last of Sukkot

I made a beef curry in the camp oven, and we had roast sweet potato with it. It was a huge success for our first camp oven meal :)

the boys played some totem tennis while it cooked.

An excellent idea!

 This is from KidsCraft Weekly. I think I can tweek this for older kids and I am so going to get organised to do this!

Do things ever get completely crazy at your place?

Our most feral time is usually towards the end of the day when the kids are hungry and tired, but dinner is still 30 minutes off.

I recently came across a great idea that has helped to restore calm to even our most desperate times. It's called the crazy container and it's a very simple concept.

All you have to do is sit down and think of some fun activities and crafts that can be done with very little preparation. Then, write down the name of each of the activities on individual cards and put them into a small basket or box.

When things are going downhill fast, avert impending disaster by having your little one select an activity from the crazy container.

It's a simple but brilliant idea that has saved many late afternoons in these parts.

If you're interested in starting your own crazy container you might want to check out my list of no fuss craft ideas. Choose the ideas that appeal most to you and you're well on your way to having your very own disaster aversion device.

homemade bookmarks

The kiddies made some bookmarks today.

 (William turned one into a door hanger!)

here are some interesting ones I found on the web :)

Frugal Village

Paper Pile Kitten

Lovely Little Shelf

Presents Last Minute

Dancing Flowers

Randomization

Sky Ink

Here's Bridget's monster mark...

 so cute :)

When a whale dies...

Whale Fall (after life of a whale) from Sharon Shattuck on Vimeo.

Action Pack

This looks good! I know a friend who's kids would like this too, I think :)
Action Pack - a mini mag for kids who want to do stuff. 

Shabbat 16/10/11

The Bosua's came for the day. It was lovely to see them again and also to meet Michelle's mum and step-father, Mimi and Sticks.

Here are a few shots by William... (he's getting pretty good I think!)

We finally finished our 500 piece puzzle! Man, that was a mammoth two weeks :)

(actually, 499 pieces and we couldn't find one in the door. grrrr!)

 messying about with the camera before bed :)

Sukkot 2011

Well here we are celebrating the first day of Sukkot with a campfire and dinner outside under the trees; our natural sukkah!

Sukkot is, in Jonah's words 'my favourite feast'. I know that the tent isn't really a sukkah, but it is a fun thing to do and it gets the kids used to celebrating this time each year.

Actually every year that we keep Sukkot we realise more and more the things that are missing...like the gathering of ourselves in Jerusalem, and the fact that we are unable to dwell outside for the whole 7 days because its spring here, not autumn which for us = the sneezing, running noses and itchy eyes of hayfever.

Even so, it is important that we mark this day (and all the other appointed times) and do the things that we can do. We can have a shabbat and we can build a sukkah (of sorts!), and we can enjoy each other's company in the cool of the evening by a lovely fire.

and the pets enjoy having our company and the warmth of the fire too. Which is nice :)

Chag Sameach Sukkot :)

13/10/11

We celebrated the first day of Sukkot yesterday. We put up tents and set up a little fire pit in our forest :)

this is our lovely place from the driveway. The green is lush lucerne.

walking up our 1km driveway to collect the mail

 the boys started martial arts this week and they absolutely love it! here they are practicing..

Blogger is playing up so I'll post more photos from dinner around the campfire later.