:: Add ribbons and you have a swirling homemade dance studio

:: Remember there’s no such thing as . . . → Read More: Moving and shaking: winter ideas for fit kids]]>
Don’t let grey days and freezing temperatures stop your kids moving and shaking. Use these ideas from our Play Academy link ups for action games to have fun and keep your kids fit and active all winter long.

Winter active play ideas

:: Add ribbons and you have a swirling homemade dance studio

:: Remember there’s no such thing as bad weather so long as you’re wearing the right clothes. Get wrapped up and enjoy a spot of puddle jumping.

:: Combine movement and nursery rhymes and sing your way to fitness.

:: Adding tunnels, bubble wrap and balloons makes for a fabulous obstacle course whether it’s outside or indoors.

:: Make an activity cube, roll a dice and get moving.

For more indoor activity play ideas come and follow my Action Games Pinterest board.

happily shared with link and learn and the sunday showcase it’s playtime and thrifty thursday

We originally made the trees to decorate our Christmas tree and . . . → Read More: Playdough and art]]>
We’ve been mixing two of our favourite things this week: playdough and art. My girls love to make and create, especially if they can make something to play with too. Here’s their winter woodland with a forest of Christmas trees.

How to make cocktail stick Christmas trees

We originally made the trees to decorate our Christmas tree and the girls spent two weeks gazing at the cake, waiting for it all to be eaten so they could get their hands on the trees to play with!

To make the trees we cut out lots of triangles from white card. Then we had a treasure hunt through our drawing box to collect together all the green pens, pencils and crayons we could find. The girls set to work adding colour and patterns to make the trees – with no two exactly alike. A cocktail stick fastened on the back made the trunk and gave a spike to stick first into the icing and later into the playdough.

How to make snow playdough

We used our favourite no cook recipe for the snow playdough. For extra white dough you can use cornflour instead of plain flour, and a whole heap of silver glitter adds to the frosty effect.

Once you’ve made your winter forest you might like to make some playdough snowmen too.

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Charles Darwin called earthworms ‘the intestines of the soil’. Worms can eat up to 75% . . . → Read More: How to make a wormery]]>
We’re joined today by Jo Middleton, who blogs at Slummy single mummy, with a fabulous tutorial on how to make a wormery. Perfect for a school gardening club project and for getting kids closer to nature. Here’s Jo’s guide:

How to make a wormery

Charles Darwin called earthworms ‘the intestines of the soil’. Worms can eat up to 75% of their own body weight every day, turning waste into rich and fertile compost. After decades of dependence on chemical fertilizers, people are returning to traditional non-toxic methods of gardening, and composting is one of the easiest ways to get eco-friendly.

Worm composting, or vermiculture, is a fun and easy way to turn your organic waste into plant food and is ideal for people who don’t have space for a full size composter. You don’t even need a garden – you can keep your wormery indoors and produce compost for houseplants and window boxes. A wormery is also a great way to introduce children to gardening and the environment as they can help to build and care for the wormery.

Building your own wormery

Expensive wormery kits are available to buy ready for assembly, but it is actually very straightforward to make your own. You will need a container, wood or plastic, that you can make holes in and fit with a lid. Worms are surface feeders so your wormery doesn’t need to be deep. 8in – 16in should be ample and you need roughly one square foot of surface area for every pound of waste per week.

Make air holes around the upper perimeter of your tub and in the bottom for drainage.

• Support your tub on bricks inside a tray, to collect any liquid that drains off. This liquid (leachate) can be used as plant feed.
• Fill the bottom of the tub with a 5 – 10cm layer of drainage material such as sand or gravel.
• Cover the sand with a dividing layer, something that will let moisture seep through but not worms, such as wooden slats or a section of carpet.
• Add a 10 – 15cm layer of damp bedding material. Shredded newspaper works well – get the newspaper wet, but not soaking – about the consistency of a damp sponge.
• Add your worms! These need to be special composting worms, often known as brandlings, tiger worms or red worms. You can buy theses at fishing shops or worm bin suppliers. (www.bucketofworms.co.uk)
• Add a layer of food.
• Place a thick layer of damp newspaper over the top. This keeps in the moisture and keeps out the light.
• Finally, make sure your wormery has a tight fitting lid. This protects your compost from rodents and flies.

Keeping your worms happy and healthy

Start off with just small amounts of food while your worms settle in. As they multiply you can add larger quantities, but make sure it is well chopped and only add more waste once the previous batch has been composted. Don’t feed your worms more than they can handle – excess waste will just rot, upset your worms and produce nasty smells.

Like humans, worms thrive on a varied diet and have particular likes and dislikes.

Worms like: coffee grounds and tea bags, fruit and vegetables peelings, cereals and bread, crushed egg shells.

Worms don’t like: meat and fish, fats or greasy foods, dairy products, rice, pasta or cooked potatoes.

Worms like a moderate temperature and eat more when they are warmer. Don’t let them overheat though, so keep out of direct sunlight. They can be kept inside or out, but will benefit from being indoors in the winter, maybe in a garage or shed.

Keep a good level of moisture – not too wet and not to dry. You can add extra dry bedding or moisten with rainwater or leachate if you need to. Your worms will regulate numbers to fit your wormery and should not try to escape if wormery conditions are right.

Once the worms have settled in you can sit back and watch them turn your rubbish into high quality compost! Depending on the size and conditions you should have compost ready to harvest in around 3 – 6 months.

Happy wriggling!

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Jo Middleton is a freelance writer, blogger and marketing consultant and writes the award winning blog Slummy single mummy.

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More kids gardening projects

For more kids gardening ideas visit our School Gardening Club section

Photos: Alexander von Halem and Clarity J

happily shared with the outdoor play party and your green resource

Inspired by a photo on Pinterest that was originally featured on foodcreate, we used a simplified version of an ice cream snowman so the children could all make their own. This was our pudding on . . . → Read More: Snowman ice cream]]>
What’s the best thing to eat when you want a fun treat on a winter’s day? An ice cream snowman of course!

Inspired by a photo on Pinterest that was originally featured on foodcreate, we used a simplified version of an ice cream snowman so the children could all make their own. This was our pudding on Christmas day and the children loved making and eating them. Here’s how to make one:

 How to make an ice cream snowman

Two or three scoops of vanilla ice cream make a snowman body – and if you run your ice cream scoop under water first you’ll find it a lot easier to get the ice cream off your spoon in a great snowball shape.

Chocolate Matchsticks are just right for stick arms.

Tiny chocolate chips are perfect for eyes, mouths and buttons and easy for little fingers to pop in place. And an orange jelly bean is just thing for a carrot nose.

And that’s your ice cream snowman finished and ready to eat – cool!

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