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Great Tudor Project Days Out

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There are so many great places to visit that have Tudor links, even before you start on all the demolished abbeys, monasteries and so on.

TudorVisits

Kentwell Hall – period events in costume and kept ‘exactly as was’ at a beautiful venue. Well worth a visit to see the care the re-enactors take in costume making and being in character.

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Hampton Court – once the home of Wolsey and taken from him by Henry VIII, it’s a beautiful place with many original features and lots of themed events.

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The Golden Hinde – a replica of Sir Francis Drake’s galleon (later Tudor period) in Brixham – ideally placed to couple it with a trip to his beautiful home Buckland Abbey, on the edge of Dartmoor.

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Bramall Hall is a fascinating Tudor home; it reopens in refurbished state in April 2016. There is a short mention of our day there in this blog post.

Mary Rose – see Henry VIII’s warship, risen from the depths in the 1980’s.

The Tower of London – the scene of many a crime and beheadings and plenty of history to discover.

Ludlow Castle – home of Arthur and Catherine during his childhood and their short marriage/betrothal.

Hever Castle – the childhood home of Anne Boleyn.

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Hatfield House – two homes in one; the older building that housed Elizabeth during her childhood and the later Jacobean one, home to the Cecil family. The extensive gardens were established by the Tradescant’s, collectors of many items that became the start of the Ashmolean Museum. You can read about our day there on our blog.

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Burghley House – Home of Lord Burghley, (Mr Attenbrough in the film ‘Elizabeth’) and father to the Cecil who founded the new Hatfield House. The house is a fabulous trip but the grounds are also wonderful.

Peterborough Cathedral – burial place fo Catherine of Aragon, so if you have a soft spot for her, you can pay homage.

If you have suggestions for more, please do let me know.

Books for Learning about Wild Animals.

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Each month we receive a book through the post from Parragon publishers, who send us releases they would like us to review. This month was particularly exciting for the boy as the book in question has buttons and MAKES NOISES!

growl animals book

Now I have a long history with ‘noise button’ books which tended to be of the twinkly princess and fairy variety when my girls were little; certainly I have grim memories of repeated pressing of the “bears like hunny and I’m a pooh bear” singalong button. So, I can’t lie, my heart sunk a little – I do prefer my books to be colourful, interesting but SILENT! However, with the boy now hitting the stage where they become insatiably fascinated by a particular topic and a book about wild animals has ignited a huge interest. So I swallowed my desire to run away and this week we’ve been reading the book – repeatedly.


In fact it’s a really nice little book with plenty to recommend it. It covers 10 animals (wolf, bear, whale, dolphin, hyena, toucan, frog, gorilla, hippo and lion) across a number of different habitats and with just enough information on each page to make it interesting and start off conversations. The noises are real and don’t go on too long and the pages brightly coloured with a shapes top representing an animal from each double page spread. The board is thick and the sound panel sturdy and it isn’t too loud or too annoying 😉 so ticks all the boxes it can really. I like the fact that we can press buttons at the right time in the story, encouraging him to think about timing, listening and engaging properly rather than getting wild or turning over the pages too quickly.

This got me thinking about other books we’ve liked over the years.

Monkey Puzzle is a huge favourite and the cry of “I want my mum!” is something the boy will often do when he wants me RIGHT NOW. I love that he makes jokes from books.

Another popular one here is The Monkey with a Bright Blue Bottom which roughly cover the same type of idea as some of the Just So Stories, all about a naughty monkey who paints designs on the jungle animals.

ANd then there are the Just So Stories themselves, a home education and childhood classic and a book that features on lots of Charlotte Mason Living Books lists.

When sleep is hard to come by (and this boy has a lot of trouble settling down at night, he sometimes drifts off to the sound of the Barefoot Books YouTube channel. We had this particular book when the girls were little with a CD – YouTube is much easier though! We love The Animal Boogie (A Barefoot Singalong)

Disclosure: we were sent books and links are affiliate links.

Butterfly Crafts

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Learning about butterflies and caterpillars is a great way to explore the circle of life and how animals and insects arrive on earth. A combination of learning activities and crafts makes it a fun and colourful Spring topic, perfect for young children and arty afternoons.

 

Crafts

Craft ideas for making butterfly themed pictures, patterns and tree decorations from Simple Crafts.

Handprint Butterflies from No Time for Flashcards.

Coffee filter paper butterflies on Happy Hooligans.

Milk bottle butterfly charms from Alphamom.

Glitter butterflies at Nurture Store.

Butterfly craft kits to buy on Yellowmoon.

 Activities and Information

We started to explore symmetry and pattern using foam cutouts, glitter glue and shapes to stick.

Butterfly ActivitiesWe have other jump off project ideas on our Project Outline page.

Introduce a young child to the idea of butterflies with a fun YouTube animation.

Lots of ideas at Living Montessori Now.

Butterfly Life cycle worksheets.

Explore symmetry with butterflies.

You can find our matching cards and butterfly resource pages also on MuddlePuddle.

For more ideas, see Pinterest.

Follow Merrily Me’s board Butterfly Projects on Pinterest.

Mother’s Day – why we do it and how to do it!

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I was wondering about the origins of Mother’s Day, so I did a bit of digging on the internet. I discovered that it was first founded in the United States by Anna Jarvis as a celebration of motherhood and as a way for her to honor her recently deceased mother. The first Mothers day that we would recognise took place in 1908 although it had even earlier roots in the US from the endeavors of a lady called Julia Ward Howe. Julia who mooted the day it as a Mother’s Peace Day with reference to the American Civil War;  tried to initiate a day honouring mothers in the late 1870′s. However, Mothering Sunday, the original celebration in the UK, originates in both Protestant and Catholic churches and is tied to the Church calendar, falling on the 4th Sunday in Lent. This explains why the US and the UK have different dates for what appears to be the same celebration but are actually quite different events. It is also tied to both the Greek and Roman culture and is associated with celebrations of Spring and maternal goddesses. In the recent history of the UK, Mothering Sunday was a day when young girls had a day off from their work in service and could walk home to spend the day with family, perhaps taking a small treat from their place of work or gathering flowers on the way home to present to their much loved mum.

So educationally, Mothering Sunday has plenty to offer. It can be used to tie into:-

  • Easter
  • Spring
  • Greek or Roman culture
  • Understanding calendars
  • Differences between UK & US traditions
  • Goddesses and mythology
  • Victorians and girl/child employment

Likewise it is easy to see why so many of the crafts and gifts we make with children and this time of year have so much in common. Spring, rebirth, mothering and growth echo through so many of the celebrations at this time of year.

When planning crafts of educational activities for Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day, crafts that include spring flowers, small gifts of food or baking, handmade items such as ones girls might have crafted from easily available materials in the past. It’s easy to see why a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates have become the norm! These days though, a trip to The Works will undoubtedly turn up plenty of books with ideas of gifts to make for mum and while you are there, you will be able to buy plenty of art materials to make her a lovingly crafted card or gift. If she is anything like me, she would love the gift of a thoughtfully chosen book even more than sweeties.

Here are some of my favourite ways to spend Mother’s Day.

  • A day out, with a picnic and it not being my job to make sure everyone has a hat, coat and sensible shoes.
  • A family meal together, with plenty of time to chat, where I don’t have to remind people to clear the table.
  • A few hours in a nice tidy living room, surrounded by my chicks (NOT ARGUING!) while I crochet.
  • A family film under blankets with a chick under each arm and then they have an early bed so I get to do the same again with Daddy Duck.

 

Find out more about the history of Mother’s Day across the ages here and also on Wikipedia Mothering Sunday page.

This is a collaborative post.

Craft Editorial: Christmas decorations, adding the personal touch

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It may seem as though summer has only just finished, but the festive season already looms large on the horizon and if you want to make the most of the celebrations, it’s helpful to start your preparations sooner rather than later.

For example, why not use some of the spare time you have with your children in the run-up to 25th December to create some homemade Christmas decorations? OK, so it’s easy to stock up on festive items in the shops, but your own versions will have that all-important personal touch. Also, getting stuck into craft sessions with your kids could save you cash!

Paper chains

Inexpensive yet impressive, paper chains have long been a festive favourite. You can use these decorations to add colour and cheer to Christmas trees, mantelpieces, doorways and more. The best thing; they’re simple to make. All you need are some scissors, paper and either glue or staples.

To make these chains, measure and cut strips of paper so that they are even in shape and size. The dimensions you choose will depend on the look you’re going for, but as a rough guide you can aim for pieces that are one inch wide and eight inches long. To create the chains, glue or staple the ends of the first strip of paper together to form a loop. Next, feed a second strip through the loop and join the ends. Continue this process until you have reached the desired length for your chain.



Christmas Bells

Tree decorations in the style of Christmas bells can also look fabulous and all you need to create these items are paper cups, ribbons, pipe cleaners, string, silver or gold paint and glitter. Firstly, paint your cups, adding some glitter for extra sparkle. Next, poke a hole in each base and feed through a length of pipe cleaner with a small loop at the bottom. Simply fix the bell to the loop using a small piece of string.

So that the items hang from your tree, create a large loop at the other end of the length of pipe cleaner that meets just above the cup. Meanwhile, to complete the objects, tie a neat bow around the pipe cleaner at the base of this loop.

Of course, these are just two ideas for decorations. There are plenty more for you and your kids to try out.

Sources: http://www.parents.com/holiday/christmas/crafts/adorable-chime-ornament/

http://www.parents.com/holiday/christmas/crafts/handmade-gifts/

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Paper-Chain

http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/Music/Paper_Cup_Bell/Paper_Cup_Bell.html