Raring2go! Raring2go! 20 raring2go.co.uk 21 17 www.raring2go.co.uk Story Starters Encourage your child’s imagination by asking them to make up a story about Winter – either written or, if they are tiny, then said out loud. If they have difficulty thinking of where to start, try giving them an opening sentence. For instance, ‘Frosty the Snowman waited until all the children were all in bed before he began to...’ or ‘Pip the mouse was supposed to be hibernating for the winter, but instead she decided to…’ Winter picnic Wrap up warm, take some soup or something hot to eat, pack a blanket and be brave and go outside – or else, have an indoors picnic on the living room floor. Ask teddies and toys to be the VIP guests, and serve party food on paper plates as if you were having a summertime picnic. The beanbag On a rainy day, if you really want to keep the kids busy, why not get them to make their own beanbags, then come up with a homemade game? To make a beanbag: Sew two small rectangles of scrap material together before stuffing with dried beans or lentils. To create a course: The children will enjoy making this as easy or challenging as they like. Use cushions or pillows as markers, and find some containers – waste paper baskets, buckets, empty shoe boxes etc – to be targets or holes. Now you and the children take turns in tossing the beanbag around the course and into the targets as appropriate. One child can play against himself by trying to improve his score, toss from further away, and so on. OR Find a sheet of cardboard (from an old box) that you can prop against a wall. Using the beanbag as a template, draw around it, adding a little extra space or turning it into a square or star shape. Cut out this shape and give each hole a score if you want, depending on how difficult you think it will be. The children can decorate the board with pens or paint and you have an easy-to-store toy for the next rainy day. Raring2go! xxx 16 Family tree Great for older children or families when there are new additions. Encourage your child to decide how they want to do this, for example, using existing photos, taking their own or drawing pictures of each family member. Help them understand where each picture will go on their tree which they can also draw. Why not let them add their favourite toy or pet to the tree? This will foster their imagination, improve writing and history skills and give them a greater understand of the family, supporting their personal, social and emotional development. Bird cake Now is a great time to look after the local wildlife. Make one of these to hang in the garden or outside. Then your children can watch the different birds that fly in for lunch. You will need: bird seed, raisins, peanuts, grated cheese, lard or suet, string, yoghurt pots, scissors and a mixing bowl. Get an adult to make a hole in the bottom of a yoghurt pot, thread string through then tie a knot inside the pot. Use the lard at room temperature, cut into small pieces and put into the mixing bowl. Add other ingredients with your fingers. Fill the pots with mixure and set in the fridge for a couple of hours. Then take them out of the yoghurt pots if you can, or just hang them on the trees as they are – and wait. Do you want to build a snowflake? We may not see snow this winter but this is perfect for dressing up a window at home. You will need: Sheet of tissue paper Sticky tape Instructions: Concertina fold the tissue paper. Find the middle and fasten with a piece of tape or a small elastic band. Fold in half. Cut small shapes along the folds, careful that you do not cut right through the width of the paper. Open out the folds and bring the edges together, fastening them with tape to make a complete circle. For preschoolers: Create a snowflake or star shape on paper with glue, then ask them to place cotton wool balls on top. No problem if they don’t quite get it, the balls will stick! Things to do this Winter Seasonal activities xxx The leaves have fallen from the trees, days are shorter, and we’re thinking about stews and pies – it must be Winter! But just because we are going into the coldest months of the year doesn’t mean we have to hibernate and turn to the TV and computer games for comfort - there are plenty of fun things we can do with our children, inside and out. Edible Christmas Bunting by Sugar Wish Cakes for Raring2go! Find us at facebook.com/ sugarwishcakesandbakes For the biscuits: • 650g Plain flour • 250g Butter • 250g caster sugar • 2 eggs • 1 tsp cinnamon • 1 tsp mixed spice Decoration: • 2 tbs warmed golden syrup • Selection of coloured sugar pastes • Decorations such as sugar stars, sweets, cut out icing shapes • Template or cutters for bunting (mine is 7cm across the base and 9cm top to bottom.) Method: Heat oven to 180C, gas mark 4. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg a little at a time and mix well. Mix in the flour and spices, until the dough comes together. Roll out to approx 0.5cm thick and cut out the shapes, not forgetting to make the holes for the ribbon (I used a drinking straw.) Place on a baking tray covered in parchment paper and bake for approx 10 - 15 mins, until just golden brown. Leave to cool. When cold brush warmed syrup on each biscuit. Knead the sugar paste until pliable and roll out using a dusting of icing sugar if it’s sticky. Cut out the desired shapes and place on top of biscuits. If you’re cutting out sugar paste shapes to stick on, attach with a little water. If decorating with sprinkles or sweets, you will need to use a little more syrup brushed on the icing for the sprinkles to adhere to. Leave for a few hours then thread with festive ribbon.
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