I thought I would write a little post about what we have been getting up to outdoors of late as well as our favourite things to keep us entertained indoors when the rain hits.
We made the most of the mild autumn, seeing the leaves change in dramatic fashion and spent every dry day running around outside, unfortunately the start of winter saw us all come down coughs and colds and in Baby G's case teething coupled with Bronchitis. Luckily and fingers crossed we have got most of that out of the way and have started going on some mini adventures and enjoying the wonderful festive season and our "activity" advent has been going very well so far. Last weekend before picking up our Christmas tree we enjoyed a little jaunt around one of our favourite spots - St Fagans where we spotted lots of Robin Redbreasts darting around as well as trying to name different leaves as we are trying to learn all the names of Britain's most common trees.
The past fortnight has also seen us enjoy a very fun day out to Cardiff's Winter Wonderland and wow what a difference a year makes. This time last year I was coming into the third trimester with Baby G and Mr A was a year younger and very unsteady on the ice even with the penguin stabiliser but this year I didn't need to hold onto him once as he whizzed his way around the ice for the whole 1hr session. I also got to go on some of the rides with him this time which simply was not possible when I was pregnant and we both enjoyed whizzing down the Helter Skelter and being silly in the fun house.
One of the big advantages of living in South Wales is how close we are to some amazing castles and as Mr A is at home it means we can visit them during school hours which gives a lot of relaxing time to take everything in at our own pace. This week we decided to visit Castle Coch, a favourite of ours for many reasons, it's set on a cliffside with lots forest walks and the interior is magical with dungeons and towers to explore.
We have also had our fair share of wet and windy weather of late that have been a complete wash-out with really heavy rain and even with the best waterproofs after about half an hour puddle jumping becomes a little arduous and with Baby G it's a bit harder so we have been getting creative at home, doing crafts, baking and enjoying some simple but educational toys and I thought I would share our top 3 with you.
Top 3 Education and creative toys for a rainy day
1. Lego - Mr A's all time favourite is building a variety of things out of lego and duplo. I have to admit I was never the biggest fan of lego before having kids but when I see the amazing things Mr A makes out of these ingenues building blocks such as ships, cranes, tanks we couldn't live without it as it really holds a lot of educational value, gets little ones thinking in both a practical and creative way and keeps them busy for hours which is always a bonus.
2. Playdoh - again it's so open for the imagination and so versatile. Mr A loves rolling, shaping, breaking and building with playdoh. I have found memories of my mother making homemade playdoh and playing with it for hours. If you don't have time to make your own the tubs are fairly cheap and last many play sessions as long as you don't leave it out to dry.
3. Hama beads - we only got into Hama beads this year and I am so glad we did as you have a real sense of accomplishment when you make something beautiful and it also requires concentration and it's lovely seeing my son so immersed in mini hama projects that are both colourful and creative.
Our hama bead bird |
What are our favourite things to do both indoors and outdoors in winter?
Cute post, with lots of nice ideas. My kids have requested hama beads for Christmas so we'll definitely have some bad weather stuff to do. Hope you're all feeling a bit better xx
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Kat - Hama beads are great for rainy days
DeleteLaura x
This all sounds like so much fun! I really want to take my daughter ice skating - she's never been. I really want to get some Hama beads to have a play with too. Lovely photos x
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Louise - you should totally go ice skating - so much fun
DeleteLaura x
The winter wonderland looks really fun and family friendly and not too busy on the ice when you were there either, I can see why a year would have made such a difference everything has moved on so much for you. The more I see of Cardiff the more I hope my eldest makes it into University here, it has so much going on. Thank you for sharing with me on Country Kids
ReplyDeleteCardiff is a great place and has a fantastic Campus - hope he gets in
DeleteLaura x
So lovely to see you visiting some of our favourite places. I love St Fagans and Castell Coch, and Winter Wonderland is a must. We're so lucky in Cardiff to have so many amazing places. x
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more :)
DeleteLaura x
Great to see you embracing the outdoors. I still haven't taken Eva to Castle Coch yet and I need to as she thinks it's the Frozen castle because at night it has blue lights on it lol x
ReplyDeleteLovely ideas and Wales is a beautiful places to explore outdoors X #CountryKids
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a lovely place to visit and your pictures are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou look so at home on the ice! I haven't been skating this year, might book a session on Christmas Eve...
ReplyDelete