtle change or two....

The Boy took the last photo, he insisted!

All in a day's work!

We've been fruit picking a few times this year, but usually manage to eat everything we have picked within a day or so. I've been wanting to have a try at jam making for a couple of years and not got round to it, so we decided to all have a go. We picked the fruit in the morning and had it made into jam by the afternoon. 2 jars of strawberry and 2 of raspberry. They are both delicious and I doubt they will last very long! We'll be making some more for Christmas gifts I think.

 

Fun at the Fair

The fair came to a nearby village. We don't normally bother with funfairs as they can be so expensive, but this one seemed more craft stalls and just a few kids slides, rides and things. The children really enjoyed it!

 

Mud, mud, glorious mud!

 

We've been doing lots of organising in the garden. Trying to make it into a place for the senses to be really stimulated. It took a while for me to persuade my other half that we ought to have a mud kitchen. The kids love any opportunity to play with mud.

This patch is our herb spiral. The children really enjoyed collecting the stones for the spiral and smelling the herbs in the garden centre.

 

Gruffalo hands!

Cooling down.... and splashing around!

There's definitely only one thing to be done when it's 35 degrees for most of the afternoon, 3 days in a row! We've been having loads of fun with the paddling pool, sprinkler, water table and making our own water slide. Both of the big children have been really enjoying water play for a few months now, Moo especially has been really enjoying scooping, pouring, tipping, sieving and fishing! I bought a cheap fishing set with a rod and some fish and some plastic ducks as well as some pieces of guttering to enhance their water play. They also like to tip water on the bottom of the slide! Today was the first day we could play not just with the water table, but also with the paddling pool and sprinkler.

 

 

I love their expressions in these two pictures!

The water play is also a chance for them to water the garden and the many things we have been growing this year. It also means I feel less guilty for filling the paddling pool as the water is always re-used on the plants! Beanie especially loves to water the tomatoes and is enjoying the anticipation of the first one to start to turn red!

 

Shadows are fascinating too at the moment, and they love watching their shadow change and move as they play on the swing.

 

I maybe shouldn't have let them do this... but it did look like fun!