DIY Butterfly feeder

This afternoon Robbie and I made a pretty butterfly feeder.

It was so simple and quick.

Firstly we made some sugar water which was one part sugar to six parts water. We added some food dye purely for aesthetics.

Next we hammered a screw in to the lid in order to make a hole big enough to thread through a small piece of sponge.

Robbie tipped the sugar water in to the jar and I screwed the lid on tight and checked for leaks.

I then tied garden thread around the neck and up the sides to make a hanger.

Next came Robbies favourite part, decorating the feeder with lots of bright butterfly and flower stickers!

Now we wait in antisipation of our little winged friends.

Love and light

Gem 💎

Beans, volcanos and slime!

Yesterday we had another wonderful day of self lead learning and creativity .
Robbie helped me to pick our first broad bean harvest .He's been  very excited about this task for a week or so.Eva and Robbie both helped to pod the beans and Robbie excitement soon wore of and he decided it was much more fun to hit a small piece of wood over and over again and pretend he was a wood carver.
All in all we harvested just shy of a kilo of beans which Eva and I blanched and froze .We talked about the old wife's tale "A watched pot never boils " about how the process of  blanching and freezing keeps the nutrients in the veg ,and how we save some beans at the end of the growing season to plant again in November , the whole time she was  asking questions she was stood up to the stove on a chair with her spoon stirring and stirring .It's these simple moments that I love the most .

This afternoon I walked out in to the kitchen to find Eva and summer bent over a huge saucepan of gloopy blue slime .This slime powder was apparently a freebie from a magazine.

An hour or so later and the kitchen table was occupied by Charlie and  some plaster of Paris, volcano making. 

One things for certain mess and learning often go hand in hand and although sometimes it can get a bit much with so many of us in such a small space, I always try to allow the children as much freedom as possible with creative, science and art exploration. 

And that sometimes means a volcano is getting made whilst I'm Cooking dinner and we jostle for table space. 

I wouldn't have it any other way though. 

Love and light, 

Gem x

Summer solstice 2018

We have had a beautiful solstice day and the sun has shone brightly all day through.

Eva decorated our solstice sun cake using strawberries and lavender that we collected from the garden. And we talked about how our crops grow because of the sun.

Robbie and I made watercolour sun hanging spinners. Robbies actually worked out far better than mine as he didn't make his paper too soggy like I did!

The little ones also coloured some sun pictures.

We spent all afternoon outside enjoying the beautiful sun. And headed straight back out after dinner to soak up the last of the rays and have a bonfire . Eva and Robbie didn't get out of the pool until around eight thirty!

We send many a blessing from our home to yours this solstice evening.

Love and light,

Gem.

Friends, family and birthday celebrations

We have had a lovely few days.

There's  been a couple of visits to the park,visits to see both Grandad's on fathers day, and lots of fun making, creating,swimming, reading and baking.

Today we spent the afternoon with another home educating family. The little ones enjoyed the pool and the older ones played computer games and jumped on the trampoline.

On monday we celebrated Summers 15th birthday. We had a fairly quiet day as she didn't want a fuss but we managed to persuade her to invite my mum and dad to lunch.

I don't known how she's fifteen already! It's abslouly crazy how the years fly by. She's creative, funny, fiercely determined and one of the most caring people I know. Although she won't stop till she has achieved what she wants she also goes out of her way to help anyone in need.
When her grandad (Paul's father) had an accident last year it was summer that checked in on him daily, made him meals and did his shopping .
She rarely goes shopping without bringing something back for everyone else.
Just the other day an elderly neighbour told me what a kind girl she was and I had to agree, she's amazing and I'm truly so proud of the sympathetic, kind hearted,strong-willed young woman she's grown in to.

Preparing for fathers day .

Yesterday amongst other things (like helping to load a van up with all the rubbish we had accumulated in the garden ,walking nannies dog,splashing in the pool and jumping on the trampoline)Eva and Robbie made cards and a certificate for their daddy .
The  best dad certificates were printed from www.skiptomylou.org and the little cards I found on a website called SquishyCuteDesigns.com. Both are free printable that don't require any time spent signing up for accounts.
I am of the opinion that time spent making or in this case colouring a gift or card far outweighs purchasing a mass produced one from the shop.And the children have something they are proud of at the end !

They are looking forward to giving them to paul on Sunday and I'm sure he will appreciate their efforts .

Love and light ,
Gem x