An Ending

So we are now into our first week of the summer holidays here in England. Last week Pickle left his preschool. It was an emotional day as not only were the children moving on from a much loved setting but the preschool was closing its doors for the last time.

I have no idea of the schools motivation for asking the Ofsted Outsanding in all areas preschool to leave right as the 30 hour provision is about to kick in but these things happen.

Pickle has only attended the preschool for 7 months but it had a big impact on us as a family. It was the first time Pickle had been left anywhere that wasn't with my Mum and Dad. The staff were amazing and the whole ethos and practice of the place was wonderful. They took his interests and passions and ran with them, introducing them into their activities and topics extending the learning he did at home into preschool and extending their own knowledge in order to provide stimulus and excitement to his experiences there.

Pickle has loved it show much that he insisted that we now have our own kindness tree at home and has asked to make a learning journey for home now too 😆

They inspired me to try more activities at home with Pickle and Penguin which has led to a lot of FUN! Pickle has developed so much in his confidence and interactions with other kids and we will always be thankful for the experiences he gained.

I was very thankful for the work they did with Pickle and for their kindness and conversation so when they were talking about organising cakes for the final day I offered to make some for cost price. I made one large cake and 60 cupcakes. It was a lot of fun and I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. The cake was sooooo tasty. (who doesn't love chocolate cake after all!!)

I hope that it shows how thankful we all are. We have a lot of fun things planned for the summer so come back soon to hear all about our adventures.

Until next time. x

30 Days Wild - Day 8

Today we picked lettuce leaves from the garden for our dinner!

Sorry for the poor quality pictures, I may have had a 'helper'.

Flapjacks

I am always looking for yummy healthy snacks for the kids. I quite like to keep sugar down, particularly for Penguin and we do enjoy a spot of cooking. 

Last week we made some tasty flapjacks. They were no added sugar, packed with fruit, seeds and oats. And Pickle and Penguin love them, they gobble them up quick as a flash. 

Perfect, tasty snacks, guilt free Mummy. 

As you can see it didn't take long before we were tucking in. They are a good balance of being clean, not too sticky and not too crumbly. The toddlers are not very good and using plates properly!

So my recipe, it has been developed over time. I usually judge by eye but I have measured and written it down for you all. 

Pickle and Penguin Flapjacks

2 apples, grated

1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/4 cup mixed seeds

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cut cranberries

8 dates, chopped

1 mashed banana

2 cups oats

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175 (fan) or equivalent.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. 

Press mixture into a greased and lined shallow tin. Whatever you would usually use for brownies or flapjacks should be fine. 

Place in the oven for 15-25 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Cut whilst warm and enjoy once cooled!

Do give them a go and let me know what you think!

Me xx