Thursday with The ( Water )Buddies

With all the rain we've been having lately, it seemed appropriate to introduce the water cycle to The Buddies.

Firstly they mixed food colouring with water, taking turns to choose colours and mix them up.

After drawing clouds, they used a pipette to add drops of the coloured water to the paper.

This was then blown with straws, chased as far as it would go.

This proved great fun.

The Buddies experimented with blowing the paint using straws, toilet roll tubes and just their mouths.

Next up, they created rain clouds.

Big jugs half filled with water, were topped with a generous amount of shaving foam to simulate a cloud.

They then dropped the coloured water, again using the pipette onto the top of the cloud, letting it soak through.

This created a rain effect in the water below.

Both Buddies were fascinated by the different coloured rain and the patterns it created.

Oscar said " the buddies had great fun doing the experiment "

Jack said " my favourite bit was dropping paint onto the paper and blowing it "

Farming Socks - Yarn Along

Joining in with Ginny over at http://www.gsheller.com

The last time I devoured a book, to my shame was The Twilight Saga, staying up way too late, snatching chapters while chopping veg, stirring a pot or having a wee !

But this book, this book I. Could. Not. Put. Down.

Everything else had to wait.

I had already read Child 44, Agent 6 and The Secret Speech,  all Tom Rob Smith's other books, enjoying the insight into Russia and it's ways, the intrigue and suspicion of life behind the Iron Curtain.

The Farm set in England and Sweden, showing the authors own heritage, had me completely drawn into it's pages, unsure of where I was being taken, what to believe or how this dark tale would end.

I lost hours.

Fed my family, pizza and oven chips.

Forgot to get the washing in when it rained and left the next load in the machine for a day !

So I am shocked to discover that not only have I finished the book ( 2 days ) but Oscar's socks are also nearly done ( just over a week )

And the Barbara Erksine, I was going to start from last week, lasted less than three chapters, yawn ! yawn !

Runner Beans

A wigwam of beans, 

A place of shade and fun, 

Of bees and butterflies

Red flowers turning into long, green beans

A hiding spot

A peaceful spot

An abundunt spot

A delicious harvest, topped and tailed

Chopped and cooked

Eaten and stored

A delight to savour, long after summer has gone.

Thursday with The Buddies - Rocket Men

In July, The Buddies enjoyed a visit to Armagh Planetarium, N. Ireland.

Both Jack and Oscar were mesmerised by a visual journey through Space, seeing the constellations come to life, learning the names of Planets and riding Saturn's rings.

Since then, we have continued this theme using books, YouTube videos and games.

Today, we tested the power of air, using balloon rockets.

Blowing balloons, bulldog clips and sellotaping them to straws on strings proved tricky for The Buddies but the countdown and launching was all theirs.

We did quiz The Buddies on the concepts of Newtonian Motion but realistically their enjoyment came from racing the released balloons.

Socks - Yarn Along

Joining in with Ginny  http://www.gsheller.com

I am two chapters from finishing my latest Jack Reacher novel, this Barbara Erskine will be next.

Socks for my little love on the needles, inspired by the coming of Autumn.

She is feeling close, very close with her breezes and darker evenings, orange leaves are appearing on the cherry trees, apples, blackberries and elder berries are nearly ready for picking, the light is changing, the shift is happening.

I welcome her.

Beach Buddies

As most people were leaving, we arrived

Late afternoon sunshine

Sausages to BBQ, flasks of tea and cake, Madeira cake

Kites to fly and spades to dig 

And the sea

To splash to kick and jump, to paddle, to swim

Family to chat with, teenagers to tease

Knitting abandoned for bug swatting

Frisbee and traffic jams of cars, planes and diggers

Sand filled buckets

Water to collect and sand dunes to explore

These times are good, healthy, healing

We are restored

Thursday with The Buddies - Pop Art

Who can resist bubble wrap, not us, that's for sure.

Ingredients needed - the buddies, paint, paper, sticky tape and bubble wrap.

Outside is a must too, unless you're happy to redecorate.

One buddy was eager for the foot wrapping, one very reluctant.

Once feet were covered, paint slathered on, we let them go, jumping, hopping, stamping and popping.

Giggles filled the garden.

Next we did hands, one hand covered and one free for the buddies to let loose themselves, filling their bubble wrapped mitten with colour.

They covered the paper vigorously to create louder and louder pops.

This was a physical activity, with the buddies enjoying the sensations of tickling ( from applying the paint ) joyful movement and the physics of applying pressure.

With the last piece of bubble wrap laid on the ground for them to paint with brushes, they both, having enjoying being loud and exuberant became contemplative, thinking carefully about colour choices, design and working independently, while having an unspoken agreement to meet in the middle of the bubble wrap.

Paper was placed on their designs and both enjoyed a final jump to pop the last of the bubbles.

This was a fun hour, with minimal assistance from us, after the initial wrap and taping of the feet and the first application of paint, the buddies took control.

Have to hand, bowl of warm, soapy water ( or garden hose ) and towel for clean up operation.