Parachuting

Yes.... YES..... YEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS the temperature has soared and I can report we may have hit summertime!!! Both of my boys have just had the chickenpox, we are thick in the midst of building works in our house - and living there to enjoy the chaos. Ikea delivered 110 packages on sunday and the boys have been told that the 'tower' in the room is actually fun.... hmmmmm?!?!?!??

Anyway, as you can imagine I was desperate for the weather to be good this week because we are in living a rather dusty and cramped existence. So we set off to meet THE DANGEROUS CLUB FOR BOYS. I think we had a bout 15 boys in total today and parachuting was our theme.

To get rid of some energy we scooted to a meadow of wild flowers. The boys were leaping in and out of secret bushy areas, seeing if the pirates from a few weeks back had left any treasure... sadly they hadn't.

We enjoyed blowing the dandelions and watching the boys 'effortlessly' spit all over them.... hehe! 

Parachute games are so simple. You stand in a circle holding the edge of the chute and throw it up in to the air. It is a light material that then balloons up.... A few games you could try are....

1) Throw cuddly toys on the parachute
2) Throw balls on it and try to get it to stay on the parachute whilst ballooning it up and down
3) Throw the chute up and get the kids to run underneath it
4) Throw it up and then sit on the inside of it so you have made a tent... pretend there is a storm outside
5) Get a couple of kids to sit on it and pretend they are in a washing machine!

This is a PERFECT activity for 2-4 year olds, simple, easy, great for most weathers (possibly not a sleet storm!... your call I guess).

The boys loved pretending there was a storm outside

Welcome summer, oh how we have missed you and we are glad you are here... may all sleet storms exist in our imaginations only!! 

Pirate Treasure Maps

MAKE YOUR MAP

Pirate Treasure Maps are some of the easiest things to make and took me right back to my child hood. You will need....

a large piece of paper, a tea bag, some colouring pens, a black pen and a flame.... OH and an adult!... (one who is good with fire!!)

• Dampen the tea bag until brown tea can drip from it. wring it out and then wipe all over your A3 piece of paper to colour it a brown, aged colour.
• Then burn around the edges, blowing out the flame and then re burning it... 
• Pen on your map, adding in various words and signs.
• Colour in parts of the map... not too neat adds to the style!
• Don't forget to add an X to mark the treasure spot

THE CLUB

THE DANGEROUS CLUB FOR BOYS had a pirate theme today. We were learning to read treasure maps and work as a team. We started in the car park with instructions to find a map which was hidden in a bottle in thick grass. We spent a few minutes looking at the map and what different signs could mean... like cars, trees etc and I explained that X marked the spot of the treasure. 

We took off on our walk with 2 different places to look for treasure. When we reached the area, we all started to look for the treasure and I hid a treasure box at that point. (these boxes cost about £2 from thecraftbarn... you can easily paint them).

I don't know if the boys appreciated my incredible artistic talent, but I loved that we did an adventure with a theme. Why not aim for every time you meet as a group to have that 'party-like' feel to it. It is magical to stumble across a bottle with a map, to go hunting for treasure with a group of pals and to be dressed as pirates to boot!!

This is SERIOUSLY low effort and I think the boys really enjoyed it!!
Right I am off to sun bathe in our lovely British Climes.... oh no, sorry its gale-force winds and sub zero temperatures... oh well!

Blessed Beyond Words

On the weekend I read a story that made me start weeping. It was a story of such devastation and yet such hope it completely inspired me. A woman, probably a similar age to me, with 4 kids who in an instant lost her sporty, handsome husband to a brain injury whilst he played rugby one evening (I will put a link to her story and blog at the end should you wish to read it!). It made me think about things, what are our small pleasures? What are the things that make us come alive? What are the things that sit on our door step that we see as nothing, but our children could see as their everything?

Today was the hottest day of the year so far and it was glorious. Our DANGEROUS CLUB FOR BOYS started at one end of the river. We walked along the river seeing swans, boats and builders... all a joy for our little boys. We scooted into the city centre where we, in Bristol, are most blessed because there are some huge water features that  beckon kids to come and play in. They are less than an inch deep and are so much fun. We used the end sections of plastic milk cartons as boats and blew them around the water.

 But really splashing and running and playing was as good as it could possibly get.

After several hours in the sun and water we took the boys back home on the water ferry, and as they gladly sucked their lolly pops they screamed at passers-by and waved frantically until they got a wave back!

Today I count my blessings. I do not have a garden and I live on a second floor flat, but hey I get this special city to be my garden and get to share it with loads of other people. I am so grateful for my husband and my kids and I know I want them to know, everyday of their life, they are special boys who are enormously blessed too!!!

Read this story if you want to have a good weep... it is quite special!!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2318341/When-husband-Alex-suffered-massive-brain-injury-playing-rugby-Tamsyn-Woods-life-changed-ever.html

http://manic-mums.blogspot.co.uk/

Cup Telephones

Today in my opinion was the first DANGEROUS CLUB FOR BOYS this year that has benefited from the sunshine. OH HOW I WEEP WITH JOY!!!!!!!!

One of my aims for the CLUB is that we begin to share out the activities and make a real team effort to make them happen. 'Mum's Only' met one evening last week and one by one as they walked in to the pub we said oooooooh they look so beautiful!! Ridiculous isn't it, that we are so used to seeing each other with wellie-boots, pony tails and unattractive trousers.... the uniform for hanging out with our active little boys, that we barely recognised each other??! Anyway, we have a host of great ideas we are going to be working our way through!!

Today one of the Mums tried her hand at leading and taught us all how to make cup telephones

You will need  

• 2 cups
• string
• a pin
• a pencil

To make your Cup telephone

• Stab the pin through the base of the cup
• Use the tip of the pencil to enlarge the hole
• Put the string through it and tie and knot to hold it in place... repeat, to connect both cups
• Then take turns to chat into the cup and listen on the other end

I was told in Wales that this was the main mode of communication right up until the 1990's which is impressive!! 

        

The boys thrive when they are together. They loved chatting down the string line, although if I am honest, it was the Adults who were more impressed. As soon as the telephones had been constructed, we whipped them off the boys and shouted "No Way!!! They actually work" and to my shock they actually did!!! How the Welsh made it work for all those years though, I will never know!!!

At the end of THE CLUB we did some games and taught the importance of a team scrum and a team high five.... you know the kind - the American, all hands in the middle and a big Woooooooooah!!! 

 

Until next week... stay happy!!!!

Disclaimer... some of my telecommunications information came from the reliable Wikipedia!

Scooter Streamers

OK - TEST YOUR AGE TIME!!!

1) Did you drink Lilt growing up?

2) Do you know what spokey-dokeys are?

3) Did 20p pocket money buy you 2 packets of chewits or a chocolate bar?

4) Did the kids in the films you watched all have streamers on their bikes??????

If yes to any of these... you are probably a child of the 80's. An interesting time of history where fashion was not at its greatest.... BUT... they did have bike streamers.

TEST YOUR AGE TIME

1)  Does 20p pocket money only buy you (ironically) a 1p sweet?

2) Do you get around by scooter rather than foot

3) Do you drink water because sugar has now been proved to do NOTHING for your teeth?

4) Do you know RAWL and AETUC? (Roll Around Laughing and Abbreviate Everything U Can?)

If yes, you are probably a child of the Naughties!!! So instead of bikes scooters are your favoured mode of transport and you Mum or Dad is probably reading this blog and not you!

Today we made Scooter streamers, a seriously easy activity!!! 

1) Rip fabric or cut ribbons into lengths

2) Hide them all over the place and get the kids to find them

3) Tie them equally onto 2 elastic bands and then attach them on to the end of your scooter!

4) If you have no scooter, tie them on to a bike or your wrists.

 This activity is super simple, super fun, the kids loved that they were making something for their scooters which are, to be fair, extensions of themselves.... and the sun... oh sweetness and joy, the sun was with us today. The world hath become a better place!

See you next week everyone!!!

Endoscopy's and Snake Bubbles

There is something slightly wrong, in a funny kind of way about giving my weekly blog a title that should be inappropriate for a boys club... hahaha!

This week the wonderful, DANGEROUS CLUB FOR BOYS met without me. This fills me with a deep sense of pleasure, not dissimilar to seeing your child do something without you for the first time... I guess the CLUB has learnt to walk without me... to all who are involved... WELL DONE!!!!!

So I was not there this week because I was having an endoscopy. This is quite possibly one of the most offensive procedures I have ever experienced. They basically ram something in your teeth to stop you being able to talk/object, then inject you with something that stops you being able to talk/object and then as you try to talk/object they ram a FREAKING camera tube down your throat as you writhe around and make noises that should only come out of a labouring cow!!! 

Anyway... It is now Friday and I have gotten over the hideousness of it and the humiliation of the doctor writing on my notes that I 'coped very BADLY' with the whole thing (You don't say Dr?).

Onto happy things... the darling DANGEROUS CLUB met... 11 in total and they did something called Sock Snake Bubbles. A great activity. 

To do this....

• You get an empty bottle and cut off the large end
• Place a sock, taught, over the large end and use an elastic band to hold it on
• Dip the sock end into a little water with washing-up liquid (this can also have a bit of food colouring in it).
• Then carefully blow through the mouth end of the bottle and watch the bubbles come out.

You can be super clever and change the colour of the water as you go along and make rainbow snakes!! 

Send in your pictures for the longest and most colour snakes!!! I DARE YOU!!!

Cold, Cute and Courageous

This morning I lay in bed procrastinating, as the rain drizzled down the window and I could almost feel the icy wind gusting through the holes in our windows. The reason I did the DANGEROUS CLUB FOR BOYS, was not, I admit, my staunch commitment to my children, but because i was meeting other people... and THIS is the reason why it is good to do things in groups. We had an amazing morning and I am so grateful I did not follow my desire to stay inside, but instead follow my F.O.L.P.D.I (Fear of letting people down instinct), which although a rubbish instinct, did mean we had a gorgeous morning!!

Our activity today was to go on a walk and collect things to put in our bag. The reason why this is great is because it gives a focus and an aim for a walk, keeps the boys looking and observing their surroundings and also, lets face it, everyone loves collect things to put in their bags, even if it is an old leaf and a piece of plastic. We explored, hedges, trees, went through bushes and into clearings and really did cover ground that we would never usually have covered!!

A MORBID ASIDE: I always think I will stumble across a dead person when I go into odd places, which is redicks, but when i shared this to a lovely fellow mum, instead of putting my mind at ease, she told me she actually had once stumbled across a dead body!!

The final thing on the list was a biscuit which the boys found towards the end of our freezing cold walk, eating it was prize indeed for their courage in surviving the -29 degrees wind chill that had been whipping their faces all morning.... WELL DONE little Dangerous Boys!!!

Teddy Bear's Picnic

If you are reading this in Hong Kong, Hawaii or even the Australian Desert  (which I am sure many of you will be, because of course you will need some good ideas for your cute little Aboriginal Boys, being in the outback with absolutely 'nothing' to do) you may wonder why the British are so tediously obsessed with weather... well let me tell you this...

Each week I try to do my blog explaining that spring has sprung, and then it unsprings and we all feel very depressed and have to deal with snow falls, sleet storms and hurricanes... hence our mild obsession!!!!! Last week due to freezing temperatures and a rather violent D&V bug, we did not make THE DANGEROUS CLUB FOR BOYS, so this week, wrapped up warm, I was as determined as an eskimo is to fix his igloo after accidentally peeing a hole through it, to make it work... and work it did!!

The boys were invited to bring a bag along with a favourite teddy in it. Tigers teddy is a Tiger called Le Tigre, which is he has shortened to LaLa. It was a huge treat to let LaLa out of the house and thus much joy was had in our house this morning!! We all went on a great walk, the boys chatting and scootering and racing along. We then stopped beneath a naked tree that had a few brave crocuses underneath it.

We set up camp and then hid a few treats behind other neighbouring trees. Note to reader at this point. I  say this in a VERY non WRONG way, but I liken Boys to Dogs... Nice dogs of course, but boys need to be well exercised and regularly eat... so in essence the further the snack is away, the more exercise they get, but the more motivated they are to getting it... catch my drift?

Anyway, the boys came back with various snacks, which we proceeded to then eat and occasionally share with our visiting teddy bears. Such a simple idea but this has been one of my favourite CLUBS!!!

To the lovely man Stefan who contacted me regarding his Dangerous Club for Boys.... it sounds amazing!!!! I will definitely be getting some tips from your web site.. Thank you for contacting us!!!!

Stomp dem Rockets!

15 Degrees today... am I right in saying that that is practically a Jamaican summers day?????? Stuff spring... welcome summer!!!

Beautiful glorious sunshine greeted us this morning and it made for a great DANGEROUS CLUB FOR BOYS. The babies got chance to roll around in the grass and the boys, for the first time in ages, did not combust with coldness. I even found myself removing a layer or two!!!

I loved today on several counts. One of the reasons, apart from the chance to drink in the Vitamin D, was the fact that one of the other mums organised the whole CLUB today. It felt amazing!!! I loved that she came prepared and organised and managed to give the 8 boys a fabulous time and even bring the most delicious home made snack... it was bang on for the DANGEROUS CLUB and I felt really proud that we have got to this place!!!

Our activity today was Stomp Rockets... these are brilliant contraptions that is to a boy, what a ball is to a dog! A device that is thrilling and also makes you burn a LO-HO-HOT of energy!!!

For those of you interested they currently cost £8.99 on Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stomp-Rocket-Junior-Glow-Kit/dp/B00000K3BR/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362577296&sr=8-2

To operate this marvellous energy inducing gadget, one 'stomps' on the base, forcing the air to go through the pipe and shoot the rocket in to the ether!! When it lands, the boys went running after it... genius!!! We spent the whole morning and more, shooting them high in to the air and collecting them again.

A video of said Rocket

Wacky Races

I am going to be entirely honest with you! The idea I had today for the DANGEROUS CLUB FOR BOYS, was one of those ideas I thought would be a flop. It would thus provide us with an activity and me with a funny story - but actually it worked.

OK, So spring has not sprung, that was a lie from last week from the pit of hell. It was so cold today, the boys, one-by-one, went off like little time bombs with cold noses and painful toes.

Our focus for today was RACES!! I really didn't expect the boys, who are on average ranging from 18 months to 3.5 years to be that competitive and I didn't expect them to want to follow our 'race' instructions... I was wrong on all counts!

The first race we did was a scooter/bike/running race. It felt like the boys had every reason to call unfair advantages on their fellow race-ees but alas they went as fast as their short little legs would carry them... way past the finishing line and into the distance... they were fabulous and really got the whole concept.

Next we did the egg and spoon race. It was unbelievably hillarious. One of the mums supplied boiled eggs, and with a stroke of genius, a few ladles to carry the eggs... the boys were slow, focused and definitely found that participating was the name of the game as the timings of each boy to cross the finishing line was so completely different.

About 21 seconds after the Egg 'n' Spoon race, the boys lost the plot. The cold had been working its way from the youngest to the oldest, and enough was enough. We made our way to the cafe and then spent the next 20 minutes doing a chocolate egg treasure hunt for our snack and then made as much noise as we possibly could.

A lovely cold DC4B today!!