Animal Masks!!

What animal should I be?  What a wonderful way to express creativity, imagination and launch into character!

Renee is going to be a bunny

Cooper a Dog

Ayla a pussy cat

Do you hop Mrs Bunny?

Meow!

These two are ready for some adventures
apparently cats and rabbits can be best friends xx

Snakes N Jelly!!

A real pirates treat!  Some jelly crystals, water, mix untill dissolved and add in the snakes! Then cool for a couple of hours in the refrigerator.  Every pirate can manage that!  Some pirates were however a little unsure...... It seems slimy snakes might not be every pirates cup of tea!  But we were curious enough to have a taste - YUM was the pirate consensus!

One happy pirate!

Amber couldn't get enough!

Ari went back for seconds too!

Mmmn.... Snakes N Jelly

Chalk Painting

This wonderful art experience is something that all children enjoy participating in.  It is a fun way to bring art into the outdoors. All it take is a few sticks of chalk, crush them up and add some water and then away you go with your paintbrush :) 

Arrgh, the Pirate's Kitchen!!

After all that treasure hunting of late, it seems our pirates are a little hungry and ready to cook up a good old stew!!

Gathering all the equipment we need

There is a lot of discussion about what Pirates like to eat
Blake seems to think it's Cod fish, Gareth on the other hand thinks chocolate cake!

It's hard work in the kitchen

Don't forget your greens!

I think i'll add some cocoa

Mixing, mixing...

Going to the resource room, we found some more ingredients to add
a little cinnamon, cloves, flour....
This is going to be the best Pirate stew ever, I hope it's not too spicy!

"It tastes like Cod fish"

Worried there was not enough, we sought a bigger pot
Yip, it's getting there, the mixture is getting rather hard though, let's try a bigger mixing spoon

What a busy afternoon in the kitchen we had, let's hope the pirates enjoy.  Tomorrow it's snakes in jelly for dessert!

The Little Yellow Digger

What a wonderful Monday morning treat we have had.  Along with all the usual excitement of watching the redevelopment of the Uxbridge Arts Centre, occasionally something special happens.  Today was one of those special days.  After a few phone calls, we were able to all have the opportunity to sit on The Little Yellow Digger.

Driver Ella

Driver Mila

Driver Lila

Driver Kailah

Drivers Leni and Jack

Driver Finn

Driver Nate

Driver Kain 

Driver Devin

Driver Robert

Driver Amber

Driver Evan

Driver Tristan

Driver Georgia

Driver Georgia and Harriet

Driver Elliot

Driver Summer

Driver Declan

Driver Oliver

After doing our own work, we decided it was only fair to let the men continue doing theirs.
Thank you to the Hawkins team for letting the children experience being on a real digger

We watched the driver level the ground and then manoeuvre the digger up the walkway, then we read The Little Yellow Digger book - where all the diggers became stuck in the mud.

Ahoy me mateys!

Here are the members of our pirate crew.

Some of us wore pirate hats and said pirate chants as we set off on our adventure over the seas on our pirate ship.

 Treasure was hidden around the vast expanses of our playground and our determined pirates tracked it down.

 Our crew had the aid of telescopes and treasure maps

 The treasure was varied, to some it was a beautiful shell, or another pirate hat

 and to others it was digging up a pinecone.

 We didn't give up

 We thought carefully about where our treasure was hidden.

 Our friendly pirates enlisted friends to help

 No piece of sand was left unturned.

Finding treasure makes our pirates very happy

 Success was upon us.

We wrote treasure maps

 Treasure chests were emptied and refilled

 

 The 'X' marked the spot(s).

 We shared equipment, talked to our friends, took turns to lead the hunt, practiced early literacy skills in reading and writing maps, counted our pieces of treasure and used our imagination.  These group adventures take on excitement of their own as well.  Next time it has been suggested that we have "real" money as well as gold coins and necklaces to discover.  Sounds like a great idea.