The children are loving the bright Daffodils in the park and our garden at the moment.
Our Daffodils
We have been reading the Poem by William Wordsworth about the lively dancing Daffodils, we decided to make beautiful pictures of them for a display to brighten up out playroom.
William Wordsworth Poem
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
The poem is about being one who is close to nature and enjoys in its company and never feel sad or lonely. Nature is the greatest gift or blessing to mankind. It has the power to heal our miseries, learn and make us lively again.
Today we went to Amsleys the local play centre to celebrate Elliott’s First birthday.
The children loved the ball pool and slides the best. Think Debbie enjoyed it the most, it definitely sounded like it with the big ‘Weeee’ she screamed on the way down!
George was amazing on the climbing wall, he went straight to the top and loved jumping off scaring me!
Tellitubbies
Off all the toys and equipment the centre had and Elliott played with the TV we have back at ours.
Elsie grew in confidence going up and down the steps and made it to the top on her own. Well done Elsie and Happy Birthday Elliott xx
Today with the Wonderers, we set up our Hydroponic System to start growing our Fruit and vegetables using air and water rather than soil.
First of all we discussed how we grow our plants. Mason said he remembers sowing the seeds last year in modular trays and soil. Chloe explained her mum uses coco coir at home to grow house plants.
Alfie said he grows his in the garden using the dirt and wiggly worms.
Unpacking The System Working Out How To Put It Together Slotting In Place The Pump And Light Stick
I explained to the group all about hydroponics and how it actually works. We started by opening the box to see what was inside. As soon as Alfie saw all the bits he was off to play, Mason said he wanted to plant the seeds but not read the instructions with us, so he went off to play too! Chloe was a superstar and read out the instructions, we then started to build the system so it was ready to sow the seeds.
Placing The Module TrayThe Lights NextMain Set Up DoneLights and Pump Working
We followed the instructions very carefully and managed to attach the pump, light arm, lights and base together.
Electric PlugSetting The Timer
Next steps where to fit the electric cable and plug it in. Chloe carefully pressed the switch and the lights and pump turned on. Wow it was very bright and I told the children not to look at them, guess what they did, looked at them.
There were a few instructions to read to explain the buttons on the top of the unit. The buttons turned on the lights and enables you to adjust the brightness, set the time for 16hrs a day and off for rest periods.
The Domes Fertiliser’s
We were now ready to fill the system, we started by mixing the two types of fertiliser A and B together to make up a litre of solution. We then carefully poured the solution into the unit and the pump kicked in making a bubbling noise.
Because Chloe had helped to set the system up I let her choose the first two seeds to sow, she chose Chilli Peppers and Water Lily seeds. She carefully put them into the hole which was already in the centre of the Medium provided with the system.
Mason Chose Peppers and Tomatoes Chloe Sowing Her SeedsMason Helping AlfieChloe Looking At It All Set UpAll Finished And Lets Hope It Works!
Mason chose Sweet Peppers and Hanging Tomatoes, Alfie wanted to grow herbs and lettuce. We also added Cabbages, Broccoli, Onion and Cauliflower.
Chloe put the little domes onto each seed box, this will keep the moisture and heat inside which will help germinate the seeds quicker.
Now we need to check them everyday and make notes on what grows first, how long it takes to grow, how big it grows and any other useful information we want to document.
We will be adding to the blog and letting you know how it works, so watch this space….
Our Martie has grown up so much since starting with us as a baby. She is now starting school and we will be minding her baby sister which we are looking forward too. We will look forward to seeing Marty in the holidays and catching up with all her stories from school.
Starting School January 2023
Here is a compilation of photos from her amazing time with us. Good luck Martie see you at Easter xx
Today for Jacks birthday we went to the Liverpool Playhouse to watch a production of Julia Donaldson’s ‘The Giant Came To Town’ it was absolutely amazing.
It was Jack’s 1st time at the Theatre and he was so well behaved. He loved sitting on a special box so the seat was raised and wouldn’t keep going up. We shared a drink and popcorn while waiting for the show to start.
All Went Dark!Mesmerised Look Up There!The Giants VillageThe Mice Dressing The GiantKiss Goodbye Jack Driving us home
Jack laughed, pointed and clapped at the puppets as they told the story.
As the show finished and everyone was bowing, Jack got excited, clapped and waved goodbye.
Izzy celebrated her 1st birthday earlier this month and today her brother Charlie is celebrating his 2nd birthday.
Charlie’s CakeIzzy’s Cake
Izzy had a magical butterfly birthday cake which was made with vanilla cake and decorated with pink buttercream icing. Izzy loved trying to blow out her candle, everyone had to help her as it wouldn’t go out.
Izzys 1st BirthdayParty TimeParty FoodsBlowing Out The CandleSinging ’Happy Birthday’
The children’s dad is a local firefighter and Charlie loves everything to do with firemen and trucks. His cake was so amazing.
Charlie’s Birthday Cake
The cake was a surprise, inside was delicious chocolate cake with buttercream and lots of fire coloured icing. Tracie lit the candles and asked Firefighter Charlie to blow them out.
Party Of SevenHappy Birthday Charlie Yummy CakeBlowing Out The Candles
Everyone at Tracie’s Treasures wish you both a happy Birthday xx
We have had ups and downs during this year with our gardens. Here is a round up of how Phyllis’ gardening went..
Growing in Pots Door Step PlantingFrank’s WellHomemade Planter
These pictures are from Phyllis’ front garden, it gets full sun most of the day. The lovely well planter was made by Frank, he has hung bird feeders and hidden bird boxes in the roof. He also made the wooden tiered planter where the vegetables are growing for their yummy, fresh Christmas dinner.
Front GardenChristmas Dinner
Phyllis had a bumper crop of fruit and vegetables this year, here are a few pictures to show how well she did!
What a CropCarrotsBeetrootPeppersTomatoes Potatoes Netting From Pests New Raised BedsGrowing SeedlingsBeautiful Baby Cucumber Butternut Squash Chillies
It’s been a hard year and being in the garden has given Phyllis a project which she has thoroughly enjoyed. Next year Phyllis is going to focus on flowers, including a wildflower patch to encourage wildlife.
Leaves Turning RedFuchsia Canopy of ClimbersGrowing Well
No better way to prove how amazing it is to grow your own, a delicious fresh Sunday lunch! Where’s mine?
Back in April the Seedlings sowed pumpkin seeds in the vegetable plot hoping they would grow big for Halloween.
We had bought large pumpkins from the local supermarket last year and kept the seeds, dried them out and stored them in a paper bag to grow for this year. We hoped they would grow big and strong.
Pumpkin FlowerBaby Pumpkin
Unfortunately, our pumpkins haven’t grown as much as we hoped for yet so the Seedlings went to the shop and bought one for our activity.
First the Seedlings looked at the ones growing in the garden, they were way too small, green and some still had the flower on.
Martie Alfie
Next we looked at the shop brought pumpkin and Tracie cut it in half for the Seedlings to investigate.
They touched the skin and thought it was cold and hard. When the Seedlings were asked to touch the centre, two of the children said ‘yucky don’t want too’ but Martie prodded it with her finger and smelled it, she wasn’t impressed.
Leaf PrintingCharlie Concentrating Happy With Picture
Earlier, while out in the garden the seedlings picked some pumpkin leaves, for the activity they used green paint to make prints of the leaves onto paper.
Tracie cut the pumpkin in half and put it into some orange paint, the seedings swished the pumpkin to make sure it was covered in paint then used it like a stamper onto the prints of the leaves.
The seedlings made lovely pictures of the growing pumpkins in the garden. Alfie squished his pumpkin and the orange paint, mixed with the green to make an abstract painting.
The Finished Prints
The Seedlings loved the activity and we have displayed them in the front play room.
Tracie's Treasures 