Motion Sickness??

I have been feeling a little stiff these last couple of days, and the pic on the left is the reason why!

Who knew trampolining could be so strenuous?
Oh, and it also gives me motion-sickness!

So, I won't be doing it again any time soon, but it was fun!

Katie made a card for her little friend Rhia.      
It's the first time we have done anything "crafty" in a while but we had great fun!

Katie's tennis practice is coming on well. She got off to a rocky start, "but practice makes perfect"!

Wheelin 'n dealin!

Just had to post this....

Recently, we've been talking about persuasive writing and the way retailers use advertising, words and language to sell their goods.
Now Katie loves her DS, and she'd spotted a game she would like to buy on the Internet.
Dave thought it was quite expensive and suggested she wait until her birthday?
However, I seized the moment and  suggested she make a poster/advert to show us/ persuade us why we should buy the game. She jumped at the chance!
This is what she came up with.We were so impressed that we had to give in. Said game should be on it's way already!

Wild Dogs!

Finished our Wild Dog LapBook today!

We Love Lapbooking!

Knebworth

Today we spent the day at Knebworth and what a fabulous time we had! It was the Summer Show, and it had a distinct Medieval theme. Perfect! A history lesson while having fun!There were folk dressed in Medieval clothes, even babies! There were knights in armour and other battle regalia. We watched re-enactments including battles with swords and we got to see how the people lived in medieval times. We saw how they cooked and the foods they ate, got to see and smell the herbs and watch the women in costume cooking the meal in iron pots over  an open fire. We watched traditional wood carving.
There were birds of prey and beautiful working horses. Katie placed a bet on the ferret racing, all for a good cause since the monies raised goes towards the ferret charity. However, the best the best part for Katie were the dogs! There were dogs everywhere! So many different breeds, many Katie recognised, and a few new breeds we hadn't come across before. Katie was in her element, what with her being a dog-lover! We watched dog-scurries, dog-shows, duck-herding and basset-hound racing.
We spent a lovely six hours at the show and were truly exhausted by the time we got home. We took some great photos, particularly of the folk in medieval dress!  Hmmm, I feel a LapBook coming on.

Scary swords!

Today we headed off to Cherry Hinton Hall with our lovely friends to take part in a Myths and Ledgends Day. I think it's fair to say we all had a great day, children and parents alike! The children made saxon swords and daggers and magic wands. They tried spinning tops, juggling and plate spinning, Dave being very good at the latter! Who knew?!!


Scary Swords!

House-warming and flying kites in the rain...

Our lovely new friends invited us to their house-warming party yesterday. We were made so welcome and ended up staying far later than we intended. The evening started with a tour of their back garden (tour being the operative word!) It is huge and wild and magical and full of fruit trees_apples, raspberries, grapes, strawberries and plums. The garden had so many secret secluded areas, perfect for hide and seek! The children quickly disappeared, exploring and laughing all the way.

We had delicious food, a lovely bowl of Sangria (made with the fruits from the garden) and we talked and laughed and debated the hours away. And in spite of some of our differences, religion, education etc we had the most amazing discussions and still stayed best friends by the end of the evening. Can't wait to do it again.

Today we headed towards Royston for their annual kite festival. Great fun! We bought Katie a kite, and the heavens opened! So we made a dash for the car. On the way home we spotted MORRISONS!! my favourite store! Of course, we just had to stop off for a quick shop. Sad I know!
Tomorrow we are off to Woodgreen Animal Shelter for a picnic with our friends Shelly, Rhia and Zac...wonder if I should take a brolly??!!

Arctic expeditions and amazing dinosaurs!

The weather today has been glorious. I could almost believe we were back in Cyprus!

We took a trip into Cambridge, using the Park and Ride and spent the whole afternoon wandering around the Scott Polar Research Institute and then the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences. Totally fascinating! Who knew there were so many things I never knew, I never knew?



Scott Polar Research Institute

Katie had a great time dressing up for an Arctic expedition!

Phwoar! It's hot in here!!

Katie designed some traditional North Canadian clothes and we got to touch all the different types of furs and animal skins used for clothing by the arctic people. The wolf coat was her favourite. No surprises there!



A child's suit made from seal-skin.

Heading towards the Sedgwick we found a lovely cafe that served delicious food at very reasonable prices and a perfect cup of coffee! Dave ordered his all-time favourite, All Day Breakfast! Then we headed towards Sedgwick, tummies full and thirst quenched!

         The dinosaur at Sedgwick was HUGE and Scary!

Aaaarrgghhhh!!!

The museum was filled with relics and fossils and every type of rock you could imagine (perfect as we have been reading about the types of rocks in our new science book.)

There was a kids' reading area with lots of lovely books. Of course, Katie headed straight for it and settled herself down in a comfy chair. She found a Dinosaur book and poured over it for ages while Dave and I wandered around looking at the exhibits. I particularly liked the precious stones. Dropped a few hints to Dave about diamonds, but that fell on deaf ears!We were all so engrossed we didn't realize the museum was shutting until one of the attendants came to find us. Last out, as usual!

Popped into John Lewis on the way back to the Bus Stop. Well, I couldn't go into Cambridge and not shop! We bought Play-Doh for Katie!

We arrived home tired but happy. Who thought educational trips could be so fun? Of course, if you ask Katie what was the best part of her day, she'd reply "The bus ride!"

Oh, and in spite of being exhausted when we got home at almost 7pm, the lids were off the Play- Doh, out came the rolling pin and cookie-cutters and Katie created some lovely exhibits of her own!