Story time - crafts and fun with the Hare and the Tortoise.

Last week we did a few crafts all around one story, Hurry up and Slow down, a version of the well known story the Hare and the Tortoise. As I mentioned, I have been finding free time at home one of the times I can feel disengaged when the boys are throwing their toys around. One of the things I have done to be more connected and mindful with them is to focus on a theme for the week around one of the books we have been reading. 

This last week it was Hurry up and Slow down, and all the crafts were around the Hare and the Tortoise. I used Pinterest to get ideas of what crafts we could do together, aiming to:

• Keep it simple
• Remember to use craft ideas that seemed applicable to their stage of development so that we were set up for success.

I've found it really useful having some ideas ready to pull out when we are at home, especially on days where we didn't have any other activities planned. 

This week we have:

• Hare and the tortoise potato stamping: I simply cut a potato in half and used a felt tip to draw a very simple shape before cutting with a knife around the shape. Because I put the paint onto the potato it limited the amount of mess that was about but we all had fun.
• Hare and the Tortoise colouring pages: I found these on the internet,and when the boys got bored of the structured sheet we simply used a plain piece of paper.
• Hare and the Tortoise - being a tortoise: I sellotaped 4 pieces of card together, drew on some shell shapes and then put some rounds of parcel tape on the back and stuck them to the back of the clothes. Whilst this looked super cute, it was probably the least successful - N had a go but J just pulled his off and sat playing with the shape! It was still fun to try out!

I've started saving some of the ideas on a story time craft board on Pinterest- do feel free to follow :)

Would love to hear what stories you are reading and any crafts you do with your little ones.

This week we will be reading Peek a Boo Zoo (although most of the peekaboo bit doesn't work as the ears got pulled off!)

I've always loved reading. I used to be able to read whole books in a day, (nothing too complicated!). Whilst I don't get time for that often now I still love to read a variety of books. And now the boys are really getting to the age where they are appreciating being read to. I think it is one of my favourite things. J is still eating books a little and we do have some rips, and although I encourage care of books

I suspect that this is a part of the rough and tumble of two boys the same age, both of who want to explore together.

I love it when we read together. We read to the boys at bedtime whilst they have their milk, and always read two books. One can be whatever we have at the moment, often a library book, and the other is always "It's time to sleep" as I find it such a lovely story, and it's a good routine for us. We can recite it pretty much from rote now.

One of our library books this week is "Hurry up and Slow down" by Layn Marlow, based on the Aesop Fable the Hare and the Tortoise. I love the story and how it's all about slowing down, and enjoying that precious time of connection reading can bring.

Now it's the holidays there are less things on round and about, so I'm also testing doing some activities around the books we are reading. Today we have been painting with potato stamps that I cut in the shape of a rabbit/hare and a tortoise. It was quick and simple to set up and the boys had fun.

Stop, Connect, Breathe

Some days are easier, and some days are harder. Being in love with now, when it's 4am and you have a very unhappy baby, is a harder day. When you're other baby wakes at 6am and they both decide that's it, you're up for the day, well, that's not so great either. I do love my sleep!

Being awake that early, can set the tone for the day and it certainly felt like it. A long morning nap helped, but there was still a sense of the day escaping from me. After a slightly manic period in the afternoon with lots of boisterous boys, throwing of toys and generally feeling like the day wasn't going quite right, I decided it was time to stop.

I was feeling disconnected and a little bit cross. As much with myself as with them. This is not the mama I would like to be. I want to be fun, happy, joyful, and relaxed. OK, not always how it feels but good to aspire to. I knew I needed to make a change.

I stopped. I did some big, deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. Relaxed my shoulders. Got out the new books we had bought the boys at the weekend. The boys love books, even if they haven't completely got the hang of caring for them yet. It was a Julia Donaldson book all about counting. We sat down and read together, counting the animals and the butterflies. We connected. And after, the boys sat down and read books on their own for a bit. Stop. Connect. Breathe. And make a change. Change starts within.